Friday, July 2, 2010

ROMANCE AND THE SINGLE MOUSE

By K. Keith



My landlord's away for the week, and I have to figure out how to get rid of a mouse. He/she/it showed up Friday night while I was typing my historical romance. I saw a small blur of brown fur scurry from under the bedroom door. My mind lurched from the colliding destinies of my hero and heroine to “What the heck was that?!”

I yelled at the mouse and it shot back under the door. Maybe it’ll go away, I thought. Type, type, type. Maybe it got lost and was on its way to my downstairs neighbors.

Type, type, type. I had better things to ponder such as the logistics of getting Lord Wilton and Juliana into several bedchambers of shady Lord Oxley’s castle. Why several bedchambers? They’re searching for something—a vellum document actually—which could reverse fortunes and reveal the identity of the true Baron of Oxley shire. Along the way, Lord Wilton and Juliana, equal parts annoyed and besotted with each other, are caught in a compromising position and—

The mouse came back.

“Out!” I shouted as it fled.

Type, type, type. The second day, A.M.—After Mouse. Late Saturday night, I was on my laptop. I edited the fight scene where Lord Wilton, muddied up and pounded by two thieves, is rescued by Juliana. No, Juliana hasn’t been working out. She tosses a small knife to him. In the year 1206, everyone in England carries knives. Later, Lord Wilton cleans up nicely. With a lock of dark hair falling over his forehead and those brown eyes, he just might be forgiven by Juliana someday.

What did he do? Well—

The mouse scurried in from under the door. I wondered why it only comes when I’m writing. At least, I had a routine. I yelled at it and made a catlike lunge. The mouse retreated as usual. We did a couple of more rounds of me crouching and shouting and the mouse scampering off.

Today, I’m buying a trap and asking for mouse advice from my critique group. Critique groups are wonderful, but more on that later in another blog posting.♥



 K. Keith is a RWANYC member. She's busy writing her first historical romance about Hexford, aka Lord Wilton, and Juliana. No mice were harmed in the writing of this blog. She confused the mouse so much with her catlike behavior that he/she/it hasn't shown up in weeks.

9 comments:

  1. Forsooth, a new character seems poised to enter and complicate the task of Wilton and Juliana - perhaps a spell trapped in a dungeon and cornered by - RATS!

    Fun post, Karen - and best of luck with the Lord and his Lady's adventures!

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  2. Wow, my first comment! Thanks for the thumbs up, Lise. It means a lot coming from from an accomplished writer like you. Karen

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  3. For some reason, I'm thinking of Reepacheep from Narnia -- the sword welding fighting mouse Made me smile, Karen! Kudos.

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  4. I agree with Lise. There is a reason why that mouse keeps appearing. Clearly it is related to the book somehow. It is not a coincidence. Perhaps the castle of shady Lord Oxley is pervaded with rodents. They are attracted by the rolls of vellum--actually charters from the time of William the Conqueror--giving huge grants of land to favored Normans. The evil ancestor of Lord Oxley killed the recipients, stole the charters, and to this day (in 1206) his nefarious, pernicious family holds lands that rightly belong to others--like Lord Wilton. Breaking free from his fevered lovemaking with Juliana, Lord Wilton realizes that the mouse they see all the time in the castle is always chewing on vellum. Vellum!! Wilton and Juliana spend a reluctant few hours actually doing something other than fevered lovemaking as they search for the vellum, find the hidden charters, restore all the land to the rightful owners, and HEA!

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  5. The above stupid comment is from me: Elizabeth Palladino

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  6. Hi Dee, Thanks so much for reading my blog. Kudos from you is a big deal! I'm glad you liked it. Karen K.

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  7. Elizabeth, What a great alternate universe plot! I love it! Mine is slightly different, although closets are used in rather entertaining ways. Karen K.

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  8. Very cute post! I think you should try to work that mouse into the story somewhere. I'm looking forward to hearing more about Juliana and Hexford!

    Lis

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  9. Lis, Thanks so much for your kind words. Alas, no mouse in this story. However, there is a finicky, rabbit-fearing horse. Karen

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