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Monday, July 3, 2023

Writing - part xxx368 Writing a Novel, Seoirse, Training

03 July 2023, Writing - part xxx368 Writing a Novel, Seoirse, Training

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but my primary publisher has gone out of business—they couldn’t succeed in the past business and publishing environment.  I’ll keep you informed, but I need a new publisher.  More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com.  Check out my novels—I think you’ll really enjoy them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon. This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I’m using this novel as an example of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I’ll keep you informed along the way.

Today’s Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my writing websites http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I employ when writing:

1. Don’t confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the writing.

4. Don’t show (or tell) everything.

     4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

 

1.     Design the initial scene

2.     Develop a theme statement (initial setting, protagonist, protagonist’s helper or antagonist, action statement)

a.      Research as required

b.     Develop the initial setting

c.      Develop the characters

d.     Identify the telic flaw (internal and external)

3.     Write the initial scene (identify the output: implied setting, implied characters, implied action movement)

4.     Write the next scene(s) to the climax (rising action)

5.     Write the climax scene

6.     Write the falling action scene(s)

7.     Write the dénouement scene

I finished writing my 31st novel, working title, Cassandra, potential title Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warriors.  The theme statement is: Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events.     

Here is the cover proposal for Cassandra: Enchantment and the Warriors




Cover Proposal

The most important scene in any novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising action. I am continuing to write on my 30th novel, working title Red Sonja.  I finished my 29th novel, working title Detective.  Writing number 31, working title Shifter.  I just finished 32nd novel, Rose.

How to begin a novel.  Number one thought, we need an entertaining idea.  I usually encapsulate such an idea with a theme statement.  Since I’m writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.  Here is an initial cut.

 

For novel 30:  Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns about freedom, and is redeemed.

 

For novel 31:  Deirdre and Sorcha are redirected to French finishing school where they discover difficult mysteries, people, and events. 

 

For Novel 32:  Shiggy Tash finds a lost girl in the isolated Scottish safe house her organization gives her for her latest assignment: Rose Craigie has nothing, is alone, and needs someone or something to rescue and acknowledge her as a human being.

 

For novel 33, Book girl:  Siobhàn Shaw is Morven McLean’s savior—they are both attending Kilgraston School in Scotland when Morven loses everything, her wealth, position, and friends, and Siobhàn Shaw is the only one left to befriend and help her discover the one thing that might save Morven’s family and existence.

 

For novel 34:  Seoirse is assigned to be Rose’s protector and helper at Monmouth while Rose deals with five goddesses and schoolwork; unfortunately Seoirse has fallen in love with Rose.  

 

Here is the scene development outline:

 

1. Scene input (comes from the previous scene output or is an initial scene)

2. Write the scene setting (place, time, stuff, and characters)

3. Imagine the output, creative elements, plot, telic flaw resolution (climax) and develop the tension and release.

4. Write the scene using the output and creative elements to build the tension.

5. Write the release

6. Write the kicker

          

Today:  Let me tell you a little about writing.  Writing isn’t so much a hobby, a career, or a pastime.  Writing is a habit and an obsession.  We who love to write love to write. 

 

If you love to write, the problem is gaining the skills to write well.  We want to write well enough to have others enjoy our writing.  This is important.  No one writes just for themselves the idea is absolutely irrational and silly.  I can prove why.

 

In the first place, the purpose of writing is communication—that’s the only purpose.  Writing is the abstract communication of the mind through symbols.  As time goes by, we as writers gain more and better tools and our readers gain more and better appreciation for those tools and skills—even if they have no idea what they are. 

 

We are in the modern era.  In this time, the action and dialog style along with the push of technology forced novels into the form of third person, past tense, action and dialog style, implying the future.  This is the modern style of the novel.  I also showed how the end of literature created the reflected worldview.  We have three possible worldviews for a novel: the real, the reflected, and the created.  I choose to work in the reflected worldview.

 

Why don’t we go back to the basics and just writing a novel?  I can tell you what I do, and show you how I go about putting a novel together.  We can start with developing an idea then move into the details of the writing. 

 

Ideas.  We need ideas.  Ideas allow us to figure out the protagonist and the telic flaw.  Ideas don’t come fully armed from the mind of Zeus.  We need to cultivate ideas. 

 

1.     Read novels. 

2.     Fill your mind with good stuff—basically the stuff you want to write about. 

3.     Figure out what will build ideas in your mind and what will kill ideas in your mind.

4.     Study.

5.     Teach. 

6.     Make the catharsis. 

7.     Write.

 

The development of ideas is based on study and research, but it is also based on creativity.  Creativity is the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in a new form.  It is a reflection of something new created with ties to the history, science, and logic (the intellect).  Creativity requires consuming, thinking, and producing.

 

If we have filled our mind with all kinds of information and ideas, we are ready to become creative.  Creativity means the extrapolation of older ideas to form new ones or to present old ideas in a new form.  Literally, we are seeing the world in a new way, or actually, we are seeing some part of the world in a new way. 

 

The beginning of creativity is study and effort.  We can use this to extrapolate to creativity.  In addition, we need to look at recording ideas and working with ideas.

 

With that said, where should we go?  Should I delve into ideas and creativity again, or should we just move into the novel again?  Should I develop a new protagonist, which, we know, will result in a new novel.  I’ve got an idea, but it went stale.  Let’s look at the outline for a novel again:

 

1.      The initial scene

2.     The rising action scenes

3.     The climax scene

4.     The falling action scene(s)

5.     The dénouement scene(s)

   

The initial scene is the most important scene and part of any novel.  To get to the initial scene, you don’t need a plot, you need a protagonist.

 

I’m now writing Seoirse, and since I retired from my day job, I’m back to a chapter a day.  I could likely write two chapters a day, but my brain gets tired.  I think it’s important to report again on how to write a novel.  Let’s start at the beginning.

 

I already developed the protagonist for this novel: Seoirse Séamas Wishart.  That is his name in Gaelic.  His common or English name is George James Wishart.  Why the difference.  It all has to do with the worldview of my novels.  The worldview is reflected and therefore the supernatural exists.  We are mainly writing about the common and mythical supernatural in the world.  I’d like to say that whatever the basis for the usual supernatural in human thought exists in the reflected worldview of this and my novels.  Thus there are vampires, werewolves, fairies, the Fae courts, dragons, gods, goddesses, and other mythical creatures.  They aren’t the world.  They world of my novels is the world you see around you.  The supernatural aspects are generally unseen, unknown, and rare.  They exist like the supernatural exists in the world today: generally unseen, unknown, and rare.  That’s the basis of the world in my novels.

 

I wrote initial scenes, but remember, there is only one initial scene.  When I write initial scenes, I mean the scenes I used at the beginning of the novel to lead into the crisis.  I guess I could outline some of the development of this novel for you.  It has a little different development outline than many of my novels.  Part of the reason is the subject matter and the fact that it is a follow-on.  Come to think of it, Cassandra had something similar in its development.  I won’t say this is a common type of outline for the development of a follow-on, but it does bear some similar characteristics.  Here’s some of it.

 

1.     Initial scene – a dialog that introduces the mission the protagonist and the protagonist’s helper.  Seoirse and Rose don’t hit it off too well.  Rose knows what she is expected to do and she sees Seoirse as an interloper.  Seoirse is put in the position as Rose’s handler and protection.  I should mention that Ms. O’Dwyer (Organization name), Mrs. Marshall (overt name) is their boss and set them to the assignment.  This is a great dialog scene with all kinds of deep seated issues brought out.  Rose does not want supervision or protection.  Ms. O’Dwyer is giving her protection because of the recall and Chinese problems at the climax of the first novel.

2.     Next scene—travel scene, where Seoirse and Rose are forced together by Ms. O’Dwyer to make the three hour drive from London to Monmouth.  They also pick up their Fae helpers.  Ms. O’Dwyer does not allow Fae in her house and usually not in the Organization although the basement of the Organization has a place where the Fae are allowed and Ms. O’Dwyer’s secretary is Burgundy Rose, a Fae being.  In this travel scene, Rose and Seoirse get to bring out their little tiff and personal issues.  We see some plans too for their operations, and Rose declares, to Seoirse’s chagrin and yet pleasure that George Wishart (Seoirse’s overt name at Monmouth) is her boyfriend—it’s a cover.  In addition, in a short connection scene, Rose insists that Seoirse take her out to supper where they are sure to be seen. 

3.     First Monmouth scenes—this is an introduction to the girls in Rose’s class, to Robyn, and to the other girls Rose must look after.  This scene and scenes leads to the fateful crisis tea party scene.

4.     Crisis (tea party)—Rose’s modus operandi is to gain the trust of others, especially girls in this age group by inviting them to tea.  Rose’s cover is as an aristocrat being sent to Monmouth for education.  She applies this very successfully in the first novel, but there is a problem in the second.  Rose sets up the tea party for the five problem children she must take care of.  The problem is that the real problem child, Sveta, knows all about Rose.  The tea party program was successful because the regular girls did not question Rose or Robyn’s motives.  They just were excited to have a personal tea with a girl who looked, acted, and seemed to be a real member of the peerage (actually, Rose is).  Ms. O’Dwyer approved the tea party program for these five and she expected it to work too.  What no one realized was that Sveta, the young Goddess of Light, had knowledge of Rose and her operations at Monmouth.  In addition, Sveta knew all about Rose’s background and Rousay. 

 

In the crisis tea party, Sveta reveals what she knows with the intention of getting the other girls to help her oppose Rose.  Sveta even goes to the degree of recording the entire event.  She thinks her knowledge will not only convince the others, but shock them that their mothers and the Organization (and Stela) are using Rose to observe and to a degree control them.  The problem for Sveta is that she doesn’t know about Rose’s power over glamour and people, Robyn’s power and love for Rose, her own sister (Klava’s) pain over subjugation by Sveta, and finally, that Phoebe and Sophie are not on her side.  In the end, Sveta blows up and only with Rose’s power are the girls protected and saved.  However, Rose must knock them all out, her 10,000 pound tea service is destroyed, Rose is injured, and her clothing is completely burned off her.

 

The ultimate end of this is that Rose was supposed to protect Robyn from others and from Robyn harming herself or others.  If she can achieve this, Rose will get her house and property back.  This was all covered in the initial scene.  Since Rose’s contract is suddenly void and she sees no hope for recovery, Rose runs away.  The point in her running away is that she is unclothed, doesn’t really need clothing at the moment because of the balmy temperatures, and can and does use glamour to hide and protect herself from others.  This is the setup for the rest of the novel. 

 

This is also where I wanted to start the novel but that would have provided little chance for buildup.  Seoirse is the protagonist, and this is all a setup for his action on the stage of the novel.

5.     Prior to the hunt—This is what one on my author friends calls a sequel.  This is definitely a type of transition scene.  In this scene, Seoirse, is brought into a conference with the parents of the children who were involved in the incident.  Luckily, Sveta made a video of the entire incident on her phone.  Unluckily for Rose, it showed her in her glorious delight—nude but helping every one of the girls.  In this scene Ms. O’Dwyer details what they will do about the girls especially Robyn and Sveta, who caused the incident, but then, most importantly how they will get Rose back.  Rose is considered the most important supernatural asset to the British government because she can control the powers of a god or goddess.  The problem is that since Rose failed in her agreement, the government no longer has a means of motivating her.  Rose only wants her house and property back.  She isn’t motivated by stuff.  So, the quandary.  Ms. O’Dwyer has the police, the Fae, the courts, and the entire intelligence structure looking for Rose.  The military is on alert through the Office of the King.  So far, they can’t find her.  Seoirse tells the group that he can find Rose.  Lady Wishart, who is also party to the conference agrees and makes Seoirse the chancellor of the Lady Rose Tash.  The reason for this is that this will allow Seoirse to claim the help of the Fae in finding Rose—it also give him certain authorities over her and her property.  However, making Seoirse the chancellor of Lady Tash also gives Rose power and control over him.

6.     The hunt—Seoirse thinks he knows what Rose is doing to hide.  He lays out his plans and his suppositions to Aillan, his Fae helper.  Seoirse noted that a will-call ticket was issued for the train at Lydney, the closest station to Monmouth.  The conductor noted the tarin stopped, but no one apparently got on the train.  He believes that’s how Rose got into the rail system.  To hide from the Fae (who are in the isolated and out of the way places in Britain), the police (who are in the populated regions or Britain), and the intelligence structure (who are looking everywhere).  Seoirse thinks Rose is riding the rails on the two sleeper trains in Britain.  The first to Penzance would go directly through the stations Rose could have connected to—Paddington.  The second is just a quick local Paddington to Euston in London—the Caledonian Sleeper.  Seoirse lays out his deduction to Aillan.  Rose took the train from Lydney to Paddington and the Penzance Sleeper then scooted over to Euston and took the Caledonian to Scotland, most likely Inverness.  That would get her closest to Rosay and her home.  In the end of this scene Seoirse sends Aillan on the Penzance Sleeper just to make sure Rose isn’t double tripping it, and he takes the Caledonian Sleeper.  They think Rose has not procured clothing since she can use glamour more easily in that state to hide from the eyes of people.  In addition, the weather isn’t that cold and she’s on a train.  Further, Seoirse goes back to Monmouth to get clothing for Rose.  This is the setup for the next crisis for Rose and Seoirse.

7.     The finding—Although the crisis is the action scene that sets off the entire novel, the finding is the scene that significantly forwards the relationship between Seoirse and Rose.  The first thing to understand is that Seoirse is a gentleman.  He is a gentlemen in need of a little instruction and TLC but he is a gentleman.  Rose, on the other hand, is a lady by decree and cover, but she is a survivor and a manipulator who loves the ambiguous and the uncertain.  This becomes clear through her interactions in the entire novel.  Seoirse indeed finds Rose almost right away on the Caledonian Sleeper.  He figured her perfectly right down to her missing knickers.  And, he finds her in the nude.  Unfortunately or fortunately, however you are thinking, Rose doesn’t immediately recognize him or that he can see her.  The scene is both humorous and titillating.  When Rose finally figures out what is going on, Seoirse can’t cover his eyes or let her leave because he has captured the illusive Lady Rose Tash.  Before he allows her the clothing he brought for her, she must promise by the One and All to not escape.  That seals her fate, so to speak.  Seoirse gives her the clothing he brought from her room at school, but she is so flustered, she forgets he can see her plainly in the window of the compartment—it’s night after all.  Seoirse takes her to his compartment and then to dinner.

8.     The dinner—this is a highly important and intricate scene.  In it, Seoirse plays a pivotal role as well as his planning.  While Seoirse wants to establish their cover, Rose wants to establish her propriety.  Seoirse orders wine so he can show off the fake IDs he procured for her and him from the Organization.  As Seoirse notes to Rose, two sixth form students traveling on a sleeper train in the same compartment means the police and others will get involved.  On the other hand, a twenty-one and a twenty-two year old traveling together is just a lover’s tryst.  She becomes Raven Tash (21) and he James Wishart (22).  He buys a bottle of wine to ensure the waiter will ask for their IDs, but tells Rose she need not imbibe.  Of course Rose will imbibe.  Something you don’t know about Rose.  She is a survivor.  She is also a strongly motivated foodie who must eat.  She burns calories like a furnace, and eats everything she can.  It’s a little secret and problem embedded in her past.  She has learned to eat more slowly and she is always the consummate lady, but she can eat copious amounts and quickly.  It’s not a good trait, but she can pull it off.  What does this have to do with dinner?  They are eating a nice dinner on the train.  The focus is not the dinner, but their interaction in dialog.  During their conversation, the most important issues to Rose are what Seoirse saw of her and what others saw of her in the video from the incident.  It should be obvious why this is important even to a maiden of dubious background.  Rose is worried about her cover and what others think of her.  Seoirse is more concerned with getting Rose back and negotiations about what she will do in the future.  He is her handler and protector.  She is the only person in Britain who can handle the goddess girls and others (that we haven’t even moved to in the novel).  This conversation moves to breakfast, but I’ll handle that in the next scene outline portion.

9.     Inverness – What we see in Rose is progression.  She does not change, but in every endeavor and experience, her approach changes.  She dodges, weaves, and forces through her every desire with mostly behavioral training, acting, and manipulation.  Seoirse just wants to achieve his mission and to become friends with Rose.  As an author, I show this progression and action through the incidents in the novel.  Rose demands Seoirse plan their excursion in Inverness while they wait their evening Caledonian Sleeper to return to London.  Rose wants underthings, a nightgown, clothing, makeup, and a souvenir.  She also wants a good dinner (luncheon) and drinks.  Here is where things get a little interesting.  The kinds of clothing Rose usually wears are not available in Inverness.  Yes, my friends, the clothing of celebrities and the ultra-wealthy can’t be found in even large cities and towns.  You need a metropolitan center, and with apologies to Inverness, that’s one of the reasons I sent Rose and Seoirse there.  This produces a little of an issue for Rose, she must have another set of clothing, but she knows she can’t find her usual designer stuff.  She also must settle for regular lingerie—there is no way she can get the hand-made French silk lace knickers and bras that are her usual underclothing.  This is a tension builder in the scene, but as I noted Rose is always in progression.  I forgot to mention, the scene where the police recognize her.  Seoirse has made his report to headquarters that Rose is found, but he Scottish police in Inverness haven’t got the word, yet.  Rose makes a beautiful scene where she convinces the apprehending policewoman that James (Seoirse) has brought Raven (Rose) to Inverness to propose and that the involvement of the police might put him off.  This is a moment where Seoirse realizes that Rose is not at all what she seems.  She is a consummate actress.  The police check with the desk sergeant and find that Rose Tash has been found and Raven Tash may continue with her boyfriend, hopefully fiancé.  That’s just the beginning.  In Inverness, Rose knows exactly where she wants to shop—she borrowed Seoirse’s laptop while he was in the bath and changing.  She takes him to the Victorian Mall in Inverness where she buys antique whiskey glasses as souvenirs.  Then to a fancy store.  She breaks to him that she wants a jumper (sweater) and clings to him.  Seoirse doesn’t seem to realize what she is about.  She went from cold to hot in an instant—is it the cover or something else?  Rose drags him to a kilt and Scottish clothing store, really emporium.  They hand make their kilts and clothing there.  Rose wants a kilt-like skirt and a top in Rousay Rose.  That isn’t a clan tartan, but it fits her.  She also wants a Harris Cape in burgundy, and she wants it all made before luncheon.  The manager notes Rose’s very expensive attire and agrees if she will allow photos of the process and fitting.  Rose agrees as long as Seoirse approves the pictures and that they are flattering to her.  Rose is perhaps one of the most beautiful and elegant women anyone will meet—that is the reason for the attention, plus a woman who wears 5000 pounds in exterior clothing in just jeans and a top is definitely in a certain strata.  Take beauty, kindness, elegance, and wealth all together and you get not just Rose, but societal interaction and acquiescence.  That is Rose.  Suffice to say Rose gets her very Scottish clothing and very stylish cape.  The pictures, which will eventually haunt her and Seoirse are taken, and they head for luncheon at the White House Pub in Inverness.  There are a few more adventures in Inverness, mostly related to drink and makeup.  Seoirse has to bail her out of that one too, but all this is to show just how resourceful and capable Rose is.  In the end, they make their way back to the Caledonian Sleeper and board for London.  They have a Caledonian Double this time.

10.  Return to London – The return to London isn’t as detailed as the trip to Inverness, but still fills out critical details and foreshadowing in the novel.  Of greatest interest for tension and release is that Rose happens to be sleeping on the same bed as Seoirse.  This provides some great laughs later with Seoirse’s parents.  However, the most important part of this scene is the pillow-talk (so to speak) dialog Rose engages in with Seoirse.  She wants to know how to handle the five terrors—the girls that caused the whole problem.  That is, if Rose is willing to take over her assignment again, what can she do to fix the girls?  Seoirse gives her an answer which has great legs in the novel.  He tells her the military breaks their new recruits down to build them back up again, and that his mother might be able to shed some information about that.  This is a revelation to Rose, but of course she gives no indications of this—she just starts digging.

11.  Conference with Ms. O’Dwyer.  That’s the first piece of business, and the obvious piece of business on Rose and Seoirse’s return to London.  This entire conference is about reestablishing Rose’s contract to regain her house and her assignment.  Ms. O’Dwyer allows Seoirse to negotiate, to Rose’s chagrin.  He had the authority and he told Rose, but Rose didn’t trust him.  Seoirse is forced to promise not to speak about the incident of finding Rose in the nude, not to roll his eyes at her, and to help her with the girls.  There are a few other details, but that Rose agrees to the expansion of her assignment to all five girls for her property as long as Seoirse agrees to her terms is a small and large incident in the novel.  It shows a turning point in Rose’s mind, but the others just see it as petulance. 

12.  Briarashe—Rose cajoles Seoirse into taking her to see his parents at Briarashe.  This is a set of three scenes which solidify and drive the novel.  The reason for the visit, so says Rose, is to take pictures and establish a credible cover for her as George’s (Seoirse’s) girlfriend.  I’ll remind you, Seoirse is George at school and Rose originally proposed that George act in the role of her boyfriend while at school so they could legitimately communicate and work together.  She is just continuing the façade.  At Briarashe, Rose begins by berating the Butler because of Seoirse’s terrible wardrobe and clothing choices.  She is acting like the petulant aristocratic girlfriend.  How much is an act and how must the Lady Rose is hard to tell.  When Seoirse’s parents, Lady Wishart and Air Commodore Calloway invite Rose and Seoirse to dinner (luncheon), Lady Rose forces the couple to serve her and Seoirse wine.  She does this through the previous Raven Tash ID Seoirse gave her.  This is a little off putting, but Rose is putting Seoirse’s parents in the place she wants them.  Then Rose appears to trip up a little.  While describing Seoirse and her trip to Inverness, Rose lets out that her current Scottish clothing is Rousay Pink and was hand made for her.  I forgot to mention that Seoirse forgot about Rose’s injuries from the incident.  She was holding his arm and hands to hide them (scalds and cuts on her hands and arms)  This was also the reason she wanted a jumper (sweater) and acquired the Harris cape.  In any case, everyone else remembered Rose’s injuries.  However, when Rose mentions her current Scottish clothing, Lady Wishart informs her in no uncertain terms that she will not wear her clothing to Monmouth or in society that knows her.  The reason is obvious, it could blow her cover.  This informs Rose that Lady Wishart knows all about her background.  This causes a crisis for Rose.  She has been acting very high handed with Lady Wishart and Air Commodore Calloway and she ends up apologizing for that.  Lady Wishart sees things much differently.  She completely accepts Rose and her cover as well as her peerage presented by the King and the Fae.  It may be a fake actual peerage, but it has legitimacy in the world Lady Wishart engages within.  I perhaps didn’t remind you, Lady Wishart is the Keeper of the Book of the Fae.  I need to mention, this scene ends with a peace offering from Air Commodore Calloway.  He provides McCallan 18 to them all and gives Rose a Scottish pour.  This results in her Rousay accent coming out and her needing help getting to her room. 

13.  More at Briarashe – There are three more notable scenes at Briarashe.  In the evening, Rose has recovered well enough to participate in supper.  This is a short scene with some important discussion, but a lot of talking around issues.  This is followed with a drawing room scene where the ladies and the gentlemen partake in cigars and whiskey (McCallan 18).  Why mention McCallan 18—to all Scotch Whiskey fans this is the best Scotch in the world at about $300 a bottle, it’s steep, but not too steep for the quality of the whiskey.  The study or drawing room scene is all about convivial conversation and a dialog about the meaning of Seoirse being the chancellor for Lady Tash.  In this scene, Air Commodore Calloway is read in about Seoirse’s covers.  He is not told anything about anything else.  There are layers on layers of secrets and secret affairs in this novel.  Part of the fun is how they interweave and interact.  This scene is a setup for the morning scene.

14.  Morning at Briarashe—Seoirse has made arrangements for a meeting between Rose, Sophia, Phoebe, Robyn, Sveta, and Klava as well as their mothers Mrs. Marshall (Ms. O’Dwyer and Mrs. Mardling.  I’ll eventually get to this scene, but the setup is pretty important.  Mrs. Marshall is the current Goddess of Light. Mrs. Mardling is the current Goddess of Darkness.  Sveta is the presumptive Goddess of Light and Robyn has similar powers, while Klava is the presumptive Goddess of Darkness.  You can see this meeting will be filled and fraught with issues, but there is an interesting one looming after breakfast.  At breakfast, Rose gives a foreshadowing that she will make requests of Lady Wishart.  They take a walk.  Lady Wishart calls Rose her friend.  That makes Rose immediately begin addressing Lady Wishart as Azure (her given name).  This brings unease that Rose obviously wants, but Lady Wishart unexpecting brings.  Rose’s request is for Lady Wishart to induct her into the Black Branch which is the band of women warriors led and trained by Aife.  Why this is important?  In myth, Aife was the leader of the Black Branch, woman warriors and Aife trained them on the Isle of Shadows.  Aife’s sister Scattach ruled over and trained the Red Branch, a group of male warriors.  She trained them at the Isle of Sky.  In the history of Myth, Aife was accused of stealing the knowledge of writing and reading from the gods and giving it to man (to help in her training).  Aife was also the keeper of the threefold Celtic law.  This was the idea that evil returned threefold to those who committed evil and good threefold to those who did good.  Aife, because she gave reading and writing to man, was turned into a Swan.  In some myths, she is killed by a hunter.  In others she just remains a swan.  In some, Ceridwen, the head goddess of the Gaelic and Celtic people returns Aife to a human form.  In my novels, Ceridwen, in an earlier incarnation, has returned Aife to human form and she plays a role in trials and the courts of the gods and goddesses.  She is obviously held in some contempt by Ceridwen and the others.  Ceridwen does allow Aife to have an Isle of Shadows teahouse in High Wycombe.  This is near Wycombe Abbey which plays some roles in my novels.  In one of my novels, Lady Wishart demands of Ceridwen that Aife be returned to her previous honor as the Queen of the Isle of Shadows and of the Black Branch.  In this novel, Aife has been given back her authority.  Rose knows all about this through the Fae.  She requests that Lady Wishart make her a member of the Black Branch, and basically forces her to enact a knights oath.  A knights oath requires the Lady Wishart to strike Rose (remember the sword on the shoulder?  In reality, this wasn’t a tap, but rather a strike.  The strike could be done with a sword or the fist).  Lady Wishart regrettably strikes Rose which makes her a knight or captain beneath her in the Black Branch.  Rose then requests a portion of the Red Bracer.  These were the marks of the Black Branch and Aife.  I don’t know why Aife’s colors and bracers are red historically, but they are.  In one of my other novels, Aife gives the Lady Wishart one of the Red Bracers, which is an item of power from antiquity.  Rose requests the beads form the bracer which are used to make the members of the Black Branch.  She requests only two of them.  The bracer delivers six to Rose.  This is more than she needs.  Here’s what is going on.  Seoirse gave Rose the idea to apply military training to Sveta specifically as part of her rehabilitation.  Rose gets enough pieces of the Black Branch bracer to make all the girls cadets under her tutelage.  That is and was her plan only for Sveta.  These are unstated concepts in the novel.  They are not stated directly.  Rose’s plan now, that she doesn’t tell anyone, Lady Wishart might have some idea what is going on, but really Seoirse is the only one other than Rose who might have a more complete idea.  Plus, Seoirse does not know yet that Rose was made a knight under her and the Black Branch by his mother.  He sees the results.  With that, a bag of biscuits, tea, and water, with Rose’s head on Seoirse’s lap (because she is out like a light).  Seoirse and Bob head off in an Organization Bentley to Monmouth and school and the very important and potentially dangerous meeting with the girls and their mothers.

15.  On the way to Monmouth—Rose is recovering on the way to Monmouth.  She wakes and instructs Bob and Seoirse to take her to Lydney.  Seoirse is a little dubious, but they do and find Aillan and Airgead.  Rose arranged and communicated with them to take the trains to Lydney and now they rejoin the party.  Rose then instructs Seoirse to find her a jewelry store that can repair jewelry and that has 18+ caret gold necklaces and a bracelet.  They make their way to a jewelry store in Monmouth.  Rose has the pieces from the bracer mounted on a bracelet and the necklaces.  She has Seoirse put the bracelet on her right wrist.  While they were in the jewelry store, Seoirse also bought something else that he kept hidden from Rose.  Rose and Seoirse make their return to Monmouth School where they have an appointment with destiny, actually with five goddesses, including their mothers.

16.  The Meeting—this is another crisis event of scene in the novel.  Seoirse comes well dressed and Rose appears soon after in princess picture perfect beauty.  Airgead is with her.  The confrontation begins.  They all meet in the Headmistress’ Office.  All the girls and their mothers are there.  Rose insists they all stand for her and address her by her rank.  Rose asks the headmistress to leave.  She does.  Seoirse then enters.  We get everything from Seoirse’ point of view (PoV).  He is the protagonist.  Rose begins with Phoebe and Sophie.  She thanks them for their defense and asks them to sit.  She moves on to Klava, and wlecomes her like a sister for protecting her and her charges.  Rose goes to Robyn and admonishes her for using her power, even though it was to defend Rose.  Rose takes Robyn’s dagger from her until the end of the Lenten term.  Finally, Rose goes to the unrepentant Sveta.  Sveta has no intention of doing anything.  She has been in the black tablet for all the time Rose has been away.  I forgot to mention one of the requests Rose made of Lady Wishart was to write Sveta in the Book of the Fae as her vassal.  That means Sveta can’t attack Rose in any way, and Rose will be able to control her.  That was a very important part of the walk with Lady Wishart.  In any case, Rose takes Seoirse’s advice about Sveta and attacks.  Its just slaps, but Rose tells Sveta, since her mother didn’t punish her, she will.  Rose encourages Sveta to try to use her power against her.  Of course Sveta can’t—then Rose reveals the reason and demands that Sveta serve her as a menial.  There are more details, but this is the plan Rose sets into place to tame the dangerous Sveta.  Then Rose gives her a new name, Soluis.  This name brings Sveta anew into Rose’s household as a vassal.  It’s all based in historical naming and vassal ceremonies.  If you didn’t notice that’s the entire basis of this novel in history: the knight’s oath, the knighting of Rose, the Black Branch, Soluis as a vassal, and all.  Rose then inducts Soluis as a cadet in the Black Branch.  Once all this has been accomplished, Rose dismisses the mothers and the girls, but takes Soluis in hand to show her, her duties and work.

17.  The training—This is the portion I’m writing at the moment.  This is the training.  If you’ve been following alone, you might be able to get where this is going—at least in the idea of training.  Seoirse gave Rose the idea that military type training might help these girls, so that’s what she is planning.  In general, I’ve tried to convey in the novel that these girls are longing to be like normal girls but are under the close hold of the mothers.  Rose becomes a kind of mother for them, but as a mentor and leader.  She gets the girls talking to each other out of their usual groups—that is out of the sister pairs.  Klava is easy.  She can makes friends, but Soluis, Sophie, and Phoebe have the same problems as Robyn did in the beginning.  Rose gets them out of their sister pairs and into new groups.  At the same time, Rose gets them into the mainstream of the school.  Rose is also encouraging and helping with the formal tea party for the lower sixth.  This is her signature means of getting reticent British girls together.  It works.  All these small developments are portrayed in scenes showing how Rose is communicating and working with the girls.  The next stage, for Rose is the induction and field trip.

18.  Induction—part of military training is to bring a group together with esprit de corps.  To do this, Rose uses the necklaces she received from the bracers.  She inducts the four other girls into the Black Branch.  This is a detailed scene that the Welsh Fae crash.  They all want to see the first cadet members of the Black Branch in hundreds of years.  This is just a fun scene.  Seoirse is completely involved.  In addition, Rose not only inducts the girls into the Black Branch, but also into her bad girls gang (so to speak).  Ms. O’Dwyer had instructed Rose in her first assignment to cultivate the bad girls to help Robyn get over her bad girl ideas.  Rose did and instituted a drinking and smoking event on Saturdays.  Rose is not at all a bad girl, but she is very able to move in different groups and people.  Rose brings beer, snacks, and smokes for the girls after induction party.  This is just a funny scene.  Robyn gets Cherry Cola and no cigarettes.  She’s still too young.  The induction prepares the girls for their military training and field trip.  This is Rose’s means to encourage their interaction and to get them into some military thinking, training, and fun.  That’s not all.

19.  Supper with Seoirse—in the preparation for the field trip.  Seoirse is highly important to Rose in working the details with the Organization and Stela.  Rose basically dictates what she wants and Seoirse is required to make it happen.  In this planning and preparation, we have two large scenes where Seoirse and Rose get together in the evening, and Rose always must have drinks and supper.  This means Seoirse is taking her out on the occasional Saturday night.  It’s all for work, of course.  The problem is that we know Seoirse has fallen for Rose.  She keeps pushing him away, but it’s obvious that she is, in her way, falling for him.  If Seoirse keeps saying exactly the things Rose wants to hear and keeps meeting her needs, well the end might be love.  Rose must discover other ways than kisses and attention to show her affection for Seoirse.  He doesn’t realize this and thinks she is pushing him away.  Ah, so is love.  The ultimate point of this is that we shall see the approach to the climax of the novel.  I’ve not fully developed this yet, but it will have to do with the military training and the Book of the Fae.  This is to be determined latter, but it is the ultimate point of the novel, a climax that involves the girls, military training, Rose, and Seoirse and that resolves much of the points from the beginning of the novel.  That’s the goal and at chapter 14, the goal is in sight.

20.  Preparations for the Field Trip—Here’s the basics of Rose’s solution.  The tea party method blew up in her face.  She used the force method as Seoirse suggested and that worked to quell and control Soluis (Sveta).  Each of these girls has her own problems caused by too much coddling, too much protecting, too much interaction with their sisters and adults, too little interaction as girls, and too much self-esteem which led them to isolation and egotism.  Each of the girls is a little different and needs a little different touch.  However, Rose has a conversation with Phoebe where Phoebe blames everyone but herself and she believes she and her sister have been unfairly targeted and prevented from getting the training they want for their future.  Rose already has this in hand, to some degrees.  Her plan is to get these girls away from each other and talking to other girls.  At the same time, she wants to get them training and appropriate attention—thus the military training.  Much of at chapter is taken up with Seoirse and preparing for a field trip to the Isle of Shadows.  Isle of Shadows was the training and kingdom of Queen Aife.  Aife trained female warriors for the Celts.  She was a goddess.  Rose revitalizes the Black Branch with her own troop, the Shadow Branch and demands training from her troop of five dangerous girls from the Organization and Stele.  Seoirse is the one in charge of setting up the training.  Rose plans it all.  The Organization brings in its big guns.  I’ll get to that.  At the same time, Rose is feeling a strong ambivalence for Seoirse.  She won’t admit it to herself that she is falling in love with him.  Seoirse already knows who he loves.

21.  Beginning of the Field Trip—On a “quiet weekend” when most of the boarders go home, Rose takes her girls to the Isle of Shadows in Scotland.  They dress at the Regimental Headquarters just outside of Monmouth, get their gear, and take a Westland Wildcat Mk1 helicopter to the Isle of Shadows.  The trip takes two and a half hours and Rose instructs Seoirse to sit in the copilot’s seat.  She teaches military courtesies and discipline to the girls on the way.  Seoirse gets to pilot a Wildcat Mk1 under the tutelage of a real instructor who can sign off his logbook.  In fact, who brings him a logbook.  How can this be.  Seoirse set up the adventure, but Rose made it for him too.  One of his greatest desires is to be a pilot officer.  This lets him try out flying, and he loves it.  This is the way Rose is.

22.  The Field Trip—they arrive at the Isle of Shadows and the first activity is weapons training with their graphite Etan Arms AR-2 pistol.  They meet their trainers: Colonel Luna Bolang, Lieutenant Colonel Sorcha Easom, Major Shiggy Cross.  Each of these ladies are members of the Organization and Stela.  My readers have met them in other novels.  Colonel Bolang trains weapons.  Rose isn’t very good at shooting.  After about three hours training, it’s time for supper.  The Organization brought a portable kitchen with cook and helper.  They get steaks, baked potatoes, peas, and dessert.  The girls meet Aife and Rose gets embarrassed.  After supper, there is a campfire, but before taps, Rose takes her girls to a spot where they can have Shadow Branch time: cigars and beer—except Robyn who gets fizzy cola and a cigar.  Rose has Soluis start the fire—difficult for a Goddess of Light to do in the darkness.  She has Klava show the power of darkness, which is a little dangerous for Rose.  Rose has a lot of discussion and tell her plans.  Then taps.

23.  There is more and I’m still writing it.  I haven’t decided on exactly how I want to put the climax together.  I’m looking at a small climax to bring the girls together during their long field trip then a shorter hard climax during the last quiet weekend.  The point is to bring them together, then give them something important to do.                          

 

I guess I should move on from there.

 

More tomorrow.

For more information, you can visit my author site http://www.ldalford.com/, and my individual novel websites:

http://www.ancientlight.com/
http://www.aegyptnovel.com/
http://www.centurionnovel.com
http://www.thesecondmission.com/
http://www.theendofhonor.com/
http://www.thefoxshonor.com
http://www.aseasonofhonor.com  

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