I’ve been sitting on this for a few weeks now, because I wanted to tell my newsletter readers first.
Now I can tell you.
I have created a new historical romance series — ancient British history, in this case. Set at the end of the Dark Ages, which came after Rome deserted Britain and chaos gripped the land — this was around the end of the fifth century and early into the sixth century. After that, the Anglo-Saxons overwhelmed the land and England (the land of the Angles) was formed.
The story of Arthur has been told a mega million times, by authors much better than me. My version, though, will be told through the eyes of twelve couples — companions, knights, ladies in waiting, slaves, friends, princes, warlords, wives and more; all the people that surrounded the characters we know so well from the myths. Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Guinevere, Bedivere, Mordred, Ector, Percival. King Mark, Tristan and and Iseult.
Unlike many of the classic tales, Once and Future Hearts won’t dismiss women as wallpaper, or simply for “knights” to joust over. (In actual fact, there were no knights in the fourth century). The women in these stories will be as strong, courageous and smart as the men. They may not be warriors, or ever pick up a weapon, but these women will be instrumental in the rise of Camelot…and also its fall.
Why twelve couples/twelve books? Because Arthur fought twelve battles to turn the tide against the Saxons and hold them at bay for a generation and give Britain a moment of peace.
The first book in the series, Born of No Man, will be released on May 3, 2018, but is already available for pre-order.
Was Merlin born of no man?
Lynette, companion to Princess Vivian, mother of the child who will grow to become the powerful shadow behind thrones, knows the truth.
Cadfael the Black, battle commander to High King Vortigern, lives only to kill Saxons, to avenge the brutal murder of his family at their hands. At the court of King Gwilym, the very heart of Roman Britain, he meets the beautiful Lynette, a woman who could thaw his frozen heart.
As the only keeper of the truth about Merlin, Lynette is a threat to everyone—Romans, Pelagians and the High King’s allies. Cadfael, sworn to serve the High King, knows he should leave Lynette to face her fate…
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
For an excerpt and buy links, click here. Series page is here.
Cheers,
Get the news that no one else does. Sign up for my newsletter.
For a short while, you get a bundle of ebooks, free, when you sign up, as a Starter Library. Details here.
How many pages is the first book and will they rest of the series be around the same number?
I can’t give you exact page counts, as every ebook reader counts pages differently. I can only give you finished lenghts.
The first book is short, as it is the set-up book, but it is a complete novel, and is very nearly all just the romance.
Later books in the series could well be longer, as the storylines get more complicated, and the “carry over” cast grows longer. 🙂
I have done the concept work on the second book, and from the characters that must be developed for future books, and the complexity of the romance itself, I can see that it will already be longer than the first.
I won’t be trying to make the books any particular length. I’ll just tell the story and see where I end up.
I will be keeping in mind, though, that readers prefer shorter stories these days.
Cheers,
t.