I fell a bit off the writing rails in 2016. I spent the first 5 months of the year being sick and the last 7 months trying to catch up with all the things I fell behind with the first 5 months. But 2017 is starting off better (knocking on wood, let's not jinx it, shall we?), and I'm working hard to get my writing back on track. Instead of resuming a sampling of daily sentences from my daily writing sessions to share with you, I've decided to share a weekly Tuesday Teaser from my work-in-progress instead.
If you read my 2016 romance, Courting Cassandry, my new story takes place 31 years earlier when the hero, Gerolt, was nineteen years old. He and his friend, Samson, play young secondary characters in this new story, but the romance centers around an English knight named Nick Ryder and the daughter of a Venetian silk merchant named Giacinta. And yes, the story takes place in Venice!
Here, in honor of Valentine's Day (which should always involve flowers, don't you think?), is a tidbit of a scene between Nick and Giacinta in Giacinta's garden. I hope you enjoy it!
These narrow, tiled gardens of Venice must not be conducive to inspiring romantic garlands or chaplets. Nick's fingers flew now as he entwined one flower after another into the braided ivy. He interspersed the bold colors of the violets, gladioli, periwinkle, and melograno with the delicate white of the gelsomino and an occasional honeysuckle, wrapping their stems around the ivy to secure the flowers in place.
“Oh, but how pretty!” Giacinta exclaimed when he tilted the wreath for a final inspection of his work.
He set the wreath atop her crisscrossed braids, then smiled. “Now it is beautiful.”
Her cheeks turned a becoming pink. She reached up a hand, tentatively touching her fresh-blossomed crown. “English ladies wear these on their heads?”
“Young, unmarried maidens do.”
She sighed. “I am not young.” She lowered her hand, but to his relief, did not remove the wreath.
“How old can you be? I guess you a mere twenty.”
“I am twenty-two,” she said, though she looked slightly pleased that he had under-guessed her age. “Nunzia Rosa has been married for seven years. If Stefano does not marry me soon, I shall end up a spinster.”
“You? A spinster? The thought is absurd!” And who the devil is Stefano?
We don’t, of course, have balls in the Middle Ages, but we
love to dance quite as much as our Regency descendants will.
We are celebrating the Holy Day of Christmas at Lyonstoke
Castle, where I live with my guardian, Lord Gerolt de Warrenne. We have just
finished a sumptuous feast, for Gerolt is very rich. The centerpiece of the
final course (we had five altogether) was a great roast boar, surrounded on a
huge platter with greenery and apples, one of the latter stuffed in the great
beast’s mouth. The feast has lasted from midday until now it is early evening.
Candles and torches have been lit, while a massive Yule log flames away in the
hearth, flooding the castle’s great hall with light and warmth. Throughout the
meal we were entertained by tumblers, jesters, and minstrels, but now that we
are all merry with food and wine (although Gerolt insisted I water mine), we
seek other entertainment.
Servants whisk away the leftover food and dishes and push
the tables back against the walls, though carefully so as not to harm the beautiful
tapestries that hang there. Gerolt’s castle musicians alter the soft
accompaniments they played while we dined and begin a lively carole dance. We
hold hands in a circle and skip sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right,
singing as we do so.
“The holly
and the ivy,
“When they are both full grown . . .”
Antony de Reymes holds my left hand in his right. Gerolt has
given us leave to marry in a year when Antony turns twenty-one and becomes a
knight. Loving Antony makes my heart sing even more than the music we skip to,
but he is a great tease. Sometimes he tugs me too hard, trying to hurry the
circle, throwing us out of rhythm, or alters the circle’s direction before its
time, not because he has no sense of music but because he thinks it great fun
to throw the circle into confusion. The more frowns he earns from the other
dancers, the more widely he grins. I adore Antony and he adores me, but
sometimes his antics grow a tiny bit wearisome, especially because I love
dancing best when we dance the steps exactly right.
When the carole is ended, Gerolt takes his turn with me. The
company breaks into smaller circles and the drums and pipes begin again. This
dance begins with the ladies being turned beneath the gentlemen’s arms and
moves quickly into more intricate steps and formations than the simple carole
dance. Gerolt is the best dancer I know. He always guides me so lightly through
the steps that I feel as though I dance on air. My joyful heart beats as one
with the music. The slender gray shell Gerolt tied about my neck when I was
twelve bounces merrily against the bodice of my embroidered green gown as I
skip and whirl.
Antony frowns when I wear the shell, as though jealous of the
gift. He is sometimes so absurd! Though Gerolt is my guardian, he and I are as close
as brother and sister. I cherish the gift even more than the jewels my parents
left me for the bond that it signals between me and Gerolt, one that no one,
even Antony, can ever break. Even the shell’s color matches the cloud-gray shade
of Gerolt’s kind eyes. I remember how oddly they warmed with an emotion I did
not quite understand the day he tied the shell around my neck.
He is
twenty-five now and I fifteen. For a moment as we dance with hands raised and
palms pressed together, I think I glimpse that light in his eyes again, but the
smile he gives me is the smile I have known and loved since I was
nine-years-old, the one that makes me feel safe and treasured. I wish I knew a
gift to give him in return for these six years we have shared but I can think
of nothing he does not already have. I will miss him more than I can say when
Antony and I are married.
Gerolt kneels and kisses my hand as the music ends, and
Antony whisks me into yet another circle. But I glance over my shoulder as we
go and pray that Gerolt can see the love and gratitude in my smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Though the medieval dance in this video is not set in a
castle hall, it will give you an idea of some of the steps Gerolt and I enjoyed
together this Christmas night.
See how my story with Antony and Gerolt turns out in Courting Cassandry.
Christmas is coming up quickly! Do you have family and friends who still prefer reading PRINT books to ebooks? If so, 6 of my sweet medieval romance titles are 20% off through December if you order your copies directly through CreateSpace! All you have to do is enter the discount code VZ7B2WGLwhen you check out.
The 20% discount is available for the following titles at the following links:
Also, if you sign up for my newsletter, you will receive a FREE download of my medieval Christmas short story, A Candlelight Courting, as a thank you gift.
We hope you enjoyed going back to Medieval times, finding tokens of courtship from Gerolt to Cassandry, and their story at their chance for a rare second chance at love! If you have been gathering tokens for the giveaway, here is the eighth one (previously not posted):
If you missed any of the stops or tokens, go back and check them out now...
What is your motivation behind Courting Cassandry? Why did you want to write it?
Courting Cassandry is the second book in my Hearts in Autumn Romance series. The couples in this series are older than couples in most romances, in their 40s and 50s. Now that I’m, oh, somewhere around those ages myself, I thought it would be interesting to explore how romances might develop between more mature couples, all based on the premise: “You’re never too old to fall in love!” Because really, don’t we all want to be loved regardless of our age?
These are characters who have already lived rich lives, who have experienced depths of heartache and joy that my younger characters only stand on the threshold of. That gives my autumn couples layers of complexity that I can’t quite reach with younger characters. And I am finding that aspect exceptionally enjoyable!
6. If you were presented with the opportunity to travel through time, which period would you choose and why?
My fascination with the Middle Ages began with King Henry II of England, who has played an offstage role in several of my books, so I suppose I would like to go back to the days when he was king and see what he was truly like. Not what his modern critics or supporters say he was like, but what he was really like.
Fire churned in her stomach. How dare you make me feel again? After you failed me so abysmally. You abandon me, then sweep back into my life as though you were never gone. But I will always be a child to you, your sparrow, when at this moment I want nothing more than to wipe away the taste of Sir Samson with your kiss on my lips.
"The characters and story are well written. This is a clean romance that pulled me in from the beginning. I love reading Joyce's books and this book lived up to my expectations!"
At the risk of another rebuff, Gerolt took her hand again, allowing some of the purple blossoms to scatter at their feet. How could she not feel his longing for her in his touch? His thumb swept lightly over her knuckles. “I cannot let you simply disappear again.”
One event at which a lady might quite openly give a token to a man with few repercussions was at a tournament. These tokens were usually called “favors” and when worn by the knight, indicated that all his successes on the tournament field would be won on behalf of the lady whose token he wore.
Sometimes well-meaning readers question the lines of inheritance in my medieval romances. More familiar with the popular and wide spread Regency romance, they assume that the strict rules of inheritance that basically disowned the rights of daughters during the Regency or even Victorian eras have always stood in England. This was not the case.
“I hate seeing you in such distress.” The vehemence that shook his lowered voice made her turn her head to gaze at him. “As much as we love them, children can sometimes be the very devil. If you would like me to shake Egelina for you, I should be happy to oblige.”
"I loved the stories within stories. Each character in this book has a story to tell. They all weave together but shape each character separately. It was a gentle and slow unfolding and I feel like I became more personally acquainted with each character page by page."
The curious thing about medieval dancing is that no one knows how medieval couples actually danced. Written descriptions of dancing in Europe didn’t appear until the mid-1400s, during the Renaissance. Nevertheless, we know people did dance during the Middle Ages because there are references to dancing in medieval poetry, as well as glimpses of dancing in medieval paintings and illuminated manuscripts.
"Readers will be captivated by the charming and beautiful love story, as well as the wonderfully developed characters. I would recommend this novel to readers that enjoy medieval romance novels."
5. What inspired the idea for your Courting Cassandry or Hearts in Autumn Series?
A couple of years ago, a writers group I was in challenged us each to try to write an autumn-themed story. While I was trying to come up with an autumn theme, the thought came to me, “What if I wrote a story about falling in love during the characters’ ‘autumn years?’” So I wrote a romance about an older couple and enjoyed it so much, I decided to turn it into a series called “Hearts in Autumn.” Courting Cassandry is the second title in the series. (The first was Loving Lucianna.)
Chess was a hugely popular game among the nobility of Europe during the Middle Ages. The game is believed to have originated in India in the 6th century and made its way to Europe somewhere around the year 1000. The rules were somewhat different than the modern game and the names of some of the pieces changed, translated into more familiar European concepts.
Courting Cassandry
(Hearts in Autumn #2)
by Joyce DePastena
Adult Historical Romance
ebook, 348 pages
February 17th 2016
Is it too late for second chances when the girl you loved in your youth comes back into your life?
Gerolt de Warenne became guardian to a child-heiress named Cassandry when he was only nineteen-years old. As he watched her grow into a lovely young woman, he found himself falling in love with her, but Cassandry viewed him as an older brother. So, burying his feelings, he gave permission for her to marry another.
Twenty-four years later Gerolt and Cassandry meet again. With the loss of their respective spouses, Gerolt hopes to finally court Cassandry, but she desires to remain a widow. Instead, they agree to a betrothal of their children.
Matters become complicated as their friendship begins to evolve into the romance Gerolt has always wanted. But by the law of the medieval Church, Cassandry and Gerolt can’t marry if their children do. Can they find a way to be together? Or must they sacrifice their future for the love of their children?
"Courting Cassandry" is a “Hearts in Autumn” romance, medieval romances revolving around heroes and heroines “in the autumn of their years.” Because love isn’t only for the young!
Sir Balduin de Soler gave up long ago on love. He never had the means to support a wife until an unexpected advancement in his fifties allows him to reassess his future just as the lovely Lucianna enters his life.
Lucianna Fabio harbors a secret, painful memory from her past that has kept her unwed, as well. Now in her forties, she thought herself too old to marry until she meets Sir Balduin. Now suddenly their lonely autumn lives feel very much like spring again . . . until Lucianna’s brother appears without warning and threatens to revive the secret that will destroy Lucianna’s second chance at love.
"Loving Lucianna" is the first in Joyce DiPastena’s new "Hearts in Autumn" romance series, medieval romances revolving around heroes and heroines “in the autumn of their years.” Because you’re never too old to fall in love!
Joyce DiPastena dreamed of green medieval forests while growing up in the dusty copper mining town of Kearny, Arizona. She filled her medieval hunger by reading the books of Thomas B. Costain (where she fell in love with King Henry II of England), and later by attending the University of Arizona where she graduated with a degree in history, specializing in the Middle Ages. The university was also where she completed her first full-length novel…set, of course, in medieval England. Later, her fascination with Henry II led her to expand her research horizons to the far reaches of his “Angevin Empire” in France, which became the setting of her first published novel, Loyalty’s Web (a 2007 Whitney Award Finalist).
When she’s not writing, Joyce loves to read, play the piano, and spend time with her sister and friends. A highlight of her year is attending the annual Arizona Renaissance Festival .
Joyce is a multi-published, multi-award winning author who specializes in sweet medieval romances heavily spiced with mystery and adventure. She lives with her two cats, Clio and Glinka Rimsky-Korsokov, in Mesa, Arizona.
