TITLE: ADULT
GENRE: SECRET
A clamor of rooks exploded through the trees, nearly drowning out the woman’s scream.
Morgan’ head jerked up, his mouth quirking into a grim smile. At last! Trouble. It had been a boring patrol thus far. He put his heels to Arnicus’ flanks and the big grey gelding quickened its pace along the narrow trail. The raucous calls of the birds faded as they flapped off. A watchful silence overtook the woods, broken only by the thud of Arnicus’ hooves on the summer-dry earth.
Morgan scanned the undergrowth for the source of that cry. There was no good reason why a lady, screaming or otherwise, should be in the middle of the King’s forest. But whatever the reason, he had to find her. Help her, if possible. Avenge her, if not. He’d never been one to shy away from trouble. No soldier was, or he didn’t remain a solider for long.
Miss Snark's First Victim
Historical or Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThe thud of hooves, the King's forest, and the MC's need to "Avenge" her.
Historical
ReplyDeleteA lady in the middle of the King's forest? That screams Historical to me.
I'm going to say Fantasy but only because the language isn't historical (but everything else seems like it is).
ReplyDeleteNote: watch the use of passive language. For example, Morgan should jerk his head up, rather than his head jerking itself up.
Good luck!
Holly
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteKing's forest.
Historic - horse, soldier with no mention of his weapon, lady, king's forest
ReplyDeleteHistorical.
ReplyDeleteUh, "Morgan's head jerked up" is active.
A hint I was given by an experienced writer is don't begin two paragraphs in a row with the same word. This can involve some arbitrary rewriting, but it avoids repetition.
Historical romance - some good detail here.
ReplyDeleteHistorical romance.
ReplyDeleteThe soldier/"hero" may save the damsel in distress?
either historical or fantasy. At this point I'm leaning toward historical.
ReplyDeleteHistorical fiction, what with a soldier to the rescue on a horse. I liked this opening and would read more. Good luck, Sarah
ReplyDeleteI am leaning towards Historical Romance
ReplyDeleteDefinitely historical setting, but I agree that the language feels more modern. I don't see any fantasy references and suspect a romance in the making with the damsel in need of rescue.
I'm going with Historical -- because of the horse and King's forest -- though there may be fantasy elements coming down the line.
ReplyDeleteHistorical.
ReplyDeleteA soldier on horseback in the King's Forest. The tone might suit fantasy, but everything in the excerpt is realistic. Could be a mystery, too.
I'm going with High Fantasy! A member of the king's guard on a horse in the forest, likely on the lookout for poachers. It could be historical, but I just can't picture that with the setup we've got here.
ReplyDeleteAlso I almost never see rooks used as a scenery element unless something is about to get really creepy. So at a guess, just from that (and the fact that there shouldn't be a woman where he is at all), I'm thinking the woman isn't actually human. Which is another reason I'm picking fantasy over historical.
Historical fiction, medieval times, given the horseback and emphasis on chivalry. Could be historical romance, since he may end up rescuing the girl.
ReplyDeleteYou have some nice setting details here, but the typos counted against you. In addition, the MC's 'At last! Trouble.' coupled with him immediately riding headlong into danger, makes him sound very young. If this does end up being a romance, that 'young' feeling is going to be problematic.
Historical Fantasy
ReplyDeleteIt's too action-packed out the gate to be historical romance all by itself. Sounds interesting.
HISTORICAL
ReplyDeleteReads medieval to me. Horse, King's Forest, girl to rescue...then again he calls himself a soldier, not a knight or whatever. Hmm.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThe mention of the king.
I can't tell.
ReplyDeleteAt this point, it could be historical or fantasy, but I don't know which. I didn't want to just blindly guess.
Fantasy. Horseback soldiers, saving ladies.
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling between historical and fantasy.
ReplyDeleteI know this manuscript, so I can't give answer.
ReplyDeleteFANTASY
ReplyDeleteThough I feel like the opening sentence is a cheap attempt at attention grabbing. I'm not grounded enough to care about the rock clamor or the woman's scream, so it's just meaningless action to me.
Historical fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThe King's forest, a grey gelding, the MC is a soldier; all suggest medieval time period. The MC sounds like a lad about to undertake a quest, which is typical of fantasy.
Historical
ReplyDeleteThe King's forest. Adventure or romance may develop. No sign of magic or anything, so I see no reason to say Fantasy.
I'm going to say fantasy.
ReplyDeleteOnce again,everything in this writing sample says YA, not adult. Morgan feels very young - anxious to act out his idea of being a soldier more than having real soldiering experience. He has no idea who this woman is - young, old, wealthy or a servant but he's willing to avenge a crime (at this moment unknown) against her. Real soldiers, the ones who live to tell tales, learn to be a bit more circumspect.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteThe horse's odd name, Arnicus, the King's forest, helping the lady or avenging her, a soldier on patrol, always running toward danger instead of away sounds very King Arther to me.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThe horse's name, King's forest.
Fantasy
ReplyDeleteThere are rooks, a king's forest, and a damsel in distress.
@Mark Murata - It is active, but his head shouldn't be jerking itself. It should read- Morgan jerked his head up, rather than - Morgan's head jerked up. Morgan is in charge of his body. He has to make it work.
EPIC FANTASY
ReplyDeleteNo direct mention of magic, but there are horses and the King's forest where no woman should be. I suppose it could be straight historical, but if the time period isn't obvious, I tend to assume fantasy :).
Historical Fiction I thought I'd already commented on this, but just in case, I've posted again. Good luck, Sarah
ReplyDeleteHistorical
ReplyDeleteThe horse, the patrol, the King's forest make it seem like a medieval setting. There's nothing overtly magic or hinting at magic in these first paragraphs, though, so I'm reluctant to guess Fantasy.
Fantasy.
ReplyDeleteIt's adult fantasy - TRAITOR KNIGHT
ReplyDelete