Inkling Explorations Link-up // June 2015

Inkling Explorations is an exciting link-up for any and all story lovers who love discovering treasures in everything they read—whether it's in an old favorite or something crisply and deliciously new on the shelf.

It's completely optional (you can enter some months and not in others) and it's open to entries from literature and film—and with selections from fiction, historical fiction, fantasy, romance, action, poetry, even sometimes non-fiction! The range is pretty much limitless. (Note: Entries will be moderated, however, and must be clean, edifying, and suitable for all ages.)

*Rules*

1. Post the Inklings button on your sidebar.

2. Do a post on your own blog relating to the month's selection/subject (a literary excerpt as short or as long as you like AND/OR—if specified that month—a screencap from a film with an explanation of how the scene builds/develops the story). Link back here somewhere in your post.

3. Come back here and paste your link in the comments box and I'll add it to the post. Then enjoy visiting and reading everyone else's contributions!

That's all there is to it!

June Topic: A Gripping Story Opening in Literature

(June specific notes: "Gripping" doesn't necessarily mean high action; specifically, it's anything that caught your interest and kept you reading! ;) Also, book selections only this month, i.e. no film entries.)

My entry is from A Sea Queen's Sailing by Charles W. Whistler 

(It might seem cliché here, highlighting a story beginning in the aftermath of a fight, but this opening drew me in so hard I was quite literally eating, sleeping, and breathing the story for several days till I reached the wonderful ending.)

“The black smoke eddied and wavered as it rose over my father’s burning hall, and then the little sea breeze took it and swept it inland over the heath-clad Caithness hills which I loved. Save for that black cloud, the June sky was bright and blue overhead, and in the sunshine one could not see the red tongues of flame that were licking up the last timbers of the house where I was born. Round the walls, beyond reach of smoke and heat, stood the foemen who had wrought the harm, and nearer the great door lay those of our men who had fallen at the first. There were foemen there also, for it had been a good fight.”

Action, reflection, and conflict…

The rest of the story is delightful—tense in places, quite original, and tremendously satisfying. It’s an old book and hard to find, but if you can hunt it down I highly recommend it!

 ~     ~     ~

And your entries here!

Naomi @ Wonderland Creek
Hamlette @ The Edge of the Precipice
Olivia @ Meanwhile in Rivendell
Ria @ Lilac Diaries
Inkling Explorations in Gone with the Wind @ a room of one's own

Now let the fun begin! Entries are open through the end of the month and I can't wait to see your selections!

Up next month: A well crafted animated film climax