Verity's Book

Tag

All right, I decided it was time to make a book for this. Tagged by: Illeandir Here goes.

How would you describe this past year in one sentence?

Nationally, horrible; economically, horrible; worldwide, horrible; for myself, not bad.

Has your writing improved a lot in the past year?

Hmm, that's a hard one. I'd say I'm making slow and steady improvement right now, but compared to my writing of two years ago I see amazing progress.

How many books have you started in the past year and what are they?

One, A Cold Cry. I started all five books of my big series already.

How many books have you completed this year?

One: The Journey!!!! After almost three years!!!! And you're glad it wasn't on Wattpad then...

How many books are in your library right now?

Fifteen.

Any major reading benchmarks you reached this year and what are they?

Can't think of any right now. The car manual?

What is your favourite fiction book that you have read this year, or favourites?

Do you realize what a hard question this is to answer??? I'll go with The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff.

What is a film this year that has inspired you writing-wise?

Films don't usually inspire me writing-wise. Except The Lord of the Rings.

Who are some authors that have influenced your writing this year on Wattpad or in real life?

Agatha Christie, J.R.R. Tolkien, Rosemary Sutcliff.

What is your favourite chapter, paragraph, or excerpt that you have written this year?

OwowowowowhardhardhardhardFINE I'll pick one!

Excerpt from The Journey, Chapter 14. I don't think it'll spoil the book for you if you haven't read it, but it's fairly long, so feel free to skip on.

***

Thick were the flakes, and very small. They stung Fred's cheeks, flurrying up into his eyes. Around him he saw only whiteness and the faint shapes of the horses; his body ached with the fierce cold, but his fingers were numb.

They had been going for hours. They should have stopped long since, but whatever madness was in the mind of Holtir drove them on.

Wind screamed about them, driving the curtain of white first one way, and then another. The horses were buffeted so that they could scarcely stand; indeed their gait already would have been faltering, because of the snow that had become too deep. The gale rose to a shriek.

And then Fred realized – it was not the wind, but a voice carrying in a mighty shout above it.

"Holtir!"

In front of him a dim bulk ceased to move. "Hedron? What is it now, boy?"

Hedron's voice blew past Fred, rushing in his ears like water. "We have taken the wrong route from the fang of rock... We are in the Fell Pass." Fear slithered under his words. "There is no way out."

A lull fell in the storm; the wind dropped. Snowflakes drifted in the blackness, and no-one spoke. Behind them sounded a grating, and a part of the rock wall came away to fall softly over their tracks, and then was a deep silence.

Holtir broke it. "The Fell Pass!" he said hoarsely. "It cannot be."

Hedron shrugged. "I have been over these mountains before," he whis-pered. "It is not difficult if you only remember that the true way lies to the right of the fang..."

"You might have mentioned this to me earlier," Holtir said, menace hissing like venom in his words.

Hedron spread his hands in distress. "I meant to do so – our argument – the storm –"

"I do not heed excuses," Holtir cut in harshly, "and less still when they would cover up a murder. If we die in here, remember that you have killed us all."

What colour there was remaining in Hedron's face left it suddenly.

"And if we do not die, I will remember." He wheeled his horse around, even as the wind picked up again to hurl clouds of gathering snow against their backs.

Fred's own sorrow left him for an instant, and his heart went out to the stricken boy. If only he could speak to him, comfort him. He could not. And for Hedron he did what he could not do for himself: he bent his head and wept.

***

Any new plot ideas or projects we should look forward to in the new year?

I'll keep on putting The Village on here, and then The Claw, and then The War... and of course finish A Cold Cry, which is fun to work on because it has such short chapters - a new experience for me. I don't have anything else planned, but A Cold Cry was in answer to a Wattpad contest, so who knows what will come up?

What are you hoping to improve on next year for writing?

Everything in general, pretty much.

Who is your favourite character you created last year?

Lord Carras of Kenhelm. I didn't create anyone else last year. (Which is probably good, because else I couldn't have picked between them all.)

Tagging:

-The-Architect (Mwa-ha-ha!)

Rubyx1

Ellowyne 

LuckyPlum

And to quote Illeandir: This was actually really fun! Because it was.