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Synopsis: Chloe Kassidy has just been accepted into one of Manhattan’s
most exclusive art exhibits, Love Through Light. However, with her singular
dedication to her career, she soon realizes that in sacrificing her personal
life, she has never been in love. A hopeless romantic who is terrified of heartbreak,
Chloe begins to enlist the help of her circle of friends to learn about love
through their very different stories and experiences.
In Chloe’s emotional rollercoaster to having the greatest
love story ever told, she’ll learn that like her photography she must use the
negatives in life to develop and prove that she’s a strong woman who found her
way to love through light.
In this excerpt, Chloe is anxiously awaiting for the
envelope to arrive that contains her destiny. To continue, you can view the
book trailer here
:
http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn
Chapter
2
My love for photography had led me down an unimaginable
career path. Most currently, it led me to anxiously sitting on a stoop outside
the New York City mid-rise building that contained my overpriced one-room
apartment. I closed my eyes, allowing the morning light to calm me while I took
in the delightful bird chirps and excruciating taxi beeps of the East Village,
ignoring the slight smell of urine that accosted my senses.
I started my
afternoon again with stalking. I eagerly awaited the mailman’s arrival between
1:06 and 1:13 p.m., while he transported paper fate, sporting his pale blue
polyester trousers, tucked in long-sleeve shirt pressed, and Converse sneakers.
We lived and loved
through technology, so I was frustrated that my fate was arriving via snail
mail and the timing matched every part of the description. Technology was the
trusted source of banking transactions, meeting your husband, ordering your
groceries, making restaurant reservations and even spying on your pets through
a kennel cam while sunburning on a beach. But today, this life-altering letter
crawled its way to me by a government official, a man I rarely saw, and never
exchanged words with. I was waiting to hear if my dream would come true, and
dreading it would never be.
“Good afternoon,” I said, with a smile, merely
able to stare at the navy stripe that lined his pant leg. The clock showed that
it was 1:11 p.m. I made a wish.
“What a surprise,”
he muttered, while he manhandled the heavy stack wrapped with a thick, green
rubber band and passed by me. I studied him meticulously stocking the empty
boxes, one by one, approaching my slot.
“Do you mind if I
just grab the mail for three-C, please?” I interrupted.
“If that’s what
it’ll take,” he moaned.
Between my J. Crew catalogue and my
electric bill was a fancy rectangle of heavy stock ivory paper with gold
trim. I squeezed the four-by-six response card. Contained in this saliva-sealed
envelope were the words that would inevitably change my life. The weight of
those words was heavy in my fingers and I was hesitant to open it. Without the
answer the card contained, I still was able to hold onto hope.
My destiny was in my lap with the warmth of
the sun counteracting the fresh chill October presented while I flipped from
sweating to freezing like an on/off switch. I reassured myself it was only
rejection. I had my health and photography. Whether it was amateur or professional,
it was still my first love. Even if it was a two-letter response, I would
remember my love for art, and how every time I shot I searched for the immense
beauty that existed within the balance, tone, and temperature of my tiny frame.
Having an image worth a thousand words was never my intention. I wanted to
capture one word to describe each photograph. One word can define everything, love being a true example. There is
something compelling about visualizing a picture and capturing it. There is nothing
compelling about the words, We regret to
inform you.
My fingers
trembled and taking a couple photographs would be soothing. Photography to me
was the perfect cocktail: one part heart, one part head, a dose of imagination,
with a splash of patience.
The
tearing of the envelope felt like scratches on my heart. I proceeded with
caution, hoping this document wouldn’t be only a keepsake to remind me what if.
Inch
by inch, I slid out the card to reveal the twelve-point Apple Chancery font and
held it to the light, observing the maker’s name in the watermark. Rubbing my
index finger over the engraved symbol, I was impressed. The brand, Smythson of
Bond Street stationery, supplied paper to the British royal family. I was
holding the same stationery as the Queen.
________________________
Dear Miss Kassidy,
We write to inform you of your acceptance
into the exclusive Bruce Smith Gallery as part of our exhibit for emerging
artists, hosted by curator Grayson Gates. You will be receiving your review and
luncheon date via e-mail. Please be prepared to present your theme for the Love
Through Light exhibit within the deadline. You will be required to exhibit
three pieces.
Opening Night & Reception
Friday, February 7, 8:00 p.m.
Bruce Smith Gallery
504 West 22nd Street
________________________
I read your acceptance at least ten times,
intoxicated with excitement and then Love
Through Light offered a swift sobering sense of reality. I began to panic.
I couldn’t deny the exhibit theme made me uncomfortable.
The Love Through Light exhibit was inspired
by the word photography itself and
its Greek meaning, writing with light.
As the emerging artists in Grayson Gates’s exhibit, we were to create stories
of love. Instead of ink, we would be writing with our three photographs.
I composed a text to Stephanie, Kate, and
Emma, my inner circle. I’m in!
Our bonds from
beginnings to endings were unbendable. Each our own elements, but together our
friendship made a rare metal.
Cari Kamm has worked
in the beauty industry for over a decade, building brands, working behind the
scenes, and even selling her own skin care line. She has a master’s in clinical
nutrition from New York University. Kamm currently works in corporate social
media management with clients in the beauty, fashion, and restaurant
industries. Living in New York City with her mutt Schmutz, Kamm loves finding
inspiration in the most unexpected places, being a novelist, and convincing her
fiancé that ordering takeout and making dinner reservations are equal to
cooking. More information can be found on her website,
CariKamm.com. To check out the book trailer,
click here:
http://tinyurl.com/bdr7bfn
