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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Weekend Writing Warriors: Arranged Marriage

Welcome to Weekend Writing Warriors. Last week I shared the opening sentences from my new release The Enchanted. In that excerpt my hero's father, the king, ordered him to marry a certain lady. He begged to be excused, but his father screamed for him to be silent. That is where we pick up today.

"I have respected your wishes for

three years now, but my patience is at an end. You will wed Lady

Maybina as I have commanded."
 

"Father, having married once for love, I have no desire to

marry a woman whom I have never met! Can you not understand?

Think of the love you share with my mother. Is it so bad that I

desire the same kind of relationship?"
 

The king's face turned purple, but he took a deep breath and

returned to sit upon his huge jewel-encrusted throne. He wiped his

face with a lace-trimmed handkerchief.

The Enchanted is available at most online retail outlets. You can find more lovely sentences from participating authors here.

36 comments:

  1. He is in a pickle. I wonder if he's going to like her or not. Hope so.

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  2. His father is not happy. Can't wait to read his response. And can't wait for him to see his bride-to-be for the first time.

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  3. Touché! One good way of showing his father his own absurdity.

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  4. His father does seem a bit over the top, though I suppose kings tend to be that way. Can't wait to see what happens next.

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  5. Well he spoke his mind. Hard to do with a king father. Yikes! Good eight.

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  6. Aww, the poor guy. I feel for him, especially since he knows how precious love is. Well done! :)

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  7. Nice 8. The little details in the dialogue propel the story forward.
    ~Summer

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  8. This sounds like fun! Great snippet!

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  9. He makes a valid argument, but I suspect that it won't do him any good and that he'll change his mind about his fate later on. :-)

    ~Joyce Scarbrough

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  10. I feel for the guy and I'm glad he was able to tell his dad, the King exactly how he's feeling. I'm so curious to what will happen now.

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  11. When fathers and sons butt heads. Although it does appear to be more difficult when the father is the king. Will his father relent? Great eight!

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  12. How determined is the son not to bend to his father's command?

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  13. Sounds like the King is counting down from 10 to find his composure. I hope it works or the Prince is in real trouble. Great snippet, Elaine. :)

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  14. The king sounds very determined. His son has good reasons for voicing objections to the match but I suspect that it won't do him any good. I really enjoyed reading this 8.

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  15. Hardly seems fair, but I'm doubting the King will relent. Interesting excerpt!

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  16. Ooh. Either the king does not share love with the queen, or he's just in a very bad mood. Maybe he should just agree.

    Did I mention last week that I love the cover for this one? I love the cover for this one.

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  17. Nicely done, intriguing #8 Definitely catches the reader's interest and holds it :-) Good snippet.

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  18. A force marriage, an unhappy father...I wonder what the intended bride feels about all this?

    I like the book cover!

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  19. That's telling him by golly! How can he refuse that?

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  20. Why is the King being so stubborn about this marriage? I wonder if Prince Alan will defy him? Great 8!

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  21. Love this! I keep seeing scenes of sleeping beauty going through my head. It reminds me of that in such a good way!! Great job!

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  22. A tough dilemma there.

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  23. At least he stood up to his father so he has a backbone. A lot of emotion in this scene, really leaves us wondering about so many things, which is GREAT. Terrific snippet!

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  24. It makes the reader wonder if the father backs down. Seems like he may be softening. I guess I'll have to read the book!

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  25. I wonder if the King is caught between his son and a hard place? He seems worried as well as angry . . .

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  26. Ooo, interested to know why he's in this situation! Great 8! Love the cover!!

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  27. Arranged marriages aren't always so bad, but the King sounds like a hypocrite if he wants his son to have a loveless marriage when he didn't have one himself.

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  28. I wonder why the king is so intent upon his son marrying Maybina. It seems he not only wants the marriage but he wants it quickly with no opportunity for his son to know the woman first. There seems to be more here than meets the eye.

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  29. Hmmm. Classic nobility tale? Looking forward to more.

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  30. Hm...why is dad pushing this issue so hard? With the details you include (huge jewel encrusted throne, lace-trimmed hankie) perhaps the King likes his luxuries and this marriage is needed to keep them coming?

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  31. Picking this story up in the middle, I'm not sure what the King is really like... but it sounds like he has an anger and impatience issue.

    It almost doesn't coincide with a "happy marriage" that the son speaks of, unless the son has misjudged?

    Or perhaps there is a crisis brewing that forces the King to push his son into an arranged marriage... it does make me wonder!!!

    I look forward to reading more :)

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  32. How weird and awful when marriages are arranged. I just can't imagine it. But it's the way it was. I can see how they would be at an impasse on it. Maybe he will like her? The best thing about snippets is trying to figure out what will happen next!

    History Sleuth's Milk Carton Murders

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  33. The cover of Enchanted is breathtaking! This was an intriguing conflict - an arranged marriage would send me fleeing the kingdom!
    WriterlySam

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  34. Great snippet, lovely imagery and l love your characters!

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  35. At least he doesn't fear speaking up to his father!

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  36. Hmmm, married once for love? What happened to that marriage? :-) Makes me wonder, Elaine :-) I read the Sweet Saturday Sample, too, and the scar on her face did it for me. I just bought the book. In the queue tbr. :-)

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