A Tragi-nasty Hero/Villain

My husband Jim has been reading my novel to me most nights after we go to bed. It's an interesting experience. I cringe a lot: ""Oh why did I use that word?!" I notice patterns I hadn't seen before now that I am not embroiled in it: "Lawrence is a tad theatrical, isn't he?" And I admit I nod with admiration for my own skill often enough: "That was a pretty good scene with the brigands, wasn't it?"

One thing I am enjoying is actually getting a better sense of the characters than when I crafted them. That's gotta be a good thing, right? The queen really does come off strong in much of the novel, which should make The Muse pretty happy. The character I am looking at with new eyes though is Lord Elerde (eh-laird')of Brittany. He's supposed to be a bad guy kinda sorta, but it's getting harder not to feel sorry for the guy. When I said "Well, he shouldn't have gotten mixed up in it all in the first place," my husband replied, "The heart wants what it wants."

Elerde is the "darkly sensual mercenary" of the back cover and the ads. He is employed by one of the entirely bad bad guys who sends him to the king's court to be undercover. He comes to want to be undercovers with Josephine, whose character flaw is primarily not knowing when she's encouraging men to fall in love with her. Elerde is well educated, erudite, gallant, continental as he is. Her Saxon husband is sexy as hell and admirable, but let's just say Roman love poetry doesn't thrill him the way Beowulf does. Elerde ingratiates himself to the queen, but she's a good girl, she is, and there is no hanky panky. But her brother has sent for her royal hubby and Elerde finds himself posted to the Críslicland equibalent of Siberia.

Elerde of course does an exemplary job. Lawrence has to give him credit for that, but he also likes to get under the king's skin. Lawrence and he get into an unlooked for situation where hthe king almost kills the mercenary. This sparks Elerde to ally with a group of his old army buddies who lack his finer sensibilities in taking over the queen's homeland. He admits he is doing it to get Lawrence's goat and to further his own ambitions, but when he learns the queen is caught behind enemy lines, it all changes. Now he is bent on protecting her. When in spite of his best efforts someone else does a better and incredibly noble job of that, he throws up his hands and goes back to Críslicland where he just happens to know the king's evil cousin -- remember the earlier employer? -- is about to usurp the throne. So smolderingly sexy Elerde has to go protect the queen there.

Elerde's devotion is part of his appeal I suppose. He reveals himself as a big softy a couple times, and frankly he deserves better than Josephine. He deserves someone who will love him back and not just turn a blind eye to his sacrifices. He loves her kids, he hellps take care of her sick daughter, he saves her life more often than anyone else, he really does love her, and what's more, he gets most of the best lines.

The Breton met the earnest even imploring gaze. He nodded slowly. “Methinks the lady has at least two champions besides her husband. Alas, that only one may win her.”

Rory’s gaze changed to a challenge. “If it came to me to make that choice, sir, that champion shall be the king.”

Elerde dismissed Rory with a gesture. “Well then, it is a good thing that you will be unlikely to be the one to choose.”

True, he sends his lieutenant to kill the king. True, he really does want Josephine for himself. True he is a savage fellow in many ways. True, only one of the three men who love her can have her. But there comes a time in the story when you find yourself rooting for him, or at least hurting for him. Well, I did, and I know at least three readers who did also.

One reviewer told me she wants a sequel just about Elerde.

The photo above, by the way, is Ioane Guffudd, the Welsh actor who portrayed Lancelot in the 2001 film "King Arthur" with Clive Owen. He is exactly how I picture Elerde.

A Historical Mad Lib Game - Results

STOP! If you have not already read A Historical Mad Lib Game then you have already ruined it for everyone!

Well, not everyone... just yourself.

You were asked in that post to come up with a list of words based on parts of speech. It is sort of too late now, but if you want, go ahead and go back to that and do as you are bid.

For those of you who followed instructions like good little doobies, go ahead and copy and paste the following story. Then put the words you came up with in it in the correct places.. it's obvious, so don't fuss.

Then once you have done that.. and stop busting your gut laughing.. copy and paste the resulting story into the comments form below. Then we will bust our guts laughing.

And if you are Susan Higginbotham, thanks for being a good sport about this in advance!

The Story

A Mad LIb about Richard III

Richard was a _adverb_ misunderstood figure in English history. He was a good king but those that followed him made sure history remembered him as a _adjective 1_ one. They claimed that he had a deformed _body part_, that he forced _famous woman_ to marry him against her will, and that he murdered the little princes in the _building_.

When his _adjecttive 2_ brother Edward was King, Richard was the Duke of _place name_. His symbol was a white _animal 1_. They had another brother, _man's first name_ who was the Duke of Clarence. He was a troublemaker. When he was finally imprisoned, Richard is said to have drowned him in a butt of _liquid_. This is probably a lie that _author_ put in his play _famous play_.

Richard III is shown holding a _plant_ in the famous portrait that hangs in the national Portrait gallery. When Henry Tudor crossed from _place_ to seize the throne, Richard led his own army against him He is said to have cried "A _animal 2_, a _animal 2_, my kingdom for a _animal 2_!"

Susan Higginbotham, whose real job is as a _occupation_ , is writing a novel about all this. Her other novels are "The _type of person_'s Wife" and "Hugh and Bess: A _emotion_ Story". Susan is such a _adjective 3_ writer.

I am sure you noticed my mistake in the story...

Susan Higginbotham supplied some words so I could offer one result for you before you start supplyiung yours for the rest of us.

The Story

A Mad LIb about Richard III

Richard was a quickly misunderstood figure in English history. He was a good king but those that followed him made sure history remembered him as a lovely one. They claimed that he had a deformed elbow, that he forced Sarah Palin_ to marry him against her will, and that he murdered the little princes in the Empire State Building.

When his bold brother Edward was King, Richard was the Duke of Apex, North Carolina. His symbol was a white cairn terrier. They had another brother, Richard, who was the Duke of Clarence. He was a troublemaker. When he was finally imprisoned, Richard is said to have drowned him in a butt of Coca Cola.This is probably a lie that Jane Austen put in his play "Hamlet".

Richard III is shown holding a lavender in the famous portrait that hangs in the National Portrait gallery. When Henry Tudor crossed from the library to seize the throne, Richard led his own army against him He is said to have cried "A Siamese cat, , a Siamese cat, my kingdom for a Siamese cat!"

Susan Higginbotham, whose real job is as a ratcatcher , is writing a novel about all this. Her other novels are "The Grouch's Wife" and "Hugh and Bess: An Outrage Story". Susan is such a garish writer.


Want more??? Then make up your own story.. I'll print it!

Have a great weekend.

Nan

Wherein Leofwen Packs her Bags and Moves

erry gentle folk,
Some years have I resided in this fictional town of Lawrencium, content under the protective watch of the bluff-top palace and its royal king and queen. I was graced with a mention in the novel of their adventures, An Involuntary King, and shared with you much learning about them and about the time in which we all lived.

Now must I leave that life behind and prepare myself for a new one. I leave not only this town but as well the time in which I have passed my sojourn here, the late eighth century. For my new home is what in your own time will be called Winchester and in the time I shall abide in it, the mid-tenth century, Wintanceaster. I go to be the heroine of mine creator's -- not Our Good Lord but Nan Hawthorne -- series of paranormal mysteries that shall center about my new tavern and be shared with familiar but nonetheless new friends and companions.

Share I will as well with you, gentle reader, my progress in my new life as mine own great granddaughter who bears my name exact, as shall my tavern yet be called the Blue Lady Tavern.

It shall be some time ere these tales will reach your hands, so pray be patient. I shall endeavour to keep your minds amused until we can leap out of our future, your past, to entertain, mystify and delight you.

Leofwen Taverner





Visit Leofwen in her new home at Wintanceaster!

What Is It With Historical Novelists and Gay Men?

I just don't get what the deal is with historical novelists, specifically medieval historical novelists, and their portrayals of gay men. If you read as many of these novels as I do one after another, you soon find yourself quite conversant with examples of gay male characters. They abound. But why are they so often cast firmly in stereotype? Is this some sort of love-hate cross-gender preference situation?

Let me point to two miscomprehensions of gay male life I have found in numerous novels.

1. Why do so many novelists cling to the stereotype that hay men seek underage boys as lovers? The comedian in the book I just read, The Merry Devils by Edward Marston is described as having only two things that can ease his temper, drink and boys, and the lead actor takes pains to keep him away from the teen apprentices. Richard the Lionhearted in Shield of Three Lions falls for a girl disguised as a boy. Even novels that seem to treat homosexuality in a little more enlightened way put their toes over this boundary, such as Ellis Peter's Cadfael series where the young boys are closely guarded from adult monks' attention by the master assigned to that chore and the young musician in The Holy Thief has a past as the sexually abused ward of a lord.

2. Which leads me to the second stereotype. that boys become gay because of abuse as children. In Valerie Anand's King of the Wood this seems to be the explanation for King William Rufus' proclivities. That's the situation in Robb's An Apothecary Rose as the Summoner's interest in Lucy's husband is chalked up to childhood sex play.

While some gay men do prefer boys and some boys who are sexually molested grow up to be gay, neither is the norm. That's why I appreciate novels that first of all don't seek to explain the gayness of a character. My favorite gay couple in historical fiction are Martin and Ambrose in the Owen Archer series. They are just two men in love. 'Nuff said. Robb takes it a step further and shows the intense tenderness and concern of the lover when his dear one is hurt. In a funny little novel called Knight on a Bridge the lady of the manor asks a troubadour if he loves boys. He answers, and I thank him for it, that he loves men.

There are oodles of gay characters, mostly but not all men, in historical fiction. Just about any novel about Richard the Lionhearted has this as a theme, as do novels about Edward II with his two favorites, Piers Gaveston and Hugh le Dispenser. Tudor novels have a sprinkling of them, and so do many medieval mysteries. My own novel, An Involuntary King, has a couple whom a reader called "the only tragic lovers" in my story, gay men I endeavored to show as flawed human beings with great depth in their love for one another... or one for the other, at any rate. Take a look at Erastes' blog in the right-hand column here to find "Dare Not Speak Its Name" with more references to gay men historical fiction.

My issue is the stereotypes and my question is, if gay male characters are so compelling and attractive to historical novelists, why don't we portray them as they really are?

I welcome comment.