Welcome to the last Weekend Writing Warriors of the year. I hope you all had a peaceful holiday and are looking forward to the new year. I know I am. I started 2018 out with a bang, releasing three new books and re-releasing seven more, but have run out of steam here at the end. My New Year’s goal is to release Wild, Jacqui the Cat Book 4, by the end of January, and Snow, my current work in progress, before summer, when a book titled Snow might not have as much appeal!

So here is the next snippet from Snow, a re-imagined fairy tale inspired by the tale of Snow White. Prince Gabriel and his servant, Webster, are on the road, returning home after a long absence, when they are surprised by a fleeing stag pursued by a pack of hunting dogs.  You can read last week’s snippet here.

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“Oh, dear Astrid preserve us,” Webster whispered, eyes shut. His nervous horse, who’d stood frozen a moment before, turned and bolted. Two of the dogs pursued.

“Webster, stop!” Gabriel called after his servant, who jangled up and down in the saddle, stiff legs bouncing free from the stirrups.

Another horse burst out of the fog, a huge, black stallion that looked as if it would charge straight over Gabriel and his mount.

Tempest stood firm, not a horse to be intimidated, and finally the other rider reined in, horse rearing up, hooves kicking the air between them.

“Are you mad?” the rider shouted, as other horsemen galloped up and joined the now chaotic mix of dogs and horses.

Gabriel ignored the disrespectful question. “This is the king’s land. What right have you to hunt here?”

***

Blurb-in-progress:

Following the death of his mother the Queen, Prince Gabriel is called home by his brother, now King. Gabriel hopes for a reconciliation with his estranged brother, but all is not well at Castle Rosenthal. King Tristan has fallen under the sway of a scheming alchemist, the magical denizens of the bordering Black Forest are on the move, and Gabriel begins to fear for his life. Is the handsome huntsman in on a plot to assassinate him, or is there an even darker, more evil force afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient powers at work, if only Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover them.

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Weekend Writing Warriors is a blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less.  Click the link to check out the other writers participating today.  It’s a great way to discover your next favorite book!