I have a new WIP to introduce to y'all today! Woohoo!!!!!!

I haven't mentioned my WIP for the 100-for-100 yet this year. But that's okay--I'm going to talk about it now!!!! ^_^

I've been hoping to write some novellas based on Pentegreen Series characters for a long time, and with this Go Teen Writers challenge, I've finally found the perfect chance to do so. So far I'm loving working on this world--it's set in a very different place from the body of the Pentegreen series, but there ARE some very, very familiar characters taking the center stage. Because this novella is a backstory novella for everyone's favorite...

Rishatta Woods!

*ducks to hide from the insane level of shrieking* pwease don't hurt me

But anyway, back to about this novella...I decided to write a backstory about my smol sad bean boi. Because I needed to know it, partially...it's definitely easier to write a story that's heavy on backstory when you actually, erm, know the character's backstory. And Rishatta hasn't had an easy time of it.

This is a first for me in a lot of ways. My first time writing a novella with the same characters, but a different story. My first time doing a prequel. My first time attempting a tragedy.

This is a novella of firsts, too. First love, first heartbreak, first kisses, first rebellion, first attempts. Because nobody's story begins at the start of the Pentegreen series. Everyone's pasts are incredibly important, which I delve into in the later books of the series...but also here. Because I'm an indecisive goldfish. Anyway.

Have a blurb, some aesthetics, and a couple of snippets!

Blurb

Snippets

The Characters

His mental mask slid into place. He was here to bring honor to their father, nothing more. If he ran into his friends, that would be nice. But he was here for his father and his family’s name and their repute as the highest family of Venaria. In Lascogine, he would have been a prince. Here, he could be no less.

Anna cupped her chin in her hands and batted her eyelashes pleadingly. “Father!” She glanced up at Rishatta. “He’s a stone wall.”
Rishatta sighed and braced himself. For her sake rather than his own he hoped Burashna would look up, pay them a bit of attention, because he didn’t want to see what Anna would say to get Burashna’s attention. She was absolutely fearless. She was brutal.
She had no tact.

The candlelight reflected in her eyes, sparkling in the light of a thousand stars. And her aura—it was warm. Warmth radiated from her, filling him, touching his heart so that he shivered, aware of his own chill for the first time in years. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so cold—and yet he could only feel it because of the warmth.

Shai took his place on Rishatta’s right and walked beside him at an easy lope. This was his house and he could afford to be sloppy, although Rishatta had never once seen Shai be sloppy. His masks were easy and graceful, but masks nonetheless.

For whatever reason, Anna truly had allowed herself to hope that today, just once, Father would pay attention to them and act like he actually cared. He didn’t. That was the long and short of it. He didn’t care, and Rishatta had no idea what he could possibly do to make him care.

“Do you want to complain as well, boy?” Burashna didn’t even look at him.

This is the actual title of the main theme song for this book (the thumbnail is weird srry). Yes, it's a pun. Yes, I cried laughing when I realized it was a pun. No, I didn't do it on purpose. It just...works.


Additional lyrics:


We're sleepin' through all the days//I'm actin' like I don't see every ribbon you use to tie yourself to me//Lorde

We're going down, down in an earlier round//but sugar, we're going down swinging//Fall Out Boy

This town ain't big enough for two of us//I don't have the right name or the right looks//but I have twice the heart//Fall Out Boy

We'll be the greatest, they'll hang us in the Louvre//down the back, but who cares? Still the Louvre.//Lorde

Why didn't I just take back everything I said to you//take back everything I put you through//why didn't I tell you?//For King and Country


So that's it! That's my novella and I hope you liked this little glimpse at it <3

Also, I retitled book 3 of the Pentegreen series! I realized that while I liked The Winter's Chill, but it didn't fit with the rest of the series. So after some brainstorming with the amazing Nicki Chapelway, I decided to give book 3 a new title, which is:

The Soldier's Gamble