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Patricia Reding
a book bubble about
Oathtaker
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
Scent
People who know me and who read Oathtaker are not surprised to find how much I rely on "smell" in the story. I read once that our sense of smell is located in the most primitive part of our brain and that it can evoke powerful memories. I know it does for me. So, it should come as no surprise that I enjoy wearing different fragrances. One thing I've done repeatedly over the years is to purchase a new fragrance before going to a special event, or on a trip. While away from home, I wear it everywhere. When I return home and wear the same thing, I find myself suddenly transported to those magic places I visited during my travels. I also purchase new fragrances for special people before their special events--like weddings. My daughter-in-law still tells me that the perfume I purchased for her wedding day (Vera Wang's Princess), transports her back to that day whenever she wears it. Likewise, I picked up a bottle of Lancome's Est Belle la Vie, before she and I traveled to NYC a few years ago. We both wore it during our trip. Now, whenever she smells it, she returns--in her mind--to all the wonderful times we had in the city.
Book Excerpt
Oathtaker
In an instant, the smell of the air changed. Earlier, an intense, almost floral-like scent had piqued Mara’s curiosity, driving her to follow this particular wooded path to find the source of the fragrance. It compelled her to follow her nose, though it took her far from her intended track. But now there came a pervading stench. It reeked of danger, was rank like decay, like death.
For a moment she thought she could make out the smell of blood, but a survey of the trail around her revealed none. Intensely alert, she recalled an instructor having surmised that blood was red because the color screamed danger! Big on colors and smells, he encouraged his students to give careful consideration to them. “Smelling danger in advance,” he lectured, “can be an important skill, as it may serve to keep one from coming upon it casually or unaware.”
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