Tag Archives: guinevere

About the Author, Everything else

What’s New in My World

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My latest pride and joy, both purchased from Etsy. This hangs over my fireplace as a reminder that I can to anything I get my mind to. I bought a 3rd frame to display a future book-related accomplishment.

This hangs over my fireplace as a reminder that I can to anything I get my mind to. I bought a 3rd frame to display a future book-related accomplishment. (Both from Etsy.)

In lieu of a full on post this week, I thought I’d just give you guys a quick update on what’s been going on in my world:

  1. I’m still recovering and re-entering the real world from my blissful week at Hedgebrook and I’m exhausted (anyone else feeling this way, too, or is it just me?), hence the update post.
  2. I’m editing a book I haven’t talked much about here because it’s not historical. It’s a contemporary romantic comedy. It’s not something I ever thought I’d write, but love it to death. I had a ball writing it and am actually having fun editing it, which is a first for me; I usually loathe editing. I’m hoping that’s a good sign and that everyone who reads it will have fun with it, too.
  3. No updates on Guinevere, other than to say that book 3 is on hold for a bit while I focus on something new. Publication is totally out of my hands, so I’ll let you know when I know something more. I know many of you are anxious it to read it. Believe me, I’m anxious to see it go out into the world! If I had my way, it would come out tomorrow.
  4. About that new book: I’m taking on my second favorite English legend: Robin Hood. This is something I’ve always wanted to do and my agent is very excited about it. I can’t share plot details yet, so I’ll be sharing research with you as I get into it. I’ve never dug into the legend beyond what we all know as part of pop culture, so we’ll be learning together, which I think is exciting. I’m hoping to start writing this new book by May 1.
  5. I have a few more Arthurian/Celtic things to share, so they’ll pop up from time to time. Never fear.
  6. I’m going to start reviewing books for the women in fantasy group Sirens in April. My first review will be Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor, which is the final book in the trilogy that began with Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Be on the lookout for that, plus other reviews I’m doing for the Historical Novel Society, and maybe even some books I read just because I want to.

I feel like there’s more, but that’s all I can think of. I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about what the next few months will bring.

Question for all of you: I’m curious about your thoughts on genre cross over. Would you read a romantic comedy I wrote even though I’m primarily a historical fiction/fantasy writer? Does that matter to you as long as the story is good? I’m just wondering what people think. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

And if you have any other questions, or if anyone knows of good Robin Hood resources, please comment and I’ll answer.

Arthurian Legend, Guinevere

Provoking Thought on the Character of Guinevere

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"Queen Guinevere" by James Archer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

“Queen Guinevere” by James Archer [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Some of you may remember a post I did a while back on “Guinevereian fiction,” i.e. Arthurian legend that’s focused on Guinevere. I came across this article from the Medievalists’ site and wanted to share in case any of you were interested. While, as you will see, there’s a lot I don’t agree with in this article, I’m happy anytime someone brings the role of Guinevere to the forefront of discussion in Arthurian legend, which is usually focused on the men.

Guinevere, the Superwoman of Contemporary Arthurian Fiction
By James Noble

(I have not read most of the books discussed, only The Mists of Avalon, Firelord and Beloved Exile. I’m purposely avoiding the others until I’m done with my own story. Noble summarizes each book, so you can make sense if his arguments even if you haven’t read the books.)

I’m all for celebrating a strong Guinevere and I agree with Noble’s assessment of the character in The Mists of Avalon. However, the use of the word “superwoman” in the article made me bristle. My first thought was the author is being pejorative in the use of the term. (Perhaps not, but that’s how it struck me.) Why, if a man raises children and rules his people, is he considered a hero, but when a woman does both (even if it is through the pen of a fiction writer), she has to be called “superwoman?” The term, to me, evokes a feeling that Guinevere is being over-characterized into something impossible, a comic book caricature, which I’m sure is not what Newman, Wooley or Miles intended in their novels.

The focus on motherhood/maternal instincts in this article doesn’t sit well with me, as that was never Guinevere’s sole function in Arthurian legend. The tradition of her being sterile or her children being stillborn is an old one (attributed in part to the need for Mordred, Arthur’s son/nephew to inherit the throne), a fact never mentioned by the author. Even in the medieval tales where Guinevere has little agency, she is more than a brood mare. She is a wife and mistress, an object of affection, if nothing else (not much better, but still). In the modern tales analyzed by Noble, she is also a queen. Why then, restrict the focus of such an essay to the traditional role of mother?

I take great offense to this statement made by Noble toward the end of the essay, “Indeed, one cannot help but wonder if it is not the mythology of the triple goddess that ultimately also gives shape to the trilogies by Newman,Woolley, and Miles, each of whom makes a point of affording her heroine a ‘maidenhood,’ a profound experience of motherhood, and what Malory would have been certain to describe as ‘a good ende’ as a wise woman.” Hello?! Putting aside the New Age triple-goddess reference, those are generally the three phases of life of any woman. Just as a man starts out as a boy, grows into a man and becomes (we hope) a wise old man, women’s lives follow the same pattern of girl, mother/adult woman (if she doesn’t have children), and wise woman. How else are you supposed to tell a life story? This is the same pattern followed in every biography (fiction or non-fiction) out there.

Perhaps he is reacting to the “happy ending” given to Guinevere in these books as a wise woman/healer. Why is it so wrong that the authors chose not to have her die young or end her life useless? That is their right. Personally, I don’t find that surprising coming from female authors who are writing for a modern audience. Part of writing stories like Guinevere’s is keeping your audience in mind, a group who I don’t think would take kindly to reading three books about a character only to have her wither away helplessly in the end.

If you can’t tell, it is attitudes like this that moved me to create my Guinevere, a 5th century Celtic woman, who like her ancestors, is a warrior, a priestess, mother, wife and many other roles. Though our historical evidence for warrior queens in the 4th and 5th century is lacking (as is almost all knowledge of that time), Celtic myth and what we know about Celtic culture gives us a solid basis on which to build the idea of a realistically strong Guinevere. This is not a “superwoman” who is in some way superhuman, but a woman of her time who used the opportunities life gave her to her advantage and prospered (or not) because of them. Guinevere is not above and beyond all womanhood; she is actually intimately accessible because she represents so much of the female experience.

So, what do you think of the article? Have you read any of the books analyzed? Do you agree or disagree with the author? Do you think I’m misinterpreting the article? (It’s always possible.) In your opinion, is it right for modern writers to try to make Guinevere into a strong woman or do you find that anachronistic? How do you think she should be portrayed?

Arthurian Legend, Guinevere trilogy, Interviews

Why Write: Arthurian Fiction with Nicole Evelina

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Arthurian Legend, Interviews

Author Interview: Kim Headlee, author of Dawnflight

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Today I’m honored to feature an interview with Kim Headlee, a fellow Arthurian author whom I’ve admired for years. She and I were on the same Arthurian list-serve back in 1999 when I was first conceiving my own Guinevere books and I’m so thrilled to have connected with her once again!

DF-COVER-FRONT-FINAL1. Please tell us a little about Dawnflight.

Dawnflight is the first installment of The Dragon’s Dove Chronicles, a series that I hope will span at least eight volumes, including two which precede Dawnflight in terms of the characters’ chronology. Dawnflight features the romance of Gyanhumara (“Gyan”) and Arthur beginning in the aftermath of the first of Arthur’s twelve battles, in which he defeated her people and established the treaty clause that she must marry a nobleman from his side of the border.

Of course, treaties, like all other rules, are indeed meant to be broken. The trick lies in how to break them without creating calamity for all involved. Throw in an enemy invasion for good measure (battles two and three on Arthur’s list of twelve), and our heroes have quite the conundrum, indeed.

2. What inspired you to write it?

A combination of factors contributed.

When I was 7 (I’m dating myself, but I stopped caring about such things decades ago), my parents took me to see the movie Camelot in the theatre. The two images I liked best from that first viewing were Guinevere in her white fur wrap and the knights fighting on top of the Round Table and breaking it. Both foreshadowed the direction of my Arthurian fiction.

At age 9, I read a modern-English rendering of Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur cover to cover and became hooked. I began devouring every Arthurian title I could lay my hands on. In those days, that meant editions such as The Boy’s King Arthur, a version of Malory illustrated by Howard Pyle, an umpteenth reprinting of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and an almost-umpteenth reprinting of The Once and Future King.

In high school, my parents gave me a first-edition copy of The Hollow Hills, which made me thirst after historical adaptations. The highest compliment any reviewer has paid my work to date is to give it a favorable comparison to Mary Stewart’s novels; she was my primary literary hero in those days. She still is, come to think of it.

High school was when I first started writing my own version of the Arthur-Guinevere relationship. I still have a couple of drafts of that—and read them recently, in fact. What a hoot! 100% teenage girl, no question about it.

Then Marion Zimmer Bradley came out with her iconic entry into the Legends (Mists of Avalon and, yes, I have a first edition of that, too), which concentrated on “rehabilitating” the reputation of Morgan le Fay.

Through all of this—and I include the works by Nancy McKenzie, Persia Woolley, Sharan Newman, and Helen Hollick—I couldn’t find a rendering of Guinevere that I well and truly liked. So, as the adage goes, “If you want something done right…” 😀

3. You are a woman after my own heart! What’s different about this new version from the award-winning one released in 1999?

Glad you asked!

The most obvious difference at first glance is the inclusion of my digital line-art renderings of images engraved on Pictish standing stones found throughout Scotland, plus some of my original artwork inspired by said stones. These drawings function throughout the text as clues to the reader of an imminent viewpoint shift: the doves represent Gyan, the dragons Arthur, and so forth. With more than ten viewpoint characters, I decided my readers could use a bit of help!

Linguistically—aside from tighter wording and hotter sex—I have expanded my characters’ vocabularies to include additional epithets, endearments, insults, and mythology in order to more richly define their world. I never would have dared to do this had I not decided to include a glossary. Since my work has truly epic scope, I also include an index of characters who appear or who are referenced in the book. This index defines each character’s function in the story and gives other pertinent details.

4. I’ve heard you say that yours is a Guinevere “people will actually like.” What do you mean by that? What makes her different?

She’s smart (and sometimes a smartass!), she’s strong willed, she has a fairly firm idea of who she is and what she wants from life—and from her life-partner—and yet all that strength forms a shell around a compassionate, vulnerable core. She wants to do the best thing for her people but sometimes doesn’t have the first clue how to accomplish it and seeks approval along the way. Consequently, she is mercilessly hard on herself when she perceives that she has failed to meet others’ expectations. In short, she is very much a woman that female readers can relate to despite the fact that most of us don’t rule clans or collect heads. I once described the book to a coworker as, “a female assertiveness training manual.” It’s not far from the truth. Male readers can simply sit back and enjoy the view, along with the battles and political intrigue and whatnot.

5. What made you choose Scotland as the location for your novel when England is the traditional setting?

Several research works I read in the 1980s—before Dawnflight first took shape upon the page—suggested to me that the Border Country was an ideal location for Arthur’s military operations. Plus, I was attracted to the cross-cultural aspect of having Arthur be a Romanized Celt and Gyan a Pict (or “ban-Caledonach,” as she would call herself in my newly invented Pictish terminology). In fact, the more I delve into Scottish Gaelic to create Pictish terms for place-names, the more I am convinced that southern Scotland/northern England was Arthur’s home turf, in spite of what others may insist. The wording, in comparison to traditional Arthurian place-names and battle sites that nobody can identify with anything approaching certainty, fits far too nicely to be mere coincidence.

And, yes, I firmly believe Arthur, his wife, and their associates existed. To do anything less would be a gross disservice to my writing and to my readers.

6. I’ve read that you purposefully stripped your tale of the magic usually associated with Arthurian legend to focus more on the history. Why?

Oh, the magic is there, trust me! But it is the magic of visions and prophecies, the magic of prayer, the magic of curses and blessings, the magic of herbal lore…and most of all, the magic that happens when two charismatic individuals unite to forge a better world for themselves, each other and their people.

7. The summary for your book puts forth an interesting premise: Gyan (Guinevere) marries someone other than Arthur. What made you choose such a bold departure from previous legend?

Good question! I think it may have been inspired by some obscure, ancient tale…after having studied the Arthurian Legends for more than four decades, it’s safe to say that I’ve forgotten far more than most people know about the subject.

Actually, to be fair—and this isn’t really a spoiler alert—Gyan is betrothed to Urien. After she and Arthur meet and become attracted to each other, they spend the rest of the book trying to figure out how she can extricate herself from the betrothal without making Urien start a civil war.

8. Dawnflight has a sequel, correct? What can you tell us about this book and when it will be available?

Morning’s Journey picks up the morning after Dawnflight leaves off and follows Gyan & Arthur through more battles and family changes and triumphs and tragedies. And it delves a little farther into the relationship of Gyan and Angusel (Lancelot). Morning’s Journey will be available as soon as I can get a cover commissioned & delivered, since my copyeditor has given me her input.

9. What else might readers like to know about Dawnflight?

If you choose to buy the print edition, email me (kimheadlee at earthlink dot net) or message me on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/kim.headlee) for instructions on how to obtain an autographed bookplate. If you buy the e-book edition, I can mail you a magnet… but I wouldn’t advise putting it anywhere near your device!

10. When and where can readers find your books?

Available now:
Amazon.com link to all available editions (this link format earns me a few extra pennies as an Amazon Affiliate): http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00BLNN6XS/systemsupportser

Nook e-book edition:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dawnflight-kim-d-headlee/1003548584, which includes a link to a 30% discounted edition of the CreateSpace paperback.

Kobo link:
http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Dawnflight/book-5xY-C57ioUynofdXHy-4pw/page1.html

Also available in EPUB format via Smashwords, and it is now listed in their Premium catalog: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/289281

In other countries – all English-language versions:

Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00BLNN6XS

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B00BLNN6XS

France: https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Spain: https://www.amazon.es/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Italy: https://www.amazon.it/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Japan: http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Brazil: https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B00BLNN6XS

Apple, Sony and other distribution channels will be available as soon as possible.

11. How can people find out more about you?

Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kim.headlee. I like to share stuff about cats and Star Wars and writerly things and inspirational sentiments and, oh yeah, the occasional original thought. 😀

Thank you , Kim, for joining us here. I hope you find great success with Dawnflight, and best of luck on your future works!

If you have a comment for Kim, please leave it here. She will be monitoring this site periodically.

About the Author, Books, Interviews, Writing process
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Tyler Tichelaar over at Children of Arthur was kind enough to interview me about my writing and I thought all of you may want to see it.

A to Z Blogging Challenge, Guinevere

F is for Fearsome Heroines

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Recently, CBS Sunday Morning did a piece on how today’s heroines aren’t afraid to kick a little ass. Well, that’s not how they phrased it, but you get the point. Gone are the days of damsels in distress and princesses who sit on their perfect rear ends waiting to be rescued.

Maybe it started with She-ra. I’d like to think so. Buffy definitely helped. But if you look at the shelves of your local bookstore or turn on the television, its clear women are coming into their own as heroines. From the katana wielding main character of Chloe Neill’s Chicagoland vampire series to Snow on Once Upon a Time, wallflowers need not apply. (Sorry Bella Swan, Katniss Everdeen proved you’re irrelevant.)

In talking about the new big screen versions of Snow White, CBS Sunday Morning notes, “Like every storybook heroine these days, she FIGHTS.” And they mean that literally – swords and all. Today’s heroines rescue themselves. Now that doesn’t mean they don’t need love or want someone to share the fight with, but like most modern women, they’re not waiting around for a man to complete them. They grab life with both hands and make of it what they desire.

That’s fine by me. That just means my heroine’s time has come. For reasons I can’t reveal until you read the book, my Guinevere can fight as well as any man, and she does. That’s one of the things that makes her different from the traditional portrayal of the character. She is not only physically strong, but smart and not afraid to express herself. (Although one could argue that was typical for a Celtic woman.) My Guinevere is in every way Arthur’s equal, a woman trained to sit beside her King on the throne or stand beside him as they lead their troops into battle. In many time periods – even a hundred years later – that would be anachronistic, but we’re fortunate that the Celts raised fearsome women. (Boudicca, Cartimandua, Maeve and Scathach are just a few examples from history and legend.)

Actress Aly Michalka at a Renfaire. She is the inspiration for a Saxon (sans bow and arrow) you’ll meet in book 2.

It’s time for strong female characters to serve as role models for young (and not so young) women. Even my female characters who don’t wield a sword know how to fight with their brains and their tongues. Morgan will best you in any verbal war and Isolde will out-strategize you before you know what hit you. That’s not to say my books are fueled on feminism. There are several female characters who fill more traditional roles (Elaine, Camille), but they are certainly more balanced with ones who will stand up for themselves than tradition usually dictates.

I know I’m not the first to infuse a little girl power into my books, and I hope I won’t be the last. I’m just proud to contribute to the growing trend of weapon-weilding heroines. IWA girls, this is for you!

What do you think of the new wave of strong heroines? Ladies, who do you most identify with in fiction today? What traditionally passive female roles would you like to see rewritten? And what other “F” topics do you suggest for future posts? (Clean ones, mind you.)

Arthurian Legend, Guinevere

Guinevereian Fiction

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I’ve always loved this image from the cover of Norma Lorre Goodrich’s book “Guinvere”

I was telling a stranger the other day about my books and he called them “Guinevereian fiction.” I was immediately struck my how apt that phrase is. Yes, what I write is part of Arthurian legend and Arthur is a major character, but the books aren’t about him. They are all about Guinevere.

I’ll admit I’m far from the first author to tackle the subject of Guinevere. Long before me, Persia Woolley, Sharan Newman, Nancy McKenzie, Rosalind Miles, and others decided to tell her story. I’ll admit to attempting two of these author’s works, but by the time I read them, I had such a clear vision of my own story, all I could do was argue with their books because in my mind they were wrong. Needless to say, I didn’t get far in either book, and haven’t picked up any since then.

But what is really neat about Guinevere is that so little is known that each story is different. I really wish I could tell you exactly how mine differs, but we’ll all have to be patient for that. Suffice it to say her lineage, upbringing and relationships with other traditional Arthurian legend characters are all different in my books than in the stories you’ve probably heard. I also think she has a unique personality and outlook on life.

I can hear some of you asking “So what’s the traditional story?” or “What have others done?” Guinevere is quite the busy lady, so here’s a rundown. (If you want a shorter version, check out my post Arthurian Legend 101.) In many traditions, there are two Guineveres (the true and the false), who are sometimes twins, sisters, or lady/serving maid. In Welsh tradition, there are three. But for purposes of this overview, we’ll just assume there’s only one.

Early life – Traditionally, Guinevere is the daughter of Lord/King Leodgrance or Leogden. Nothing is ever said about her mother, siblings or early life. Was she close with them or perhaps abandoned or abused by them? We don’t know. Some fiction writers have had her grow up on Avalon, others make her childhood friends with Elaine, Morgan, Lancelot or even Arthur. Some have given her lovers or even husbands before Arthur. Because tradition tells us almost nothing, authors are free to use her early years to influence the decisions she makes later in life. I’ve done the same thing in my books because all of us are who we are as the result of our experiences.

Queenship – Ah, yes, the be all and end of Guinevere’s life is that she marries Arthur. Most of the time she’s barren, but a few authors give her a child or two, usually sons, who die in childhood, making way for Mordred to lay sole claim to the throne. No wonder so many modern fiction writers, myself included, try to breathe life into other parts of her existence. No woman is defined solely based on who her husband is or whether or not she has children – not anymore.

To me, this picture shows Guinevere at her most powerful, in her role as Sovereignty

It’s interesting to note that in nearly every version of the tale, traditional or modern, Guinevere becomes High Queen, not just Arthur’s royal wife. Whether portrayed as Christian or pagan, in this role she is Sovereignty Herself, the Goddess who bestows (and can take back) all power. So in this reality, it is Arthur who is dependant on Guinevere for his identity as High King.

No wonder she gets kidnapped so much! In almost every story, Guinevere is kidnapped by one or more lords seeking to use her to usurp the throne. The most common culprit is a rebellious Lord named Malegant or Melwas, whose heavily guarded castle is sometimes set on Glastonbury Tor. In some fiction he uses Guinevere only as a bargaining chip, while in others he is outrageously brutal, raping her in attempt to sire a child. Usually, its Lancelot or Arthur who rescues her.

Poor Guinevere. I don’t think I’ve seen any version of the story (at least one where she’s a main character) where she is faithful to Arthur. Lancelot is, of course, her most famous and most popular lover, but other characters including Mordred, Kay, Bedivere or any number of the Knights of Round have been named. Was she simply a randy little lass? Maybe. But this storyline could have come from the Celtic practice of polygamy (which I’ll write more about in the future) or in the idea that as a representative of the Goddess, she could choose her lovers at will. Or it could simply be a morality tale added in the Middle Ages by monks seeking to show wives what evil could befall them if they were unfaithful to their husbands. As I’ve said above, I didn’t get this far in any modern fiction, but my guess is her reasons for infidelity likely were influenced by her relationship with Arthur and other life circumstances, because most people don’t just up and choose to have an affair; usually they will tell you they were driven to it by circumstance.

As if once isn’t enough, some versions have Mordred kidnapping Guinevere after Lancelot rescues her from the stake. Sometimes Mordred marries, rapes or takes her as a lover in a quest to secure his claim on the throne (back to that Sovereignty idea again). Some writers have even made Guinevere a willing party in shacking up with Mordred. Directly or indirectly, this situation usually leads to the battle of Camlann, where both Arthur and Modred die.

Some say Guinevere eneded her life as a nun. I doubt it.

Life after Arthur – Guinevere is traditionally said to either have died of grief after Arthur’s death or lived out her days in a convent. I always thought the convent thing was a sign of penance, but in King Arthur’s Children (to be reviewed here in a few weeks) Tyler Tichelaar, Ph.D., posits that a convent could have been a safe haven where Guinevere could wait out the battle of Camlann and be either rescued by or safe from the victor. I’ve only ever read one book that explores Guinevere’s life after Arthur, Beloved Exile by Parke Godwin. In it, Guinevere ends up a Saxon slave (I won’t ruin it by telling you how). It doesn’t appear that her owners know who she is or her great value, which to me, would have made the story a whole lot more realistic. I have my ending planned (nope, no slavery here) and I have no doubt it’s different from anything you’ve ever read.

So, what Guinevereian fiction have you read? What parts of the plot did you like? Which parts didn’t work for you? If you were to speculate about her life, what would you say happened to Guinevere throughout the years?