My Affair With Bedivere
Because I’ve been sooo behind in my schedule lately (you may remember my tale of woe a couple of days ago!), I wrote Battle of Mount Badon \in a sweat-inducing five days (plotting was another five days). It was a marathon of biblical proportions. I wrote all the hours I could squeeze out of my days, and fell into bed each night only to dream about the book.
I met the deadline, and have since had the chance to go through the story and revise…and found that it really didn’t need all that much touching up at all. It is a thing I’ve learned about writing in immersion mode: Because I eat and breathe the story, it ends up being much better than I think it is while I’m writing it. I’m always surprised by the intuitive leaps and connections I make — I often find myself going: “I don’t remember writing that!”.
I’ve been looking forward to writing Bedivere’s story for a long time, because Bedivere and I go back a long way. He has woven himself into my books in very indirect ways, including:
1) “Bedivere” in Latin is “Veris”. If you like my PNR books, that name should lift your brow for you. 🙂
2) Another Bedivere is the hero of my science fiction romance series, Interspace Origins (first book is Faring Soul). That Bedivere took his name from this Bedivere, for a very specific reason, which I won’t spoil here.
And if you like your epic fantasy and watched Game of Thrones (or have read as much of the series that actually exists in print form), then you might recognize Bedivere in one of that series’ characters: Jamie Lannister.
The Bedivere from classic Arthurian mythology was one of Arthur’s companions and strongest fighters. He was called the “perfect knight” in the medieval romance cycles–and I have borrowed this tag for my series, too–although I call Bedivere and his family “perfect warriors”, as “knights” is a medieval concept, about six centuries after King Arthur lived.
The connection to Jamie Lannister? Bedivere in the classic myths has one hand. Ring bells now?
I suspect George R.R. Martin might have borrowed Bedivere as an inspiring jumping off point for Jamie.
I hummed and hawed about the one-hand-thing for quite a while before I dealt with it in this book. I didn’t cut off Bedivere’s hand, but I didn’t ignore the mythology, either. That would feel like cheating, to me.
Their every encounter gives off sparks of contempt and misunderstanding.
Bedivere is one of King Arthur’s companions, his marshall and war duke of his army. Handsome, remote, traditional and honor-bound, all he wants is to be a perfect warrior and serve Arthur. Only, Arthur’s people face another dark winter of deprivation and defeat at the hands of the ruthless Saxons. How can Bedivere find victory for Arthur when there is no hope?
Cara of Brynaich is half-Saxon, the younger daughter of a reviled family. Her facial scars keep her apart from everyone. Her heart holds only hatred for the Saxons who betrayed her mother, murdered her father and brought her and her kin to such misery. She has no time for honor and tradition.Hope is for blind fools.
She brings chaos into Bedivere’s life, while his cool indifference provokes her to ever greater excesses. When the Saxons scent the weakness of Arthur’s defenses and descend upon Mount Badon, Bedivere and Cara must find a way to fight them and not each other…
This novel is part of the ancient historical romance series, Once and Future Hearts, set in Britain during the time of King Arthur.
1.0 Born of No Man
2.0 Dragon Kin
3.0 Pendragon Rises
4.0 War Duke of Britain
5.0 High King of Britain
6.0 Battle of Mount Badon
7.0 Abduction of Guenivere
8.0 Downfall of Cornwall
9.0 Vengeance of Arthur
10.0 Grace of Lancelot
11.0 The Grail and Glory
12.0 Camlann
Readers have described Tracy Cooper-Posey as “a superb story teller” and her ancient historical romances as “written art”. Get your copy of Battle of Mount Badon today!
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Praise for the Once And Future Hearts series
Imagine how good is the author in her craft that she is capable of surprising us her readers even though the Arthurian cycle is one of the most rewritten ones in western literature.
What a great storyteller! I never thought that anyone could tell an Arthurian tale as well as Mary Stewart, but Tracy Cooper Posey has succeeded. I am just in awe of her ability to meld historical detail with legends and turn out a mesmerizing story.
It takes me back to the magic I felt when reading Mary Stewart’s stories of Merlin. Tracy Cooper-Posey has written another winner!
As a long time, self proclaimed Arthurian Legend junkie I couldn’t wait to dive into Tracy Cooper Posey’s new series. Tracy once again proves to be a master story teller as she weaves the delicate threads of this beloved legend into her own.
Oh my goodness. Of course I was not sure what to expect with this but what I got was a wonderful story set in the time just before King Arthur. Invading Saxons, Romans, Kings, princesses, mysteries, Merlin, and romance? Wonderful beginning to a new series and I cannot wait to read more.
I also love the fact that her female characters are definitely not boring, whiny or TSTL.
Tracy Cooper Posey is brilliant at weaving stories with individuals that are completely believable in their thoughts and dialogue.
Ms Tracy has an amazing way of telling a tale. It’s magical 🙂
Battle of Mount Badon is now available for pre-order. It will be released on November 21st on my site, and November 28th, everywhere else.
Cheers,
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