A Medieval Valentine's Day and Thoughts on Love
Scroll down for the Giveaway
Dear Readers:
I have not done well with sticking to the excerpt schedule this week. Between home, family, writing, and music lessons, I've been on the go and working 15 to 17 hours a day. Wrestling season has largely ended for my sons, thanks to a concussion for my 12 year old and a sprained shoulder for my 18 year old. I've learned in the past two years that this is a rough sport. But they're loving it! (As a mother--not so fun to see your son flipped entirely over his head, his neck bent completely backward!)
I've been dealing with business taxes and getting students ready for piano and flute exams and the Minnesota Piano Contest (two of the three students who entered went on to finals!) For the sake of my back and neck, I've gotten back to mile and a half walks every morning with Liadan--and just bundling up warm enough for such a walk when it's 0 degrees out takes ten minutes!
That said, The Battle is O'er is uploaded for Kindle and print and I'm now onto checking proofs and getting it set for other e-book formats. Yes, things are moving along!
Today, I'm posting an excerpt from The Water is Wide, as it concerns Shawn's Valentine's Day, 1316.
From The Water is Wide:
“Tell
me more of your time,” Hugh said, as they settled on a dark ridge
overlooking the camp’s eastern flank.
“For
starters,” Shawn said, “if I were there now, I’d be planning a
big surprise for Amy for Valentine’s Day.”
“What’s
that?” Hugh chewed the hard bannock.
“A
day for love. You never heard of St. Valentine? I’d think in this
holy time, you’d know your saints.”
Hugh
chuckled. “It might be Malcolm knows of him.”
“Aw,
hell,” Shawn said, “maybe he hasn’t even been born, yet. Or
maybe when Niall and I changed history, it killed off his ancestors
and he never will be. I don’t even know where he was from.”
“What
kind of surprises?” Hugh asked.
“Our
first year, it was roses, dinner by candlelight, the Merlot she
likes. The next year, it was a trip to Hawaii.”
“What’s
that?”
“This
incredible tropical island.” Shawn heard the smile in his own
voice, as he slipped into memories of hot sand and bright sun and
lazy days with Amy, much nicer than the frosty ground groping with
cold fingers through his breeks. “Like paradise. I took her to
this incredible hotel with a Jacuzzi
in our room.”
"What's that?" Hugh scratched his head.
Shawn
laughed, finding joy in the memories. “Like those tubs they haul
up to our rooms for baths, except hotter, and the water bubbles, and
man it would feel good on sore muscles after a day of fighting. But
in my time, no one fights.”
“No
one?”
“They
do,” Shawn said. “But not in my country. It was just me and
Amy, drinking champagne in a Jacuzzi,
looking over the ocean at sunset, and I surprised her with her first
royalty
check
from our CD.”
Hugh
shook his head. “What language are you speaking?”
“Twenty-first
century English where I need it.” He sighed, gazing at the snowy
forest, and the eastern sky turning gray. “Guess we should do our
thing.” They rose and began their patrol of the perimeter, swords
and shields at the ready, as he explained checks and royalties and
CDs. Walking warded off some of the chill. “Shawn Kleiner,”
Shawn mused, “spending Valentine’s Day with a bunch of medieval
warriors.” He snorted. “It just isn’t right.”
~ ~ ~
Of course, Shawn's thoughts on love, in this scene, focus on romance--on roses, Jacuzzis, fancy meals, champagne and wine. As readers of the series know, Shawn learns that love is much more. Sometimes love means risking your life to fight a medieval warrior trying to get at your son.
In our own day, we are rarely called on to fight medieval madmen (never say never, right?) but real love is shown in the day to day things we often consider mundane--bandaging and kissing an injured finger, running into a store for medication when the one you love has a headache, cleaning the floor or making a meal. Some time ago, I came across this rather tongue in cheek poem that talks about what real love is. It concerned the gift of an electric blanket to a child, and ended with these lines:
This
man once known to be quite wild
Showed
me love
By
loving my child
In The Battle is O'er, Shawn will be called to go deeper in understanding what true love really means.
For other thoughts on love and Valentine's Day, see Happy Valentine's Day to the Good Sir James and Literature and Life: Love.
Happy Valentine's Day to all!
The Battle is O'er: Coming March 23, 2018
Start from the beginning: Prelude One Prelude Two Prelude Three
Prelude Four Prelude Five Prelude Six Prelude Seven Prelude Eight Prelude Nine
Chapter 1.2
Prelude Four Prelude Five Prelude Six Prelude Seven Prelude Eight Prelude Nine
Chapter 1.2
GIVEAWAY:
a magnet of misty Glenmirril castle on the shores of Loch Ness
(technically...let's get all historically accurate here...it's really Castle Urquhart. Author's photography.)
(technically...let's get all historically accurate here...it's really Castle Urquhart. Author's photography.)
enter here: a Rafflecopter giveaway
When is The Battle is O'er coming out? READ HERE.
~ ~ ~
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For other posts with excerpts from the series:
Dan Blum
Tempo Rubato by Brendan Carrol
Beethoven in Love by Howard Jay Smith
or other posts under the MUSIC label
Dan Blum
Tempo Rubato by Brendan Carrol
Beethoven in Love by Howard Jay Smith
or other posts under the MUSIC label
For more on my books, click the images below:
I've visited castles in Wales, England, Germany, Austria and other European countries, plus the ruins of a castle called Squires Castle in the North Chagrin Metroparks in Ohio. While in England I learned about dungeons and armour.
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