Saturday, May 11, 2019

What about a Medieval Romance with a Touch of Fantasy? #WeWriWa



Welcome to another Sunday with Weekend Writing Warriors. Meet writers in various genres and read 8-10 sentence snippets of their stories. Find a new author and sample their work. Enjoy!

I apologize for my absence for the past few weeks. Besides the usual dilemma of which story to write next, real life events, both good and bad, intruded on my writing. These events included: end of semester exams, my son’s graduation from college, and my husband’s surgery. I’m trying to get back into the routine of writing every day. 

In an amusing switch from science fiction, I had an idea for a medieval romance and a survey of my newsletter subscribers encouraged me to write the story. It is set in fourteenth century England in my hometown of Reading, and will include an element of fantasy. the photo shows the twelfth century church of St. Mary's with its distinctive tower of checkered stone. 

So here is an early draft of the first lines of this story. What you think about the concept?

     In late summer of my twenty-third year, I made a pilgrimage to Glastonbury in Somerset, thereby proving my piety and enlightening my mind. Our parish priest often advised a visit to a holy shrine as penance for sinful thoughts, especially for a widow like me. Regardless of the state of my soul, a pilgrimage suited me since I delighted in traveling to new places. Both my business and private affairs benefited from the direction and timing of the trip from my house in Reading.
     Our group of pilgrims mounted on sturdy horses made the journey in five days of easy riding in the clement weather of early July. We were instructed to leave our horses in the stable yard and walk along the final path to the Abbey gates. Beggars crowded on either side of the paved road, stretching out their hands and pleading for alms. Once, two lads ran into the road and tugged at the sleeves of an elderly merchant. He shook them off and shouted for help. The Abbot’s men at arms unsheathed their swords and shoved the boys away; no others dared approach us.

St Mary's Church, Reading, UK, by Ron Saunders

Draft Blurb:
In fourteenth century Britain, Dame Audrey enjoys her independence as the widow of a cloth merchant. When a dying traveler gives her a curious brooch with a green dragon, she vows to find its true owner. The strange jewel attracts trouble from thieves of all ranks and the attentions of a handsome yeoman, Selwyn Sage. She sees no advantage to a second marriage, but the unmarried merchants have other ideas. They covet the young widow and her prosperous business and plan to force her into wedlock. Can Audrey evade the schemes alone or must she accept Selwyn’s help to survive the greedy ruffians and fulfill her oath?


This month, I’m celebrating my fifth anniversary as an indie author. Two of my books are discounted for the entire month.

 Pawn

SciFi Fantasy - Super psychics in space. One young woman challenges the super psychics ruling the galaxy, and finds an impossible love
99c at Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay


 Lady

SciFi Romance. Feisty scientist solves puzzle of scaly aliens on the remote planet of Eden.
99c at  Amazon  iBooks  Kobo  B&N  GooglePlay


As always, I’ll be happy to reply to your comments.  
Please return to www.wewriwa.com to sample the works of the other writers.

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17 comments:

  1. Sounds interesting! And your description is wonderful!

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  2. You're from Reading? I never knew. Son #2 lived there for most of a year while on a working holiday.

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    1. I grew up in a suburb of Reading. You can find historical remains all around from neolithic stones to Roman ruins, and of course the medieval Reading Abbey.

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    2. And the site of the only school Jane Austen ever attended!
      Chris worked for the county government, I think, digitizing maps of farms. He's a GIS specialist.

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    3. Digital maps would be useful. My parents worked for the county before they retired. My dad inspected gravel pits and rubbish dumps for the county.

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  3. I LOVE historicals and you're off to a fantastic start. I'm ready to take this journey with her (and you!).

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  4. You're so good an evoking a time and place, I'm sure medieval with a fantasy element will be right up your alley! Enjoyed the snippet...

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    1. Thanks! Although I have to do a lot of research.

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  5. Great start of the new story. A lot of information in just a few sentences. Enjoyed the read.

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  6. Your snippet already has the flavor of a medieval story. It's great to try a different genre. Challenging, too. Good luck.

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    1. Thank you. I've been researching the fourteenth century.

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  7. Enjoyed the scene that you painted with vivid detail.

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  8. Wow! Now that writing certainly puts me in medieval times! Well done. You paint quite the picture too.

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    1. Thank you. Let's hope I can continue in the same style.

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