Saturday, April 13, 2013

L is for The Loveless Princess

 

This year's A to Z Challenge theme is: All About Foxwick. By the way, I am so far behind in commenting back on people's blogs. I've been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this month (a 30,000 word goal this time), so I can finish rewriting the last part in The Phoenix Prophetess. I'm nearing the end and hope to finish it this weekend. *crosses fingers* So then, I'll have the rest of the month to focus more on the challenge. So I will be commenting and soon!

L is for ... The Loveless Princess
  
As I mentioned in letter E, Eirwyn has stolen the show. A villain in many other Foxwick stories, she has a chance to tell her story in The Loveless Princess. I hope to finish writing this first draft next month and perhaps publish it around October this year.


Here is the work-in-progress book description: 

Fairy tales have happy endings. 

Sixteen-year-old Princess Eirwyn wants to believe in fairy tales. It’s why she sneaks out of the castle several nights a week in search for her father and his family. Her mother, Queen Vereina of Wintermill, prefers to keep her secrets and has her own plans for her daughter.

One night, Eirwyn’s mother catches her out of the castle and locks her in her room. But Eirwyn uses her magical gifts to escape, and with the help of Orion, the sort of common boy her mother fears her daughter will love, Eirwyn is close to discovering what happened to her father.

But Queen Vereina won't allow her daughter the pleasure of knowing her father. She imprisons Orion and forces Eirwyn to travel to Foxwick to marry Prince Javen. The love potion feels heavy in her bag, but Eirwyn has little choice. The queen will kill Orion otherwise. Can Eirwyn fall in love with the kind and handsome prince when she loves another? With love potion in hand, Eirwyn will soon learn life is not a fairy tale.

And she’ll have to make her own choices, no matter the consequences. 

A brief unedited excerpt from The Loveless Princess:

My cloak’s hem brushed against the wooden floorboards as I made my way to the gambling table, a rectangular oak table that could seat eight. At the moment, a woman and three other men sat there, playing cards in their hands and coins piling before them. They didn’t look up at me.

“Mind if I join the next game?” I held up my clinking coin purse.

The man closest to me rubbed his beard, and his beady eyes narrowed upon the bag. “If ya can pay, then ya can play.”

The woman across from me shoved the chair across from her out. Her gap-toothed grin sent shivers down my spine. “Sit down, sweetheart.”

“Thank you.” Perching on the chair, I peered toward these four people from behind the edge of my cloak’s hood. The woman’s watery dark eyes couldn’t belong to my family’s. One man had red hair, the beady-eyed man had none of my delicate features, and the third man, although very slender, had a bulbous nose and green eyes. I blew out air through my nostrils. Just like the previous thirteen moons I’ve searched, I still couldn’t find any possible family members. Perhaps what the castle’s servants said was true: My father’s family was dead.

21 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Hopefully THIS fairy tale does have a happy ending.

Natalie Aguirre said...

Loved the blurb for your story, Cherie. This sounds like a great story.

M.J. Fifield said...

I couldn't imagine doing both A to Z and Camp NaNo (great word count, by the way!). I considered doing both, but then there was nothing but darkness and dragons (actually, I don't mind dragons) so I decided against it. Good for you, really, for being so brave!

The excerpt is lovely...not that I expected otherwise.

DL Hammons said...

I enjoyed your snippet! :)

Wayne Assiratti said...

This sounds great. I'll make a point of having a look at all of your posts on Foxwick. I haven't seen anyone else blogging on their WIP and as I have about four on the go now, I'll be interested to see how you do it. Best of luck!

Cheers,

W.

jaybird said...

Somehow I get the impression their not all dead; at least I'm hoping their not.

Good luck with NaNo! You are so ambition doing A-Z and NaNo- you go girl!!

jaybird said...

I meant "ambitious" sorry!

M Pax said...

Love the plot... and love how she's gambling. Very original, or it seems so to me.

Michael Offutt, Phantom Reader said...

Happy endings are overrated. I think soap opera is the way fantasy should go these days. Give me a medieval setting with gorgeous people, love, backstabbing, betrayal, reconciliation, lots and lots of money, death, violence, magic, dragons, more love, more lust, more betrayal...etc.

Unknown said...

Sounds like you've had a busy but productive month!

Gwen Gardner said...

Oh I hope she finds them! And hurry, before she has to marry a toad!

Christine Rains said...

I cannot wait to read this! :)

Unknown said...

You're doing a NaNoWriMo and the A-z Challenge? Holy cow! You're Superwoman!
Wishing you luck on everything you're doing. :-)

Nick Wilford said...

Excellent excerpt. Hope she finds some answers.

Cathy Keaton said...

Sounds great! I'm loving the world of Foxwick you've created. :)

Heather R. Holden said...

I'm loving the sound of The Loveless Princess! The premise alone had me hooked, and then that excerpt reeled me in even more. I'm so curious to see what's in store for Eirwyn!

Christina Lee said...

Very NICE!!!! Love that title, too!

Julie Flanders said...

Love the excerpt! And I'm so impressed that you are doing the camp at the same time as the challenge, you've really had a crazy month. Good luck finishing this weekend!

Anonymous said...

Good for you on doing both Campnano and the A to Z. I'm doing both and I'm a littel crazed. :)

Anonymous said...

I have nominated you for the Liebster award for blogging during the A to Z Challenge. You can pick up your award and the rules at my website

sjp said...

Poor princess. seems she has a lot of struggles before her.