Spotlight Author Blog Tour, @ChuckWesJ

Good morning, bloggers!

Today, it is my pleasure to welcome Author, Charles Jones.

Enjoy!!

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Circus Tarot is the first in the Circus Tarot Trilogy, beginning the strange journey of Mary and Darrin. Many have asked why only three in the series, and I don’t have a good answer. I get flashes of things to do to continue the series, but I’ve done nothing to start the endeavor. Maybe, one day.

One of my favorite scenes in all three books is Chapter 4 when Darrin is whisked into World Circus and he has no idea where he is or how he came to be there. Please enjoy, and I hope it doesn’t scare you too much that you don’t pick up a copy.

Chapter 4

“What are you doing out here, Knight?” A voice hissed in the fading evening light.

He looked up—the red-and-white cloth in his hand—at a Clown with orange and green hair, wearing a puffy, purple shirt and black-and-white, wide-striped pants. The narrow, white face held large green eyes above a round, red nose centered over a mouth filled with pointy teeth, which Darrin assumed the reason for the hissing speech. In his left hand dangled a bucket.

“Have you gone deaf, Knight?” the Clown snapped.

“Sorry,” he replied and stuffed the cloth into his jacket pocket. “I didn’t—”

“Didn’t what? Didn’t know you are in Clown Wood without permission?”

“In what?” he answered, eyes darting to the darkening tangle of trees around them.

“In what, indeed?” the Clown became more agitated. Dropping his bucket, he approached Darrin. Saliva built up at the corners of his mouth oozed in tendrils, threatening to plummet to the ground with the bucket. When he came within a foot of Darrin, he stopped, breathing through parted crimson lips. Darrin’s stomach gurgled with the stench of rotten eggs and sauerkraut emitting from the Clown. “Your trespass gives me the right to rip your throat out with my teeth,” he continued. “You know the rules.”

Darrin pulled the foil from his belt, but not raising it, and said, “Where is Mary, Ace?”

The Clown squinted. “She definitely is not out here, Knight.” Spittle flew from his mouth when he spoke. Stepping closer, he moved his soft-overstuffed belly into Darrin. “Don’t you think you should be moving on?”

Darrin stared into the Clown’s eyes, finding only darkness in them, no color from the iris, just black. He gripped his foil, intent on defending himself if he needed, but did not back away.

“I’m going to ask you one more time, Ace,” he said calmly, though adrenaline shot through his veins. “Where is Mary?”

Ace of Buckets flared his nostrils making the gum paste holding the red nose cap pulse forward and back. “Not. Out. Here,” he growled. “They aren’t kept out here in Clown Wood.” He bounced his belly forward again, pushing Darrin backward.

“Who?” Darrin began to ask, as the Clown pulled back his hips and belly, ready for another attack.

“Have you gone stupid too?” he asked, launching his body forward, slamming into Darrin. The force knocked him to the ground. The Clown stood over him, looking down with a wicked smile. His sharp, pointy teeth glittered in the last ray of sunlight.

“Leave him alone, Ace,” a voice came from behind them. The Clown looked over his shoulder to see a boy and a girl Clown in matching yellow polka dot silk jumpsuits standing behind him, each holding a bucket.

“You know we’re in treaty,” the girl continued. Darrin lifted his head and looked between Ace of Bucket’s legs at the two standing behind him. The setting sun made their orange, curly hair look as though it were on fire.

“I don’t care about the treaty,” Ace of Buckets hissed.

Taking advantage of the Clown focusing on the pair, Darrin slowly pulled himself away without returning his foil to its sheath. When he was a full body’s length away, he sprang from the ground, running into the trees. The Clown snapped his head around, hearing the Knight’s heavy footfalls, and hissed a giggle.

“I’ll see you again, Knight. And next time I won’t be so forgiving.”

About Circus Tarot

In the strange land of World Circus, Mary and Darrin discover they aren’t in their safe, dull life any longer, but have taken the identity of one of the cards from the Circus Tarot. After a terrorizing encounter, resulting in death, they learn the bizarre rules of the land, and discover that the denizens of the sinister World Circus want more than to entertain them.

Don’t forget to get your copy of Circus Tarot at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00785VJIW.

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Find Charles W Jones at the following places

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChuckWesJ

Facebook: https://facebook.com/ChuckWesJ

Website: https://charleswjonesauthor.com