Joyce DiPastena's Blog, page 51

Summary Sunday

(If you would like to enter my drawing for a $25 gift certificate for See's chocolate, please click here.)
Well, it appears I know more about online research than I thought I did, because my online class isn't consuming as much as my time as I expected. Hence, I was able to write some new sentences to share with you this week. :-) Yes, these are all still from Acelet's story.
Monday: "Sit, madame, and I will sing to you the tale of Le Fresne." [Author's note: Sadly, the tale of Le Fresne isn't going to work after all. Acelet will be finding a new story to use next week.]

Tuesday: She had sat back quickly, before the last vibration of Acelet's voice had died way on the final words … "Here ends Chrétien's romance of the Knight with the Lion … " welcoming the familiar stiffening of her features as she recovered her familiar scorn for such absurd romanticism.
Thursday: The harp strings thrummed a series of dark, hovering tones, introducing the irony that followed.
Friday: She froze in mid-step and shook herself free of the skeins of enchantment.
Saturday: With an audible "hmph!", she picked up a platter splattered with solidified goose fat clumped with ground giblets and breadcrumbs and plunged it into the water so that it clanked against the pot.

500(+) Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway! - Winners!

(If you are looking for my Sweet Saturday Sample, please click here)
Congratulations to the following winners of my 500(+) Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway!
Krystal has won a copy of the YA novel, The Door in the Wall
Judy has won a copy of the YA novel, Adam of the Road
Wanda Luce has won a copy of The Adventures of Robin Hood (DVD)
Nichole Giles has won a copy of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (DVD)
RW1010 has won a copy of Dragon Heart/Dragon Heart: A New Beginning (DVD)
Thank you to everyone who entered and to all the followers of JDP NEWS! If you didn't win a prize this time, there's still a chance to win some chocolate. (YUM!) Click here to find out how!

Sweet Saturday Samples

Welcome back to Sweet Saturday Samples! Here's another excerpt from my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart (rating PG). My hero, Triston, has a rival for Siri's affections. Read on to make his further acquaintance. (Yes, he appeared briefly in one of my excerpts before.)
Raynor pressed a hand to his chest. "Carissima, you wrong me. It was for you alone that this poor heart of mine kept beating while my life otherwise threatened to flow away. Send me away from the bright beam of your smile and I shall dwindle and waste like a rose in the merciless snows of winter."
"Don't be absurd," she said. "You cannot stay here any longer. I do not think I can keep you safe of Triston's temper."
"Sooner would I take that risk than lose the sweet light of your face. Carissima." 
He held out his hands. She did not know why, but she put her own in his. There was no laughter now in his eyes, but an earnest glow that startled her. 
"You are the breath of my life. I knew from the first hour I saw you, when I unveiled your face on that dusty road, that I should never rest until I could hold you in my arms and speak to you every inadequate word of love from my soul. I will cherish you forever. Please—" he bowed his head and kissed her hands "—come with me to Belle Noir."
He sounded more fervent than she had ever heard him before. But…
"Come with you?"
He raised his head and his mouth lifted in the depths of his beard. "It is customary for a wife to reside in her husband's home."
"You mean marry you? Truly?"
His smile grew rueful. "This shock of yours does not please me, carissima. Have I been so clumsy in my praises that you did not realize how deeply I am in love with you?"
Now click here to find links to more Sweet Saturday Samples.
And if you'd like to help me celebrate the upcoming release of my next medieval romance, Dangerous Favor, click here. There's chocolate involved if you do. ;-)

More News to Celebrate!

Hey everyone! I know we're smack in the middle of my 500(+) Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway, but I just couldn't wait to share my new news! My third sweet medieval romance, Dangerous Favor , has been picked up by Walnut Springs Press for a January 2012 release! So of course, I MUST celebrate! And really, is there any other way to celebrate than with chocolate??? 




And really, what's the fun of celebrating alone? I'd much rather celebrate with all of you. So I'm offering a $25 gift certificate for See's Chocolates to one lucky person who leaves a comment on this blog. That's it, just leave a comment with your email address. (Don't forget that part so I can contact you if you win!)


Deadline will be Tuesday, September 20, midnight PST. 'Kay?


My book is all polished up, but my blurb for it is still rough. Still, here's a little taste of what it's about!


Dangerous Favor is a kind of dual romance for Etienne de Brielle and Therri de Laurant, both of whom appeared in my medieval romance, Loyalty's Web. My heroine, Mathilde de Riavelle, is in dire need of a champion. Her father has been falsely accused of theft from the king and his family has since been reduced to poverty. Mathilde has one chance to find and marry a man with the wealth and connections to help her prove her father's innocence. At first, she believe that man is Therri, heir to a rich barony and a man who appears to embody all of her romantic dreams. But Therri is in love with a proud, beautiful widow named Violette. Etienne, the younger son of a disgraced family, has neither wealth nor connections, but he is smitten with Mathilde at a glance. Alas, when he tricks her into granting him her favor, a sleek white ribbon, for a tournament, she becomes convinced that he is only out to seduce her. Can Therri thaw the beautiful Violette's heart, and can Etienne convince Mathilde that he is the true hero of her dreams in time to save her from a nightmare from her past?


This is just the first of my celebrations. Stay tuned for more in the future! And don't forget to enter my 500(+) Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway if you haven't already! (Click here to enter.)

500(+) Blog Follower Appreciation Giveaway!

Woohoo! Thanks to all your wonderful people, JDP NEWS now has over 500 blog followers! And I promised you all an celebration giveaway when I hit 500 followers, now didn't I?

So here it is! To show my appreciation for the support all of you have given me and my blog, I am giving away 5 PRIZES! (1 prize for each 100 followers.) And since, as you all know, I'm in love with the Middle Ages (well, I wouldn't want to live there, but I love to visit!), all of these prizes are medieval-themed. Sort of. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy them. (If you win, that is.)

The prizes are:

Book: The Door in the Wall , by Marguerite De Angeli. The Door in the Wall is a soft cover children's book with charming black and white drawings, and was a Newbery Medal Winner. If you're still a child at heart, you will enjoy this story, too!

Summary: Robin has grown up the son of a nobleman. He knows he must serve the king by becoming a knight. But Robin's destiny is changed suddenly when he falls ill and loses the use of his legs. A monk named Brother Luke rescues Robin and takes him to the hospice of St. Mark's. There Robin learns woodcarving and --much harder--strength and patience. When danger threatens the great castle of Lindsay, Robin discovers there are more ways to serve a king than riding into battle. As Brother Luke says, "Thou hast only to follow the wall long enough and there will be a door in it."

Book: Adam of the Road , by Elizabeth Janet Gray. Adam of the Road is also a soft cover children's book, again with black and white illustrations, and was also a Newbery Medal Winner.

Summary: "A road's a kind of holy thing...it brings all kinds of people and all parts of England together." Eleven-year-old Adam loved to travel throughout thirteenth-century England with his father, a wandering minstrel, and his dog, Nick. But when Nick is stolen and his father disappears, Adam suddenly finds himself alone. He searches the same roads he traveled with his father, meeting farmers, pilgrims, minstrels, priests, and thieves along the way. Through these encounters, Adam discovers that somewhere in the crowds of people are is father and his dog. But will Adam be able to find them and end his desperate search?

DVD: The Adventures of Robin Hood , with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

DVD: Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves , with Kevin Costner (poor Maid Marion doesn't even get equal billing in this one!)

DVD: Dragonheart and Dragonheart: A New Beginning (This is the "sort of" medieval-themed prize)


To win one of these prizes, YOU MUST BE A FOLLOWER OF JDP NEWS. (After all, this is a follower appreciation giveaway!)

To enter, please leave a comment letting me know that you are a JDP NEWS Google Friend Connect follower (see left hand sidebar), and INCLUDE YOU EMAIL ADDRESS. (I can't contact you to let you know you won if I don't have an email address) Also, if you already own any of these prizes, please note that in your comment so I don't award you a second copy.

Deadline to enter will be Sunday, September 18, midnight PST.

Summary Sunday

Summary Sunday is where I share one new sentence from each day of my writing week with you. It's a way to give you a flavor of what I'm currently working on, and a way to hold myself accountable for actually writing something during the week so I'll have some sentences to share with you! :-)
These sentences are from my never-ending draft of Acelet's story. (Acelet was a character in  Illuminations of the Heart,  in case you haven't read it.)
Monday: It was just like Acelet to call such riffraff "friends". 
Tuesday: "Even an fat old woman like me forgets that she is old and fat and only a servant when he sings, his voice sweet as the lavender honey I use in the almond cakes that the duke so loves."
Saturday: "Folcaut and I are eager to hear you rearrange this tale to avoid the need to recount the torrid love affair."
Yes, not one of my better writing weeks. :::sigh::: Well, three days were better than none. I'm starting an online writing class on Monday, so depending on how demanding the assignments are, I may or may not have a Summary Sunday to share with you next week. If I write anything interesting for the class, though, I may share it instead. :-)

Sweet Saturday Samples

Here's another little interlude between Siri and Triston in my sweet medieval romance, Illuminations of the Heart (rated PG). Hope you enjoy!
"Nay," she whispered, "I did not mind the kisses. In fact, I—I would not object should you wish to kiss me again." She blushed at her own brazenness, but still held her breath hopefully.
Her heartbeat raced when he lowered himself to the wall beside her. A slow smile curved across his mouth. "You are the most maddening wench I have ever met. Has the Lady Lucianna any idea how you keep throwing yourself at me?"
"She thinks you are lusting after me," she confessed. "And I hope you do not think that I do this with every man? Because you are the first—and only man—I have ever asked to kiss me."
She drew a shivery breath when his hands encircled her face. 
"Do not tempt me, sweet Siriol," he murmured. "I will only hurt you again."
"You did not hurt me," she repeated, as she had in the yard. 
"Nay, not here." His mouth brushed across hers in a feathery caress. "But here." He pressed his palm against her softly throbbing heart.
"Triston—"
"Lady Siriol—" his voice came low— "I cannot love you as you wish me to. And I will not rob you of your honor for the sake of lust. Yours or mine."
She slid herself away from him along the wall. It was not lust that made her ache, but if that was all he felt for her, then he was right. It was not enough.
Click here to read more about Illuminations of the Heart.
And click here to find some more Sweet Saturday Samples!
Illuminations of the Heart on Amazon: Illuminations of the Heart (Historical Romance Novels)

Back to the Books Giveaway Hop: Winner!

Congratulations to Tamara, winner of the Back to the Books Giveaway Hop on JDP NEWS! Tamara has won a copy of Flame-Coloured Taffeta, by Rosemary Sutcliff.


Thank you to everyone who entered! And thank you for sharing all your favorite "new" authors with me. I can't wait to check them all out for myself! :-)

Tuesday Teaser

Tuesday Teaser is a weekly bookish meme (rhymes with "cream"), hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. (I've borrowed it from LDS Women's Book Review.) Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare at least two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers!
I'm adapting the rules slightly. I'll be quoting some random lines from the last chapter I read before I post a teaser. I'm a slow reader, so you may get multiple teasers per book. Here's a teaser from The Amber Treasure , by Richard Denning:
But the gods don't deal in hope. They mostly deal with fate - what destiny has in store for a man. But Loki, the trickster God Loki: he deals in mischief and that night he was abroad mixing up his mischief.
From  The Amber Treasure , 36% done (Kindle version)If you'd like to share a teaser from a book you're currently reading, I'd love you to do so in the comment section. And you don't even have to share it on a Tuesday! Be sure to include the title, author, and page number in case others would like to check out the book you're reading.

What Am I Reading Now?

I've discovered that Rosemary Sutcliff books seem to fall into three categories: happy endings ( Flame-Coloured Taffeta, The Eagle of the Ninth, The Silver Branch ), sad endings ( Knight's Fee ), and bittersweet endings. The Lantern Bearers , which I've just finished reading, fell into the bittersweet category. Now ordinarily I'm not much for bittersweet books and might have abandoned such a book, having once realized what I was reading. (Yes, I admit it, I peeked at the ending!) But Rosemary Sutcliff has a way of grabbing me by the throat and dragging me along, whether I think I want to go or not, and I admit that in the end, The Lantern Bearers was worth the ride. (And goes into my "keepers" collection, whether I ever actually read it again or not.)
Intrigued by the time period of The Lantern Bearers , I picked up for my next read The Amber Treasure , by Richard Denning, after reading an interview with the author on the I Am a Reader, Not a Writer blog. The Amber Treasure takes place slightly after the time period of The Lantern Bearers , but near enough for the two to still be related historically. Alas, I have already discovered that Richard Denning is no Rosemary Sutcliff. But then, neither am I. (Darn!) Nevertheless, onward I press. Here's the back cover blurb for The Amber Treasure :
"I will take care of the body of my lord and you can carry the sword, story teller. For all good stories are about a sword."
Cerdic, the nephew of a warrior, dreams of the glories of battle. When war comes for real, his sister is kidnapped, his family betrayed and his uncle's legendary sword stolen. 
Cerdic is thrown into the struggles that will determine the future of 6th century Britain.
Stop by on Tuesday to read a Tuesday Teaser from  The Amber Treasure .