Yes, I know it's technically not November anymore, but the November - December giveaway is still taking place, so this is the November excerpt of Violets Are Blue. The Christmas season is upon us, and both Bree and I thought we would reveal some more . . . Christmas-y excerpts of VAB. Both this month and next month, y'all will be treated to snippets from my book that take place during and around Christmas. Enjoy!
Anna turned to Helen with a quizzical look on her face.
“Now that you mention it…” she said. “I haven’t seen Emma all morning. Helen, have you?”
Helen shook her head, her long brunette braids shaking.
“No, I haven’t. But why do you need Emma, Vi?”
“I wanted to ask her a question about Christmas.”
“Christmas! Oh, I almost forgot! Is it really so close?” Helen’s eyes shone with excitement.
“Christmas is in only in one more week,” Anna counted on her fingers. “We don’t have much time to make a feast.”
“A feast! Will there really be a feast?” Helen and Anna both turned to me eagerly.
“Well, girls, that’s what I wanted to talk about with Emma.” I sat down on the floor next to them. “You see, we don’t have very much money for a feast… and…”
“No feast? But it’s Christmas—we have to have a feast!” Helen’s face looked sadly disappointed.
“It’s all right, Violet. We understand,” Anna said softly. “Don’t we, Helen?”
“Understand? But that’s not fair! It’s not Christmas without a ham! Can we not afford just a small one?” Helen looked very upset.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “But I don’t think we should worry Mum and Father about it. If they see that we’re disappointed, it will make them feel really bad that they can’t afford a ham.”
“Yes,” Anna said. “I won’t say anything. I don’t want to hurt Mum or Father.”
Helen just frowned.
“Well, I’d best go see if I can find Emma,” I said, rising to my feet. “Don’t worry, Helen,” I reassured my sister. “We’ll make this Christmas special no matter what.”
This is beautiful, Elizabeth! The dialogue is really well-written out. I really, really like it. The personality of Helen comes out clearly as well as the slightly willful, immature little girl, while Violet and Anna as more responsible and thoughtful ;). I like Anna's comment "We’ll make this Christmas special no matter what."
ReplyDeleteP.S. I was just wondering, considering that your story is telling about an English family, wouldn't it be best if the children used the terms for their parents, either "Father" and "Mother" or "Papa" and "Mama", being a more of British/European parents name originally? It's funny, because in Australia we call our mothers "Mum" but even though I do that, I usually call mother, "Mama"!! :). Anyway, it is just a thought, because I know it can be a bit confusing in writing, especially with historical fiction!
I must say that I just found this blog, and what an incredible idea for a blog it is! I'm in the middle of writing my own Titanic story for a short story contest, so I'm very interested in all of your posts- I only wish I'd found your blog earlier!
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