VBT:The Ruby Curse

I asked Makayla to tell us why Violet is in prison… that’s quite the story, actually. Here’s the story as the people within “the Ruby Curse” know it:

Before the events of “The Ruby Curse”, Violet was serving as a mechanic’s assistant on the S.S. Hindrance, one of the most prestigious airships in the queen’s air navy. Her job mainly consisted of passing the ship mechanic any tools he needed and doing the grunt work that was below him. The mechanic was an ugly man, appearing to be twelve times larger than Violet’s meager one hundred and eight pounds. The straps on his grease stained overalls strained against his immense girth and he walked with a kind of penguin waddle. Of course that was only when he did move. Too much movement put a strain on his lungs and made him break out into a cold sweat, so needless to say he stayed down in the engine room and sent Violet to the upper decks to bring him his meals.

Despite being the mechanic’s peon, Violet had always been the one in control. Had the mechanic known what kind of person was working alongside him, taking his abuse, he might’ve been a little more inclined to be nicer to her.

Everything started one night after the mechanic had gone to sleep on the cot he had in the engine room. No one knows what made the day prior any different than the others. The mechanic’s cruelty to Violet was no more and no less than usual, and her workload hadn’t been lightened or had more added onto it. Everything had been just as it was every other day, but that night things took a turn for the worst. That night Violet butchered the mechanic in his sleep and was found early that morning drenched in blood sitting before the furnace throwing the mechanic’s severed arms and legs into the furnace.

And this is the story of her escape:

She spent six months in Erabium, the highest maximum security prison in Arcova and the purgatory where damned souls go to await the final judgment. As one of the only women in Erabium, Violet was the object of abuse and torment; which she returned tenfold on anyone who dared to attack her. Someone like Violet had no choice but to thrive in an environment where violence and madness reigned.

Of all the people who found themselves marching those hallowed halls, dressed in their prison jumpsuits, Violet was the only one to ever escape. On the night she decided she’d had enough, Violet waited until after lights out before sneaking out of her bed and hiding under it until a Defendron-9 rolled by. She got its attention by throwing a spoon she’d stolen from the cafeteria while the guards were busy trying to break up a brawl. When it stopped to try and identify what had made the meek little clunk noise against the metal floor, Violet knocked the Defendron over and stole its keys while its sirens were going off and the other guards were being alerted.

As she unlocked her door and ran across the length of the upper rim of the prison to escape the guards, she hit the button that unlocked the other cells, filling the prison with inmates to buy her enough time to make an escape. While the guards were busy fighting off any immediate threats, Violet dove out the back door that the dwarf maids used to bring in and take out the cart that carried all the guards’ dirty laundry and snuck around the perimeter until she found a manhole leading down into a sewer. She crawled into it and followed the sewer until she reached a pipe spewing thick green liquid out into the hot desert sand. The moment Violet put her feet on the shifty, white sand, she was free.

 Like I said, this is the story as reported to the people within “the Ruby Curse” world. Is this the true story? No one but Violet knows. 

BLURB:

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes... though they're not usually escaped convicts. Seventeen-year-old Violet Seymour is the only person to ever escape the highest maximum security prison in the steam-and-clockwork powered nation of Arcova. She is also a link in an ancient bloodline of heroes. When mages start going missing, Violet is the only person who can find them.

Excerpt:

I gripped the bars, feeling the subtle serration in the slick metal. Slowly I took in a deep breath of air, sticky with the summer heat, and released it slowly and with great focus. Nothing else mattered but the almost painful constriction of my lungs beneath my ribcage.

A supernatural warmth rushed over me, riding on the back of each breath. I felt it soaking my muscles and my blood. It was euphoric.

Bones snapped mercilessly under my skin. They shifted and twisted and grew. I bit on the inside of my cheek to keep from screaming, but ended up drawing blood instead.

My fingernails grew slowly, sharpening until they were four small knives slicing my palm open. Blood flowed freely down the length of my hand. I knew that strange, warm wetness anywhere. It dribbled off my wrists and onto the floor.

Hot wind pressed against my face — or maybe my temperature was rising. The flames of Hell licked my face, jarring my consciousness awake to the sensation of cold moisture beading my face like dew. I focused on it—obsessed over it. Keeping aware of it kept my mind tethered to where I was and what I was doing. If I ever let my mind wander too far…

­­­One feeling always begets another. When each breath became a labored chore and I felt my shoulders grinding together, separating and morphing my tiny frame into something else entirely, I yelled and my eyes flew open.

Author Bio and Links:

Makayla Yokley is a college student who lives in Kansas with her somewhat evil cat named Cujo. She likes to write fiction of all genres. Currently she is majoring in Liberal Arts.

Where to find me:

(Fan page on Facebook) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Makayla-Yokley/231164716982029

(Blog) http://www.theforgotten-kingdom.webs.com/

Buy a copy of “The Ruby Curse” at:

(Paperback and Kindle)http://www.amazon.com/The-Ruby-Curse-Makayla-Yokley/dp/1479117471/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_1

(Nook) http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/206917

   

Makayla will award a free digital copy of The Ruby Curse via Smashwords to one commenter at every stop.

The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2012/12/virtual-book-tour-ruby-curse-by-makayla.html