777 Writing Challenge (with the first ever snippet from Knight of the Blue Surcoat!)

Deborah O'Carroll @ The Road of a Writer tagged me for this challenge a couple weeks ago (and I'm actually getting to it pretty quickly, for me! Thanks Deborah!). Anyhow, the 777 challenge is the first writing challenge I've been tagged for, so I was pretty excited. Now, since I have a few more tags to get to, I'm not tagging anyone - however- if you are a writer and you read this, feel free to post seven sentences from the seventh page in your current WIP in the comments. I'll read them :)

Anyhow, the rules are basically this:

1. Go to your current WIP's seventh page.
2. Select seven lines and post. (Some variations have you going seven lines down, and all that).
3. Tag 7 People to do the same

Since this tag is so simple, I decided to do it twice: and the second snippet is my first ever posted for my upcoming novel, Knight of the Blue Surcoat!

Photo Source

But first, a snippet from The Last Coffee Shop in all of its unedited glory. And some context, because words without context make me a little batty. (Click the links to learn more about these characters and the novel premise) Note: The art/pics do not belong to me. They are credited/sourced to the artists and are not being used for any profit :)



My protagonist, Mads Capot, owns and works in The Last Coffee Shop in the world. The setting is post-apocalyptic parallel Earth. The Alan referenced in the snippet is one of Mads' two best friends, and son of the local business tycoon (they basically live in a giant terrarium), and he's showing off the shop to some of his dad's clients.

Mads rolled her eyes at the obvious pitch. If Alan were alone, he would have the morning news, both local and galactic. He'd chat until his father paged him, calling him back to his duties as the only heir to the prestigious Dekker firm and fortune. But Alan was someone else every time he came in with a group, it was something Mads had never liked about him. 

"And here she is: ma petite Madeleine Capot le Roux, herself,"Alan proclaimed behind her, making Mads jump. She turned the motion into a spin, and set his steaming latte in front of him with a practiced flourish. 

Mads turned her scowl into a tight smile, "No one calls me that, and I'm anything but little," she kept her eyes on the newcomers, studying their unfamiliar faces and guessing what sort of coffee they'd order, if any.

Okay, so that was my random TLCS snippet. If you're interested, I have been featuring it for Beautiful People each month as well. There's also a fun Pinboard of TLCS inspiration (where the pic is from).

And here's the snippet from The Knight of the Blue Surcoat (coming Summer 2016) - Note: Text is in pre-published form and subject to change. Copyright Rebekah L. Hendrian 2015

Enid and Geraint - Rowland Wheelwright 1907- Public Domain

This snippet is actually Orlando's introduction in the text (read more about him here), so it goes along well with last month's post:

Orlando grabbed another apple from the half-open sack. His stomach felt like a grave, ever anxious to devour. Or at least, what Orlando assumed a grave would feel like, if they could feel. Maybe he’d write an epic poem about it someday, in the style of Homer. 

Orlando glanced at his manservant, a sturdy fisherman from Crete. “You’re still not hungry, Horace?” 

The man sighed. “Highness, watching you eat takes away my appetite.” 

Orlando bit a chunk out of the rosy red fruit. “You were born old and fat, then?”

Okay, so it's technically eight lines, but since I'm disregarding the rules anyway . . . And if you are a Pinterest nut like me, here's the board for this one.

So, what did you think about the snippets? They're pretty sparse, but I think they did show a little bit about my characters. Again, if you'd like to share a 777 snippet, feel free to post them in the comments!

Character Spotlight: Melora From "Knight of the Blue Surcoat"

So, just in case you didn't know, I have a novel coming out Summer 2016. Knight of the Blue Surcoat is historical fantasy, and you can find a brief description here.
I am planning a series of posts to introduce the novel to everyone, and what better way to do that than by character interviews?

Melora, King Arthur's daughter, is the the main character in Knight of the Blue Surcoat (or KotBS), so it's only right that we start with her. I'm so excited about this, and I hope you end up loving her as much as I do! (All pictures are either in the public domain, or my own, and were inspirations for Melora)

J. W. Waterhouse (public domain) Source

Who is Melora?

Melora is the sixteen-year-old daughter and only living child of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, of Britain. Though her parents rule a large territory, it is in the section known as Cymru (or Wales) that Melora spends most of her time. The Red Hall, one of Arthur's residences, is where the action in Knight of the Blue Surcoat begins.

Melora's older brother (Amhar) died in a hunting accident when she was younger, leaving her terrified of horses and tearing a major rift in her family. As Arthur's heir, she has many suitors and admirers, but she has no idea if any of them are sincere, or if they only want her kingdom. And she really isn't ready to get married yet. The pressure is on as Melora tries to be her brother, a future queen, and herself, but all at the same time.

A quiet, studious girl, Melora loves to read classic works (her unconventional parents made certain that she could), play her harp, and spar with her father and rambunctious cousins.

Britomart (from the Faerie Queene, named after Britomartis)

Melora's Family:

Amhar was the center of young Melora's world. He was her teacher, confident, playmate, and best friend. Melora measures herself against him and his accomplishments, but she is also comforted by her treasured memories of him. Nevertheless, his violent death still deeply affects Melora and their parents.

Her cousins, the Orkney brothers, are her closest companions and friends. Sir Gawain, in particular, has filled a bit of the hole that Amhar left, though he is wild, brash, and significantly older than Melora.

Though Gawain is important to Melora, no one holds more sway over her than her father, the legendary King Arthur. He is her hero and her role model, and she resents herself for not being the heir he needs to carry on his legacy. Though they are close, they rarely speak about Amhar, and Melora constantly wonders if Arthur compares his two children like she does.

Though Melora is close to her father and cousins, she is finding it harder and harder to relate to her mother, the beautiful Guinevere. Guinevere is elegant, poised, gracious - which gives her little in common with Melora. Naturally, Melora loves her mother, but she feels inadequate and awkward in the Queen's presence, and they both have trouble opening up and sharing their feelings.

Britomart again

Merlin, Sir Mador and Prince Orlando:

Merlin is Arthur's confidant, friend, and closest adviser. He is also a skilled mage and wise man. Melora is intimidated by him, but she knows that he only seeks the best for the royal family. However, he sometimes takes this too far. Merlin seems to think anything is justified if it's good for the kingdom (and his definition of good).

As Arthur's heir, Melora has many suitors, even at her young age. However, the chief suitor (and only really important one) is the Spanish knight, Sir Mador. Eloquent and dashing, Mador frightens Melora with both his dogged pursuit and his polish. Still, she's flattered by his attentions, and he isn't a fool or a fop, so she's reluctant to discourage him.

Orlando is newly arrived at The Red Hall. He's from Thessaly (Ancient region of Greece), and the youngest of three (so he's the spare). Unlike most of the younger men, he has zero interest in finding a wife. He's much more concerned with proving himself as worthy as his older brothers. His interests include studying philosophy, eating, and horses. Melora finds him bold, rude, and alarming, especially when he rides a giant horse into the hall itself. (Bad. Breeding.)

Melora and the Witchwood

Outside of The Red Hall is a massive forest. Though most of it is normal trees and average dangerous, the forest also straddles the border of The Otherworld - the realm of spirits and the Faye. As nights grow long and dark in The Red Hall, King Arthur sends restless, hot-blooded knights into the forest to seek "a wonder," some strange occurrence to regale the company with at feasts. Melora wants to enter the forest, but she's not a knight, and she's far too valuable for such a risky enterprise. Still, she chafes at home, surrounded by so many expectations, and she wishes she could prove herself (as Amhar certainly would have) as worthy to serve her king as any of the knights.

Public Domain. Found here

A note on the names and setting:

The Knight of the Blue Surcoat is a novelization of a Irish-Arthurian ballad. All of the main characters' names come from this ballad and Arthurian lore, but I've basically anglicized them, or used a more standardized spelling. The Red Hall (my equivalent of Camelot) is in early medieval Wales, and the rest of the books locations are also based on real world, early medieval locales.

A quick cartoon sketch of Melora (that I did a few minutes ago . . .)

Extra! Extra! Read All About It! My Book Will Be In Print, 2016!

So, peoples of the internet, I hinted a few weeks ago that I had big writing news, and here it is:

My debut novel, Knight of the Blue Surcoat, is scheduled to be published with Neverland Publishing in Summer 2016. This is really early on (ink fresh on the contract and all that), but it is a huge deal to me and a major life goal!

Neverland is a small, independent house out of Florida, specializing in print (paperback) editions and ebooks. Indie, of course, means that there is no machine behind things, and I'll have to do a lot of promoting and marketing myself. And that is fine with me! I have a book, and the book is getting published, I will shout it from the mountaintops if I must. (See what a life goal can do to an introvert?)

So details, details. I haven't mentioned Surcoat (I haven't mentioned a lot of my books) on the blog, but today I aim to change that. Starting right now, you can expect a weekly post about Knight of the Blue Surcoat, the characters, and why I think you might like it. I'll start with a blurb:

Knight of the Blue Surcoat by R. L. Hendrian 

 Being King Arthur’s daughter isn't easy, but being his only heir is a nightmare. Sixteen-year old Melora has struggled with her role ever since her older brother was trampled to death in a hunting accident. Her father raised her to be a warrior queen, but Melora is too valuable to be allowed to test herself beyond the castle walls. She is trapped, surrounded by suitors who want her kingdom, and suffocated by her parents’ love. She wants to escape, but how can she leave when even the sight of a horse makes her paralyzed with fear?
Prince Orlando is expendable. His arrogant brothers and distant father were thrilled for him (and his prize stallion) to leave tiny Thessaly. Orlando heard tales of Arthur’s court, where men are measured by their worth. He came to prove himself; he didn’t plan on Melora. Her fear of horses is a challenge Orlando is willing to take, but befriending the princess earns him powerful enemies, including the wizard Merlin and Melora's many suitors.
When Merlin curses Orlando to eternal imprisonment in the Celtic Otherworld, only Melora can save him and break the curse. But first, she’ll have to get on a horse. Melora travels from British shores to the coast of India on a madcap quest to find the keys to unlocking Orlando’s prison. Melora must overcome warriors, outsmart kings, and face her deepest fears if she wants to get Orlando out alive. Even if she can break the curse, will there be anything of Orlando left to save?

So, there you have it, my debut novel, and I'm SO EXCITED!!!

Granted, the publication process is a long one, so I'll be bursting at the seams for about a year. Assuming all goes well, I should have an exact release date by next Spring. Having seen a bit of the process from the inside, I know just how much time this all can take, but I wanted to spread the word now.

This announcement also serves as a call for future readers. If you love fantasy or King Arthur and are interested in reading review copies, I am starting a list. If you are a blogger or reviewer who thinks they'd like an (eventual) ARC, comment here, and I'll put you on a list for later contact.

SO EXCITED!!