Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi → NorthernSkies or NS - Janet
Quick question ... Could there be a banquet in the great hall after the fair while the rest of the peeps have their feast around their tents and the arena? Or would Matthew and all the other distinguished guests join the party on the village green?
Thanks!!!!
Quick question ... Could there be a banquet in the great hall after the fair while the rest of the peeps have their feast around their tents and the arena? Or would Matthew and all the other distinguished guests join the party on the village green?
Thanks!!!!
Am I all by myself on this one?! *worries*
You've established that this is a faire, with food being served. Why would the nobility pay for a feast after everyone has eaten? And why are commoners eating a feast on the green? Are Aiden and Norwood footing the bill? Isn't that money better spent on the church roof?
That said, it is appropriate for a dinner after the games are over. It thanks the noble visitors for their time.
And the workers should have a nice thank-you dinner ... but who prepares it?
You've established that this is a faire, with food being served. Why would the nobility pay for a feast after everyone has eaten? And why are commoners eating a feast on the green? Are Aiden and Norwood footing the bill? Isn't that money better spent on the church roof?
That said, it is appropriate for a dinner after the games are over. It thanks the noble visitors for their time.
Thanks Amy! So maybe not something as elaborate as a banquet, but just a formal dinner for the nobles (paid for by Matthew) would sound more appropriate. The rest of the peeps will have their feast and fun around bonfires to celebrate. I was just worried that the norm would be for the nobles and peeps to party together.
Quietly fixing the church roof?! Are you MAD?!!! I'm with you though, the money would be better spent by just building a new church roof, but this gives the nobility the chance to 'look good' and also give the peeps the opportunity to contribute ... I know, doesn't make sense, but this is how it's been done as far as I know. *shakes head* Building a new bridge or fixing a bridge, now that's a different story ... The noble lords would jump in to do that, claim it theirs and charge more taxes. So see, having a fair is so much farer. Not.
I'll stop now ... MI6 is already keeping tabs on me, I don't need to give Lizzie more ammo to make me disappear. And yes, I know it doesn't make sense that I dislike (mildly put) nobility and all it stands for [NOTHING has changed from the 10th century to now if you think about it - don't let the cute pics of prince George? fool you!], yet write a book about it - I think I can distance myself easier/better from history as long as I don't think of the present.
I need wine. Lots of wine. Don't have wine, but some Irish Liqueur ... That should do.
Thanks, you've helped to clear my mind!!!! I so owe you!
NJC, the servers eat before the nobles. That way, the help isn't hungry at mealtime.
Please note comments on the review reply. Will try to get to your short.
Please note comments on the review reply. Will try to get to your short.
Got them and thanks, that'd be really great! The good news is there's zero Romance and even zero romance in it. 
Not Romance. Revenge. She'd seen how civilized men behave; she never forgot and she never forgave.
Not Romance. Revenge. She'd seen how civilized men behave; she never forgot and she never forgave.
The real story of the Border during the 13th-16th centuries: feud after feud after feud ... It never stopped until King James stepped in in 1603 and basically destroyed the people and the border, hence so many people having their roots from these families, they were scattered all over the world.
This would be the same King James who commissioned the Bible, i presume? I'm surprised he let 'Thou shalt not kill,' make it through final edits. One of these days, I'll have to research when 'kill' was replaced with 'murder.' It was probably in the original NT, otherwise they would have had to rewrite the OT with its deity-approved wholesale slaughter.
I'm itching to get back to writing after so much chaos with my move. It's now tax season in two countries, so the final carnage of the second draft will have to wait until May. The only big unknown in the final act is whether or not it all falls apart. There's a major 'unbelievable crap' moment coming up right at the end, assuming you haven't already reached that conclusion. :-) Book two yearns to be born!
The sovereign has always been accorded latitude. The sovereign has the job of establishing public order, and stopping the killers and the spoilers is part of that. If the only means that will stop them is killing them, it's still within the common defence.
Killing in war falls under the rubric of just war.
If there were feuds and more feuds, then the faire should have more in-fighting present during the actual competition. Everybody but the bad guy is very civilized in your world. If that isn't the case, then add in some personality conflicts.
This would be the same King James who commissioned the Bible, i presume? I'm surprised he let 'Thou shalt not kill,' make it through final edits. One of these days, I'll have to research when 'kill' was replaced with 'murder.' It was probably in the original NT, otherwise they would have had to rewrite the OT with its deity-approved wholesale slaughter.
I'm itching to get back to writing after so much chaos with my move. It's now tax season in two countries, so the final carnage of the second draft will have to wait until May. The only big unknown in the final act is whether or not it all falls apart. There's a major 'unbelievable crap' moment coming up right at the end, assuming you haven't already reached that conclusion. :-) Book two yearns to be born!
It's the one and the same King James. Not sure, but like with everything else, that was probably the draft, got in the way when he and his cronies wanted to do some killing, and had it summarily updated.
If there were feuds and more feuds, then the faire should have more in-fighting present during the actual competition. Everybody but the bad guy is very civilized in your world. If that isn't the case, then add in some personality conflicts.
A few complications:
(1) The nobles were more or less distanced from the real feuds and in-fighting that was going on given they had the resources (men, money, gear) to clamp down on any opponent. So nobles were on the fringes of things that were going on - they would have cattle stolen etc., but they also had the means to be judge and jury for anything that happened on their land, so reivers (and the feuds) were much more prevalent and applicable to the other classes.
(2) There were feuds, but one day two families would be at each other's throats to meet in the pub or at a soccer/football game the next day to drink and laugh and joke together, only to be at each other's throats again the next week. A few horse races and soccer games did end with heaps of violence. Then there were truce days. So there's a lot going on that will be coming out over the series. It's way too much to cram into the first book - I'm already thinking I've been adding too much already.
This said, I received a good review and there is a spot in NS CH22 where I can expand on the inter-relationships, feuds and so forth on the border and the nobles' 'distance' from it all without being overly preachy or obvious.
The English feudal culture was spreading into the clan culture. "'twas Clavers who spoke/Ere the King's crown go down there are crowns to be broke." Different war, I think (the Gorious Revolution?) but on point ne'ertheless.
Janet, in the areas where I just said, 'delete', I usually just mean this is an area where you can thin for tighter prose. In other words, the sentence says much the same thing without overlap/redundancy.
Janet, in the areas where I just said, 'delete', I usually just mean this is an area where you can thin for tighter prose. In other words, the sentence says much the same thing without overlap/redundancy.
Ditto! I do disagree sometime with you though, when tightening the prose would change the meaning or intent in mind. But keep them coming, because it's also a real good indicator where I'm not being clear - so I might not delete it, but I'll definitely change it to avoid the 'confusion'.
Tomorrow I'm planning to catch up on reviews and writing! Had a few things to sort out, the biggest one to get back in Matthew's head, but I finally did get his thoughts on paper, it wasn't easy though. As for what happens before the BIG REVEAL, I think I have a clever plan/idea. Hoping to finish the next chapter this weekend and post it during the week.
Next week Friday we're going back home for 2 weeks! I'm starting to get excited now, but not too much as we still have to pack and get through airport security, and then I'll be able to relax and get really excited. I've spend a lot of time today to restore my iTunes library that hubs deleted because the songs were imported using the 'wrong' settings for his sound system and sensitive ears. Well, his ears almost bled when I found out what he'd done without telling/warning/explaining it to me at least. But all good now, iPod is syncing as we 'speak'. VERY important as the first flight is more than 14hrs and the second flight 7 hrs with a 4 hr (I think from memory) stopover - we have vouchers for the business class lounge in Auckland though - good times as they will feed us, and feed us well! But I'll stay in touch and hope to get heaps of writing time, listening to my fav tunes, in. whoo-hoo! 
Give my best to your peeps in Auckland. Then you can come back to us because we're cooler and pay better:-) It'll be fun to hear how much your boys get teased about gaining a US accent. Stay in touch and give us updates!
Janet, can you please send me the link about titles. I'll be eliminating many of my 'My Lord' and 'My Lady' in the next draft, but I'll still need a few. I remember I didn't like the fact that Joseph's mother is addressed as Your Majesty, but the Emperor merely as my lord, so I went with caps.
For the most part, I'm going to use the historical honorifics Caesar, Augustus, and Augusta (when addressing the imperial heir, emperor, and empress.) Apollo's father's given name (currently Augustus) will become Nero, to keep things simple. 
Emperor and Empress (or maybe Imperator and Imperatrix?) willl be used when referring to them in the third person. Got all that? Now imagine writing it so that Amy doesn't have kittens all over my chapter. I'll probably use an epigraph just to explain this, including some of the family tree. I guess that means I should name the first emperor, too, huh? The changes will probably blow up in my face somewhere, but I like the historical connection.
Caligula will keep his honorific: Little Bastard. :-) Based on some last minute changes to his character, he'll get his revenge. I can't wait to write his chapter (next up), but taxes and procrastination beckon.
I'm so glad this week is done! It was a stressful one (although not even close to Amy stress levels).
And!!!! We're going to visit home for two weeks!!!! The plan is to use some of the time to catch up with reviews, I really hope so! I'll also stay in touch when I can!
We're flying tmrw evening from Vancouver via Auckland. Wish me luck with crossing several international borders, government officials everywhere as well as airport strikes in Aus. Expecting huge delays 
kittens, kittens everywhere....
Then one of them is actually K -A-J-o, whose consciousness is installed in a cat, yet his genetically granted superpowers somehow manage to cross over and the cat can fly.
Aaaaiiiiieeee! I can't win!
Fantasy/Magic & Sci-Fi → NorthernSkies or NS - Janet
