Loren D'Nore

I AM OFFICIALLY EXCITED!!!!!
Thanksgiving Break is in THREE (3, III) days!
And here is a post about Princess Loren from The Daulots.

Loren is sixteen at the time of The Daulots.  Her father is the reigning monarch of Torte, but even though she is next in line to the throne, she is physically weak and most people don't think that she would be a good ruler.  Many of Torte's leaders think that Elizabeth, who is ten, healthy, and possessing a strong personality, might try to take the country for herself when the king dies.
When Zame Jadrez, the most pwerful man in Torte, stumbles across a group of weak, recently escaped Amian boys, he learns of a plot hatched by Slograv to take over the great kingdom of Torte.  Part of that plan includes killing both Loren and Elizabeth.  It's at this time that Loren has to prove herself strong, even though she can barely lift her father's sword or stay conscious in a crowd
One really good thing about Loren is that she loves to read, especially fairy tales and old legends.  Because of this, when Srlago sends a desperate message for help, Loren knows exactly where to turn, even though she can't ride a horse or shoot a bow.

I really do like Loren.  I wanted to create a character exactly opposite from the stereotypical warrior, bow-and-arrow princess that is in so much of our modern fantasy fiction.  Even Arda won't be doing much fighting.  Kalai certainly won't be fighting, and Enlavaria only fights in one battle and that is an emergency.  The mysterious sister fights, but that is her whole job in the first place.  Most of the actual fighting in The Daulots is done by the men.  I wanted to give the whole story an air of chivalry and have the men do the fighting and the women sit in the castles and do everything else.  I wanted to give The Daulots a knight and lady approach, and that is actually a little harder to do than you might imagine.  The temptation is great to give Arda a bow and finally allow Loren to lift a sword, but I am not going to do so.
By the way, here is Slograv and Kalai's son:

What do you think of him?  I still don't have a name for him, but he does seem like he could be a villain's little boy, doesn't he?

Slograv, except that he should have black hair

Kalai (She would have been Queen of Amia one way or another.)

Let me expand on that caption under Kalai's picture.  She was betrothed to marry the rightful king of Amia before Slograv kidnapped her.  Of course, she didn't really like her conceited cousin at all, but she likes Slograv even less.  We shall see what comes out of that!

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Kathryn

Arda and Srlago

Arda and Srlago at the Schlezimein ruins

Were ever two less alike?  The sister and brother that figure first in my story The Daulots are definitely not the closest in personality.  With my characteristic bigotry, I made Srlago, the boy, the steady, sensible, clever, likable, courageous one.  Arda, on the other hand, is scatterbrained, know-it-all, and sometimes she is really annoying.  She is one of those characters that really gets on my nerves.  She refuses to take advice and is always trying to push the limit, whereas Srlago makes it a point to ask for help and is always ready to take others advice.  In a way, they are the perfect companions, because they sort of balance each other out.  Alone, Srlago would be vulnerable to the crafty devices of so-called friends; Arda provides enough suspicion to get them through potentially tough situations.  Alone, Arda would stubbornly refuse to get anywhere even if she thought she was working hard; Srlago has enough common sense to know when to turn to someone else for help.

Arda during the flight to Eltra

When they were younger, they had to flee to the mountain refuge of Eltra for safety.  Now that they're both ten years older, their uncle Mendan has sent them both on a mission--they're to penetrate Slograv's castle and prepare the way for an all-out attack.

Srlago during the flight to Eltra

Of course, nothing goes the way that it is planned.  The first problem is that Arda and Kalai look so much alike.  The only way to get around that problem is to disfugure Arda's face. (I can't wait to get to that scene!)  Unfortunately, you won't see any pictures because there aren't any that I have seen of Arda just the way I imagine her face to be when Srlago gets through with her.
One of the other interesting elements that I forgot to mention is that Slograv and Kalai had a son.  He's five at the time of the story.  I haven't given him a name yet, but that will come.  He's really important.  By the way, I made a poster for the book.  What do you think?

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Kathryn

The Daulots: Main Character List!

Here it is!  The main character list for The Daulots, as well as pictures for some of them.

When I saw this picture, I knew that I had found my two main characters:  Arda and Srlago Daulot.  They are a brother and sister, children of the Royal House of Amia.  Somehow I can't separate them, so it was appropriate that they should be together in this picture.

Meet Slograv the Korvaskian, the villain and invader of Amia.  Imagine him with black eyes.  (You probably have an idea of how impossible it is to find exact pictures.)  Slograv is one of those people that you sort of like even though he is rotten clean through.  He has taken over Amia, and he has also kidnapped and married

Kalai Daulot, also of the Royal and older sister to family Arda and Srlago.  But Slograv's injustices have also extended to the commoners, including                                                                     

                                                      

Timotheus, the son of an Amian barbarian warrior, who has been suffering for ten years at the hand of his conqueror.  Now Slograv is about to use Timotheus for his own ends, which include taking over the rich and powerful nation of Torte.  Part of the plan includes killing the two daughters of the king,

Loren and Elizabeth D'Nore.

  Now the greatest hope for Amia and Torte seems to be Maldr Daulot, the rightful heir to the throne of Amia.  The only problem is...Maldr doesn't want to accept help from those who can help him.  Maldr is proud and unforgiving.  Maldr is as unfamiliar to the meaning of mercy as Slograv, which is pretty sad if you think about it.











Also important is Enlavaria Daulot, the cousin of Maldr and Arda, Srlago, and Kalai.  She has shorter hair than that, though.  In case you're wondering how this family works, Maldr has three brothers.  He's the son of the king who was killed in the invasion of Amia.  Then there's Kalai, Arda, and Srlago's dad, who was also killed. He was the king's brother.  Enlavaria's dad is still alive; he's the youngest of the three brothers and his name is Mendan.  I don't have a picture of him just yet.  I do have a picture of Eltra, though, which is the retreat of the Daulots when they were running from the Korvaskinas.  This is a place in the mountains that is so well hidden that there is hardly any way for the Korvaskians to find them.
Don't forget Kabiak!  He's Slograv's general and right-hand-man.  In some ways he is worse than his ruler.  Kabiak is selfish, evil, and thoroughly disgusting in every way.  He even has horrible table manners, which is going to add to an important (hopefully funny) scene in the novel.












In the end, a mysterious brother and sister come to Amia in response to a desperate message sent out by Srlago.  The only problem is, the rest of the Daulots need to learn to swallow their pride and accept the help of others if they are truly going to be free.









Thanks for reading and God bless,
Kathryn

Writing a non-Christian Book with Biblical Influence

Yes, I really think it's important to implement Christian principles into all the stories that I write.  That's why I try NOT to have feminist heroines, which are VERY annoying anyway.  That is why my heroes are actually manly, not whining little wimps.  That's why the bad guys get punished in a bad way, and the good guys get rewarded.  That's why my children get into serious trouble if they don't listen to their parents, and my older characters are wiser (for the most part) than my young ones.
But, in case you haven't noticed, I am not writing Christian books.  That is, I am not writing books in which characters are Christians (obviously, since I write fantasy set in a different time period!).
HOWEVER, you may have noticed that not every good book is strictly Christian.  And I don't want to write to only Christians.  To use a phrase I learned in English class, I want to write to a "broad, general audience." I want my work to appeal to many people, but I also want it to glorify God.  Is that possible?
Maybe we should look at my current favorite book, A Tale of Two Cities.
I really don't think that Charles Dickens was a saved man, but he certainly exhibited a very Biblical principle in the end of this book.  Sydney Carton, the main character, is despairing about the sacrifice he is about to make until he realizes an important truth:

A trading-boat, with a sail of the softened colour of a dead leaf, then glided into his view, floated by him, and died away. As its silent track in the water disappeared, the prayer that had broken up out of his heart for a merciful consideration of all his poor blindnesses and errors, ended in the words, "I am the resurrection and the life."

Carton gains peace through this great verse, which he repeats several times.  (My overbloated imagination likes to say that he got saved, but I don't know if Dickens really intended for that to happen.)
The point is, in a secular book, the fact that Jesus is the only Savior comes across clearly.  And Dickens books are certainly enduring classics.
Aside from this, there is always the fact that people are influenced by what they read, much as they try to deny it.  If you can put principles directly from the Bible into your writing without saying that it is from the Bible, if you can make the theme of your story moral without directly quoting the Bible, and if you can portray wickedness in the evil light in which it should be portrayed, then you have my great respect.
So much modern fiction today is so dry, and even Christian books, so called, are really Christian in name only.  If we could raise the quality of literature back up to where it was two hundred years ago, when secular books expounded the Bible, then we could, I believe, raise the quality of society itself.
After all, people WILL be influenced by what they read.
So...how should we do it?
First of all, pray that the Lord would bless your endeavors to glorify Him through writing for many people.  Think of a main theme for your story that is directly from the Bible, such as "You reap what you sow," "Children obey your parents," or "Obey them that have the rule over you."  Make certain that the characters in your stories get WHAT THEY DESERVE.  None of this getting away with wrong trash, please and thank you!  It's OK to have characters that are role models, too.  I promise, writing a non-Christian book with a Christian theme is rewarding!
Thanks for reading, and God bless,

Happy Weekend!

Indeed, I am happy, for the weekend has finally arrived.  Midterm tests are over, and I only have to sweat it out until the grades come out on Monday!
For those of you that have thoughtfully asked what I am majoring in, I am majoring in English education.  I will take an extra class and get a certificate so that I will be able to teach English as a second language.  I am very excited about college, and I would encourage any of you who are interested in obtaining a degree to attend a good, solid Christian college.  You will make wonderful friends and definitely push your mind to new lengths that you did not know existed!

And now, having given you my pep sermon (if there is such a thing), let me attend to the business at hand.  Having been trapped in the real world of textbooks and lectures so long, I find that writing a little fantasy helps me to get relax.  Thus you will see The Daulots word meter on my sidebar.  Would you like some snippets?  Good!

            Black and shining, glinting in the glower of the gusty torch, the eyes of Slograv of Korvask scanned the heads of the barbarians before him.   He shifted his weight in the makeshift throne that his men had hastily assembled from boards torn from the beds of the people that now stood before him.

            “Kabiak, I want the names of every one written down.  Choose out the choicest and bring them before me as my personal servants.  We march against Schlezimein tomorrow morning, and I want them with me to show that king of theirs just what I can do.”  Slograv nodded his handsome head at his first officer.  “Amia simply wasn’t built to withstand us,” he said with mock dejection.  He languidly rose from his throne and pulled the head of one of the Amians back by her hair.  He held up a bunch of it for his officers to see.  “Have you ever seen such short hair on a woman before this?” he asked with a laugh.  “Barely below the shoulders, it is!”  He stared into her passionless face.  “Well, woman, haven’t you anything to say?  We just defeated you!  You haven’t a home to call your own any longer.  You are a slave to my wish, and have you nothing to say to that?  Are you so cold, so barbaric, that you would not even weep for your fallen land?"

~The Daulots

“Sing a song to speed us on our way, Arda,” said Srlago.  He pulled out a small stringed instrument and began strumming a tune.

            “Is that all you can think of?” Arda groaned.

            “It is my favorite,” said Srlago gravely.  “And it is your prettiest.  If you are to impress Slograv, you must show off.”

            Arda pulled a black scarf over her head and cast her eyes down.  “I really don’t want to impress Slograv or anyone.  Music ought not to be used as a weapon.”

            Srlago shook his head.  “Have you a better plan, Sister?”

            Arda shrugged.  “Swords and bows have often worked before.”

            “So shall they work again, after we have done our job,” said Srlago.  He reached down and touched a dagger concealed in his boot.  “There will be plenty of fighting for your battle-lust, Sister.”

            Arda laughed.  “Battle-lust?  I think not.  I may be a little eager to repay the Korvaskians for all the wrongs they have done our people, but I am not stricken with battle-lust.”

~The Daulots

Timotheus lifted his head and looked toward the door, his pale brown eyes wide with anticipation.  Soon he would see light!

            Whatever you do, Timotheus, never, never let the Korvaskians break you.

            Timotheus recalled those last words of his father.  He had watched the wicked arrow slice into his father’s chest, watched his father fall to the ground with a trickle of blood running down his vest.  He had run to his father, cradled him in his arms, been torn away by soldiers, watched his father die alone.

            The Korvaskians had put him into a horrible dungeon to make him forget, but he could never forget.  He had never seen the face of Slograv, but he was certain that he would recognize it when the fateful day finally came.  Surely his face would be unmistakably marked with evil!

            You know what they did to your mother, to your brother, to your clan.

            Timotheus had never forgotten.  The image had been preserved so well in the darkness of ten years that it was forever etched into his memory.  The cell door creaked open.  Timotheus lifted his eyes to the wonderfully painful dazzle of the torchlight.  It filled the cell, revealing every nasty corner.  To Timotheus it mattered naught.  There was light to satisfy his craving.  He relished the warmth of the fire on his face.

            They are your enemies, your bane.  You will never be free while they are alive.

~The Daulots

“I want their names,” said Slograv to Kabiak.  “Now!”

            Kabiak sauntered over to the first of the prisoners.  “Name!”

            “Sruncl,” said the boy.

            “Name!”

            “Lonsh.”

            “Name!”

            Silence.

            “I said Name!”

            Timotheus turned his soulful eyes onto Kabiak.

            When an enemy tortures you, you never cry out.  This is a sign of weakness, and an Amian is never weak!

            Kabiak brought his hand across Timotheus’ mouth.  “What is your name?”

            “That one,” said Triklaus coldly, “is dumb.”

            “Is that so?” said Kabiak, glowering at Timotheus.

            “He’s not spoken in the ten years since I’ve had him,” said Triklaus with a shrug.  “Dumb as an ox!”  He laughed loudly at his own joke until he noticed the king eyeing him with disgust.

            “His name is Timotheus,” said Lonsh quietly.

~The Daulots

Thanks for reading and God Bless!

Character Encounter

Kendra of Knitted by God's Plan has an amazing tag in which I am going to participate!  My character is none other than Laban Squeed from CATT.

Laban Squeed

My arms are full of books and papers.  I'm ready to study at the very large university library.  After walking up the spiral stairs I enter the research room and set my books in one of the cubicles.  I turn around to find the books I need, and what should I see but the a fiery red head of hair bob over one of the other cubicles.  "Immature Freshman Boys!" I think to myself in disgust.  I watch in semi-amusement as the head of hair walks around the line of cubicles and faces me.  When I see his full person I stagger in surprise and horror.  Clutching the side of the cubicle with one hand, I feel my head with the other.  This person is dressed in clothes of a century and a half ago, but more than that, I recognize him as none other than...
"Laban Squeed!" I gasp.
The young man's long, sinister fingers stroke his watch chain.
"At your service," he says with a smile.  "I came here especially to find you, Miss Barrett.  What do you mean by killing me in your novel?"
"I had to!" I cry, looking around desperately for the librarian.  There is a girl in the corner working on her computer, but she doesn't even lift her head at the commotion.
Mr. Squeed takes a tiny revolver from his pocket and brandishes it in my face.  "You will not make a certain character kill me!  I demand the right to live to the end of the story!"
It will be useless to make a mad rush.  I have no doubt that he is as real as I, though it seems fantastically bizarre.  One of the guys from my speech class walks into the room behind Mr. Squeed.  I try to signal to him without Mr. Squeed noticing, but he only gives me a quizzical look and says, "Hi?"
Mr. Squeed whirls around at the sound of his voice, but still the guy doesn't see him.  I run at Mr. Squeed from behind and knock him down.  The gun spins out of my reach.  Desperately a yell at the guy from speech class, "Pick up the gun!  Pick up the gun!"
He stands there dumbly and looks at me as though I am going crazy.
Mr. Squeed scrambles up and lunges for the gun.  I barely manage to trip him and make a wild dash for the revolver.  With a paralyzing yell Mr. Squeed pushes me out of the way from behind and snatches up the gun.
I back out of the room, casting a quick glance at the spiral staircase behind me.  I pretend like I'm going to make a run for it, and Mr. Squeed runs after me.  He trips over the railing of the staircase and plummets!
Unfortunately I see a girl walking underneath him!  "Watch out!" I yell frantically.
She looks up at me with raised eyebrows.  Oh, dash it all!  It's my RA.
When I look again, I don't see a trace of Mr. Squeed.  I only see my RA, walking up the spiral staircase, a concerned look on her face.  "Katie, are you all right?"
The guy from speech class comes out of the room behind me.  "Um, what was that all about?"
I look over the railing.  There's nothing there but a little piece of gold watch-chain hanging from the tip of a wing on the statue of the archangel on the main floor.  "I'm having a little trouble with my writing," I say with a sheepish grin.

Thanks for reading and God bless,

Hey y'all!

I thank you for not abandoning me even though I haven't posted in a LONG while.  I am actually at college right now, and you can imagine the busyness I am facing as I pursue my degree.  But don't worry, I am still writing as often as I can, and Lord willing I will be able to publish something while I am in college.
God bless you all, and thanks for reading,