Inajda Rekaya (Ee-n-eye-da) is seventeen years old, but has joined the army to support her husband, Eric and twin Daughters, Alexand and Heyem. She doesn’t realise that her decision will not just save their lives, but change the future of her family. Special Thanks to Imran Malik for helping me with translating English to Hindi. (The Hindi reads, “It’s open!”) This story also features, Katherine De Somme. CLICK HERE for next chronological story. A Spanish version is now available, translated by Hernán Jara Droguett.
The army has changed, but apparently not some of the motives for joining.
I know you used to be in the army Cynthia. A lot of my characters are ex soldiers, and one or two are still active throughout the novels. This fictitious version of the army plays a big part in shaping the lives of a lot of the characters.
I like the rigidity to this story – the tension that is there – blended with the elements that show that these women are not as hard as they may seem, through their attachment to their family or pet. It really expresses Inajda’s character, that “no nonsense and family comes first” attitude.
Thanks, Chantal. I’m glad this story works for you, as Inajda can be misinterpreted as being rather stony and bad tempered, (especially as she gets older.) This story explains that she made a lot of sacrifices for her family. Unfortunately this particular sacrifice jades her, inevitably, and makes her one of the most hardened of my characters, but you’re right, she has a pretty soft interior. (Despite the fact she’d kill for her family! *grins*)
The writing here is excellent, very few unnecessary adj or advs. Simple present tense used throughout. Very effective and communicates the story well. I really loved this one. Perhaps nothing dramatic happens but it just kept my attention and told the story well, made me want to read on and find out what would happen. In fact, this was my favorite so far, reading from the beginning, for those reasons, though I also loved the ones on Alexand….
(“Lying” in pools of blood, though not “laying…” Sorry, but that’s a pet peeve of mine.)
I’m a slow reader, with too much work to do, but I hope to keep at this blog and catch up eventually. It is definitely worth it! 8)
Pam
Hi Pam, thank you for reading. I’m glad you enjoyed Inajda’s story. (I need to get an editor!) You’re welcome here any time 😀 Cheryl
Hi cheryl, actually, unless you pay an independent editor to do down and dirty editing, you pretty much need to have your book finished before you submit it to a publisher or even an agent, though an agent may let you do a little work on it before wanting to submit it. But the editing of any book at a publishers these days tends to be minimal. I know, from my two books… Sad but true that the days of editors like Maxwell Perkins et al are gone. But i am going overboard in the advice dept because maybe you meant an indie editor all along. Whoops! Bigmouth me! Anyhow, you do a good job all in all, with your writing. I didnt mean to nitpick. As i said, lay instead of lie is just a pet peeves of mine…cheers, and again, forgive my blabbermouth. Pam
Hi Pam, not at all 🙂 I’ve actually handed the manuscript to a copy editor before any future submissions. Have a good Christmas and New Year. Cheryl
Hmm it looks like your site ate my first comment (it was extremely long) so I guess
I’ll just sum it up what I had written and say, I’m
thoroughly enjoying your blog. I too am an aspiring blog blogger but I’m still new to everything. Do you have any tips for beginner blog writers? I’d really
appreciate it.
Hi, good to meet you. I searched for your first comment, but couldn’t find it unfortunately. Glad you’re enjoying visiting here. To be honest I just write what I want to read myself, and am really fortunate to have others join me. The mythology has taken twenty years of my life so far, so I’m sort of obsessed 🙂
You, dear lady, are an awesome artist, well rounded and multifaceted. Good show, keep up the good work.
Thank you so much. BTW I love Yemanja.
I am loving this story and will thoroughly enjoy keeping up with it!
Thanks, Charlene, it makes me so happy when people read these earlier stories. Glad you’re enjoying them! Cheryl