Kate Warren

the condensed writer

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Excerpt

An excerpt!

9/28/2013

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Dear readers and anyone who stumbles onto this site by accident,

Life has been decidedly difficult lately. It's a blustery, gray, rainy day, and my headaches have been an absolute plague in recent days.  So I've decided the best thing to do to break out of the doldrums is to share something with others.  That's right, a peek at the still-unfinished first draft of The DeFord Chronicles, Part II (preliminary cover image by Elizabeth Layne at left, isn't it awesome?).

Without further ado I shall go to my trusty random scrolling method and give you a scene from Chapter *drumroll* 15!  The scene: our hero, Chauncy DeFord is concerned about Lady Eleanor Boyd who has been recently widowed.  Her husband had been a close friend of Chauncy's.  The setting:  Eilding Castle, home of Lord and Lady Ralston.   Lady Ralston is the former Elizabeth Brighton, a girl who means more to our hero than he is comfortable with.




          Chauncy watched Eleanor carefully.  He had noted the change in her immediately upon seeing her. She was pale and thin and the light seemed to have gone out of her.  She spoke when spoken to, but rarely initiated conversation.  She was at her most animated with young Jocelyn, and she had been genuinely glad to see Chauncy and James but she was a far cry from her usual merry self.  She had no appetite and took little pleasure even in the performance of the minstrels in attendance.  
           There was little Chauncy could think to do.  If he was to learn anything more than the very little Eleanor had said he would have to speak with either Her Royal Highness, Princess Sophie, or with Lady Ralston.  It would be far easier for him to approach Lady Ralston, yet he was loath to do so.  He had thought he was prepared to see her mistress of Eilding, but he could not have been more mistaken.  The sight of her sweeping toward them to bid them welcome had been like a blow to the stomach.  When had he become so enamored of Elizabeth?  When had he begun thinking of her as Elizabeth?  Perhaps before she had wed Edward Ralston.  He should have abandoned that practice after he had learned of their marriage, but he did not care to think of her as Ralston’s wife. The man did not deserve her.
          Something was amiss in this household.  He could not put his finger on it, but there was a tension in the air that was not entirely owing to his own presence. Remarkable how his name alone had the power to make life difficult even for others.  Well he would be leaving in the morning with the prince, who was trying to catch his eye from across the great hall.  He casually worked his way to his highness’s circle and joined them, which caused Ralston to withdraw.  
           “Pray excuse me gentlemen,” His Royal Highness said.  “I have matters that need my attention.”  Turning to Chauncy he continued.  “Lord DeFord, would you accompany me?”
          “I am at your service, my lord prince.” Chauncy acquiesced.  
          Prince Nicholas waited until they were a goodly distance from the great hall, on the way to his chambers to speak.  “It is glad I am to see you.  And so is Sophie.  I do hope you enjoyed your visit with your cousin.”
          “I did indeed, your highness.”  Chauncy instinctively knew that they were not to discuss anything of import until they reached the prince’s chambers. “Jacqueline is ever the same.”
          “What is she like, your cousin?”
          Chauncy thought for a moment how best to describe her. “She is merry and clever, sweet and strong.  Hers is a difficult position.”  At a questioning glance from the prince, he continued.  “Widow of the only son, mother of the sole heir.  She has what could be considered a position of honor within the Baricaud family, yet she is also dependent upon their good will. They could not turn her out, but they could make her life very unpleasant.”
          Lines of disapproval formed at the corners of Nicholas’s mouth. 
“Yes, I imagine they could.”
          “Fortunately, her son worships her.  And as long as he does she is safe.”  Chauncy added. 
          They had now reached their destination.  Nicholas conferred briefly with his personal attendants before sending them out.  He crossed to a cruet on a crystal tray. “Wine?”
          “No, thank you, your highness.”  Chauncy glanced around the room at the gaudy display of wealth.  Gold was on every item possible and some that he had not known could be covered in it. Silks from the orient had been used for the upholstery.  Everywhere he looked he saw the trappings of one to whom status was all and taste was in short supply.  
           Nicholas noted Chauncy’s disapproval.  “Not to my taste either.  The room positively reeks of Ralston, does it not?”
          Chauncy should not have been surprised.  It was customary for visiting royalty and higher ranking noblemen to be given the best sleeping quarters available and those were always the master’s rooms.  He could not picture Elizabeth in the room without feeling faintly ill, so he turned his attention to the prince.  He had not long to wait.
          “I imagine you are curious as to why I brought you here.”  Nicholas began.
          “Indeed I am, your highness.” Chauncy replied.
          “Please dispense with the formality and call me by my name.” The prince insisted.
          Chauncy demurred. “I could not, your highness.”
          “Yes, well, you may not always be of that mind.” He paused to sip is wine.  “You know about Andrew Boyd.”  It was not really a question, and as such did not require an answer.  “And you also know that arrow was meant for me.  I would give anything to have been the one in his place.”
          “You must not say such things, your highness.” Chauncy  objected.
          Nicholas did not reply.  He knew what Chauncy would say next, what everyone said. Think of the kingdom, of his family, his bride.  He had not asked to be born a prince, and while he enjoyed the privileges of his rank, he hated that another had died in his stead—a man he respected, a man with a wife and child, a man among men who would have gone on to greatness if not for the fact that someone wanted the Crown Prince of Frandia dead.
          Just at the moment when the prince’s thoughts were darkest, his princess arrived.  His mood lightened at the sight of her, and improved still more as she embraced their guest.
          “Lord DeFord, how pleased I am to see you again.” She smiled brightly at him.  “I am sorry that I did not say so before.”
          Chauncy bowed over her proffered hand.  “You are too kind, your highness.  I am certain you were occupied with far greater matters.” 
           “I should have made time for you.” She disagreed, but said nothing more about the matter.  She went to sit by her husband and waited for him to speak.
          Nicholas leaned toward Chauncy.  “Do you know why I have brought you here?  No, I can see that you do not.  When Quinly arrived, was there anything in the message that seemed odd to you?”
          Chauncy nodded.  “The word ‘cousin’ caught my attention.  I thought he must have heard incorrectly.”
          “He did not.” Nicholas paused before adding “You and I share the same blood.”


And that is where the chapter ends.  How do you think Chauncy will react to learning that he is somehow related to the royal family?  And if someone wants members of the royal family dead, does that mean someone will want him dead too?

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What I Did On My Summer Vacation

9/9/2013

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My summer vacation was made up of a great deal of noise, some funky weather, a lot of stress, watching rented DVDs on occasion, and best of all: reading!

I began the summer determined to finish two ebooks that I'd started reading while school was still in session, and promptly got distracted.  This is not a fault of the authors, or the novels in question.  I am truly looking forward to finishing both of them.  It's just that I forget to use my eReader and I don't like taking it with me around the house because the chances of the kids getting a hold of it and breaking it are pretty high during the months of June, July, and August.  So I turn to my trusty friends, the paperbacks.

I put in some Georgette Heyer time, reading Faro's Daughter, which was short, and The Foundling, which was less so.  Both lovely reads.  I've never yet been disappointed by Heyer.  But the real distraction, reading wise came by way of my mother.  I know, "blame the mom" is such a stereotype, but I'm sure when I explain what happened, you'll agree with me that it's all her fault.

Mom has been watching Game of Thrones on DVD, and was asking me questions about it.  I'm not certain if she forgets that I've never seen the show, or just thinks of me as so brilliant that I should be able to easily follow, predict, and explain plots of which I know slightly more than nothing.  Probably the latter.  Anyway, I happen to have a paperback copy of the first book in the series on which the TV show is based. Bought it on sale for my husband because he'd heard something about the TV show and thought it could be interesting.  He never started reading it, so I decided I'd give it a go and maybe be able to answer some of Mom's questions.  That's how I got hooked.  

It was slow going at first but at some point the addiction kicked in and I devoured the book.  Then I went to the library and got the second book.  I finished that one so quickly that on the next trip to the library I got books three and four!  Now I'm onto book five.  The sixth volume is supposed to be coming out in late October, so I won't be reading it for quite a while.  Though I may drop hints about Christmas presents. :o)

I'd heard of George R. R. Martin before but never read his work.  Now I'm a fan, at least of this series, called A Song of Ice and Fire.  It's effect on me is unique in that I can call up vivid images of what I think these places look like, but I have not pictured myself there as I have with, say Regency England.  I do not recommend beginning this series unless you are prepared to go through all of the available books back to back.  


The only other reading I can remember having done over the summer is a series called Ellie's People, by Mary Christner Borntrager.  I read and loved the series as a girl and now I'm reading them to my children who are equally enthralled by the stories.


List, if anyone wants it:
Faro's Daughter  and The Foundling  by Georgette Heyer


A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance With Dragons (currently reading)  by George R. R. Martin


Ellie, Rebecca, Rachel, Daniel, Reuben (currently reading to boys), and Andy (currently reading to daughter) by Mary Christner Borntrager


Looking back over my list, it seems awfully small.  But then my summers are awfully hectic.  It's amazing I get any reading done when the weather is hot.  


Next up on my reading list are finishing A Heart On Hold  by the lovely and talented Sarah Barnard, and a bunch of books about autism.  If I'm lucky I may sneak in some writing too.


What did you read on your summer vacation?  And what will you be reading next?


Kate

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Of Dogs and Men

9/2/2013

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Ladies and gentleman, readers of all ages, I have a confession to make: some days I like dogs a lot better than I like people.  Today is one of those days.

The picture to the left is a dog we had years ago.  Gorgeous, wasn't she?  She was a sweetheart and we all still miss her. 

We have two dogs now, smaller ones.  Both are half Shih Tzu, but the other halves are different. One of them has social anxiety disorder, caused in part by the myriad of therapists we have had in and out of the house, working with the two of our children who are officially autistic. He needs retraining that will take months, and because he bit someone--a stranger to him, Milo's always gentle with his family--he needs to be confined whenever we have company, until his retraining is finished and he can be trusted, and even then we'll still watch him very carefully. 

Unfortunately, Milo doesn't like being confined.  He has a secure yard within our back yard, and he doesn't like being in there when there is fun going on in the bigger yard.  And so he barks.  Milo's never been the quietest dog on earth.  He has sensitive hearing and will sometimes bark for what appears to be no reason.  Our usual joke is that he's barking at a squirrel in the next county.  He'll bark at vehicles, people, stray sounds.  Some of that is normal and some is due to the anxieties of his new situation.  It will lessen in time as he gets used to the changes we've had to make.

Now, we're responsible dog owners.  We don't let our dogs roam the neighborhood, we keep them well groomed and up to date with all veterinary visits and vaccines, and we try to limit Milo's barking as best we can.   We don't want to inconvenience anyone else. It's harder in the summertime when the kids are in and out all the time and the dogs follow suit.  Milo barks more when he's outside.  But we've never had a complaint from anyone in the village...until today.

I was out in the big yard pulling my daughter and our neighbor's daughter in a wagon.  Milo and our other dog were in their smaller yard and Milo wanted to come play, but we're not ready to trust him with other people's children yet.  An older gentleman in a shiny black SUV from two streets over drove up on the road behind our yard and proceeded to shout at me (without leaving his vehicle) about my dog who barks "all day long" (not true) and he's sick of it and if we don't take care of it he'll have the Sheriff at our door.  Then he drove off and I watched him go straight back to his garage.  He made a special trip for this.  With what he drives that probably cost him a full tank of gas, so he must mean business.

Being me, I called the Sheriff's department and asked about the penalties for barking dogs.  Turns out that in our county, there are no noise ordinances.  Granted we don't want trouble with neighbors, but legally there is nothing the Sheriff's department can do except to maybe suggest a bark collar, which we will not even consider without consulting our veterinarian. This being the year of rotten timing and vexing occurrences, the vet's clinic is closed for Labor Day.

This little village isn't a bad place to live, provided one stays out of politics.  But between last year's visit from Human Services (unfounded report, most likely made by the guy who was yelling at my kids last summer about the way they were dressed), the river, the railroad (much more traffic since the sand mines went in), the state highway, and this little wrinkle, I'd love to move.  My husband and I are country people and would prefer more space around us.  That will have to wait though.  And there is no chance of us giving away a dog that our 9 year old autistic son calls his "best friend."  We'll find a way to deal with this as responsible neighbors and pet owners.

I'd just like to say, for those of you who have issues with a neighbor's barking dog, please do not approach the situation the way this man did.  Dog owners are people too.  Try going to their door and introducing yourself.  Mention that you've noticed their dog is barking a lot and wondered if anything was wrong or there was something you could do to help (there probably isn't but it's a nice gesture).  You may find out that the dog is undergoing retraining and that the barking will subside in time.  Or you may find that the owner is irresponsible and the dog is barking for help, but at least you will have mentioned the problem without threatening anyone or shouting in front of children.  A little common courtesy can go a long way. 

This has been a difficult summer.  We're still waiting to hear if my sister has more cancer than what was removed during her surgery.  We've severed ties with the therapy company that was working with our boys and are researching other options.  The dog bite incident.  The irate neighbor incident.  And all of this has occurred within the last five weeks.  I'm looking forward to fall.

Oh well, school starts tomorrow and that will calm things down for everyone in the house.  I hope your summer has been better than mine.  I'll post again soon with a more cheerful topic.  Now, I'm going to go spend some time with my dogs, because they never threaten me, talk down to me, short-change my kids, or otherwise act in a deceitful or mean way.  Yep, I definitely like dogs better than people today.

Kate

Fun Fact:  I have rewritten the lyrics of Deck the Halls to make it a Back-To-School carol.  I am considering doing this with more songs.  Suggestions are appreciated.




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