VIKING SUMMER

First edit done, second under way and I'm thinking about a cover. Here's a snippet from what I think will now be called VIKING SUMMER. The story begins on the west coast of Scotland in 1036 AD and Eilidh's brother Domnall has just been caught stealing cattle. Finlay, as the newly crowned King of Alba (read ALBA IS MINE) and his good friend Hareth, confront him. They are part of the story, but the main protagonist in this story is Eilidh and her adventures.

"Four days later I stood in the hearth-hall with anxiety churning my stomach as my brother's familiar figure strode towards me. Unshaven, muddy and with his pale brown curls like a nimbus around his sunburned face, he frowned as he noted Bundalloch men loitering around the hall when they should have been at work in the fields and barns. His gaze came to me, questioning; then he saw the strangers beside me. His stride slowed and his frown deepened.

My hands gripped together beneath my breastbone. The King of Alba stood silent at my side. His unexpected arrival had brought women running into the dairy to tell me of the huge Viking longship approaching the jetty. I had stared at the tall, attractive man stalking ashore as if he owned Bundalloch. When I saw the gold circlet of kingship at his brow, I realised he did indeed own it and knew we were in trouble.

His dark good looks, self-confidence and the size of his entourage initially unnerved me, but pride came to my rescue. My gown might be plain, my apron spattered with milk and my hair unadorned, but until Domnall married, I was the lady of Bundalloch and knew my duties. Hurrying forward, I greeted the king and stuttered a welcome. He had smiled, dispersed his men around Bundalloch, and walked into the hearth-hall without having received an invitation from me.

Beside me the King of Alba dropped into the thane of Bundalloch's chair and made himself comfortable. The storm cloud gathered on Domnall’s face as Leod and their companions filtered into place behind him. Then, collecting himself, he took a quick breath, bent his head and forced out a sentence of stilted politeness. “I trust my sister has offered food and drink, Your Grace?”

My nails dug into my palms. Of course I had. Did he think I was stupid?

“We heard you’ve been away on business,” the king said in a surprisingly deep voice. “To do with cattle, I think?”

Stiff as a pine, his fists clenched hard against his thighs, my brother said, “The beasts wander too far and must be brought back.”

A flood of sunlight lit the hall as the doors burst open to admit a vibrant young man with chestnut hair who strode across the rough earthen floor. “You've been raiding, Domnall,” he called out in a cheerful voice. “We've seen the beasts and watched you at work.” 

Windows 10 and Matfen Hall

 Problems with Windows 10 still crop up when least expected. For example, I wanted to upload pictures from my camera to my computer, something I've done for the last few years without a hitch. This morning I found I had uploaded yesterday's pics, but they were in a different folder, and I couldn't access them in the accustomed way. Nor could I use one on Facebook or here on my blog. Once more dh came to the rescue and sorted out a route for me. What would I do without him?

I am still awaiting the proof copy of my paperback of Queen's Courier. Twelve days now and counting since they reported that "it had shipped." I'm beginning to wonder if they've sent it sea mail! I'm sure the last time I ordered one of these proofs, it arrived almost the next day.

Work on the new book is going at a steady pace. It will be a regency romance/adventure and the title is The Matfen Affair. There is a real Matfen Hall not far from my home, and though some details tally - such as the physical description of the outside of the hall and the general location - it isn't intended that "my" Matfen is the same as the real Matfen which belongs to the Blackett family. I've enjoyed some very pleasant meals in the Library Restaurant, the Conservatory and the Greenkeeper's Lodge and hope to enjoy many more!

Work in progress

Now I'm at the stage of looking at Createspace. First impressions? More complicated than I expected. But then as you get to know it, like everything else, it doesn't seem so bad. First of all I tried to slot an A4 file into a 6 x 9 format book, so of course, it didn't work. Once I altered my original file, it went straight in - with no errors. Now I know that's not true. For a start it wasn't justified, and when I justified it all the indents and *** scene breaks altered. So I'll be going through carefully to see what else I can spot.

I think I may be stuck with the title I've put in -  Abduction of the Scots Queen. I debated calling it Abduction, but there are so many books using it that it didn't seem attractive. Perhaps The Scots Queen would be simplest. If I can't alter what I've input, I may stick with the longer version. I can always make the fore part smaller on the cover to give it more ooooomph.

I'm working on the cover when I get tired of proofreading. Makes a nice change. I'm quietly pleased with what I have at the moment, but there are no guarantees it won't change in the next few days!

Technology, wip and wildlife

Technology was beating me today. I somehow lost the Chrome Home page and tried for thirty minutes to get it back - then hubby walks in, asks what the problem is. Listens, says Click on That and when I did, up jumps the original home page. Things like that make a person feel so foolish!

I got some actual work on writing done yesterday, and should get more done today. I'd got myself to a tricky position and had to wait until I'd figured out how I was going to deal with it. Within a couple of days I had the problem resolved. I left Oli all tied up after his bid to free Gisla, and I mean tied up in a way that will be painful. Thorkel is a nasty piece of work, but we all knew that right from the start. This afternoon I shall release Oli from his bonds and see if his spirit has been broken. Somehow, I doubt it.

Tim the pooch is growing so fast it's almost visible. Such long legs! He seems to be teething as well, and chewing everything in sight. But on Friday his purdah days are over. By then the immunisation should have taken, and he can go out in the world. The next trick will be to get him to walk nicely on a lead. But we are adjusting to each other's routines quite well. One spin-off I hadn't expected from having Tim is that Bill and I talk to each other more than we did. Partly it comes from talking about Tim, and partly it's because we are up and about in the morning by six, usually. Today we had a lie-in; he didn't ask to go out for a pee in the middle of the night, and we all slept through till seven. Getting up so early means we have more hours in the day and includes breakfast with conversation instead of languishing in bed watching the TV news as we consume our cornflakes.
One night I went out with the pup and found a hedgehog in the garden. Tim didn't even approach it, but shied away. We've also got a baby rabbit that keeps popping through the fence from other gardens. Fortunately Tim hasn't seen it yet. It's a wild rabbit, and has no doubt been shoved out of the home warren in the nearby field to find his own territory. He seems happy enough, but one day he'll be too big to get through the fence.

Everyday things

A bright blue sky day for a change - a pleasure to be out and about meeting friends in Hexham at Mrs Miggins coffee house.

Now back to the desk for a couple of hours before we go out again to visit Matfen Hall for a meal. We plan to go earlyish, say 4pm, so that we can walk a little before settling down to eat. We'll probably go into the Keepers Lodge - the golf club house, rather than the hotel proper. See here.

We went into the Library for a formal dinner when the kids were visiting from Oz a few weeks ago, and they thought it was beautiful. I think it's beautiful, too, but it's a tad expensive for everyday visits!

I am getting carried away with my latest wip. I'm really pleased with the way it is shaping up at 40,000 words. This time I've kept my H/h together most of the way, and I think there is lots of internal conflict. Whether HM&B will agree with me is another matter!