Summary Sunday

This week, a rival for my heroine’s affections enters the scene. Not each of these sentences relates to 

him, but some of them do. And of course, we had to have another tournament, right? I hope you enjoy these new sentences from The Lady and the Minstrel!

Monday: ’Twas the second time Sarah had observed more of Marguerite’s heart than Marguerite had wished her to, but she could make no reply for Sir Warin had rejoined them.

Tuesday: Clever. It was what men called women who knew how to read, and Marguerite knew it was not always meant as a compliment.

Wednesday: Speak, a voice whispered in her mind, but a vying flutter in her breast murmured, Not yet, not yet.

Thursday: She could not take advantage of his chivalry after rejecting his heart so cruelly.

Friday: (Two sentences, for context) Marguerite had earlier watched Lady Lovell draw a yellow ribbon from her hair and tie it to Strode’s lance as a favor. It fluttered its unabashed contempt of Marguerite’s pride for too many chagrining moments as the king uttered his royal blessing—“Fight this day with courage and honor. May God be with you.”—in a humdrum voice that revealed his continued displeasure with his “favorite”, and waved Strode on so that he might bless the next knight and the next.

Saturday: Thankfully, he never spoke to her for if he had, she was quite sure it would have shattered her restraint and set her flailing at him like a madwoman.

Summary Sunday

Sometimes, no matter how much a writer loves a particular line she writes, upon reflection it simply
doesn't belong in the story. Such is the case with this week's Wednesday sentence. By Thursday I had already reluctantly decided that it needed to be snipped out of the story because it didn't quite fit the mood of the scene. But good lines need never go entirely to waste. In my case, they go into a CUTS document, where if I wish to, I can pluck them back out and use them in another story. Such might be the case for Wednesday's sentence someday. :-)

Once more, these are all lines from this week's draft writing of The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: She swept her lashes against her cheeks to veil the revulsion she feared she could not conceal in her eyes and prayed Isabelle would interpret it as a sign of flustered awe that Marguerite had won so great a condescension as counsel from the queen.

Tuesday: Marguerite blamed Sarah for putting the idea into her head.

Wednesday: Marguerite did not realize how the gesture made her gawk in surprise until he winked a second time.

Thursday: Marguerite had learned that when the king’s wine-slickened voice garbled his bursts of bravado into “Shalleena, mlors?”, that the meal had reached it’s end, for the king soon thereafter stumbled out of the hall with his arm around a buxom wench, unless he dropped back into his chair and his head pitched snoring onto the tabletop first.

Friday: Strode took another leisurely sip from his cup, then murmured as the king drew breath to reply, “Ah, nay. As I recall, that man who called your actions dishonorable was not me, but the Earl of Gunthar.”

Saturday: Before Marguerite scarcely knew what she was doing, she gave Sir Aldus a bright smile, laid her fingers in his, and was stepping and sliding and skipping alongside him to the vigorous tune of the vielles.

Summary Sunday

This week's writing was evenly divided between my old/new couple reappearing in the story and my
heroine, Marguerite, being thrust into King John's court in London. Here are a few new sentences from The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: She knew, as he did, how men who ordinarily scorned learning as the labor of clerks found themselves unexpectedly intimidated when thrust into the presence of her husband’s obsessive collection of leatherbound tomes

Tuesday: “John, Marshal writes, is like a vengeful dog, determined to tear his former lands out of the grasping hand of the King of France like a hound all a-growl to recover a stolen bone.”

Wednesday: “She is a cordwainer’s daughter, which you would know if you had lent his prattle half-an ear instead of glaring him into silence every time he sighed her name.”

Thursday: Marguerite had thought Lady Lovell the most beautiful woman she had ever seen until she had laid eyes on Isabelle of Angoulême.

Friday: It startled Marguerite slightly when Sarah lay a finger to the rose Marguerite had chosen next to stitch, until she realized her friend meant the gesture to misdirect anyone who watched them into thinking they merely discussed Marguerite’s embroidery.

Saturday: “And I think you do not weep only because you are bound to so wicked a man as the earl. My love, I know a broken heart when I see it.”

Summary Sunday

I finished what I'm calling the first 3rd of my story arc this week. This has no reference to the actual number of pages per "3rd" in the final version, so trying to guess how close I am to the end will do you no good. Alas, even I'm not sure exactly how many pages it will take me to tell this story, and the three sections likely will not be divided evenly page-wise. But in my mind, it all basically breaks down like this: (1) Falling in love; (2) Separation; and (3) Reunion and Finis. Monday - Friday below are part of (1) Falling in love. Saturday's sentence is the beginning of (2) Separation. (And yes, it's from a new character's POV, although if you've read Loyalty's Web, the character will be familiar when you meet him again. :-) )

Enjoy!

Monday: “’Twas a jolly Christmas—I do think the lasses of this village have the lightest feet I have met for dancing—but I have stayed overlong and the road calls to me again.”

Tuesday: He wished he could have afforded a better bridal gift for her than the spring green ribbon embroidered down the center with a garland of red roses that he had wheedled from the candlemaker’s daughter for a penny and a song.

Wednesday: She sped down the rutted lane so fast he feared she might take a tumble over the uneven ground.

Thursday: Robert glimpsed the youth over Strode’s shoulder, his sullen face smug with revenge.

Friday: He heard the whiz of Strode’s blade one heartbeat before he ducked beneath its slicing edge so narrowly a lock of Robert’s raven hair landed in the dirt beside his right boot.

Saturday: They had shared more joys than sorrows, but the heartaches they had passed through had been the sort that never fully healed, and though over four years had passed, this last one still struck deep.

DANGEROUS FAVOR is up for a RONE Award!

My sweet medieval romance, DANGEROUS FAVOR, is up for a RONE Award, awarded to small or indie published books that

earned a 4 star or higher review by InD'Tale Magazine! The first round of judging is done by readers, so if you have read DANGEROUS FAVOR and enjoyed it, I would appreciate your vote! Click on the link below, then scroll down to "Best Historical: Up Through Medieval". Thank you! (voting for my category ends May 3rd.)

http://indtale.com/rone-awards/2012/week-2

Summary Sunday

This week was full of revelations to my heroine about my hero, along with a proposal she’s long been hoping for. Alas, this is not the end of the story, so next week will bring “complications.” :-)

Monday: “Then you have not told me everything—have you?”

Tuesday: “I said there were easier places to hide bells from her than underneath that heavy old chest and after we all stood guessing for awhile what else it might be, I remembered the silver and I said it.”

Wednesday: “I knew it was true when his face went so red, but he slapped me and called me a hysterical boy and said if I ever spoke such slander again I would regret it, despite my youth.”

Thursday: “Lord Simon said a knight can be turned for silver or ambition, but he knew my father coveted freedom for his family above everything else and promised him enough silver to achieve it for my mother and brother and sister and himself if my father returned him safe to England.”

Friday: Oh, she should not have said that, for Robert promptly disappeared again, soundless as a cat this time.

Saturday: His midnight eyes bore into hers with an implacable honesty. “Marguerite, if you marry me—I do not easily give up what I have claimed as mine. If you marry me, there will be no going back.”

Interview & Giveaway with Tina Scott

Welcome to the second week of the blog tour for Tina Scott's soon-to-be-released debut historical novel, Farewell, My Denmark! I am delighted to host an interview with Tina here at JDP NEWS this week.  Tina is also giving away a copy of her novel (June publication date), along with a $10 Target gift card. For a chance to win, leave a comment on this interview. For additional chances to win, Tweet or Facebook this giveaway and leave a comment here, letting Tina know you've Facebooked or Tweeted. Tina will be checking out the comments and will select a winner at 5 PM PST on Friday (April 19). BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS SO TINA CAN CONTACT YOU IF YOU WIN! (An international winner will receive an e-book only. Sorry.)

JDP: Welcome, Tina! Please tell us a little about your historical novel.

Tina: I’d love to.

A failed engagement sets seventeen-year-old Catherine Erichsen on a faith-building journey of self discovery as she follows her parents and other Mormon Saints on the 1863 immigration to America. When precious heirlooms start disappearing aboard the John J. Boyd, Catherine nearly loses her life at the hand of thieving sailors and fears she won’t live long enough to fulfill the desires of her heart.

JDP: Farewell, My Denmark is set in 1863. Is there a particular reason you chose that year?

Tina: This is the year that one set of my ancestors emigrated from Denmark aboard the John J. Boyd.

JDP: So there’s a link to your own family history. That’s exciting! What did you find most fascinating about this time period? 

Tina: It was a time of transition for modern technology. Bicycles had been invented, but chances that a farm girl would have seen one were slim. They traveled by train part of the way, but many of the immigrants, I’m sure, had never seen a train before they stepped aboard, and so many of their experiences were different and exciting.

JDP: I’m always interested in how authors research their historical novels. Could you tell us a little about how you researched the historical background for Farewell, My Denmark?

Tina: I got my information from a variety of sources. My family history gave me the idea for the story. I found other immigrants’ histories in the Mormon Immigration Index to broaden my perspective on their experience, I resourced a few books, and the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah, and I went to Denmark where I visited the Den Fynske Landsby, or Funen Village. It is here that they’ve brought antique homes and buildings from various regions of Denmark and turned it into an open air museum, and give snippets of their peasant history.

JDP: Oh, wow, can you see me turning green? That’s envy, because I would LOVE to visit this “village,” and I’m not even Danish. Can you share with us your top three favorite research books or other resources?

Tina: Going there in person trumps anything else. *grin*

JDP: Indeed it would! Are there any historical figures from the era who particularly intrigue you?

Tina: I would have to say Hans Christian Andersen. I grew up hearing his stories and loving them. And, when I was young, Danny Kaye starred in a movie about HCA, which I watched with delight.

JDP: Oh, that was a favorite movie of my dad’s and mine, too! Absolutely loved it! In fact, one of the songs from it has a link to my current WIP. (How’s that for a coincidence?) What inspired you to write Farewell, My Denmark?

Tina: There are so many well written stories about the American pioneers, but I hadn’t encountered any on the Danish pioneers. I feel that their stories are unique and interesting, and deserve to be told.

JDP: I agree. (In full disclosure, I read an early version of Farewell, My Denmark and am currently reading a second book of Tina’s, also set in Denmark, and I confess, I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring this “less told” aspect of LDS history.)  Are you working on any new projects? (Well, I kinda gave that away now, didn’t I. LOL!)

Tina: *Laughs* I forgive you. Yes, I’m in the middle of writing a story about Catherine’s sister who ends up staying in Denmark.

JDP: Where can readers obtain copies of Farewell, My Denmark?

Tina: Farewell, My Denmark will be available in June on Amazon, Kindle, and Smashwords.

JDP: Thank you for joining us today, Tina.

Now remember, for a chance to win a copy of Farewell, My Denmark along with a $10 Target gift certificate, leave a comment on this interview. Tweet and/or Facebook for additional entries before 5 PM EST, Friday April 19. REMEMBER TO INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

Summary Sunday

I confronted the darkest day in my hero's life this week. I've played it out in my mind for years, but this was the first time I attempted to write it down. It's interesting how malleable a scene remains until it finally takes solid form on paper or computer screen. Details I hadn't known even with my years of imagining suddenly appeared. It is part of the wonder of "writing."

I share a little glimpse of this scene with you below for Friday. Just one of many new sentences, dark and otherwise, from The Lady and the Minstrel this week.

Monday: He had many things to tell her, but some things felt too harsh for today.

Tuesday: He saw all too glaringly now how their hopes in one another had been at cross-purposes all this while.

Wednesday: Robert hated to admit he shared a common trait with the Earl of Strode, but he recognized stubbornness when he saw it, for the fault had plagued him all his life.

Thursday: Robert was appalled. “Is that what you think I am thinking?”

Friday: “I pelted home just in time to see my father throw a handful of coins in Lord Simon’s face and Lord Simon’s knights spring upon my father and my mother drop her lute.”

Saturday: So bitterly had Lord Simon’s hated face soared up before Robert’s vision that he did not see Marguerite until her hands slapped against his chest.

Book blog tour for "Farewell, My Denmark", by Tina Scott

I am happy to help my good friend, Tina Scott, celebrate the release of her first historical novel, Farewell, My Denmark! She is running a book blog tour, as you will see below, giving away copies of her new books along with Target gift cards. Visit each of the blogs below on the dates listed to be entered in the contest. And don't forget to visit Tina's own blog for an extra entry there!

Totally Tina Scott

I will be holding an interview with Tina on April 16, so I hope you'll come back and visit us then!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

!! HELP ME CELEBRATE MY NOVEL !! 

FAREWELL, MY DENMARK book giveaway and celebration APRIL 8 – 26th

 My Wonderful Helpers:

April 8____Tristi Pinkston  April 12___Valerie Ipson April 15___Cami Checketts April 16___Joyce DiPastena April 22___Joyce Smith
April 23___Jennifer Griffith and Julie Martin Wallace  Each Friday, April 12th, 19th, 26th, one winner will be picked from that weeks comments to receive a copy of my novel [You may choose from print or ebook.

and a $10 Target gift card.

INTERNATIONAL: ebook only, no gift card. Sorry.

Winner will be drawn Fridays @ 5pm Pacific Standard time.

Participants who didn’t win may re-enter each week w/ new comments and announcements.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:

Leave a comment on hosts blog = 1 entry

Leave a comment on my blog w/ your email address in case you win = 1 entry
(Those w/o an email address posted will forfeit if they win.)

Tweet about giveaway w/ link to my blog = 1 entry

Facebook announcement about giveaway w/ link to my blog = 1 entry

Summary Sunday

I did a lot of editing this week, but I did manage a bit of new writing that moved the story forward. Here is a sampling of new sentences from The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: The earl did not need his temper further strained by intercepting Robert returning the longing looks Marguerite was too young to resist casting at him from the dais.

Tuesday: Somehow he kept his voice gentle when a swelling rage within him wanted to pull his dagger free and hunt the earl down.

Wednesday: But the plea in her eyes undid all his noble resolves and his mouth drifted towards her lips like a bee drawn to a seductively blushing rose.

Thursday: He pushed her away a little too hard, for he heard her startled huff as her back knocked up against the log and slightly winded her.

Friday: “If I was so clumsy that you could not feel my love in those kisses, then I am as contemptible a scoundrel as the Earl of Strode.”

Saturday: He had felt the promise of it before, whispering along his soul in those moments when his restlessness calmed as they’d blended their music and laughter.

Musical musings

I know many writers who write to music. I even know writers who choose specific songs to go with each character or even each chapter or scene of their books. In general, I am not such a writer myself. I can’t write to music or TV or any other background distractions. (Well, maybe my cats, but that’s about it.) Aside from medieval poetry, to which any musical accompaniments has failed to survive to the present day, there are no actual musical connections to my medieval novels . . . with one exception, and it’s not a medieval one.

There is a song that is bound in my heart to my current work-in-progress, The Lady and the Minstrel. It has been some time since I sang it, but I came across it recently as I was unpacking some music books in my new house. The song is Anywhere I Wander, by Frank Loesser, and was sung by Danny Kaye in the movie musical, Hans Christian Anderson in 1952. I grew up watching this movie as a little girl with my dad—it was one of our favorites—and in my house, whenever we found a musical we liked, we went to a music store and bought the sheet music (or book of sheet music) to the movie, then came home and sang and played it endlessly on the piano.

I learned this song long before I wrote my first draft of The Lady and the Minstrel (many, many years ago), but while writing that first draft, this song took on a new meaning to me—or rather, I should say, to my characters, my hero in particular. I think it is the theme in the song of wandering, since my hero was a wandering minstrel, coupled with the sad nature of the lyrics. The third verse became particularly poignant to me as it came to encapsulate a dark moment towards the end of the book where my hero sends my heroine away with another man. I promise my story has a happy ending, but for awhile towards the end, things do look very bleak.

These are the words to the song. They could easily be sung by my hero, Robert the Minstrel, about his lady love, Marguerite.

Anywhere I Wander

by Frank Loesser

Her arms were warm as they welcomed me,

Her eyes were fire bright,

And then I knew that my path must be

Through the ever haunted night,

For anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam.

Her voice was oh such a soft caress,

Of love it gently told,

And in her smile was a tenderness

I may never more behold.

But anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

 Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

 My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam.

Her tears were silver as morning dew

As she bade me goodbye,

And every tear was a promise true

That her love would never die.

So anywhere I wander,

Anywhere I roam,

Till I’m in the arms of my darling again

My heart will find no home.

Anywhere I wander.

Anywhere I roam.

I’ve been unable to find a performance of this song that includes all three verses, but here is one by Danny Kaye with verses 1 & 2 and one by Ed Ames that includes verses 1 & 3.

My books on sale for Kindle!

My publisher has made all three of my sweet medieval romances available at sales prices for Kindle through April 13! Each is now only $4.99, a $5 savings off the regular price. Just go to Amazon and type in any of the following titles:

Loyalty's Web

Illuminations of the Heart

Dangerous Favor

And check out my publisher's website for more great e-books on sale! Walnut Springs Press

Summary Sunday

A good friend once gave me a doll with frazzled hair holding a sign that said: "Some days are better

than others." That was certainly true for my writing this week, especially on Friday. I barely eked out a handful of new sentences in an evening otherwise mostly devoted to editing a pivotal scene from an earlier draft. (The editing session felt more like a wrestling match!) In spite of that, I did manage to write six days this week. Here is a sampling from what I accomplished this week with The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: She could barely eat or sleep for wondering where Robert was and what he was thinking and whether this time apart would cool the simmering heat in his eyes and replace it with a cold, sober assessment that the dangers of her inheritance outweighed the desire she knew he felt for her.

Tuesday: Holly, along with mistletoe and ivy, had always been hung in her grandfather’s hall during Advent, but her father held to the belief that it was unlucky to gather holly before Christmas Eve.

Wednesday: Strode even let her win twice at chess. He praised her cleverness, again conspicuously before the servants, when he forced her to take advantage of careless moves she knew a man shrewd enough to rise in power next to the king could only have made deliberately.

Thursday: His voice did not slur, but she recoiled, the aromatic mix of cloves and cinnamon and apples of the wassail soured with the wine on his breath.

Friday: The inexplicable sense of safety she had felt with Robert in the glade had become a promise fulfilled.

Saturday: “That glint in yer eye, that mulish set to yer lips— I’ve known ye too long not to recognize the signs that ye’re about to do somethin’ insanely foolish.”

Hug a Medievalist Day: Giveaway

I  should have posted this sooner, but it's not too late! I'm holding a giveaway to celebrate Hug a Medievalist Day over on my Medieval Research with Joyce blog. If you'd like a chance to win a copy of Medieval Women, by Eileen Power, hop on over (no Easter pun intended) to my research blog and enter by midnight tomorrow night (March 31)!

Click here to go to the giveaway!

Book Review: "The Winter Sea," by Susanna Kearsley

As I've mentioned here before, I don't often do full-fledged book reviews, but I've made an exception The Winter Sea, by Susanna Kearsley. Actually, it's not a review so much as an analysis of my reaction to the book, and my curiosity about whether my analogy below might apply to other readers as well. So here is a copy of the review I posted on Goodreads. If you've read The Winter Sea or a book like it and would like to chime in with your thoughts in a comment, I would love to hear from you!

Goodreads review:

Okay, so here is my take on "Winter Sea." I loved the two romances in this story. I loved learning about the early Jacobites, since probably like most readers, I was more familiar with the stories of Bonnie Prince Charlie than I was with those of his father, James. I loved the beautiful writing, which I fully confess made me envious and wishing that I could write beautiful scenes like some of these. :::sigh::: On the other hand, just for me personally, I struggled with the structure of the book, the flipping back and forth between the present and the past. Although I understand why the author wrote the book this way and realize the "flipping" was a necessary part of her plot, I still found it jarring. I would become fully immersed in the characters in the present and just as I was thoroughly enjoying their scenes, I would find myself wrenched away to the characters in the past. Then just as I found myself happily immersed in these characters' scenes, I would be wrenched back to the present. I found it somewhat difficult emotionally because I could have loved reading an entire book (or two separate books) about just one set of characters or the other without interruption. It is certainly a credit to the author's writing abilities that she was able to make me care so much about both sets of couples. (Loved, loved, loved the humor in the contemporary scenes. A few times I literally laughed out loud.)

Now, in one of my status updates I promised a food analogy that occurred to me while I was reading this book. My emotional reaction to the structure of this book made me reflect on why I found the switching back and forth so difficult when someone like my sister would have read a book like this through seamlessly without any of the jarring sensations that I felt. And then I remembered how we like to eat our food. Let's take Thanksgiving dinner as an example. Say my sister and I each have a plate containing turkey, mashed potatoes, corn, green beans, and dressing. My sister will smoosh all of these foods together and eat them all mixed up, while I confess that I prefer to eat all my turkey, then all my green beans, then all my mashed potatoes, etc, one by one. My sister loves to mix all the flavors up together, while I prefer to savor each one individually before moving on to the next. (This works for chocolate, too. Give me 10 Hershey Kisses, 5 caramel and 5 with almonds, and I will eat all the caramel ones first, then all the almonds one. That's just the way my taste buds work.)

This analogy got me to wondering if the reactions of other readers of a book like "Winter Sea" might also reflect their eating habits. I am tempted to do a poll of readers to see if there is, indeed, a correlation between the two, but I confess, I am too lazy to put one together. However, if any of you read this review and would like to share your opinion on my analogy, I'd be fascinated to hear it!

(And if you've actually read this far, then you deserve to buy yourself some Hershey Kisses and eat them in whichever order you prefer!)

Arizona Renaissance Festival 2013

Another wonderful year at the Arizona Renaissance Festival! This was their 25 year anniversary and I'm happy to say, I haven't missed a single year!

(Yes, I snapped this on the way out of the festival because the lighting wasn't good going in)

Here is a picture of the royal family, with the Princess on the left, the Queen in the middle, and the King on the right. Maybe next year I'll get some snapshots of those handsome young princes!

If you go hungry at the Arizona Renaissance Festival, you'll have only yourself to blame. Just look at all your choices!

After all of that, you'll need something to drink, of course. Keep your eye out for this booth whenever you get thirsty!

Sometimes you need a snack.

And don't forget about dessert!

(And I've barely scratched the surface of your options!)

The Arizona Renaissance Festival had a brand new feature this year called Pan's Oasis. In this next sequence of pictures, you'll see the satyr Pan cavorting in a fountain before the fountain comes to life! This is definitely going to become one of my favorite stops at the RenFest every year.

Until next year...huzzah!