Showing posts with label amwriting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label amwriting. Show all posts

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Join #MFRWAuthor @KimHeadlee at the @ctfaire plus read Ch 14/Sc 3b of RAGING SEA #amwriting

It's been years since I've attended a renaissance fair, and on Sunday 10/16/2016 I will be signing my books at the...

Connecticut Renaissance Faire,
290 Washington Ave, North Haven, CT.
Faire hours: 10:30 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Author signing: 1 – 3 p.m.
I'll have copies of most of my books available for purchase, and I plan to perform a dramatic reading—in costume—from King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court. I hope to see you there!

And because today is Saturday and I love y'all so much, here is the next installment in Raging Sea.

Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 3b
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

Angusel straightened in the saddle, submerging his resentment. Whatever might happen, he would comport himself as one of Arthur’s soldiers, stoic and reserved.

That plan worked just fine, in fact, until the troop got to within hailing distance of Senaudon’s gate tower.

His mother chanced to be standing on the battlements, talking with the guard captain. As Centurion Cato identified the troop, Alayna’s face looked progressively more displeased. She still had to resent the Breatanach occupation force—swelled tenfold once again by the presence of the troops being staged for action against the Angalaranaich—but it seemed to Angusel that her scowl darkened even further when she made eye contact with him.

Angusel squared his shoulders and shifted his gaze to look straight ahead as he’d been drilled countless times to do, thankful for the military protocol to mask the wound within his heart.




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  1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
  2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
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Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

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Subscribe today
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***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Angusel returns home in Ch 14/Sc 3a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted my blog as a "spam or malicious" website.

I have no idea why. My content is neither spam nor malicious.

As you can see for yourself, my blog contains no advertising—not even Google's—and I do not use the Bloglovin' widget or any other plugin that slaps ads onto a blog without the blog owner's knowledge or consent. I carefully avoid displaying content that can be construed as offensive or immoral from a "relationship intimacy" standpoint.

Note how I bent over backward just now to employ a euphemism rather than include text that would show up in a keyword search and further support the TwitRNazis' erroneous position regarding the nature of my blog.

The only thing I can figure is that last month, a fake Google user account named "Blogger" posted a few spammy comments on three or four of my older posts, one spam comment per post. I deleted them as soon as I found them, and I have since instituted comment moderation, but apparently I didn't act fast enough to prevent my website from being blacklisted by the TwitRNazi bots. If anyone knows how to report spam accounts to Google, please do leave a comment to that effect, because I've been unable to find a way to do that. I will approve your comments as soon as I'm able so everyone may benefit from your advice.

The link to the Twitter website reporting page is (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam). If any of you would like to help me appeal the unjust blacklisting of my blog by Twitter, please visit that link, select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam.", and then specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."

Thanks, and I hope you all have a much better week than I'm having. Hurricane Matthew—and the raging seas it's churning up—isn't helping matters any.

In today's excerpt from Raging Sea, Angusel isn't having a very good week either, though he doesn't yet know it's about to get even worse.


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 2a | Sc 2b |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 3a
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

For the first time in a year and a half, Angusel was returning home.

To his birthplace, he corrected himself. “Home” had become a spartan barracks chamber. That circumstance would not be changing any time soon.

He marveled that Stonn seemed to remember the lands surrounding Senaudon, tugging at the bit and acting more fidgety with each passing league. It was all Angusel could do to keep him from bolting down the path ahead of the Pendragon and Centurion Cato and the rest of First Ala.

And why shouldn’t his horse be eager? Stonn had all the comforts of a familiar stable awaiting him, not derision and scorn.

Angusel straightened in the saddle, submerging his resentment. Whatever might happen, he would comport himself as one of Arthur’s soldiers, stoic and reserved.

That plan worked just fine, in fact, until the troop got to within hailing distance of Senaudon’s gate tower.

***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of The Challenge!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today
so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Gull feels a sudden chill in Ch 14/Sc 2b of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay (c) 2016 by Kim Headlee.
Welcome to October on The Maze!


The leaves are starting to turn, there's half a hint of coolness in the air (we've had a hotter than usual summer, so I'm still waiting for the promised break in thermometer antics), and the holiday madness hasn't quite hit full stride.


Ah, autumn. I love it! :)


In today's excerpt from Raging Sea, Gull feels a chill that has nothing whatever to do with the change in seasons.


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 2a |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 2b
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

The merchant kicked a wee stone in the direction of the fleeing cat to convince it to keep going, and then started checking his handcart’s contents. Gull stooped to examine the child. A knot had begun to form in just about the same spot as before, if Gull’s memory proved sound, but he seemed otherwise unhurt.

Loholt—Eoghann, Gull corrected himself; he dared not alert anyone that he knew the truth—waited until his “mother” had arrived, panting and gasping and fuming, before throwing back his head and wailing as if tomorrow would never come.

“Hush, now, me little man,” Gull crooned in Breatanaiche. “’Tis nae as bad as all that.”

Eoghann, still sniffling, wiped his face with his tunic sleeve and cocked his head toward Gull, who offered him an encouraging smile.

“Thank’ee, good sir,” the woman said to Gull, looming over them both. “This one’s a hellion, and no mistake.” She gripped Eoghann’s wrist—harder than Gull thought necessary—and wrenched the lad away from him.

Gull stood and laid a hand on the woman’s. “He’s a good lad.” He gave that hand, which was holding the boy’s wrist, a firm squeeze, suppressing his satisfaction when he felt her fingers loosen to what had to be a more comfortable hold for Eoghann. “He just needs a boatload of love, and two boatloads of patience.”

The woman snorted. “And how many children have you raised, then?”

He couldn’t help but smile. “One son.” He nodded at the boy, widening his grin. “Exactly like him in temperament.”

She dipped her head in a parody of respect and stalked toward the street that angled through Port Dhoo-Glass’s inland gates.

Eoghann twisted around to wave at Gull. “Good lad… good sir,” the boy crooned as the widening distance made each word softer than the last.

Gull returned the wave, vowing to help this child even if it was the last thing he would ever do.

A sudden breeze chilled him, and he lowered his arm to chafe it.


*** Special announcement: I need your help! ***

Twitter has unjustly blacklisted this blog as a "spam or malicious" website. As you can see by its content, it is neither spam nor malicious. If you enjoy this site, please consider performing the following steps:
  1. Visit the Twitter website reporting page (https://support.twitter.com/forms/spam).
  2. Select the button that reads "I can't tweet a link because Twitter thinks it's spam."
  3. Specify https://kimiversonheadlee.blogspot.com/ as the "Problematic link."
  4. Fill out the rest of the pertinent details and click "Submit."
  5. (Optional but greatly appreciated) Tweet this blog post but in the link replace ".com" with ".ca", ".co.uk",".ie", or any other Blogspot mirror site so that Twitter won't block your tweet from being posted.

Thank you so very much and have a blessed day.

***
All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, September 17, 2016

Not more than half were still alive in Ch 14/sc 1d of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee.
It's official.  I now have an embarrassment of riches. :)

On Monday I received input from my primary editor regarding my forthcoming nonfiction book, The Business of Writing: Practical Insights for Independent, Hybrid, and Traditionally Published Authors.

Two days later my proofreader returned her annotated version of Raging Sea: Enemies & Allies.

Yep, you guessed it. I am wading through a truckload of editorial comments.

Since I need to publish The Business of Writing first so I can have copies in hand for my upcoming workshop presentations, I haven't yet looked at Robin's notes for RS:EA. Soon, however, I will assess how much work I need to apply so I can establish a publication date and associated preorder period.

Stay tuned for more announcements about both books!

Meantime, enjoy today's excerpt from Raging Sea—if indeed "enjoy" is a word that can apply to this particular, gut-wrenching situation


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 1d
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

Sgeir heaved a sigh but didn’t get a chance to begin. A stone-muffled commotion seeped into the chamber. Eileann took it to mean the clan was welcoming the war-band home. Of a sudden, she had never wanted to see her father and sister and husband so acutely in all her life.

Over the women’s protests, Eileann rushed from the chamber. When Fioruisge gripped her wrist to pull her back, she yanked free and surged out the door.

In the corridor, the shouts grew louder… and transformed into lamentations.

Eileann burst out of the broch and into the worst hell she could imagine.

The war-band had indeed returned, to the last man.

Not more than half were still alive.

Horses not being ridden were bearing their fallen riders lashed to their backs, led by the survivors.

Fist to mouth, Eileann hitched her skirts in her other hand and sprinted toward the wave of mothers and wives and sisters searching for their menfolk. Some reunions were punctuated by relieved if weak whoops. Others ended in a flood of tears.

Eileann found her father in the midst of the bedraggled troop, sitting as tall in the saddle as his wounds would allow. They did not appear life threatening, thanks be to Nemetona. Her sister Rionnag rode beside him, her armor bloody but not breached, as near as Eileann could tell.

Rionnach was leading Iomar’s horse. Iomar’s throat had been slashed.

Pain twisted Eileann’s gut.

Her father halted the band, and he ordered the warriors to dismount. Dynann appeared from somewhere to throw herself into Rionnach’s arms.

While Rionnag held the reins, Eileann dropped to her knees beside Iomar’s horse, her face on level with her husband’s. With trembling fingers she reached for his face, trying to summon thankfulness that the enemy had left her this small mercy. Pain knifed her gut again. Willing it away, she forced herself to trace the eyelids that would never open, the lips that would never again kiss hers…

The pain would not be denied. It ripped through her like the sword wielded by a ro h’uamhasach, that most terrible of battle-frenzied warriors who stabs and slashes and hacks at his foes until nothing remains but a mass of bloody flesh.

“Eileann!”

Who had spoken? Her mother? Her sister? One of the wisewomen? Eileann couldn’t tell through the merciless pain.

She threw back her head and uttered a great keening howl, powerless to stop it, even to inhale, until at last she collapsed, sobbing, in the dirt.


***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of Kings!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today
so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow<

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, September 10, 2016

Eileann demands answers in Ch 14/sc 1c of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee.
Family issues regarding my two adult children have consumed most of my time this past week. 

Thankfully it's nothing life-threatening, but the emotions and tough decisions still exact a heavy toll. For a writer who is also a mother, this means that work on new material must go on hiatus.

Things with my kids are calming down a bit now, so I'm hoping I can get back into my writing routine soon.

Sometimes I do wish I had mentors like Eileann's,who are featured again in today's excerpt from Raging Sea.

On the other hand, as Eileann will discover in next week's excerpt, sometimes it's better not to know what heartbreak the future will bring.



Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in PERMAFREE Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |
Chapter 14: Sc 1a | Sc 1b |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 1c
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

Sgeir covered the dough with a cloth and left it to rest, snatched her cane, and tottered over to Eileann. “Time aplenty for that, my lady.” She laid a hand on Eileann’s belly and glanced at the other women. “The àrd-banoigin indeed be with child.” That the crone had divined the purpose of Eileann’s visit came as no surprise, but she felt her elation slip as she beheld Sgeir’s stern but sad countenance. “Lady Eileann, we must talk.”

Her bony fingers gripped Eileann’s elbow to steer her to the nearest willow chair. Eileann sat. Sgeir pointed a look at Fioruisge and thence to the kettle steaming from the hearth pole. The young woman retrieved cups from a shelf and poured a round for everyone of the aromatic, pale green brew.

In serving Eileann, Fioruisge caught her foot against a stool and stumbled. Boiling tisane slopped onto Eileann’s arm. With a yelp, she shot to her feet, sucking the burn. Mortified, Fioruisge stammered an apology. Sian rushed over with a salve pot and pried Eileann’s arm from her mouth.

Her clan-mark, the tattoo of the Tarsuinn Falcon signifying her status as àrd-banoigin, had turned a livid shade of red.

Sian slathered on the salve and gently rubbed it in. The pain abated a bit, but the redness worsened.

The three wisewomen exchanged looks that were not encouraging.

“What does this mean?” Eileann tried not to sound as panicked as she felt but wasn’t sure how well she succeeded. “Please—I know you view the least broken twig as significant. Tell me, please!” A painful twinge flared in her belly but quickly receded.


***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of Kings!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today
so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow<

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Eileann swallows a surge of fear in Ch 14/sc 1a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee.
Though it doesn't feel like it in some respects, summer is indeed winding down. 

My daughter and thousands of other students her age have returned to college. My husband has returned to his high school math classroom.

For eight blessed hours a day, I have the house to myself once again.

(Cue the manic squealing. :D)

Okay, let's be clear: even when it's just me, I share the house with seven cats, one of whom snores. He's snoring right now, as a matter of fact. But that distraction doesn't hold a candle to the myriad demands of family.

With everyone else out of my hair, I can get back into a better writing schedule. The cats will just have to cope as best they can. Somehow I don't think that will be an issue for them.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.....



Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e | Sc 2f |

Raging Sea Chapter 14, Scene 1a
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

EILEANN clutched the basket of smoked salmon as she angled across the compound toward the wisewomen’s isolated broch, making sure that no one paid her heed. And why should they, she assured herself. She often brought gifts to the clan’s purveyors of womanly wisdom.

This time the salmon would represent not charity but payment.

Eileann reached the broch’s outer door, tugged it open, and slipped inside, thankful that her mission hadn’t been questioned. She did not wish to raise the clan’s hopes only to dash them if the confirmation she sought proved to be naught but a vagary of nature.

Waiting to greet her, holding a taper to ward off the gloom, stood the trio’s most recent inductee, a young woman now known as Fioruisge, “Spring Water.”

“Ah, Fioruisge, well met.” Eileann knew her birth name, of course, but out of respect for the wisewomen’s traditions, she kept it to herself.

The woman dipped a nod. “We were expecting you, my lady.” She turned to lead the way down the corridor to the inner chamber.

Expecting me?
 

Eileann swallowed a surge of fear and followed her guide.



***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of Snow in July!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today
so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow<

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Arthur calls for the vote in Ch 13/sc 2f of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Pendragon Cove Press logo
c2014 by Natasha Brown.
In standard retellings of the Arthurian legends—versions wherein Arthur is depicted as having more than one half sister—he is at odds with all of them.

This can lead to undesirable redundancy, however.

Some authors address this issue by condensing the number of sisters down to one, usually the most famous of the lot, Morgan le Fay. The oldest versions, however, show Arthur as having three sisters. This is more than likely a nod to the ancient Celtic storytelling practice of triads; in other words, giving the hero three of something as homage to the triple goddess or, in Christianized versions, the Triune God.

I hark to the concept of triads in The Dragon's Dove Chronicles (Dawnflight, Morning's Journey, Raging Sea, etc.) in giving my Arthur character three sisters: Yglais, Annamar, and Morghe. I eliminate any redundancy by showing different sorts of relationships between the siblings.

In today's excerpt from Raging Sea, Arthur demonstrates how he feels about his sister Annamar and her children.


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d | Sc 2e |

Raging Sea Chapter 13, Scene 2f
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

Urien repeated his anti-Saxon sentiments even louder and angrier, getting a sizable number of chieftains to express agreement. He shared nods with them before addressing Bann. “I demand a vote! It is my right as a member of this council!”

Chieftain Bann seemed prepared to grant Urien’s wish but stopped before uttering a word. He stared toward the far doors, sympathy cascading in palpable waves over his countenance.

Arthur faced about to see what Bann was looking at.

And damned protocol for the second time that day to rush over to his sister Annamar and her two youngest children, Medraut and Cundre. All three looked bedraggled, weary, and fearful, and it wrenched Arthur’s heart to its roots.

Annamar collapsed against him, sobbing, and he held her in a long embrace while her children and Ygraine and Gawain and the rest of the family, even Morghe and Urien, clustered around them. “Loth?” Arthur whispered to Annamar, hating the answer but needing to know. “Is he—”

She pulled back and dabbed her nose with a cloth. “He lives. And fights. Gareth is with him. At least, as far as I know.” Her chin started trembling, but she set her jaw. “Loth sent us here while we could still get away, but I-I think—that is, I’m fairly sure that—that—” Thrusting a fist to her mouth, she jerked her head aside.

“Dunpeldyr may well be under siege by now, Lord Pendragon,” said one of the warriors who had accompanied Annamar and her children. “We need your help!”

“And you shall have it.” Council’s permission or no, Arthur would find a way. He looked back toward Chieftain Bann, who nodded at him. “My lord Bann, I suggest the council take that vote now.”



*** The end of Chapter 13 ***

I'm running a giveaway for an e-copy of Snow in July!
To enter, click HERE.

MailChimp subscribers to The Dawnflier receive exclusive giveaway opportunities.
Subscribe today
so you don't miss out!

***

All this month, you are invited to…

— Follow Kim on Twitter
— Follow Kim on Pinterest
— Subscribe to Kim's YouTube channel
— Leave a comment on any page of The Maze, especially if you have done the Twitter, Pinterest, and/or YouTube follow<

… and each action this month is good for one chance to win a copy of any of Kim's e-books.

Please enter often, and good luck!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

There's no reasoning with unreasonable men in Ch 13/sc 2e of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Pendragon Cove Press logo
c2014 by Natasha Brown.
As warleader, wielding no political authority, Arthur at this point in The Dragon's Dove Chronicles must play the long game, especially when it comes to dealing with his rival and former subordinate, Chieftain Urien.

And Arthur's game is a tricky one indeed. There is little love lost between these two alphas since Urien lost the woman he had hoped to marry—and her vast wealth—to Arthur in Dawnflight.

In today's excerpt from Raging Sea, Urien demonstrates just how much of a hold his wife, Arthur's youngest sister Morghe (Morgan le Fay), has upon him.


Previous excerpts of Raging Sea 
Chapters 1–6 in Raging Sea: Reckonings
 Chapter 7: Sc 1 | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4 | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 8: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 9: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 1d | Sc 1e |
Chapter 10: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 3a | Sc 3b | Sc 3c |
Chapter 11: Sc 1aSc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3a | Sc 3b |
Chapter 12: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 1c | Sc 2 | Sc 3 | Sc 4a | Sc 4b | Sc 5a | Sc 5b |
Chapter 13: Sc 1a | Sc 1b | Sc 2a | Sc 2b | Sc 2c | Sc 2d |

Raging Sea Chapter 13, Scene 2e
©2016 by Kim Headlee
All rights reserved.

Chieftain Bann rose from his bench to face Urien. He lifted his arms, and the crowd quieted.

“My lord Urien, we share your outrage, and we agree that this wrong should be redressed. But I speak for everyone on the council when I say that all the troops we can spare at present are already committed to the Angli campaign—”

“Damn the Angli! They can wait! The Saxons need to be punished now!” Urien’s coloring was careening toward a dangerous shade of red.

“Then I wish you good fortune in your campaign, Urien,” said Arthur. “I can fight only one war at a time. Most of the legion is at Senaudon by now. To pull them back a second time will doom Clan Lothian.” And my other sister and her children!But of course there could be no reasoning with unreasonable men. Urien repeated his anti-Saxon sentiments even louder and angrier, getting a sizable number of chieftains to express agreement. He shared nods with them before addressing Bann. “I demand a vote! It is my right as a member of this council!”

Chieftain Bann seemed prepared to grant Urien’s wish but stopped before uttering a word. He stared toward the far doors, sympathy cascading in palpable waves over his countenance.

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