A fun way to sample new books and find new writers! Here’s the link to the Weekend Writing Warriors central page, so you can visit all the participants sharing excerpts today…
Doing excerpts from Mission to Mahjundar, which has been Released and is now available…Princess Shalira has maneuvered her father the emperor into insisting the hero, Major Mike Varone of the Sectors Special Forces, and his companion, must accompany her on a journey. Mike’s not exactly pleased. Continuing on from last week’s excerpt. (Creative editing and punctuation have occurred.) There’s quite a bit of discussion in this scene as the Princess works to persuade Mike to agree and I’ve skipped some. This is part of her explanation about the importance of her journey. I almost titled this book “Princess of Shadows” at one point.
“…I have to get away from here, before the emperor dies.” She laughed, the sound 
bitter. “Playing the Princess of Shadows won’t protect me after his death.”
“Princess of Shadows?” Nothing about that in our briefing. He remembered the empress had also used the term with derision when referring to Shalira.
“It’s an old folktale about a girl of royal blood who hid from her enemies in the shadows of the palace walls, disguised as a beggar, until her true love rescued her.” Gesturing to her eyes, Shalira said, “It’s meant as an insult to me, since I can’t see, not even shadows, and I’ve lived the past fifteen years on the fringes of the court, out of the ‘sun’.”
The story:
An attempted assassination left Princess Shalira blind as a child and, now that she’s of marriageable age, her prospects are not good because of her disability. She’s resigned herself to an arranged marriage rather than face life under the thumb of her cold stepmother. But then she meets Mike Varone, a Sectors Special Forces officer sent to Mahjundar by the intergalactic government. After Mike saves Shalira from another assassination attempt, she arranges for him to escort her across the planet to her future husband. She’s already falling hard for the deadly offworlder and knows she should deny herself the temptation he represents, but taking Mike along to protect her is the only way she’ll live long enough to escape her ruthless stepmother.
Mike, for his part, resists his growing attraction to the princess; he has a mission on this planet and rescuing the vulnerable but brave princess isn’t it. No matter how much he wishes it could be.
But what should have been an easy trek through Mahjundar’s peaceful lands swiftly turns into an ambush with danger around every turn. Shalira’s marriage begins to seem less like an arranged union and more like yet another planned assassination. The more they work together to survive, the harder it becomes to stop themselves from falling in love. Caught in a race against time, can they escape the hostile forces hunting them and make it off the planet?
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As always, I love your comments and feedback. Even though this book is now published, the input helps for the future!
Ahh, and the tangled web she’s caught in is starting to unfold.I like her strength, Veronica! And the premise is wonderful. 🙂 TBR! It is, as of one minute ago, on my Kindle 🙂
Thanks, Teresa! I hope you’ll enjoy the book…she is in a tangled web and even she doesn’t realize how bad it’s going to get.
Intriguing conversation, shows a bit of her desperation. I am curious though, is Shalira self-deprecating about her blindness? Her comment seems to show that she is more vulnerable than she acts. I’m sure Varone’s protectiveness will kick into high gear over that.
What a strong lady or does she hide her vulnerbilty well? Perhaps she’s a little of both. 🙂 Enjoyed the snippet. 🙂
The disability adds an intriguing element. Nice snippet and great blurb.
Juneta at Writer’s Gambit
Nice depth to the story. Love the way you use all the details to create a world.
I’m torn between fear for her and respect for her courage. Wow.
You give us an inside look at her reality here. I can feel her strength as she worries for her future. Very intriguing.
I’d like to hear more about that folktale. Sounds like a good plot.
Interesting snippet, especially about her inability to see.
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekend-writing-warriors-82514.html
Aww…this snippet made me a little sad for the princess.
My heart breaks for her dilemma. HEA at hand before too long or dire circumstances ahead. Always a pleasure reading your snippets, Veronica.
Thanks for the comments! I’m about to start my visits to read everyone else’s snippets, always so much fun 🙂
Writing from the POV of someone who can’t use one or more senses is challenging, but fun.
I based parts of the Shalira character on a very dear friend of mine in college who was blind. Tried to do her justice.
“Princess of Shadows” would be a good alternative title, I think.
I’m a few chapters into this—I was going to wait, but couldn’t—and I LOVE IT.
Knew I would, but still, your wordskills and imagination continue to astound me, Veronica. 🙂
Oh thanks for the kind words, Sarah! I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying the book. Yes, the Princess of Shadows theme kind of plays out through the whole novel, true.
I love how the princess is strong yet vulnerable. Sounds like it will be good for her to get away from “the shadows” of the palace. Very intriguing story so far.
I love stories with these kinds of cloak & dagger subtleties and cultural references. This sounds intriguing.
Wow, this adds a lot of dimension to her character. I missed a couple snippets, so I didn’t realize she was blind, but this is a great scene. I am interested to see how it will affect her story and their relationship! Great snippet as always 🙂
I also think it will be good for the princess to find a new beginning, even with an arranged marriage. Her blindness is an interesting plot point–I wonder will she turn it to her advantage? Excellent 8!
Really great bit of characterization!:)
Guess I’ll have to read this one too. I like the princess very much. She seems rather brave to me.
I love how you capture everyone blaming the princess for her blindness, as if she choose to be that way. Great snippet, Veronica, and great character. 🙂
Ohh, I like Princess of Shadows. it says so much about what her life has been like. Great 8 that leave me hungry for more.
I really love this character of yours, you’ve got such a great premise!
Oh gosh, gonna have to put this on the TBR list. Gotta get more reading done so I can shrink my list! This is delightful, and makes me root for her!
Great snippet.
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Love the fairy tale insult–wonder if she can turn it around and make it a source of strength.
This was poignant, perhaps even a bit sad, although Shalira’s strength definitely comes through. This sounds like an intriguing story, maybe with shades of Tristan and Isolde?
Wonderful snippet. Though I’m sure it hurts her to be insulted in such a way, I have the impression that she is so much stronger than the insults.
I like the name “Princess of Shadows”. Very informative dialogue throughout.
I love how emotionally-laden their dialogue is. It’s such an interesting change of pace for one of the romantic leads to be blind.
Ooo, princess of shadows! I’m intrigued! Great snippet.