WEEKEND WRITING WARRIORS #71

Hello new and old friends. It has been a smidge over one year since I posted an entry to Weekend Writing Warriors, and I'm glad you came for a visit.

Let me catch you up on why I've been absent. First, I was diagnosed with a mass in my abdomen. It was growing very fast and I had surgery in April. Good thing. They removed the mass and two others hidden behind my uterus. The growth, when first discovered, was the size of a grapefruit but the night before my surgery I could actually feel the edges and it was about the size of a small child's football.

Anyway.... I have recovered. I feel fabulous and I released Georgiana at the end of January this year. Yay me! I'm now working on Mary, from which I shared scenes before and you may have to live with a few repeats as I'm starting from the beginning for this exercise until she's done.

Okey dokey. Let's get on it like a bonnet!
At two and twenty, Miss Mary Bennet knew she was considered nearly a spinster. Her youngest sister had married by the age of fifteen – what a story that escapade would make – and her eldest sister had married while on the cusp of two and twenty alongside her other sister who at the time was not even one and twenty and even Kitty had wed at the ripe old age of nineteen. For three long years she’d watched as her sisters fell in love, married and moved away.
She knew she was not traditionally ladylike, as her other siblings. She was too forthright in her speech and she would rather spend an evening playing the pianoforte to an evening in the company of friends, or heaven forfend, attend a ball.
She had a pleasing figure, all her own teeth and if she had a lick of vanity, it was her thick, beautifully curly, mahogany locks of hair. She’d also been told, on more than one occasion by the matronly ladies she sat with at many assemblies and balls, that she had kind eyes.
Kind eyes? Basset hounds had kind eyes.
Poor Mary. Will anyone see her worth, even herself? Thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to leave a comment, constructive critique, or just a plain old, 'way to go - keep it up'. Until next week...
P.S. Don't forget to hug someone you love today.
Weekend Writing Warriors is a fun type of blog tour for readers. Other writers, like myself, join in my posting excerpts from whatever WIP (Work In Progress) they have on the go, and post eight to ten lines weekly. Rules are simple. Don't exceed the posted line limit - something I struggle with and at times will use creative (an always incorrect) punctuation to create a full scene. If you'd like to see what others have submitted, go to Weekend Writing Warriors.

25 comments:

  1. I'm glad to hear you've recovered. That was a lot to go through.
    Mary sounds like a unique woman. Can't wait to meet the man who falls in love with her!

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    1. Thanks for stopping in. I like Mary and hope the readers will too.

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  2. Welcome back, Sue! I remember enjoying your P & P series.

    In today's snippet, I especially liked "she had all her own teeth" and her reaction to the compliments about her kind eyes. Hilarious.

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    1. Poor Mary, the overlooked middle sister. Thanks for stopping in, Ed. Hope your cat is still good... ;)

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  3. I too thought the comment about her teeth interesting. Not a virtue we think about today, but quite something during the Regency. I really like the portrait you paint of Mary. She seems like a young woman on the verge of discovery. Can't wait to discover her story! Tweeted.

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  4. She sounds like a wonderful young lady! And I hope she finds happiness!

    So glad you're doing better!

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    1. Thanks, Jessica. I do feel so much better. Now, if I could only stop aging...

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  5. Basset hounds have kind eyes! LOL Great self-description. So glad you're back. Congrats on your recovery and new release.

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    1. It's been an interesting year. Someday it will make its way into a story.

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  6. So happy to have you back and to have such good news from you! Loved the snippet - you write such wonderful prose.

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  7. I'm glad you have recovered.
    My favorite sentence in the snippet is the one about Basset hounds!

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    1. Alas, it's how our dear Mary sees herself. Hopefully her view will change. Mayhap with the advent of a certain Colonel???

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  8. Welcome back, Sue! We've missed you! You've returned with a dynamite scene. LOVE the insights to Mary and can't wait to learn more about her. So glad the health scare was vanquished!

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    1. Thank you, Nancy. I'm glad it's over. Never thought this would happen. That's why we should always, always, always go in for our lady appointments. This was found during a routine checkup.

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  9. Mary reminds me a lot of Jo March. She's trying to convince herself she's okay with status quo and being the overlooked sister, but on the inside she's questioning everything and longing for someone to see her for who she is and what she can bring to the table. Can't wait to meet the man as strong as she is who will convince her she's just what he's looking for!

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    1. That's an interesting comparison. I never thought of her that way, but she is aware of her place and doesn't seem to want to budge from it --- for now. ;)

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  10. Delightful snippet. Thanks for setting up the scene.

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    1. You're welcome, Charmaine. Thank you for popping by.

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  11. So happy to have you back, Sue, and incredibly glad you've recovered from your health troubles. This was such a cleverly worded snippet. I particularly enjoyed that last line! :D

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    1. I am happy to be back. It feels weird to write again. I've almost lost the art. Thank goodness Georgiana was near completion before all poop hit the fan, otherwise I'd STILL be working on her!!! Thanks for stopping in and I liked the last line too. It was a good one to end on.

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  12. I'm so glad you are okay now. I enjoyed the snippet. I got a good sense of what she thinks of herself.

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  13. Welcome back! Loved the imagery you painted. Made me chuckle about the Basset Hound eyes.

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  14. I'm so glad you're back, and that they caught the growths before they wreaked even more trouble for you.

    I already feel sorry for Mary. Sisters marryi8ng left and right of her. And she sits with the older ladies??? Oh no.

    Congrats on the release of Caroline!

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