Don't forget that answering the questions at the end of the post can win you a free paperback copy of My Kingdom for a Quest. Also, I'm holding a Blog Tour from February 14-21, and you can sign up your blog by clicking the appropriate tag at the top of the page.
It's going to be tons of fun, and so far all of my beta readers are telling me that Kingdom is a great book. Lovers of Bookania, you aren't going to want to miss it. Anyways, the commentary.
The Artist
I like this snippet of conversation between Robin and Robert at the beginning of this chapter, since it reminds me of me and my mom. He's mostly ignoring her, but she knows exactly what to say to get his full attention. He's as intrigued as she is by the mystery aunt, and she has a clue about her.
She doesn't pound him for his attention, just states her fact as enticingly as she can, and then starts reading. He starts picking up the books and preparing to move. She didn't have to tell him that she wanted to show him the painting, he knew.
Robert Runs into the Wall.
This chapter is just amazing at displaying the sibling relationship between the two of them. Sure, Robin could have warned Robert about where the wall was, but why deny her brother the same pain she endured?
Yeah, I would do this with my own siblings in a heartbeat. Also, I'm the author, and as all people know, authors enjoy inflicting pain on their characters, so Robin and I were quite in agreement on this.
Robert would run into the wall.
Paintings at Locksley
And while Robert is nursing his sore nose, he remarks that the painting is almost as good as a painting he's seen before. Robin naturally has to ask questions about this painting.
And he confirms that yes, there are paintings under the tapestries at home. But there still aren't any answers about why the murals are behind the tapestries. And ... truth be told, you readers don't get a completely straight answer about this until nearly the end of book 3. Sorry about that.
Tea
After perusing the books for some time, they are summoned back to the library, where Rosamond extends an invitation to tea. Apparently, that's what she calls supper - yet another display of her strange speech. Seriously, what is up with it?
And then after tea, they bring up the murals again. Doranna is confused by the fact that they know nothing about them (after all, they're from Locksley, and Madeleine was from Locksley), but Rosamond just shakes her head and reveals that their great-grandfather had known the cause of the Change. That he was the sole survivor.
And then Doranna tells her to change the subject to something happier.
Favorite Lines:
Robert shut his book and began stacking the books
up.
“What are you doing?” Robin asked, glancing up,
secretly pleased.
“Well,” said Robert. “There’s no time like the
present. We can study these books just as well in your room as in here.
Besides, it will give those lovebirds some more room.”
Robin
stifled a giggle as she glanced at Doranna and Casperl, who were examining one
of her new math books, so close to each other, their heads were almost
touching. She was explaining some mathematical concept. He looked quite
moonstruck.
“Agreed,” Robin said.
“Oh, the wall over there is a lot closer than it
looks,” Robin warned, just as he ran into it, full force.
“You could have warned me just a little sooner,”
said Robert, rubbing his bruised nose.
“But that wouldn’t have been as much fun,” said
Robin, pulling on her innocent face.
“Oh, lighten up, Briar Rose,” Doranna said. “Thou
art hiding from painful memorials thyself.”
“I know,” answered Rosamond. “so let us get off of
such a sad subject.”
“Oh, yes,” agreed
Doranna, “Before thou dost write another sad pond.”
Discussion Questions:
1. What is it with authors and causing pain to characters?
2. What are/were your guesses about the Change at this point?
3. Any favorite lines?
1. Maybe we're all just sadistic. My favorite characters are the ones I give the worst lives, though I still hate killing characters.
ReplyDelete2. I don't remember what I thought about the Change then, since I'm up to the end of book 2 on my knowledge of it. But it was probably basically that the Change caused magic to basically go away.
3. I like the ones where Robert runs into the wall. I think the way Robin acts there characterizes her well.
Hehe. Yeah, I think half the reason Maryanne is my favorite character is the fact that she begs me to make her life ... complicated. (She told me once that a day isn't complete without a near-death experience).
DeleteIt isn't that Robin particularly likes causing people pain, but far be it from her to deny Robert pain that she experienced. Those two.
1. It's some sort of authorly thing. I've had a friend at church tell me I like killing characters when I told her all about the life of one of them. And my favorite character, Peter by name, is of the opinion that a person can't properly be counted alive unless they've had at least one near-death experience in their life. Of course, that's probably because he has so many of them.
ReplyDelete2. It's a thing that happened to take the magic away. I haven't read the second one like my sister has, so...my knowledge is limited.
3. Any of Doranna's. Not that she's my favorite character, just her lines are so funny!
Oh, that's funny. My Maryanne's brother is named Peter. Although he's very different from his sister, in that he's a doctor, and would much prefer it it people wouldn't go around having those near-death experiences. He'd be very much obliged. They're such a pair, those two.
DeletePeter's best friend who will become his brother-in-law is a doctor (or is trying to become one, which is pretty much the same thing). He often treats Peter's wounds, of which he gets many.
DeleteAnswer to #1: I don't know! I hate it when other author's inflict unnecessary pain on characters (which, in turn, hurts me), but I love to torture my own characters (to a certain extent).
ReplyDelete#2: Like with the other commenters, my belief is that the Change caused magic (and belief in the Author?) to dwindle.
Oh yes. With other authors: Oh no! they're just babies! Don't hurt them. Own Characters: You've already been through so much in this book, hey, why don't I have an assassin leap out from behind that door and stab you!
Delete(Not that I've ever been ... that violent. Usually, I just let my characters walk into walls.)
I've stabbed my characters before...does that make me too sadistic?
DeleteI'm mostly violent to my favorite character, Peter. (Funny how these things work out: I'm most mean to my favorite character. Ah, writers. We are a weird lot. :)
1. I don't really like inflicting pain on my characters. But I do know that pain, tragedy, turmoil, and upheaval are the things that tend to move a plot along. People only like reading about everybody having a mildly enjoyable time for so long before they get bored and go read something more exciting. I think in part it is because we who love to read love to turn to fictional characters to see how they handle their problems (which are often just enormous, worst-case-scenario versions of our own problems).
ReplyDelete2. The Change. Quite the mystery. I'm still not sure what it is. It can't be the disappearance of all magic, because magic is still around, people believe in it, it's just not as common. I'm guessing something happened to restrict the use of magic in some way. Possibly this is connected to the disappearance of one Mysterious Madeleine.