Kim Rendfeld Interview

As we do on Fridays, when we schedule an interview, we take a break from the Regency Personality series. It shall of course return. As early as tomorrow.

Today we are fortunate to have with us Kim Rendfeld, who writes in historical fiction in the days of Charlemagne. Her latest release is The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar (Fireship Press) , a companion to The Cross and the Dragon (2012, Fireship Press).

1) What moved you to become an author?

During a family vacation in Germany, I learned about a legend on the origin of the ivy covered arch at Rolandsbogen, which is on a hilltop in the Rhineland. To tell too much would introduce a spoiler for The Cross and the Dragon, but it involves medieval lovers separated by a lie.

The story followed me home and refused to let go until I planted myself in front of a computer and wrote. Never mind that I knew very little about the Middle Ages and had only heard of Charlemagne. But once I research the history, I was hooked enough to write two books and get started on the third.

2) Tell us about your current novel.

The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar is about a peasant woman who will go to great lengths to protect her children. Here is the blurb:

772 AD: Charlemagne’s battles in Saxony have left Leova with nothing but her two children, Deorlaf and Sunwynn. Her beloved husband died in combat. Her faith lies shattered in the ashes of the Irminsul, the Pillar of Heaven. The relatives obligated to defend her and her family instead sell them into slavery.

In Francia, Leova is resolved to protect her son and daughter, even if it means sacrificing her own honor. Her determination only grows stronger as Sunwynn blossoms into a beautiful young woman attracting the lust of a cruel master and Deorlaf becomes a headstrong man willing to brave starvation and demons to free his family. Yet Leova’s most difficult dilemma comes in the form of a Frankish friend, Hugh. He saves Deorlaf from a fanatical Saxon and is Sunwynn’s champion – but he is the warrior who slew Leova’s husband.

3) How did the story begin to develop in your mind?

During my research for The Cross and the Dragon , I learned that Charlemagne subjugated the pagan Continental Saxons after fighting them for more than 30 years on and off. During his first war in 772, his Franks destroyed the Irminsul, a historic pillar sacred to the Saxons. Another piece of information that stuck with me was that the Franks had slaves, including war captives.

I found myself wondering how the Irminsul’s destruction would affect the faith of an ordinary Saxon and what it would be like for a peasant to lose the freedom she took for granted.

I could not explore those questions in The Cross and the Dragon , which features Christian Frankish aristocrats who have their own difficulties. I needed to write another book to examine the events from a pagan and peasant point of view.

4) What did you find most challenging about this book?

Besides finding time to write, my greatest challenge was simulating the Continental Saxons’ way of life. The Church deemed their religion devil worship and did everything it could to obliterate it. In addition, the eighth-century Continental Saxons did not have a written language as we know it.

I turned to Frankish source in translation, academic papers, Beowulf, and folk tales to fill the gaps.

5) How did you choose your publishing method?

For several years, I tried to get published with what is now the Big 5 through the query process. Heck, I go back to the bad, old SASE days (that’s self-address stamped envelope for the acronym impaired). I did get an agent in 2007. But she was unable to sell my debut, and we parted ways.

You know that saying, “Insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results”? In early 2011, I decided it was time to do something different, which included a submission to Fireship Press.

Fireship Press published my debut, and after I mentioned Ashes during an interview, I got a note that Fireship was interested in my second book. Of course Fireship needed to review the finished manuscript before making an offer, but when a publisher is genuinely interested in your work, it’s a great feeling.

6) Tell us a little about yourself?

Had I been born earlier, I would have been one of those junior high English teachers scaring the bejesus out of her students. Instead I became a journalist and worked at Indiana newspapers for almost two decades before moving to my current day job at a university marketing and public relations office. I’m paid to read all day and tell writers what’s wrong with their stuff. Yes, I’m a copy editor.

I live in Indiana with my husband of more than 20 years and our spoiled cats. We enjoy traveling, especially to visit our daughter and three adorable granddaughters.

7) What is your next work, and beyond that, what do you want to work on?

I am currently working on a novel tentatively titled Lady Queen Fastrada, an author’s interpretation of historic events. Charlemagne’s eldest son, Pepin (also call Pepin the Hunchback), tried to overthrow his father. When he was caught, the conspirators blamed Queen Fastrada’s cruelty. No one specifies what she supposedly did. So I must ask: Who was she really? Was she truly cruel by medieval standards, defined as atrocities to her own people rather than the celebrated slaughter of the enemy? Or was she a woman so influential she drew enemies?

8) In the current work, is there an excerpt to share? Your favorite scene, a part of your life that you put into the work and think it came out exceptionally well that you would like to share.

It would be my pleasure. This scene gets to the heart of everything Leova loses. To give a little context, Leova has accepted baptism shortly after watching her husband’s body burn in his pyre. She and her children, Deorlaf and Sunwynn, want to see if there is anything left of their home after the battles and believe her burly nephews, Wulfgar and Ludgar, will protect them. Leova is surprised when her sister-by-marriage, Ealdgyth, suggests a suitor for her but agrees to meet with the man.

Walking two by two, they wound their way among the oaks, ashes, and pines. Ealdgyth and Leova were in front, followed by Wulfgar and Sunwynn, then Deorlaf and Ludgar.

Deorlaf’s footsteps stopped suddenly. “I hear voices.”

Leova halted and listened.

Ealdgyth whirled, her small eyes gleaming. “Wulfgar, grab her!”

Wulfgar seized Leova’s wrists and twisted her arms behind her. Leova screamed and struggled to pull away. Wulfgar’s meaty fingers tightened their grip, bruising her flesh.

“You are coming with us,” Ealdgyth said coldly.

“Release her,” Deorlaf shouted, drawing his dagger.

Wulfgar looked over his shoulder and laughed. “Puny boy. Ludgar, take his knife.”

Ludgar looked at Deorlaf’s knife and drew his own.

“Stop, you fool!” Ealdgyth screeched. “He’s worth nothing to us dead or crippled.”

“Run!” Leova shrieked.

Ealdgyth snatched the large knife from Leova’s belt and pointed it at Leova’s throat. “Stay here, boy, or your mother dies!”

Sunwynn was rooted to the spot, staring at the large knife. Deorlaf gazed at the blade in his hand—one of his father’s last gifts.

“Do you love your mother, boy?” Wulfgar taunted.

Deorlaf looked up at his mother and dropped the dagger.

“No,” Leova wailed, “run.”

Before Deorlaf or Sunwynn could react, Ludgar grabbed each one by the back of the neck in his massive hands.

“Come,” Ealdgyth said. She tucked Leova’s knife into her own belt and retrieved Deorlaf’s.

“You heard her,” Wulfgar growled in Leova’s ear, releasing one of her arms. “Not too fast or Ludgar will break your brats’ necks.” A moment later, she heard the rasp of a drawn dagger and felt a point in the middle of her back.

“Why?” Leova asked, almost sobbing. “Why are you doing this?”

Ealdgyth frowned. “Not your concern.”

As Leova and her children stumbled along the forest path, the voices grew louder, and they were speaking a foreign tongue. Her throat constricted. She could barely breathe. What was happening? This was worse than losing Leodwulf, Derwine, and the Irminsul. Even if she could break Wulfgar’s grip, she dared not run. She could not lose her babies.

9) Who do you think influenced your writing, this work, and who do you think you write like?

As a teenager, I read J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and Mary Stewart’s Merlin series. However, the most direct influence on my writing is from my critique partners, to whom I owe than I can ever say for their honesty and support. They let me know what worked and more importantly what didn’t.

I like to think my writing voice is my own. However, I must admit I was honored when reviewers compared my first book, The Cross and the Dragon , to Sir Walter Scott and Bernard Cornwell’s Saxon chronicles.

10) Who do you read? What are the things that a reader can identify with that you have grounded yourself in.

For pleasure, I read mostly historical fiction and feel restless if there is not a book, print or electronic, on my nightstand. I tend to shift periods and settings so that I don’t start imitating the author.

To ground The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar, I used historical events found in Frankish sources and academic papers. Readers who enjoy Beowulf and the folk tales collected by the Grimm brothers will see those influences in my characters, for whom magic is a real thing.

11) When writing, what is your routine?

I squeeze in writing whenever I can, often in the evenings and on weekends. I have an office at home—the proverbial room of one’s own—and will close the door when the TV gets too loud. I also must shut off the Facebook and the e-mail and commit whatever scraps of time I have to writing. I am fortunate to have a supportive husband who cooks for me. My cats, however, continue to make demands, especially around feeding time.

12) Do you think of yourself as an artist, or as a craftsman, a blend of both?

My work is a blend of art and craft. The art comes from the story that just won’t let you go, but to get something worthy of publication requires commitment, a willingness to accept criticism, and the persistence to revise, revise, and revise yet again.

13) Where should we look for your work?

The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other book sellers.

Readers can visit my website at kimrendfeld.com,

        my Amazon author page at amazon.com/author/kimrendfeld,

        or the Goodreads page for the book, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22750707-the-ashes-of-heaven-s-pillar, where a giveaway is under way until September 9, 2014.