Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Obsession

July 13, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to my Weekend Writing Warriors post. It’s good to be back after a two week break. I went on a writing retreat for part of that time, so pretty soon I’ll be sharing excerpts from the next Jacqui the Cat book. For now, though, I’m continuing with my re-imagined fairy tale, titled Snow. In this scene, Prince Gabriel is reluctantly taking part in the royal hunt. The head huntsman, Falkner, has discovered a mysterious nest in the woods, and Gabriel found something even more disturbing. You can read the last snippet here.

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Falkner sent his men off to look for tracks, then moved closer, arms crossed over his chest.

“What?”

Gabriel stepped back, and toed aside a clump of ivy. There, moss covered and gray, was a skull.

“Oh, holy hounds of Astrid. Don’t let the king see that.”

“Why ever not?” Gabriel asked, surprised by the huntsman’s reaction, “That’s a human skull, which means there’s been a death on the king’s land. It must be investigated.”

“We mustn’t feed his obsession,” Falkner said.

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Thunderstorms, mist and rain helped put me in the correct mood on my retreat.

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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 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.

Weekend Writing Warriors ~ Bones

June 22, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. I’m continuing to share from my current WIP, the reimagined fairy tale with the working title Snow. I’ll probably have to change it: there are a lot of Snows out there! So anyway, in this scene, Prince Gabriel is reluctantly trailing after the hunting party as they track a stag. It appears they’ve stumbled across something quite different. You can read last week’s snippet here.

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Bones of many sizes littered the ground inside. The sharp mineral tang of blood lingered in the air along with a most unpleasant animal musk.

The large surly man with the black beard poked at one of the bones and muttered, “Ain’t natural.”

“Quiet,” Falkner said sharply.

Gabriel moved closer, curiosity piqued. The nest did not look like any badger warren or fox den he’d ever seen, and those creatures did not gather bones, large bones that looked as if they might belong to a boar, or even…he started, surprised by what he saw and stooped for a closer look. The others paid no attention to his movements.

He stepped forward in order to block his discovery from view—no sense in causing a panic—and cleared his throat to catch Falkner’s attention. The huntsman, grumpy along with the rest of them, glared over his shoulder. When he saw Gabriel standing there, he looked angrier than ever.

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Blurb-in-progress for Snow, a reimagined fairy tale:

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ The Undergrowth

June 15, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide range of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. I’m continuing to share from Snow, a reimagined fairy tale inspired by the tale of Snow White. My Snow is in fact Prince Gabriel, who is currently stuck on a hunt with his brother the king and a pack of aristocrats. It is a gloomy day on the edge of the gloomy black forest, and although they are tracking a stag, they might flush out something rather unexpected instead.

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Mud up to his ankles, prickly evergreen branches scraping his cheek, rain trickling down his neck—normally Gabriel would have been as content as a fox in its den—but normally, a crowd of armed men wouldn’t accompany him into the woods. He’d be alone, studying the varying cries of whippoorwills, or examining a patch of freshly sprouted mushrooms. There wouldn’t be trumpets blowing, weapons rattling, and flasks of brandy being passed around between grumbling, grouchy nobility and their equally grouchy servants.

Behind him, Tempest snorted, blowing warm breath into his ear. He reached back and patted the horse on the neck. Tempest wasn’t a horse for sneaking through the undergrowth, not that there was much sneaking going on. Tempest tossed his cinnamon-colored head and snorted again, stepping backward as if startled. Gabriel stroked his silky black mane and whispered, “Patience.”

He’d dismounted in order watch Falkner and two of his men inspect a thicket of broken tree limbs. To Gabriel’s practiced eye, the woven branches and deeply dug hole indicated a sort of intelligence, or advanced instinct, like an elaborate bird’s nest.

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Blurb-in-progress for Snow, a reimagined fairy tale:

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ The Wrong Side

June 8, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Greetings and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. I’ve been sharing from my work-in-progress (one of them); a reimagined fairy tale based on the story of Snow White. And behold, I have finally reached the end of the second chapter! Or almost, couldn’t quite fit the last few lines into this snippet. So now I get to decide if I continue with this story, or switch to something new. We are getting close to the exciting hunt scene….Currently, Gabriel is facing the unpleasant realities of his homecoming. You can read last week’s snippet here.

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Tristan raised his voice to a shout, “Bring my brother a bow and quiver, and prepare the horses! The hunt is on!”

Servants materialized out of the mist like wraiths, and a few noble men stumbled out of the main tent, brushing cake crumbs from their beards and swilling the last dregs from their goblets.

Gabriel decided the stag had little to fear from this sodden band, but Falkner and his men hadn’t been drinking and would be there to bring down whatever animal a drunken lord or duke failed to shoot. The thought made him queasy, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Hunting was a way of life—the way of life for many in Rosenthal—and he’d just have to reconcile his aversion to the society he found himself in. His boyhood games of pretending to communicate with woodland creatures were just that, games and make believe; not something for a grown man to carry with him into adulthood.

Still, he’d always preferred the company of animals to men, and that hadn’t changed. The hunt felt like fighting on the wrong side of a war.

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Okay, I know these are knights preparing for battle, not aristocrats preparing for a hunt, but isn’t it nicely moody?

Blurb-in-progress for Snow, a reimagined fairy tale:

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Weekend Writing Warriors~ You Must Obey

May 25, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. I’m continuing to share from my current work-in-progress, a reimagined fairy tale based on the story of Snow White. In my version, Snow White is male, a young prince named Gabriel who’s just returned home after a long absence. With their mother the queen now dead, Gabriel’s brother Tristan has been made king. Unfortunately Tristan seems obsessed with the Black Forest which borders his kingdom, and also with forcing Gabriel to join the hunt, which he is loathe to do, being an early pioneer of the animal rights movement. You can read last week’s snippet here.

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Tristan took a few steps toward the river, hands on his hips and declared, “There’s black magic afoot in the world, and it is coming from in there.”

Gabriel took the opportunity to shoot Falkner a questioning look. Again, Falkner shrugged and looked as if he’d rather be anywhere than in Greenswale meadow humoring his drunken king.

But Tristan and Falkner were old friends, comrades-in-arms, and if anyone knew the king’s true mind, it would be the huntsman. Gabriel decided to corner Falkner later and question him regarding his brother’s health.

“We did flush out a stag near the old Brandenburg forest road, just before we crossed paths with Prince Gabriel,” Falkner said in an obvious attempt to distract Tristan. “It won’t cross the river, I’m guessing, and the dogs might be able to pick up its scent.”

“Well, then, no more idling about stuffing our faces.” Tristan turned, eyes gleaming. “And before you whine to me about not wishing to hunt, Brother, let me remind you that I’m your king now and you must obey.”

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Another creepy forest image. Alas, this one I did not take.

Blurb-in-progress for Snow, a reimagined fairy tale:

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Weekend Writing Warriors ~ No Sane Man

May 18, 2019 by Alexis Duran

Hello and welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors, the blog hop where writers from a wide variety of genres share from their work in excerpts of ten sentences or less. I’m sharing from my current work in progress, a reimagined fairy tale based on the story of Snow White. Only in my version, Snow is a handsome young prince named Gabriel, the huntsman (Falkner) may or may not be a romantic interest, and the evil queen is an unhinged king, who also happens to be Gabriel’s brother. In this scene, Tristan the king is insisting that Gabriel join the hunt, and furthermore, that they venture into the dangerous wilds of the Black Forest. You can read last week’s snippet here.

Tristan speaks first:

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“You’re both afraid.”

“I’ll admit to that,” Falkner said. “Afraid of getting hopelessly lost; this fog only makes it worse. The paths have not been maintained and we’re more likely to break a horse’s leg than bag a boar….or a gryffon.”

“It mocks us,” Tristan repeated in a low voice. He released Gabriel in order to focus his full wrath on the impenetrable wood bordering the edge of his kingdom.

“Has their been…activity?” Gabriel asked, unable to keep the incredulity out of his voice. The war between the creatures of the Black Forest and the men of Rosenthal, Craigmoor and Brandenburg had been waged in their great-grandfather’s time. No sane man entered the forest willingly since then, nor had any magical creatures been seen on this side of the river, unless one believed the tall tales of wild-eyed wanderers and borderland hermits. Stories of the forest were told to frighten children—and sometimes adults—around the hearth fire on dark winter nights, but no dwarves or trolls had occupied the dungeons of Rosenthal for fifty years or more.

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