Today we welcome back Joe Hilliard, a prolific writer who has previously been showcased here! There’s an interview with Joe here, and a previous chopped scene from The Last Keeper here.
This time I’m sharing a deleted scene from Joe’s newest work in The Warminster Series, The Trillias Gambit.
“Don’t bite your thumb at the vermilion,
for to survive would be one in a million.”
– The Ballad of Eldwal
IT WAS MIDDAY, and King Godwin had been summoned to the walls by his guards amidst a great fanfare and ringing of bells, as was customary to greet a notable arrival to the city. Godwin saw them first from the battlements of the great castle, approaching at speed across the plains. For a brief instant, he worried that it was a military unit, but the numbers were too small and they flew the white flag of peace, as well as their own colors.
He recognized them immediately. They were flying the crimson banner of the Vermilion elves, a recluse race whose eyes and hair matched the hue of their standards. They were riding their signature horses, powder white stallions that had well-earned reputations as the finest mounts in the whole of Warminster.
Godwin was already in a sour, gruff mood from court the day before, and the sight of the Vermilion banners flying high in the wind threatened to push him over the edge. He paced the battlements for several minutes, his brow furrowed and his footsteps heavy as he retraced the same path backwards and forwards while the horsemen grew ever closer. And then, as though he’d arrived at an important and irreversible decision, he leaned over the battlements and spat on the grass far below. He hustled back inside and rang the bell for his servants before examining his surly visage in a looking glass. His face bore the telltale signs of fatigue, but it still projected the calm, regal authority for which he was known.
There was a sound and some movement from the hallway, and Godwin noted the arrival of Meeks Crowley, his personal butler. Crowley was a skinny human, standing over six feet with brown hair, brown eyes and a closely managed moustache. His bony frame was hidden by his servant’s tunic, thick boots and gloves.
“Sire?” Crowley said.
“Ah, Crowley,” Godwin replied, offhandedly. “Please arrange for a welcoming party to receive the Vermilion contingent at the gates.”
“Of course, sire.”
“Damned Vermilion.” Godwin shook his head, anticipating ill omen from them. “A visit from them is never good.”
“Quite, sire,” Crowley simpered. His eyes were watery, as though he’d just received devastating news, and he seemed to hang on to every word that the king spoke as though it was some sort of holy decree that had to be taken down for the benefit of future generations. “They rarely bother with any race, let alone humans.”
“Remind me,” King Godwin asked, “when was the last time that we had dealings with the Vermilion?”
“It’s been a generation, sire” Meeks replied. “Back when your father was on the throne. “The last time they were seen in this part of the realm, it was to help Sir Hertzog Valkeneer to prepare to defend the Bridge against a great alliance of trollborn tribes.”
“Ah, the Battle of the Bridge,” King Godwin remembered. “You’re correct, of course. The attack was repelled through an alliance between the Valkeneer and the Raven elves. We must make the Vermilion feel welcome. Go, send the welcoming party. And have my wife and the nobles summoned to court.”
“Of course, sire.”
Living in a country that was situated between the Western and Eastern Europe in the second half of the twentieth century offered her challenges from both different geopolitical and cultural worlds. Her parents came from two opposite sides: her father from a Communist environment and her mother from a poor Catholic family. They had quite different characters: her father was violent and revengeful while her mother was a happy and optimistic person. When Iris became a teenager, her teacher tried to put her on the list of perspective young Communists but Iris managed to evade. Iris refused invitations to the Communist Party also later when she got employed although she knew that non-members of the Communist Party did not have almost any opportunity to achieve leading positions. She was a rather critical believer but always remained Catholic and also decided for religious education of her children.
“Living Your Best Life: How to Think, Eat, and Connect your Way to a Better Flow”
A Spotlight with Marc Corwin, author of ‘The Optical Lasso’.
A Spotlight on No Place to Hide
Written by a highly acclaimed motivational speaker and success coach, the book offers profound life lessons, wrapped in an engaging, fictional story that presents an opportunity for the audience to grow alongside the protagonist, without even realizing that it has happened. Whether you want to embark on a personal quest for self discovery or just want to curl up with an action-packed mystery, “No Place to Hide” has something in it for everyone. The story is easily consumable and can be appreciated on many levels. It’s a gripping novel that also has the ability to leave a lasting impression.
The Optimist is a play. So why did it become an audio book? Two reasons. The first has to do with my education after I became a history professor. With a mother and uncle both fired from their jobs for being Communists, I’d already had a first-hand education in how the world works. Although I didn’t admit it to myself at the time, perhaps I wanted to hide in the educational ivory tower, away from the unpredictable real world. I really, really got that wrong.
The Optimist becoming an audio book is the logical end of this story. Since this is most assuredly one of those times when truth is stranger than fiction, doing a factual article for some magazine or journal looked like a sure way to pile up rejection notices. Actually one playhouse turned down The Optimist because an artistic director thought the Henry VIII/Anne Boleyn reappearance was unbelievable. With the help of the professional, talented actors who portray these people, my hope is listeners will find The Optimist both convincing and enjoyable.
A Spotlight with RJ Parker to promote his latest novel in the Requiem series.
Writing the Requiem series
About Brendon:
Why Write?
Relationships are grey, and the best ones dance exquisitely between passion and friendship. So George Araman, a relationship entrepreneur, incessant researcher, and incurable romantic, wrote a book to help people like him find love that lasts.