Angusel begins training Drustanus in Ch10/Sc1a of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay c2016 by Kim Headlee.

The Lancelot-Gawain friendship is an epic one in the truest sense of the word, according to traditional Arthurian legends. Another such epic friendship is that of Lancelot and Tristan—or Tristram, as some medieval stories name him.

My Tristan character in The Dragon's Dove Chronicles goes by an even earlier form of his name: Drustanus. A glimpse of the deepening friendship between him and Angusel is the focal point of today's Raging Sea excerpt.

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 |

Raging Sea Chapter 10, Scene 1a

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

SWORD AT THE ready, Angusel circled his opponent, inviting attack. Drustanus answered with thrusts and slashes that were indeed improving, if predictable, and his footwork was atrocious. One quick lunge or twist, and he’d go down every time. But he kept getting up, ready to try again, and that was all that mattered.

Their wooden practice weapons collided with a fearsome clatter. Angusel’s sword almost slipped from his grip. He grinned.

“That’s the way! Now follow it with a body block.” He demonstrated with full force, and Drustanus went sprawling with a yelp, kicking up a cloud of dust in the fall that made them both cough.

Waving to part the cloud, Angusel bent to offer his hand, which Drustanus grasped to haul himself up. “I think I have the right of it now, Ainchis Sàl.” Sword cocked, he adopted a fair attack stance. “Let me have another go.”

He never got the chance.

Angusel had moved their training sessions to the main ring near the fort’s north gate upon receiving Centurion Marcus’s approval—though they were still constrained to practicing in the waning light after supper to prevent this activity from interfering with their regular legion duties. This evening, the double gates had swung open to admit a large mounted unit.

All the alae had returned from maneuvers hours ago.

He lifted a finger to signal Drustanus to pause, and together they turned to watch the Comites Praetorii parade by on their way to the barracks.

Nay, “parade” was not the word for it. Every horseman—and woman—looked dust-covered, bone-weary, and dispirited.

What in the name of all the gods had happened?

Drustanus was whispering the same question.

The Pendragon and… she rode past them. Drustanus and Angusel rendered the expected legion salutes. No one paid either of them any heed; every member of the company kept his forlorn gaze trained upon the road before his horse’s hooves as if to do otherwise would invite derision and scorn.

***

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The Business of Writing: A Marketing Opportunity with @AuthorTinaGayle's #EggcerptExchange!

Sign up here for the 2016 Eggcerpt Exchange!

Marketing your book is not about sales.

Wait. What??

Yes, you read that right.

Marketing is the act of making the best of opportunities to get your name and your book's information in front of readers at least seven times before they're willing to take a chance on your work.

Once that relationship is established, the sales will come.

A fantastic opportunity to cross-pollinate your work across the blogisphere is the annual Eggcerpt Exchange organized by my author-friend Tina Gayle. The exchange is open to all authors with blogs who are willing to spotlight other authors in a reciprocal arrangement.

The procedure is pretty simple.

Visit the Eggcerpt Exchange signup page on Tina's blog to leave a comment with your name, your blog and availability for hosting other authors, the genre(s) in which you write, and how an interested party may contact you for setting up an exchange (if leaving an email address, I recommend writing it in such a way that spam bots will have a harder time mining it from the post).

Eggcerpt Exchange spotlights may be posted at any time between February 1st and March 31st—roughly, the Lent and Easter season with a few days added to both ends to round out the months. Each post consists of information about the book to be featured (cover, synopsis, PG-13 or milder excerpt, buy links), a brief author bio, and an interview centered upon one of the characters in the featured book.

If you are a multi-published author, different books may be spotlighted on different blogs throughout the duration of the Eggcerpt Exchange as long as the character interview matches a character in the given book.

Basically, the only no-no is not to reciprocate, and in the three or so years that I've participated, that has never been an issue.

I hope to be featuring your books on The Maze soon!

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— 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!

Latest winners and #FREE RAGING SEA: Reckonings by @KimHeadlee historical Arthurian legends

Where there is courage,
there is strength.
Raging Sea: Reckonings
by Kim Headlee.

Before you dash off to download your copy of Raging Sea: Reckonings
—free worldwide on 1/20/2016 and always free via Kindle Unlimited & Amazon Prime—please take a moment to help me congratulate the following contest winners, who already have been notified:

• Brian L: an autographed ARC of King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court
• Laura T: an autographed print copy of Liberty
• Faye: an autographed print copy of Snow in July
• Chad G, Kim A, Nadine S, Richard B, Sue R: an e-book copy of King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court
• Joey R: an e-book copy of Dawnflight
• Nancy J: an e-book copy of Snow in July
• Shirley B: an e-book copy of Liberty

Please follow The Maze for your next Rafflecopter opportunity to win!

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— 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!

She captured his mouth with hers in TANIS by Bambi Lynn @hot_historicals on #MedievalMonday

Today on The Maze I welcome back Bambi Lynn with a Medieval Monday "first kiss" excerpt from Tanis!

Excerpt

He stopped abruptly when she appeared. His demeanor changing quickly from one of surprise to that of hungry predator. She smirked. He would soon see which of them was prey. She pressed him back into the room with a strength belied by the dainty hand on his immense chest. She kicked the door shut with her foot as they entered.

With one beefy arm around her waist, Tanis gathered her up against him. Fighting the urge to squeal with delight, Kiah wrapped both legs around him. He was massive. And hard.

She wore nothing beneath the fur around her waist that left her legs bare to her thighs and drove men wild. The ridges of his stomach teased her through the fabric of his shirt, but Kiah savored the anticipation of feeling his skin against her almost as much as the contact itself. It would be difficult to say which gave her more pleasure.

A choice she was glad she did not have to make.

Winding her arms around his neck, she captured his mouth with hers. She was hit with the most mind-numbing kiss she had known in all the ages. A groan of sheer ecstasy bubbled up in her throat. What elements caused such a reaction? Why did she not feel it with all men?

Why did it not last more than a few days?

She felt like she could fly, something she had done every day since her creation, one of few gifts withheld from man. But in human form, the sensation of flying was far greater than the reality. It was not fair.

Emotions combined with her human sensations, roiling through her in a tangled mess that left her bereft of coherent thought. She kissed him fiercely, inhaling his essence as her tongue danced with his. He smelled of male and sex, tempting her to vanquish their clothes and feel his naked skin against hers. His body was sculpted muscle, hard and strong, beckoning her to meld her own warrior’s body against it, to stroke it, to lick it, to conquer it.

Tanis kissed her back, with equal enthusiasm, alternately teasing her and devouring her. She tasted his humanity and for once was not revolted by it. His passion enflamed her own, leaving her drunk with lust. He tangled his fists in the fur at the small of her back. In many other parts of the world, her attire would be scandalous. It certainly was not acceptable here in Alba, but in the wilds of the Highlands, she found it a simple matter to ensure her existence went unnoticed, even in human form.

Woven within his humanity was the hint of pagan blood. Its impurity laced the delectable flavor of the man. She recoiled from the foulness of it, only because she reminded herself she should, before it was too late.

Synopsis

Tanis Cleary, laird of a small Highland clan, wants to protect what’s left of his family from the pagan god who hunts them. But even with his colossal strength, fed by the unholy blood in his veins, he cannot do it alone. His only ally is an insatiable angel with a chip on her shoulder. Will he desert his clan to follow the only woman who can save him from eternal damnation?

Kiah is an angel of God, tasked with guarding one of His most sacred vessels. Like any woman desperate to win her Father’s approval, Kiah will stop at nothing to succeed in her mission. Distracted by the lure of a man more compelling than any other, Kiah soon finds herself battling the fires of hell, her very existence in jeopardy.

Read Tanis for FREE on Kindle Unlimited today!

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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... 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!

Gawain is tried in a court of love in Ch9/Sc1e of RAGING SEA by @KimHeadlee #amwriting

Graphic overlay (c)2015 by Kim Headlee.

The medieval concept of "courtly love" and its corollary, the "court of love," where men who violated the "rules of love" were tried by a jury of women, most likely were invented by troubadours to entertain their noble patrons. Whether or not these social constructs were practiced in real life remains a matter of debate. 

In Arthurian legend, Gawain is hauled before a court of love, presided over by Guinevere, for his crime of having raped a virgin. The interesting takeaway from the tale is that Gawain was punished less for the act of sexual predation than for the fact that he had denied the woman her choice in the matter, and Guinevere sentences him to a yearlong quest to help all women he encounters so that he may figure out why what he did was so wrong.

I pay brief homage to this legend in today's excerpt from Raging Sea.

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 |

Raging Sea Chapter 9, Scene 1e

©2016 by Kim Headlee

All rights reserved.

Fergus ran his tongue across his bottom lip as it curved into a grin. “What says the Scarlet Dragon? The man be one of your soldiers,” he said to Arthur, “and ye’ve been strangely silent all this time.”

Arthur took that as his cue to stand, and he looked none too happy to do so. “In the Dragon Legion, a soldier’s punishment is meted by his unit commander.” He offered his hand to Gyan, who accepted it for only as long as it took to push to her feet beside him.

Even in the throes of battle, Gawain had never seen her look so stern.

She drew a long breath and expelled it. “Since there was no commission of rape—”

“By Scáthach, he intended to!” Caitleen wailed. Fergus shushed her, stroking her cheek.

“Only the gods may judge a man’s intent, if there exists no action to demonstrate it,” Gyan stated. “Gawain’s actions demonstrated lewdness and a public breach of self-discipline. Therefore, his punishment is the legion standard ten lashes.”

Fergus released his wife and stalked closer to the dais. “Not good enough! Not by half!”

Urien raised his hands. “I agree.” He faced Arthur and Gyan. “Gawain attacked an honored, highborn lady in front of scores of honored, highborn witnesses. That demands special consideration.”

For a long time Gyan regarded the man to whom she had once been betrothed. Finally, she turned toward Gawain and extended her hand, palm up. He felt his eyes widen as the implication set in. She confirmed it with a nod. With fumbling fingers, he unfastened his legion badge, letting his blue Comites Praetorii unit cloak slip to pool at his feet. The pit in his stomach suggested how long he would be forbidden to wear it.

“Forever?” he dared to whisper as he leaned across the table to surrender the badge to his ex-commanding officer. Again, his hand trembled, and his self-loathing deepened.

Her fingers eclipsed the dragon brooch, her gaze steady but sad. “Commander Peredur,” she said to her brother without taking her eyes from Gawain, “arrange to have this soldier escorted to the camp and confined there, under guard and allowed no visitors except yourself, Arthur, Merlin, and me, for the duration of this mission.”

As Peredur joined Gawain from his place on the dais, the Scotti warriors returned to theirs. Gyan said to Fergus and Caitleen, “I am truly sorry for my soldier’s reprehensible behavior. Please accept my assurances that it shall never happen again. To that end, I appoint my second-in-command to deliver the physical portion of his punishment”—she glanced at Peredur—“to commence after my duties here are concluded so that I may be present.”

“We demand to be present too. Else how would we know if—”

If Gyan’s glare had been any colder, Fergus would have turned into a pillar of ice, and his wife along with him. “You shall be informed. My lord.”

Peredur clamped his hand around Gawain’s arm, and his march into disgrace began.

*** The end of Chapter 9 ***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— 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!

Latest Business of Writing Workshop presentation at MarsCon 1/15/16 Williamsburg, VA!

The Business of Writing: An Introduction
Workshop presented by Kim Headlee.

I have my MarsCon 2016 schedule,
and it's a great one! 

It kicks off with my Business of Writing Workshop at 5 p.m. Friday 1/15 (Room 14). Other programming for which I am scheduled, all in room Harrison 1:

• Friday, 8 p.m. panel: Social Media Etiquette for Authors
• Saturday, 12 noon panel: Adapting Books to Movies
• Saturday, 3 p.m. panel: The Mary Sue Complex
• Sunday, 1 p.m. panel: Paranormal Fiction - balancing the line between the truth and fantasy.

I hope to see you there!

***
Enter for chances to win a prize in this massive multi-author giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— 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!

The Business of Writing: Content of the Author Blog with #giveaway

Image c2015 by zzoplanet;
Depositphotos  ID 86051516.

Today on The Maze, I offer part two of my discussion of the Author Blog: its content.

If you missed my dissertation on the structure of the Author Blog, I invite you to take a peek at this post.

The structure-related topics I covered last week include the blogging platform, layout, and blog elements.

While blog elements are in fact a specialized form of content, for the purposes of today's post I intend to share my thoughts about the meat-and-potatoes aspect of the Author Blog: the individual posts.

Blog Content

The essential items to consider for any blog post include paying attention to use of applicable keywords, creating an interesting and useful title, embedding good images and videos, and structuring the post with a well-written introduction, body, and conclusion. For more information, view this article by Head Technologies.

The amusing Lili's Travel Plans blog has some great advice regarding all those posts you see in your Twitter feed that start with "How To" or "X Tips for Doing Y", if you're tempted to structure your posts in either of those ways. Unless you want to appear spammer-y, try to avoid those tactics in your headlines. Read Lili's full take on why here.

A Triberr tribemate of mine, eBooksIndia, could have called one of their posts "5 Tips for Becoming a Better Author-Blogger" but instead titled it How Authors Can Become Better Bloggers. Kavitha rightly advises author-bloggers to concentrate on developing a focus for the blog, being mindful of content, promoting your book via blog tours where you contribute guest posts to other blogs, building community by responding to comments in an engaging yet professional way, and creating a regular blogging schedule. To that impressive list I add the suggestion to support other authors by participating as a blog-tour host. The creation of positive karma is always a good thing for everyone involved. :)

Author Nikki Woods drills down even further to offer the following list of specific must-haves for content on an author's blog:

1. Excerpts from your works in progress
2. Writing tips
3. Personal snippets or anecdotes
4. Insight into your writing process
5. Inspiration for your writing

Nikki's complete article may be viewed here.  I concur with her list, and I do offer these items from time to time on The Maze. Often, I combine items in a single post, such as a personal anecdote or aspect of inspiration with a work-in-progress excerpt. Obviously, what you elect to share with the world will be in direct relation to your comfort level.

If by now you're feeling a bit overwhelmed, please don't be.

The key to all of this is to achieve a balance of content so that your blog reflects whatever brand you have established as an author but does not appear as a 24x7 infomercial about your books. Programming that sort of content in the sidebar (as I have done on The Maze) is akin to TV channels pasting their logo into the corner of your screen: it's there if the visitor chooses to see it, but it can be tuned out while she or he is viewing the featured post.

And running a giveaway now and then certainly doesn't hurt.

Happy writing... and blogging! :)

***
Enter for chances to win a prize in this massive multi-author giveaway!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

***

All this month, you are invited to...
— Follow Kim on Twitter
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— 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!