Welcome to another round of Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten lines or less.
So, it snowed in Scottsdale, Arizona. It snowed in Maui. But did it snow here? Noooooo. Winter is slinking away leaving a trial of dandelions and crocuses in it’s wake. Sigh. I know I should be grateful we didn’t get any polar vortexes or blizzards, but I miss winter. I really do. At least I can retreat into my current project, Snow, and enjoy a winter of my own making.
To the task at hand: I’ve been sharing from my work-in-progress, a reimagined fairy tale inspired by the story of Snow White. We’re still in the first chapter; Prince Gabriel was returning home after a long absence with his servant Webster, when they crossed paths with a hunting party led by an old nemesis, Gavin Falkner. You can read last week’s snippet here.
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Gabriel shifted in the saddle to watch the return of Webster, whose horse was being led by one of Falkner’s men. Dogs yapped excitedly at his heels, as if this was the prize they had hunted down. Webster looked miserable, and slightly swollen at the gills.
“I wish to see my brother immediately, but my servant might be in need of medicinal aid.”
“What’s happened to him?” Falkner asked, quirking an eyebrow skeptically.
“The woods happened to him,” Gabriel replied, earning a disarming smile from Falkner. Gabriel inspected him a little more closely. The man had grown from a rangy, scruffy youth to a somewhat more comely aristocrat, but once a scoundrel, always a scoundrel.
Falkner, who’d apparently grown more sensitive as well, seemed to pick up on Gabriel’s disapproval, and dampened his smile.
“Do you remember the way, or shall I lead?”
***
WTF, Winter?
***
Blurb-in-progress for Snow, a reimagined fairy tale:
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.
Alexis Duran 
It’s probably a good thing Gabriel keeps Faulkner in his place. A great snippet! I felt like I was right there watching it happen.
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We had snow in Tucson, too — enough snow that some was left this morning despite hours of rain. Rain that turned into freezing rain, which coated my car in a layer of impenetrable ice. I moved here from the Canadian Rockies, and up there my car got iced just once. Now it’s happened in Arizona, as well!
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How much has Falkner changed? Maybe more than Gabriel thinks. 🙂 One can hope.
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I liked the succinct answer that the woods happened to him, made me smile, even as serious as the whole situation is. Excellent excerpt!
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Always right there writing of bad folks out to ruin everything. You’re a wonder.
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“The woods happened to him.” That actually says so much. Mother Nature’s not always a kind woman. 😀
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I really like this snippet–the emotional interplay between them all, hinting at the court intrigue to come. And poor Webster. 🙂 The woods are a harsh place for a royalty-soft servant. Wonderful writing–as you always do.
Sorry about your lack of winter. We have craziness outside today. The wind is roaring, sustained 20 to 30, gusting to 60mph. Our ground is saturated from the atypical above freezing winter’s rain (instead of snow). Trees are toppling, pulling up their roots when they come down. It was 56 degrees this AM, supposed to be in the 20s tonight.
I miss snow, too. 🙂
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Yikes! Stay safe. We’ve had some epic wind and rain storms here in the past, and the big trees coming down is especially…exciting.
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You can have our winter. I’m tired of snow, ice, sleet, freezing winds. Not as bad as Teresa’s…yet. Good snippet. I liked the touch of humor with poor Webster. Sure lightened up the scene with Falkner.
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Hey, thanks Diane. Winter arrived last night. We got about 6 inches. Entirely unpredicted, of course.
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“The woods happened to him” I snickered. That’s such an answer. Says so much and so little. I love it.
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“The woods happened to him.” Great line. Nature is beautiful until it tries to kill you. 🙂
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OOooooh! Nice tease of things to come. But Webster is still my favorite! Love a bumbling but loyal lackey. Snow . . . we have it now, we’ll have it all the way into April. Michigan . . . geez!
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