Michelle Franklin's Blog, page 57

#NaNoWriMo : Once Every Year

A piece from "From Frewyn to Sanhedhran", the second book in the series. Alasdair has difficulty remembering the family he has lost:
Once every year since his grandfather's death, Alasdair had contrived to pay a visit his family's plot in the royal memorial. The memorial grounds, maintained by the castle gardener, with their fine hedge rows neatly trimmed, their flower beds prettily worked, and the ivy kept in tolerable order, was situated on an elevated and private plot of land between the...

#NaNoWriMo : The Guildlord of Lucentia

Ladrei is the richest and most dangerous man in Lucentia. He hangs around Frewyn for much of books 1-7. Here is how he is perceived in his homeland by one fortunate woman:





A few minutes were spent in silent indignation. What right had he, a slovenly and shapeless gambler, have to govern her sense of dignity and propriety? Had she been more imprudent elsewhere, she should have been scolded for dressing and acting akin to the women of the houses, and though he, a frequenter of such unwholesome...

#NaNoWriMo : Story for the Day: Lucentian Markets

Morning roused in Lucentia capital, and with it came the usual hum and bustle of the marketplace. The colourful stalls with their vibrant hues radiated in the rays of white morning light, casting their vivid tints along the ground and bespeaking their tinged shadows upon the adjacent tents and walls. The Lucentian peoples emerged from their homes, carting their wares to their stalls and entering their shoppes with all the high good humour that a clear and cool morning over the arid capital...

#NaNoWriMo : Frewyn's Seamhair

Halloween in Frewyn takes a more somber character than it does here. After all the trick-or-treating and all the candy-eating is done, many do to honour and feast in the name of their departed. I'm working on rewrites for "From Frewyn to Sanhedhran", book two in the series. There are a few chapters devoted to the holiday since its one of Frewyn's most important. Here is a small piece from one of those chapters:
Services at the Church were let out, the last of the mulled cider was dolled, and n...

#Nanowrimo: Excerpt: A Haanta in Lucentia

Rewriting parts of book 2 in the series, "From Frewyn to Sanhedhran" to prepare it for publishing next year. Here's a little excerpt of Rautu's brother Unghaahi in Lucentia.
Ladrei Maccadrin and Myrellenos, matron of LucentiaEvening had come to Lucentia: the warm gale of the nearby Eastern Sea wafted through the capital, the mist from the grand fountain cooled the nearby ports, harps and lyres played gentle melodies throughout the bustling markets, and the Alabaster Palace shone numinous...

Reading the Classics: Review of Paul Creswick's "Robin Hood"

Many belonging to the older generations are usually familiar with "The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood" by Howard Pyle, but not many are familiar with the even older "Robin Hood" or "The Adventures of Robin Hood" by Paul Creswick. Those who have seen the Disney film by the same time would know of it, as the film was based on Creswick's interpretation (minus the foxes).


The book, though fanciful in its own right, focuses on the more historical aspects of Robin Hood (or Robin Whode or Wood)...

#NaNoWriMo : Story for the Day: Word of a Giant P3

The giant remained in his mediations for some time, murmuring the words of his people's passages for added consolation, unmoving until the afternoon snows had passed. With the advent of evening, the winds at last subsided, the clouds drew back to reveal a grey sky and subdued sun, leaving behind a few flakes flittering down from the skies and added to the glistening coat of snow encasing the giant. His white locks were adorned with a damp mantle of snow, his furs lining with icicles, and the...

#NaNoWriMo : Story for the Day: Word of a Giant P2

After being locked in a large wolves' cage upon the high snow banks at the edge of the village and left to himself, the giant overheard a small exchange between two of the villagers who were walking back toward the square: a storm was coming, but not any sort that he had been used to endure on the islands; one of violent winds and heavy snows that was fast approaching from the east, one that would envelope the whole of the northwest and hopefully pause the battles overtaking the far west and ...

#NaNoWriMo : Story for the Day: Word of a Giant

Many of you are curious as to what happened during the Galleisian War mentioned at the beginning of Commander and Den Asaan. Here for you is a small glimpse of Rautu's first appearance in Frewyn.

Word of a Giant No, the butterfly is not in the book, but it's amusing to consider.                It was cold in Kileen, uncommonly so, and the frigid air and white skies over the small ferrying village recommended the arrival of a thick snow for the afternoon. Frewyn was no stranger to being buried u...

#NaNoWriMo : Story for the Day: The Missing Grimalkin P2

                The arrival of the missing Grimalkin son caused an uncommon outburst of animation within the Chambers halls: the noblewomen fluttered in corners murmuring to one another about Edvin's shrouded features, his reserved and silent manner, and terrific build; the laywers milled about and declared how highly irregular it was for an errant son to return only after his father's death; servants peeked around corners to remark the enormous dark figure marching toward the rotunda and...