Weekend Writing Warriors is a weekly blog hop where participants post eight to ten sentences of their writing. You can find out more about it by clicking on the image.
Concluding a chapter from Ghosts of Innocence, Shayla has stolen the identity of a new high-ranking Imperial appointee, Brynwyn bin Covin. She’s been met by a soldier (Kurt) from the Imperial Palace Guard, who’s escorting her to the Palace. Outside in the square Kurt spotted a row of coin-operated punishment stalls. Shayla stopped in front of a young woman prisoner with two young children, and had no choice but to live up to the expectations of her position by inflicting some pain on the woman. But she put a halt to any further torture, declaring that the woman has been punished, and provided money to feed and clothe the children.
The quote mentioned at the start is from a snippet a while ago, though only a couple of pages back in the story. It began, "Tribute to the Emperor, vengeance to the Almighty."
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"And mercy to the children, for they are your future judges," murmured Kurt, as they walked back across the plaza, completing the quote Shayla had used a few minutes before.
"Amen to that," said Shayla, taken aback. "I'm impressed. That was from the original Mikhael Avantis edition."
Kurt nodded. "Most people misquote it as 'for they are your future.' It rather loses its meaning like that."
"Go and see if the car's ready," Shayla said. She didn't want to get into a religious discussion right now. "And make sure that heathen wretch of a porter has loaded all my baggage safely."
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Seems Shayla made the right impression on Kurt. And that’s it for now. I’ll be back, maybe later this year, with some scenes from The Long Dark. I’m plugging away at initial rounds of editing, and will be putting it through beta reading and detailed critique for the rest of the year.
Meanwhile, I’ve also finished the first draft of a non-fiction booklet on handling writer’s block. This will be a companion to my earlier Critique Survival Guide. As this is only a short booklet, I plan to edit and publish Breaking the Block this year alongside editing The Long Dark.
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21 comments:
She got through it all right.
You have been very busy - lots of book projects.
She definitely saved herself and impressed him. Great snippet!
Kurt's words add a delicious note of possibilities to their relationship. Good luck with the editing. We'll miss you, so come back soon.
Hi Ian - well done ... you're always busy with projects - enjoy some breaks away now ... Spring and Summer are almost here. Good luck with the edits, writing and drafting. I look forward to more Shayla and Kurt later in the year - cheers Hilary
Enjoyed the snippet and the way you finished off this incident in the story.
Alex, certainly feels busy :)
Jessica, she did that, indeed!
Ed, the possibilities turn out to be very dangerous in the end!
Hilary, seems like Spring is definitely here this weekend.
Veronica, thanks.
In this snippet, she really got into the role--haughty, demanding. Good job.
So she got through it. She's good at acting.
Diane, yep, she's got to reassert her position here.
Elaine, in her line of work, good acting is rather a survival trait :)
Great scene. Love how the incident played out.
I wish you luck with your edits! Hope to see you back soon.
Thanks Karen, I'll be back in a few months.
Whew, one hurdle over for her. Admittedly, an unpleasant one.
Aldrea, yeah, this was not nice for Shayla.
Looks like you're achieving lots! Best wishes for that to continue.
Sounds like you'll be busy for the rest of the year Ian. All the best for Shayla!
Ya know, a punishment booth could be cruel; but perhaps much better than feeding and housing a criminal for the rest of their lives. This is a nifty idea.
Good luck with all your writing goals. Sounds awesome, and busy.
Lynda, Denise, lots of work still to do, for sure.
Donna, gets back to a simpler idea of swift justice.
Glad you have a crew of beta readers. Mine are my kids! lol :)
Avoiding a religious discussion is almost always a good plan. Good luck with the editing. May the words be kind to you. :)
Hi Ken,
Have been out the loop for a while, but am trying to catch up. Beta readers are such a help to give you insights about your work. Good luck with this project.
Elizabeth, I have a couple of beta readers and a critique group where I get fabulous feedback.
Jean, yep, that's a big minefield!
Lee, I couldn't even think of publishing something without a few independent sets of eyes on it.
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