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Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 5

December 5, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

Dance5.png

A figure slipped into the shadows beside her.

With speed that would make a king cobra jealous, Onyx grabbed the dagger at her ankle, sent a bolt of magic through it, and turned to face the intruder.

Her jaw fell open as she stared into the surprised and slightly terrified eyes of the crowned prince.

Onyx groaned inwardly.

She couldn’t fathom the punishment her father would come up with for her for this.

Filed Under: Micro Fiction Tagged With: Ball, Crowned Prince, dance, Onyx, prince, romance author, Romance Novels, Romance Writer, William

Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 4

December 4, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

Dance4.png

Not that Onyx cared no one wanted to dance with her.

She’d danced with each of her brothers and her father.

They were the only ones there worth dancing with anyway.

How much longer until she could escape without bringing more shame to her family?

 

 

Filed Under: Micro Fiction Tagged With: Ball, Crowned Prince, dance, Onyx, prince, romance author, Romance Novels, Romance Writer, William

Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 3

December 3, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

Dance3.png

Children playing dress-up, trying to emulate their elders.

Practice of another sort, her mother had called it. Onyx wasn’t certain what good all of this did.

Onyx wanted to escape the ball more than anything.

She didn’t mind being alone. Preferred it, actually, but she knew it made her mother look bad.

Here she was, the only eligible daughter of one of the most influential families in all Broadland, and she stood alone on the sidelines.

Filed Under: Micro Fiction Tagged With: Ball, Crowned Prince, dance, Onyx, prince, romance author, Romance Novels, Romance Writer, William

Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 2

November 28, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

Dance2.png

The ballroom glittered as people danced and chatted.

Onyx ignored them all.

Or tried too.

And her feet ignored her commands as they danced unseen under the length of her ballgown.

Balls wouldn’t be so bad, if only there were no other people.

Filed Under: Micro Fiction Tagged With: Ball, Crowned Prince, dance, Onyx, prince, romance author, Romance Novels, Romance Writer, William

Book Review: Romancing the Duke

November 27, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

RomancingtheDuke
Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare

As said by one of the greats, and quoted often:

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.”
― Stephen King

But as a writer, I need to do more than just consume fiction. Consuming it is easy. But much like watching great movies doesn’t make me a screenwriter, I also need to do more than read great books. I need think about what makes them great. To understand what I liked about them, and even what I dislikes about them. But more than that, I need to think about the how and why the author does what they do.

Tessa Dare is an amazing author, so I decided to really think through one of her books. I just finished this one, and it is was a nice read. I started it on Friday night and finished it on Saturday morning.

As a said, it’s a solid read, and I would recommend it.

As I think through it, here are a few things she did particularly well I can learn from:

  • She doesn’t reveal things too quickly. Why is the heroine afraid of the dark? You’ll find out, but not too quickly. And when you do, it moves the romance along. She does this repeatedly, seeding story points early and bringing them to fruition later.

 

  • Her characters are not perfect. The heroine isn’t insurmountably beautiful. The hero is scarred. Literally. And blind. She uses this to build tension naturally. There are very few external events, which is perfect.

 

  • She uses these flaws to create tension. The characters do talk to each other, and sometimes they say mean things. But this fits with the flaws. Never too much to make them irredeemable, but you can see them working through their pain and flaws to earn their happily-ever-after.

 

  • Her characters all have agency. Each one chooses their path. They act with self-interest as well. Sometimes blatantly, but never maliciously so you still love them.

 

  • Her steamy scenes are concise but impactful.

 

Reading the work of a master always helps with your own work. Building a world. Crafting a story. I am particularly mindful of how she builds those character flaws and allows them to guide the story.

Something more for me to ponder.

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: characters, duke, flaws, Read Critically, Reading, Romance, romance author, Romance Novel, Romance Writer, steamy scenes, Writing

Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 1

November 26, 2019 by Elizabeth Drake Leave a Comment

Dance1

Onyx said nothing as her mother beamed at her.

How could she do anything but smile?

The duchess was one of the kindest, hardest working people Onyx knew.

Why her mother was so excited to put on a puffy dress, stick faceted stones in her ears, and twine flowers in her hair Onyx didn’t understand. And it made it so much harder to wield the sword Onyx had hidden under her skirts.

Sometimes Onyx wished she could be the daughter her mother wanted.

Filed Under: Micro Fiction Tagged With: Ball, Crowned Prince, dance, Onyx, prince, romance author, Romance Novels, Romance Writer, William

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  • Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 5
  • Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 4
  • Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 3
  • Serial Micro Fiction – The Dance 2
  • Book Review: Romancing the Duke

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