So I’m going to go off track here. Last week I worked with the suggested prompts, but this week I think I’m not going to. I have two very good reasons for not following the prompts this week.
The first is as you may have noticed I missed day eight. Yesterday I returned home from a wonderful four-day writer’s retreat. You are probably saying it was a writers retreat you should have been able to write a blog post, and you are probably right. In fact I did write Saturday’s while on the weekend, so I know it can be done. But as I returned home yesterday and eased back into the world the last thing on my mind was writing a post. I did start it but still raw from my experiences the words would not come.
I know that makes the weekend sound bad, but quite the contrary, the weekend was inspirational and I was still processing all that had happened and watching the Steeler game, but that’s a topic for another day.
So back to the writing weekend.Spending time out in nature, with other people of like minds is a very inspirational, motivational thing. Doing walking meditations, spending time with your characters and your stories will get you past any block you may have been experiencing. This is the second writing retreat I have taken. The first time I did it was last year on this same weekend. I definitely needed the refresher course, a weekend to refresh and renew and this weekend did that for me.
I have to admit that I did not take full advantage of the experience this year. I snuck on FB a few times and my husband and daughter texted me, but for the most part I was off the grid and it did help. Throughout this week I will share with you some of my experiences.
Now for the second reason I will not be doing the prompts this week: Yesterday was the second anniversary of the release of the second book in the Palace of the Twelve Pillars trilogy, Palace of the Three Crosses: Book Two. If I had posted yesterday it would have been about this celebration. Today I will share an excerpt and a review from the book.
Palace of the Three Crosses: Book Two
Rupert looked through the window in his tower room at the landscape of Wyrzburg. Months had passed since the Battle of Harable Valley and the spring planting season faded into the wonderful summer growing season. The land progressed in its healing and would soon be returned to its former state. As he turned from the window, he thought about the things that hadn’t healed…the twins. Brandan and Joachim still had a long way to go to erase the darkness that infected them. Joachim seemed better, but at night he still dreamed of Sidramah, and the doubts about what happened still haunted him. Brandan appeared even further from the boy that left to find his brother. The darkness appeared to follow him day and night. He withdrew to chambers as far away from Joachim as he could get.
Walking down the stairs to the great hall, Rupert remembered when the princes first returned; both had seemed healed and better than ever, maybe. But it appeared as if the tentacles of Sidramah still lingered. Any small opening the evil one could find, he exploited, and both boys were once again haunted by dark dreams.
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| Reviewed By Bil Howard for Readers’ Favorite
Palace of the Three Crosses, by Christina Weigand is a dark fantasy involving deep conflicts between three different species as they struggle for control of the land. Twins Brandan and Joachim return from being held captive by a darkness that has left them deeply scarred. Upon their return, they are forced to continue on following the death of their father and separation from their mother, while attempting to heal from the damage that was done deep inside them. As each of them struggles to find their bearings, and healing and restoration with Asha, they are forced into ruling the kingdom. With new wives, each is being drawn into a different direction by the woman at their side and the churning turmoil inside of themselves. The forces of Sidramah are leading Brandan further away from Asha through his wife, Magda (of the Mation species), while the forces of Asha are trying to restore and keep Joachim from being overtaken as his wife, Maeve (of the Kningrad species,) fights by his side to keep him from again falling into Sidramah’s darkness. Their kingdoms stand in the balance as the inner battles affect those around them. Christina Weigand does a wonderful job of painting a portrait of the darkness that surrounds evil and, the often times, dim hope that sometimes is all that is left of goodness. Through this story of two brothers struggling to be restored to the goodness that once was theirs, the author examines deeper issues that often overwhelm those who can only see goodness dimly lit. Those around them become essential in helping them to find their destiny and true goodness. The character development and plot will have the reader hooked and turning pages with eager anticipation for the next fatal twist. Suspense and intrigue are thick throughout this novel, but always lingering about the surface is a feeling that goodness and hope will certainly win out.
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I would have to say Stephen King is right on the money with this statement. Reading is like food and water for the writer. If you don’t feed the beast, provide some sort of sustenance than how can you expect to write anything. Just as we need food, water and air, the writer needs to read to sustain the muse.
