DESIRE (20 page)
Authors: Kailin Gow
And for a moment, they were all silent, and all of them were staring at me.
I could not understand, but it did not matter. Before I could think, could understand what was going on, what was happening to me, the scene had changed again.
I felt his arms around me. That was the first thing; I felt it before I could see anything, see him. I felt his arms encircle my shoulders, feel him brushing my shoulder blades lightly with his fingertips. I shivered. His hands took mine. I could see him. It was Kian, but he was older, now, and so was I – both a young man and a young woman – staring at each other. Age had only made us more beautiful; his hair was longer, now, and his eyes sharper, with greater depth. I could see my reflection in his eyes; my hair was longer too: a deep, warm brown with flecks of gold studded throughout. And I could see my expression – full of fear, full of joy – as he bent down closer to me, as his lips came ever closer to mine.
“Oh, Breena,” he said to me. “My Breena.”
His blue eyes took on a look of sharp determination; he stared at me with such intensity that I felt that his eyes had penetrated into the truest part of my true soul, a part hidden even to the rest of this strange and wonderful land.
“I will kill you, Breena. It is what I have to do. It is decreed.” He cupped my face with his hands, and I could feel his cool breath whispering upon my cheek. “We are mortal enemies.”
Always, every night, that same dream – that same fear, that same joy. When I woke up each morning, I felt a profound sense of loss, a yearning that stretched so deeply it crossed the bounds of reality itself. The alarm clock would ring, and everything would change. I was a nearly-sixteen-year-old girl, with suede boots, with T-shirts bearing sayings I believe in.” I had an IPod, a cell phone, my laptop (with pages full of html code for my website brainchild. I spoke in rushed slang about the latest films and television shows, played video games with Logan, teased him when he won, teased him when he lost. I wore little to no makeup and complained about homework during G-Format. The idea of dating – of fumbling high school boys trying to score in between stolen keg stands, of Facebook relationship statuses and hastily-texted endearments – repulsed me.
But for a few hours each night, I was somebody else. I was a princess in a castle, with a dress made of lavender and besides me there is a prince with arctic-blue eyes, and arms wrapped closely around me, and lips coming nightly ever closer to mine...
I was home
.
From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow
Bitter Frost (The Frost Series)
Award-winning Finalist, Multi-genre Fiction
Award-wining Finalist, Women’s Literature
2
nd
Annual International Book Awards
To be Made into a Major Worldwide Game Series
All her life, Breena had always dreamed about fairies as though she lived among them...beautiful fairies living among mortals and living in Feyland. In her dreams, he was always there the breathtakingly handsome but dangerous Winter Prince, Kian, who is her intended. When Breena turns sixteen, she begins seeing fairies and other creatures mortals don’t see. Her best friend Logan, suddenly acts very protective. Then she sees Kian, who seems intent on finding her and carrying her off to Feyland. That’s fine and all, but for the fact that humans rarely survive a trip to Feyland, a kiss from a fairy generally means death to the human unless that human has fairy blood in them or is very strong, and although Kian seemed to be her intended, he seems to hate her and wants her dead.
From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow
PULSE
Series
Award-winning Finalist, Romance
Award-wining Finalist, Multicultural Fiction
2
nd
Annual International Book Awards
17 year-old Kalina didn’t know her boyfriend was a vampire until the night he died of a freak accident. She didn’t know he came from a long line of vampires until the night she was visited by his half-brothers Jaegar and Stuart Greystone. There were a lot of secrets her boyfriend didn’t tell her. Now she must discover them in order to keep alive. But having two half-brothers vampires around had just gotten interesting…
From Bestselling Author Kailin Gow
The Stoker Sisters Series
Award-winning Finalist, Chick Lit/Women’s Literature, 2
nd
Annual International Book Awards
Two sisters... Born during the time of Jane Austen... Set to marry for advancement, but escaped their fates by becoming vampires. Now vampires in the 21st century, hunted by a sect of rogue hunters, the sisters meet a mysterious boy who holds the key to their destinies.
The DESIRE New Release Contest
Win a SIGNED Kindle
Email a copy of your receipt of DESIRE (DESIRE 1) to:
for your chance to win 1 SIGNED Kindle
This is an international contest open until Midnight
August 1, 2011.
Winner announced August 6, 2011 on http://kailingow.wordpress.com
No purchase necessary, if you wish to enter, send a postcard with your name, address, email address, age to:
Kailin Gow, 14252 Culver Dr A-732, Irvine, CA 92604
By providing us with your email address, you are agreeing to receive information about the contest, correspondence, and future contest announcements from theEDGEbooks.com, Kailin Gow, and theEDGEbooks partners.
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Discussion Questions
DESIRE (DESIRE #1: Beginnings) by Kailin Gow™
1)
What is an utopian society? How is Arcadia an utopian society?
2)
The Word, “Arcadia” has a meaning. What is it? Is DESIRE’s society, aptly named “Arcadia”?
3)
The author is known for choosing the names of her main characters and places for a reason. What does “Kama” mean?
4)
Kama is known for her beauty, but in what other ways does she stand out from a sea of people in DESIRE? What sets her apart?
5)
Is Liam her ideal husband-to-be? What qualities about him that you like?
6)
Kama’s mother once told her the most important thing about a man for a woman, is how he makes her feel. Does Liam measure up to Janice Johnson’s expectations of the ideal husband-to-be for her daughter?
7)
Governor Pim Seer built and fashioned Arcadia from the idyllic childhood town he and Kama’s mother grew up in. What happened to the town, and is it wrong of Pim Seer to rebuild Arcadia like his old town?
8)
Every child who becomes of age at 18, gets a Life’s Plan. What is it, and why do you think a Life’s Plan is needed in this society? Is having a Life’s Plan a good idea?
9)
Torrid is an outsider in Arcadia. Where is he from? And why is Kama so attracted to him?
10)
Liam, Kama’s long-time boyfriend, will become the most powerful person in Arcadia one day. It is written in his Life’s Plan. He grew up without a mother, and his father Governor Seer, was hardly home. How is Kama good for him, and do you think if he has to choose between being with Kama or assuming his role as the future Governor, what should he choose?
11)
Janice Johnson and Governor Pim Seer once had a relationship, but Janice fell in love with Kama’s father. If Janice never set eyes on Kama’s father, how would that have affect Pim Seer? Would he have become the man that he is today?
12)
Two of Kama’s friends from her neighboring district have witnessed people disappearing from Arcadian society. How has that affected them? What do you think will happen to Matthew and Jocelyn, if they do not get their desired Life’s Plan?
13)
Sarah, Kama’s best girlfriend always seem so cheerful and willing to help, but at point when Sarah spotted Torrid, she mentioned Kama’s situation with her Life’s Plan was not entirely a bad situation. Do you think Sarah regrets her Life’s Plan, although she was one of the lucky ones who received exactly what she wanted? Sarah, the daughter of two Committee Workers, in a way, represents all the other 18-year-olds who have received their Life’s Plans. What in Sarah’s Life’s Plan, do you think she would change?
14)
Kama, born and raised in Arcadia, has never known a world outside of Arcadian Society. In what ways have she matured and changed throughout Book 1? Has meeting Torrid opened her eyes to a world beyond Arcadia? What does Kama see? How does it compare to the Arcadia she once knew?
15)
DESIRE takes place a thousand years from now. How do you imagine our world in a thousand years?