Michelle Franklin's Blog, page 41

Story for the Day: Ruta

Before Martje gained command of the keep's range, there was Ruta, the old kitchen master, whose mission it was in life to feed Alasdair as much as she did his father. 


Meeting the keep’s kitchenmaster and assessing her now at such convenience allowed him to comprehend the whole of her compactness: she was a small woman, plump and hardy, always fluttering about her range, her hands never without a something to mark her station, her hair a fiery bramble tied beneath her mop cap, her bristly...

Story for the Day: Five-Second Rule

Tales from Frewyn: Short Stories from the Haanta Series will be out next month! The volume will feature early stories from the series featuring Rautu, Boudicca, Kai Linaa, Unghaahi, Leraa, Otenohi, Martje, and Alasdair. To give you a peek at the publication, here is one of my favourite stories: 


The Five-Second Rule                 There was a long-standing rule in the kingdom of Frewyn pertaining to food that had...

Story for the Day: Taxes

While Prince Draeden's greatest concern is his next meal, all Aldus' anxiety is for the precious carpet at his feet and the stacks of tax collection notices on his desk. No one enjoys paying taxes, but in Frewyn they are essential in providing the kingdom with all its social services, and though some escape paying by working illegally, the king is never remiss in his payment.


Aldus looked grave and was about to say an obedient “Yes, Your Majesty,” when Aghatha suddenly appeared on the thr...

Happy Birthday Soledhan, LJ and Dorrin

Happy birthday to Soledhan, Little Jaicobh, and Prince Dorrin! Since the boys share close birthdays, they celebrate them together in one large commemoration with the whole family. As a birthday gift, Kai Linaa made this picture for the boys and decided to join them herself by the pond and take part in all the revelry that such happy moments can furnish.

Story for the Day: The Carpet

Aldus, the kingdom's treasurer, takes cleanliness in the workplace very seriously, so much in fact that anyone who steps near his threshold must scrape their boots and scuff their feet to keep from getting the smallest spec of dirt on his beloved carpet. While the carpet isn't his, it is an ancient relic from Frewyn's past and must be cared for by someone, regardless of how many people dislike it:
All Aldus’ forbearance for loquacious princes, spoiled relics, and caked boots had done, for he h...

Happy 200 to Pride and Prejudice

"I want to tell you that I have got my own darling child from London," was what Jane wrote to Cassandra on January 29th, 1813 when the first copy of the first edition of Pride and Prejudice was put into Jane's hands. 

In her letters, Jane always referred to her books as her darling children, and two-hundred years later, her books remain some of the world's most popular, proving that a legacy of literary wealth lives far beyond what any author could imagine.

Happy birthday to...

Story for the Day: Aldus Craughleigh

Nobody enjoys tax season-- unless you're Aldus Craughleigh. Known for his gleeful love of numbers, Aldus, the kingdom's treasurer, is the only one in the world who looks forward to adding receipts and canceling deductions, but as much as he disturbs the citizens of Frewyn, his absolute abhorrence for disorder will one day be the ruin of him, as Prince Draeden discovers:

                To the treasury they went, and sitting at hi...

Story for the Day: The Hachamba

Nothing says celebration like the Lucentian Hachamba. The Hachamba, or the 'one-two', is a lively Lucentian dance, reserved for the major holiday of Lucentiana. The holiday commemorates the day on which the elves arrived in what was then Old Lucentia and escaped the plague that had destroyed their original homeland. The most significant part of the holiday is the grand Hachamba procession, which begins on the edge of the capital and ends at the Royal Plaza. Thousands of people come...

Read "Remembering Kindness"

Read "Remembering Kindness," one of the series' short stories involving Commander Vyrdin for free today! Either follow the link here: http://issuu.com/papercranebooks/docs... or read from the embedded reader below:

Story for the Day: Cake is a Serious Business

To Prince Draeden, who must eat every ten minutes to be perfectly appeased, food is a serious business, but there is no business so serious as cake, birthday cake being the most serious of all.
Draeden led the party to the capital wall, where they sat amidst the crenellations and presented the cake to Vyrdin in a more official tenor.                 “All in line,” Draeden announced.               ...