VIC'S VIEWPOINTS (Private)

Victim#6: Fearless - The Rajkumari Trilogy (book 1)

"Hey, Vic. What kind of dancing is that? It's awesome!"

Victor, propped in front of the television in the den, smiled at his younger brother. Jason had never been much of a dancer, preferring baseball to the structured patterns of dance. Victor, a ballroom and Latin dance teacher, had tried to spark some interest in Jason, but the boy remained adamant about never setting foot in the ballroom again.

Victor pointed to the dancers on the screen. "It's called the Bharatanatyam, Jason. It's one of the oldest classical dance traditions in India. The lines, the amazing footwork..." Vic sighed. "It's beyond amazing and so beautiful."

"You planning on learning it?" Jason watched the trio of dancers, his eyes wide with appreciation.

"You're kidding, mate. It takes years to learn the style. I like to watch the..."

Bang! Victor whipped around, noting a thick vase had been knocked to the floor by Jason's swinging arm in an attempt to imitate the performers. Victor rushed to pick up the vase then grabbed the younger boy by the shoulders. "No, Jason. Do not try and do what they're doing. You're a dreadful dancer, and I don't want anything broken."

Jason rolled his eyes as he sat on the floor in front of the television, his eyes drawn to the colorful dancers. "All right! Don't get so uptight. I just came to tell you that you got another victim."

Victor glared at the boy. "Thank you, and stay out of my Wattpad account!"

"You're welcome and no."

"I'll be upstairs if you need me, mate." He grinned at his brother and headed upstairs.

Victor strolled into the room, noting his opened Wattpad account on the laptop that sat on his desk. Muttering under his breath about privacy, he sat down, pulled up the story, and began to read.

****

An hour later, Victor picked up his digital recorder, turned it on, and began to speak.

"Welcome to Vic's Viewpoints, and today we have another victim, @Riptideinker007, the author of Fearless – Book one of The Rajkumari Trilogy. This book is a real treat, and so happy the author signed up to let me ramble on about it. As usual, I'm going to touch on several key elements I believe are essential to a story" He pushed back his shaggy cap of hair as he propped his bare feet on the edge of the desk. "Just a quick shout out to Jasper and Noah wherever they are."

"First, we look at ORIGINALITY, or how original was the story? We look to see if the story seems cliché, or does it have new elements that will entice its readers. I give this story props for originality as our clever author begins the tale, in my opinion, with an obvious red herring which had me going for a bit. It starts with a dream, and our MC, Revati, is being chased. But as we read on, we find a twist, that the story leads us in an entirely different direction, with entirely different situations and settings, from sister-in-law to suitors. I'd say high marks on originality and keeping me on my toes. It wasn't expected. Well played, author."

"Next, we look at the SETTING. Do we feel as if we're where the story takes place? Are the scenes involved in the descriptions, and did the author transport me into the tale? This is a difficult one, as I'd have to say the author in the first chapter is quite light on descriptions. It improved chapter by chapter as the author dived deeper into the story. There are some places where I'd love to see what the author describes, to see what they see, like the palace grounds or the MC's rooms."

"But, egad, I've got to admit even without varied descriptions, the author managed to draw me into the story. The writing allowed me to fill in the blanks in my mind as I was pulled more and more into the story. I stood there watching Dipankar greet his parents, I waited behind the curtain for the royal trumpets, and I admired the necklace of stars. When writing enacts the movie in your mind, I'd say it's a sign of sharp skills, eh?"