Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Sneak Peek: Guinevere Book II and the Kid Lit Blog Hop 55.

This week's post is a celebration of sorts. Last month I finished the first draft—read that as a very rough first draft—of Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend—Cedwyn's Story. A lot of work still needs to be done before the manuscript makes its way to the first of many editor visits. Bear this in mind as you read the first pages of this story. If you have read Guinevere: On the Eve of Legend, then you may be a bit surprised at this reading. So, here goes nothing. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1 - State of Affairs

A strong north wind rushed down the valley, scattering leaves already yellowed and blown down earlier by another north wind. Already the smell of winter filled the air, crisp and sharp with the promise of early snow instead of the mild fall usually seen.

It also carried another winter on its breath. A light dusting of ash lay upon the castle parapets and floated down on the roofs turning them a grayish-white. These days ashes covered every level surface and every nook, inside and outside. On days like today when the wind raced through, people tried to breathe shallow to avoid inhaling the acrid smoke carried from the winter up north.

Throughout the spring and summer, conflict ripped through the northern country bringing death to many and sending the ashes of whole villages, burnt to the ground instead of surrendering, south into the lands loyal to the one king. In response, legions of men rode north, knights of those shires pledged to and supporting one land, one king. The land being Britain; the king being Arthur Pendragon.

A slender young woman, chin resting on her hands, gazed north, almost oblivious to the gusts whipping the brown hair escaping from the cowl of her dark green cloak. Days seemed to have passed since the sun last smiled on her land. Then a nasty gale raised up and whipped the hood off her head, revealing underneath the innocent but lined face of a young princess, just past fifteen years. A princess who should have been a queen.

A sigh escaped her blood-spotted lips, cracked and sore from a week of standing on this parapet while the wind destroyed the summer in her land. She waited each day for movement through the trees that would signal the coming home of the knights from the north. No sign of her father or King Arthur.

Months overdue was her marriage. Another change because of the fighting, the refusal of the northern clans to give up their freedom for a different freedom under Arthur. Two months ago, her father had left with a contingent of knights to bolster Arthur’s troops. Two months and no word, just ashes and smoke.

And now,

Welcome to the 55th Kid Lit Blog Hop where we continue to develop a dynamic and engaged community of children's books bloggers, authors, publishers, and publicists.

On this Hop, Carpinello's Writing Pages interviews
and

You are always more than welcome to join us by popping in a post and hopping around to meet some of your fellow Kid Lit bloggers and authors! This week, we are excited to be including a Goodreads Linky Party to be held in conjunction with the Kid Lit Blog Hop. These linky parties are designed to give you the opportunity to connect with and grow your network of fellow kid lit bloggers, authors, and parents through your various social media platforms. We are pleased to welcome as co-host this week Tiffiny from the blog Spark and Pook. Welcome and bienvenue to Tiffiny.  

Hostesses:

Mother Daughter Book Reviews

Julie Grasso, Author/ Blogger

Cheryl Carpinello, Author / Blogger

Stacking Books

BeachBoundBooks

Pragmatic Mom

Music, Teaching and Parenting

Reading Authors

The Logonauts

A Book Long Enough

Co-Hostess:

Happy Hopping everyone and enjoy the Hop!

Kid Lit Blog Hop
 

Kid Lit Blog Hop & Linky Party Rules *Please Read*

1. LINKY PARTY: Add the link to your Goodreads profile page in the Goodreads Linky Party list below. Be sure to visit at least the two links directly before yours as well as your hosts' Goodreads pages. Be sure to friend or follow some folks with similar interests and like any reviews that catches your eye.
2. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Link up any Kid Lit related post in the Kid Lit Blog Hop. This can be a link to a children’s book review, a discussion about children’s literature/literacy, or a post on a recently-read children’s book or one that you love from your childhood.
* Don't link directly to your blog, it must be a specific post.*
* For Authors, we prefer you to link to your blog if you have one. Please link unique posts each time ~ no repeats please. *
* Make sure you include an image relevant to the POST (e.g., book cover), not your blog button or photo of yourself.*
* Feel free to link more than one post.*
3. KID LIT BLOG HOP: Please visit AT LEAST the TWO LINKS from the Kid Lit Blog Hop directly ahead of your own and leave them some love in the form of a comment. We are trying to build a community of bloggers, readers, parents, authors, and others who are as passionate about children’s literature as we are so please CONNECT and follow any or all of the blogs that interest you! 4. If you like, grab the button above and put it somewhere on your blog, preferably the post you're linking up. If you'd prefer, you can just add a text link back to this Hop so that others can find it and check out all these great book links! 5. It would really help us get the word out about the Kid Lit Blog Hop if you would be so kind as to tweet, share, and spread the word about the Hop!
Interested in co-hosting the Kid Lit Blog Hop/Linky Party? If you've joined us before, you are welcome to join us again! Please email renee @ motherdaughterbookreviews (dot) com and put Co-Hosting Blog Hop in the subject line.
Happy Hopping!
 

GOODREADS LINKY PARTY

(Please do not link a blog post here - see below for the Kid Lit Blog Hop)

KID LIT BLOG HOP

4 comments:

  1. Hi, Cheryl and thanks for the link from Good Reads to review the first chapter of your new book! What beautiful imagery you have in your writing! I could see everything you were describing! Congratulations on your book and thanks for sharing :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! Still a lot of work to do, but the hardest part is done.

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  2. Just saying hello to a fellow host! Love your books and cannot wait to read the post you've linked up this time! Perhaps we can do an interview on my blog as a guest post if interested in the future!!

    Thank you,
    Maria @
    www.musicteachingandparenting.com

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    Replies
    1. Hi Maria. Thanks for stopping by. I would love to be on your blog! I'll contact you. Stopped by and read/commented on the student in trouble post.

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