Fun With Thornspell: The Final Week!
“Fun With Thornspell” has been the first month long feature I’ve run on the blog—and I’ll be honest, when I started I wondered if I could really keep it going over the five Thursdays. Now I’m at that fifth and final Thursday I find it’s more a question of which aspect I should choose to talk about in relation to Thornspell today, because I can think of—well, quite a few!
But firstly, you can still comment today—that is, to tell me the character in Thornspell that you would love a short story written about—and why that character. And remember, once the judges—introduced here—make their selection I will actually be writing a short story about that character and featuring it here on the blog—with a dedication to the person whose nomination was selected.
So don’t hold back, get in with your preferred character today—and remember, the judges will be looking for the most interesting/intriguing/fun reason why particular characters are getting put forward.
Secondly, now we have come to the end—what happens next?
First up, the judges will be making their selection and I hope this will happen during the course of next week. So I should be coming back to you with a result sometime between the end of next week, 5-9 September, or early the following, 12-16 September.
And then I will be writing the story! I cannot put a precise timeframe on the when, but I hope to have it up here on the blog within a month to six weeks of the result being announced.
So that’s roughly what’s going to happen from here. Now thirdly, for my end of the deal today …
About Thornspell: The Boar Hunt
The part of the book comprising the boar hunt and its aftermath is the centre of the Thornspell story, ie it is literally in the middle of the book, and it is also the sequence that completes the first part of the story, which is Sigismund’s childhood, and opens up the second, where the spell of thorns has to be unravelled.
A lot of readers have been kind enough to tell me that they really enjoyed the boar hunt sequence, and that it feels authentic. But a number have also expressed puzzlement, simply because it does feel so authentic and what can I—a middle class gal living in the ‘burbs of a reasonable sized city, actually know about boar hunting?
Well, here’s the thing. I didn’t always live in the ‘burbs of a reasonable sized city. Once upon a time I lived way out on the wild west coast of NZ’s North Island, in a very remote, isolated community with lots of bush and scrub country all around—and there were wild pigs in them thar hills. And a great many people in that small, isolated community went pig hunting. Seeing—mainly—men ride out into the hills early in the day, with guns and dogs, and the clip of their horses’ hooves at night as they returned, with or without pigs slung across the horses’ backs, was just part of the round of daily life.
Obviously, a lot of that experience went into the boar hunt in Thornspell—but I didn’t rely on it completely. I also did a fair bit of reading about the importance of hunting in medieval and renaissance Europe, both as necessity, but especially once the hunt became formalised in courtly life. And I think it’s true to say that is where authenticity comes from—often times research can be really important, especially where your story has an historical setting, but you can’t beat a leavening of real life experience thrown into the mix! 😉
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So there it is: a little bit about the boar hunt! And now to both leave you for today and to wrap up “Fun With Thornspell” for the month, here’s an excerpt:
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~ from Chapter 7, The Boar Hunt
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It was some time before a hound caught the boar’s scent and bayed, a great belling cry, and then the rest of the pack gave voice and hunting horns wound on every side. The wind stung Sigismund’s eyes to tears, and the thunder of his horse’s hooves echoed the blood pounding in his veins. He yelled with the rest as the hunt caught first sight of the boar, but then fell silent, concentrating on keeping his horse on its feet in the difficult terrain.
The boar ran, heading for the roughest brakes and the dark, unbroken line of the deep forest beyond. The hunt surged in pursuit, but as the hours passed and the boar kept on, apparently tireless, both men and horses began to drop behind. Sigismund changed horses when the brown began to slow, then pressed forward again, but he began to doubt as the day lengthened and the cloud cover thickened, fearing that the boar was going to outrun them after all. Their numbers had dwindled significantly by now, so that fewer than half of those who had set out were still following when the boar crossed into the deep woods. Sigismund was impressed at how many of the local hunters had kept up with the horses, tireless as the wolves they resembled, even if they had been able to take shortcuts through the rougher country.
He looked around as they passed beneath the trees and saw Flor, his face a grimy mask as he grinned and raised a hand in salute. Sigismund suspected that his own appearance was little better, and Ban Valensar was muddied from a fall, although he was still riding. His cousin Adrian, however, was amongst those who had fallen behind.
The Master’s horn sounded up ahead, and there was a change in the timber of the hounds’ cries. Flor yelled something, but it was borne away beneath pounding hooves and the blast of Ban’s horn as he blew it in reply. Sigismund was sure the change must mean that the boar had been brought to bay at last, and that the huntsmen would be going in for the kill. As if to confirm his suspicions, the hounds’ cries became frenzied, then broke off in a confusion of baying and shouting. Horns were sounding from every side as he came out of the trees and into a long glade—and saw the black boar charging toward him. It must have doubled back, and although there were hounds harrying it on either side, they were unable to bring it down.
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Thank you for the Boar Hunt backstory! I am looking forward to the judge’s decision but most of all to the new story. 🙂
I saw plenty of good ideas for stories come in over the last month.
Tough job for the judges!
Will I be the lucky last? I am going to go for the cousins, Adrian and ban, who become the prince’s friends. Though only supporting characters they were both interesting, specially Ban’s character flaws.
How about the dragon and maiden backstory. I would like to understand Balisan better
Enjoyed the excerpt! Can’t wait to see which one is chosen.
Thanks, Vivien–I’m looking forward to that, too.:)