SSS: Emotional Aftermath of the Bloody Wedding

The Seven Noble Knights of Lara is back! You may remember Chapter 5, in which male egos got out of hand and caused the death of Álvar Sánchez. (Check out almost all the excerpts in this link.) A legal compromise has apparently satisfied all concerned parties, but now it's the opening of Chapter 6, and we focus in on doña Lambra -- the bride as well as the cousin of the dead man.

* * *

Doña Lambra woke to the brightness of the tent with a bitter taste in her mouth and dried tears crusting her eyes. She rolled over and saw a figure moving about in silence.

“Justa?” she croaked.

Ruy Blásquez moved next to the bedstead, nearly thrusting his bandaged nose in her face. “It is I, my dear wife.”

           “Bring Justa.” 

* * *

Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your comments hugely, especially as I get back into writing this novel after a hiatus. I'll visit you all in return! Check us all out at Six Sentence Sunday.

Three Weeks in December by Audrey Schulman

I'm not exaggerating or falling back on platitudes when I say that this book is unforgettable. I got to read Three Weeks in December in an advanced proof with no cover design, so I couldn't be influenced by the blue lion on the cover of the for-sale version. The lion is mysterious, but fails to capture the essence of the book for me, probably because it is such an amazing book, simple and complex at the same time.

As all the other reviews will mention, it tells the story of two social misfits separated by 100 years. One traces the historical incident treated as an adventure in the movie The Ghost and the Darkness, but with richer characters and much more emotional resonance. The other tells of a botanical quest by a woman who can relate to plants -- and, it turns out, to gorillas -- more easily than to humans. The stories told in alternating chapters have thematic similarities throughout, but are truly tied together at the end. For me, the end was a surprise in every way, and it's only after getting over the initial shock that I realize it's not contrived, but true to the artistic vision and truly thought-provoking.

The entire book is consistently rich in detail and gorgeously written. Every reader should be able to sympathize deeply with the social outcast characters because their take on the world is so vividly portrayed and makes so much sense within their context. This novel is a triumph of limited third person point-of-view narration.

Three Weeks in December is incredibly well-researched, the kind of book that will make you feel smarter and more engaged with the world. I plan to check out Schulman's previous novels to see what other gems I've missed so far.

Check Out My New Guest Blog!

As you know, Mera's YA Book List is giving away some gorgeous Tree/House bookmarks at this time. Today I have contributed a short essay about the most important theme in Tree/House that I hope my readers will enjoy.

Check it out here! Thanks for stopping by!

Winner of the Transcendent Giveaway!

Christine Bails is the happy recipient of a free ebook of Transcendent! Congratulations and let us know how you like it!

Se the original post here.

SSS: Did You Find Me?

The server was down when I first tried to sign up for Six Sentence Sunday this week, and by the time I could get there, I ended up much father down the list than I usually am. So if you found me, congrats! Visit  all the great writers you can. We all appreciate it more than even words can say!

I'm pretty sure I'm going to excise the kidnapping element from this story, so please enjoy it while it's still there. Continuing from last week:

* * *

“Only pretty girls without degrees have been disappearing.”

         So now he thought he was a profiler. It was like something from a formulaic TV show. But he was right in that, although my sister had applied to all the good drama schools in the country, nothing had worked out for her in the end. She was living with our parents because the money a person can earn from acting in commercials and student films is small and unstable. I chalked up the cops’ surrender to the fact that none of them were twins and accessed my twinly intuition – or just some solid logic – and I thought she must have gone to New York to increase her chances. 

* * *

Thanks for reading! I return the favor! In the coming weeks, I'll present more medieval madness...

And please don't forget! This is the last day to throw your name into the hat for the Transcendent giveaway!

My Famous Appearance on Mera's YA Booklist

I haven't been in the blogosphere much lately because of work commitments, but there's something pretty special going on! Check out Mera's YA book list this week for free bookmarks of Tree/House! Visit this link.

These bookmarks are shiny and beautiful with extremely high quality printing and that lovely butterfly. Trust me, you want one! Mera has a great page, anyway. You won't be sorry.

Thanks for your support!

SSS: Six More from New Story

Halfway through January already! Thanks for the encouragement about this new story. Here are the next six sentences.

* * *

One earnest officer took me into confidence and whispered, “Pretty girls have been disappearing lately and we haven’t found any of them.”

“Am I at risk?” I had asked, figuring that if my identical twin had disappeared, I too would be the kidnapper’s type.

“No,” he said, too quickly. “You graduated from Harvard.”

Like most twentysomethings in Boston, I had more university degrees than life experience. “So?”

* * *

The missing twin's name, Dulcy, is short for Dulcinea, so I guess I don't have the monopoly on it, although I wish I did. These sentences look as though they're leading to a police drama, but the story is really going to be about what happens after they get Dulcy home. Thanks so much for visiting and leaving comments, remembering that this is unedited so far. I'll be sure to return the favor!

And if you like YA paranormal, definitely check out my last post!