Sneak Peek!

Well, HELLO! from the great beyond!

Almost.

My, my! March is almost over, April is in 4 days and I’ve been a very, very, busy woman since this new year started! Real life work is getting a bit hectic as many of my coworkers are moving on and I haven’t had time to blog for the life of me! Let alone tweet from my Royal Chronicles account!

FWIW, I do tweet quite often on my general account @RealKDPFan4Eva. And when I say general, I mean it is general. I will tweet anything from books to authors I love to soap operas, (to soap writers), to Real Housewives, to and most importantly, Scandal. I also toss out a few random tweets here and there when the mood strikes. So follow me there if you choose! I literally answer everyone who sends me a tweet, good or bad :-).


All that said, I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things around here really, really, soon!!!

Now that that randomness is out of the way, onto more important subject matters and the real reason I’ve risen from the dead:

SUMMARIES.

Oh, boy, do I hate summaries. I just do. They’re awful and you can never get the complete feel of a story from a summary alone. There are always parts left out that should’ve been put in to entice the reader, and parts put in that needed to be left out because they bored the reader to tears.

Now, why am I discussing this?

Oh, because I’m preparing to write one for Her Royal Intrusion. And. I’m. Agonizing. Over. It. Still. I've been agonizing and avoiding for months now.

See, I’ve realized that writing a summary to a book you’ve already written just isn’t nearly as easy as it should be. I know all of the characters, I know the story. I know what happens to certain people and I know why. I also know why it all matters.

So, why is this so difficult? A writer's job is to... write. And I feel as if I'm coming up short, here.

I admit that I most often have trouble starting a story. I don't think I've ever started a story and worked my way to the end. I’m one of those people that can easily start in the middle and work my way out when writing the story and even brainstorming. Such as, I start at point N. Now, how the hell did I get there from A and how to I get to where I need to go, at Z?

But when it comes to trying to explain a story (especially without giving away spoilers and WOW is that difficult for me!), it’s more of a headache that I’d like it to be because there is no middle for me to start with. It's just BOOM! here is what the story is about, take it or leave it, for better or worse.

As I finish final edits on the book, I keep picking at my brain regarding the correct approach to take in explaining this summary.

Do I put it all out there to entice (and possibly anger some people)? Or do I remain ambiguous and let the possible anger come later?

Decisions. Decisions.


And I'll be forced to make some soon. Very, veryyyyyy SOON!

In the meantime, enjoy a snippet from Her Royal Intrusion, out in May! Once I have finalized a proper summary and chosen an appropriate cover, I’ll announce an actual release date!

I hope everyone is continuing to have a fantastic new year!!!!! Remain healthy, wealthy, and wise!

I snatched my eyes from his in that moment and removed my hands. I shoved them into his chest as hard as I could and leapt from the desk. As I crossed the room, I lowered my gown and lifted my bodice, shaking my head in anger and disbelief and shame and guilt. I slipped my arms back into the sleeves and gagged. He made me feel soiled and apprehensive instead of wanted and desired -- instead of as I should have felt as his wife.
 
Norvack hadn’t said a word. I turned to him and he lifted his trousers, looping the strings with such ease and grace -- he knew what he had done, and didn’t seem to care that I had realized it as well.
 
I walked over and looked up at him, but he refused to look at me this time. I grabbed his face the same as he had mine, between two fingers, and glared. His eyes seemed distant, cold now. No longer warm and comforting, or even loving. I yanked my hand from him as if a bolt of lightening had struck it. I didn’t know who he was in that moment -- I didn’t wish to know. I felt the tears coming but refused to let them fall.

“You wished to prove I was yours in this manner?” I asked, my voice trembling in absolute anger.

“You are mine--”

I struck him across the face as hard as I could. His cheek reddened and my hand stung as if a thousand bees had pricked me simultaneously. But I was determined not to show pain, not in this manner. I tightened my jaw and shook my head.

“My God. Whether I had been with John or any other man before you doesn’t disprove that, it never did! To use me in this manner to make a sort of point--”

“I missed you, and you knew that. But no one else shall ever have you, Cinder girl.”

I raised a hand to strike him again, but he reached for my wrist and lowered it to my side.

“I never believed you of all people would treat me in such a way.”

“No one else shall ever have you,” he said again.

“No one else has had me.”

“What is the name of the man you were with?”

I was taken aback. “What?”

“Before we made love for the first time, you informed me that you had been with a man. What was his name? How many times did he have you?”

“Stop it.”

I backed away and went over to the window.

“Were you in love with him?”

“I have never loved anyone but you, my future king. A fact you know all to well. Though at the moment, you’re making it quite difficult for me to admit so aloud, and to myself.”

He came up behind and exhaled. “Have you been with him, Cinder?”

“What difference does it make now?”

“All the difference!” He looped his hand around my arm and whirled me around. His eyes enlarged, his face darkened. “The man is to stand beside me, inside my court! He is to be at the right of me at all times. A man I am imposed to trust with my life, and he has had the one thing I treasure most. He has been inside you--”

“Stop!” I hollered, attempting to jerk away from him.

“He has had you,” he said again, his tone more calm. I jerked myself away and gripped my arm. “And now he shall have my place on the throne. I am no fool, my favorite girl.”

“I never proclaimed you a fool.”

He nodded. “I shall not lose my place on the throne. Nor shall I lose you.”

“You --”

“No one else shall ever have you,” he interjected. “Never again.”

“John has never had me,” I said. “Never as you have.”

He shut his eyes and grit his teeth, infuriated.

“Would you sacrifice the throne to keep me?” I asked.

He lifted his eyelids immediately. “I would sacrifice my life to keep you, Cinderella.”

He headed for the door and I moved to the center of the room. I called out to him and he stopped but didn’t turn back.

“I will never not be yours. But what you did… What you are doing to me, Norvack…” I held my breath for a few seconds and then exhaled. “This an approach your father would have taken against your mother and we both know it wouldn’t have been for love. I am not Eliza and you are not the king. I have stood beside you no matter the circumstances and if for that reason alone, I deserve the entirety of your respect. I am your wife, not your property. And you shall never own me in this manner again.”

He sighed and looked at me one last time. Sadness filled his eyes and covered his face, as if he were silently agreeing and acknowledging what he had done wrong. And then he left, never saying another word to me as he closed the door. I stepped back a little and looked around the room. It was so beautiful and so clean, except it wasn’t anymore. It looked different to me now, colder, more harsh and soiled than ever before. I lay my hand across my chest -- my heart began to beat so fast and loud through my ribs; the now cold room started spinning and my head began to ache. I could no longer stand, could no longer imprison my feelings, and collapsed onto the floor in a fit of tears.