Lucky 7 Writing Excerpt, and a Mysterious Old Portrait

Excerpt!

Adam tagged all of us who caught his post in the Lucky Seven meme (he's got some great teaser snips, go see!).

The usual, go to page 77 of your MS, 7 lines down, then share the next 7 lines. Since I've been fulfilling half my ROW80 goals, of drafting for Fred and Lyne's story, I'm going to share from that. Except it's all in a notebook at the moment, so there is no page 77. I'll go with page 7 instead; the first ever bit of the story that's been typed!

Fred is in the midst of telling Lyne about the curse that turned him into Beast...
"'We were twins, but my brother came first, by two minutes. And when we were 21, my father told us of the curse. All down the line, every generation, that's when they were told. Some tried to fight, either before the change or once they'd become the beast. All failed.
'You haven't asked yet why I went to Lady Cockerell's masquerade that night. I didn't go because I was ignorant of the curse. I didn't go because I was safe, being the younger brother. I went because he'd chosen not to accept his destiny.'
'But why should you --'
'For family. For honour. I would fight, as every generation for a thousand years had fought. I had one secret strength they hadn't had: I believed in you.'"
Ah, but what if Lyne refuses the call to be his Beauty?

I'll turn around and do the same, tagging anyone who's read this far! If you haven't got a wip you're ready to share, here's a bit of a springboard:

I saw this portrait in our hotel in Chester, England (back in May). It was a Best Western, but renovated from a 19th Century railway hotel, and had paintings up and down the walls along the wide staircases. (Click on the photo to enlarge it.)


I wonder who Elfrida was?

Comments

Anonymous said…
Excellent writing, Deniz. I did the Lucky 7 meme a while back, and I don't have a new wip to post from. So I'm off the hook. ;)
I loved your mini excerpt! You have me intrigued and I want to read more!
David P. King said…
Very cool. I'd read on. :)
S.P. Bowers said…
I think you already know how excited I am for your new story. Beauty and the Beast was always my favorite fairy tale.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks so much, Linda, Lynda, David and Sara! I love being excited by a new idea!
Unknown said…
Hi Deniz I liked your page on Facebook and wondered if you could tell me how to add the blog button rss feed? Thanks, Carole.
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks Carole Anne!
I can't remember if your blog is a blogger or not? If it is, then blogger gives you a gadget for it!
The beast? Yikes, what a curse. I enjoyed this snippet!
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks, Theresa!
Nadja Notariani said…
Nice excerpt, Deniz. And that photo??? I always wonder at old photographs, asking the same question you pose in addition to others. Who was this woman? What was she like? Did she love life? Was her existence filled with happiness or tragedy? Did she have children? Ever find love?
(Confessions of a curious girl...lol)
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks, Nadja!
I keep wondering the same things!
Golden Eagle said…
Those are fascinating pictures. Old photographs seem to carry a lot of untold stories with them.

Intriguing excerpt!
Hey there! I have a couple of awards for you in my blog. Stop by to claim them!

http://diaryofawriterinprogress.blogspot.com/2012/07/about-inspirations-and-awards.html
Deniz Bevan said…
Thank you Eagle and Gina!
Misha Gerrick said…
Wow that's an interesting excerpt!

Elfrida was really pretty. :-)
Deniz Bevan said…
Thanks, Misha!

Someday I might figure out a story for her...