K.M. Shea's Blog, page 58

Heart of Ice: The Characters

Seasons Greetings, Champions! I hope you’re having a wonderful holiday season–we finally have snow in Wisconsin so I feel as if winter has arrived. Robyn Hood: Fight For Freedom is free today–December 30–and tomorrow, and Beauty and the Beast is still 99 cents, but the big news is that another Snow Queen short story has been unlocked: Tour of Ostfold Part 1. I hope you enjoy it–but in fair warning, it does contain a few spoilers for Rumpelstiltskin. (In a totally unrelated moment, My favorite out of the freebies, The Captain’s story, is up next to be unlocked, and I am stoked about it!)

I do want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has bought/borrowed/read/reviewed Heart of Ice. This book has blown me away with how well it has been received. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

Alright, back to today’s topic: the original Snow Queen characters that served as inspiration for the cast and crew of Heart of Ice. Obviously I decided to go in a different direction from Hans Cristian Andersen’s original story, but a few of the cast members of Heart of Ice come straight out of the fairy tale. For starters, there is Rakel.

Rakel/The Snow Queen: Rakel is my main character and the story mostly follows her, so that already is a huge difference, but I did take my cue from Andersen in Rakel’s character at the start of the story. She believes she is neutral–she’s not going to help the Chosen, but she’s certainly not going to stop them. The Snow Queen is not Anderson’s villain. If anything, her biggest fault is that she doesn’t understand humans, and she might be a little self-centered. You can see this echoed in Rakel, who views other humans with suspicion and doesn’t really know how to react to emotional situations. The snow queens also both own self-constructed ice palaces, and they are both lonely. How do I know this about the original Snow Queen? For starters, her palace is described as being cold, vast, and lonely, and I have to assume that if she liked being alone she wouldn’t have taken Kai.

Now Rakel leaves most of her Snow Queen-esque traits behind her as the story progresses, but her love for her magic follows her, just as the original Snow Queen delighted in her own powers.

Frigid/the Reindeer: As you might recall from my previous post, the little robber maiden gives Gerta a reindeer to ride to the Snow Queen’s palace. In the same way, Phile bestows Rakel with Frigid. Frigid has a much less cuddly personality than the original reindeer, and he doesn’t play as central of a role, but this was done more to curb my obsession with giving all my princesses animal friends. Nonetheless, Frigid will pop up in the second story and will continue to serve as Rakel’s faithful–if not grumpy–mount.

Gerta and Kai: My version are pretty accurate representations of the original. They get along like siblings, go everywhere together, they even sled together. I made my Gerta a little more outspoken and Kai a little more reserved, but the original doesn’t do much characterization of Kai and Gerta has to become a bold little thing by the end of the fairy tale in order to reclaim Kai, so I still feel that they retain their character.

Gerta, Kai, and Gerta’s grandmother. Er…Kai’s grandmother??

Gerta’s Grandmother: In the original story it’s actually Kai’s grandmother who plays the maternal role in their lives, but for story elements that will take place during the second book, I made the grandmother Gerta’s. Grandmother Hilda has the same role in my adaptation as it does in the original. She cares for the children, loves them, and tells them stories. Her role will expand in book two, but for now she has a fairly straight-forward character.

Phile/the Robber Maiden: Yes, everyone’s favorite funny-woman is based off the wild Little Robber Maiden from the original snow queen. Phile bears some obvious resemblance to the original. She is the daughter of a robber woman who has a band of thieves, she has an obsession with brandishing her dagger in dangerous situations–although the legend of Foedus is entirely my own making–she gives Rakel a reindeer just as the original gave Gerta a reindeer, and she’s a bit of a wild card. As I did with all my characters, I decided to make some departures from the original. In the original story, the little robber maiden isn’t exactly a likable character. She’s wildly aggressive, just about tortures her various pets, and is downright savage. I cleaned Phile up in order to make her a stronger character, and I crafted a slightly more respectful background so Phile’s mother is a classy thief–not a cold blooded murder like the original’s was. Phile is obviously older, and a great deal smarter as well.

The Mirror: Last but certainly not least, there is the mirror. This isn’t a magic mirror–like Severin owns in B&B–but an evil mirror, and it plays a huge role in the Timeless Fairy Tale universe. I’m skipping over it for now as it was just referenced at the end of the book, but I wanted to make sure I pointed out its existence.

Another trait I borrowed straight from the original Snow Queen, isn’t so much a character, but a setting: the ice-castle built by the Snow Queen. A couple of readers have mentioned that its presence faintly reminds them of Disney’s Frozen, but it’s actually Frozen that resembles the original Snow Queen. As you might recall from Rakel’s section, Andersen’s snow queen had a palace made of ice and snow that she had (presumably, given what her powers are) built. The glacier Rakel crafts during the battle for Ostfold is my attempt at a wink to the original story as well, as the original snow queen’s throne is positioned over a frozen lake.

That’s all the comparisons I can do for now. There’s a few more characters that pop up in the second book that are references to the original story, but bringing them up will stir up some major spoilers, so I’m ending it here. Thank you for reading, Champions, and have a splendid New Years!

The Original Snow Queen

Great news, Champions, you’ve opened up the next short story: Story Time! It’s an extra scene that I’ve had in mind for a long time, but there wasn’t really an appropriate place for it in Heart of Ice, or the sequel. Click here for the PDF! I apologize, but I’m cutting off the fanfare and jumping straight into looking at the original Snow Queen because it is one massive fairy tale.

The Snow Queen was written by Hans Christan Andersen, which was published in 1844 in a collection of fairy tales. Andersen starts his story by explaining that a mean hobgoblin built an evil mirror that distorted everything good in the world. The hobgoblin ran a school for demons (Go figure) and one day his students take the mirror and fly off with it. The clumsy demons-in-training drop the mirror and it shatters, scattering all over the world. Each piece of the mirror–no matter the size–contained the strength of the whole mirror.

Enter, stage right, our protagonist and her BFF: Gerta and Kai. Gerta and Kai are next door neighbors and are quite poor. They get along like siblings, build gardens together, and listen to Kai’s grandmother tell stories. One unfortunate day, Kai gets a fleck of the mirror in one of his eyes so everything good and beautiful looks horrid and ugly. If that’s not enough, a shard of it pricks his heart–turning it into a cold lump of ice. This gives Kai quite the change of attitude. He no longer likes Gerta because she looks horrid to his mirror-hazed eyes, and he is generally uncaring because of his cold heart.

A little bit of time passes, and Kai continues to be mean to Gerta and his grandmother. One day he goes sledding alone, where he meets the beautiful and mystical Snow Queen. The Snow Queen still looks beautiful to Kai because she is neither good nor bad, so her image isn’t changed. Kai grows smitten with her–or something, I’m not sure how else you would describe it–and goes back to her winter palace with her.

Back in the village everyone assumes Kai is dead, except Gerta who sets out on a journey, hoping to find him. This is where things get a little…odd. Gerta throws her new red shoes–which she liked more than anything–into the river. The river argues with her a while before giving her a boat, which she hops in to. The boat takes her to old woman, who sort of hypnotizes Gerta into forgetting what she was doing and turns her into an adoptive daughter. Because…reasons?

Eventually, with the help of the old woman’s talking flower garden, Gerta snaps out of it and continues on her journey. She meets a Crow, who tells her about a boy who won the heart of a princess and married her. Gerta goes to see the newly wed pair, hoping the prince is Kai. (Spoiler, it’s not!) The princess and the princess dress Gerta up and send her on her way in a fancy coach. The coach is eventually waylaid by a group of bandits. The leader of the bandits–an older woman–was going to kill Gerta, but the woman’s daughter–the little Robber Maiden–stops her and claims Gerta as a sort of pet.

The Robber Maiden has a fascination with animals, is verbally abusive, and has a dagger that she loves to flash everywhere–she almost stabs Gerta several times while flinging it around. Eventually Gerta wins the little Robber Maiden over after telling her all about Kai. The Little Robber Maiden gives her a reindeer to ride and instructs the animal to mind Gerta and take her to the Snow Queen.

The Little Robber Maiden (DO YOU SEE THE DAGGER?!) seeing off Gerta and the reindeer.

Whew, are you still with me? Hang in there, we’re about to reach Kai!

Gerta and the Reindeer set off but are forced to stop at the houses of the Lapland Woman and the Finland Woman. Gerta is told she must continue to the Snow Queen’s palace alone, and she sets off without boots or warm clothes. She nearly dies until she starts praying and some angels come help her.

Meanwhile, Kai is unknowingly freezing in the Snow Queen’s Palace. He is pretty close to dying–though he doesn’t know it–and he’s trying to complete a puzzle to spell out a word he doesn’t know. (Yes. I can’t even. I love this fairy tale a lot, but this part never fails to throw me.) The Snow Queen is off making it snow, so when Gerta busts in she is able to confront Kai alone. She cries on his chest, melting his heart of ice and washing away the mirror shard there–re-warming Kai’s heart. Kai then cries–washing away the speck of mirror in his eye–clearing his vision and returning him to normal. The end. NOT!

Gerta and Kai begin the journey back home, first by running into the reindeer (and a friend) who carry them back to the home of the Finland woman, and then to the Lapland woman’s house. Both of the old ladies give them directions and provisions, and they set out south. They run into the Robber Maiden, who congratulates them and swaps stories before they part. Gerta and Kai make it all the way back to their village, where Kai’s grandmother reads to them. After arriving home, they both realize they have become adults, but they are blessed because they continue to have the heart of children. Also, it’s pretty heavily implied–in my opinion at least–that they are in love. THE END!

Champions, feel free to stretch–that was quite the long haul. I really trimmed the story down and glossed over a lot of the details, so if you’re interested in the story I suggest you read the full account. The story gets pretty Alice-in-Wonderland several times in there, and Andersen adds quite a few Biblical and religious references as well, so it’s a bit of an odd combination, but I am absurdly fond of this fairy tale. I love how many female characters there are, and I especially love how strong they are. (Although I find it a little strange that the title character is only seen twice, and she has very few lines.) It’s a refreshing read when most fairy tales cast females as damsels in distress–Little Mermaid, anyone?

We’ll dig into some themes and compare-and-contrast bits in my next post, so I’ll close up and set you free. Remember Beauty & the Beast is 99 cents now through January first, today is the last day to pick up a free copy of Enthroned, Enchanted is free from December 23 – December 25, and the Robyn Hood books are free after that. Merry Christmas, Champions! I hope you enjoy the free books and the extra scene!

The Robber Maiden: Unlocked!

A big thank to all the Champions who bought and reviewed The Snow Queen: Heart of Ice! It has had a smashing release–seriously, it’s broken all my release records. This of course is only possible because of you all, so thank you for your support! Also, I’m very happy as it seems like Heart of Ice is the new favorite. (Farrin Fever has become a thing!)

Moving on, there’s been over 25 reviews, so you’ve unlocked the first short story: The Robber Maiden.  Click here for the PDF! It takes a short peek at Phile loitering around Ostfold before she prances off to join Rakel. I love Phile, so I’ve been forward to sharing this extra with you guys. Phile’s sense of humor is so off the wall, and she’s a great foil for Rakel–who tends to be stoic. Without Phile, the book would have been a lot darker as the other main characters–like Farrin and Halvor–aren’t exactly Miss Merry Sunshines either.

The main point of today’s post is to let you know the first short story is unlocked, so I’m going to cut myself off there for now. Thank you again, Champions. Have a marvelous weekend!

Heart of Ice and Specials

Hello Champions. As many of you are aware, Snow Queen: Heart of Ice is available to purchase and read! It is one of two books–book two will be out in mid to late February. I hope you enjoy it! I ventured pretty far from the original fairy tale, but you should be able to recognize a few characters from the original.

To celebrate it, I’m running a slightly altered version of the review special I held for Puss in Boots. For every twenty-five original honest reviews on Amazon and Goodreads (meaning I won’t count reviews that have been posted on both sites, but if you do post in both places I would greatly appreciate it ) I’ll release Snow Queen extra content! This special starts today and will continue until Snow Queen gets 125 reviews. Here is a breakdown of the content:

25 Reviews: Locked: Short Story: The Robber Maiden: PDF

50 Reviews: Locked: Extra Scene: Story Time: PDF

75 Reviews: Locked: Short Story: The Ostfold Tour pt 1: PDF

100 Reviews: Locked: Short Story: The Captain’s Story: PDF

125 Reviews: Locked: To Be determined

Thank you in advance to everyone who reviews. Reviews are a big thing for authors. It helps a lot with book visibility and gives us valuable feedback–and it is also nice for readers because it helps them decide if it is a book they would enjoy. (After all, if you look at book descriptions it can be hard to tell if they have humor or not!)

Next up, I wanted to thank whatever sweet Champion nominated The Little Selkie, Puss in Boots, Rumpelstiltskin, and Enlightened for the 2015 Swoony awards! According the Goodreads page, “the Swoony Awards are a reader’s choice award recognizing excellence in clean secular fiction.” I don’t know if I really can claim excellence, but thank you to those who nominated me! Voting is still going on, so if you have an active goodreads account please check the page out and vote! (I say active because they’ve been having problems with voting scams, so they’re only counting votes from active goodreads accounts.) I intend to give that list a thorough look-through once the voting closes; there were some awesome looking books on it!

Finally, I’m running some Christmas specials! Enthroned and Enchanted from King Arthurs and Robyn Hood book one and two will be available for free in late December, but I’m starting the party by lowering the price of Beauty and the Beast down to 99 cents beginning today and going through January 1.

I can’t wait to take a look at the original Snow Queen story–it’s really long–but as the book was just released I’m going to force myself to zip it, and duck out of here. Thank you for reading, Champions! I hope you have a lovely day.

Little Selkie Paperback

Good news! The Little Selkie paperback release made it in time for Christmas. Woohoo!

It will be a few days before it appears in all Amazon stores, but it is available now in the USA, although you’ll need to use the link I provided or do a search for “the Little selkie paperback,” as it will take Amazon a few days to match up the two versions. Anyway, it is priced at $12.50. Puss in Boots is a little behind, but it received its Library of Congress number last week, so I’m hopeful the proof will be sent to me sometime this week.

Okay, that’s all I have for today. I’m gearing up for the release of The Snow Queen: Heart of Ice, so I’m a bit short on time. Thanks for reading, Champions! Have a fantastic day!

Writing Tips: Character Balance

Today’s topic might feel basic, but it’s probably the most important concept you need to grasp if you want to succeed as a writer. There’s a fairly well known mantra that is often beaten into the heads of writers: Don’t write a perfect or overpowered main character. This might feel a little obvious, but I can tell you through first-hand experience that when you begin writing, you will probably write a main character that you  identify with. Because of this, it’s very likely you will write this character so they have no personal faults, are incredibly smart, athletic, well-loved by all, and are everything a normal person is not. These kinds of characters are really hated. Publishers won’t go near them, and neither will readers. So before you start your story you need to take a close look at what your character is like.

A lot of books that talk about characterization and writing novels assure you that you can fix your too-perfect character by giving them a flaw. Just one. That is the biggest load of hogwash I have ever read. Your character needs several flaws and a slew of weaknesses because he/she should be a reflection of real-life people. I have never met anyone who possess only one flaw. Furthermore, you need to give them a doozie of a flaw that they have to face throughout the book, not a little one that rarely comes into play. (So you can’t have a story in which the main character is good in everything, except for perhaps one sport which she is only a little good at, and it never comes up.) It doesn’t mean your character can’t still be clever and fun, or really good at something, it just means you need to look for balance. Often a flaw is accompanied by several personality defects, and usually a character’s strength ends up becoming a weakness. I’m going to draw on a few literary examples to show you this.

Let’s start with the classics: Elizabeth of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. For starters, Elizabeth is not the prettiest out of her sisters–but she is the smartest. Her fatal flaw is her prejudice. As we all know she is prejudice of Mr. Darcy, and dislikes him for the first half of the book. BUT, it doesn’t stop there! If Elizabeth’s only flaw was prejudice she still could have befriended Darcy, or noticed how he was interested in her and decided to accept when he proposed. (The book would have been a total BORE.) Instead, Elizabeth’s cleverness gets the best of her and she openly scorns Darcy and treats him with disdain. If she had been as kind as Jane that wouldn’t have happened. Do you see how the balance of her character works to create a wonderful story? She is pretty and clever, but her cleverness is a double edged sword thanks to her prejudice. Balance makes it possible to picture her as your next-door neighbor.

Another example: Sherlock of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s books. Sherlock was incredibly clever, but not the most handsome guy. He was so brilliant he could catch crooks with very little work, and he is obviously a genius. However, Sherlock is not the smartest man in Britain. His BROTHER is. (Talk about an excellent opportunity for emotional conflict!) Furthermore, he had a drug addiction, wrestled with depression, and because of the curt way he acted he wasn’t exactly well liked. Many say John Watson looks stupid next to Sherlock, but I think Sherlock’s social ineptitude/stoicism is amplified by Watson’s kindness. (You can see this in modern adaptions, like Sherlock BBC, and the Great Mouse Detective.) Sherlock’s genius and prowess is balanced with his emotional and social issues, and while they might not play a role in the crime he has to solve they play a HUGE role in his life.

How about an example from my work: Gabrielle from Puss in Boots. I chose this one on purpose because Gabrielle–unlike many of my heroines–is absolutely beautiful. Hands down she is the most gorgeous princess from Timeless Fairy Tales. However, several things counter her beauty: 1) she doesn’t value it and sees it as a flaw 2) she misjudges people because of her past experiences 3) she willingly takes orders from a cat. By the end of the book Gabrielle is much more comfortable with herself, and she’s become more gentle. She understands she was wrong in the way she would verbally act out in her hometown, and Puss has helped her become more independent. (She wouldn’t have taken on the ogre alone at the start of the story!)

This brings me to a big point. Your character must start the book negatively unbalanced–though they most often shouldn’t know it, or they see it as something that is only natural. By the end of the book, they should be a better person (better, not perfect) and have grown because of the challenges and obstacles they faced. You can see it in all my heroines. In the little Selkie Dylan is prideful and doesn’t want to ask humans for help, but by the end of the book she requests their help and marries one. In C&C Cinderella overcomes her deeply held hatred of Erlauf, and becomes queen. In King Arthurs Britt started as a very unwilling king and didn’t care much about ruling, but she’s maturing and is being forced to let her knights mature, so she can become a leader who could rule Britain in her own right.

Your goal should be to tell a good story, not to live out your fantasies through your main character. That might sound harsh, but it’s a painful lesson I had to learn that I would like to spare you. My first book was a sci fi story, which will never see the light of day because it cannot be salvaged. I got too attached to the main character, and I made her perfect in every way. If I ever feel like I’m getting a little prideful, I go back and read that story, and it sets my teeth on edge because now I loathe that very same character.

If you need practice in drawing balanced characters, try examining the people in your life. Who do you really know and love that would be a fun main character? What kind of flaws does that person have? We’re not looking to be critical, we’re observing truth. Usually the smart, quiet, perfectionist people can be a little socially awkward or they will feel overwhelmed because they don’t live up to their own standards. The social butterfly who is an absolute blast to hang out with might have a hard time organizing herself so her life is a little messy. None of this is because these people are terrible or evil, it’s because everyone has strengths and weaknesses. Your main character must reflect this, or your story will never go anywhere.

Gah, there’s so much more to talk about–how character flaws play important roles in plot, how your secondary characters should have strengths and flaws of their own, etc–but this is already a huge post so I’ll have to cut it off here. Can you think of your favorite novel and identify the character’s strengths, weaknesses, and flaws? Leave a comment and get some discussion going! In the meantime, thank you for reading, Champions, and I hope this gets you thinking.

King Arthurs: Series History

So I believe the general consensus has been that everyone liked Endeavor–particularly the last scene of the book–which I am really thrilled about! That last scene was tough to write. Editor #1 (Jeri) and I were going back and forth, trying to the actions just right. (Thanks Jeri!) It was also tough for me to write the book in general because as Britt loosens up her hold on her knights, I have to loosen up my hold. It sounds a little weird, but I got teary eyed when Britt realizes she’s going to be riding off without Ywain.

So I thought today might be a good day to review the King Arthurs series–not the story itself, but it’s very existence and history.

Around the time I finished Robyn Hood Fight For Freedom, I came up with the idea for Britt and her story. Just as I did for King Arthurs, I completed a ton of research for Robyn Hood and I read a lot of traditional ballads in books and on the internet. It just so happened that a lot of those ballads would be sandwiched between King Arthur stories. I’ve always loved King Arthur, so I perused some of the older stories, and it made me realize just how progressive King Arthur’s court was for women. Because I’m a writer and tinkering is what I do, I started trying to come up with fictional reasons for it, and I thought how awesome it would be if a modern girl was sent back to rule in King Arthur’s place. I decided to make Britt American, mostly because I was really worried I would bungle the accent, and I knew nothing of what normal life is like for females in their early twenties in Britain.

I played around with the idea before bringing it to light way back in…I think it was in summer 2013. I listed several story ideas I was playing around with and let readers vote on which series interested them the most. King Arthurs won.

As King Arthur is traditionally portrayed by handsome guys, I was a little worried what the reaction would be to a sharp-mouthed female Arthur.

I released Enthroned and Enchanted pretty soon after, and then I wrote Beauty and the Beast, which became a great success and let me quit my day job and become a full time author. King Arthurs got pushed to the side during that time while I was trying to get the Timeless Fairy Tales structure into place. Embittered was the only King Arthurs book released in 2014, but I followed it up by releasing Embark, Enlighten, and Endeavor in 2015.

The series will have nine books total if you don’t include the three packs, and I’m determined to finish it in 2016.

Most parts of the series is drawn upon from the original legends. Surprisingly I didn’t have to bend many stories to make a female Arthur believable. The biggest changes I’ve made, really, are that Britt is still competent. I’ve said it before, but after Arthur marries Guinevere things go downhill fast. The stories stop following Arthur and shift their attention to his knights–not a bad thing. Meanwhile Arthur stays in Camelot and gets old and fat, not noticing when his best friend and wife have an affair. This is my biggest departure from Arthur lore. In the beginning stories–the originals, not mine–Merlin is really careful to watch Arthur. He has a vision about Arthur and knows he’s the guy who can unite Britain. I decided to forget the depressing stuff (Arthur turning incompetent) and to focus on that. Britt is a fairly accurate reflection of young Arthur–or what old Arthur should be.

I have bittersweet feelings for King Arthur books and movies, because while all of them start so well, very few finish with happy endings. (Even my most favorite Arthur Book: Sword of the Rightful King, hints that Guinevere will regret her marriage to Arthur and will go after Lancelot.) Everyone takes it for granted that they have to follow the depressing originals and watch King Arthur–and Camelot–decay. King Arthur was something of a childhood hero of mine, so in a way King Arthurs and Her Knights is me offering him a lifeline and a chance to redeem himself. Britt might be a different gender, but she is not going to bring shame upon Arthur’s name, and she is not going lose.

I hope you found that interesting, Champions! Thank you to those who were with me way back in 2013 and voted for King Arthurs, it’s been a blast to write. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you again soon!

Cover Reveal: Heart of Ice

I have another King Arthurs post in store for you, but I wanted to announce that starting today, The Snow Queen: Heart of Ice is available for pre-order! The Snow Queen tale will be told in two books–the first being Heart of Ice, and the second yet-to-be-named story which will be released in February 2016. You can read more about it on the newly installed “Other Fairy Tales” tab of my website, but I want to assure you all that while The Snow Queen takes place centuries before any of the Timeless Fairy Tales story, it is part of that story-world. You’ll recognize country names, and fans of Rumpelstiltskin will recognize landmarks and events that were foreshadowed. In the same way, because it’s so far in the past there are many differences. Loire doesn’t yet exist, the elves haven’t yet taken up residence in the white forests of Farset, and the biggest change….magic is feared. Okay, on to the cover!

Myrrhlynn did a beautiful job with this cover, especially considering she’s trying something a bit new by featuring a female model. Previously we’ve shied away from that–although recently Red Rope of Fate and The Little Selkie were both given new covers in a similar style–but Myrrhlynn did a fantastic job putting this cover together. The girl, the snow, and the forest are actually three separate layers she painted together. I’m especially grateful she went through the painstaking work of doing that (the fur caused her much anguish) because it makes the cover true to the story. Being that this is a retelling of The Snow Queen, including the snow was incredibly important, and when the story starts Rakel is living in a forest on a mountain.

The Snow Queen will be released December 17–that’s a Thursday–and as it’s a pre-order Amazon will be running the show, so you can expect your copy to pop up promptly at midnight/or 12:00 am that Thursday. Thanks for reading, Champions. I’ll talk to you again, tomorrow, about King Arthurs!

Endeavor: Legends

As usual, I based Endeavor–book six of King Arthurs and Her Knights–off a number of Arthurian ballads and lore. The tricky party about this book is that we enter into three different traditional stories, and technically none of them are finished.

The first legend is the story of Sir Galahad and how he obtained his white shield with the red cross. This particular story doesn’t have a name, but it is part of the Quest for the Holy Grail. When the quest starts Sir Galahad sets off with a few other knights, but he leaves Camelot without a shield. He rides to an abbey where a White Knight (who attacked other members of the round table for trying to steal the shield he protects) gives the shield to Galahad’s squire and tells the squire to give it to Galahad–because only he is worthy of it. I cut off the legend there, but it continues into the search for the Holy Grail–which I will explore in future King Arthurs books.

I made a few changes to the original legend. I removed it from the Grail Cycle because Britt and her boys aren’t ready for that adventure yet, and I had Sir Mordred ride out with her instead of the other Grail companions. If I stuck to the legend Britt would have met Ywain there, but he was off starring in his own story which brings us to the next unfinished legend: Ywain, the Knight of the Lion.

Galahad’s white shield with the red cross is something that can be found in almost all of his legends.

I constructed Ywain’s story to stay true to the original. One of Arthur’s knights is killed by a knight guarding a mythical fountain thingie. This obscure knight happens to be related to Ywain, who sets out to fight Esclados to avenge his cousin. As Britt’s Ywain did, the original Ywain also set off in secret. Why the cloak and dagger? Because in the original story King Arthur was interested in the fountain and decided he would take a large party of knights with him, and Ywain wanted to beat the knights before they arrived. So, off he goes! He encounters and wounds the knight, who flees to his castle as Ywain chases him. Ywain is captured in the castle gatehouse and is eventually taken prisoner while Esclados dies of his wounds. Esclados’s wife, Laudine, knows the fountain must be protected, and Ywain–with the help of Laudine’s servant, Lunete–wins her over and marries her. There’s a bit of scuffle when King Arthur and his knights arrive, but Ywain remains true to Arthur and everyone feasts for days.

Sounds like a happily ever after, right? Wrong! Ywain’s story continues, giving you a peek at his married life. I cut off where I did because you will see the rest of Ywain’s story in King Arthurs and Her Knights book seven.

Okay, so we’ve covered Galahad and Ywain, what story is left? It’s a piece of lore I think a lot of my readers will have a difficult time swallowing: the story of Vivien and Merlin. This story is just getting started, but I can summarize the beginning by saying that Vivien–a beautiful young girl who is gifted in black arts–shows up in Camelot with the intention of seducing Merlin so she can learn magic from him. Remember, in the old stories Merlin is pretty old, but he is out-of-this-world powerful, which is partially why Arthur’s kingdom is so great.

So there you have it, three legends, all of them technically unfinished–although Book Seven will see the completion of at least one of them. Thanks for reading, Champions, and a special thank you to everyone who has reviewed Endeavor–I appreciate it! I hope you have a lovely week!

A King Arthurs Short

Happy Thanksgiving, Champions! Today–November 26–is the American holiday of Thanksgiving. It’s become more of a food frenzy and a huge shopping day, but it used to be a day when Americans got together with their families and reflected on what they were thankful for.

As I will always be thankful for you, Champions, I wrote a little King Arthur drabble to celebrate the day. You can check out the PDF version HERE!

Thank you for reading, Champions–and I mean that sincerely. I love my job, and I feel incredibly blessed to have all of you. Happy Thanksgiving!