Silver Rose ABC: Golden Shore

Well, decided I should get back to my Silver Rose ABCs today! *smiles* If you haven't read my previous posts for A, B, C, D, E,  and F; do check them out and get some hints on what my fantasy novel will be like!

Today we are on G. G for Golden Shore. This is a land of my fantasy world. I don't want to give much away, but here's some pictures I've found on Pixabay.com that make me think of Golden Shore.

I tried to find pictures of medieval castles, rushing waterfalls, and craggy cliffs ... but I just couldn't find ones that quite fit!

To pique your interest further, go to my Silver Rose board on Pinterest! There's many more pictures there; and some of a certain lovely family from Golden Shore: Alexander, Nenette, Breanne, Majesta, and Mariette! *smiles*

Now lastly ... some snippets from Silver Rose, yay! *grins*

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A castle stood on a swell in the land, imposing and grim. Through the gathering gloom, it was barely discernable; the black flags high atop the gleaming towers waving silently in the night—as if warning all on-lookers.

All was silent; a sense of impending doom heavy in the air. Even the night creatures hesitated warily on the edges of the forest, as though evil lurked too close for their comfort.

Then, a blood-curdling scream rent the stillness.

Inside the castle, a book thumped to the stone floor. Three men, in various black garbs, stared at the golden-haired girl before them. An older woman swooned. A passel of maids clutched at each other anxiously.

The young woman, encased in a hideous green gown, ripped the black, lace veil from her blonde curls with another fierce cry. Whirling, she kicked off her jewel-encrusted slippers and fled down the first dark passageway she came upon.

The blackness screamed silently in her wake.

© Copyright Silver Rose by Shantelle Mary Hannu

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“No need to fear,” he said, cradling her head as a protective instinct swelled within him. “You’re safe. I need to bring you to a place you’ll be found.” For a moment, he stood still, holding the unconscious woman in his arms. A haunting feeling gripped his heart. Who is she? Then he swung astride Renon and, gripping the girl, urged his horse into a gallop.

They rode nearer to the castle. The forest thinned, and they entered a patch of land blooming with little, sweetheart flowers and pink sugarberry trees. A tantalizingly sweet smell filled the air from the blossoms.

He swung off Renon, holding the woman close, and walked over to a gentle swell of a hill. He laid her down carefully, then took a step back, his mind whirling as he stared at her.

She was very still, as if sensing him watching her.

© Copyright Silver Rose by Shantelle Mary Hannu

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What do you think? ^_^

Silver Rose ABC: Fighting Back

Decided to continue my Silver Rose ABCs! *smiles* Today we are on F and I have one concept, that of "fighting back", and a character (whose name begins with F), to discuss.

Fighting back. As I've already explained in a previous post, Silver Rose has a theme of darkness. Not darkness as in a natural thing, but darkness as in a dark being. Tempters. Taunters. The Father of Lies.
     I'm pretty sure we've all heard those dark whispers. I certainly have. And I guess that's why it made itself such a big issue in my story - such a struggle of my main character, Karalee's.

Throughout Silver Rose, Karalee is often surrounded by darkness, unintentionally hearing their clever, devastating words. And, like many of us, instead of realizing they're lies, Karalee takes them in as logic. She bows under their pressure; her heart is slowly breaking under their poison.
     And even after the moment, after the horrific scenario ends, and all seems normal again; she still holds a bit of that darkness deep in her soul, terrified that those lies might be true. She doesn't surrender it.

Now, you'll have to read Silver Rose to find out if Karalee conquers or breaks. But at one point, a dear friend points out that the Keeper of Darkness is the Enemy of the King of Kings. And since Karalee is a daughter of the true King, the Keeper of Darkness makes it his business to hate her.

Why can't we see? Why can't we realize that those dark fears, those feelings of worthlessness, those moments of seemingly utter hopelessness ... are lies?

At one point, Karalee sits in her bedchamber, passive, stagnant. Doing absolutely nothing when there is SO much to be done ... because she's afraid, she's hopeless; she doesn't see the light of the future because the darkness of the moment is smothering her.

So FIGHT BACK.

We were not made to drown in fears, in depression, in anxiety, and hopelessness. We were given a sword, and we are called to fight. And what's more, we have a mighty, and absolutely alive and moving, Leader ahead of us!

"God's not dead, He's surely alive! He's living on the inside, roaring like a lion!" ~ Newsboys

So when those shadowy workers of the Keeper of Darkness creep into you life, take out your sword (which we do indeed have our own weapons(!): the Word of God, the awesome privilege to communicate with Him, and our identity as His children!) and silence them.

Remind them that they have no place here. And let's hope our dear Karalee can see the Truth to do the same.

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Also, there may or may not be a magnificently lovely dragon named Feyeldra-Leena! ^_^ I can't find a picture for her, but she has amber-colored scales and sapphire blue eyes!

And that is all for Silver Rose today I believe. However, I probably will work on Diamond's Quest! Yes, I started writing it, and am pretty excited!!! Visit my Pinterest board for more details: Storyboard- A DIAMOND'S QUEST.

Silver Rose ABC: Esglade

Working on my story ABCs today. *smiles* I introduce one of my sweet, secondary characters: Esglade.

Esglade is a tiny, old woman shroded in mystery, hence her nickname, Phantom of the Forest. She has white hair and startling violet-colored eyes.

Karalee meets this woman while running away. Wolfe knows her from years ago when she helped him. But neither of them know what she really is.

Esglade is a fearless soul, courageous in the light of her King's protection. She gentle, yet not afraid to rebuke another firmly when they're going down the wrong path. She's handy with a bow, is an excellent crafter of weapons and armor, and can easily flit about unnoticed.

Oh, and Karalee finds a special necklace after an encounter with Esglade ...

(found on Pixabay.com)

So there's for my E in the Silver Rose ABCs. Just a short post. Hopefully it was a little bit interesting! *smiles*

I'm so excited (and scared) to share Silver Rose with all of you who would care to read it. But yeah ... it has a lot of editing yet to be done on it! So I better get back to it!

Silver Rose ABC: Darkness

Most fantasy stories have the theme of good versus evil. Silver Rose is no different. Except I call it Light versus Darkness. And it all has a little more spiritual touch.

Anyway, that will be our topic of Silver Rose for today, Darkness.

In the beginning of the story, we find Karalee Rose in a dark place, fleeing. Later, she looses her memories; but is plagued by nightmares of blackness and fear.

In this story, the ultimate villain is the author of darkness. He thrives in darkness, and in bringing darkness to mortal hearts. He sends out his loyal workers, black spirits, to wreak havoc in the minds of the uncertain. The ultimate enemy of the true King, the Keeper of Darkness strives to keep any and all souls from embracing Light.

Since Silver Rose is an allegory, you’ve probably guessed that this Keeper of Darkness represents Satan in my story. And the true King of Kings represents God/Christ.

It really has been a magnificent journey … I’ve learned a lot of things. And as I read back through Silver Rose (by the way, I’m finished my first edit!), I often stop and stare at a paragraph and think, “Wow. God, you must have inspired that.” It’s been a cool spiritual journey actually.

Anyway, I’ll warn you upfront that the allegory in this fantasy isn’t all that subtle. I’m not trying to be preachy. I don’t really feel like it’s preachy. Silver Rose just happened, guys. Some of it was inspired from personal experience and struggle … though I’m not really sure how or why it got in there. All in all, Silver Rose tells the story of a flawed, wounded young woman trying to fight back against darkness. She’s not perfect; sometimes she slips and falls. Just like we all do.

I kind of got off topic, I know. But anyway, I hope you will enjoy this story if you ever happen to read it … a story with darkness in it, but ultimately about the Light! ^_^

(Pictures found on Pixabay.com)

Silver Rose ABC: Cover Ideas

     So, editing Silver Rose has been going well. It’s been amazing actually; I’m having a grand time!
     ...And you seasoned authors are like, “Yeah, just wait until you’re on the tenth edit…” ;)
     Well, I’m enjoying it while I can. It has actually been really fun to read my book over from the beginning, which I haven’t done in a very long time. My pages are pretty marked up as I leave them behind though!
     Anyway, to the purpose of this post. C for Cover Ideas. Well… since I’ve written “the end”, my thoughts automatically jump to the future, and of course, the cover! J I’ve been toying with the idea of being the model for the cover of Silver Rose, since I want a blonde-haired girl on the cover, and I’m not sure where else to get that!

     Here’s the results of me and my sister playing around with cover ideas…

 

 

 

 

 

 

     So what do you think? Is my outfit medieval-like fantasy kind of thing enough? J I would prefer to have a sword over a dagger, but we’ll see if I ever come up with one!

     I need to look into photoshop too… figure out the dynamics of making book covers. Good thing I’m reading Molly Evangeline’s Where Do I Start? An Overview of Indie Publishing. If you’re looking into self-publishing or such, you really should check out Molly’s book! It's been very interesting and informational; I've learned a lot already! :)

 

 

Well, that's all I have to say for today. Anyone have any book cover-making experiences, tips, or dreams they'd like to share? :) :)



 

Silver Rose ABC: Beautiful End

B for Beautiful End.

I'm not actually certain if Silver Rose has a beautiful end (I would like to think so though) ... but the point of this post is, end. Yes, today marks a very important day for this author, for she has finally—after nearly three years and several severe bouts of writer's block—finished her very first full-length novel!! ^_^ ^_^

I've written several short stories, a few children's books (which I very much doubt are even half the length of Silver Rose), and I even have two 100-200 page novels that are currently on hold; but Silver Rose is my first official full-length novel to write “the end” on. Yes, I've finished it!

274 pages ... which could quite possibly make it around 548 pages in average book form. 189,488 words, according to Microsoft Word at least. Thirty-four chapters, plus the prologue and epilogue. Can you tell I'm excited? *smiles*

I'm thrilled, guys. I feel a sense of joy and accomplishment ... Not exactly looking forward to editing, but publishing suddenly seems ever so nearer!

But truly, seeing this story of my heart finally come to a satisfying conclusion is just priceless. It makes my writer's heart burst with happiness. You authors out there know what I'm feeling, right?

Writing a story is an incredible journey; like going on an adventure that you're surprised and delighted over and over again, even though you're the one writing it. Possibilities are endless. And finishing a book is amazing. It's there. It's whole. It's finally all together. Never mind editing. Can't wait to get started on Diamond's Quest! *wink*

Silver Rose ABC: Anastasia

I found this idea (story ABCs) from some other bloggers, and decided to give it a try, because it sounds like fun. *smiles* Okay, so I’ll go from A to Z, naming people, things, places, etc. from my story.

Today is A, and will be about one of my more important secondary characters, Anastasia.

This will entertain me for a while, and give you a better look into what Silver Rose is all about. *smiles* So … here we go.

~Anastasia Ellwen~

Anastasia Ellwen plays a pretty big role in Silver Rose, even though she’s not a main character. She becomes one of Karalee’s best friends, though you won’t meet her until farther on in the story.

     Red hair, sea green eyes, and a pretty smile, Anastasia is rather short and petite, with a self-conscious, shy, and “I’m unworthy” disposition. However, underneath her broken exterior, she is fiery, courageous, and faithful. She just needs the right circumstances, the right people, to bring it out in her.

I love Anastasia. *smiles* She’s a good blend of wild & fiery and gentle & faithful. And she loves the King; has a simple, trusting faith in Him. She’s definitely a priceless friend for Karalee. They both freak out at times, but can be trusted to be loyal to the other.

It was fun writing her story … though I almost wish it could have been much more prominent. Hmm … we’ll see what editing does for her. *winks*

If I had to pick an actress to play Anastasia Ellwen, I would probably choose Georgie Henley.

     Partly because I can see her playing Anastasia well from her acting in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and partly because I don’t know much about many actors and actresses! Haha. Anyway, she seems to fit pretty well. *smiles*

So, that’s all for today. Tomorrow, or whenever I post next, will be B. I’ll have to decide what I’m doing for that.