Joyce DiPastena's Blog, page 23

Summary Sunday

This may be my last Summary Sunday for a couple of weeks. I'm going on vacation to visit my sister  and don't know how much writing time she will let me squeeze in, so I shared a few extra sentences on Saturday to tide you over. ;-) As always, this is a sampling of my work this week on The Lady and the Minstrel.

Monday: That mindless ease in his privilege had infuriated Robert and set Gunthar in his mind, at first, among the detestable ranks of men like Beckford and Strode.
Tuesday: The breeze had dispersed the day’s clouds so that Robert could watch the progression of the moon across stars so thick they seemed to form a white smear across the sky.
Wednesday: Every bitter memory had screamed at Robert to throw Kit into the fire of Gunthar’s suspicion last night.
Thursday:“Oui, seigneur, mais c'était seulement un chevreuil.” (Okay, confession. I don’t speak French! This character is supposed to be saying, “Yes, my lord, but it was only a deer.” Did I get it right?)
Friday: He had abandoned his post to trail Kit and could only imagine Gunthar’s disgust if dawn arrived to reveal the escaped villein in whom he had placed his trust had apparently run away like a coward.
Saturday: There was nothing to stop him from taking revenge. Revenge for his father’s murder, for Lottie’s bruises and tears, for William’s aching loneliness . . . Vengeance flooded Robert’s mouth, scalding and corrosive. His hand clenched tighter on his hilt. Nothing to stop him . . .

It's Christmas in July!

Well, sort of. For those of you who still prefer print books over e-books, my short Christmas romance, A Candlelight Courting , is now available in a "gift size" paperback!


Margaret (Literary Chanteuse) wrote the following about A Candlelight Courting :
"The author has created one of the most unique love stories I think I have ever read. Christina, a compelling young woman during medieval times . . .  is faced with marriage instead of fulfilling her dream of dedicating her life to the church. How she manages to find love and a guardian of her heart in Burthred, her betrothed is amazing. An excellent choice for Christmas or anytime of the year."
A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance is a 2012 RONE Award Finalist. Print copies are currently on sale at Amazon for only $3.75. (Regular price $3.95.) How long this sale will last is up to the caprices of Amazon, but if you'd like to snag a copy for yourself and a few copies for stocking stuffers, now might be a good time. :-)
A Candlelight Courting is also available in Kindle, Nook, and multiple e-book formats for $1.99.

Summary Sunday

Most of this week's writing was devoted to the first direct encounter between my hero, Robert, and the Earl of Gunthar (yes, from  Loyalty's Web ). I decided to write the scene from Gunthar's POV. It's always fun for me to get inside another character's head and see how he or she views my hero. :-)
Monday - Wednesday's sentences are all from Gunthar's POV. Thursday and Friday began a new chapter. No, Gunthar is not the one with the sausage fingers. Is he the one Rob is glaring at on Friday? You'll have to wait until I finish the book to find out. ;-)
These are all from The Lady and the Minstrel.
Monday: It passed briefly through his mind that Peter would have been near an age with the minstrel, had his son survived that curst Crusade.
Tuesday: “I do not know what you are concealing from me, and I will not tolerate any further impertinence from you, but that this still beats—” he thumped a fist to his heart— “I will not forget.”
Wednesday: Like the discipline in Robert’s eyes, his tone this time betrayed no mockery or scorn. Yet Gunthar felt somehow accused, judged, then simply dismissed, as though saying anything more would be a waste of the minstrel’s breath.
Thursday: “My fingers feel like they turn into sausages whenever I pick up a pen.”
Friday: Robert glared at him, bristling at the hated epithet flung at villeins by their lords.

Freedom to Read Hop: Winners!

Congratulations to the winners of the Freedom to Read Hop on JDP NEWS:


Bernice HBookLadyJoana A
These ladies will each receive a print copy of my short medieval Christmas romance, A Candlelight Courting .

Thank you so much to everyone who entered. Merry Christmas in July!

Summary Sunday

I took two days off this week, one for the 4th of July and the other to work on another little project I have in mind, but here are some new sentences for the other days of the week, all from The Lady and the Minstrel.


Monday: Richard pushed a piece of dry bread through the gravy that had congealed on his plate during his absence in the tent, but he made no attempt to raise the grease-clumped morsel to his mouth.
Tuesday: The knight rolled off his stool as Robert’s hand coiled away, the torchlight catching the whites of the dead man’s eyes and the hilt of the dagger thrust into his back.
Wednesday: . Gunthar thought he heard a grunt, but Roger was shouting over it—“Hie hie hie! To Gunthar! To the earl!”—as he rattled about for a light source on the table next to the cot.
Thursday: (Took off the 4th of July)
Friday: Gunthar did not know how he did it, but the minstrel somehow wrestled himself free. From the way one of his knights lurched sideways and another stumbled back with his chin in the air, Gunthar guessed a push and possibly a punch were involved, but Robert moved too fast to be sure how he did it.
Saturday: (worked on formatting a different project) 

"Freedom To Read' Giveaway Hop

It's been awhile since I've participated in a blog hop. Let's see if I remember how to do it? :-) Thank you to Book Hounds and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer for sponsoring this hop!




Here at JDP NEWS I'm combining "Freedom to Read" with "Christmas in July" and giving away three paperback copies of my short Christmas story, A Candlelight Courting: A Short Christmas Romance . A Candlelight Courting is an InD'Tale Magazine 2013 RONE Award Finalist. It has previously been available as a short e-book, and is making it's debut appearance in print.



If you would like to win a copy, just enter via the Rafflecopter form below, then keep your fingers crossed. Winners will be selected on July 10th. Since these are print copies, USA entries only, please.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

OFFICIAL RULES: NO PURCHASE NECESSSARY. Entrants must be 18 years or older. Winners will be selected on July 10 and have 48 hours to respond to an email notifying them of their win. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. Questions? Contact me at jdipastena@yahoo.com.

All entered? Then hop along to the links below for some more awesome prizes!

Summary Sunday

The temperatures are soaring in Arizona, but my hero is off fighting a war in the chilly month of March.
It's hard to write about camp fires when it's 115 degrees outside. Then again, I suppose it's one way to try to psych oneself through an Arizona summer!

Here are some new sentences from The Lady and the Minstrel.


Monday: Robert knew he should not cling to the surname, not with Kit Beckford in Gunthar’s camp, but if he was going to fight and possibly die for the king, he would do it as his father’s son, not some nameless minstrel.
Tuesday: Sometimes when Robert wrapped himself in his cloak, he fancied he could still smell Beck Manor in the threadbare cloth, though rationally he knew the scent had faded years ago.
Wednesday: “Mint plays havoc with one’s temper, and I am already cross enough.”
Thursday: He felt his blood churn up in anger, even as he wondered who Sir Warin was.
Friday: Robert noticed he did not mention villeins. That would be like acknowledging the milkmaid’s cow.
Saturday: He had been hungry to hear of her, but such slurs as this?

Summary Sunday

I only worked on The Lady and the Minstrel five days this week, because I devoted Saturday to another
little project. Here's a sampling of my Monday-Friday progress.


Monday: Robert knew exactly how many more heartbeats he had to savor the farewell in her lips before he need send her away to avoid discovery—and he meant to relish every one.
Tuesday: “Lord Cold-as-a-Fish, sneering down his nose at us these twelve years, making us grovel for his favor, crushing anyone whose glance offended him, Lord Lick-My-Boots-or-I’ll-Kick-Your-Ribs was finally disconcerted.”
Wednesday: Men who failed to consciously register his music often sensed the change when it ceased, though seemingly with little awareness of exactly what had altered in their surroundings.
Thursday: Robert had kept his head down when Kit Beckford walked past him, but some devilish daring in him had held Strode’s gaze steady.
Friday: The light of a torch set up on a bracket near the sentry point sent a ripple of fire down the threatening blade and lapped across the muddied face of a dazed and frightened young man.

Summary Sunday

My hero, Robert, had to work his way through some difficult memories and emotions this week, which
it was equally difficult for the author to write. (That would be me. :-) ) Now that is behind us, we're about to make a major pivot in the story, if nothing unforeseen arises to interrupt my flow this week.

Here are a few new lines from The Lady and the Minstrel.


Monday: He began to reassure her about being the sole love of his life, but memory and honesty checked him.
Tuesday: “Lottie and Alan wished to marry, but they could not without Kit’s consent, for any children she bore to Alan would become Sir Stephen’s villeins and Kit would lose their future labor.”
Wednesday: “Now that he was lord he could have run me through with his sword for the offense and suffered no more than a token fine, at worst, and likely not even that, for who would blame him for putting down a dog that’d grown vicious?”
Thursday: He remembered the wild exhilaration that had flowed through him as the three of them had ran together through the woods, guided only by a silvery half-moon that dappled the forest floor through the canopy of branches.
Friday: That had been the darkest day of Robert’s life after his father’s death, and in some ways it had been worse, for he could not have saved his father, but if he had been more careful, more cautious—if he had thought before he acted—he might have saved Lottie.
Saturday: “Kit clamored to his feet, infuriated, and swung his fist at me, but I dodged and hit him again.”

Summary Sunday

I missed one day this week because I spent the last night of my sister's visit with her instead of writing.
Then between Tuesday and Wednesday, I decided to rewrite the scene I'd been working on from an entirely different angle and POV. So Tuesday's sentence is no longer in The Lady and the Minstrel, although a friend said I should post my deleted scene on my website when I finish this book, so you never know, you may get to read it in context someday after all.


Monday: (Last night with my sister, spent the evening with her)
Tuesday: But something had provoked him six years after his father’s shame to risk his life in flight, for one man did not set hounds on another unless the hunter was prepared to hazard his pack savaging their prey.
Wednesday: Robert found it hard to hate a man who so clearly loved and respected his wife, even if nine times out of ten when Robert sang for the Earl and Countess of Gunthar, the earl behaved as if Robert wasn’t even there.
Thursday: His grey hair attested to his long life, the creases in his face that it had not been an easy one.
Friday: “I know what happened then,” Robert snapped. He had stood here babbling with Simon like a fool while Marguerite prepared to bring disaster down upon their heads.
Saturday: “I said something much worse in the end. I said that villeins should be free.”