Fantasy Romance
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.”
―
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:
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.
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.