Lavinia Collins's Blog, page 9

*NEWS* THE WARRIOR QUEEN Arthurian #1 Amazon Bestseller FREE for a short time *NEWS*

Don’t miss your chance to grab THE WARRIOR QUEEN, Part 1 of THE GUINEVERE TRILOGY, completely free!

Book of the Month: March

The Grave by Diane Dickson 
 
I couldn’t tell how much I was enjoying Diane Dickson’s The Grave until I lost my kindle charger and ran out of battery 60% through, and felt as though I was suffering from a horrible emergency. The Grave is a fast-paced gritty crime thriller. I’m actually not a regular crime fiction reader, and I stumbled across Dickson’s book because we are published by the same publishing house [link to NSNB], and I thought I’d give it a try. 
 
We open with a body being disposed of, and we (or I!) think we know what’s going to happen, but the story unfolds with many twists and surprises. The story follows Samuel, a secretive man with a dark past, and Sylvie, a fragile young woman with a difficult history. Samuel lives in the forest, so for a while this story made me think of that Dolly Parton song where she falls in love with a weird forest man called Joshua (listen to it now), but that’s by-the-by. Samuel’s savvy, together and strong, and Sylvie’s constantly in tears. But (and I don’t want to say too much about this) the story and the characters are deeper than that; Samuel is also vulnerable, Sylvie is also strong. And what feels at the beginning like it could turn into a male-orientated crime story with a female accessory, quickly diverts from that and offers so much more. 

You’ll love this book if: 
You like mystery/crime fiction with a twist 
You’re looking for something gritty 
You’d like typical crime grit but with some decent female characters for a change
 
You might want to avoid this book if: 
You’re sensitive to graphic violence and graphic sexual violence 

The Editing Diaries: Episode 8

THE EDITING DIARIES (PART 8)

Bestselling author Lavinia Collins talks about the process of editing the second part of her third trilogy, published with Not So Noble Books, out now!

Book II, Part III: Fighting in the Captain’s Tower

So I’ve talked a lot in this series of posts about the joys of working with an editor, and this is not to gainsay any of that, or undermine it, but I think it’s worth discussing: what do you do when you don’t agree with the editor’s decisions? In my experience, I’ve always found the process very two-sided, very flexible and accommodating. The editor’s changes are suggestions, not orders, and while 95% of them are changes that I think make the book better, every so often I come across something that I feel I want to keep the way it is.

When should you stand your ground?

This makes it sound like a battle, which of course it is not. But as an extremely confrontation-averse person, I find disagreeing with anything immensely stressful, so I come over all frantic if I have to say no to something, and behave as if it’s a big, awkward deal, even if the other person was only making a gentle suggestion. One of the times, however, when I do say no, is when the editor’s decisions relate to medieval-specific things that I know more about.

The instance that comes to mind is when I used the phrase making letters for writing. Sounds weird, right? But this is what people talked about – making letters– when they talked about writing in the middle ages. We think of reading and writing as part of literacy, but in the medieval world most people listened to stories and were aware of literature, and many could read, but few could write. The beginning of the writing process was called making letters – we’re in a world where people can read and understand advanced literature, but write like primary school children. I wanted to keep this.

What matters most? 

I’m happy to let a lot of description go; if the editor suggests it be cut, that indicates to me that the reader already has a good picture, and it’s clear what’s happening. It’s easy in the self-editing, re-reading process to worry that something or other isn’t clear, and add more, and it’s not necessary. So I’m grateful for those suggestions – no one wants to be held up reading more about something they’ve already understood.

I care more about character-specific moments. Details that, to me, are crucial (or at least quite important) to the character who is speaking or thinking them. And beyond that, on a more self-indulgent level, if I have written a little phrase or fragment that I’m particularly pleased with, I might ask to keep it.

As it is, I’ve never had a dispute about any of the changes suggested and made or not made – as with any good partnership or working relationship, it’s a two-way street, so the process necessarily involves a little give and take.

Part of being able to freely accept so many good suggestions of changes that really improve and tighten the work is knowing when to say ‘Actually, I think this needs to stay’. When you’re working with an editor, it’s important to feel able to say that. That’s part of the trust relationship that can be hard with someone you’ve never met face-to-face, but if you feel that, in general, they see the same thing you see when they read your work (which I happily think is largely the case), then there’s much to learned and gained from it.

Morgawse 2, A Fragile Crown, out now!

Click here for The Editing Diaries (Part 7)

Reblogged from Chapterhouse UK 

Guest Post: David Wiley on Arthurian Adaptation

This post was written by David Wiley, one of the authors involved in the King of Ages compilation. For my review, click here. 

When I read about the premise for King of Ages, the wheel of possibilities began to spin and spiral out of control. I had been a fan of Arthurian fiction for as long as I can remember, having devoured greats such as Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, White’s The Once and Future King, Tennyson’s The Idylls of the King. I had also explored some more modern takes on various parts of the Arthurian legend, enjoying Nancy McKenzie’s Queen of Camelot and A.A. Attanasio’s The Dragon and the Unicorn series above all others. So the opportunity to not only write a King Arthur story, which was something I had dreamed about doing ever since I started writing fiction for myself, but to also place it during an alternative time and place in history was something I simply could not pass up.

Coming up with the right setting was a bit of a challenge. I love to write about knights and castles and chivalry, but I couldn’t justify any sort of Medieval or Middle Ages England setting. My first love in history is set in that time period, covering the Dark Ages through Shakespeare, but no matter how I turned ideas over in my head they were just too close to the standard Arthurian tales. I had been meaning to read Icelandic sagas for a while, having been turned to them from my own personal Medieval Literature studies. I had recently purchased a nice book containing seventeen Icelandic sagas and tales. And I knew I wanted to learn more about the Viking culture. So the beginnings of the idea came and a draft of my pitch was written before I even dove into reading an Icelandic saga.

I dove into the first saga, Egil’s Saga, and was instantly drawn toward the style in which it was being told. It reminded me a lot of Malory’s own way of telling his stories in Le Morte D’Arthur, and I was treated to a saga that was epic in scope and massive in scale. It made me want to read more sagas and to learn more about Icelandic culture. So I checked in with my resident Icelandic expert: Dr. Google.

After a few days of scouring as much information as I could handle, I had settled on the setting. Much like how Egil’s Saga started long before he came to Iceland, I wanted this tale to be about King Arthur when he first arrived at Iceland. The settlement era was perfect for this, as it provided a valid reason for him and his men to be sailing away from Norway and a reason to stay and explore the island. It also allowed me to cast Merlin as a Gallic monk, who had been the only inhabitants on the island prior to the settlement by the Norwegian Vikings.

My contribution has some nods to the things I enjoyed in Egil’s Saga: great feats of strength, tragic loss, the composition of a verse with kennings, berserkers. Working in a few plays on Norse mythology was fun as well, with references mistakenly being made to both Thor and Loki. And, while I did not extend the saga to the epic proportions that some of the Icelandic sagas achieve, the story ends in a way that made it clear that this was just the first of many great things that Arthur accomplished during his time in Iceland.

It still amazes me how perfect the setting of Medieval Iceland was for this tale. It allowed me to explore two things into greater detail: Icelandic history and the sagas, and inspired me to continue reading and learning about both. Alongside so many other great stories in the collection, my own saga is content to dwell in its cozy corner near the back of the book and remain ready to sweep the reader back to a time and place that is both strange, yet comfortingly familiar, to readers of the Arthurian legend. My hope is that it inspires others to read some sagas for themselves, as they are a truly wonderful treasure of literature.

It’s not funny when someone steals your joke

Today I had a rather unpleasant experience when a friend of mine (who considers himself politically right-on, I might add) publicly (and to some acclaim) tweeted something I had said to him only five minutes before in a private message. It was a comment about a political controversy at a university where I used to work. It was not the most insightful thing I had ever said, but those words were mine and he tweeted them as though he had thought it up all by himself.

Am I overreacting? was the first thing I asked myself. No one likes someone else stealing our jokes. But I had said it just five minutes before. If the shoe had been on the other foot, I would certainly have credited him. Is the logical leap, then, that he did this because I am a woman and he is a man, and he therefore respects me less? Not necessarily. But this isn’t the only song like this that I know the tune of.

When this happened, I spoke to a few of my closest friends. Should I confront him publicly and point out that these were my words? They were full of stories of colleagues who had talked with them over tea breaks, then used their ideas without comment or citation in talks or research. Colleagues outside of Academia, claiming information given freely in conversation as their own. As it happens, in all of these cases the perpetrators were male.

I know well enough that correlation does not equal causation (just take a good look at the spurious correlations website), but those who are entitled in one way or another often fail to credit what they have taken from those who they consider (consciously or subconsciously) less worthy.

In the end, I claimed those words as my own. It was a minor fracas, and the attitude in response was that I was over-reacting because the friend in question had ‘paraphrased’ me rather than repeating my hastily-typed typo-laden DM verbatim. I let it slide. I’d won the war.

*NEWS* #1 Arthurian Bestseller THE WITCHES OF AVALON free for a limited time *News*

“Lavinia Collins creates a whole world to immerse yourself in.”

And now you can enjoy THE WITCHES OF AVALON completely free for a limited time only!

Book of the Month: The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest

The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest – Mary Campisi

I got this book free through a BookBub promotion and I was looking forward to a bit of frivolous romance fiction. I was not disappointed. If you haven’t signed up for BookBub yet go and do it immediately! Free books and offers every day tailored to your interests – what more could you want?

But back to the matter at hand: The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest. This booked ticked all of the boxes for historical romance fiction. And I mean all of them. Bodices were ripped. Swoons were swooned. Our hero is a tall, dark handsome stranger, returned from a mysterious life at sea with a dark secret. He assumes a false name and returns to his family estate. His family are old enemies of the Seacrest family who live nearby. The daughter, Sophie, is beautiful (of course) with auburn hair and flashing eyes. She’s wilful, too, defying the conventions of society by being universally considered gorgeous and desirable and being wholeheartedly well-liked by everyone she meets. Sophie’s just your typical virgin capable of multiply orgasmic sex at the drop of a hat (or the rip of a bodice). Your typical girl next door. The scene is set, and romance and intrigue can begin! Throw in a mysterious avenger, a sick little sister that needs Sophie’s care and an unpleasant suitor who she almost has to marry.

There were no surprises in this book, but we don’t read romance fiction of this kind for surprises. It’s true-to-type, steamy and entertaining. There’s lots of steamy assignations and society intrigue, so if that’s your bag, read away!

You’ll love this book if:

– You’re looking for a true-to-type historical romance

– You like tall dark handsome strangers

– You don’t mind female genitals being referred to as ‘her woman’s heat’

You might want to avoid this book if:

– You don’t want to take romance conventions with a pinch of salt

– You’re looking for a “serious” read.

Originally published on Chapter and Verse Reviews 

News! A FRAGILE CROWN out now!

A Fragile Crown

Part II of the Morgawse: Queen of the North Trilogy

Ruthlessly dismissed from Camelot by King Arthur, Morgawse returns to Lothian Castle with her sister, Morgan. Her pregnancy remains a delicate secret from her vile and domineering husband, Lot. But he is endlessly suspicious, and discovers her swelling belly. Fuming with anger, he pledges war on King Arthur to regain what he considers the only thing worth living for – honour.

Morgawse is indifferent about the fate of her husband but she fears terribly for her sons as they join their father in battle. She plans to visit Arthur again to try and persuade him to a peace agreement. Despite his hostility, she reminds him that he is, after all, the father of her child. But Arthur has other plans.

You can also find Part I, THE EMPTY THRONE: a gripping medieval romance on Amazon.

THE EDITING DIARIES (PART 6)

Book I, Part II: Show and Tell

(Reblogged from the Chapterhouse Blog)

It’s a famous adage of writing that you should show and not tell.

The more subtle distinction is where is it better to skim and allude, and where should you have action, dialogue and plenty of ‘show’?

This is a particular issue for me, since the series of books I’m working on, of which I am now editing the second part of the third volume, are a set of interlinking stories from different perspectives. This means a few scenes are covered more than once. Only two scenes appear in all three trilogies, but nonetheless the temptation, when something has had a lot of detail in one part, is to skim when it appears again. Which is what (wicked thing that I am) I did. But the editor made the (eminently sensible) suggestion that in cases like feasts and dances the reader feels somewhat cheated out of the sense of occasion. These are opportunities for vivid atmosphere and detail. And I was skimming over them, because I had written that scene before from a different angle. More fool me! Because here was another opportunity I was missing to do the most fun part of this writing process – reimagining different moments through different perspectives.

It was also immensely helpful to know where more description, or more detail, would be helpful. Since the editing of Morgan had been mainly focussed on cutting down something that had got out of control lengthwise in the first-drafting process, and The Empty Throne didn’t have that problem, I was faced with a new challenge – what had I reported in this book that needed describing? It was immensely helpful to have an outsider point out where description was slowing down the action, and where more description would be better.

Show and tell. Each has its place – you can’t describe everything that ever happens; you waste moments if you skip through them. Readers don’t want to plough through paragraphs of detailed description (unless they’re Dickens fans – each to their own, or, as my beloved Kay would say, different strokes for different folks) but they also want a vivid sense of what’s happening. And an editor is another pair of eyes able to point out where this kind of writing can be cut and inserted. If you’re self-editing, that’s hard to do, I think. Certainly, I have found it hard in my own work to know where more and where less is needed.

After getting used to swinging that axe, then, I’ve been working on planting new little trees (to extend the metaphor further than it has any right to go).

Stay tuned for next week’s instalment: adding dialogue!

Morgawse I, The Empty Throne, out now!

Click here for The Editing Diaries (Part 5)

The Guinevere Trilogy – Lavinia Collins

This week: a lovely review from my good friends at Chapter And Verse Reviews. If you’d like to read other blog reviews of Guinevere, in whole and in part, you can do so here (with full links to external sites) and if you’d like to see for yourself, you can read free chapters of The Warrior Queen, the first instalment of the trilogy, here. 

Chapter and Verse Reviews

First, an admission. Lavinia Collins is a good friend of this blog. You may have read some of her guest posts here and on the Chapterhouse website, and the more eagle-eyed amongst you will have spotted her hiding in our header picture. That said, we felt that her books deserved our attention. Lavinia is the author of three fantasy/romance trilogies, each set in the world of King Arthur, each taking on a different perspective. This first trilogy is written from the point of view of Queen Guinevere, and tells the story of her marriage to Arthur and [SPOILER ALERT] her subsequent affair with Arthur’s greatest knight Sir Lancelot.

What separates Collins’ work from other interpretations of the King Arthur legend is her focus on female experience. As she argues here, in most modern versions the female characters are less well-developed, serving mostly to move the story along, and…

View original post 238 more words