Sharp Dark Things V - Queen Aurelia

Since the middle of May I've been completely caught up in getting the first 50 pages of SDT honed and ready to send off to Cape at Random House. I haven't felt so nervous since my competitive skating days. But I breathed deep and finally clicked SEND on Wednesday 25th. Just thinking about it makes me hyperventilate ever so slightly.

So it's been a huge relief to work on the blog, especially as Sarah has delivered yet another stunning drawing. I can't wait to see what she has to offer when I next meet up with her.

Here is Sarah's Queen Aurelia.

Aurelia was never meant to rule Faetaera. She trained with her father's guards and planned to travel and meet adventure before it met her.

But the War to End All Wars put a stop to that.

“Aurelia stood to receive her father, laying her sword on the stool she had occupied. Her legs no longer feeling that they belonged to her, she forced herself to take the necessary steps to embrace him.

“Should you be here father? The battle surely needs you more than I.”

“ Aurelia, it is time for the kingdom to pass to my successor. There is no time to observe the customary mourning. I must transfer my magics to you now.”

Queen Aurelia can do no wrong as far as Sprax is concerned. His faith in her is absolute.

"…Everything was noise! - CLASHES and SMASHES -SPARKLES and FIZZES - CRACKLING MAGIC from all sides of the world - The world turned upside out and inside down and then there was…nothing - Absolute nothingness - Not even stars or moons or suns or…clouds - But queen Aurelia, she was bravest...”

And, of course, Larell is in love with her.

And maybe she is a little in love with him too.

“Despite the unsightly stains upon his tunic and face and the reek of smoke emanating from his hair, his soft doe eyes told her that compassion was at his core. He was so serious she felt the need to smile so as to make him smile in response.”

And who in their right mind could blame her. I'm a little in love with him myself.

The burden of leadership lies heavy on Aurelia's shoulders as she bears the weight of a secret which makes her reign even more arduous. In order to keep her world safe she is going to have to turn to Larell and little Sprax much more than she ever anticipated.

With grateful thanks to Sarah Pennock for the drawings in this and subsequent blogs.

Comments

Guest Post: Creative Recharge

Lindsay Bamfield started writing fiction about 10 years ago. She has written a number of short stories and flash fiction pieces and has been published in Greenacre Writers Anthology , Voices from the Web 2012, The Best of Café Lit 2012, Mslexia, Writers’ News and Writing Magazine. She has won prizes in Writers’ News , Writing Magazine and Words with Jam competitions and has been shortlisted in others. She is currently re-working her first novel with advice from an editor and has a second novel on the back-burner. How do I recharge my writing batteries? I’m not sure I’m the right person to answer this as my batteries are still somewhat depleted after illness and debilitating treatment, but my writing activity, although still less than ideal has bounced back to some extent. It was only after being ill that I understood just how much energy writing requires. Exhaustion does not engender creativity. After a frustrating dry-spell when I wanted to writ...

Why I love living in Herne Hill

While chatting about current reads with my friend Bev, she mentioned how much she enjoyed reading Bill Bryson’s The Road to Little Dribbling . And how too it had made her think about the reasons she loves living in the UK. So, considering it a blog worthy idea, I asked her to write a guest post (to feature later this month). Now however, it’s my turn. My residency in the UK was totally unplanned. Back in 1987 my parents and I were all set to move to Canada where two aunts and an uncle live. But the Canadians decided not to grant us entry so hey presto, lucky old Britain got us instead. After our arrival we lived in a variety of areas: Edgware, Arsenal, Fulham and finally Herne Hill. But it is most definitely Herne Hill where I find I want to stay. When I’m on my travels it’s the place I get homesick for if things are not going according to plan on my journey. And why exactly is that? ONE I have 4, yes 4 parks in my...

#Amreading

So, it’s six months into this crazy Goodreads 100 book challenge I set myself and I’m happy to report that I'm now two books ahead. This is largely due to the fact I’ve also been reading children’s books at breakfast. Without this saving grace I believe I’d be whimpering in shame at this point. “But is this reading of children’s books thing allowed?” I hear you all asking. The simple answer to that is: YES As I work with children, primarily instructing them on how to improve their creative writing, it is only fitting that I check out the books deemed to be totally read WORTHY by the kids and also by those who reckon they’re in the know. It will come as no great shock to you that I have disagreed with the Know-It-Alls from time to time but NEVER with the kids. However, this post is not about that. What I would like to do now is give you a run down of the 5 books I’ve found most enjoyable thus far. You would assume there’d be at ...

Rae of Light

Search This Blog