The idea for what would become this fiction piece, The Destined Duke, occurred to me during my first graduate writing class at Hollins University with Professor Amanda Cockrell. I remember the first question she asked of us, her students, was in regard to what genre we loved to read and what we may be interested in writing. As I sat at the large class table about two-thirds around, I awaited my turn, listening to my fellow classmates and trying to determine if I was brave enough in a graduate writing class to admit that I love to read romance novels and historical fiction – both genres that some of my “literary” friends grimaced at and proclaimed to be “chick lit” – and, certainly not worthy to be considered literature. However, the more I sat and listened to my classmates and considered what I may like to write, I knew that I was going to be in trouble if I tried to say anything other than the truth – for working during the day as a technical writer for an engineering company and free-lance writing and editing pharmaceutical monographs pretty much left me spent and I knew in my heart that I just didn’t have it in me to spend any more time writing something that I couldn’t completely enjoy. So, when it was my turn to share my favorite genre, I trepidatiously found my voice and admitted that I loved romance novels and historical fiction. To my amazement, Professor Cockrell didn’t grimace or reject either as literature and even shared that she too enjoyed the genre. I knew that very moment that I was at the correct university, in the right class, and with the best professor for me. From that instant, I have never turned back, although I will say my characters and plot have evolved dramatically from where I started to where I now conclude my graduate project for submission. And while, my MALS essay is concluding, my efforts to improve my writing, as well as complete my novel, will continue – all thanks to Professor Cockrell, who has taught me that writing is a craft that takes a lifetime to develop and hopefully perfect.
So, without further ado, I present the first chapters of The Destined Duke, a fiction piece that centers on the life of Nicholas Pierce, The Duke of Hastings, and Isabella Marie Wells