Danielle’s Comments (group member since May 19, 2014)

Danielle’s comments from the Danielle L. Jensen's Reader Group group.

Adriyanna wrote: "I love that "too puffed up in the head" part haha.

1. I'm Team Tristan but I feel like I have an interesting story behind that. When I first heard about Stolen Songbird I decided to read an excerp..."

Hi Adriyanna!

Haha, I wonder how many other people have read the excerpt and thought the same thing?!

Next week I'm going to talk a bit about how reading other people's work can inspire your own imaginary worlds, whether it be in your head or on the page :)

Rachmi wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Fun Facts!!!

Yes! I'll have fun facts for every chapter each week!

I do remember that part of the movie, and sometimes I think the same thing. That I would have loved to live at certain points of history. But then I think about the lack of running water, no antibiotics, and how many women died in childbirth before modern medicine and then I'm grateful to live in modern times!

Rachmi wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Fun Facts!!!

Chapter 1: I met and subsequently signed with my AMAZING agent, Tamar Rydzinski, through an online pitch contest known as The Baker’s Dozen. She asked to read Stolen ..."

Hi Rachmi!

The inspiration for the opera house in Hidden Huntress is Palais Garnier in Paris, which IS where Phantom of the Opera was set - so great choice on the song! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palais_...

Zoe wrote: "1. I was #TeamTristan all the way. He has a lot of characteristics I like. Especially how even though he didn't want Cecile in Trollus in the first place, he still tried to find ways to protect her..."

Hi Zoe! I'm listening to the song you linked to as I type this, and it is so pretty! Thanks for hunting it down :)

I don't really have favourites, either. Or at least, my favourites always change as I find new and wonderful books to read.

The setting of Trollus was really important to me - I actually consider it sort of a character because it impacts the plot so much!

Brittani wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Here are the discussion questions! You can answer as many or as few as you want, and you can also pose questions about these chapters to me!

TO UNLOCK EXTRA CONTENT #2 (A NEW TRIS..."

Hi Brittani! You bring up a good point that the author should trust the reader to be smart enough to figure things out!

I haven't read any of Patrick Rothfuss's books, but both my husband and my brother are big fans, so I'll have to check them out at some point. I think there is going to be a movie based on them? I feel like I read that somewhere...

Errin wrote: "Hi! Firstly, thank you for doing this readalong! My favorite fantasy is honestly tied between Stolen Songbird and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I stumbled upon both through Goodreads. I know Emily Ma..."

Hi Errin,

I'm super flattered to have Stolen Songbird mentioned in the same sentence as Daughter of Smoke and Bone! I met Laini at a con in 2014, and she is so nice! Here is a photo https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...

Thissi wrote: "1. I'm #TeamTristan all the way... I like Marc too, but every since Tristan was introduced I fell in love with him and Cecile being together FOREVER.

2. I prefer books starting with action becaus..."

Hi Thissi! I'm so glad you love Tristan and Cecile so much!!

I'm seeing a trend for early action... I guess I should keep that in mind for future novels!

PERCY JACKSON RULES!! Just had to get that out there :D What a moment of good fortune that you plucked that book off that shelf!

Melissa wrote: "Mean Luke alert! This ending gave us a bit more of his greediness towards gold and fortune. Is it possible that he DID have feelings/resentment towards Cécile despite this not being part of the act..."

Maybe... ;-)

Bailey wrote: "Team Tristan of course! I think it was good for the story and important for Cecile (especially since she was so scared when she first got there and had no friends) that she had someone who she coul..."

Hi Bailey!

That's awesome that you saw it in the stores and snatched it up :D And honestly, it's still crazy for me to hear that my book is someone's favourite !!!

I totally agree that it was important for Cecile to meet someone she could rely on when she first arrived in Trollus, especially given Tristan isn't exactly a sweetheart those first few days!! Awesome answer :D

Here you go! Extra #2. https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

It's the TRISTAN SCENE

And I'll be back shortly to chat more!

Tristan Meets Cécile


So this is a brand new scene that I wrote just for this read-along. I think most of you have read the novel already, but for those of you who are reading it for the first time, you might want to wait until you've read chapter 12 before checking this scene out. I don't want to spoil anything for anyone!



“You’re distracted,” Anaïs said, cocking an eyebrow at the piece I’d just moved. “Keep this up, and I’ll beat you.”

The move was a ruse, and the fact that she hadn’t recognized it as such meant she was the one who was distracted. But as always, we behaved as though we were being watched.
Because we nearly always were.

“You dressed to distract,” I said, giving the low neckline of her dress a brief glance. “A cruel tactic, my lady.”

“All is fair in guerre,” Anaïs said, her voice sultry and low. Rising to her feet, she swayed around the game boards, her heels making soft little clicks. Out of nowhere, I remembered when she’d refused to wear anything but shirts, trousers, and boots, raiding my closet for clothes whenever her grandmother forced her into something else. How things had changed.

She sat on the arm of my chair, leaning against my shoulder so that the pale curve of her bosom was inches from my face, her heartbeat a rapid pitter-patter. “What will you do, Highness,” she murmured. “How will you find your way out of this predicament?”

“I’ve no idea,” I said, pulling her onto my lap even as I gathered magic to block us from sight or sound. But before I could, a knock sounded at the door and Élise entered.

She carried a tray laden with pastries, and my heart sunk. “Your tea, Highness.”

Anaïs and I both dutifully glared at the half-blood like she was some sort of vermin, and once she’d poured the steaming beverage into two cups, I snapped, “Out,” and she scuttled from the room, message delivered.

“Where were we?” I asked, twisting a lock of Anaïs’s hair around my finger.

“You were considering how best to distract me from the game?” She posed it as a question, knowing full well that I’d been thinking nothing of the sort.

I made a non-committal sound, then kissed her, hesitating just long enough to give the spies a taste of what they’d believe they were missing before blocking us from sight and sound.

Anaïs scrambled off my lap, mussing her hair and tugging her clothes ever so slightly askew before doing the same to mine. “She’s here, Tristan. We have to do something.”

“What exactly would you have me do?” My voice was sour, and I sipped at the tea, not tasting a drop. “I’ve voiced every possible argument, but I might as well have been spitting into the wind. My father’s set on this plan, and nothing will dissuade him.”

Anaïs paced the room. “This is madness. Your life will be continually in jeopardy. There are a thousand ways she might die, none the least that my father might stick a knife in her heart. Surely your father sees that?”

“I’m sure he does.” I took a bite of the pastry, trying not to think of the fact that my future human wife was even now in the palace under Marc’s watchful eye. “But obviously he considers the chance of breaking the curse worth the risk.”

“Then we kill her,” she said. “I’ll go to the throne room now and do it. He can’t bond you to a corpse.”

“No.”

“Why not?” Her hands were balled into fists, and both teacups cracked as her magic charged the air.

“Because we aren’t murderers. And as I know you need more reason than that, because he’ll only find another girl to replace her.” Rising to my feet, I gripped her forearms, steadying her temper. “And because I won’t sacrifice your life to protect my own.”

“What about to protect your cause?” she snapped. “Because of a surety, this will jeopardize everything we’ve worked for.”

I stared her down, unblinking. “You will not hurt her.”

She jerked violently out of my grip. “For someone so brilliant, you are on occasion quite a fool, Tristan. You are the leader, and I am your lieutenant. I am expendable, but you are not.”

“You are not expendable,” I said, hating that she thought herself so. That her father had drilled that idea into her mind. “You are my friend.”

She turned her head, blinking rapidly. “I hate this. I’ve never felt more trapped than I do now.”

I understood how she felt; the only difference was that I didn’t want that to change. Anaïs was my friend, and I trusted her with nearly every one of my secrets. But not that one. Because she’d never understand.

“Don’t abandon me because of this,” I said. “I need you, Anaïs. Whoever this girl is, she won’t change that.”

“Never.” She leaned forward, our foreheads pressing together. “I’m with you until the end, you know that.”

We stood there in silence, and I considered how often my friends had risked themselves on my behalf. How much I asked of them. Already, I’d set Marc to watch over this human girl, to protect her at all cost, because I could not. The twins had agreed to do so as well, but Anaïs…

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “Don’t.”

I straightened so that I could see her face.

“They’ll expect me to resent her,” she said. “To hate her, even. And I’m going to encourage that belief, because it will mean none of them will suspect that I’m watching over her. And if any of them try to hurt her, they’ll only be identifiable by their absence.”

Though she’d never admit it, I knew this was costing her. “Thank you.”

We both felt it at the same time. Power, and lots of it, coming our direction. We both resumed our chairs, and I dropped the barrier blocking us from the spies as Anaïs made a show of fixing her hair. “I’m going to need to start bringing a maid with me if we keep this up,” she said, laughing as though she hadn’t a care in the world.

Then the door slammed open, and my father’s bodyguard barked, “His Majesty, the King!”

Anaïs flew to her feet, then dropped into a deep curtsey. I should’ve stood as well, but I was angry and he knew it. Breaches of protocol were the least of our concerns.

But I could not help but feel a bit of curiosity, knowing as I did that the only reason my entire family and more were standing here was that the girl – Cécile – was with them. There were decanters on the opposite side of the room, and I stared at the faint reflection in the glass, trying to pick the human out amongst them. As I was doing so, Anaïs straightened, and her face twisted with anger. She jerked away the magic supporting the game boards and they and their pieces fell to the table with a clatter.

“You can’t be serious,” my friend hissed, her magic manifesting, though I could not tell if it was an act or not. “Her? This, this thing?”

Thing? Surely she couldn’t be that ugly? Not that it mattered.

My aunt spoke, and there was an edge of excitement in her voice that worried me. “Leave us, Anaïs.”

Anaïs didn’t move, and a prickle of doubt passed through my mind. Not of her loyalty, but of what she might do believing she was protecting me. I glared at her, but her eyes were fixed on those standing behind me.

“Now, Anaïs. This is no business of yours.”

Just go, I silently pleaded, feeling the heat of magic rising behind me.

“Anaïs.” My father spoke softly, but I heard the smack of magic against flesh, Anaïs’s head snapping sideways. A red, hand-shaped mark rose briefly on her cheek, then faded away. “Get. Out.”

Anaïs’s eyes met mine for an instant, and I nodded. Go.

“Your Majesties. Your Grace,” she whispered as she rushed across the room, the door slamming with a force that belied the false fear in her eyes.

The King cleared his throat. “Tristan, we have the human.”

I didn’t answer, using the time it took to replace the guerre pieces to think. There had to be a way out of this. “We’d been at this round for nigh on three months now.” What did she look like?

“I’m certain Anaïs will regret dropping the game,” my father responded.

I laughed, it occurring to me that he understood Anaïs no better than her father. Which was just as well. “Unlikely, given that she was losing. She hates to lose.”

“Tristan, I thought you’d want to have a look at the girl before we...finalized the contract.”
My hand flexed, the upholstery giving under my fingernails. Was there a hint of doubt in his voice, or was that only my imagination?

“Why?” I snapped. “My opinion of this venture has counted for nothing up to this point.”

“Well, it matters now,” he said. “Look at her. Decide.”

I stubbornly refused to move my eyes from the chair across from me. Was the girl that unfortunate looking, or was he having second thoughts about binding me to a human? “And if I say no?”

“Then we’ll procure another.”

I mentally winced. That ugly, then.

“And if I don’t like her,” I asked, “will you procure another? Will you empty your vaults searching for a human girl who meets the criteria and whom I find tolerable? Will the river run red with the blood of my discards?” Not waiting for an answer, I said, “This one will do as well as any.”

I stood, the chair moving back from the force of the motion. Don’t be a coward, I snarled silently, then I turned, and came face to face with the blue eyes of my soon-to-be wife.

She was nothing like what I’d expected.

Cécile de Troyes hung suspended in the air and bound by my aunt’s magic. She was child-sized, by troll standards, and wearing nothing but battered boots, a stained shift, and what I recognized as Marc’s cloak. She’d been beaten, and even from here, I could smell the stench of the sluag waste liberally coating her skin.

And despite all of that, she was beautiful.

All the smart comments I’d stored up for this moment stuck in my throat as we stared each other down, her gaze the color of the sky in my imagination, her hair like fire, and silently, I cursed myself for my idiocy. Ugly would’ve been far, far better.

This girl would be my ruin.

Abby wrote: "Danielle wrote: "Abby wrote: "I'm #TeamTristan and always have been from the start :) I love Marc but I already kind of felt the Cecile and Tristan vibe, so Cecile and Marc felt off to me lol"

Did..."

That spark is VERY important!

Lauren wrote: "#1.- I am full-out #TeamTristan but I do remember the first time I read Stolen Songbird, when Marc and Cecile met, I did think about shipping them... but NOPE! Tristan + Cecile <3

#2.- Bring on th..."

Hi Lauren! Sarah is a rockstar!! I love her books, too.

I don't know why, but I like hearing that people were surprised by Trollus/the trolls. It pleases me :D

Desi wrote: "It's hard to choose. I'm team Tristan because he is caring & I like Marc too and love the bromance Between these two. I want to see Marc find the new love interest because it pains me seeing him lo..."

I love the friendship between Marc and Tristan, especially since it is so different from the friendship between Tristan and Chris. I personally adore novels with great bromances. Perhaps you should suggest some for me to check out ;-)

Desi wrote: "2. I like to read starting right into the action, the back story can comes later. It bores me if I read the book from the backstory first because it feel slow, I need adrenaline to keep me going lol"

This totally doesn't surprise me :D

Pili wrote: "Oooh, so many videos!

#1.- As much as I like Marc and I hope he'll find his happily ever after too, I felt like the hate to love relationship between Tristan and Cecile added so much to the story!..."

Hi Pili!
I'm working on my YouTube skills. Maybe after another 100 or so I'll sound like a professional!

I tend to be quite critical of novels that skimp on world-building. With YA, it is certainly a tough balance between creating a well-developed fantasy world and maintaining the pacing, and some authors do it better than others.

Kelsea wrote: "I am totally #TeamTristan but I really love Marc's character! I feel like he could have been a good love interest but I like him more as the hurt character trying to overcome a serious loss/love......"

Hi Kelsea! YES! One of my favourite things about Marc is that he's still such a good guy despite so many things going wrong for him. I'm pretty sure Tristan would be lost without him.

Perla wrote: "No question, I'm #TeamTristan- but before I met him, for those few moments I was verrrry much #TeamMarc. Now being #TeamTristan does not allow you to kill off Marc- please don't do that."


Hi Perla!! There is plenty of Marc in Warrior Witch :)

Frida wrote: "1. I’m definitely #TeamTristan. I do love Marc and I think he’s an amazing supporting character (one of my favorites!) but I never saw him as a love interest, not even a potential one. To be honest..."

Hi Frida,

Harry Potter is a solid choice for a favourite book/series! I think you and I are of the same opinion on how to start the beginning of a book. I know, personally, that immediate action doesn't always pull me in if I have no investment in the characters. That said, giant info dumps at the beginning of novels can be really boring. And in the case of fantasy novels, if I get all the info in the beginning, I often forget most of it. I need to be slowly fed the information in order for it to stick with me :)

Janelle wrote: "Team Tristan!! Their strength and attitude complimented each other! I like his sarcasism to her bluntness! Marc, from their first meeting, was more brotherly and protective. In my opinion his too m..."

That makes me so happy! Sometimes I wish it was a real place that I could visit. Minus the sluag ;-)