Kate Warren

Hello readers,

I've been out of commission for a while but I'm back and pleased to welcome author Jessica Dall to the site for an interview and excerpt from her new novel The Copper Witch, which releases next month.

It's great to have you with us today, Jessica.  Thank you for agreeing to be interviewed.  Tell the readers a little about your latest book.  What's the setting?  Who's the main character or characters?

Thank you for having me. The Copper Witch is the first book of a generational series I’m doing (called The Broken Line series) which follows a baron’s daughter named Adela through love, illness, backstabbing, and general court politics in the fictional country of Egaia. Though technically a fictional setting, the story is very strongly influenced by British history, the characters living mainly through a mix of Victorian and Tudor England (for this book, at least, Book 2 takes us more into an Enlightenment/Edwardian mix). My publisher has jokingly called it "Alternative World Historical Fiction" where it’s historical fiction in a place where society and politics haven't developed in quite the same pattern as they did in real life.

Alternative World Historical Fiction.  I like it!  Could you share with us what led you to write this particular novel?  Was there a moment, or a series of moments that showed you this was the story you wanted to tell?

The original impetus actually came from a boring weekend and a free trial of ancestry.com. I’ve always been rather interested in genealogy and lucky for me my maternal great-grandparents were both from huge families meaning there has already been a lot of research done into that side of the family that is available online. Following one line way, way back, I ended up running into some British nobility and a direct ancestor with the name “Adela”. For some reason, the name stuck with me and it got me to thinking what had happened to all these generations of people. Especially the ones where family connections were everything, but you ended up as the seventh son or were so far removed from the “important” line of your family that all you really had was your pride. From there, Adela just stuck around and everything began to take shape.

Now to learn a bit more about you, if you could go anywhere in the world for a week...a place you've never been...where would you go?

I would love to take a cruise of the Mediterranean. I have been to Florence and Rome, but I’ve never gotten to spend much time on the coast or gotten to go anywhere else on the Mediterranean. It would be fantastic getting a chance to explore Greece, southern France, and more of Italy.

*scribbles in notes for future travel: Mediterranean cruise!*
Chocolate or vanilla?

Vanilla. I do eat my share of chocolate, I admit, but when it comes to anything but a chocolate bar, I tend to prefer vanilla (ice cream, cake, all that good stuff).

What is the first book you remember reading, or having someone else read to you, as a child?

My parents were very involved when it came to reading to me as a child, so I’m sure there are many I just don’t remember. My first memory of having a strong connection to a book, however, was first or second grade when I got into the American Girl books. Specifically Meet Kirsten. I actually still have my Kirsten doll in my closet from that year.

Like me, you are a NaNoWriMo participant.  How did you learn about NaNo and what made you decide to take the plunge and give it a try?

My college roommate actually introduced me to it back in 2007 when on Halloween she said something along the lines of “Hey, I’ve got to go, I’m doing a NaNoWriMo launch party” Which of course led me to ask what the heck that was. I had written a novel in high school and dabbled with a few other stories since then, but hadn’t really completed anything else. And so, with no idea what I was going to write about, I started November 1st and just kept writing until I had something. I still credit the program with helping me get back to finishing novels I started, and luckily they have—for the most part—worked out. The Copper Witch started out as my 2011 NaNo project and Book 2, The Porcelain Child, was this year’s.

If your novel were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead(s)?

I’m always awful at these questions, mostly because my characters tend to look like my characters in my head so I don’t have a go-to actor in my head for any of them. Honestly, though I likely wouldn’t have a ton of say in casting, I would probably push for lesser known actors to be cast in the lead rolls…though part of me would want to find a part for Jennifer Lawrence and Anna Kendrick just so I could hang around with them some.

Those two make my lists frequently as well. :o)  
The library is on fire and you can only save five books. Which five do you choose?

Oh no, those poor books…Perhaps I should first grab “Dealing with Loss”. Anyway, out of nostalgia I think I would grab a copy of Liz Berry’s The China Garden (it was my favorite book when I was about fifteen). Perhaps also a collection of fairy tales because it’s nice to have a compilation of some sort/they’re great for inspiration/writing prompts. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls and The Queen’s Fool by Philippa Gregory would also make strong showings, assuming indecision didn’t make it so the library burnt down before I could decide. Then, assuming I didn’t bother getting “Dealing with Loss” I would likely pick up one of the George R. R. Martin books simply because they’re huge and take me forever to get through. It likely would hold me over until they could start to rebuild.

Authors are readers, what kind of books do you enjoy reading?  Which authors are auto-buys for you?

I have pretty eclectic tastes, though I have to say my favorites tend to be historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary lit/chick lit (funny enough, that’s what I tend to write as well). Really, I tend to read books for the characters, though, so if a character catches me I’ll end up reading the story. As for authors, I was a huge fan of Philippa Gregory for a long while, though I’m still struggling to come to terms with her using present tense in her more recent novels. That’s a trend I just can’t get on board with.

I like to keep interviews light, but if you have a serious message, here's an opportunity to voice it.  What kind of reaction do you hope readers will have to The Copper Witch?  What would you like us to think upon finishing the last page and closing the book?

Mostly I hope people set the book down and go “man, I really enjoyed that book” since I try not to be too heavy-handed as far as morals go in my novels, but if I had to pick one more serious message, I think it would be that your choices matter, even when you don’t think they do. Once you’ve made your choice, you can’t truly unmake it.

An excellent message.  Thank you for sharing with us today, Jessica!
 

Jessica Dall finished her first novel at age 15 and been writing ever since. She is the author of such novels as Grey Areas  and The Bleeding Crowd, the Broken Line Series, and a number of short stories which have appeared in both literary magazines and anthologies. When not writing, she works as a freelance editor and creative writing teacher in Washington, DC.


Website: jessicadall.com
Twitter: @JessicaDall
Facebook: facebook.com/jkdall
(purchase links will be live closer to launch)

A generous excerpt from the first chapter of Jessica's upcoming novel The Copper Witch :

     Adela Tilden held as still as she could force herself to be, her eyes sliding over every now and again to study the man sitting in front of her. 
     Antony looked up from the easel and released a breath through his nose. “Hold still.”
     “I am,” she said, barely moving her mouth.
     He gave her a dark look.
     Adela exaggerated a sigh, dropping her eyes again to the side, staring at the same patch of grey stone as she had been for what felt like years. “I want to see what you’re doing.”
     “You’ll see when I’m done.”        
     She fidgeted, glancing at her dress. “Can’t we make the neckline just a little lower?”
     “Your grandmother doesn’t like it as it is,” Antony droned, the same answer yet again.
     “Well, of course she doesn’t,” Adela said, barely refraining from rolling her eyes and getting yelled at again.
     “Drop your shoulder a little,” he directed, “and hold still.”  
     So she’d get yelled out either way, it seemed. Adela shifted, still attempted to freeze.      
     Antony shook his head, running a frustrated hand through his brown hair. “No, drop…not… You know what?” He moved to her. 
     Adela watched him carefully, making no effort to help as he straightened the line of the dress where it stopped around her shoulders. If a little too thin to be called well built, she had to admit Antony Fletcher was an attractive man with his dark eyes and square jaw. It was a shame he has staged her looking away. She wouldn’t have minded the excuse to spend her time studying him right back.
     He pressed her shoulder down lightly with the end of his paintbrush. “Can you hold that now?”
     Her eyes remained on his face. “It’s hardly acrobatics.”
     Antony’s eyes flicked up as he offered a weak smile, sliding away just as quickly as he adjusted the oblong pearl in the headpiece Adela’s grandmother had pulled out just for the occasion. He paused, finally moved a strand of the hair that had been left out of the braids at her crown and placed it over her shoulder. He stepped back, looking at her just a little bit too long, starting when he met her eyes. “There. Much better.”
     The way he backed away, almost making it look like a retreat, made Adela smile. She watched Antony settle himself before tilting her head back the way it had been. “I don’t understand why Grandmamma wants a portrait of me anyway. It’s not as if anyone is going to see it. No one ever comes out here, you know. I’m surprised you’re here and you’re paid to be.”
     “She’s trying to make sure that no one gets any funny ideas about your financial situation, I believe, Miss Tilden.” Antony didn’t look away from the easel.
     “Even if they’re completely correct.” Adela heaved a sigh.
     “Stop moving.”
     She couldn’t help glancing again, looking away when he glared. “How old are you, Antony?”
     He paused momentarily. “Does that matter?”
     “I was just curious,” she said. “You’re much younger than the painters we used to have come here.”
     “I’m not as well-seasoned as them, I would think,” he said. “And I imagine I’m quite a bit cheaper.”
     “Oh.” She fought away a smile. “So I shouldn’t be surprised when my nose comprises the better part of my face, then?”
     “I think I’m skilled enough to keep that from happening,” Antony answered, continuing under his breath, “Anyway, if I were going to make a feature too large it would much more likely be your eyes.”
     Her eyes slid over to him again. 
     He met them for a second before looking away sharply. “Stay still.”
     “You just started painting, then?” She looked down and away again.
     “I’ve been painting my entire life,” he said, seeming relieved. “Just finished my apprenticeship a year or so ago.”
     “So you’re what then?” Adela did the math in her head. “Twenty? Twenty-One?”
     “Something like that.”     
     She smiled. “You don’t know which one?” 
     “Relax your face.”
     She took a breath, forced off the smile. “Is it a secret?”
     Exasperation leeched into his voice. “Is what?”   
     “Your age.”
     He released a breath. “I just don’t see how it’s relevant.”
     “I asked,” she said. “That doesn’t make it relevant enough?”
     “I don’t believe that’s the way it works, Miss Tilden.”
     She shifted. “Can I please move. I’m going to freeze in this position if I have to keep it up much longer.”
     Antony set down his brush, holding his hands up, motioning his surrender. “We can take a break.” 
     Adela rolled her shoulders, standing quickly to stretch her legs. She turned. “Can I see now?”
     He looked up from straightening his paints.
     “I’d like to see how you’re painting me,” she continued at his silence.
     Antony hesitated. “I prefer people not to see what I’m painting until I’m done.”
     She moved closer. “I’m paying for it. I’d think you’d want to know if I’m unsatisfied in any way.”
     He opened his mouth, cleared his throat before starting. “Your grandmother’s paying for it, Miss Tilden. Maybe I should show her.”
     Adela pouted. “Please?”
     He looked at her for another moment. Finally, sighing, he backed up for her to take a look.
     Adela moved quickly, her soft slippers barely making a sound on the stone floor. And the painting slid into view. Unlike the other china-doll portraits in the manor—with every inch of the women in them softened, pale—the picture in front of her looked as though he had taken her reflection and pressed it onto the canvas.  She studied herself, fascinated for a moment before collecting herself. She pulled herself straight. “You’re using a lot of red in my hair.”
     His eyes lifted to her scalp. “Well, there is a lot of red in your hair, Miss Tilden.”
     She twirled a strand absentmindedly around her finger, didn’t dispute it.
     “Satisfied?” he finally asked.
     “You are quite talented,” she said, looked from the painting to him. “I don’t think you have my lips quite right, though.”
     “No?”
     She picked up the mirror on the mantel, studying her face before looking back at him. “Don’t you think? My bottom lip is fuller.”
     He looked at her lips for a moment, slid his eyes away, nodding. “I’ll fix it when you sit back down.”
     She looked at her reflection for another moment before tilting the mirror down to fix the neckline of her dress.

 

Thank you for joining us today, and thank you again to Jessica Dall for being such a pleasure to interview, and to read. :o)

Kate

Welcome back to another wonderful Weekend for Writing Warriors!  I spent hours going over my WIP looking for the right eight sentences to post, scrolling randomly through the chapters.  Finally I decided that sleep might be important and I should continue from last week.

Last week, of course, Baron Frederick Spencer was surprised to be informed that his beloved granddaughter had been attacked, and then the man informing him of it immediately announced his wish to marry the girl.

I've skipped a few sentences here, and used creative punctuation.  We're in Chapter 7, and Anton has answered Baron Spencer's question of "Who are you?" by giving his name and saying that he is the son of Count DuClerque.  Baron Spencer, you must remember, has been out of the country for twenty years.




          The baron looked skeptical.  "You are too young to be Honore's son."

          "True--it is my grandsire you speak of Baron Spencer, he was made Duke of Oglen some years past--my father, Marcel DuClerque, now carries the title of Count.

          Frederick was not surprised to learn that Honore, so long ignored by king Gustave--to that ruler's folly and detriment--had been rewarded by King Phillip for his service by the granting of a dukedom.  "And you propose to wed my Graciela?"

          "Yes, your excellency."

          "Take me to her."  He would decide about the marriage later...after speaking with the Duke of Oglen and the current Count DuClerque.




Frederick is a practical man.  First he must see to Graciela.  Everything else, and everyone else, can wait.  That's my snippet for the week.  Be sure to visit all the other talented WeWriWa authors!

Kate

Welcome to another edition of Weekend Writing Warriors, that wonderful time when dozens of talented authors post eight sentence snippets of their work for your reading enjoyment.  We authors appreciate your time and support.

This week I am marveling at the number of hits my website is getting from Russia, and the surge in my sales in Japan.  Can I now call myself an internationally acclaimed author?  Probably not, but it's a fun thought.

This week's eight sentences are coming to you courtesy of cold weather, failed recipes, and the letter Q.  Why Q?  It just seems so forlorn and left out sometimes, particularly in Scrabble games.  Anyway, continuing with my historical fiction WIP The DeFord Chronicles, Part II, and using a new method of randomness I give you seven sentences from the end Chapter 6, plus the first of Chapter 7 because it just works better that way. 

Anton DuClerque has just saved a young lady at court from possible rape.  Afterwards, while he comforts her, they share a tender moment.  Leaving the lady in the care of one of the princesses, Anton goes to find her grandfather, Baron Frederick Spencer and inform him of what has occurred.




          Frederick turned at the sound of a voice he did not recognize.

          Anton strode purposefully toward the older man.  He stopped some few feet from the baron and informed him, in clipped tones of the attack upon his granddaughter.

          Frederick did not know with whom to be more angry; the bastard who dared touch Graciela, or the man who now told him of the event with so little apparent feeling.  Would a display of sympathy, some shrinking from the details of the attack not be appropriate when addressing a doting grandfather? He was wondering if he should not find his old sword and run some one or more men through with it when he was startled by a request from the young man standing in front of him.

          "I wish to offer her the protection of marriage."

          "Who are you?"




Perhaps in the future Anton will remember to introduce himself before he requests a lady's hand in marriage. That's my eight for the week.  See you around the other blogs for WeWriWa. 

Kate

P.S.  If anyone is interested, the new method of randomness was to have my daughter choose a number, then search the corresponding chapter for a good snippet. 

Welcome friends and neighbors to another awesome weekend.  Why is it awesome?  Because with the weekend comes posts from the Weekend Writing Warriors, a group of authors who post exactly eight sentences of their work and link back to the WeWriWa website.  Click on the picture at the left or the link above to visit the site and find the list filled with literary deliciousness for your enjoyment!

Side note: there is something terribly odd going on with the font formatting on my website.  I may have to contact someone about it.

As previously mentioned, I am switching back to my historical work-in-progress (The DeFord Chronicles, Part II) for the new year.  The goal is to finally get the first draft finished, and if I'm very lucky, get it published before the end of 2014.  Given that it's been a while since I posted from this one, I considered going back to the beginning, but decided random scrolling is way more fun.  This week's excerpt is brought to you be stir-crazy mothers everywhere (hang in there--school will start again soon!) and by Chapter 21. 

In this excerpt, young Prince Dimitri is delighting in the company of a young woman to whom he has lost his heart.  He has yet to find a way to tell Lilia of his feelings however, and fears that she might not return his regard. 

She was to him the essence of feminine perfection—a model of maidenly virtue and beauty.  Her modesty was unequalled by any at court, and he should know, he had spent his life among young ladies who seemed to think his brother Nicholas and himself the sole ambition in life worth attaining.  Lilia was not aware of her own appeal, and that in and of itself he found utterly charming.  She did not see the way her eyes lit when she heard a beautiful piece of music.  She did not know that her skin glowed in the light of candles.  She did not seem to think herself particularly lovely, and her ears, which the prince found charming, she considered to be her greatest visible flaw.  Lilia thought her hair a tedious shade of dark brown and her eyes unremarkable.  But to Dimitri she had tresses like the coat of the most beautiful horse he had ever seen, and her gaze was expressive beyond words, the color of those speaking orbs seeming to him a mixture of amber and wild honey.




Poor Dimitri.  His thoughts are so poetic, but when he opens his mouth around Lilia, he's rather less eloquent.  That's all from me this week.  See you around the blogs!

Kate

November is just around the corner so I thought I would take a few moments (or more) to talk about something that has become near and dear to me as a writer: National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo.  Lest anyone wonder, the pronunciation is NA-no, as in a nano-second, and RYE-mo, as in wri-ting and anyone called Mo.

A simple internet search will reveal a wealth of information and an even greater wealth of opinions about the event, some giddy and praise-filled, and some so scathing they could burn the rust off a car's bumper.  I'm hoping to provide a middle ground, battle some myths, and have some fun using spiffy statistics.  Of course that's a lot to cover so this is going to take more than one blog post.  Today I'm focusing on myths surrounding NaNo (the event)  and WriMos (the participants). 

Myth 1: NaNoWriMo is about writing a lot of crap.
This is a common misconception which I think is made by people who don't understand that giving yourself permission to write a less-than-perfect first draft is not the same thing as aiming for the gutter.  

Personally, I choose to write at least 50,000 words of workable fiction.  Is it perfect? By no means.  But it's also not total crap.  Requiring quantity does not preclude quality.

That said, first drafts are first drafts for a reason.  More than 99% of them have problems, and often major problems.  Stephen King says his first drafts suck, though he may not use that exact term to describe them.  In fact I believe his term is rather stronger than mine.  

The point of NaNo is not to write crap but to give yourself permission to suck, which you will anyway to start with, so that you can get the first draft written.  Once that's done, then you can start editing and turn a jagged, gritty, ugly first draft into a shining gem.  Or leave it as is, print it out, and use it as a doorstop.  The choice is yours.


Myth 2: You can literally write the word "eyeball" 50,000 times and win.
This is technically correct but I'm classifying as a myth because I don't believe very many people would go to the trouble of signing up, writing or copying one word 50,000 times (or two words 25,000 times), validating their "novel" and printing out their lovely winner's certificate to show off when they'd have to face this: "You wrote a novel?  Cool!  What's it about?"  Seriously, who would do that?  The level of "impressed" goes down a great deal when friends, relatives, co-workers, etc., find out you essentially cheated.  And how would they get out of that situation? Actually that could get interesting, and I'd probably want front row seats and popcorn. 

NaNo does work on the honor system.  Nobody checks your writing.  No one but you even sees it unless you choose to share it with someone.  And I think there is something admirable about trusting people to be on the up and up.

Yes I'm sure there are people out there somewhere who would do this, however, that is not NaNo's fault.  Those people are the ones who will cheat at anything.  It points to a flaw in them, not in the event. 

Small note: there are minor discrepancies between many word processing programs' word counts and the official NaNo word count, so technically they might have to write "eyeball' 50,147 times.


Myth 3: NaNo makes it sound like anybody can write a novel.
Newsflash: anybody CAN write a novel.  A novel is defined, not by industry standards mind you but by actual definition, as a work of prose at least 50,000 words in length.  That's it.  You don't need an MFA, or a background in journalism, you don't need a life of fascinating experiences.  There are no qualifications for being a writer other than simply to write.  Anybody who thinks otherwise needs to get off their low-horse and take a good look at the world.  NaNo is not a good place for snobs, that much is true.


Myth 4: NaNo makes people think they can write a book worthy of publishing in only a month.
If you think this you haven't been to the website.  Nowhere does it say you will have a finished final draft, just a first draft that it is then up to you to revise, edit, and otherwise polish.  Does the world of agents and publishers issue a collective sigh and rolling of the eyes each December? Possibly.  But really all NaNo contributes to that is volume.  Every month of the year sees new writers pitching first drafts.  The number may go up after November, but that's it.  This is not a new thing. 

But not everyone who writes a novel wants to publish one.  Some people don't write for compensation but for the sheer joy of writing.  I don't know whether they are rolling in dough, are true artists who are above such material concerns, or just have a lot of time on their hands, but that really doesn't matter.  We should all know by now that people are different.  We do not all think the same way.  We do not all want the same things.  


Myth 5: Nothing good has ever come out of NaNo, and by good I mean traditionally published.
I have twelve words for you: Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen; The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern.  These are only two of many published books that started as NaNoWriMo novels.  Not only were they traditionally published, they're both bestsellers!  And they are not alone.  There's a list.  Here's a link to it: Official List of Published NaNo Novels.  And here's another link: Goodreads list of Published NaNoWriMo Books.

Bonus Myth: No real author would participate in something like NaNoWriMo.
The reasoning for this one varies from the idea that "real" authors write a lot all year long, to just a general scorn for the event and by extension any one who would participate.  In refutation, please look back at my response to Myth 5.   I'm not going to name-drop but there are famous authors, other than those I've already mentioned, who participate in NaNo.  They may not make a big deal out of it, but they aren't looking down their noses at the event.


Also consider that there is more to NaNo than just the writing, though that is absolutely the main goal.  NaNoWriMo is a community where writers around the world can connect and commiserate on the trials and the joys of the craft.  Sure there are people who just write as a hobby, but hobbiests can be every bit as passionate about their hobbies as professionals in the same field are.  All writers share certain things: love of stories, frustration with characters, fear of plot holes, and much more.  NaNo brings us together and reminds those of us in an often solitary endeavor that we are not really alone.  


That's all I have to say for now.  I hope you've found some of this instructive, or at least entertaining.  Stay tuned for my next post in this special NaNo series as we hurtle toward November.

Kate

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

It's been another week of rain and sun.  Another week of triumphs and disappointments.  And I did not get my photos taken after all.  But I will.  At some point.

Anyway, it's time once again for Weekend Writing Warriors and eight sentences from my WIP medieval novel The DeFord Chronicles, Part II.  One of these days I'll give you an excerpt from the one that came before it, but today is not that day.

Random scrolling commencing in three...two...one...and we have landed in Chapter 27, where King Phillip's council are meeting regarding the threats against the royal family.  The observation that the villian must be a nobleman due to the reading and writing involved in the plot has led to a few jokes (trust me it makes sense in context)--but one man is not laughing.  The very night before this meeting Stanley St. Robert's daughter Lilia died as a result of one of the attacks.




          Lord St. Robert stood up and viewed his fellow nobles with disgust.  “Amusing though we all find murder and treason to be, I suggest we put our efforts into finding the bastard responsible, rather than jesting about it. And I shall start by openly swearing that if I find any man in this room has been tied in any way to the plot against our king I will personally cut off his head.”  He stalked from the room without his majesty’s leave.
          Several of the others rose at the insult to their sovereign, but Phillip waved them back to their seats.  “Let him go. Lord St. Robert is not himself, and we all know why.  I shall add that if any of my council is involved, I shall be only too happy to write the warrants for his arrest and execution, after Lord St. Robert has accomplished the latter; for I do not think my pen as swift as his blade.”  



The king is right about that too.  Stanley was the best swordsman in his army during the revolution.  He's not a man to cross.   That's all for me this week.  I'll see you around as I visit some of my favorite authors for Weekend Writing Warriors.

Greetings friends, and welcome to another smashing edition of Weekend Writing Warriors, where daring and brilliant writers around the world showcase exactly eight sentences of their work. 

I'd like to take this moment--not that moment, this one--to thank everyone who comes to visit me and leaves their comments each weekend.  You have become dear friends and I look forward to your feedback each week.

It's the monthly SCA meeting this Sunday so my own visits may take into Monday but rest assured I will be making them.  I think I even got the computer issues that were so bothersome last Sunday fixed!

And now...on with the show.  Last week some of you expressed an interest in meeting the kitchen boy who is so central to the controversy of Chapter 30.  I shall oblige you by backing up and giving eight sentences from Chapter 28 involving our young messenger.  Our kitchen boy was found in Lord DeFord's room by Lord DeFord's good friend Sir James Quinly, who of course asked for an explanation of what the young scamp was doing there.  This excerpt features editing and creative punctuation.



          “I was sent by a lady, sir...to leave something for my Lord DeFord--it is to be a surprise, she said.”  The boy looked at him innocently.
          “What lady?”
          “I know not, sir--I did not see her face; she was hidden in the shadows--but she had on a dark cape.”  
          The boy led him over to a table near the window where Chauncy kept his correspondence. Upon the surface lay an unfinished message and black sealing wax.  James gripped the boy’s shoulder. 
           “Have I done wrong sir?”



I should probably mention that this kitchen boy is quite young, illiterate, and hungry.  An easy mark for a mysterious person who might offer him food or coin for a task he did not understand.  Oh, and all the threats against the royal family have had black sealing wax on them.  Red was the common color for sealing wax, so the black is particularly important here.

That's all for me this weekend.  See you around the net.

Kate

P.S. Please consider checking out my last post

I have been given the Sunshine Award by the lovely and talented Lorraine Paton, whose new book Devin's Second Chance releases this June!

Thank you, Lorraine!


Here are the rules for the Sunshine Award: 

1. Thank the person who gave you the award in your blog post.
2. Answer the questions below.
3. Pass the award to a bunch of deserving and inspiring bloggers, inform them and link to their blogs (The rules actually say 10-12 people, but I'm not going to choose that many this time. Why? Because I'm a rebel, that's why.)

So, here are the questions: 

Favorite Color: Blue! Never met a shade I didn't like but my favorite is that deep, bright classic blue.  

Favorite Animal: Well that would be a dog, or a horse, or a pig.  Hard to choose really.  

Favorite Number:  Um...8?

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink: Pepsi.

Facebook or Twitter: Both.  Facebook is easier for me.  Twitter goes so fast it's hard to keep up, especially because I can't use my phone for it.

Your Passion: Which one?  I love writing, music, design, history, etc.  

Giving or Getting Presents: Yes. I love giving presents, but I like getting them too, so I could really go either way on this one.

Favorite Flower: Roses. But lilacs are a close second and the wood violet is dear to me as well.  Come to think of it, I have a real fondness of apple blossoms and pansies too. Did I mention that I have an indecisive streak? But roses are my favorite. 


Now to name those whom I wish to honor with an award.  The following people have been chosen because they A) have blogs, B) are likely to post, C) have not been chosen by Lorraine, and most importantly D) they have brought some sunshine into my life.  Please note, there is another category here: E) because I will continue to tag my sister until she starts posting again.  You are brilliant and the world will know it because I said so!

Jes Langan
J.M. Blackman
Angela Quarles
Kate Meader
Tessa Dare
Tess Quinn
Cassandra Grafton

Welcome to this special Easter edition of Weekend Writing Warriors.  Don't know if I'll be getting my visits done today, may have to go into Monday.  No special Easter scene for you, so I'll use the random method again.  I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who visits me each week and offers their support of my writing.  You guys rock!

This coming month, I'll be participating in Camp NaNoWriMo.  It's my hope that I can (finally) finish the first draft of The DeFord Chronicles, Part II during Camp.  This means I will not be posting for WeWriWa during the month of April, but I will be back after the event ends or I finish the draft--whichever comes first.

And now, on to the excerpt!  From Chapter 12...we join Queen Allyn of Frandia as she is contemplating what to do about her seventeen year old daughter's romantic distress.  

***SPOILER ALERT***  This excerpt covers part of the plot of The DeFord Chronicles, Part I  via the queen's remembrance of events that took place when she was her daughter Therese's age.


          "Had she been this much of a trial to her parents at ten and seven? She thought back to that year and realized that the answer might not be comforting.  That had been the year of the revolution.  The year she had forged friendships with Moreen DeFord and Isabelle St. Robert, though she had been Isabelle DuClerque at the time.  The year she had defied her father once to free those friends from wrongful imprisonment, sneaked away from the palace after dark to tell William DeFord of his son’s birth, and been reunited with the man to whom she had lost her heart months before in Paris.  The fact that her beloved was leading the rebellion had wounded her but when her errand into the rebels’ forest camp had been discovered she had refused to implicate him.  She had been confined to her chambers for her disobedience and feared a harsher punishment, but the battle had reached the palace that night and she had been set free only to witness her father’s murder by an angry nobleman who wished revenge for his own father’s death.
          Perhaps comparing Therese to herself was not the best idea."  


That's my eight for the week.  Hope you enjoyed it.  I'll be around the blogs this weekend, and will see you all again in May.

Kate