Wordless Chronicles
by Susannah Noel - 2013

Today, I want to share a little bit about the world of the Wordless Chronicles, my paranormal/dystopian series. Two books of the series have been released so far, Word and Breath and Word and Deed. The world of the Wordless Chronicles is a dystopian one where the civilized world is ruled by an oppressive, totalitarian government and where most people can no longer read.

In this world, paranormal creatures called Soul-Breathers have appeared, and no one knows where they came from. Soul-Breathers can know someone intimately just by touching them. They make a deep connection—called “breathing”—through skin-to-skin contact. Through that connection, they can feel what someone else is feeling, extract particular memories, relieve intense emotion, and even intensify certain feelings. Mikel, the Soul-Breather hero of the books, explains it this way: “What I do isn't artificial or unnatural. It’s just human—revved up a bit.”

To show how Soul Breathers interact with others, I’m including a short excerpt below from Word and Deed.

***

Riana felt a little dizzy from excitement and sensation as she started down to the street level with Mikel.

She’d forgotten how intoxicating it was to be breathed in by him. It was like nothing else she’d ever experienced.

He kept doing it in glancing touches—a light brush of his hand on hers—as if he couldn't help himself. Each time he did so, tingles or jolts of feeling would rush through her.

It was very distracting, particularly when they’d been in the same room as Connor, who’d been looking concerned and vaguely disapproving.

When Mikel reached out as they walked down the stairs and brushed his fingers across the skin at the nape of her neck, opening a shivering connection, Riana instinctively clamped down her mind around the inner tug.

She’d never done that before when he touched her, and she was shocked at the resulting feeling—like she’d violently thrust Mikel away from her with only the power of her mind.

He sucked in a sharp breath and pulled his hand away with a jerk.

“Sorry,” she gasped, feeling like she’d just slapped him. “I’m sorry. I didn't mean to do it like that. It’s just too much too soon. I need a little space to get used to you again. To get to know you again.” She peered up at him, hoping she hadn't hurt his feelings.

His expression relaxed. “I understand.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy to see you,” she added.

“I know you’re happy to see me. I felt it. Remember?”

Riana flushed at the knowledge of how clearly he would have sensed how thrilled she was at his return. It made her feel completely vulnerable. Naked in a way she never felt around anyone but him.

“Just tell me if I’m being pushy.” Mikel raised a hand to caress her cheek, but he didn't open a connection. “ I've been waiting a long time to be with you again. I might be overly eager.”

Susannah wrote her first paranormal novel when she was twelve years old--a time-travel romance written in a spiral-bound notebook that eventually starred all her friends. Since then, she has been writing romantic fiction of all varieties, including paranormal, contemporary, and historical. She can usually be found working on her laptop.

She has a PhD in British literature and teaches at a university in Virginia. She is currently working on the second Wordless Chronicle.