Sunday 11/17/13 #WeWriWa Snippet from Snowflakes & Beeswax

Hi! After nearly a month away, I'm back with a snippet for the Weekend Writing Warriors (WeWriWa) and Sunday Snippet blog hop. The snippet I'm posting comes from my Georgian era romance novella, Snowflakes & Beeswax. I hope you like it!

Oliver nearly stabbed her.

Madelyn was buried under so much hay only her face and a few patches of her red cloak exposed. It was too late to stop the downward movement of the fork. At the last moment he changed the angle of the pitchfork thrust and sent the tines deep in to the stack well away from Madelyn’s skin. He swallowed and shoved his shaking hands into his pocket. Damning images flashed through his mind. If his reflexes were slower, if she was covered with more hay, if he hadn’t looked she’d be severely injured right now. He sucked in a deep breath and focused on the immediate problem.     

I originally wrote Snowflakes & Beeswax for an anthology. After it was rejected, I cleaned it up and decided to self-publish. This kisses-only novella is about 21,000 words long. Both the paperback and ebook versions are currently available from Amazon.

A Little B&E this week for #WeWriWa and #8Sunday

I’m changing gears. Again.

 Now that summer is finally here and everyone has changed their boots for flip-flops and started lining up at the ice cream stands, it seems strange to be posting snippets from a Christmas themed novella, Snowflakes & Beeswax. I’m in the process of putting together all my submission stuff and hope to start submitting it later this week.  

Snowflakes & Beeswax is a sweet romantic story about an agoraphobic chandler and one of Queen Charlotte’s personal guards. With the exception of two scenes, the entire setting is a small, medieval style farm in Northern England. The idea for the story sprang from my current obsession with beekeeping.

Here’s the start of my story which is, oddly, very unChristmasy and very unromantic. 

Don't forget to check out the talented group of writers who made the decision to share their work on this fine weekend.  You can find links leading to the snippets they've posted at the Weekend Writing Warriors linky list, and the Facebook group, Snippet Sunday.

December, 1800

The intruder used a stick to prevent the door from shutting completely, leaving it open just wide enough so a thin beam of silver light streamed through the crack, penetrating the dark space behind the threshold.

            Grateful for what little light the moon provided, the intruder turned and crept towards the center of the large room, stopping when their hip connected with a hard edge.

            With smooth, economical movements, the intruder placed a lantern on the top of the flat surface and carefully moved the black cloth they’d covered it with, creating a narrows slit that golden light exposing just enough light for them to see their surroundings. The room was a recent addition, designed so the old stone barn was between it and the cabin, but the intruder felt it best to be cautious.

The prowler rolled their shoulders and studied the space.

            They were alone in the middle of a large room that smelled of honey, beeswax, and heat. The lantern rested on the top of an enormous scarred table just a few inches from a small leather trunk.

            The shadow clad individual moved to the box, the sight of the unlocked clasp bringing a brief smile to their face.

Tuesday's #octmadwrite

I did it, the one thing I swore I wasn’t going to do until after NaNoWrMo. I decided to take another past at Foolish Beauty, otherwise known as the, evil historical manuscript that I’ll have to sell my soul to finish manuscript. This will be the third time I’ve started it from scratch, and I’ll figure I’ll plug away at it a little at a time for the next few weeks until NaNoWrMo, and then tuck it away again.

I’m pleased to report that I managed to come up with 994 words today.  I still have some more evening left and am planning to use it to do some editing, plotting, and maybe write a micro fiction.

I also participated in today’s #octmadwrite which was to take the favorite character from a book and incorporate them into my current manuscript. I chose Lucy Pevensie from the Chronicles of Narnia, and free wrote for five minutes. Later I might try to do the same thing with the main character from The Tell Tale Heart.

Jeffery’s spotted Princess Lucy sitting on a low stone wall, her back propped against a tree, and her customary book balanced across her knees. A white goat grazed beside her.           

Lucy looked up from her book and studied his face. “Jeffery,” she said, her tone ever so faintly admonishing. “What did you do?”

            He could lie. The thought flitted through his mind for a brief second. He even felt the words starting to form in his mouth, but at the last moment he simply shook his head. “Your highness, please believe me when I tell you you don’t want to know.”

            Lucy’s head tilted to one side and she studied him, her gray eyes as calm and deep as the sea on a windless day. Jeffery’s heart thundered in his chest. Lucy was the one person in the palace who seemed to see through his easy smile and shenanigans. Sometimes, in moments like this, he suspected she saw straight into his soul. He had no idea what she saw there, and he was afraid to ask.

            Lucy’s nose wrinkled. Her book fluttered to the ground as she jabbed a finger into Jeffery’s chest, poking him with such force he staggered backwards. 

            “You,” she said, her voice laced with excitement and irritation, “have been having an adventure.”