Title: Winter Sparrow
Author : Estevan Vega
Genre: Fantasy/Romance
Publisher: Stonehouse Ink
Release Date: Sept 2012
Edition/Formats Available In: Ebook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
“I’ll grow wings all by myself.”
Mary is a young artist about to enter a new chapter in her life. After years of waiting and searching, she has finally found true love. She’s also just discovered that her fiancé Joshua has inherited his father’s rundown countryside mansion. To add to the rising pressure, her wedding day is so close she can practically hear the music. All she has to do is accept what the future holds. Accept…and be happy.
But something’s missing.
As the seasons change, her doubts turn to fears, and her fears become reality. Through struggle and loss, the love she once possessed for Joshua transforms into contempt. When Mary is confronted with a magical escape, the life she has and the life she dreams of will collide, awakening a mysterious change within. But no choice comes without cost, and each one will draw her closer to the truth.
At times both beautiful and haunting, Winter Sparrow dares you to step into a world where eternity is a moment and every breath is a second chance. The fantasy begins….
EXCERPT 2
Mary was taken from the porch for a moment. Her eyes drifted to the willow tree planted on the front lawn. Its roots stretched across the dirt-and-pebble driveway and a number of other spots around its formidable trunk. At first, Mary squinted to see what was carved at the center. She walked down the porch steps to get a clearer look. Joshua didn’t notice. He was busy jangling his keys and trying to break in out of frustration because the lock now refused to budge.
As she edged closer, the carving in the willow tree became clearer. It was a solitary word no one would raise a question about. A forgettable something, really. Nothing elaborate or poetic. Just simple, scratched into the bark. It read, Once.
Who put it here? she wondered.
Just then, Mary glimpsed a shadow from the road that led to their future driveway, which she could see herself pressuring Joshua to get paved as soon as humanly possible. The shadow captured her glance when she touched the tree, felt the cut-up pieces that comprised the fragile, infant word. She swore she saw a face too with the shadow. It was a man with a soft complexion and a beard. A black hat kept his long hair neat and tucked. He had on a lengthy coat as well, and his teeth appeared yellow, glistening in the moonlight as he smiled at her from the road.
But then he was gone. Suddenly, a fog drifted in from the woods, and the chill forced her to blink. And shudder a little. She turned on the spot and saw Joshua coming closer.
She reached for his arm.
“What’s got you all jumpy?” he asked.
“It’s awful dark out here.”
“Yeah. Looks like we’ll have to get used to that,” Joshua said. “Hmm, did you notice our voices echo out here too?” Without awaiting a response, he repeated, “Echo!”
“Stop it,” she demanded.
“Why?”
“Because you never know who could be out this time of night.”
Tell him, Mary. Tell him what you saw. Tell him you saw
a man, well, what looked like a man, with long hair and a beard and a black hat and….
That is what you saw, isn’t it?
“I got cold all of a sudden, Joshua. I want to head back now.”
“Okay,” he said, embracing her. “Let’s get you warm.” He unlocked the car with the keyless entry device.
Mary immediately went for the passenger door and sank into her seat, fastening her belt as tight as it would go. Joshua walked slowly, however, intensifying the tension inside her.
Just tell him what you saw.
Mary shut her eyes and pictured the garden. Maybe her mind had invented the man in black. Her mind had invented things and ideas before, so it wasn’t all that strange, was it? An imagination could be a dangerous thing, a very dangerous thing, the years had taught her.
Joshua opened the driver’s side door and slipped into his seat. He started the car and backed out. Mary looked out the window as a branch scraped the front hood. She couldn’t help but feel saddened by the carving there in the heart of the wil¬low tree. In a matter of seconds, they were backing out of the driveway, leaving the property of the mansion, and heading back to the city.
Review:
Winter Sparrow by Estevan Vega is an awesome dark fantasy. It is very different from any of the books that I have read. The storyline is very interesting and had my attention from the very beginning and all the way to the end.
Mary is a young woman who is a struggling artist with a passion for painting. In her youth, her family didn’t live anywhere long enough for her to call it home and the love that her father gave her was a father’s love. Mary ran away from that life and didn’t ever look back. She has been able to go on with her life but she still has some painful memories from her past that is haunting her. She has given up on relationships before but Joshua changed that for her. He reminded Mary what it felt like to be alive.
Joshua is a young architect and is the love of her life. He is a wonderful man who loves and cares for Mary very much. They are engaged to be married soon and will be starting a new chapter of their lives. Before their wedding, Joshua takes Mary on a road trip to his father’s mansion in the middle of nowhere. He had inherited the house when his father passed away. Mary knows that it is a very big commitment of buying and owning a home. The idea of it is scary and she isn’t ready for that at all. When they arrive, Joshua gives Mary a tour of the mansion and the grounds. While she is in the front yard, she sees a figure of a man standing across the street looking at her. She has this eerie and uneasy feeling about this man. Who is this strange man lurking around his father’s property? After that day, she is still having a tough time accepting the idea but Joshua was able to convince and change Mary’s mind about moving there.
Mary and Joshua’s journey has begun. They are married, have moved in the old mansion and are very happy together. Joshua has been staying very busy renovating the inside of their house making it beautiful for Mary. The seasons have gone by. Something happens that changes their life and Mary’s feelings toward Joshua is not the same. Her emotions are spiraling uncontrollably. Will Mary be able to get her emotions under control? Will she be able to change things? Will it be too late for her to save their marriage? She needed some time to herself to think so she leaves the mansion and tells Joshua that she will be back later. As she was driving, she sees this mystery man walking on the side of the road before she wrecked.
As I was reading, I could see and feel their love, pain and sadness that they were going through in the book.
Estevan Vega has done a wonderful job writing Winter Sparrow. I am looking forward to reading more of his books.
Author Bio:
ESTEVAN VEGA FELL IN LOVE WITH STORYTELLING IN THE FIFTH GRADE WHEN HE WAS FORCED TO WRITE SHORT STORIES EVERY DAY FOR ENGLISH CLASS. THAT’S RIGHT, FORCED. BUT WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FATHER, HE REALIZED, HE ACTUALLY LIKED WRITING AND LOVED PEOPLE’S REACTION TO HIS WORK. NOW, AFTER MANY, MANY MOONS, EVEGA HAS AUTHORED 6 BOOKS AND SEVERAL SHORT STORIES ALL READY TO BE CONSUMED BY YOU. HIS HOBBIES INCLUDE SINGING IN THE SHOWER, GOING TO CONCERTS, AND TRYING TO ALWAYS EMULATE OPTIMUS PRIME. HE LOVES MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM, WRITING PECULIAR TALES, AND STILL HASN’T LEARNED HOW TO WHISTLE.
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