Excerpt: Encore: A Contemporary Love Story of Hypnotic Abduction by Tantra Bensko
ENCORE
A Contemporary Love Story of Hypnotic Abduction
Tantra Bensko
Series: The Agents of the Nevermind Book 3
Genre: Psychological Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Gothic Novel
Publisher: Insubordinate Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2018
Genre: Psychological Suspense, Romantic Suspense, Gothic Novel
Publisher: Insubordinate Books
Publication Date: October 1, 2018
Hypnotized to believe she's his wife.
A troupe in England performs the history of a gem which features in legends of Shambhalla and Atlantis. The troupe's hypnotist, Dune, has made them famous, especially his wife Susan, who is the star.
After the star's disappearance before the show, her standby, Miriam, takes Susan's place. Dune always hypnotizes the standbys to believe they are the actors they replace: the post-hypnotic suggestion ends when the final curtain lands, and they remember their identity. Before the curtain lands, Dune whisks Miriam to a castle.
Meanwhile, Miriam's friend, Colin, who just kissed her for the first time, seeks against all odds to rescue her, though she's told he's a crazed criminal.
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Excerpt
I spotted a new art piece on the wall. A flamingo on fire. Underneath it, a golden scroll proclaimed: BENNU. A bit on-the-nose.Underneath it the placard stated: “When the bird’s end approaches, it builds a nest for its own rebirth. It sets fire while sitting inside. From the ashes, it rises again, young once more, and more potent. Making an egg from ashes, it delivers it to the sun god.”
The Kev, with a gleam in his eyes, rambunctiously pretended to be that reborn flamingo. He got me laughing, as he jumped on top of a crate, pretending it was the BenBen cube that Bennu mounted. Campy Kev balanced on one foot, elongating his neck. He shot off jogging around the room, hissing and fluttering his arms, as if they were wings on fire. When he concluded, we applauded. Kev played a more animated and adorable Bennu than Susan or I ever was. I’d miss those fun and games. A tear came to my eye.
A Latino stranger, who must have done well in the auditions as Susan’s replacement, wandered around the edges of the room. I might as well go home to bed. For the director to invite her backstage before casting her — that seemed ominous. She looked nothing like me. I’d never be her standby. And, she looked more exotic and sexually available than me, so the judges might give her more votes. But she wasn’t allowed to be in that room long, as she’d catch us doing our secret techniques. The time drew near.
Susan and I applied matching theatrical make-up, looking at each other while leaning toward the mirror lit with lights. I, who resembled her so closely naturally, become even more of a replica brush stroke by stroke, powder grain by powder grain, deception by deception. I sat close to her in front of the mirror, the skin on my arm prickling with the impingement of her aura on mine.
Susan's pointy chin lifted, as she arched elegant eyebrows, plucking the stray hairs, her skin, grayed, gaunt from cancer. I used the sable brush for hollow cheeks and narrow temples and I plucked tiny stubble to keep my brows raised. My younger face molded itself into Susan's, my blond hair dyed to match her slightly different shade. I used more concealer to cover up the tiny scars where I’d had my rebellious moles removed, even the ones no one would see through my outfit, a duplicate.
Daily, I’d prepared for the show, practicing emulating Susan’s mannerisms, and ready to be her doppelgänger in case she fell down stairs, left due to an emergency, or got an attack of wheezing.
The more aura I breathed in regularly, the more it seemed I remembered about her life. Advanced, freaky occult stuff. I’d read about those things or heard them in the indie-news about the elite. I wondered how Susan felt about all that, but she never answered when I asked. Neither did Dune. That made me think they swore to secrecy and were truly connected to the Nevermind.
Book Tour Schedule
Follow the book tour from October 13 - November 2, 2018.
Visit each tour stop daily and discover more features, excerpts, reviews, interviews, fun facts and more! To check the latest tour schedule, visit the Encore: A Contemporary Love Story of Hypnotic Abduction Book Page at Book Unleashed.
Other Books in the Series
In these contemporary psychological suspense novels, unlikely heroes work to expose how intelligence agents fund and perform social engineering. To end coups and proxy wars, the heroes must overcome the effects of gaslighting and discover who they are. Can their lovers help put the pieces together before it's too late?
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About Tantra Bensko
Tantra Bensko, MFA, teaches fiction writing with UCLA Extension Writing Program and Writers.com. She is a manuscript editor with Book Butchers and her own Online Writing Academy. She won a gold medal in Intrigue from Readers Favorites. Hundreds of her stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies. She lives in Berkeley.
Website: http://www.insubordinatebooks.com
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3 Sets of Books 1 and 2 in The Agents of the Nevermind series: Glossolalia and Remember to Recycle (eBooks)
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