I want to welcome Nicole
Evelina - First I’d love you to introduce yourself.
Hi everyone! I’m an award-winning historical fiction/historical
fantasy and romantic comedy writer from St. Louis. Camelot’s Queen, which I’m here to talk about, is my second book. I
have two more coming out this year, a romantic comedy set in Chicago called Been Searching for You and a historical
fiction called Madame Presidentess,
which is about Victoria Woodhull, the first woman who ran for President in the
United States in 1872.
Tell us about your
latest release.
Camelot’s Queen
is the second book of my Arthurian legend trilogy that tells Guinevere’s life
story from her point of view. This one focuses on the story we think we all
know – Guinevere’s time as queen. (Her early life before King Arthur is told in
Daughter of Destiny, the first book
in the series.) All the familiar elements are there – the battles, the infamous
affair, the Holy Grail – but they are told in a way that’s different from the
medieval legends we’re familiar with. Guinevere is a battle queen who rules
side-by-side with Arthur, rather than being in his shadow; her affair with
Lancelot doesn’t happen simply out of lust – it’s actually Arthur’s fault; and
the Grail is different than you’ve ever seen it. Plus, Morgan is a disrupting
influence in a way I don’t think any other author has ever shown her. And I
delve into the dark side of Arthurian legend surrounding Guinevere’s kidnapping
which is something many authors have shied away from. No matter the situation,
this is a Guinevere with agency, perfectly willing to rescue herself.
Now I have a few
questions for you – I have found readers do like to know fun things about us
writers.
1.) Who is your
favorite villain – it can be from a book (even one of yours), movie or TV show.
And why?
Oh I do love Klaus from the Vampire Diaries and The
Originals. He’s cold and arrogant and oh so violent, but there’s this tiny vein
of vulnerability that makes you think maybe, just maybe, his humanity can be
reached and redeemed. Joseph Morgan plays unapologetic evil so well!
Joseph/Klaus was actually my inspiration for the character of Malegant in Camelot’s Queen, so be prepared for a
bit of Klaus to show through! (He was so much fun to write!)
2.) Who is your
favorite character out of your books? Why?
Out of this one it’s all my villains: Morgan, Malegant and
Marius. I think some sick, twisted part of me likes the villains because it’s
fun to see what machinations they will think up next, how they will twist the
plot to suit their own needs, and what lengths they will go to in order to get
what they want.
3.) What do genre do
you write? What made you pick that one?
I mainly write historical fiction (the romantic comedy was
never intended; it just kind of happened). I’ve always loved history and I’ve
found there are so many stories, particularly women’s stories, that have either
never been told or aren’t know by a broad audience. My mission as a historical
fiction author is to rescue little-known women from being lost in the pages of
history. While other writers may choose to write about the famous, I tell the
stories of those who are in danger of being forgotten so that their memories
may live on for at least another generation. I also tell the female point of
view when it is the male who has gotten more attention in history (i.e.
Guinevere to King Arthur).
4.) What are you
working on now?
I’m doing final edits on my July release, Madame Presidentess, which is about
Victoria Woodhull, a real woman who was the first to run for President in the
US in 1872. Despite that distinction – and the fact that she was the first
female broker on Wall Street (along with her sister, Tennie), the first woman
to speak before Congress, one of the first to run a newspaper and a powerhouse
in the suffrage movement – she’s largely
been written out of the history books. This book is my way of lobbying to get
her back into the public consciousness, especially in year when we may see our
first female President.
5.) What got you to
start writing?
I’ve been writing as a hobby since I was little and started
writing the first Guinevere book in 1999, but I didn’t start taking my writing
seriously until about 2008. What changed? I read Twilight. (Go ahead and
laugh.) There was something about it, about Stephenie Meyer’s story, that made
me think, “hey, if this ordinary woman can do this, so can I.” And so my time
as a serious author began.
As far as what got me going on Guinevere, I’ve been a fan of
the character since I was a little girl. She was and still is a hero of mine.
When I was in college, I read The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I
LOVED that book (it changed my life in many ways), but I hated her portrayal of
Guinevere as an agoraphobic, simpering Christian. So I wrote my own version
where she is pretty much the exact opposite. Parke Godwin’s book Beloved Exile
made me wonder about the unknown parts of Guinevere’s life (the beginning and
later years after Arthur) and with the two together, my trilogy was born.
6.) Where do you get
your ideas from?
I feel like my characters pick me. I am inspired by TV,
music, movies, books, and Pinterest but I really believe that finding
little-known historical personages to write about isn’t something left to
chance. I believe these people want their stories to be told and pick authors
to help that happen. (Yes, I’m getting all woo-woo on you. But Elizabeth
Gilbert says something similar in Big Magic, so I’m using that as my excuse
even though I believed it long before she wrote about it.) That would explain
why you often see a proliferation of books about the same people/subject at the
same time. A few years ago Hemmingway and his wife were all the rage, and at
one point everyone had a book about Anne Boleyn. My beloved Victoria is even
having a small resurgence at the moment.
7.) What would people
who read your work be surprised to find out about you?
I guess given that many of the characters in this series are
pagan and I don’t exactly portray the Catholic Church very well, you’d be
surprised I used to want to become a nun. I was actually voted Most Likely to
Become a Nun in high school and went so far as to study with the secular
Carmelites for a year. But that was not the path I was meant to follow.
However, religion and spirituality remain very important to me, something
you’ll likely see at least as a faint thread in all my novels, depending on the
needs of the story.
8.) Do you have any
special talents?
Writing is my big talent. But if you want something off the
wall – I can belch as well as any boy. I went to an all-girls high school and
we were really, really good at teaching each other. My dad swears that that was
all I learned in four years. (He kids. I learned so much more and my alma mater
actually had a huge influence on my portrayal of Avalon in these books.)
9.) What was the one
piece of advice you received when you were an aspiring author that has stuck
with you? Why?
The first author I ever met was YA author Alyson Noel. I had
just completed my first draft of my first book and was so excited to begin
querying agents. She told me “Don’t count the ‘no’s’ because it only takes one
‘yes.’” That is so true. This industry is so full of rejection and words like
hers really helped me through the dark days. I can’t tell you the number of
times that has gone through my head over the years: when I was querying and on
submission especially. Then eventually when I decided to become an indie
author, I expanded it to include “sometimes you have to be your own ‘yes.’”
10.) If you could talk
to any famous figure (present, past or fictional) who would it be and what
would you talk about?
I would love to talk to Christopher Marlowe. He’s always
fascinated me and I am of the belief that he didn’t really die in that bar
fight so many years ago. (I think he was Shakespeare, a subject I plan to
novelize in the future.) I would want to know what really happened to him, what
it was like being a spy in Elizabeth I’s court and what the deal with
Shakespeare really was. (Can you tell I was an English major in college?)
11.) What song would
you say describes your life?
“Wonder” by Natalie Merchant. I was born three months premature,
weighing less than two pounds. No one thought I would survive. But here I am,
36 years later. I truly believe I was put on this planet for a reason and it
has something to do with my writing.
12.) If you could come
back as any animal – what would it be?
A beloved housecat. I LOVE cats. I only have two (Conor and
Caitlyn, twin sable Burmese), so I don’t know if I really qualify as a crazy
cat lady, but I like cats more than I like people. I’m convinced they have a
direct connection to the Divine or can at least see beyond the veil to the
other side, so I’d love to know what that is like. And to have someone love me
as much as I love my cats would be an honor.
I made it to my
room and slammed the door. Alone at last, I leaned against the door, struggling
to catch my breath. Tears spilled over as the enormity of the day finally sank
in. I slid down to the floor and ran my hands through my hair. How could my life
have changed so much in only a few hours? I thought Arthur had grown to love
me, but he had just accepted a former lover back into his confidence after only
having been reunited with her for a few hours. What did that mean for my
marriage?
I didn’t know how
long I spent contemplating my situation, but just as quickly as the tears had
come, I started laughing. I was being ridiculous. Arthur had had to learn to
live with Aggrivane at court long ago. Granted he’d sent my former betrothed on
missions away from Camelot as often as possible, but he had still learned how
to cope with his presence. I was behaving like a child. Galen had been right
the day we argued in the forest so many years before. I really was worse than a
fisherman’s wife. And worse, I had changed little with the passage of time. I
stood, straightening my dress and mentally preparing myself to apologize to
them both.
After a few deep
breaths, I went back down to the meeting room, expecting to find Arthur and
Sobian discussing the finer points of her new role. But to my surprise, the
room was empty. Octavia came in, holding a tray to collect the ale pitcher and
our used glasses.
“Do you know where
Arthur went?”
She eyed me
carefully. “He is in his room. Alone.” She emphasized the word, knowing I would
wonder. “They told me about her new role. Are you in agreement that it is
wise?”
“I will be,” I
reassured her.
Octavia made a
noise indicating she wasn’t so certain then busied herself cleaning up the
table. That was when I saw the lone sheet of paper. Thinking it to be notes
from Arthur and Sobian’s discussion, I bent over the table to get a better
look.
My blood turned to
ice. The letters were formed of patterns made by varying lengths of horizontal,
vertical, and diagonal lines. It was written in Ogham, the ancient language of
the Druids, so it could not have come from Arthur. He hadn’t studied with them
long enough to have learned it. Plus, its message was not one a husband leaves
his wife.
I ran to Arthur’s
room, rubbing my hand over the goose-pimpled flesh of my arm. “You may wish to
rethink your decision,” I said as I entered.
He looked up. “Why
is that?”
I held the paper
out to him. “This was left in the meeting room.” I shivered again.
He plucked the
paper out of my hand and turned it in several directions, trying to figure out
how to read it. “Ogham. That’s unusual. What does it say?”
I grabbed it back,
irritated beyond decorum. After what had happened with the madman and Sobian, I
didn’t think I could take much more.
“That’s the problem.
I think it’s a threat. ‘My queen, you may
close your eyes to the one you scorned, but that will not keep me away. I will breathe your last breath so that you
will live on forever in me.’”
Arthur’s face
darkened. “Only one man could claim such a thing.”
I looked at him
quizzically, brow furrowing. “How do you know Sobian isn’t party to this? It
appeared right after she did in the very room she last occupied.”
Arthur sighed,
clearly frustrated that I didn’t trust Sobian implicitly as he did. “Because
this isn’t her way. As she said, if she wished you dead, you would be. She has
no need for idle threats.”
“Who then?”
“Think about the
message.” His tone took on a condescending air I did not care for. “Someone you
once rejected? Who did you give up to marry me? You may not want to see it, but
the answer is right in front of you.”
He didn’t have to
say the name. Suddenly I knew exactly who he blamed. His menacing gaze was
fixed on my former lover.
Guilty or not,
Aggrivane was in serious trouble.
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/camelots-queen-nicole-evelina/1123624182?ean=9780996763141
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/627154
No comments:
Post a Comment