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442 Public Reviews Given
1,167 Total Reviews Given
Review Style
Depends. Sometimes, in depth, and sometimes, "just the feel of the item."
I'm good at...
I'll let you be the judge.
Favorite Genres
Sci/fi and fantasy. Anything with a happy ending.
Least Favorite Genres
Anything depressing.
Favorite Item Types
Static.
I will not review...
I do not like reviewing anything that was not spell checked. Do your homework first.
Public Reviews
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1
1
Review of Staged  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hi Staged,

Very interesting. I felt like I was led down one path, a path of worry and apprehension, only to realize that it wasn't the right path, in fact, the twist was that it was a path of celebration.

Thanks for sharing.

Keep writing!

Tadpole1
2
2
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Nice to meet you LLoyd,

I was wondering what this was leading up to, so I continued on the chapter 1 and reviewed it already.

In the beginning of the prologue, I was imagining Gary as a young child. It rather surprised me when he was older. We have a tiny hint that he's not a young child in paragraph three, and we learn that he is at least old enough to have his learner's permit in paragraph four.

We learn quickly that Gary's mother has issues, perhaps mental issues, and he has dealt with them all his life with the help of his father. Unfortunately, Dad is gone.

Maybe there could have been a stronger last line?

All in all, the ground is laid for perhaps an injured young person turned killer.

Good job.

Thanks for sharing!

T
3
3
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Hi LLoyd,

I actually did read the prologue before coming here. *Smile*

Before I forget, I think that there were at least two pov blips in chapter 1.

I didn't mark them, but this is what to look for:

Imagine that you have a cameraman inside a person's head. Only share with the reader what that person can actually see, hear, touch, smell, taste, and only that's person's thoughts. That person cannot know what someone else is thinking. I think there were two blips in the chapter, probably with the thoughts.

Independent clauses that are joined by conjunctions: and, but, so, etc. need a comma before the conjunction.

Correct: Jack and Jill ran up the hill.
Correct: Jack ran up the hill, and Jill ran up the hill.
Correct: Jack ran up the hill, but he fell down the hill.
Incorrect: Jack ran up the hill and Jill ran up the hill. (missing comma)
Incorrect: Jack ran up the hill but he fell down the hill. (missing comma)

There are several instances in the chapter. This is one of them:

They're not completely blending together (missing comma) but the lines are getting blurry.

The writing flowed smoothly.

We start to care about Gary but in an uneasy way. I'm not sure whether he's going to be a psychopath or not.

I wonder if Cherie will find herself in danger.

Well done.

Thanks for sharing!
4
4
Review of A Precious Gift  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Hi K,

Everyday: It's her everyday dress. Think ordinary dress.
Every day: He takes his lunch every day. Think every single day.
Sound fills (with an s)


This was a very interesting piece. I realized that something was going on right away, but I wasn't expecting DID. For a book, I actually did a lot of research on the subject, but this take is completely different.

Thank you for the voyage!

Tadpole1
5
5
Review of It's Michigan  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hi Fyn,

I wanted to browse your portfolio and landed here. The title of your poem pulled me in, which reminds me how important a title can be. *Smile*

Don't like the weather? Wait a bit.

That says it all, doesn't it?

Thanks for sharing!

Tadpole1
6
6
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)
HollyMerry Kittiwake - Chapter 1


Hi HM,

There’s lots of fun stuff here! It feels like an early draft though, which is fine. *Smile*

Effie and the girls in her family are leaving with their mother to start a new life with Effie’s great aunt. They sneak out while Effie’s dad is sleeping because he definitely will not approve. There is a danger that they will not be well-regarded if they live with their eccentric aunt, but it opens a world of opportunities. What is going to happen next? Da, da, da!

The fact that there were so many sisters was getting me confused. They exist, so they need to be here, but maybe we can learn a bit more about each of them. For example, I was having trouble knowing who was older than whom. Do they look the same? Is one really tall? Does one stoop over instead of standing tall? Does one have red hair? Is one a bit plump? Lazy? Is it possible to give each of the characters a different voice?

Maybe what would help is too take a little more time for a small discussion between Effie and each of her sisters as each one is introduced so that we have a feeling for who each sister is and what that sister’s place in the family is as the chapter progresses?

How does Effie feel about each of her sisters? We know that she doesn’t like to argue with Beatrice, but what about the others? How does she feel about her mother?




Effie – 17 – works hard and avoids arguments.
Dorothy – 9 – weeps, speaks as adult as the others.
Meg - ?
Beatrice – the eldest – likes to argue – If she’s the oldest and Effie is seventeen, how old is she? At this time, wouldn’t she already have been married? Would it be normal of someone her age to still be at home? Does she have a fiancé?
Anne – Dorothy’s doll
Mama - ? She’s finally had enough of living with her husband and has decided to leave.
Caroline – Mama’s aunt
Father – Grouchy, verbally violent and now physically violent.
Count of Cabbage and Lady Lettuce
Wigget family – Mama’s grandfather’s name and the one they plan to go by.

Thank you for sharing!

Tadpole1


Effie was awakened by a furtive tap at her door. Rubbing her hazy head, she mechanically hauled the blankets away. It would not do to succumb to sleep again this morning. From the huff of exasperation as Effie did not answer quickly enough, she knew it was Meg who had knocked at the door.

'Coming,' she answered as softly as possible to her sister.

Tumbling on to the floor, she shivered at its iron-cold touch. She opened the curtains, their rings giving a familiar purr across the rail. Rising fog haunted the garden. A wagtail pecked amongst Meg's daffodils, then winged away to its usual perch on the stable roof.

I understand that she is looking through the window, but at first, I thought that the curtains were bed curtains around a canopy bed.

It seemed strange that, on this day when her life would change forever, everything was still the same. Somehow she had expected it to be different. This place would go on without her. The same familiar pattern, the same sounds, the same changes each season. She had known them all the seventeen years of her life. It felt unreal that she would never see this house again. Her existence was so linked to everything here, it was impossible that she could live without it. Perhaps that was why she did not weep like her sister Dorothy. Effie had not taken in that they were leaving. The emotional part of her was paralysed.

Instinctively, she knew what she must do. Opening each drawer in turn, she drew out as many clothes as she could and mechanically dressed herself in them all. They felt as constraining as armour, yet she had no choice. Mama said they should only take one small bag each in case they aroused suspicion. Effie's bag was already bursting with books. The remaining space was taken up by the Count of Cabbage and Lady Lettuce, Meg and Dorothy's

guinea-pigs. guineapigs

Ooh! You’ve got my attention.


Effie had let them stow in her bag despite Beatrice's objection that they should be left behind.

Effie opened the door the instant that Meg was about to give another rap. Meg met her sister with a stony look, then turned on her heel.

Through the open door of the opposite room, Effie spied Mama stowing the last of her possessions in a carpet bag. Methodical. Silent.

Nine-year-old Dorothy was flustered. 'Effie,' she hissed, 'I can't find Anne. I can't go without her. She'll be so sad.'

'Have you asked Mama?'

'Yes but no one's talking to me.'

'I'll look for her.' Effie furtively crossed to the toy chest. She knew by Mama's silence how much she worried. Effie resolved to be strong. Helping the others filled her with a sense of duty. It took her thoughts from the worries clouding her mind. 'Anne's sat on the windowsill, Dotty.'

Dorothy darted over to her doll, wrapping her in her shawl to ensure that she did not get broken. 'Effie?'

'Yes.'

'You know that you've still got your hair rags in. You can't go out looking like you've got sausages hanging down beneath your bonnet,' Dorothy whispered.

'Oh, sorry.' Effie tiptoed back to her room and tugged the rags out, leaving her fair ringlets to bounce over her shoulders. Usually she would have laughed over her forgetfulness, yet somehow nothing seemed funny today.

When she came out seconds later, her family had disappeared with the silence and swiftness of mice.

She crept along the corridor to the stairs. It seemed an eternity as she shuffled past her father's room. He was a heavy sleeper and not known to rise before ten, especially when he had spent the previous evening gambling as he had last night. However, it felt to Eledy as if she was sidling by a sleeping bear that might awake at any moment. Effie trembled as she imagined his rage if he discovered that his family were escaping from him. She would have got downstairs without mishap had not the treacherous bottom step shrieked beneath her tread.

Beatrice, the eldest, frowned at her. It was clear that she still opposed their leaving. She leaned back against the bookcase, her arms folded across her chest. The sight of the glass-fronted bookcase was a sharp reminder to Effie.





For three days, the bookcase had quietly stood in a corner of the parlour. All that time, the lava had been bubbling in Effie's father. When he discovered that they had bought it new, he was furious.

'I thought it was something you got cheap in a house sale. Look at it, none of the pieces fit together properly. It's all scratched and bumped. Someone's ripping you off. I shan't pay for this. You'll have to send it back.'

I wonder if there is a better phrase than “ripping you off” because that seems too recent for the setting. Or perhaps I’m mistaken? I rather thought that the setting was long ago.


'The girls need somewhere to keep their study books,' Mama replied.

'I'll not have it in this room. It's a communal area.'

He continued to rant. The others remained silent, consumed by their tasks, which they carried out calmly, ignoring him. They had known his bad temper for years. Thwarted by their refusal to get drawn into an argument, he slouched away, growling.

After they heard his door slam, they gathered about the bookcase. Effie could see nothing wrong with it. Its latticed panes looked like a little shop window.

'I bet it's the money, not the bookcase itself, that he's complaining about. If we had got it for nothing then he wouldn't have picked fault with it,' Effie said.

'I like it still, don't you?' Mama asked.

'I like it all the more knowing that he doesn't.'

Funny!

Effie thought that the storm would pass, as it always did. Yet for how long did they have to endure his foul moods? Before she had found them laughable. Now she was older and felt fully the injustice of the situation, it was no longer funny. Even when it was calm comma they lived awaiting his next explosion. Even food expenses he might get angry about if he was in a bad mood after losing money betting on the races.

None of them liked the way he trapped them. Yet what other way out did they have? Mama could not divorce him. She could prove nothing against him that would convince the law. Being bad-tempered was not a reason for which a divorce would be granted. Besides, their father would not want himself to be stigmatised in the eyes of his family and

work-fellows. workfellows

Usually Effie had lost herself in the make-believe world she created in her notebooks. This time it was different. Mama brought out a letter from her aunt, Caroline. Caroline rented Gull's Neck, a farmhouse by the coast, and wrote that they could join her there.

The sight that met them the next morning cemented their decision. The quaint bookcase lattices were pulverised, the wood dented and misshapen where the hammer had impacted. Effie's father had vented his vile temper by smashing objects in the house before, yet never as bad as this. To her, it symbolised their shattered lives. Quietly, she fetched a brush to sweep away the fragments. They glistened like tears amongst the nets of dust in the dustpan.





'Will we need any food for the journey?' Effie asked, moving to the pantry.

'You can make up your own mind for once.' Seems odd.

Effie felt a prickle of anger at Meg's troublesome reply. How could she decide, not knowing how long they might be journeying for? Perhaps they had packed something already. Letting it be, Effie waited in the hallway. She watched the trembling hands of the grandfather clock with bleary eyes.

Having weighed up the situation, Beatrice accosted her mother. 'Are you sure this is for the best? I mean, we're cutting ourselves off from the world completely. I don't simply mean by moving to some out-in-the-wilds cottage but we'll forgo the good opinion of society.'

'I've told you our plan. I'll pretend to be a widow. We'll call ourselves the Wigget family; my grandfather's name. No one will suspect us.'

'I don't mean that we'll be frowned on for ourselves but because of her,' Beatrice hissed.

'Carrie?'

'Yes. What do you think everyone will think if they knew we live with such a cracked, headstrong person? I mean, what lady would leave her family to set up home with a menagerie of chickens and goats in a remote farm?'

I see irony here as that is exactly what they are doing. They are leaving their family (the father) to go and live with a lady and her chickens and goats.

Also, as a reader, I can just imagine all the possibilities that could be waiting for adventure! Cool!


'Who cares for society's good opinion? Don't you think it's wrong that someone as

kind-hearted kindhearted

as Carrie should be an outcast for being herself?' Effie whispered.

'She should expect her odd behaviour to come with repercussions in the eyes of ordinary society. It's no wonder she leapt at the chance to have us at Gull's Neck, for I doubt that anyone in the neighbourhood speaks to her.'

'Beatrice, do I really have to listen to this? As if I haven't got enough to deal with. I was up all night worrying about how we're to get by. We've hardly any money.'

'Let's not go then.'

For a moment, Mama hesitated. Then she shook her head. 'No. We have to leave. Anything has to be better than this. Would you rather be free or stuck here rotting, wishing you were dead, caring for your father as an old man, emptying out his bedpan? Because that's what will happen.'

The thought struck Beatrice silent. Subdued, she followed her mother and sisters outside. They slipped up the lane to the village. There they would catch the first coach.

Effie was torn between a conflicting wish to leave and fear of giving up the home she loved so well. The future was utterly obscured to her comma and she feared it might lead to poverty. She stared hard at the house nestling amongst the woods, trying to engrave the image on her heart. Soon the view was lost in fog. Her memory of it turned hazy and unreal too.

In spite of being physically drained and uncertain of the future, the journey was a jovial one. Swallowing her troubles once they were away from the house, Mama put on a cheery face. She joked and sang with a freedom not known under the largely invisible but restrictive presence of her husband. The others brightened with her.

This cheeriness strained as the day drew on. Having had no time to stop to buy food, Mama searched the bags to see if they had any packed. Meg blamed Effie that they must go hungry. She framed an explanation but stopped

half way. halfway

What was the use of antagonising Meg further?

By evening, they were in some alien town. The new scene made Effie's head spin. Used to a quiet country existence, the swarms of people looming out of the yellow, smoky fog was daunting.

They spent the night in a coaching inn. The coverlet of Effie's rattly iron bed was faded with years of use and rats knocked behind the wainscot. Yet she was too grateful for a rest to care.

Before the last star faded, they were boarding the stagecoach in which they would complete the last leg of their journey. An expectant thrill filled Effie. The troubled relief that she had felt yesterday blossomed into a more profound hope.

As they journeyed on, yesterday's fog turned to a biting, fresh sea fog this time. Shut out from all view of where they were heading, Effie felt like a ship that had lost its anchor and found itself in a wide, changeless ocean.

Meg cried out, 'the sea! Look, I can see the sea.'

'Where? I can't see a thing in this fog.' Beatrice grumbled.

'There, look!' Meg leaned right out the window, her boot toes barely touching the carriage floor. Her curly blonde hair bounced against the

window pane. windowpane

Everyone jostled to peer out. A thin stripe of blue. It grew steadily, eating up the land. Through the blanketing fog cliffs began to take form, together with a star of light from the lighthouse.

Reaching the end of their journey, they climbed out. Mama thanked the driver comma and he pointed them up the track to the farm. Although in the fog they could see nothing clearly after a few feet from them, the glimpses of the countryside met Effie's pictured expectations of the area in which they were to live. Here they were at last, amongst the heather and sea pinks and wiry grasses as thick as knitting needles. The trees were stunted beneath the lash of wind mixed with water drops torn from both the sea and the clouds.

Effie's shawl offered little protection from the chill explorations of the fog. On her lips was the tang of salt and the seaweed scent of the sea.

Excited and stiff from their travels, the girls wanted to run. One point fixed their interest. The lighthouse. Its white walls and dazzling beacon beamed defiantly against the glowering fog. They could see little of the sea beyond it as the fog had transformed it into a slate grey void.

Meg tore down the slope towards the lighthouse, almost colliding with the wall at the bottom. 'That's a shame. It's on an island so you can't get to it without a boat,' she said, turning away.

'You can tell why they need a lighthouse. Look at those waves crashing!' Dorothy shouted above the bluster, pointing to where the sea spray hit the rocks with a glint like broken glass.

'Yes. Even the seagulls are too scared to go out to sea today.' Effie pointed at two forlorn birds huddled on a rocky shelf.

'Meg, you've dropped your bag on the path,' Beatrice said as she and Mama joined them. Meg snatched it from her and slung it over her shoulder.

Dorothy shivered. 'Can we get going? I'm getting cold standing here.'

Meg had already started off. The others followed, scrambling ungainly over the ragged, stony path.

'Oh no,' Beatrice groaned, squelching into one of the numerous piles of dung left by the wild ponies.

Effie and Meg giggled but were rebuked by so stern a look from Beatrice that they thought better of it. At least Effie did. Meg suppressed her mirth in her sleeve. Her attention was caught by a herd of wild ponies grazing a little way ahead. She set off briskly towards them, slowing as they looked up. A dappled grey was closest, the wind playing in the tassels of its mane.

Meg inched towards it. It started away as it heard the noisy approach of the others. Meg rounded on Effie. 'Why did you have to do that? You've scared it away.'

Ignoring her, Effie carried on towards the distant gate. The wind thrashed her hair over her face and throbbed in her ears. She crushed her bonnet closer and pressed on amongst the skeletal fronds of last year's bracken.

Soon they were on a rutted track lined by maples. At its end was a high wall with grass between each layer of stone. The wall was topped by daffodils and elm trees which obscured the view of anything beyond. Passing the wall, they came at last to Gull's Neck Farm.

At the first sight of it looming from the thinning fog, Effie felt her worries being undermined. It was a sturdy, homely little place. The red wash covering its walls to ward off the evil eye added to its cheerful impression. The only parts washed white were the chimneys, upon which seagulls perched. All the windows were level, except for one looking out from the parlour, which was slightly higher. This gave it the impression of standing on tiptoes to peer curiously at them.

Another curious face appeared at a window at the far end of the building. Caroline's hair was piled into a bun so thick that it sprang like a cushion about her head. The part of the house which she lived in had been added at a later date and was separate from the main house in which the Wiggets were to live.

'I'd better go in and see her. Why don't you start unpacking?' Mama said.

They are still outside, right? So how can they unpack? Maybe Mama tells them to go into the main house and unpack?


'Come on, I want to see inside,' Dorothy said, swinging open the red garden gate. Its posts were topped with shells. I thought they were standing in front of the house.

Meg fumbled with the key. Sparrows kept up an excited tweeting. Effie fingered the soft, delicate tendrils of the budding hedge. In the garden celandines bloomed amongst the promise of later columbine, roses and sage.

Meg finally managed to open the door. Effie dumped her bag on the settle. She had no time to look around or even to change her clothes, which she had worn for the past two days. Beatrice ordered her to prepare a meal.

Effie passed through a dimly lit dining room to the

white-washed whitewashed

kitchen and pantry. They formed a long, low-ceilinged annex at the back of the house.

She peered out of the deep-set window. Outside was a large garden and several ill-repaired farm buildings. Beyond these was a sheep field, then the hamlet. The nearest building was the church. Gravestones loomed amongst the fog.

Though many would object to such an eerie view, Effie did not mind it. What was there to fear from the dead? It seemed right that their bodies should lay near their old homesteads, feeding the plants that they had known in life.

Her sisters tramped up and down the stairs, arguing which rooms to take. Effie relished her quietude. Let them choose as they please. She did not want to get involved in a dispute, even if it did mean that she was left with the worst room.

She busied herself with stowing away the provisions that they had bought yesterday. Earlier, I thought that they might have left without food. Voices murmured on the other side of the wall as Mama chatted with her aunt. Caroline had kindly left bread, milk and vegetables from the garden in the pantry from which the family could make their meal.

She had also lit the range, though it had almost gone out. With patience and several handfuls of twigs, Effie got it to temperature. It took a while of opening and shutting cupboards and rummaging through drawers to find a knife to cut the carrots and potatoes.

Despite the trauma of the last few days, Effie felt cheerful. She relished the sense of opportunity and freedom in her new life. She longed for all the fluster of unpacking to be over so that she could explore the rest of the house.

For now, she enjoyed the responsibility of making soup, growing accustomed to the idea that this was their home. Whilst the pottage began to heat, she sought for dishes. She found them in an

old panelled cupboard suggestion: old, panelled cupboard

set into the wall beside the dining room fireplace. There was no time to set them out.

Beatrice fell on her, agitated and quick to anger in the fluster of unpacking. 'Have you got lunch ready?'

'I've put it on. It'll be done by lunchtime,' Effie replied. Although she resented Beatrice's bossy tone comma she remained polite. It was never worth getting into an argument with her elder sister, especially when Beatrice was agitated. Now that they were free of their oppressive father, Effie wanted to leave arguments behind.

'I should think so. Now, look for a place to wash this blanket. Meg's hamsters have made a terrible mess of it. I can't see a wash tub anywhere. Maybe there's one in one of the buildings in the yard.'

Effie went out into the courtyard enclosed by stone barns. Their lime-washed roofs crumbled like the half-moulted coat of a pony.

She had her doubts as to whether Caroline would leave her

wash-tub washtub

here. Nevertheless, she tried the nearest door. Locked. Curious, she peered through a crack where rot had torn through. Inside was the usual multitude of useless items that farmers were apt to acquire over the years at sales.

At the edge of the barn, a flight of steps led to a hay loft. Eager to explore, she skipped up. It would be a while before the vegetables in the soup were heated properly upon the range. The door was unlocked, though terribly stiff. Inside the loft wood was stacked in pyramids. Caroline obviously had no intention of going cold that winter. The loft also bore the marks of warmer months in a hive of swallow nests. It would make a great place for a swing. That should cheer Meg up.

Voices rose and died. A door clunked. Mama took her leave of Caroline. Recalling her mission, Effie bolted to the door. Can Effie actually hear this from the barn?

She could see for miles over the trees. This surprised her. Then she realised. The fog had lifted. The gorse was beginning to bloom and blazed gold across the headland. Beyond, stretching glittering to the horizon, was the sea.

Filled with a wave of excitement and joy, Effie bounded down the steps, back to her new home.


I half expected Effie to find something magical in the barn.

Maybe the last sentence needs to have something a bit stronger to keep us glued? Just wondering.



7
7
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (3.0)
Good morning!

May your day be filled with sunshine and joy.

I read through your poem, and my reactions are honest. My disclaimer is that I'm not a poet, yet I do like rhyming poetry.

Weakest point in my opinion: It didn't feel like it flowed into a story or a smooth description of inner feelings; instead, it felt like a series of disjointed lines.

My favorite passage:

Surviving thoughts scarce to the brain
Thinning out to moments of pain
Memoirs of innocence regained
Through the strength of thy inner human

Suggestion: Choose either the present tense or the past tense.
Suggestion: In "A dove's cry fall," change "fall" to either "falls" or "fell."
Suggestion: Change "strength of thy inner human" to ..."my inner human."

It was a pleasure to read your poem this morning. Thank you for sharing, and, especially, keep writing!

Tadpole1
8
8
for entry "The Royal Decree
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (4.0)
Hi massive friendly derg,

You suggested that I pop over to see what you wrote about dragons, so here I am. Wink.

After reading the above text, I was at first pulled in and curious. Then I felt like it was a bit short and needs a bit of work.

What I liked: I love the idea of pocket-sized dragons. Too cool. And I love the idea of the royal family keeping one as a free-roaming dragon pet.

Halfway through, the text felt like there was an abrupt subject change.

Starting at “In short,” I think you need a paragraph break and to develop the ideas.

All in all, it’s a super premise with lots of potential!

Thanks for sharing!

Here are a few gps just for fun and being so friendly.

Tadpole1




,
9
9
Review of The Omega  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Hi Moonstone,

I love your handle! Also, I read the note you posted about how nice everyone was on WDC, so I decided to take a peek at one of your stories.

I loved it because I was drawn right in and wanted to keep reading to the very end, so that is really great. It’s not an easy thing to accomplish. I cared about your protagonist, and that’s really important. The writing and the grammar was good, and that was a relief. Lol ! It’s not always the case, so kudos to you. Oh, and I loved the world and the premise, very interesting!

The only weak point that I saw was the end, and maybe I missed something because it’s late here, and I’m tired, but I’m not sure that I quite understood. That’s not good. I’m guessing that he (or is it she?) (Long legs, …) is unwillingly going to become a tester? That’s pretty scary!

Thank you for sharing and keep writing! Good job,

Tadpole1
10
10
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)

Where Rainbows Dance - Chapter 1 – Opening Paragraphs
HollyMerry



For new comments, please scroll down to the pink. I’ve reviewed the beginning of the chapter several times, so I want to concentrate on the rest, but I do have one comment in pink for the opening paragraph.

Please, keep any suggestions that you find interesting and toss the others. Lol.

Very nice, HollyMerry!

Tadpole1
P.S. The blue comments are the old ones.



Hi HM,

Thank you very much for telling me about the contest. It looks like it’s you and me so far, but of course that will change. I am going over the opening paragraphs of your chapter to see if there’s anything that I could suggest. What I’m concentrating on is clarity and flow.

Remember, the paragraphs are great as they are, I would just like to see if there is anything that I can suggest.

Tadpole1




Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. If only her heart did not pound so fearfully loud.

It Its beating

masked the distant sounds that might forebode an approaching tread.

If When


she strained her ears, she could hear the clink of water drops and even the stirring of one of the bats hidden in the heavy darkness. The tiniest sound set her on edge.

Whilst time trickled by with the plinking of water drops, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide the next time someone came in.

With any luck comma (optional but good to have)

she might be able to slip out unnoticed

as while


her captors searched the cave for her.

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider, ? maybe delete this comma because congealing goes with venom ?
congealing into stalagmite fangs.

Her throat tightening at the foul odour, The foul odour doesn’t have anything to do the the scratches, so I would make two different sentences.
Aira slid her gaze toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners.

Her throat tightened at the foul odour.

(A transition from the smell to her sight) Ignoring the smell,

she slid her gaze

toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners.







A new paragraph?
She willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath the door. Though she wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening to engulf her in a wave of sadness.

She shifted her gaze

to the narrowed eye of the door lock, clenching her fists as she willed herself to keep focused on her escape plan. The kraken had seized the brownies’ home and then led

the ? maybe delete ?


monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. How she missed Velmoran, the beautiful brownie citadel where the waves threw rainbows dancing on the roofs of the quays. Somehow, she would get it back.

The word “the” before waves stands out to me, so I’m wondering what I would do.

How she missed Velmoran, the picturesque brownie citadel where ocean waves projected dancing rainbows onto the facades of the houses along the quays and where her people had lived in peace until the arrival of the kraken.

Do quays have roofs?
Can you see rainbows on top of roofs?



Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.


Below are the paragraphs with the proposed changes incorporated.



Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. If only her heart did not pound so fearfully loud. Its beating masked the distant sounds that might forebode an approaching tread. When she strained her ears, she could hear the clink of water drops and even the stirring of one of the bats hidden in the heavy darkness. The tiniest sound set her on edge.

Whilst time trickled by with the plinking of water drops, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide the next time someone came in. With any luck, she might be able to slip out unnoticed while her captors searched the cave for her.

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider congealing into stalagmite fangs. Her throat tightened at the foul odour. Ignoring the smell, she slid her gaze toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners. She willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath the door. Though she wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening to engulf her in a wave of sadness.

She shifted her gaze to the narrowed eye of the door lock, clenching her fists as she willed herself to keep focused on her escape plan. The kraken had seized the brownies’ home and then led monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. How she missed Velmoran, the picturesque brownie citadel where ocean waves projected dancing rainbows onto the facades of the houses along the quays and where her people had lived in peace until the arrival of the kraken. Somehow, she would get it back.

Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.


New review starts here:



Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. If only her heart did not pound so fearfully loud. Its beating masked the distant sounds

that might forebode an approaching tread. Every time I read this phrase, it makes me feel like the author is working too hard. Maybe something simpler?


When she strained her pointed ears, she could hear the clink of water drops and even the stirring of one of the bats hidden in the heavy darkness. The tiniest sound set her on edge.

Whilst time trickled by with the plinking of water drops, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide the next time someone came in. With any luck, she might be able to slip out unnoticed while her captors searched the cave for her.

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider, congealing into stalagmite fangs. Her throat tightened at the foul odour. She leaned back against the door, her fingers tracing its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners.

She willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath the door. Though she wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening to engulf her in a wave of sadness.

She slid her gaze towards the narrowed eye of the door lock, clenching her fists as she willed herself to keep focused on her escape plan. The kraken had seized the brownies’ home and then led monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. How she missed Velmoran, the picturesque brownie citadel where ocean waves projected dancing rainbows

onto the roof of the quays I know that you explained this to me, but it still makes me pause, so maybe it would also break the flow for other readers? Maybe something simpler and more straightforward?


in the sea caves. Somehow, she would get it back.

Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.

Aira gave a shudder of anguish to find she had no time to enact her escape plan. Dauntless, she faced Krysila. There would be another time to break free.

Krysila selected one of the skins that hung from her tentacles, using magic to make it cloak her sea monster form. This is still cool every time I read it!
Aira tried not to think of the hideous fate of Krysila’s victims whose skins the kraken carried with her.

In the kraken’s place stood a quaintly dressed brownie lady, her lips pursed as if she had sipped sour milk. Aira’s stomach clenched in loathing of her detestable mockery. Krysila was no House Elf but an evil sorceress of the sea. She used brownie form simply to trick the brownie clan into falling into her clutches. Like the others, Aira had placed her trust in a woman of her own kind, especially since Betaine was beloved by the brownie king, Gruagach.

‘What do you want? Aira demanded.

In the space of a clap, Krysila’s face pressed towards hers. ‘Everything,’ she hissed.

Aira met her captor’s gaze with a steadfast stare.

‘Ah, defiant I see,’ Krysila said. ‘What do you think you can do against me? I was born to be the most powerful sorceress of the sea. Now, with the elixir of immortality found in Velmoran in my grasp, what can I not accomplish?’

‘So, you’ve done all this just for power?’

‘It is my right. What would you puny House Elves do with immortality?’

Aira bit back the retort that any of her brownie friends would make far better use of an immortal life that Krysila did. ‘What are you here for? I’ll never side with you.’

‘You don’t need to. I already have King Gruagach’s support.’

‘Your dupe?’ Aira asked, her tone crisp. ‘He’s not of royal blood, only married into the brownie royal family.’ She steadied her breath, her courage returning as she pictured her beloved, Prince Boroden. She would stand by his cause to the end. ‘Boroden is the true King of the House Elves — I’ll serve no other.

This is fine, of course, but I was wondering if something like this might be interesting:

And you know that none of my fellow brownies will either, for our kind swore an oath to only obey the true descendants of Velmoran’s first king and queen.




Krysila bared her teeth, then scoffed. ‘The coastal land of Velmoran is mine now — don’t forget that.’

A flicker of hope lit Aira’s heart as Krysila’s jaw twitched in annoyance. Perhaps her words had made Krysila hesitant to kill Boroden? They would certainly reinforce what King Gruagach said earlier when he begged the kraken to stay her wrath, arguing that the brownie clan would be outraged by his son’s death.

‘Prince Boroden is unfit to become king.
Suggestion: will be unfit to rule as king.


His health shall soon be broken after a spell of torture in my dungeons.’ Krysila gave a ghastly smile. ‘If you want to survive, you brownies have no choice but to obey Gruagach. I’m sure that, with my prompting, father and son will come to agree. Perhaps Boroden will reveal where he hid the sword of Talibereth metal forged to kill me?

That is, if you don’t know already…’
Suggestion: That is, if you don’t know already and want to spare him?



Coming around behind Aira, Krysila grabbed her arms, though Aira remained stiff and resisting. Confusion whirled in her mind. One of the first things that Krysila’s servants had done was search her and her companions, taking their weapons. Yet, Krysila had not been given the Talibereth sword despite the fact that it had been taken from Aira. What had happened to it? Good question.


Aira flinched as she spotted several of the knights who served Krysila’s daughter, Leanan Sídhe, poised in the tunnel outside. Presumably Krysila had ordered them to wait there to grab her should she try and flee. At the front of the knights stood Vortimus, a hot-headed changeling man whom Aira loathed, for he would think nothing of hurting a brownie to stay in Krysila’s good books. Twice the height of a brownie, the human man made an intimidating sight.

Vortimus stepped forward. ‘Shall we take her?’ Love the name!


Krysila raised her hand and thwacked the air, making the men start back. ‘No, I’ll deal with this puny House Elf. I want to feel her fear.’

As Krysila herded her forward, Aira struggled against her superior strength. Her feet slipping on the damp rock, Aira involuntarily clutched at Krysila to steady herself. Beneath her fingers, the arm of the brownie woman twisted into the muscular bulk of a tentacle, cold as dead flesh. Squeezed in the clutch of Krysila’s tentacle, Aira found herself dragged along. The red glow from the lanterns fixed to the walls slashed the interior of the tunnel into a disorienting ribcage of gloom and light. Cool image!


‘Where are you taking me?’ Aira asked.

‘I said I’d break your mind — I mean to begin.’

Aira fought to control the shiver running through her at Krysila’s chilling response. She would stand her ground and not give the kraken the satisfaction of knowing how terror boiled inside her.

Krysila threw her into an utterly black cell in the loneliest corner of the Unseelie dungeons. As Krysila locked the door, she commanded the knights. ‘Don’t let her out until tomorrow at the soonest.’

Aira’s surprise turned to relief. Was solitary confinement all Krysila could throw at her?

Her eyes adjusting to the dense dark of the cave, she discovered its walls were covered with sharp white crystals. Foreboding of something living, breathing and brooding somewhere deep within the cavern seeped into her, and she shivered with revulsion. Was there some ancient, evil magic at work here?

Her mouse-like whiskers twitching as she sensed the air, Aira began to explore her new surroundings. Stepping forward, she shrieked in horror. She teetered in a dreadful moment, hovering on the precipice — nothing to stop her hurtling down.

The plunge over the brink came both lightning fast and sickeningly slow. Dark, unfriendly thorns and rocks rushed closer, but ever a long way off. The fall went on forever — surely an entire day must have passed? Her body thrummed with pain and her mind whirled feverishly. About to hit the rock, she shrieked. Thrusting out her hands to try to stop herself from getting crushed, she found only nothingness.

Something groped at her hand in the shadows. Fingers. Clammy, dead fingers. It was her mother, Freya, her face white with agony. Helpless sorrow filled Aira. She wanted to save Freya, to take away her pain, but she could do nothing. A croon of screams filled her mind. Aira wasn’t sure if they were her own or her mother’s. She could not bear knowing that Freya was cursed to be a banshee because of her untimely death in childbirth.

Cowering down on the dank stone floor of the cell as the nightmares ended, Aira gulped back sobs as she caught the sound of footsteps outside. She prayed Krysila would not come and see her like this.

Serena shoved back the door. ‘Lady Leanan bade me bring you victuals. She didn’t want you starving in that torture chamber.’

The lady-in-waiting led her to an adjoining room where a platter of food and a pitcher of water stood on a low table. The gloomy room was so sparsely furnished that Aira had no seat, but her legs buckled beneath her comma
and she gratefully sank onto the floor to take her meal. At least it felt drier than the dank cavern where she had previously been, even if the floor did leave a dusting of white on her woad blue dress. Cool! Woad blue. You have such a cool vocabulary!


‘Get some rest. You won’t be allowed out forever,’ Serena said, turning on her heel with a swish of silk and locking Aira in.

Aira waited until Serena’s footsteps had died and her breathing grew more regular before picking up the plate of food. Even then she shook so much that it made eating and drinking difficult. She gulped mouthfuls of foyson, the essence of food that faeries survive upon, without tasting a morsel. Wrapped in her cloak for comfort, sleep claimed her, heavy and dreamless. All too soon, Serena jolted her awake.

Aira brushed back her hair as it fell over her weariness weighted Suggestion: fatigue weighted or maybe fatigue-weighted?
eyes. What a mess — after her ordeal in the cell, her neat golden braid appeared like a fraying straw mat. Brushing herself down to remove dust from the cavern floor, she faced Serena. ‘I must see Krysila.’

It sounds like her braid just appeared out of thin air. Maybe “her neat golden braid frayed like a worn, straw mat?

Is she removing the dust from the cavern floor?
Brushing and dust almost rhyme.



Though she imagined it would be fruitless, Aira wanted to demand to be imprisoned alongside Boroden and her kin, even if it cost her life.

Serena regarded Aira coolly. ‘Krysila has returned to Velmoran, leaving Lady Leanan in charge.’

‘Then I’ll speak to her.’

‘She lies sick. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow,’ Serena said, ushering her back to her cell.

Aira told herself to pull together the courage to face the ordeals ahead. Yet as she reached the door, terror petrified her. Serena pushed her inside.

Maybe Serena shoved her inside?



A jarring pain tore through her knees as she fell, impacting on rough stone. Gritting her teeth, she struggled up, finding herself a small bairn again on the day Velmoran was destroyed by the kraken. She must run. They were coming. The bloodthirsty shrieks of the hobyahs filled her ears as they tore after screaming brownies fleeing the destruction of the palace.

A cackle echoed close by. The sound of her bursting open the locked nursery door must have alerted the monster. Tearing towards the stairs, she darted a look back at her pursuer. The hobyah closed in, waving in a host of other monsters. Her legs insubstantial as water in her fear, Aira plunged down the first few steps.

A squadron of the gaunt, toad-skinned monsters tore up the stairs towards her, their beaks bloodstained. She was trapped. Distantly, Boroden called her name. Knowing her dearest friend would see her die and be unable to save her only made her anguish worse.

Instead of the relief of her mother’s magical light enveloping her, protecting her from the hobyahs as it had when Freya saved her from the destruction of Velmoran, Aira dived into darkness as black as a sky where all the stars are extinguished. Screaming until her throat grew raw, she scrabbled round the void that her cell had become, trying to find a way out.

There remained a steady core to her untouched by the nightmares Krysila conjured. The illusions made her recall Krysila saying that, whilst she would break the other brownies physically, she would shatter Aira’s mind. She wanted her mad. Once that had been accomplished, the torture might stop. If it ended, she might be free of the cell and have a chance to help her clan. Leanan had a softer heart than her mother. Perhaps she might be freed from the cell…

With this hopeful plan, Aira endured the horrors. She had appeared too sane, too defiant, when Serena let her out before. This time must be different.

At last, Aira caught the sound of footsteps drawing near. As far as she could make out in the eternal gloom, a day must have passed since she was thrown into the cell. When the door opened comma the jaws of the corridor outside appeared narrower, although maybe that was because Serena came with company this time. .

Leanan brushed past her handmaiden, meeting Aira with a smile. Darting a look about the dismal surroundings of the cell, a glinting layer of ice on its walls, Leanan unclasped her cloak of yew-green velvet and proffered it to Aira. For a moment, surprise had the better of Aira comma and she stared at the devastating beauty of the sídhe witch comma (because it’s not the witch who is trying to… trying to recollect how she planned to encourage Leanan to free her from torture.

Contracting her full lips with a pitying look, Leanan laid her hand on Aira’s arm. ‘Aira, join with us. There’s no need for you to stay here. My mother is merciless.’

Concern etched Leanan’s face as Aira threw herself at her satin-sheathed waist, sobbing. When Leanan drew her back to wipe away her tears, Aira pawed the air feebly. Aira held her gaze fixed in space as she smiled, praying Leanan would not see through her act. She had once been called a little doll, and she could easily be childlike.

‘In there optional comma I was so afraid I’d never see my doll again,’ Aira said.

Leanan raised her delicately formed eyebrows in astonishment comma and Serena pulled a disgusted face, as if she smelled something rotten. The sight made Aira laugh, a sound she transformed into a fit of helpless giggles until tears trickled down her face, chilling in the icy dungeon air.

Leanan took her shoulders, her jasmine perfume brushing Aira’s nostrils as welcome relief from the rotting stench of cavern ooze. ‘Aira, what do you mean your doll?’

‘I want to find her and make her so many pretty clothes. I’ve been planning what I’ll sew all day.’ Aira tugged at Leanan’s trailing sleeve. ‘Have you any spare fabric and a needle?’

Leanan’s

moonlight pale brow Nice!

furrowed. ‘Oh, you poor thing. Your mind was once so much brighter and better than mine. I suppose I always knew something must destroy you. After all, brownies are mortal. I forget that.

My family and I sold ourselves to the devil in return for eternal life, making the bargain that we’ll torture souls after judgment.’ Just a question: Would someone say this this straight forward?

‘But it’s not heaven. You’ll not know true happiness. I only want to be happy.’ Noticing Leanan narrow her eyes as if wondering at her returned lucidity, Aira added, ‘That’s why I’d rather play with my doll.’

Leanan sighed. ‘One may get used to hellfire after a while. Torturing others is not without pleasure for me. I find ample occupation in wringing the hearts of my knights. Why not join me? The way to heaven is narrow and fraught with stones, this other is easy and much more fun .’

Aira flinched back, nearly stepping into a puddle on the cave floor. ‘Never.’

‘You delight in choosing a difficult path.’ Is this and the following line spoken by the same person?

‘If that’s so, then you’ll enjoy spending more time in the cell.’ A shaft of lantern light made Serena’s features ghostly pallid as she moved

to place Aira back Is there a better way to say this?

for further torture with a vindictiveness that Aira guessed came from jealousy. After all, Serena had once tried to steal Boroden’s love from Aira.

Aira faced Leanan, peering up into the crimson eyes of the taller sídhe lady. ‘Please don’t put me back. Let me stay with you?’

Maybe it would be interesting to ground Leanan and Serena more in space? Are they standing side-by-side? Is one of them leaning against the rocky wall? Does one of them idly stroke a crevice of moisture while the other is talking? Are they touching each other? Does one of them twirl a lock of hair or move her foot?


‘Of course.’ Leanan turned to Serena. ‘It appears Mother’s torture has succeeded in breaking Aira’s mind.’ Would they actually call it torture? That seems really straight forward. Is there a pet name that they would have used instead of the word torture?

Clasping Aira’s hand, Leanan led her away. After so long spent in musty caverns, Aira’s lungs rejoiced to fill with the crisp, cold air flowing through the passages that Leanan ushered her along en route to her dwelling. I guess that I wasn’t paying attention well. I thought that they had just brought her to the cell, but maybe they brought her there and then changed plans?

Keen to fit in and thus become inconspicuous and freer to search for Boroden, Aira curtsied to the bevy of handmaidens that met Leanan as she slipped into her stylish chambers. The red and black colour scheme was enlivened by the glint of mirrors, silver embroidered accessories, and bottles of perfumes and potions on the shelves. Heavy tapestries depicting scenes of courtly love amongst the tangles of briar roses covered the walls. Dark arches of filigree severed the room into sections like a barrier of thorn trees. This far underground, no sunlight ever entered. Incense candles glowed, their fragrance cloying the air. They did little to dispel the shadows. Anything might lurk in the inky corners of the room. bevy—another cool word—cloying

Just noting, the descriptions at the beginning of the paragraph are positive; whereas, the descriptions at the end are negative. Maybe that’s fine?


Leanan smoothed Aira’s tousled hair and nudged her forward comma so her handmaidens could see her. ‘Ladies, I intend to keep this brownie as my pet. The poor darling has lost her mind.’ She doesn’t sound very evil like someone who has sold her soul to the devil.

Aira played along as the girls fussed over her, offering her food and a comfortable seat on one of the plush divans. Sinking into it gratefully, the ache subsided from her numbed limbs.

‘You look so tiny sitting there,’ Leanan said. ‘Ladies — have a room furnished with items of a brownie size. It should be simple, yet pretty. That would be to your taste, wouldn’t it, Aira?’

Aira nodded. ‘I’m grateful.’

Leanan waved a hand as if shooing away her touched expression in shame. ‘Oh, fiddle-faddle. You’ll repay us all, I’m sure. Serena said House Elves are fond of housework. You spoke of how you enjoy sewing. Your services as a seamstress and lady’s maid would be welcome.’

‘Of course.’ Aira curled herself up as the handmaidens busied themselves. Though she pretended to be sleeping, her mind whirled as she planned to escape and find her clan. Nice.
11
11
Review of Herculaneum  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hi Kathleen,

I saw the title and link to your poem in the newsletter, and since I'm going there in ten days, I couldn't help but hop over to check it out. *Smile*

My three favorite lines are:

Vesuvio broods silently

the question: not if but when

“It won’t happen to us!”

Thank you for sharing!

Tadpole1
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Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)

Where Rainbows Dance - Chapter 1 – Opening Paragraphs
HollyMerry


Hi HM,

Thank you very much for telling me about the contest. It looks like it’s you and me so far, but of course that will change. I am going over the opening paragraphs of your chapter to see if there’s anything that I could suggest. What I’m concentrating on is clarity and flow.

Remember, the paragraphs are great as they are, I would just like to see if there is anything that I can suggest.

Tadpole1




Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. If only her heart did not pound so fearfully loud.

It Its beating

masked the distant sounds that might forebode an approaching tread.

If When


she strained her ears, she could hear the clink of water drops and even the stirring of one of the bats hidden in the heavy darkness. The tiniest sound set her on edge.

Whilst time trickled by with the plinking of water drops, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide the next time someone came in.

With any luck comma (optional but good to have)

she might be able to slip out unnoticed

as while


her captors searched the cave for her.

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider, ? maybe delete this comma because congealing goes with venom ?
congealing into stalagmite fangs.

Her throat tightening at the foul odour, The foul odour doesn’t have anything to do the the scratches, so I would make two different sentences.
Aira slid her gaze toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners.

Her throat tightened at the foul odour.

(A transition from the smell to her sight) Ignoring the smell,

she slid her gaze

toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners.







A new paragraph?
She willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath the door. Though she wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening to engulf her in a wave of sadness.

She shifted her gaze

to the narrowed eye of the door lock, clenching her fists as she willed herself to keep focused on her escape plan. The kraken had seized the brownies’ home and then led

the ? maybe delete ?


monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. How she missed Velmoran, the beautiful brownie citadel where the waves threw rainbows dancing on the roofs of the quays. Somehow, she would get it back.

The word “the” before waves stands out to me, so I’m wondering what I would do.

How she missed Velmoran, the picturesque brownie citadel where ocean waves projected dancing rainbows onto the facades of the houses along the quays and where her people had lived in peace until the arrival of the kraken.

Do quays have roofs?
Can you see rainbows on top of roofs?



Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.


Below are the paragraphs with the proposed changes incorporated.



Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. If only her heart did not pound so fearfully loud. Its beating masked the distant sounds that might forebode an approaching tread. When she strained her ears, she could hear the clink of water drops and even the stirring of one of the bats hidden in the heavy darkness. The tiniest sound set her on edge.

Whilst time trickled by with the plinking of water drops, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide the next time someone came in. With any luck, she might be able to slip out unnoticed while her captors searched the cave for her.

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider congealing into stalagmite fangs. Her throat tightened at the foul odour. Ignoring the smell, she slid her gaze toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners. She willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath the door. Though she wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening to engulf her in a wave of sadness.

She shifted her gaze to the narrowed eye of the door lock, clenching her fists as she willed herself to keep focused on her escape plan. The kraken had seized the brownies’ home and then led monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. How she missed Velmoran, the picturesque brownie citadel where ocean waves projected dancing rainbows onto the facades of the houses along the quays and where her people had lived in peace until the arrival of the kraken. Somehow, she would get it back.

Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.
13
13
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: E | (5.0)
Hi Fyn,

How cool! Thank you so much for sending me a link to your poem! It really made me smile.


Happy thoughts! *Smile*

Tadpole1

14
14
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: ASR | (3.0)


Princess Eledy and the Goblin, Chapter 1

"Once upon a time a princess fell in love with a handsome goblin."


I love the first line! “A handsome goblin.”

I just listened rapidly to the chapter, and I could picture the image about the windshield cracking like expanding tree roots perfectly.

So, we have a friendly, young girl who is on the cusp of changing/transforming.

Now, I’m going back to the text again.

Plot: Eledy finds an odd book and meets a boy sky skiff before she transforms into one.
Setting: It needs more.
Grammar: It’s not time to worry about it.


Just my opinion: Eledy is a likable person, but I’m not sure if she’s human. For a moment, I thought so. Her world is full of witches, goblins, elves, and human/ships. She is at the age where she is expected to transform. All of this is new and very interesting. It’s interesting to see goblins, elves, and witches in spaceships, and cool at the same time.

I think that the almost empty book must be important. All we know about it is that there is an undefined line of text written by someone whose handwriting Eledy doesn’t recognize.

There was information given about her father and the world, politics, etc., but I don’t remember exactly what, so it didn’t impress me.

Maybe add more actions interacting with the surroundings to help us understand the setting and what’s really happening with the characters.

The imagination in the chapter is soaring. Yoo hoo!

Tadpole1





Eledy suppressed an upwelling chuckle as she read the single line inked onto the front page of the book she had found in her mother's cabin hold. Seriously? She could not understand this. Goblins were monsters that her brothers told her stories about at night to try to scare her. Stories in which goblins met the gruesome ends they deserved, not married princesses.

Certainly, most humans would never call a goblin handsome. Although, Eledy did not find the appearance of the Forest Goblins enslaved in the human citadel of Ardenland repulsive despite their oversized ragged ears, claws and polled horns. They always returned her kindness with grins and laughter.

“Polled horns” is new to me, and I’m not sure what they are.


Glancing up to make sure that the Bowmaiden, Ylva, was too busy flying her mother's Sky Skiff form to pay her any attention, Eledy turned the pages of the book. All were blank.

I was reading below and returned to find the first mention of skiff. I think that a little more explaining might be welcome. Is Eledy’s mother someone who turns into a spacecraft? Does she hook into the spacecraft? Eledy found a book in her mother’s cabin hold, is the cabin hold a part of her mother’s morphed body? So, Ylva the bowmaiden flies Eledy’s mother? Below, it says that Eledy’s mother is sitting in the flight capsule, and she seems to be connected to it by spine protrusions.

So, Eledy is supposed to transform soon. Is she going to become a ship? Have bodily parts that attach to the spaceship/sky skiff?


Closing the book, Eledy turned it over. She ran her finger over the two gilded phoenixes entwined on its cover. The pages were of rough, thickly made paper into which leaves had been pressed.

This was not at all the kind of book that Eledy expected to find when, like a dutiful daughter, she reached into her mother's cabin hold. Her mother had told her to brush up her reading about the rules of the flyways. Instead of an instructions manual, she found this odd book.

Interesting. Now, we want to know more about the book, and are the pages, except for the single line about goblens, really blank? Is she the one who will write it? A hooking question to which we want to know the answer.

What was it doing there? Who had written it? The flamboyant handwriting was not that of anyone in her family.

Eledy clutched at the puzzle of the book as a welcome distraction from the approach of the worst ordeal of her life. Merely remembering where she was heading made her gasp in a shaky breath.

"Are you all right?" Ylva asked.

Eledy concealed the book under her shawl as her mother's Bowmaiden glanced over her shoulder.

Too late. Ylva must have seen it.

Ylva's eyes flickered to the shawl, then to the viewpoint behind Eledy, checking that the flyway behind them was safe. "What is it that you have there?"

"Just a storybook," Eledy replied, shrugging her shoulders to make light of the mysterious book.

I think I would like a bit more scenery. I’m imagining that they are about to board a spaceship or space pod, but I’m not sure.


"I'm pleased to see you keeping your mind busy. It's a sure way to help you remain calm. The skiffing shall soon be over. You have nothing to fear, daughter," Queen Gerstermini's voice came over the flightcom. Eledy's mother must have overheard in the flight capsule where she sat, the attachments sprouting from her spine to connect her to the Sky Skiff vessel that Ylva and Eledy travelled in.

In a few weeks time, on her sixteenth birthday Eledy would herself undergo the transformation into a Sky Skiff. She dreaded it. Today the plans were to be finalised.

What I am imagining is that their bodies attach to the vessel, is that correct?


At least her mother had the forethought to leave Ardenland early to review the concept design that Eledy had chosen for her Sky Skiff form with the elves of Rybelheim who were to undertake the work of transforming her. At least she had time to think things through before the Twelve, her father's elite counsel members, arrived to finish their negotiations with the elves.

So, we have goblins, elves, and people attached to spacecrafts. I think. That’s an interesting combination.

A

sharp maybe delete

crack shuddered against the Sky Skiff's bow. Eledy broke from her thoughts with a shriek. Ylva temporarily lost control of the tiller, gasping in surprise. Gerstermini's Skiff form veered towards the edge of the flyway.

"What was that?" Eledy asked as soon as her nerves settled. Concern rising in her throat, she peered through the windshield to see if her mother's glistening form of sky blue talibereth metal had been damaged. "Are you all right?"

"I think so.” Gerstermini’s voice had the tone of someone trying to reassure a child whilst being afraid themselves. “Probably just a rogue

hail stone hailstone

or a small meteor. They fall from time to time.”

Eledy's reply faltered as they hit a rough squall of air. Gerstermini jolted, banking sideways to avoid the turbulence. Eledy clenched her hands tightly as her mother

got Do you have a synonym for this word?

snatched upwards. Gerstermini fell, bow downwards as if she had crested a storm wave. The warning panel screamed.

The juddering ceased. Eledy's racing heartbeat deafened the sound of hail striking her mother's Skiff form. The warning panel continued to flash in bursts like red lightning.
So the mother is not just attacked to the craft, she is the craft? They are inside her?


"Neblung," Ylva said, an ominous note deepening her musical elven voice.

"How do you know?" Eledy asked.

"Only a Neblung hag could conjure an icy blast like that. They call upon the daemons, or nature spirits, in their magic."

Eledy shuddered, having been sheltered from the nature of her father's enemies until now. "Why are they coming for us?"

"You father riled Gedda, the Neblung Supreme Sorcerer, by demanding that he join the alliance of the Nine Kingdoms ruled over by Ardenland. If he would not show allegiance, your father swore to fight him as he does all this enemies — without mercy."

Gedda sounds like a feminine name to me. Maybe something like Geddan?


Eledy glanced back at the wraiths of dark clouds. "I guess that didn't go down well." *Smile*

The Bowmaiden's face twisted

like as if

she had bitten into something bitter. "Gedda's a dangerous one to pick a fight with. The rulers of Neblung are priests and priestesses amongst a race of witch-bloods, with even more powerful magic than the rest. Gedda felt that he should rightfully rule the Nine Kingdoms as he’s the most advanced in magic in the entire continent. It was only a matter of time before Neblung attacked."

Is the person speaking below the same one as the person speaking above? If not, it needs to be more clear.

When one person speaks for more than one paragraph in a row without anything in between, there isn’t an ending quote until the last paragraph.

“p1 xxxxx
Yyyyy (no ending quote if same, uninterrupted speaker)

“p2 xxxx
Yyyyy (no ending quote)

“Last paragraph xxxx
Yyyyy” (See the ending quote here?)


"It was just a reconnaissance broom rider, no reason to suppose Gedda will launch an attack now. Don't wait for the Twelve. We'll be in more danger if we loiter here for the hag to come again. Keep flying on." From Gerstermini’s crisp tone, Eledy guessed that her mother resented Ylva’s frankness to her.

"With all due respect your majesty..." Who said this?

An eruption of sound burst behind them, tearing at Eledy's eardrums. Her ears were left stinging and ringing as the broomrider zipped past, taking with her the squall of sound. Out of the corner of her eye comma Eledy caught another hag zooming towards them, her flying leathers making her look like a hornet poised to sting. "Behind you!"


I’m not “seeing” the setting well. I think the story needs to be grounded a bit more.

"My guns," Gerstermini ordered her Bowmaiden.

Eledy's heart lurched as she saw Ylva reach for the lever triggering the Skiff to open fire. Having rarely left the palace, let alone been in a sky battle, a sense of being terrifyingly out of depth overwhelmed Eledy.

"Can I help? What can I do?" she asked Ylva who pressed a multitude of levers to angle Gerstermini's hardly used guns.

"Not now." The Bowmaiden's voice was tight as she glanced out the windshield to set the final angle of the guns.

Ice slapped the windshield so hard that, as Eledy pulled herself up from being thrown by the jolt of the impact, she was sure that the crystal window must have shattered. Ylva reached for the activation lever of the guns.

The ice crackled, spreading like tree roots across the windshield. Love this!

The view of the flyway obscured, Ylva left off trying to fire at the hags with a gasp of frustration, scrabbling with frantic fingers for the controls that might thaw the ice.

"It's too thick," she got out through chattering teeth. Unable to see their course, she jolted Gerstermini against the turbulent air stream marking the edge of the flyway.

"We have to stop. Landing blind is impossible,” Gerstermini said.

Eledy clutched her seat with white knuckles as she heard the drone of the broomrider gaining upon them. The first hag doubled back, flying in circles over Gerstermini and lashing her with bursts of storm wind. Eledy scrunched into a ball, pressing her hands over her ears as she prepared for the crash.

Are they in outer space?


With a crackle like a firecracker, another Sky Skiff opened fire. In one timely shot the drone of the broomrider behind them changed to a receding squeal as the hag plummeted from the sky, shot down.

Eledy uncurled, hope of rescue kindling.

A meteor of light cut through even the ice ensnaring Gerstermini's windshield. The clean, acid smell of thaw liquid touched Eledy's nostrils as their rescuer drenched Gerstermini's windshield, melting the ice.

A Sky Skiff dipped away from them, his lamps winking brightly and his engine sparking flame.

The sun glinted off his rich green body, outlined with silver, in a way that reminded Eledy of the dragons she'd seen pictured in illuminated manuscripts. nice
Her gaze followed the handsome Sky Skiff, impressed and curious. He bore the helm of Ardenland on his bow, but she had not seen him before.

I’m still stuck on the same question, so what does this Sky Skiff look like? Is he a spaceship? Is he a green person that walks around inside a spaceship and who will eventually plug into the spaceship with bodily parts that spring from his spine?


"I told you that having a badly fitted thaw liquid spray comes in useful in a multitude of ways, Dougie," Eledy heard the

strange I was under the impression that Eledy thought that he was handsome.

Sky Skiff announce in a smooth toned voice as his communication system intersected with Gerstermini’s flightcom. How does this happen?

From his address, Eledy guessed her friend Dougie must be close by and looked about for him.

Eledy waved to Dougie as he carefully overtook them in his Sky Skiff form; blue with the white roof marking out all the noble Sky Skiffs of Ardenland. His Skiff form reminded her of the colours of ocean waves. So, he did turn into a flying spacecraft? How big are they? Are they all inside Eledy’s mom?

Although Dougie was Eledy's friend, she had never heard him mention a Sky Skiff who was unknown to her before. Dougie was the orphaned nephew of Admiral Dukuc, the sage who was keeper of the Barrow of Kings where the royals of Ardenland had been buried for generations. Eledy liked Dougie's steady, good nature and he always had time to talk to her when she visited the watchtower by the sea where he was posted. So, a sky skiff is posted by the sea in a watchtower?

The two Sky Skiffs darted away in pursuit of the remaining hag, their banter over the flightcom fading from hearing. It would not be long before the hag got caught; already the shaft of the broomstick was curled about with black smoke from a hit from one of the stranger's guns.

"Who is he? The green Skiff? Why haven’t I met him before?" Eledy asked, full of curiosity.

After a moment of silence, Ylva motioned Eledy closer. Eledy obeyed, stealthily replacing the book in the cabin hold least it was missed. Oh, they came back to the cabin hold.

By the way, in the book that I’m supposed to be editing (roll eyes) I noticed that I put a lot of stealthy silences in, so I’ve been quietly taking a lot of them out.
*Smile*

The Bowmaiden whispered, "Loyfti's your father's spy; a Forest Goblin sorcerer stolen from Vandafar. He's a dangerous boy and your parents can't entirely trust him. I suppose they’d rather keep you safe. A wise decision," the Bowmaiden confided, curling her lips disdainfully as she thought of the Forest Goblin stranger. Notice that we are listening to someone other than Eledy’s thoughts. (POV)

"Well, I at least am grateful to him. You are right, however, that it would be wise to keep him at a distance," Gerstermini's voice came over the flightcom. She keeps eavesdropping. Lol.

Ylva lowered her head in shame at having been overheard as she navigated down the flyway leading towards Rybelheim. So where are they? In the cockpit or in Eledy’s mother’s cabin where she puts the book back? The Sky Skiff workshop was close now, and that meant the end of life as Eledy knew it…

So now Eledy, who is human maybe, is going to transform into a ship/skiff?


15
15
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)

HM,

I’m back to look at the wolf scene.

Original: Warmth fluttered in her heart as she recalled how he left his pack behind

At this point in the chapter, the word pack surprised me.

Original: Her thoughts drifted back to the first time she had seen the wolf…

Suggestion: Her thoughts drifted back to the first time she had seen him...

This morning I imagined the wolf scene before rereading it. Here are the series of events that I imagined:

On that evening in May, she leaves the orchard at dusk, just a little bit later than usual.
While walking through the forest, she hears a twig snap and freezes, her body torn between flight and the need to know if someone is following her and, if so, who.
She turns and half crouches, ready to spring into a run or to defend herself.
A set of teal blue eyes locks on hers. The wolf freezes, paw in the air like the human hunting dogs she has seen pictures of.
She sees his fangs, still her body remains where it is while her mind tries to understand what the wolf wants.
Instead of attacking, the wolf lies down on its belly.
She knows she should be frightened; however, she remains there studying the beast.
It lifts its paw and whines softly.
“Are you hurt? Is that why you were following me?”
The wolf lifts its paw higher and whines again.
“You are hurt, aren’t you?”

Either she pulls a thorn out of his paw or frees his paw from a trap. This would be a Save The Cat moment.

After she frees his paw, he licks her hand, and a strange feeling overcomes her as if the wolf is familiar, but that’s impossible because she has never seen a wolf before.

“I feel like I know you,” she says, stroking the dark fur on his neck and staring into his oddly familiar eyes.
He jumps up and places a paw on each of her shoulders and then licks her cheek with his raspy tongue. She stares into his eyes. They remind her of Bodoron (?). She gasps, but before she can say anything, the wolf lopes off into the growing shadows, leaving her alone standing with her mouth open.
She calls and calls to him, but he is gone, and her heart aches like it does each time she thinks of Bodoron (?)

These are just ideas that came to me when I tried to imagine the scene without looking at it. If there is anything here that can inspire you, great, that makes me happy, but toss it all out if you don’t feel it fits. Also, I may have mixed up the verb tenses. Ouch.

Let me know what you think.

Tadpole1
16
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Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (3.5)
Holly Merry - The Kraken's Prisoners - Chapter 5




Plot: Aira meets up with fellow brownies, who lead her to Borodon. She expects him to be happy to see her, but instead, he is upset and walks away. Borodon wants to be with her, but he wants her safe more.

My thoughts: Listen to the chapter. Ask yourself if the dialogue could be smoother. Perhaps add a bit more scenery. Maybe add a bit more internal dialogue so that we are pulled into how Aira is feeling even more deeply? There are more than forty “ly” adverbs, which seems like more than you usually write. There were a few comma mistakes. Try spellcheck. If there are comma mistakes here, I expect them to be in all the chapters, so it might be good to peek at when to put them and when to leave them out.

There were some beautiful passages that I thought were variegated poetry.

I hope this helps. Like always, keep what you find useful and toss the rest.

Thanks for sharing,

Tadpole1




Was that the voices of other brownies ahead of Aira? She

strained to listen,



Common mistakes in the use of commas Do not place a comma between two verbs. The children were singing and dancing. (NOT The children were singing, and dancing.) Use a comma to separate independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction (e.g. and, but, or, so, yet, nor). She was not feeling very well, but she went to work.


but heard

nothing except the rustle of leaves and warble of birds. She must be deceiving herself, as she had many times before.

As she and Gretchen picked their way up a scree scattered slope, a volley of rocks bounced towards them, dislodged from above. Looking up sharply, Aira gasped.


Do you think that there should be a hyphen in scree-scattered?
“As” was used twice close together.
Maybe instead of “dislodged from above,” something like “bounced down towards”?
From above / From amongst

??? She heard voices—but heard nothing ???


From amongst the rowan trees emerged a brownie, laughing joyfully. Aira immediately recognised Hëkitarka’s shaggy dappled hair and bright, brown eyes that shone in the friendliest way. Yet in many respects add comma

he appeared changed, grown tall and handsome with a deeper tone of voice and a forest of long whiskers that made him look like an otter.

Aira flung herself into his open arms add comma

and Gretchen quickly joined her. Soon Hëkitarka’s brother, Harfan, and many of the other brownies appeared.

Torden arrived last to greet Aira and Gretchen, tossing his dark deadlocks back over his shoulders

as Perhaps: , while or , while waving to them



he waved to them.

He frowned at the sky where a crow hung aloft before winging away. What about an action and then a reaction?

1. He hears a sound and
2. then looks up,
3. sees the crow, and
4. last of all frowns, while the crow flies away.

Do crows hang like bats? I haven’t seen any do that. How about hovered? Or, maybe it’s fine and just an original way of expressing the idea.

Is the crow an ill omen—cool!




‘Well, much a to do. We’d better be heading back to base.’ He just frowned, and now the next sentence seems carefree. Does the crow mean anything? Should Aira have a thought about it?



This intrigued Aira. ‘Where’s base?’

Hëkitarka took her arm. ‘A shepherd’s cottage. We’re hard-pressed to find anywhere on these lonely mountains to bide for a while. I’m glad Boroden put aside his pride and agreed to stop with the humans. I feared he’d urge us on and you’d never catch up.’

His words perplexed Aira. ‘Urge you on? Why?’

A troubled look shadowed the faces of the brothers.

Flow: I stopped to see who the brothers were. I thought that maybe there were several brothers or that the group of men referred to each other as brothers, and so I had to go back and reread.
Maybe: his brother’s face as well as his. Or something like that?




Harfan’s usually genial features

became grave. He had already frowned or was already frowning, so maybe his frown deepened or something? Or maybe his frown turned into …



‘We’ve known many trials since you were with us last, Aira. Cousin Boroden decided it’s best to wait for as many of the clan as can be mustered to join us, for we’re too few to take Velmoran alone.’

One of Boroden’s chieftains, Quentillian, puffed out his chest proudly. ‘Boroden is plotting a battle on the estuary plain to distract Krysila’s army whilst he slays her in Velmoran. It’s good that we remember the place so well and know how we may take the advantage.’ Somehow, I think the paragraph above could be improved.



Harfan turned abruptly to Aira. Maybe he looked from Quentillian to Aira?

‘Have you seen Fennec on your journey?’

‘No. I’ve had no sight nor scent of him. Why?’ Aira said.



Quentillian rubbed his chin. ‘Boroden sent him to deliver tidings to the brownies scattered from Novgorad that we’re waiting for them. He intended to return along the route you took.’
When you listen to the chapter, pay attention to the dialogue. Try to make it flow smoother and seem more natural. It seems a bit stilted to me.




A shiver of foreboding

trickled This seems a bit cliché and perhaps too light-hearted. Maybe something like: foreboding scratched/clawed/ down ?? twisted Aira’s spine??



down Aira’s spine. ‘Was Fennec alone?’

Quentillian nodded, continuing in his typical orotund style, ‘His esteemed majesty, King Boroden, sent Fennec because he’s well liked, being such an excellent cook. Boroden cleverly hoped Fennec’s popularity would convince the other brownies to join him in his plans to retake Velmoran. It’s such a pity that his well-conceived notion appears to have come to nothing.’

Carnelian’s greying locks fell over his eyes as he bowed his head mournfully. ‘Well then, we must pray for Fennec and prepare for the worst. This needs more depth. See comments below. I came back up to add this.

He may be lost or dead.’ In Carnelian’s voice hung a weight of inevitability that surprised Aira. Gretchen’s second husband usually spoke optimistically. Why does he think this?



Gretchen squeezed Carnelian’s hand, shaking her head ruefully. ‘I hope Fennec’s not dead.’

Aira felt tears prickling her eyes. ‘Poor Fennec, he always gave second helpings and cheery words at feasts. What a shame for his merry soul to leave us in such a way…’ Wait—he may be alive. Why the crying?



Aira followed the others as Harfan led them to the shepherd’s croft. Carnelian and Gretchen bumped shoulders companionably as they talked in hushed tones. How lovely to see them together again. Aira hoped that soon she too would find such happiness in a reunion with Boroden…

“as” is used 22 times in this chapter. Are there other options?

They’re all of a sudden sad. Now, they’re lovely? It’s not convincing, or the emotions don’t seem to last long enough before flipping.




Hëkitarka slipped his arm through Aira’s. She leaned against him gratefully, feeling weak and stumbling. From sad, to lovely, to weak too quickly for me.



‘I’m pleased you joined us now whilst we’re safe staying in the human dwelling,’ Harfan said. Aren’t they outside under the trees? …pleased you’re going to stay with us in the human dwelling…



Aira turned to him, puzzled. ‘I’m surprised Boroden allows you to help humans. He hates the curse that brownies must serve others.’ maybe something like: that condemns brownies to serve others



‘He doesn’t usually do chores about the place himself, though he had to admit that it’s our duty to the humans, and the only chance of getting food,’ Hëkitarka said. Why is it their duty? Do they owe the humans something? Perhaps this is in previous chapters and would be clear to the reader that didn’t just jump in? Aira knows how to pick apples. Are the brownies unable to find food?



‘I’ll gladly help you,’ Aira said.

‘That’ll be welcome, but not now. Now I intend to look after you.’ Hëkitarka swept Aira off her feet and carried her uphill. …after you, beautiful, …after you little squirt, …after you pumpkin or another endearing phrase?



Aira chuckled. ‘I can walk, you know.’

‘Maybe, but how else am I going to get you to notice my strong arms?’ Hëkitarka asked suavely.

Warmth rushed to Aira’s cheeks add comma
and she fell silent,

unsure what to unsure of what she should


reply when all she could think of was Boroden.

Harfan prodded Hëkitarka’s muscular arm. ‘He’s very proud of his strength. Lots of archery practice.’

‘I’m getting good. When we came to a ruined fortress a while back, I practiced shooting through the arrow slits. It takes great skill to do that in the thick of battle.’

If he was on the battlement and simply shot through the arrow slit, that was easy! Maybe he was on the ground and shot up into the loopholes.



‘You’ve grown since I last saw you,’ Aira said. If she’s flirting with him slightly, perhaps she squeezes his arm or something?


‘Do you think I’m handsome?’ Hëkitarka asked, tightening his grip and giving her a hopeful smile.

She glanced at him wearily. It would be wrong to deflate Hëkitarka after he had been so helpful. ‘Aye. You’ve got very nice eyes.’ Maybe more and yet less specific? Aye, I like the blue/brown/hazel colour of your eyes.


Harfan nudged his brother. ‘Very subtle.’

‘What?’ Hëkitarka asked innocently.

‘I can read your heart as easily as a cloudless day.’ Harfan slapped Hëkitarka on the shoulder add comma – maybe spellcheck would find these?
and they both grinned. Aira feigned a smile for the sake of politeness.

The poor boy is going to get his heart broken.



‘‘Ere we are,’ Klaufi called from up ahead, beckoning from on top of a mossy drystone wall.

‘Set me down, Hëki,’ Aira asked, going to join her friend Klaufi. How good it felt to be reunited with the clumsy young sorcerer.

Maybe something like: …Aira ordered. She nodded thank you at Heki and then hobbled toward Klaufi as fast as her broken/injured leg would let her. It had been too long since she had seen him. She smiled and waved. He waved back, and she hobbled faster.

Fast x 2 lol!



The path to the croft was stony and sun-baked, but not warm. stony and sunbaked but not warm no hyphen or comma


It wended steeply near gorse, gaunt thorns comma
and stands of rushes. At last, having crossed a reed whipped stream, Aira glimpsed a stone wall on a rise. Beyond it rose a slate roof half concealed behind an imposing ash tree. To one side lay a steep scree slope, as if the mountain would tumble down and engulf the sagging roof of the croft.

reed-whipped
half-concealed
Maybe there is a comma before half-concealed ??

Thanks for the new vocab word: scree.



‘Is that base?’ Aira asked Gefi.

New paragraph:
The bushy-haired brownie had woven a kilt for himself from green rushes, presumably because his own had become too tatty to wear.

‘Aye.’

‘Boroden’s there?’ Aira’s heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again. Aira said, glancing at the roof, while her heart fluttered at the thought of seeing him again.

I really hate commas before while, where, and when.

Maybe: Aira said, glancing at the roof. The thought of seeing him again made her heart flutter faster than a prancing fairy’s wings. Or, something that breaks it up.



Gefi gave a wary nod. ‘Aye.’

Aira sensed his uneasiness. ‘What is it?’

‘Come along, I’ll race you,’ Hëkitarka said before Gefi could reply.

Tall and bounding with energy, he Hekitarka
soon beat her. She fell back content to smile and watch. Carnelian opened the gate, the posts of which curved inwards like the ears of a donkey cocked to listen for surrounding sounds.
If you use the bit about fairy wings, it may be a lot to have donkey ears so soon.



Hëkitarka didn’t bother to go through the gate. Grabbing a rail on an old bedstead that the shepherd used to mend a breach in the drystone wall, he somersaulted over and landed with a triumphant grin. I’m not sure I understand this paragraph. How can he use a rail that is used to mend a breach?


‘Our humble abode.’ He gestured to the squat, long cottage. The last of the evening light glowed on the sturdy granite walls. ‘Luckily the humans should be turning in for the night now, so we’ll have the house to ourselves. We make sure we’ve got glamour ointment with us to make ourselves invisible to humans if the need arises.’

Flow: Do you need a transitional sentence after having the house and talking about ointment?

Delete: sturdy. Keep the number of adjectives down in a sentence.



Knowing Boroden was so close sent anticipation fizzing through Aira. She shoved back the oaken door that looked like it had been gnawed by centuries of squirrels. Slipping inside, she smoothed her tangled hair and brushed mud flecks from her skirt in an attempt to make herself look more presentable. As if by instinct, she stole softly towards the inglenook fireplace. She stopped in the shadow of a battered dresser, staring.

I love fizzing! Cool image. I love mud flecks!



The shepherd’s armchair huddled near the fire. Boroden sat on its footstool, the embers illuminating him. Aira drank in his familiar long, dark lashes and eyes as deep blue as the sky on a snowy night. His nose was rather sharp, and pride and pain had their place in his features. A heavy, embroidered robe that now appeared travel-worn swathed him. Something about him reminded Aira her instead of Aira
of a caged beast; regal yet beaten and in its woe, fierce. Her eagerness tinged with an upwelling of trepidation. She heard Hëkitarka and Harfan arrive behind her.

There’s some beautiful poetry going on here. *Smile*

Suggestion: New paragraph: Before she could finish savouring Boroden’s aura, Hekitarka and Harfan clomped their way next to her. Boroden spotted them, and the silent magic dissipated before she had time to drink her fill.

Maybe dwell on this a bit more. Maybe add more thoughts? Since I don’t know what was written in the previous chapter, I may be wrong, but it seems like a good place to let us into her head just a bit longer to feel her love for him and/or perhaps her fear for him or her fear of losing him?



Boroden moved to set down his cup.

‘Surprise!’ Hëkitarka exclaimed, pushing Aira towards Boroden as if she were an extravagant gift.

Aira grinned, bounding enthusiastically towards him. She wanted nothing more than to dispel his sorrow, to see him smile again. ‘Boroden!’ I’m not sure why he’s sorrowful, but I’m sure that the readers know.


He snapped upright, his lips parted in horror as if he beheld a ghost.

Aira faltered. ‘Boroden, what’s wrong? What’s happened?’

Casting her an apologetic glance, Boroden rounded on his cousins, averting his gaze from Aira. ‘What’s she doing here? She shouldn’t have come.’

Aira stared aghast. Harfan took her arm to lead her away.

Hëkitarka confronted Boroden, his hands on his hips. ‘You should be happy. I told you I had a surprise.’

‘What a wonderful surprise it is! Do you think it amuses me to know that Aira is now in peril?’ That’s what I figured.


Hëkitarka said in a half pleading, half admonishing tone, ‘Boroden, can’t you find a word of welcome? You were fond of Aira, once.’ Ouch!


Boroden turned his back, his throat muscles contracting as if he fought to hold back strong emotion.

POV shift. Boroden turned his back, so how can Aira see his throat muscles constracting?



Hëkitarka stepped forward. ‘We need Aira with us. She’s the only one who knows where her swordsmith father hid the sword that can slay Krysila.’ Aha! I remember this. Go girl, go girl!


Boroden growled in exasperation. ‘She gave me directions before we left. Why else do you think I’m charting a course towards the village where she lived?’ where she used to live.


Hëkitarka scowled. ‘How am I supposed to know that? I’m never told anything — you always say I’m too young.’ Maybe, but he wasn’t the only one who arrived with her.


Aira went to Boroden’s side. He would surely understand if he knew what she and Gretchen had been through. ‘Redcaps add comma
under Krysila’s orders add comma
attacked our cottage add comma
and the poor
dryads were destroyed in their forest home. We fled. We had to run. Luckily,
Hëki led us to you add comma
and I daresay we’ll be better off with you than anywhere else. I thought you’d be happy to see me!” She pursed her lips and swallowed the tears that clambered up her throat. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” She crossed her arms, hugging her chest in an effort to hide her disappointment.
Though you think not?’ Could you make this a bit smoother and perhaps add a little more?


Boroden hunched his shoulders. ‘You’re in just as much danger here. You should have gone to the Light Elves for safety, not come to me.’

‘I’m sorry. I wanted to see you… I thought that you’d be glad. Perhaps I might do something to help you?’ Aira smiled at him falteringly.

‘I’m king. I must make my decisions alone,’ Boroden replied, striding to the door. ‘Forgive me, I need some air.’

...




Boroden was ashamed at how Aira’s unexpected appearance shook him. And her news… if he had not chosen to take on the Unseelie Court add comma
then the dryads might yet be alive and Aira and Gretchen spared from danger. Too many lives had been lost because of him.

He flung back the garden gate and strode towards the wall overlooking the mountains. Attach this sentence to the following paragraph.


At times, he hated the responsibilities that came with being king. He wished he was someone other than Boroden Ulfharen, the brownie made king whilst still a child, who witnessed loved ones slain, his home destroyed by brutal greed. When Midhir looked at him he thought him an outcast; a penniless, homeless nothing. Boroden had held on. He thought he had won. Then everything began to unravel. Why? What had he done to merit it?

Nice thoughts here! We can feel his suffering and confusion.

Slain and his home
When Midhir looked at him, he felt like an outcast—a penniless, homeless nothing. Yet, he had held strong, and for a moment, he had thought that he had won. Then everything…

Notice the commas and the dash.



Perhaps his curse brought such ill-luck upon him? Even worse, the cloth-of-silver lined cloak which he used to control it had been stolen on the journey to the shepherd’s dwelling, taken in the night by a creature whose footprints resembled those of a brownie. But why would one of his clan steal from him? Unless Aira was right and his father had survived and turned to the Unseelie Court? He wouldn’t put it past King Gruagach to expose his curse…

Cool! A curse! Love it. This is good (although it feels just a tad like an info dump.)



Boroden gazed at the mountains across the valley, seeing not the landscape before him, but his inescapable grief. He shook himself, trying to make the scene hold his thoughts. His grief felt manageable when he focused on the permanent things, like the brownie clan’s way marked out in the high and distant stars, and the directions told by tree and stream and mountain. These things remote from mortal life knew no love, for love only led to pain…

For me, gaze is a happy action. Maybe he stared, unfocused, at the mountains…?

To avoid repetition, if using the above suggestion with “unfocused,” then perhaps:
…when he concentrated on the permanent things like: the brownie clan’s way marked out in the high with the distant stars,



Boroden He
once dreamed of living long, happy years with Aira as his queen. Now, after months of hardship, the bleak reality of what lay ahead sank in. The help he hoped for from the brownies left behind in Novgorad had not come. He saw no option other than to find the sword of

Talibereth ore Is this correct?


to slay the immortal kraken. The responsibility of protecting his people at all costs had been instilled in him since he was a bairn. As king, he must face Krysila and be cursed

to Is this correct?


lose his life in the process.

Part of him felt as if it was drowning add comma
and he desperately wanted to find a way out. He had been wrong to

tell Aira his feelings reveal his feelings to Aira


and make her suffer as he did that they must be parted. as much as he did, knowing that they must be parted. (What does parted mean? Is it temporary or like for-e-ver?


He had
hoped that time and distance might help her forget him, but now she was here…

Aira’s gentle touch broke his train of thought. He froze, not having noticed that she had followed him. He froze. He hadn’t realized that she was following him.


‘I’ll go and get settled in. It’s good to see you again,’ Aira said. She nodded and turned back.


As she slipped away, Boroden fought the urge to catch her, to take her in his arms and apologise for his gruffness. It was better if he let her go, even if it hurt worse than

the wounds of weapons. vinegar poured into a thousand sword gashes.

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Review of FRIENDSHIP  
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Hi Starchild,

This was a lovely story! It brought tears to my eyes. That's what stories are all about.

As far as giving you suggestions to improve it, I would suggest using the Microsoft Word Read Aloud function. You might find a few little things that you would like to edit.

This short story took me on a journey of friendship and loss. Thank you for sharing! *Smile*

Keep writing,

Tadpole1
18
18
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (3.0)
What made the bird come for them? Was it summoned? A coincidence? It saw them and decided to help?

Maybe they noticed the bird’s arrival because of its shadow?

Comma after ladies.

The bird rescued them, and they didn’t thank it. Or, the bird grabbed both (odd if hunting), and they didn’t have a last thought after getting away? The escape was a bit too fast. Make us fear for them if the jay meant to harm them. Was there a nest with chicks?

Earlier, I was wondering if they had magically summoned it. It didn’t try to catch them again after they got away? They forget about it too quickly.

Missing hyphens: half-

In my mind, the bird flew them far and fast, so it surprises me that the redcaps are there so quickly. Then they escaped the redcaps too quickly/easily. Make it harder.

Don’t tell us about their conversation, let us see the dialogue because I imagine that this is important. Where are they when they’re talking?

Is it raining? Misty? Hot as a dwarf’s forge? Are their toes burning from frostbite ? Did a mosquito just stick one of them with its...? What do they hear? A stream? Thunder? The redcaps’ horns? Dogs barking? A féerie singing instructions to them? What colors? What smells? Just a little...a dribble here and a dribble there.

I have the feeling that the mental connection is big, so it’s good to give us a little information and make us hungry enough to learn more by turning the page.

Please, forgive, I’m on my phone and a bit succinct.

Thanks for sharing!

Tadpole1
19
19
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)
Hi HM,

I was simply listening and following along with my eyes, and when I hit the following passage, it broke the flow (pulled me out of the story).

FLOW: Aira bit back the retort that any of her brownie friends would make far better use of an immortal life that Krysila was.

MISSING WORD: Though she pretending to be sleeping, her mind whirled as she planned to escape and find her clan.

When Serena first gets Aira and takes her from the cell, what is the purpose? Is it simply to inform us that Krysila left? Also, I think there could be more scenery because I did not see the room.

The next day, when both Serena and Leanan are there, I think there needs to be more scenery with the characters interacting with the scenery. I could not "see" the scene as the chapter progressed. Did anyone step in a puddle? Did light flicker across anyone's face? Was there a noise in the background? Did they have a particular smell? Although it's nice to have some scenery up front, I think that, during a long conversation, we need bits and pieces of scenery to show where a character is when.

Now, Aira has been able to fool her captors and may be able to get closer to Boroden. Clever girl!

Thank you for sharing! I enjoyed the chapter.

Tadpole1
20
20
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.5)
Hi HM,

I have my earphones on and am listening to the chapter. First chapters are so important. My ears caught a typo.

You wrote: ‘Of couse I do, but he wouldn’t let me
Typo: Of course

Be careful about mixing verb tenses:

You wrote: Tomorrow, the remaining oak timbers were dealt with, the humans would likely turn to butchering the trees around the brownies’ cottage. By tomorrow, she, Gretchen, the ponies and the unicorn must have left the forest.

To me, mixing the word tomorrow and past tense (were) doesn't make sense. Maybe you forgot a word. Maybe when or after?

Also, tomorrow is used twice. Maybe the second one could be: By then, she, Gretchen,...

I'm still listening and caught a missing word.

You wrote: Aira glanced down to where Gretchen was following her, motioning her to shrink down to the of a mouse as she had done already.

Missing word: size

The chapter is really interesting, so I'm only noting the little things that could be fixed.

I wonder if it would be interesting to notice that her stepmother's face, hands, or clothes are sooty after climbing up the chimney?

Suggestion: After you make your corrections, when you have five minutes, listen to the chapter to see if you think that there are repetitions that could be removed.

I just finished listening to the chapter, and now, I'm going to listen to it again with a different ear. Lol!

Care about the hero: In the very first paragraph, we learn that the hero is a kind person, which makes me care about her.

You wrote: Having a meal in the warm was a welcome prospect.
Do you mean warmth? Is there a word missing?

You wrote: Besides, the apples weighed more heavily in her basket with each step she took as her muscles grew tired.

But are these the same apples that she picked at the beginning of the chapter because a lot of time has gone by?

Typo: scurrried

I'm stopping here for the moment; although, I'm enjoying the chapter.

Aira's want: Maybe it is to see Boroden again, or maybe it's to protect Boroden.

Wait, one more thing, maybe you would like to break the chapter into scenes with scene breaks or into separate chapters when the place changes. For example, when she is no longer at home or in the forest but in the human's house. Maybe. It's up to you.

Thank's for sharing your great story.

Tadpole1
P. S. I'll be back!


21
21
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (4.0)
Hi HM,

I like the opening better. *Smile* There is a part that isn't completely clear to me as far as space goes though.

You wrote:

Hovering on the edge of the camp whilst her friends lit a fire and prepared supper, Aira knew the time had come.

Stepping down the worn rocks peeping from the grassy hillside, she found Quentillian hailing her. ‘Aira, wait!’

Glancing back

My interpretation: She's not moving because she's at the camp. Then, all of a sudden, she's in movement, and she sees Q in front of her, but then she glances backward as if he is behind her.

Obviously, I've misinterpreted something, silly me.

Thanks for sharing!

Tadpole1



22
22
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 13+ | (3.5)
Hi HM,

Here is the beginning of my review. What is happening is really interesting.

Be careful about the repetition of the word "as." It appears three times in the first sentence and then immediately in the second sentence. It really stands out. Sometimes, "when" can be substituted. In any case, I suggest using the find function (control f) to see when the word "as" appears, and then see if an alternate phrasing would work better.

I think the first paragraph makes the reader work too hard. Maybe break up the long sentence?

I think this sentence is better without commas because I think that everything that comes before the word "did" is the subject of the sentence (beware the autocorrections, lol). "Only when the final couple of hills lay between the brownies and the village and Boroden resumed some semblance of his former self did Aira’s keenness for her mission return."

Maybe consider reorganizing the beginning:

1. Aira recognized the land with each step she took. 2. Quentillian hailed her from behind. 3. She stopped, and when she turned around, she noticed Boroden trailing in the back. 4. His sadness lessened the joy of leading the group. 5. Quentillian asked her where she was going, and 6. when he said that it was dangerous, 7. Boroden said that she would not be going alone because she was going with him.

Okay, that was just an idea of how you might want to change the order of the opening paragraphs. Cause and then effect, which happens first and what is the result: Why did she turn around? Because Quentillian hailed her. She noticed Boroden's sadness, which lessened her joy. Quentillian said it was dangerous, but Boroden assured that she would not be alone.

Is this helpful?

I'll come back to review more soon.

Tadpole1

23
23
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)
Holly Merry – Where Rainbows Dance – Chapter One


Hi HM,

Thank you for sharing the chapter!

Plot: The kraken throws Aira into a cell to break her. Aira pretends to be broken, and Leeann takes her from the cave to her boudoir to eventually work as a seamstress.

What I liked best: All the imagination! I loved the way the kraken could choose a skin and change her shape; plus, the cave where her mind was tortured was pretty cool. Also, there is a lot of cool vocabulary.

When she convinced Leeann that she was crazy, it seemed a bit easy. Also there was a confusion about Serena showing up.

I thought it was great how you were able to stay in Aira’s head.

Thanks for sharing!

Tadpole1

“Coming around behind Aira, Krysila grabbed her arms, though she remained stiff and resisting.” The word “she” is confusing.

“Krysila raised her hand and thwacked the air, making the men start back. ‘No, I’ll deal with this puny House Elf. I want to feel her fear.’” Wickedly cool!

“Aira struggled against Krysila’s superior strength as she herded her forward. Her feet slipping on the damp rock, she involuntarily clutched at Krysila to steady herself. Beneath her fingers, the warm arm of the brownie woman twisted into the muscular bulk of a tentacle, cold as dead flesh.”

Suggestion: as the kraken herded her forward.

It’s no problem at all, but I’m surprised that Krysila’s arm was warm even in brownie form. Wouldn’t she still be cold even if she changed shape? Just curious.

“Krysila threw her into an utterly black cell in the loneliest corner. Behind her, Aira heard the door locked and Krysila commanding the knights.”

Into the loneliest corner of …?

Suggestion: Aira heard the door lock.

“About to hit the rock, she squealed.” I associate squealed with a happy sensation, perhaps, shrieked or something that shows both screaming and fright?

POV “Aira shook back her golden hair that fell over her weariness weighted eyes.” Would Aira actually notice the color of her hair? Maybe because she seems to be subject to some kind of mind tampering by the kraken.

“Distantly she heard Boroden yelling her name.” Suggestion: calling her name.

“With this hopeful plan, Aira endured the horrors. She had appeared too sane, too defiant, when Serena let her out before. This time must be different.” Clever brownie!

Telling: “She began to rave for her doll and describe the pretty clothes she would make for it, heedless of all else.” Let her actually rave.

Confusion: It is confusing as to who is saying what here. Also, where did Serena come from? I thought it was Leeann:

“Leanan raised one of her delicately formed eyebrows. ‘One may get used to hellfire after a while. Torturing others is not without pleasure for me. I find ample occupation in wringing the hearts of my knights. Why not join me? The way to heaven is narrow and fraught with stones, this other is easy.’

‘Never.’

‘You delight in choosing a difficult path.’

‘If that’s so, then you’ll enjoy spending more time in the cell.’ Serena moved to place Aira back for further torture with a vindictiveness that Aira guessed came from jealousy. After all, Serena had once tried to steal Boroden’s love from Aira.”

“Clasping Aira’s hand, Leanan led her away. After so long spent in the dank of the caverns, Aira’s lungs rejoiced to fill with the crisp, cold air of the cavernous passages that Leanan ushered her along en route to her dwelling.” The use of caverns and cavernous doesn’t feel right here. Maybe replace the second one? Maybe something like “crisp, cold air flowing through the passages?

“Aira curtsied to the bevy of handmaidens that met Leanan as she slipped into her stylish chambers.” Why would Aira curtsy to handmaidens, especially handmaidens of the enemy? Wouldn’t Aira feel superior to these handmaidens?

Typo: “‘You look so tiny sat there,’ Leanan said.” Suggestion: so tiny sitting there.

Between rocking and way, I was thinking of a boat. Lol! Also, would the cushion really rock?
“Aira nodded, the velvet cushion beneath her head rocking at the motion. ‘I’m grateful.’

Leanan waved a hand as if keen to shoo away her touched expression.” This is a bit confusing.

“‘Of course.’ Aira curled herself up as the handmaidens busied themselves. Though she pretending to be sleeping, her mind whirled as she planned escaping and finding her clan.”

Suggestion: Though she pretending to be sleeping
Suggestion: “as she planned her escape” or “as she planned to escape and find her clan.”

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Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)

HollyMerry – Where Rainbows Dance





I love the title


Aira crouched in the corner nearest the door of her cell, waiting for it to open. Great opening sentence!
Ears pricked to catch any approaching tread, she rehearsed how she would dart behind the stalwart oak door and hide. With any luck she might be able to slip out unnoticed as her captors searched the cave for her. She wished her heart did not pound so loudly in fear that it masked the distant sounds that she strained to interpret. Even the clink of water drops or the stirring of a bat set her on edge. I can’t put my finger on it, but I feel like the rhythm of the sentences is too similar. Hmm. Am I mistaken, or is it possible to alter the rhythm a bit? Otherwise, great.


Focusing on the chink of light filtering in beneath the door with its multitude of scratches doubtless left by past prisoners trying to escape, Confusion: What has the scratches the chink or the door? Perhaps rewording or punctuation?
Aira tried not to look back at her dismal surroundings. Yet, the clammy air pressing against her back made her want to look round with her senses alert to danger.

Maybe start the paragraph with Vile yellow threads?


Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like the venom of a giant spider, congealing into stalagmite fangs. The silence of the cave oppressed Aira after the clamour when she and her fellow brownies were captured by monsters under the kraken’s command to prevent them from taking back the coastal home that the kraken seized from them.

“look” x 2



Maybe something like this?

Vile yellow threads of cavern sludge oozed down the walls like venom from a giant spider, congealing into stalagmite fangs. Aira shivered from the foul odour and slid her focus toward the door with its multitude of scratches, doubtless left by past prisoners, and willed herself to focus on the chink of light filtering beneath it. She wanted to ignore her dismal surroundings, but the silence of the cave oppressed her. In her mind, the clamour from when she and her fellow brownies were captured still rang, threatening a wave of sadness. She shifted her gaze to the lock in the door and clenched her fist, remembering how the kraken had seized their home and then led the monsters to capture her and her companions to prevent them from retaking it. Somehow, she would get it back.





Something slithered along the tunnel outside, heading towards her cell. Aira’s breathing grew ragged as she pushed herself to her feet. In the ghastly glow of the lantern light, she glimpsed Krysila’s tentacle wrenching the door back. The kraken slipped inside the cell with the speed of a squid lunging at its prey.

Aira had no time to move to enact her escape plan. The shock left her no less dauntless. There would be another time. This sounds a bit telly, but part of it is thought.


Krysila selected one of the skins that hung from her tentacles, using magic to use the skin to cloak her sea monster form. Aira tried not to think of the hideous fate of Krysila’s victims who had supplied the skins. Cool image. Cool with Krysila using their skins.

Using/use
Skin x 3



In the kraken’s place stood a quaintly dressed brownie lady, her lips pursed as if she had sipped sour milk. Lol!
Aira’s stomach clenched in loathing of her detestable mockery. Krysila was no House Elf but an evil sorceress of the sea. Aira’s hands clench clenched


into fists in indignation at the memory of how Krysila used brownie form to trick the brownie clan into falling into her clutches. Like the others, Aira had thought she could trust a woman of their own kind, especially one beloved by the brownie king, Gruagach.

This is the second time that the idea of a memory is used.



Aira met her captor’s gaze with a steadfast stare. ‘What are you here for? I’ll never side with you.’

‘You don’t need to. I already have King Gruagach’s support.’

‘Your dupe?’ Aira asked crisply. ‘He’s not of royal blood, only married into the brownie royal family.’ She steadied her breath, her courage returning as she thought of her beloved, Prince Boroden. She would stand true to his cause to the end. ‘Boroden is the true King of the House Elves - I’ll serve no other. None of my fellow brownies will either, for our kind swore an oath to listen only to the true descendants of Velmoran’s first king and queen.’

I’m not an expert on hyphens and dashes, but I wonder if it shouldn’t be a dash above?

You wrote: House Elves - I’ll
Suggestion: House Elves—I’ll

There are a couple of kinds of dashes, and like I said, I’m no master of dashes.






Krysila bared her teeth in a scoff. ‘The coastal land of Velmoran is mine now - don’t forget that.’


Do people bare their teeth when they scoff?



A flicker of hope lit Aira’s heart as Krysila’s strong jaw twitched in annoyance. Perhaps her words had made Krysila reluctant to kill Boroden? They would certainly reinforce what King Gruagach said earlier when he begged the kraken to stay her wrath, arguing that the brownie clan would be outraged by his son’s death.

Suggestion: Delete strong and just keep jaw.
Suggestion: Instead of reluctant perhaps hesitant?



‘Prince Boroden is unfit to become king. His health shall soon be broken after a spell of torture in my dungeons. If you want to survive, you brownies have no choice but to obey Gruagach as regent in Boroden’s stead. I’m sure that, with my prompting, father and son will come to agree.’ Krysila gave a sickening smile. Coming around behind Aira, Krysila grabbed her arms, though she remained stiff and resisting.

When I read sickening smile, I thought of the word simpered.

I’m stopping her for now. So far, it’s a cool chapter. Thanks for sharing!

T

25
25
Review by Tadpole1
Rated: 18+ | (4.5)
Hi HM,

I just read the chapter on my phone, which kept me from making inline comments, but allowed me to read quickly through.

Nicely done. Without going back and checking, I believe there are at least two people with Boroden, but I’m not sure exactly how many people are with him.

Right away, we meet and cheer for the hero. Go Boroden! We learn right away what his goal is. The chapter ends with us wanting to know how he’s going to escape and save Aira.

There are a few missing commas. If a sentence has this structure COMMA then remember to put a comma.

Smiles to you,

Tadpole1
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