Have you discovered the Rainbow Snippets group on Facebook yet? I’ve recently become active there again in hopes that it’ll motivate me to stay active working on this WiP!
From their description: “Rainbow Snippets is a group for LGBTQ+ authors, readers, and bloggers to gather once a week to share six sentences from a work of fiction–a WIP or a finished work or even a 6-sentence book recommendation (no spoilers please!).” Pretty cool, eh? Don’t forget to “Like” my Facebook page and/or my Facebook profile while you’re over there checking out this fantastic group!
Change of Plans is OUT NOW at JMS Books (and all the usual distributors). It’s a novella (~32k words), and completes a series/trilogy, following The Contingency Plan and The Best-Laid Plans.
This week I’m snipping from a BONUS SCENE I wrote for The Contingency Plan, in which I rewrote the opening scene to be told from Efren’s POV. In the published story, the entire first book is from Marcelo’s POV.
LAST WEEK’S SNIPPET:
For context:
I started the snippet a little bit into the overall scene, but basically, Efren and his fellow travelers have just arrived in Sheberat for his wedding to Princess Marcela. They are still approaching the castle, but have learned that the princess died in a tragic riding accident just days earlier. In this snippet, he’s processing that information.
The Snippet:
[Efren] had no doubt, knowing what he did of Queen Giselle’s nature, that she would also prefer to finalize the peace treaty on schedule. He’d traveled a great distance over several weeks to be here for his wedding tomorrow. Once his choice under the contingency plan was announced, there would be no sensible reason not to proceed with the wedding, albeit with a considerable role change.
He also had no doubt that the announcement of his choice would shock the Sheburat nobles to their core. The Zioneven court had submitted the wording for the marriage portion of the treaty’s contingency plan. One word in particular had been pointedly slipped in to allow them flexibility, all the while knowing the Sheburat nobles would never suspect the purpose behind that innocuous word.
Efren’s one worry was in regard to the reaction of Prince Marcelo, Princess Marcela’s younger twin brother. Efren had no doubt Marcelo’s astonishment would eclipse that of pretty much everyone else in Sheburat. But would that jolt morph into revulsion or interest?
THIS WEEK’S SNIPPET:
Behold my 2nd attempt at making my snippet image from stickers rather than drawing the thing myself. Clearly, the sticker people are not even remotely representative of the story, but I’m still deciding if this is fun regardless or if I should go back to my bad drawings (or just…drop the “art” experiment).
For Context:
Skipping forward just a bit from last week’s snippet, Crown Prince Efren of Zioneven and his fellow travelers have just arrived in Sheberat for his wedding to Princess Marcela but have learned that the princess died in a tragic riding accident just days earlier and Efren plans to select her twin brother as her replacement under a treaty’s contingency plan. They are now assembled in the castle’s main hall.
The Snippet:
Efren stepped into place, front and center on one side of the hall, and his entourage arranged themselves around him. Queen Giselle was announced, and she nodded as she stepped into place opposite him. He returned the nod and stayed alert while the Sheburat royals and nobles were announced, one by one, as they entered and settled into formation around Queen Giselle.
One of the last to enter the great hall for this impromptu meeting was Princess Kemble, who entered with the air of someone determined to retain her dignity as she was escorted to the gallows. Her expression was tight. She obviously expected a momentary announcement sealing a fate she did not relish.
Although she would have grown up knowing she was the likely backup should Marcela die before her marriage day, she’d no doubt grown complacent as that date approached. Her expression when he made his announcement would be as interesting to watch as Prince Marcelo’s would be.
About the series…
Although I always try to write sequels so random readers won’t be completely lost, this series will be best appreciated if all the stories are read in order. Change of Plans is now available at JMS Books (and all the usual distributors).
Note: The Contingency Plan is also included in JMS Books’ 2018 Top Ten Gay Romance:
Publisher | Books2Read | More Info
Note: The Contingency Plan and The Best-Laid Plans are both in Kindle Unlimited (the Books2Read links will get you there ).
#RainbowSnippets
Great descriptions of the characters involved. (heart)
Thank you! ❤️