Hello everyone, this used to be the first chapter of 30N sequel but it has now been removed so that the story can be published. Hopefully you will soon hold it in your hands. Thank you so checking and hope to see you soon! – Ani.
Song: Suo Gan, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lapculOfR0
Check out the images on 30 Nights Pinterest. http://www.pinterest.com/anisurnois/30-nights-of-snow/
Thank you for the wonderful support!
90 Days of Hale ©2013 Ani Surnois
If this chapter is any indicator this story will be better than previous, and that story was awesome.
Aww thank you Danielle!!! I am so glad you like it! I was nervous as hell over this one. Thank you for commenting. xo.
I am thrilled to see a new chapter for 90 days … I am much more interested in the continuation of the story than a reworking of the first book. I hope you will continue with this.
Thanks HP. I will likely continue with both because there are a lot of new readers that have not read the first book. And a lot that want to read it in the original. So, a bit of everything to keep up with everyone. Glad you are happy to see it. I hope you enjoyed it.
I just read the new chapter of 90 Days of Hale and what can I say? You’ve out done your previous work. I feel like staring at and re-reading it multiple times, to make sure I haven’t missed the smallest of details. I’m sure I’ll be able to do that when I can successfully get tears to stop blurring my vision. I don’t think it’ll be very soon, as this was emotionally exhausting.
I loved every part of it, Ani. You should be proud of accomplishing the impossible. You actually made that arduous, long wait worth while and somehow managed to make your writing even better. Thank you.
Oh wow! Thank you so much H!! That was high praise indeed. Though I am sorry you cried (I did too though and i almost never cry at my own writing). I am speechless that you liked it so much. With that standard, I have nowhere to go but down. 🙂 Thank you again!!
I’m sure you’ll be capable of exceeding your own expectations and those are the hardest to meet.
Boy, you really got my tears flowing with this chapter. Such a bittersweet start to an amazing sequel. I sat at my computer feeling every emotion Elisa must have felt, picked every flower, ran in her footsteps, could even feel the pain from her ulcer because you painted such a realistic picture with your words. I haven’t stopped crying yet. Beautiful, Ani, simply beautiful. Thank you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to buy more Kleenex!
Aww, Nan!! Thank you so much. I am so glad you enjoyed it. It was a hard emotional chapter for her, and I love that you were there with her for every step. Thanks!!
There are no words now ….
Yes, there are from me: thank you 😉
is beautiful
Merci Nini.
Ani, so beautiful, so sad. I will need to reread but the symbolism, the heat of the grave, the song that woke her, the stutter.. I love it all as much as it made me cry, I am so glad to see the start of book 2 and as I say constantly to you, I so want to hold book 1 and book 2 in my hands so that I can give them to some people I know who need to read them.
Thank you as always for your beautiful words and for sharing them with us.
Thank you Wattle!! Yes, there is a lot of symbolism on this one. My hubby almost suggested starting a “trivia” like those “how many…. can you see?” when i told him. I am sure you will catch them and my clues because you know my writing by now. 🙂
Wow. So emotional. My heart breaks for Elisa. Please updatesoon.
Thanks Cyndi – yes, she left me an emotional wreck too. 🙂
Beautiful and heartbreaking. However I know why you had to take the story here. It makes sense. Elise has never allowed herself to fully face and grieve her loss. I am reading Ghost Rider, Journeys on the Healing Road, about Neal Peart who lost his wife and daughter and dog within 1 year’s time and took to the road on his motorcycle to help heal what he calls his “baby soul”. Elise had a purpose to finish her father’s work and now she has work to do in order to become whole. We cannot allow love or anything else to do our grieving for us. The song your picked: perfect.
Thanks for commenting and understanding Mari. Yes, this is the right direction for her. she needs to face it so that she can move on and be stronger. as i have said before, i think it takes two strong individuals for a strong love, even if at times they go through hard stuff. but they both have death and loss in their past and they need to heal first. Oh and I am glad you liked the song. it sounds like a lullaby to me – exactly what i think she needed by that grave.
This chapter is perfection. I imagined it as a movie the first scene starting here, then fading into the 1st chapter. I reared up.
“Teared”. I can’ t wait for the next chapter.
Thanks 1klkelly – it’s interesting but when I write, I always “See” it first, then put it in words. so when you say you imagined it as a movie, that made me happy.
Beautiful, emotional and well worth the wait. My heart ached for Elisa in the beginning. But by the end of the chapter, I’m firmly convinced that she will be okay. Her strength was beyond admirable. I have no doubt that Peter and Clare are proud of her. Her biggest goal now, is finding out who she is now that she’s no longer running from a past she couldn’t face and trying to save a threatened dream. I can’t wait to read more of Elisa’s journey. Lovely chapter.
I loved her “here i am” moment!! It’s exactly phoenix from the ashes and i think that’s her true strength. i have always said, she teaches me more than i teach her.
Wonderful chapter! I have missed this story and the characters! 🙂
Thanks Kayla!!! I had missed them too. 🙂
I’m speechless, Ani. My emotions have trapped my words, perhaps a stutter of my own? Either way this chapter was powerful beyond measure.
** Whatever it is, the answer to the question I fell asleep asking, comes to me. ** I feel, at rock bottom, Elisa allowed Clare to reach her in this moment. The sway of the trees is where hope exists.
I sincerely fear Aiden’s POV. Off to find Baci in bulk.
Awww Wendy, yes, Baci is needed. I should have put a warning. I myself ate 5 while writing it. 🙂 I am so thankful for your kind words. Aiden’s POV will come – he is in hell. If anyone is in deeper hell than Elisa, it’s him.
Love, love, love.
Keep. Writing!
Thank you so much!! love, love, love your comment. 🙂
That was a very moving and touching chapter. Love this story.
Thanks Annette. So glad you liked it. Yes, i was a bit teary-eyed too and I don’t usually cry at my own writing.
Your writing is beautiful. My words would be inadequate so I will just say, thank you.
Mercia, thank you so much. I’ll try to keep it up. 🙂
Ani, may I ask if there will be a new heading on this web site for book two?
Good question! I will try to see if the website format allows it. It’s one of those free formats and i have limited flexibility but i will talk to my computer friend (i’m hopeless with this stuff) and see if i can make it work. Will let you know!! Thanks.
Love this
Thank you!!!
Beautiful! I would say it was worth the wait, but I am soooo impatient to read more!!!! Ani, you write with such depth and I have such an appreciation for Isa each and every chapter. Can’t wait to read more.
Ha ha – i am glad you enjoyed it and that you like my Isa. Thank you so much for commenting!
Oh Ani your words are so beautiful. I have missed this story so much and, greedily I know, I just want it all now. Your descriptions of everything are so amazing that you actually had me right there by that cottage, by their grave the whole time. How heartbreaking for poor Elisa, walking back to her childhood home unable to notice the surrounds. …”The rose vines flutter in the wind, like a nod. Strange how human beings will find signs to confirm what they want to hear” – How absolutely true that is and I suppose many of us are guilty of doing that. I love that Elisa’s mind is starting to “stutter” and when she has a moment to think of past events I just know that she will make sense of what happened. Thank you thank you thank you Ani. Can’t wait to read more.
Thank you Karen! What a thoughtful review. I am guilty of seeing signs sometimes when i feel most helpless and scared, and i think we all do. Elisa, being of rational mind even amidst grief, is able to acknowledge her irrationality whereas I cannot. 🙂 Thank you again!!!
Oh Ani, your greatness with words has once again left me a mess. Such an emotional journey this chapter was; from the moment she got out of the cab, the 2,357 steps down the road, to the sprint to the oak tree. I felt a knot in my chest and a swell in my throat: this unyielding ache for how much pain she must have felt to be back in the land where her parents took their last breath was with me the entire time.
Her guilt for running from her parents, that stutter she shares with Aiden that tells her something is amiss, feeling as if she’s wasted this life that was given to her – how she remains afloat amidst all this chaos in her life is mind-blowing. I especially loved that she had hit ‘rock-bottom’, because then we see the rising of the phoenix towards the end of the chapter where she begins to find her strength once she’s decided what to do with herself. To be able to accept that she is really back to a place she thought she’d never return to, and to accept that her parents are gone but that she must learn to move on and be okay with that loss and to pick up the pieces, she’s slowly returning to the woman she was in America who had started to make a name for herself.
When she finally finds her words to speak, such a heartbreaking moment to hear her disappointment in herself. And to hear her talk about her love… in the past tense as if they were truly over and talking about loving someone else had me sobbing. Though I’m hopeful, as you said I would be, after reading this chapter. Hopefully soon, she’ll start to find that clarity she needs to read those letters and to listen to her mind and her heart that’s screaming at her telling her that her love for Aiden is not over.
I can’t wait for this new beginning of hers! xoxo
Oh my friend! Thank you so much for this and for breaking it down so carefully and thoughtfully. I especially loved your “phoenix from the ashes” metaphor and stole it in one of my responses because that’s how that moment was meant to be written. i don’t know that i could have had her strength but she did it all by her lonesome. I agree that for her character, when she saw her “rock bottom” she took control. Elisa has a control over her emotions and mind that I can only dream of having, as my FB SOA rants prove. ha ha. xoxoxo Thank you so much!!
How excited I was to wake to your email alert! A new chapter of Eliza’s story! And of course you did not disappoint. Still heart breaking, but beautiful. You have such a breath taking gift! By the end of the chapter you are so ready to cheer her on to find out who she is, you always knew she would, she is so strong! Looking forward to more chapters and holding your novel in my hands someday! Great job Ani!
Thanks Blondegirl3 – yay! I am glad you liked it and i didn’t let you down. always hard to say with sequels but in some ways, Elisa is writing herself at this point. I am so glad you see her strength and support her. she will need it. 🙂 I hope the book gets published too. maybe all of our positive thoughts will make some difference in the universe.
Ani, I felt like a butterfly on a branch watching and crying as Elisa faces her challenge to forge a new life taking the good from her old one accepting her truths and her weakness’s. I have missed the feelings you elicit in my heart. So nice to be a part of this journey. XX,L
Liz 🙂 what a beautiful comparison – butterfly on a branch!! I love that. i may steal it. I am so glad you enjoyed it and that Elisa can still touch your heart. XOXO
Amazing, just amazing.
Aww thanks *blushes and claps like a school girl* 🙂
Bonjour Ani
Je voulais te remercier d’avoir poster ce chapitre J’ADORE je trouve ton histoire extrêmement touchante, et j’apprécie énormément. Alors merci de me faire vivre des instants magiques et bonne continuation ^^
Thank you, Ani. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning and seeing the note that you have made a new posting. Everything else is instantly put on hold as I know it will deserve my complete attention!
This was so beautiful and touching. You paint amazing pictures with your words, I felt like I was right by Isa’s side. Ah, just broke my heart. And how interesting that this was one of the first scenes you envisioned. Would love to have seen your thought process in developing your story. I can’t imagine what kind of life and background you have that enables you to create like this…but what a blessing you are to your fans.
Wow! Thank you. Right now it feels like you’ve done the edits with lightspeed! You have a masterful vocabulary, using so many different words and yet no fancy schmancy ones that I can’t even imagine the meaning of. There’s something in your language that grips the reader as I’ve had trouble concentrating on reading the same story chapter for very long without a small break lately and yours — almost no break needed. Touched by the kindness of the stewardess, she really went above and beyond. Hope Isa isn’t getting a cold for sleeping outside, but it’s summer, isn’t it? At least it didn’t rain 🙂 I really look forward to what the rest of the book will bring.
Ask any parent what they want for their child and you will inevitably get the same answer. They want their child to be happy. Sure, we want our kids to be successful, to be honorable, to be faithful friends. But at the core we want them happy, and hope and pray that the rest will fall in place. I was so gutted when Elisa asks herself ” Who are we by a grave? We are who we were born to be. We are who we were in the eyes of those that knew us best.” She was born to find her own happiness and to chase her own dreams. In the eyes of her parents she was a precious, beloved daughter with a full life ahead of her. Perhaps this is why she feels she has let them down. Yes, she has accomplished so much…but was she finding her own way or was she finishing her parents life? That is why she needs to let them go. She has to discover her own passions, even if they are the same as her father’s like with the supplement, at least it was her decision and not her guilt or desire to keep them alive pushing her forward.
I was so relieved at the end of the chapter when she decided to put herself first. Our girl is coming back to life. Who would have ever thought it would take accepting death in order to live again.
Dear Ani,
I am stunned by your gift of word magic. So evocative…you paint with your literate brushes, and I LOVE it!
You crack my heart with Elisa’s pain…her sorrow so raw…her sensativity so visceral
Ani, as always, you’ve given us a beautifully written chapter. As many have already said here before, you have such a way with words…creating scenes and breathing life into these characters that feels so very palpable.
My favorite line is, ” I even fell in love. Yes, I did. Isn’t that astounding? In the middle of every end, yours, mine, ours, I found love. And I fell with all my senses, as you used to say, Mum. ”
Brava! Brava! Encore! Encore! 🙂
Oh my. I am still crying as I write this. Thank you for your beautiful writing.
Thrilled to read a new chapter :)..when is the first book getting published?
This was incredible!! I have been waiting to read this and just found it today 🙂 you are an incrdible writer and I do hope you continue with this story!!
Beautiful. Loved this chapter.
I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw your PM. I had to calm myself down because I had to remind myself that I am at work. It was light a bolt struck at the indication of another story. Needless to say I read it and believe me I have to prepare myself because somehow I am in a trance and am so full of emotion reading your story. Gosh you are like the paddles on a crash cart in an ER. As always your story leaves me in turmoil. Thank you for your time and your wonderful story. I am patiently waiting. Thank you.
It will be a slow process but a needed process. It broke my heart for her to wake at the grave but at the same time you can see the tiniest movement (not a full step) towards, or at least in the direction of closure & healing. I can’t wait for more! You are an absolutely brilliant writer!!!!!!!!!!! Well done!!!!!!!!
I have been waiting for so long to read the sequel to tmm that i cant believe its finally here. i cant wait to read this story in its completion. You are a fantastic and amazing writer and i do enjoy your story.
Merci pour ce beau texte, j’ai très hâte de lire la suite !!
Thanks for this beautiful text. I’m looking forward to reading you again !!
Please add me to your email alerts asto when you will post updates to the masters muse 2. My name is christian618 the email address is babytaz27@aol.com
Christin618 – I remember you!!! I’m glad you found my blog. Yes, I definitely will continue TMM2 (under the original title 90 Days) here on the blog. 🙂 I should have Chapter 2 up this week. I’ll add you to the alerts – you should get an email from the blog asking for you to confirm that you want to get the notices. Thank you!! Talk soon. xo, Ani
I’m sure you have probably answered this somewhere and I’ve missed it, but are you going to continue to add more chapters to “90 days of Hale”? Sorry if you are repeating yourself. I just absolutely love this story!!!
Laura, thanks for asking and no worries – yes, I absolutely plan to continue. I hope to have Chapter 2 posted this week. 🙂 The holidays plus the submission process to publishers took a bit longer than I expected. Thank you for liking my story and for checking in. xo, Ani