Virtual Tour: Sounds of War by Cindy Chen

By







YA, Historical Fiction
Date Published: September 19, 2014  

 People were dying. Bodies were lying along the streets. Air raid sirens were about to go off at any moment. Nobody was shown any mercy. For Anna, life had always been about music. An aspiring pianist and composer, she studied at the renowned Leningrad Conservatoire under some of the greatest musicians to ever walk the face of the Earth. Her studies came to a halt, however, when Nazi troops surrounded Leningrad in September, 1941, intending to shell and starve the city into submission. She watched as her oncebeautiful city transformed in front of her eyes: people became living skeletons, their only food being a mere 125 grams of ration bread a day; buildings were reduced to rubble, pieces of bricks and broken glass strewn along the streets; cats, dogs, rats, and horses disappeared as people chose to eat them instead. One by one, the citizens of Leningrad were losing hope, and Anna was desperately trying to find a reason to hold on and a way to continue… Sounds of War is a poignant tale about the strength of human determination and the power of great music. 

Excerpt:

In this unpredictable world, music was the only thing we could control.
“I’m glad you’re staying,” he told me in between of one of the pieces.
“Me too,” I replied. I was comforted by the fact that for just a little while more, my life here in Leningrad would remain the same. As the notes rang out in the halls of the Conservatoire, and as my fingers moved alongside Isaak’s on the keyboard, I felt content. Safe. I knew where the phrases began and ended, and I knew which notes came next. The double bar lines at the end of the piece allowed me to draw the piece to an end, and the music notations told me what to do and how to manipulate the sound. I was always in control of the music.
... but I was completely at the mercy of the war.


About the Author:
A Taiwan native, Cindy Chen immigrated to the United States when she was 9 and lived there ever since. She started writing at age fourteen and started writing longer works of fiction in 2013 when she first participated in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). At age sixteen, she was awarded second place at the Georgia PTA Reflections contest in the literature category with her short story “To Believe,” and at age seventeen, she published her first book titled Sounds of War as part of her high school senior project. Though currently a student at Cornell University with the hopes of pursuing a career in the medical field, she enjoys playing the viola, blogging, and making youtube videos in her spare time and considers writing one of her greatest passions. 

Contact Information 

Purchase Links:





Comments

Post a Comment

Have Your Say!

Popular posts from this blog

Release Blitz: Cocktales: An Anthology

By
Image
Cocktales , a limited-release anthology of original, never before published material, from some of your favorite bestselling authors is available now! Each story was specifically written for this anthology. The goal of the Cocktales Anthology is to raise funds to fight against obstruction of creative expression. Specifically, what we believe are obstruction attempts through the trademarking of common (single) words for titicular use in books / or as a book series (eBooks, print, and audio). Cocktales will only be available May 26th-August 26th. Download your copy today: Amazon: https://amzn.to/2InBckG Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/Cocktales Amazon Print: https://amzn.to/2rUn33i iBooks: https://apple.co/2IoO7CM Nook: https://bit.ly/2k0i25J Kobo: http://bit.ly/2IIixiH Google Play: https://bit.ly/2ImisBR Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/CockTalesGR Contributing Authors Include: Nana Malone, USA Today Bestselling author – Foreword
Read more

The Secret Star by K.C. Finn

By
Image
It was just another day for 35-year-old-turning-36-tomorrow Jeffrey Mercier, when he woke up on his flat in London in 1969. He went on with his usual routine, going to work for his boring job at Harlan and Locke. It did seem to be an ordinary day, until a young woman told him that he's gonna die in ten minutes if he won't go out of the building. Of course he didn't believe her, yet he found himself outside the building ten minutes later, the building blown up. He was saved again from a stampede by the same young woman whom he met ten minutes ago, introducing herself as Marie-Elizabeth Giraud. Marie was tasked to save Jeff from death and take him to the Time Agency, where he's going to be inducted as a time agent. Later that day, Jeffrey Mercier's life as Mister Mercy begins.
Read more

Blog Hop Giveaway:Switched by Cassie Mae

By
Image
Switched by Cassie Mae was a funny and often frustrating read but highly entertaining. Kayla, Wesley, Reagan and Talon were all friends. Reagan and Talon were a couple while Kayla and Wesley, well they've been pining for these two since high school. Told from Kayla's point of view, she, dragging Wesley along hatches a plan to break the happy couple apart. Because as everyone can see Talon is her soulmate while Wesley is Reagan's. Thus starts the funs and the laughs and the musical chairs between the four. Kayla as a character was frustrating initially for me, I have no idea whether its because she was being an evil bestfriend to Reagan or she really was in love with Talon. I could not really hate nor empathize with her at the start. As the story progressed and the romance part began, her sudden self awareness becomes believable. The pace, the tone and style of writing was excellent. I can see that Cassie Mae has developed her own unique voice in the
Read more