"You are needed if this expedition is ever to succeed": Excerpt from Flower of the Desert

It's been a little quiet around here lately...which is actually a good thing because I've been focusing on writing instead of blogging. But rather than have my blog atrophy completely, I've decided to post excerpts periodically from my WIP, whatever WIP I happen to be writing since I have several competing for the keyboard at the moment.

The last several weeks the WIP of choice has been Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred. Here is an excerpt from the scene I wrote today:

“The point,” said Alexandra, in just as high dudgeon as the marquis, “is that you must leave the city. The plague is spreading as fast as the stink of the latrines. Your life is in jeopardy.” 

“Yes," said Tancred, "but every one of my men is at just as much risk as I am—why this sudden spate of concern for me?” 

“Why?” Alexandra fumbled for an answer. “Because you are important, a leader among men. You are needed if this expedition is to ever succeed. The other lords had sense enough to quit the city last night, but you stay on for God knows what reason!” 

“I’d say more people than God know that one,” mumbled Ralph. He was trying to keep out of the fray as best he could, but he could not resist an aside or two when the occasion presented....

Note to self: investigate whether "latrines" is proper word for the time period. 

Tentative release date--December, 2013

The Book inside Each of Us

"There's a book inside each of us." 

I'm not sure if this statement applies universally, but I know that with my husband and me, it certainly rings true. The interesting thing about it is how different each of our internal books happen to be.

The book inside of me is centuries old and half a world away. It comes complete with chain mail, catapults, famine, foes, visions, intrigue, and a love triangle or two.

The book inside of my husband deals with something far more modern. It involves statistics, graphs, personal anecdotes, and eighty hours of fieldwork at a nearby freeway exit ramp.

My book: a tale of the First Crusade.

His book: an economic case study on the profitability of panhandling.

Here's to hoping that both books gestate by the end of the year! Here's to hoping that one or both of them becomes a bestseller! Because the one thing I don't want my husband's fieldwork to prove is that there's more money to be made in panhandling than there is in writing books.

Getting Past the Hobbits: In Media Res

There's a running joke in my family about my dad and Lord of the Rings. After the movies came out, he decided he wanted to read the books for the first time. To make a long story short (yes, pun intended), he started The Fellowship of the Ring but couldn't get past the beginning section set in the Shire. "Too much stuff about hobbits," he complained, "and nothing was happening." Sacrilege, I know, to all true LOTR fans, but that was how he felt. After this incident, my family began to use the technical term "hobitty" for any book or movie that starts out slow.

Family members are always the kindest critics, and I've had my younger brother, more than once, refer to my first book I Serve as hobbity. My book hobbity? How dare he! What's wrong with a prologue? Victor Hugo himself spent eighty-some pages discussing Bishop Myriel before the protagonist, Jean Valjean, enters the scene.... Wait a minute. Bad example. I know more than a few people who skim through that part until the real action begins with the silverware thievery.

I'm rather fond of the prologue that leads into the story of I Serve, but recognizing that some readers dislike that style, I've attempted a different approach with The Chronicles of Tancred. Book I, Road from the West, begins with the Normans attacking a city and our hero, Tancred, striding off the field and leaving his post right in the middle of the assault. Book II, Flower of the Desert, also begins at a pivotal point in the story. I won't spoil the surprise my telling you what that is, but if you simply can't wait for the book to be released at the end of this year, I've posted Chapter One for your perusal.

There are many classics that begin a story from the very beginning with a thorough description of the setting or with a long, drawn-out history of the early life of the protagonist (The Mill on the Floss comes to mind). But in our current age of fast-paced television and fast-paced life, perhaps authors should adopt a different approach. Perhaps we should mimic Homer, one of the oldest storytellers of them all, and dive right into the action in media res.

Memorial Day Musings

I write a lot of death scenes. Understandable, since my books center around wars in the Middle Ages. If you escaped the swords of the enemy, there was always plague or famine to do you in. In Road from the West, my protagonist's younger brother perished, along with thousands of unnamed Crusaders. In Flower of the Desert, the sequel I'm currently writing, I've already killed off three characters, fairly important ones, too.... No names, though. My lips are sealed. You'll have to wait until the book is released at the end of this year.

Monday was Memorial Day, a time to reflect on and honor those who died in the service of our country. While reflecting, I realized that--for all the dire death scenes in my fiction--I've never experienced death at close quarters. I've never had anyone near to me pass away. I'm sure that will change in the near future as time takes its toll on friends and relatives, but as of today, I've never experienced the pain, the grief, the loss of losing someone irrevocably.

For my husband, things are entirely different. He served as a sniper in the U.S. Army over in Mosul, Iraq. Several of his platoon members died following the call of duty, and two friends in particular: Adam Plumondore and Benjamin Morton. When we found out we were expecting twin boys, my husband decided to name them after his two friends, as a way to memorialize them.

Yesterday, the day after the Memorial Day crowds had come and gone, my husband took our two boys down to the Willamette National Cemetery in Portland, Oregon to visit the grave of Adam Plumondore. My sister-in-law Amy went along to take pictures, and she wrote a touching post about the outing on her photography blog. My husband doesn't talk about emotions much, or about friendship, or about his past life in the Army. But when I see how important things like yesterday's graveside visit are to him, I get a small picture of how the death of these close ones has affected him.

They say to write about what you know. Death, and especially the death of soldiers, isn't in the realm of my experience. But human experience can be learned from watching others. And when I see my husband take pains to remember and honor his lost friends, I can understand a little bit better how an eleventh century Norman, in a land not so far away from Mosul, Iraq, would cherish the memory of a brother lost on the field of battle.

Desultory Remarks IV

On Saturday I attended my first Author Fair, this one hosted by Atkinson Memorial Church, a mere thirteen blocks away from my house in Oregon City. There were about forty local authors there from a variety of genres, and a few less than forty attendees if my guesstimates are correct. I didn't sell a truckload of books (ok, let's be honest--I sold one copy of I Serve), but I had lots of fun chatting with the other authors about books, the publishing industry, politics, religion, and all sorts of other topics not recommended for polite conversation.

Would I do it again? Probably. Although I must admit that it was the first time I had abandoned Marcus for more than an hour or two. He was fine and had lots of fun with his dad and brothers, but I missed him....

* * * 

Last September, when Road from the West was released, we bought three advertising spots for it in Kindle Nation Daily, a website for Amazon e-book promotion. Funny thing is, it's been so long since then that I completely forgot we had our last ad coming out today. Good thing they e-mailed me to let me know.

* * *

Now that David is out of school until September, our summer has officially begun. I'm determined to finish the first draft of Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred before summer is over. I've set myself a writing goal of 5,000 words a week. Week 1 was tough but I made it. My strategy? Not allowing myself to go to bed until I've written 1,000 words for the day. Week 2 sleep deprivation overcame my good intentions, and for the sake of my sanity (and my children's wellbeing) I was about 1,500 words short. Week 3 is currently underway. It's Thursday morning and I'm at 2,854 words. Will I make my goal? It's anyone's guess. 

* * *

Despite a bizarre plummet to almost freezing last night, the weather has been absolutely beautiful this week. The boys have been enjoying the outdoors to no end, and we've all been enjoying the garden that David's labored so long to create.

Our cherry tree and tulips

The sidewalk got the best of Adam 

Playing on the swingset at Aunt Amy's 

Flower of the Desert: First Chapter

Later this month my writers' group, The Inkblot Society, is going to give me feedback on the first chapter of my WIP. And since I'm sharing it with them, I thought I might as well share it with all of you too. Am I introducing the characters and the situation clearly enough? Does it make you want to read more? Feel free to give me your feedback in the comments section of this post.

Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred
By Rosanne E. Lortz

Chapter 1


The hole in the floor of the church grew deeper with each thrust of the soldiers’ spades. Twelve men, blessed with broad backs and brawny arms, had been digging in shifts since the light of dawn. It was now nearly vespers.

Over the last twelvemonth, the Church of St. Peter in Antioch had seen its share of abuse. First, the Mussulman governor had turned it into a stable for his horses. Now, the Crusaders, who had captured the city after a long and arduous siege, were tearing up the flagstones around the altar without any thought for the sanctity of the place. The pit was already shoulder-deep, and who knows how much longer they would have to dig?

While the twelve men grunted and toiled halfway underground, hundreds of observers watched impatiently. Row upon row of Crusaders lined the sanctuary. The lords and leading churchmen stood closest to the center and the lesser men-at-arms spilled out onto the porch and street outside. Every soldier who could be spared from manning the walls was there. The stifling air of June in the East left the spectators nearly as sweltering as the shovelers. The atmosphere was rank with sweat and anticipation.... (read more)

Waiting for the Next in Series

There's something about reading a series that is so much more enticing than reading a standalone book. The end of a single book, especially if it's a good one, is always bittersweet. Why? Because the book over. Done. Finis. But the end of a book in a series gives you the excitement of looking forward to the next volume, and the hope it will be just as good as--or even better than--the one you finished.

Two summers ago I spent hours reading Anne Perry's two Victorian mystery series featuring William Monk and Thomas Pitt. Last summer I devoured all twenty of the books in Lindsey Davis' Falco series. Last month I finished the three books in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series. This week I finished The Dragon's Tooth, the first volume in N. D. Wilson's Ashtown Burials series.

The Dragon's Tooth, a children's fantasy novel by the author of the 100 Cupboards, kept me turning page after page with growing excitement. Want to know more about it? Here is the blurb:

For two years, Cyrus and Antigone Smith have run a sagging roadside motel with their older brother, Daniel. Nothing ever seems to happen. Then a strange old man with bone tattoos arrives, demanding a specific room. 

Less than 24 hours later, the old man is dead. The motel has burned, and Daniel is missing. And Cyrus and Antigone are kneeling in a crowded hall, swearing an oath to an order of explorers who have long served as caretakers of the world's secrets, keepers of powerful relics from lost civilizations, and jailers to unkillable criminals who have terrorized the world for millennia. 

When I finished the book, I was thrilled to realize that there are several more (at total of five, I think) in the Ashtown Burials series. But--here's the rub--the rest aren't published yet! It'll be ages and ages before I find out what happens next to Cyrus and Antigone Smith! I love reading books in a series, but a series that's not finished yet? Pure agony.

And the sheer exasperation of not being able to get my hands on the next book reminded me that I've put readers in the same unenviable spot. Road from the West: Book I of the Chronicles of Tancred came out in 2011 and left Tancred and his fellow Crusaders trapped in the city of Antioch surrounded by a besieging army of infidels. Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred is slated to be released at the end of 2012. Have patience, gentle reader! I understand your pain.

The Miracle in the Cave

Every once in a while, during the throes of research, you run across an anecdote in a primary source that you can't wait to use in your novel. In Ralph of Caen's book the Gesta Tancredi, there is one such anecdote burning a hole in my pocket...or should I say a hole in my keyboard? The setup is this: the First Crusaders are camped outside of Jerusalem, doing their best to take to take the city despite a dearth of men, food, and siege engines. Tancred, a young Norman marquis (and the hero of the trilogy I'm writing), is on patrol duty searching for wood to build siege towers. Take it away, Ralph!

Tancred, at this time, was suffering badly from dysentery. Although he could barely sit on a horse, he did not spare himself from riding. This sickness frequently forced him to dismount, to go far off, and to search for a hidden spot. Suffering for a long while in this manner and with feet tired out from the journey, he decided to give up this labor and to return ingloriously. But then the accustomed torment struck him. So he withdrew, and climbed down thinking to escape the eyes of his comrades. But when he looked back, he realized that he had not gotten away. Therefore, he searched even further for a hidden spot but again saw people wandering about everywhere. He changed his spot a third and then a fourth time. Finally, after a long walk under a rocky outcropping in a circle surrounded by tall trees, he found quiet.... After relieving himself and gaining back his strength, he noticed four pieces of wood on the opposite wall of the cave. One could not hope for anything more useful for the task at hand. For, it is said, that they were from the materials used by the king of Egypt in his conquest of Jerusalem. [The Egyptian Fatimids had just conquered Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks prior to the arrival of the First Crusaders.] When he saw them, so great was his joy, that he could not believe it or trust his eyes. He got up and went over to touch them and see them more closely. Thereupon, 'Hey, hey, comrades, hurry here,' he shouted. 'Here,' he repeated. 'God has given us more than we sought. We were seeking rough wood and we have found it prepared.'

Poor guy! Dysentery is no joke, and when you've got to go, you've got to go! It is so amusing to me how he finally goes into the cave to "relieve" himself (a la King Saul) and finds the very thing they have been searching for.

My current WIP, Flower of the Desert, culminates with the capture of Jerusalem by the First Crusaders and the siege leading up to that event. I'm still working on the first part of the novel, however, and unless I jump ahead to the end, it'll be a while before Tancred gets to visit the cave outside Jerusalem. I suppose that part of the story will still be waiting for me when I get there though. That's the nice thing about history...it tends to stay the same.

Of Sequels and Such

One of the interesting (or do I mean frustrating?) things about writing a sequel, is that you have to catch the reader up on all of the relevant backstory from the previous book. How much time should you spend on reintroducing characters? How many of the subplots does the reader need to know? As I write the first chunk of chapters for Flower of the Desert, I have been dealing with these questions in a very concrete way. And sometimes, finding the right answers to them feels like pounding my forehead against a slab of concrete.

I remember reading various sequels whose opening chapters annoyed me to no end. If the author spends too much time on rehash, you think, "I already know all this from the last book--let's get on with the story!" If the author rushes through the recap too quickly and with too many narrative gaps, you feel a little bit of vertigo--"Was the plot of the last book really that confusing?" My least favorite sensation is when the sequel, in a botched attempt to summarize, tells a slightly different version of the story than the previous book. "That's not the way it happened...."

So, here's to hoping I don't make any of those mistakes with Flower of the Desert: Book II of the Chronicles of Tancred. Thanks for reading and enjoy the sneak peek at the cover for my WIP!