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’ve been off the grid for a while, doing a lot of traveling, and when not traveling, recovering from traveling. My last jaunt was to Los Angeles for the World Fantasy 2019 convention, which was awesome.  I have a new goal: to have Snow finished in time for Salt Lake City next year! I might submit to one of the mainstream publishers like Tor now that things are loosening up for writers of LGBTQ fantasy, or I might just publish it myself, depending on how much frustration and rejection I’m in the mood for when the time comes.

So on to the snippet. In case you’re new to the story, Snow is a reimagined fairy tale based on the tale of Snow White. I’ve jumped ahead a bit from my last post;  Prince Gabriel and the huntsman Falkner have been separated from the main hunting party, and are tracking a deer on their own.  Gabriel would rather not kill anything, but alas, fate has its own ideas.

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Gabriel rested his hand against a tree trunk and peered intently into the distance, trying once again to see what the huntsman did.  A flicker of motion caught his attention and his breath caught as a large stag lifted its head from where it had been nibbling on grass.

This was no ordinary deer.  Its coat was pure white and Gabriel wondered how he had failed to see the magnificent creature immediately. Then the deer stepped out of the pocket of weak light it stood in and the white coat faded to gray, rippling with streaks of silver. The beast lowered its head again, a great mass of antlers scraping the limbs above and releasing a shower of red leaves. Gabriel counted nine…ten points: a larger rack than any currently mounted in the great feast hall.

Time slowed and stretched as they lurked in the shadows without moving or uttering a sound, until Falkner elbowed him lightly in the arm.  This was a hunt, not a zoological tour, and the arrival of a white deer was surely auspicious.  Gabriel imagined the fanfare and excited soothsaying that would accompany this kill.

***

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 and along the border of the Black Forest, magical denizens are on the move. 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 power afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient magic at work, if Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover it.

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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.

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 with the working title of Snow. Yup, you guessed it. It’s inspired by the story of Snow White.

In this scene, Prince Gabriel is in the woods with the head huntsman, Gavin Falkner. They’re tracking a stag, which Gabriel hopes they don’t find. You can read the last snippet here.

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“Are we getting any closer, do you think, or has the stag sensibly fled into the Black Forest by now?” Gabriel asked.

“Not likely, the animals don’t like the forest anymore than we do.  It doesn’t appear to be running. We may catch up to it yet if we move quickly and stay silent.”

“Well, let’s stay close together so the birds don’t…cluster.”

Falkner gave him a quizzical look as if trying to decide what sort of man attracted birds, then moved on. This time he paid more attention to Gabriel’s progress and paused occasionally, letting go of low pine branches just in time so they swung into Gabriel’s face. Gabriel didn’t think this was on purpose. The man was simply intent on his job of tracking and he was an irritant, no more.

But as they continued on in this fashion, memories of the time when he was the object of his brother’s scorn—and therefore Falkner’s as well—arose against his will, and all the feelings of self-doubt, inadequacy and isolation came creeping out of the dark places in his heart where he’d banished them.

***

I’m just grooving on these vintage fairy tale illustration. This is from 1914, from the book East of the Sun, West of the Moon illustrated by Kay Nielsen.

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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 and along the border of the Black Forest, magical denizens are on the move. 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 power afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient magic at work, if Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover it.

****

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.

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, a reimagined fairy tale inspired by the tale of Snow White. In this scene, Prince Gabriel and the huntsman Falkner have been seperated from the rest of the hunting party. Last week, Falkner heard something large coming their way. So soon after stumbling across a gremlin nest, imaginations may have run amok.

***

Gabriel scowled and tried to hear what Falkner heard. “One of the riders returning?”

“Too quiet.”

A moment later, a soft thud, the swish of branches, and a snort carried through the otherwise still woods.

“A deer?”

Falkner nodded. “Get your bow ready.”

Gabriel’s heart sank into his boots, but he did as told. Perhaps if he got it over with, Tristan would never bother him again about the joys of hunting. Or if he missed the shot, then his brother and his cohorts could just go back to mocking him and stop trying to force him to be like them.

***

Andreiuc88 | Dreamstime.com

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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 and along the border of the Black Forest, magical denizens are on the move. 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 power afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient magic at work, if Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover it.

****

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.

Hello fellow Weekend Writing Warriors and random internet wanderers! I’m getting a kick out of my own snippet today, and wish I could keep going, but you know, that ol’ ten sentence rule is reining me in. Good thing, too, or I wouldn’t have any surprises left when it comes time to publish. I’m sharing from my reimagined fairy tale, Snow, inspired by the tale of Snow White.  But because I write gay romance, Snow White is a prince, and he’s about to get in a whole lot of trouble.  Falkner is the huntsman, and Prince Gabriel is trying to engage him in a discussion regarding the magical creatures who appear to be sneaking back into the country after a long absence.

***

“I did some reading on gremlins. They’ll eat anything, but prefer meat. They’re considered intelligent, but of a lower variety than a centaur or even a troll. In the war, gremlins were used as advance troops—”

Falkner held up a hand and Gabriel fell silent. Falkner did not seem to share his fascination, and appeared to be distracted by something on the far side of the meadow. Gabriel followed his gaze but saw nothing.

“Hear that?” Falkner asked. “Something large headed this way, but don’t worry. I doubt it’s a gremlin.”

***

© Raggedstonedesign | Dreamstime.com

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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 and along the border of the Black Forest, magical denizens are on the move. 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 power afoot? A forced flight into the Black Forest may expose ancient magic at work, if Gabriel can survive long enough to uncover it.

****

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.

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.

***

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.

***

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.

****

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.