Another Trip to Frewyn - The Blog Hop for Tales of Frewyn

Michelle Franklin takes us back to Frewyn! 

Join her as she tells us all about it!

The Haanta Series is the longest, ongoing, online romantic fantasy series. Thousands of readers visit the world of the Two Continents to enjoy the daily short stories featuring all their favorite characters from the Haanta Series novels. In between the business of the books, the commander, Rautu, Otenohi, Unghaahi, Leraa, Kai Linaa and Alasdair enjoy some time together in Diras Castle, but as the stories portray, mischief lies in every corner of the keep where spiders, chocolate pies, petulant giants and grouchy cooks abound.

 

From the short story “The Five-Second Rule”

There was a long-standing rule in the kingdom of Frewyn pertaining to food that had gained tolerable popularity, but while it was followed with decent devoutness, the exact stipulations of this rule had gone mostly unspoken: the Five-Second Rule, though a favourite with many a man in Frewyn, contended that any meal which had the unfortunate claim of falling to the ground might again be picked up if done within the boundaries of five seconds. There were other more precarious iterations of the practice that allowed for a period of ten seconds, but those who kept such a prolonged observance were certain to die from the disease that would latch onto the fallen article within the added time. It was generally unknown when this practice had begun or whence in the kingdom it came, and while it may have begun as a means of salvaging food during times of privation, the rule was soon a settled thing, ingrained into many a mind and practiced by young and old.

Men were the great champions at applying this rule, for those who took their daily feriation in the taverns asperged about the kingdom became well versed in the art of reclaiming a fallen slice or two during their bouts of mild insobriety. It became a sport, the finer points of which were discussed and remonstrated over pints of Mother Morlund and Go to the Wall. Rules within the rules were made: damp and dirty floors must never be eaten from, cooked meats and steamed foods must be left for the hounds, but anything that was somewhat dry and could be easily swept away might be taken up again and eaten with tolerable comfort.

Fallen food, once assessed by a discerning eye, could not be eaten with careless alacrity; it must first be subjected to the proper scrutiny, must be blown upon and turned over and blown upon again, must be examined for any excessive debris, must be burnished with a somewhat clean hand or polished with a corner of a sleeve, and then it might be passed round and subjected to a public assessment before it could be deemed eatable. All this, seemingly a waste of time and effort, while prized by many a Frewyn farmer, had been used to horrify the Den Asaan. Many time during the Galleisian War had he observed a cern or a captain reclaiming fallen provisions, and while to lose dried beef and cured pork was a terrible thing, it was far more terrible to see a sullied piece, knocked about by many a boot, taken up and eaten. The poor giant agonized over such a practice. He should starve rather than eat something that had been so bemired. His chief horror in the business was in seeing the cerns take up a fallen piece which had been kicked about and trod upon and eat it without any attempt to clean it. The giant's looks of horrified disdain garnered an explanation: the ground, though dirt itself, was not dirty, and indeed there was no time in a war to bother with cleanliness or epicurism. Disgusted by such an insalubrious practice, the Den Asaan had avowed never to understand it and swore never to accept such a ridiculous rule, but the imminent loss of a piece of Tyfferim Dark, forged by the hands of so skilled a chocolatier, soon changed his mind.

He stood at the kitchen table, unpacking a delivery made to him from Diras Delights, and as Betsiegh was in the secret of the giant's favourite treats, she had placed the large slab of Tyfferim Dark at the top of the parcel. Instantly, upon opening the box, did the giant attack the chocolate, tearing away the thick brown packing paper with all the fervency that his dependence could excite. His eagerness, however, had been his ruin: a small piece of chocolate broke from the bar as he finished unwrapping it, tumbling down and skittering across the ground, stopping at the foot of the table, waiting patiently to be picked up and admired and eaten. Consternation struck him most forcibly: what was he to do? He could not merely leave it derelict and forlorn, but taking it up only to throw it away should be an unbearable shame.

About the AuthorMichelle Franklin is a small woman of moderate consequence who writes many, many books about giants, romance, and chocolate.

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Author For A Year

Today, I'm going to make a list.
A list of the things that have changed, and of those that have not, in the year since I signed my first book deal with Buddhapuss Ink and turned from writer to author.
I'm not good at "meta-writing". At analyzing the why and wherefore of writing, and sharing it. I get impatient with people who ask "how do you do it?" because I have no idea, and no intention of figuring it out.
Thing is, I just do. I open the writing file every morning, imagine what my characters may be up to, and drift into the writing without thinking too much about it, and after a few months the story is told, and - end of story. That's really pretty much it. Really. Honestly.
On the way toward the end courage fails me sometimes, but then I'm lucky, and I have friends who read along as I write, and they understand my stories better than I do, and tell me, yes, everything is fine, just go on, more, more, we're waiting! And so... I go back and write more.
Until it's done and the publisher rips the new novel from my hands, eager, waiting.
They've done it twice now, and they keep asking for book number 3. Gluttons. All of them.


So... that's basically it.
And since we're at it, and I know many want to hear how someone else managed to write book and land a deal, here's my only advice for you: write. If you think you have a story in you, write. Don't think about publishing it, don't worry about agents and royalties, just write the damn thing already.
End of story.




But we were talking about things that change - or not - once you have that elusive deal, right?


So here's my list.


Things that DO NOT change:


1. You are not instantly rich and famous. Forget it. One book won't make you rich and famous, unless a miracle happens, and it very rarely does.


2. Even though YOU know you just won the lottery, the general public won't. They have no idea how incredibly lucky you were, to get to sign a book contract. There are a million talented writers out there, but YOU caught someone's attention. Don't wonder why. Sign. Be happy. And ignore the puzzled stares of strangers when you dance down the street. They don't know.


3. You still have to clean the bathroom and feed the kids.




Things that DO change:


1. You are instantly rich and famous. I don't mean money-rich, but rich in a way you never thought you'd be. Let me spell VALIDATION for you. All those stolen hours, all the guilt? REDEEMED! In a moment, the one moment when you put your name on that dotted line of the contract, you are a free person, an author, someone with the License To Write. Awesome.
You can hand out your brand-new business cards and say, "I'm an author. Yes, I write books." And then watch the expression in people's faces change, take on that slightly suspicious look as they ask themselves, "Do I know her?" Ha!


2. You DID win the lottery. Let no one fool you.


3. All of a sudden, the guilty hobby isn't a hobby anymore. There are real people out there who think they can make real money with you, and they don't have time for foolishness. You have a job now, and you better do it, and do it well. And... fast.


4. If you get really lucky (like me!) someone else will clean the bathroom from now on. And get takeout lunch from time to time. Just because they are proud of you. Because you are an author. Because you did something many dream of doing, and never do.


5. and last: it is never too late to live your dream. Never. Do it.




See? I wrote a blog post about being an author. Hope my publisher sees this, too. Hope they see that YES I AM BLOGGING and getting in the swing for the next blog hop, coming up in September, for my new book, "Under The Same Sun".


Please feel free to add to the list!














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