Kate Warren

fiction with humor and heart

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Excerpt

WeWriWa 6

3/9/2013

40 Comments

 
Picture
Thank you to all who visited last week.  Many of you were very concerned about our poor poison victims and I'm sorry to tell you that I will not continue from there this week.  However, the virtue of the random scrolling method is that I can blame it, should anyone have a complaint. ;o)

This week I'm going way back to the first half of the draft.  Let's see where I end up.  All the way back in Chapter 8.  Royal marriages in the 15th century were not love matches by any means.  The bride and groom often met at the wedding mass, and it was understood by all that happiness was a luxury.  The point of the union was to forge an alliance and produce heirs.  Liking one another was unneccessary.  However, despite the realities of the times, some royal couples lucked out and ended up well-matched anyway.  I give you such a couple.


          Princess Sophie of Frandia leaned back happily upon numerous cushions. She thanked the Lord for her good fortune. The daughter of a powerful family, she had no illusions about her value to her elders: she was a pawn to further their ambitions.  She had long ago resigned herself to the fact that her marriage would be one not of her choosing, thus she had prayed for a husband who would be kind to her.  She had not thought to ask for more, and yet Nicholas of Frandia had far exceeded her expectations.
          Seeing him for the first time at their wedding, she had been struck by the beauty of his countenance, the strength apparent in his trim body, the warmth in his eyes.  The wedding night had been most pleasant. She had been well-prepared for rough-use, pain, and embarrassment, but apparently she had been misinformed. 


I think that counters last week's rather depressing excerpt rather nicely.  I have a meeting this afternoon but hopefully will be able to make all my regular visits before the end of Monday.  See you around the web my fellow Weekend Writing Warriors.

Kate
40 Comments
Clare Davidson link
3/9/2013 09:28:27 pm

It sounds like Sophie has ended up in what could be a very happy marriage. It's a little sad that she had built up such negative thoughts of marriage, it's good that Nicholas has dashed those thoughts!

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 01:17:28 am

Thank you, Clare. Yes, Sophie is a very lucky woman.

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S. J. Maylee link
3/10/2013 12:51:01 am

Interestingly cool. Her beliefs fit the times well. So, what did happen on that wedding night?

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 01:18:22 am

Thanks, S.J. Let's just say that it was far more enjoyable than she had been led to believe it would be. ;o)

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Carrie Crain link
3/10/2013 01:19:13 am

I'm waiting for Nicholas to get beheaded by a jealous man who wants Princess Sophia. LOL (kidding). But, that would sure stir things up at the castle. Teehee!!!

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 01:50:19 am

Sorry to disappoint you Carrie, but our assassin(s) is/are a bit more subtle than to try an outright beheading. :o) If it makes you feel any better, Nicholas was nearly hit by a poisoned arrow.

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A.S. Fenichel link
3/10/2013 01:33:27 am

What wonderful internal dialogue.

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 01:50:40 am

Thanks, A.S.!

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Veronica Scott link
3/10/2013 04:16:10 am

Enjoyed this excerpt, as you say, a nice change from last week. I hope she can hang onto her happiness!

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 04:46:13 am

Thank you, Veronica!

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sue link
3/10/2013 04:18:16 am

If she speaks to other ladies she knows they may be jealous of her good fortune. Hopefully she doesn't reveal her experience to others... beautifully written

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 04:46:54 am

Thanks. And good point!

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Kate Meader link
3/10/2013 04:34:26 am

Sounds like she lucked out for sure. What's the catch? ;)

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 04:47:18 am

Someone's out to kill him. Is that enough of a catch?

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Monica Enderle Pierce link
3/10/2013 06:45:44 am

She's a fortunate woman, indeed, and I'm glad she appreciates her good luck. Doubtless things are about to go downhill rapidly. ;)

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 08:32:38 am

Thank you Monica. There are certainly challenges ahead for them.

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Sue Ann Bowling link
3/10/2013 06:49:17 am

Marriage can so easily become ownership.

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 08:33:15 am

Indeed, and especially in that time frame. Another of my female character does not fare so well and runs into just that problem.

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Virginia Kelly link
3/10/2013 06:58:52 am

Oh, yes, she did have good luck. Now, of course, we'll worry about what'll happen next. Nice snippet!

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 08:33:35 am

Thanks, Virginia!

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Jenna Jaxon link
3/10/2013 08:10:45 am

Yes, indeed, she was fortunate. She could have fared so much worse. But we can't tell those stories in our romances, only historical fiction. I'm very happy she's pleased. Lovely snippet.

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 08:34:47 am

Thanks, Jenna. At the moment I'm not writing romance. I'm not ruling it out for the future, it's just not a fit for this story.

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Summer Ross link
3/10/2013 08:31:14 am

Love that last sentence- misinformed. nice touch to the character's voice.
~Summer
<a href="http://summersvoice.blogspot.com/2013/03/weekend-writing-warriors-310.html">My 8 sentences</a>

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 08:35:14 am

Thank you, Summer. :o)

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Elaine Cantrell link
3/10/2013 08:57:22 am

The princess is almost as pleased as a cat with a bowl of cream.:)

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 09:05:29 am

Thanks for coming by, Elaine. I have to admit that in her place I would be pleased too. I do occasionally write some yummy male characters and Nicholas is one of them.

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Mandy Earles link
3/10/2013 11:59:04 am

Awe, very sweet snippet. I can see everything vividly through her eyes and the dialect gives a true sense of time. And it makes me wonder what happened that first night ;)

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 12:10:58 pm

Thank you, Mandy!

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Carrie-Anne link
3/10/2013 01:36:39 pm

Some Medieval couples were indeed lucky. It makes me think of some of the love matches in The Decameron, one of my all-time favorite books. She's lucky she got a good husband instead of a brute or someone 30 years older.

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Kate Warren
3/10/2013 03:31:00 pm

Thanks, Carrie-Anne!

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Debbie link
3/11/2013 08:55:22 am

Lucky princess indeed! Seems too good to be true and I'm betting there's a hitch, somewhere. Interesting story!

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Kate Warren
3/13/2013 04:27:12 am

Thank you, Debbie!

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Ann Swann link
3/11/2013 04:18:49 pm

Well, that was a lovely excerpt. Now, I've got to go back and check last week's. I don't recall, but it must have been similar to what I've been posting!

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Kate Warren
3/13/2013 04:27:49 am

Thanks, Ann. I hope you aren't disappointed when you read last weekend's drama.

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Teresa Cypher link
3/12/2013 02:25:22 pm

Very nice, Kate! And I LOVE your unofficial book trailer for Bridging The Gaps. :-)

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Kate Warren
3/13/2013 04:28:16 am

Thank you, Teresa! :o)

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Sarah Ballance link
3/16/2013 10:43:35 am

I'm so sad her expectations were such (or that they were most often the case) but I love how well you portrayed the contrast of what she actually experienced.

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Kate Warren
3/16/2013 03:38:07 pm

Thanks, Sarah!

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Carol Duff link
3/16/2013 02:37:55 pm

It is always amazing when those marriages turn out well. However, her groom seems like someone with compassion and those marriages grew better over time. It is sometimes the same today. Love indeed can grow better with each year. That is a rare but wonderful marriage.

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Kate Warren
3/16/2013 03:38:58 pm

Yes, Nicholas and Sophie have something special. There's so much tragedy involved in this book, I had to have some good things too.

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