Once Upon a Time is Now
April 3, 2025 • 1 Comment
It’s not often that I can pinpoint a specific inspiration for a story. Usually, it just lurches from the swamp of my brain and lands on the page with a muddy splat. But the spark of the Camelot Reborn series had a very clear beginning, even if it sat dormant for a very long time.
I remember standing in Salisbury Cathedral when I was about twelve, staring down at the stone face of a knight. Although it was August, the medieval building was cold, the only light filtering through towering windows of stained glass. The vaulted ceiling created echoes that went on for days, and my imagination went into overdrive.
The statue was life-sized and in full armor, an effigy stretched in eternal sleep upon his tomb. He grasped a sword against his chest, and a lion curled protectively at his feet—a symbol of courage.
Who was he? Could I wake him with a kiss, Sleeping-Beauty style? Would he sit up and look around at the new modern world? Of course, he would be devoted to twelve-year-old me, infinitely grateful to be revived. And, naturally, there would be an equally interesting villain just waiting in the wings. What fabulous adventures would follow!
I’ll pause to add that I knew very little about knights when I was twelve. If Sir Whatever had awakened in good health and sound mind, I doubt he would have been happy to learn his estates were now a warehouse grocery emporium. Furthermore, no, he could not use the longsword to emphasize his opinion on the matter. And even further furthermore, I doubt he’d understand a word anyone said. The English language has changed dramatically since the Crusades.
But I digress. My tender tween heart was an innocent thing.
When I began the Camelot Reborn series, I remembered my knight in his lonely sleep. What if the Knights of the Round Table—enchanted into sleeping stone—had been scattered to museums and private collections? If they had to be awakened one by one to reunite with their brothers and defeat a threatening enemy? What if Sir Gawain, a hot-tempered, dangerous, and devastatingly handsome knight, was roaming about town, eager to fight or carouse or sweep my heroine off her feet?
Apparently, I liked that notion and stuck with it. My heroine is a thoroughly modern historian named Tamsin Greene. She’s the key to finding the other knights, but she’s also a powerful witch—and if there’s one thing that Gawain refuses to trust, it’s sorcery. But he’s not going to get the maid without her magic, and little does Tamsin know that Gawain holds the key to an ancient secret that changes everything she believes about her own past.
Not even Merlin can prevent these fireworks and, yes, he gets a few of his own.
Want to learn more? Check out Enchanted Warrior here.
All my favorite things
November 18, 2018 • No Comments
I was recently listening to a podcast by the fabulous Joanna Penn, who mentioned that authors should embrace their idiosyncratic pleasures. That is, those elements one loves and uses in art or writing again and again. These might be story elements such as secret babies or serial killers (hopefully not at the same time). They might also just be images or ideas that make us happy. I love her recommendation to use these gems as one pleases, and to be unapologetic while doing so!
What’s my list? It will probably take me a while to collect everything, but here’s a start:
- Seaside towns/cities – I believe the sea adds untold romance and mystery, not to mention delicious fogs
- Funky older neighborhoods
- Cathedrals & bell towers
- Catacombs and ossuaries
- Tea and all the rituals that go with it
- Fireplaces
- Graveyards, the older the better (that’s Highgate in the picture above)
- Trees, especially twisty ones
- Magic of all sorts
- Strong-willed grandmothers
- Baroque and early music. The Brandenburg Concerti are my go-to mood tonic
- Clocks
- Velvet
- Walled gardens and glass houses
- Exotic strangers
- Underground spaces, with or without dragons
- Castles and ancient manors, complete with appropriate drafts
- Moors and heaths
- Fancy ankle boots
- Standing stones
- Talking animals
- Swirling cloaks
- Carnelian jewelry
- Mad scientists
- Possession by spirits
- Snow, mostly in theory and not waiting to be shoveled
I don’t think you need to be a writer to have a list like this–and when to dip into it on a day when you need to lift your spirits! Yes, sometimes I do take a walk in the cemetery to cheer myself up. It’s the nicest green space imaginable on a bright fall day.