Sarah Woodbury - On Turning Medieval Drama into Fiction

Today, I'm happy to announce a guest post by fellow historical novelist, Sarah Woodbury. I asked Sarah to tell us why she writes about medieval Wales and how the political intrigue there features in her books, including her latest release, a medieval mystery entitled The Good Knight.

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"Wales in the middle ages has been a focus of my research and passion as an anthropologist, writer, and amateur historian for the last ten years. One of the joys of working within this era is the extent to which history is stranger than fiction. Medieval Wales provides a wealth of opportunity for story-telling, with all the drama and excitement a novelist could want—without even having to make it all up.

The Good Knight is set against the backdrop of the rule of Owain Gwynedd, one of the most powerful and stable monarchs of north Wales in the middle ages. He was fortunate to have ruled during a time in which England, which had been trying to conquer Wales for a hundred and fifty years, was torn apart by the rivalry of two claimants to the throne: King Stephen and Empress Maud. Owain, in the fine tradition of Welsh royalty, took advantage of the strife in England to consolidate his rule and bring the other Welsh dynasties under his control.

In doing so, however, he engendered animosity among the other lords of Wales—and within his own family. With two wives, multiple mistresses, and a dozen sons, many of whom fought among themselves for power and favor, he created a legacy that would last until the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd at the hands of the English in 1282.

And made him a fulcrum of murder and mayhem in the middle ages."

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The Good Knight (A Medieval Mystery)

Intrigue, suspicion, and rivalry among the royal princes casts a shadow on the court of Owain, king of north Wales…


The year is 1143 and King Owain seeks to unite his daughter in marriage with an allied king. But when the groom is murdered on the way to his wedding, the bride’s brother tasks his two best detectives—Gareth, a knight, and Gwen, the daughter of the court bard—with bringing the killer to justice.


And once blame for the murder falls on Gareth himself, Gwen must continue her search for the truth alone, finding unlikely allies in foreign lands, and ultimately uncovering a conspiracy that will shake the political foundations of Wales.


The Good Knight is available now at Amazon, Amazon UK and at
Smashwords.

Happy reading,
Gemi

Book Giveaway and Featured Historical E-Author Sarah Woodbury

This week's featured historical e-author is Sarah Woodbury.

Sarah has offered to give away a free copy from Smashwords of her Arthurian novel Cold My Heart. If you'd like to be entered to win, just leave a comment below. Entries close midnight Eastern time on Thursday, May 12th.

I asked Sarah to share with us what inspires her to write and why she chose to write about medieval Wales.

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I have two historian parents, so I couldn’t help but develop an interest in the past. My dad has a Ph.D. and I went on to get more than enough education myself (in anthropology) and began writing fiction when the stories in my head overflowed and demanded I let them out. My interest in Wales stems from my own ancestry and the year I lived in England when I fell in love with the country, language, and people. I even convinced my husband to give all four of our children Welsh names. Now, I live in Oregon, which is very far from Wales, although I'm hoping to visit with my husband in 2012.

I started writing intensively five years ago. In about six weeks, during my youngest son's naps, I wrote an epic fantasy (with elves no less). That book will never see the light of day, although I raid it occasionally for characters and plot points, but I learned that I could write a book and that I wanted to write more.

The first book I wrote that I set in Wales was Footsteps in Time. I started it after I had a dream where I drove my mini-van into the Middle Ages. It was (obviously) a very vivid and memorable dream! My daughter and I had been doing research on our ancestry at the time, and reading lots of books, both fiction and non-fiction, about the country. Since then, I've set all five of my published books in Wales, and am even more in love with the country and its past than when I started.

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About Sarah's novel, Cold My Heart:

A vision of King Arthur's death at the hands of Modred unites two of King Arthur's companions in this historical fantasy set in sixth century Wales.

By the autumn of 537 AD, all who are loyal to King Arthur have retreated to a small parcel of land in north Wales. They are surrounded on all sides, heavily outnumbered, and facing near certain defeat.

But Myrddin and Nell have a secret that neither has ever been able to face. Now, with the end of all that they know approaching, they must finally admit the truth: each has seen that on a cold and snowy day in December, Saxon soldiers will ambush and kill King Arthur by the Cam River, crushing Wales once and for all under Modred's boot.

And both of them, separately and together, must decide what they are willing to do, and to sacrifice, to avert that fate.

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Sarah is the author of five novels of historical fiction, historical fantasy and time travel: Cold My Heart, The Last Pendragon, Foosteps in Time, Prince of Time and Daughter of Time. Her books are available on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and at Smashwords. To learn more about Sarah, her writing and her books, visit her website.

Many thanks to Sarah Woodbury for visiting here at My Dog Ate My Manuscript! Next week's featured author is Anna Elliott.

Happy reading,
Gemi