Welcome back to Weekend Writing Warriors and Snippet Sunday, weekly Sunday hops where writers share 8–10 sentences from a book or WIP. I’ve been sharing from my alternative history, And Aleksey Lived, which is scheduled to be released on 17 July, if all goes according to plan. This week’s snippet comes right after last week’s, when soon-to-be Empress Arkadiya followed her future sister-in-law Tatyana into the Poppy Red Salon after lunch.
Arkadiya tried not to look too much at the paintings of Tatyana’s parents, which had certainly been brought here by the palace’s new mistress instead of left over from a previous owner. Other obviously new additions were watercolors of Tatyana, her sisters, and their brother, along with small framed photographs of their family before the catastrophe.
Tatyana motioned to a white and gold satin settee. “Please have a seat, Arkadiya Mikhaylovna. The fashion magazines and books are right there, with bookmarks in the wedding sections. I wish I weren’t featured so much in these books and magazines. Other society ladies should be considered for best-dressed, not someone everyone already knows about. It feels like cheating to always mention me.”
“Oh, but you’re always so well-dressed, and so beautiful,” Arkadiya said.
I guess when you’re a soon-to-be empress, your family makes the fashion magazines!
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Your descriptions are always wonderful!
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Jessica stole my thoughts! 😀 Also my blog link isn’t working, so here’s my post! http://amybraunauthor.com/sunday-snippet-i-got-the-charm-and-you-got-the-glower/
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Is it odd that she addressed Arkaydia by first and last name? Was there a reason for that?
As always, your descriptions create an effortless visual for this reader. 🙂
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First name and patronymic (father’s name with the suffix -ovna, -yevna, -ovich, -yevich, or a few irregular forms) is the standard, polite form of address in Russian, equivalent to the English Ms.Mr./Mrs. Surname. Arkadiya’s surname is Gagarina.
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Thanks, Carrie-Anne!
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Great imagery. Lovely photo.
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Well that’s an interesting conversation. Seems like her sister-in-law to be protests a bit too much! As always enjoyed the snippet and your fabulous details…
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Tatyana certainly seems very humble and very gracious. I’m sure she’s trying to put Arkadiya at ease. Not an easy thing to do, given the circumstances. Great snippet!
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Seems a little like a humblebrag, but maybe she really doesn’t like the attention. Still, there’s a price for being famous!
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I don’t think she can escape being seen everywhere.
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The descriptions, once again, are absolutely fantastic!
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A beautiful space like that and in all the fashion magazines seems like a life most would dream of. Great Snippet! Also, I enjoyed the historical photos. They are always nice to see.
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