Snippets and Teasers
I don't usually do snippet type posts over here, but I just have to pause in my editing and revising that I am doing on Minstrel's Call to tell you that I. Am. So. Excited. To. Share. This. Story. With. You. All!I am 3/4ths of the way through this revision.Usually this is the point in the editing process where I start to get bogged down, discouraged, and despair of ever writing anything remotely appealing.But not with this story.I just love it to pieces. So far it has made me laugh, it has made me cry, it has been a true pleasure to work on... and while there are scenes that are needing to be completely rewritten... it hasn't been depressing.I wrote King's Warrior when I was 19 years old. I had a year of college under my belt and was in the middle of my first real job working at the waterpark in my hometown.I wrote Minstrel's Call when I was 25 years old. I had graduated college, taught at my alma mater, gotten married, held down a teaching job for 2 years, and moved across the country farther from my family than I'd ever been for an extended period of time.Maybe that's the difference... I was a more "real" person when I wrote this book than when I wrote the first three.But whatever the reason, my heart or my shoes, I stand in the snow here, hating the... oh, wait... wrong story. Sorry.Ahem.Anyway, I wanted to share a few of my favorite tidbits with you. These aren't the finally complete absolutely polished bits, so they will probably undergo a few changes even after this pass of editing, but I'm sure you don't mind!
Brant finished reading the message on the parchment and a scowl darkened his eyes. He handed the parchment to Dylanna and stared broodingly at the fragments of rock that lay upon the table. Dylanna read the verses aloud and Oraeyn and Kamarie shared a puzzled glance.
Brant growled deep in his throat. “I liked it better when it was just a worthless hunk of rock. Now it’s a worthless hunk of rock and it’s mocking me. It’s just like Kiernan Kane to send an urgent message hidden in an indecipherable mess of prophetic rhyme. By the time we’ve figured out what the thing means, we’ll be in the middle of danger only to realize that every assumption we made was completely wrong.”
“Zdeanak is a dragon, he knows what an awful fate is before him, yet he seems unconcerned.”
Ina frowned and turned her sightless gaze towards Zdeanak, who had opened his mouth to speak.
“Is this where I should beg for mercy, little king?” the great rogue dragon’s voice was low and mocking as he stepped towards the platform. The chains between him and the dragon guards creaked with tension, but Zdeanak’s movement did not appear to be hampered in any way.
“Should he be able to do that?” Kamarie asked.
Glaredd turned a reassuring gaze at her. “Don’t worry, the dragons have him tightly bound with magic in addition to the chains. There is no way he could break away from their collective strength.”
“Is this where I writhe before you and beg you to grant me what you know I despise?” Zdeanak took another slow, deliberate step towards Brant, his voice dripping with arrogant mockery. “Is this the moment where I am supposed to show them that I am merely a weak dragon who has been sentenced to torture and death for my crimes? Is this where I prove to them that you are truly the strong one?” He took another step forward
For though, my dear, I love thee, my heart is only true
To the adventure of the seas and the mournful mermaid’s songs
Upon the ocean’s wild waves is where my soul belongs.
Though her winds may rage and toss my ship about
Here I remain forever, loyal and devout
Chasing my ocean love with every sail unfurled
Until I die or safely come to the very edge of the world.
I’ll follow her forever, my one and only love
Guided by her waves and the constant stars above
I’ll sail far away to strange uncharted lands
And there I’ll make my home, upon the nameless sands.”
Brant’s mouth pursed into a frown at the mention of Kiernan.
“What is it about Kiernan that irritates you so?”
“What about him doesn’t irritate me?” Brant chuckled a little. “The man is a fool, a bumbling clown, and he couldn’t speak a clear sentence to save his life.”
Kaitryn looked at him askance. “But that’s not why you despise him. You’ve seen that the face he shows the world is not real. You’ve known him well enough to understand he is truly wise and strong and brave. It’s the mask you despise, not the man.”
Leila choked on her words, her mouth falling open in the middle of her interrupted sentence. For a moment she merely stood there, silent, disbelieving. Then she took a step closer to the Minstrel, gazing closely at his face, searching it for a hint of a grand jest, or perhaps looking for a sign of a wrinkle or a gray hair to corroborate his story. A moment passed. Two. Leila took a step back, her head giving strange little shakes of denial, but then she looked into his bright blue eyes. Ghosts of the ages swam within his gaze: phantoms of her ancestors, recollections of thousands of disputes and wars that had ravaged Tellurae Aquaous, wisps of age-old hatreds, memories of loyalty and love — and behind it all she caught a trace of deep, aching loneliness.
Hope you found those enjoyable... and tantalizing!Keep an eye out on Friday, as I'll be sharing my first article for the InterFiction Gazette!!