Chandelier by Michael Leon

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Chapter Reveal

This week's blog provides an excerpt from Chapter 16 of Chandelier. Carlotta is concerned about events happening in the Garnier and fears for her protege, Christine that she is being misled by her previous lover, Philippe. So she visits Madame Giraud for guidance on helping Christine and facing her own fears of permanent memory loss.

***

"I wish only to remember again. It's as if my mind refuses to cooperate with my will. I read and hear terrible things about my behaviour. Are they true?"

"I'm not sure. I can say if there is an Opera Ghost, you truly gained his attention. Your fall from grace as Europe's finest diva was a dark period for our opera company. Deaths, deception, revenge all pervaded that time. I have learnt that dark times evoke a force that is a wrathful master. You felt it more keenly than most."

"Will I remember again?" Carlotta implored.

"Memory will always return, but only when the time is right. You are repaying a debt by helping Christine. That will surely go a long way to recalibrating your emotional disturbance."

"She is in distress. I don't know whether to tell her of my experience with Philippe. She still holds on to her love for him."

"Forces in the past have been deadly, but they always seemed to protect the music of love. Stay faithful to that, Carlotta," said Madame Giraud. She was about to say more, but something caught her attention.

She reached out to the seats behind them as if feeling for the strange force she spoke about before swiftly retracting her hand. "I must go now. We will speak again, but for now, cast your gaze to the stage and try to remember your last performance." Madame Giraud brushed Carlotta's hair as if clearing her troubled mind before leaving her alone in Box 5.

Carlotta looked down to the stage, studying the area where she had seen the light float above Viola, then tried to remember back to the time she reigned the opera world. A flash of memory jolted her, giving rise to a single powerful thought. She stood in precisely the same space Viola occupied when she collapsed on stage. That same light had ended her performance. Was it the Opera Ghost? Then a second more disturbing image returned. Another man stood in Philippe's place who had the same expression for Christine that Philippe had for Viola. It was Erik Destler, the man she had desired and perhaps loved. He had deceived her in front of the world, embarrassing her in front of her loving fans. His evil eyes terrified her, not because of what he did but of who he was. She recognised his eyes and realised they belonged to someone she trusted.

CHANDELIER is the genre-bending sci-fi/fantasy-romance novel follow up of Michael Leon’s 2019 fantasy-romance book, PHANTOMS. A century has passed since the fabled Phantom ruled the Garnier Opera House. Technology has advanced, and AI has evolved beyond human knowledge. They reside in a virtual Earth, free from the ravages of an environmentally damaged Earth where humans and post-humans live under AI’s qualified governance. CHANDELIER follows one AI sentient’s journey, Benny, whose loyalty for a famous opera singer, Madame D’Arenberg, sets him on a dangerous course, entangling him in The Phantom of the Opera’s deadly web.

About the Author:

Michael Leon is an explorer, writer and author of the new novel, Sentient. Professionally trained in international trade, Michael has spent the last decade reading and writing SFF novels about new worlds to be explored in the future. His latest work, Sentient, imagines Earth in the year 2120. His next novel, Chandelier, will be released in 2022. Michael has travelled extensively around Europe, walking the paths of his characters, from the famous European opera houses in Phantoms to the mountain tops of Switzerland in Emissary.

Website: https://www.michaelleon.com.au
Twitter: https://twitter.com/michaelleon0433
Blogger: https://michaelleoncommentspage.blogspot.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5369984.Michael_Leon
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Michael-Leon/e/B01LNQALBW%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

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