Does accuracy matter in fantasy?

I happen to believe it does. This is why I devote many, many hours into intensive research. It doesn’t matter to me if the product of my research is a part of my physical book or not. This is ground work that to my mind, must be accomplished. I need to have a take on the culture and the setting of a world to make it come alive and to do that, I have to make sure I have my facts correct.

Yes, it is really easy to get stuff off the web, but how accurate is this? Mostly not. Nothing beats the real live investigations with impartial informants. Will my physics work? I ask my dear husband, who is one of those people at the cutting edge of technology. He will tell me straight off it this will fly or not.

With history, or religion, it is important to understand how politics of the time comes into play. People are persistently guilty of projecting the politically correct version of events. It is therefore necessary to dig really deeply to get to the source from many different angles. This produces some very surprising results. Temporal and religious institutions have taken it upon themselves to rewrite history to present themselves in a good light, or to revile others in order to look good. Nowhere is this more apparent than the dark ages, where women did have power and were people in their own right. Moving on a few hundred years or so, this was not the thing. These women of history must be reviled to level down the effect of felinity, currently not the flavor of the month. Historical lies are then manufactured to promote the supremacy of men.

Nope, I am not a feminist. I am an equalist. Each compliments and supports the other. This is how it was meant to be. I abhor how women were put down in history and I abhor how men are now being sidelined. Note to book cover artists. Men are naturally hairy. This comes with testosterone. Producing covers with chest bald individuals is promoting all body waxing products. Did you really want to do this when you are not getting a cut in the profits?

Actually, a very high percentage of the witch hunts were as a result of greedy men wanting to acquire the possessions of women. Anyone, who is tortured enough, will say whatever it takes to make the pain stop. The definition of witches is also interesting from a Christian perspective as it is the antithesis of Christianity. In reality a pagan is not someone who is anti Christian. A pagan is someone with no interest in the Christian belief and who does not follow the concepts of that faith. A pagan follows a far older faith with no roots in Christianity. From historical texts, it is not an antithesis of Christianity, it is something else entirely.  Again, accepted religion and politics come into play.

Themes.

My new series, the Shadow books, are based on the tarot. The first book, Shadow Over Avalon, out now on all ebook platforms, is the first one and runs with the mystic of the wand. How does magic feature in a futuristic dystopia? How does Merlin figure in all this? You will have to read it to find out. In the meantime, there are small snippets on this site and a larger helping on Amazon. The next book, Sword or Shadows, is self explanatory. This is due out in 2014 from my publishers, Kristell Ink, an imprint of Grimbold Books.

Charaters. Where do they come from?

In light of the recent five star rating and comment on Shadow Over Avalon, I have gone into a quiet corner to think this through. My characters explode in my mind in the form or dreams and they are fully fledged individuals set on a certain path. I don’t work to construct an interesting character. Honestly, I have no idea how to do this. It is a visceral thing.

My story lines come through dreams. A scene pops up and I run with it, wherever it leads. What is important to me is that I must be able to see through a characters eyes. The characters must live in the eyes of the readers and therefore, they must live and breath in mine. I had not really thought about this before, but they do come alive.

Not one character is totally good, or totally evil. Life isn’t like that. People are an admixture between the two. A foul toad may well have reasonable wants or needs of his own. A hero/ heroine will have character flaws. None of us are perfect people and this must be reflected. Good people do make mistakes and bad people do have mitigating reasons in their own minds. It is what it is.

Not one single character from my books was taken from real life as far as I am aware. I have been told by physics that I am an old soul, who has had had previous lives. Opens mouth wide to shovel in a ton of salt with this. Wherever my characters come from, they are very real to me. The  only life form I have ever brought into my books from real life was an amalgam of my cats for the character of Kryling, a firedrake from Darkspire Reaches, so there you have it.

Prevarication.

I signed up for NANO at the eleventh hour. So what did I do today? Prevaricate. I found fifty million things I ‘really’ had to do instead of getting stuck into writing a book. However, I eventually ran of excuses. While my word count isn’t stellar, the prep work is. The story is taking off and now has a life of its own. I can see the scenes and the characters. I know where the action is leading.

The book is coming together and I am not concerned about quantity. This has always been about quality for me.

On another note, I got a really stunning review for Shadow Over Avalon. http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Over-Avalon-ebook/dp/B00GAN6HMG/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=

Shadow Over Avalon live for Halloween

Shadow Over Avalon

Fortune twists in the strongest hands. This is no repeat; this is what happens next.

A man, once a legend who bound his soul to his sword as he lay dying, is now all but a boy nearing the end of his acolyte training. Stifled by life in the undersea city of Avalon, Arthur wants to fight side by side with the air-breathing Terrans, not spend his life as servant to the incorporeal sentient known as the Archive. He is determined to help the surface-dwellers defeat the predators who are determined to ensure their own survival, no matter the cost.

Ashira, War Maid princess of the surface-world, is ready to sacrifice her life to defend her kin, but when she is betrayed and cast out of the life chosen for her, she must choose whether to die with honor or become one of the creatures her kinsmen fear and loathe.

Following two threads of time, CN Lesley’s new incarnation of the Arthurian tales of old delivers the perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy.

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Over-Avalon-ebook/dp/B00GAN6HMG/ref=la_B00DJS9QP0_1_2_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1383139556&sr=1-2

Shadow Over Avalon Release.

This is coming out on Halloween and I am so excited. However, just to set some matters straight, as I can anticipate howls of outrage that someone from Canada has dared to write an Arthur book, I am owning up to holding dual Nationality. I have indeed visited all the Arthurian sites . I have also extensively travelled in the UK. All the settings, aside from those offshore,, and off planet, are places I have personally visited.

On another note, I have invested a great deal of time thoroughly investigating the legends, going right back to the original Welsh stories. It is so interesting how politics of the time flavor historical accounts. The Mallory tale comes from Geoffrey of Monmouth, who took it upon himself to discredit all women of power in order to establish the supremacy of men. Now what a chaste monk was doing, having thoughts about incestuous relationships beggars the question and blows the mind. Needless to say, none of this politically motivated bunk will appear in Shadow Over Avalon, or any of the upcoming books in this series. I stay true to the original legend.

That being said, this series is not about what has gone before. This is what happens next, when the king promised to return in their time of greatest need for his people. Nothing is as it seems. The release date is very appropriate. Prepare to be scared. Enjoy.

Guilting strategy from the cat continuum.

Position fluffy selves on coffee tables, were we know we are not allowed to sit and stare at the humans in a wistful way until they cave.

Both Casper the cat and Ollie the ho did this tonight. Why do we call her Ollie the ho? Apparently, her fixing didn’t remove everything,, so she gets these urges. I really hope menopause sets in soon as I do not want my grandkids to see the exhibitionism happening on our picnic table. Yes the outside boys are interested, but not Casper, who prefers inanimate objects. No, I don’t want to go into details. I guess I must remove all inanimate objects of the squishy sort when my grandkids are old enough to notice and ask questions, Dies. I am NOT having that sort of conversation with my grandkids. Fine, I only have one so far, but birds and bees stuff is strictly for his parents. Been there, done that and have gotten the t-shirt.

The cats decided they needed treats and were going to die entirely without them. No, they are not starving to death of the hunger. They have a constant supply of dry food and water. They just like the treats and will guilt us out until they get them. Yes, they are now satisfied and have both jiggered off until the next time. There is a reason for the expression ‘greedy as a cat’.

Needy cat.

The VBC, (very bad cat), was extra needy today. I think it might have been the snowfall outside, which is apparently our fault. His morning excursion on his leash in the back yard came to a screeching hold at the back door. No, he did not appreciate all that cold, wet white stuff we had dumped on the deck.  No, he no longer wished to go out, and he held us responsible for this loss of freedom.

My writing time was slashed by a board cat leaping into my arms at repeated intervals. He requires his pillow to be put into place so the hard edge of my desk doesn’t distract from his comfort when he sprawls. Oh yes, he sprawls. He wriggles and kicks his human into the correct position and then rolls on his back with his hind legs over one arm and his head resting on the other. His human trying to type elicits irritated hisses as this is disturbing his sleep. Being put on the floor means he will leap up from other angles. Putting him outside my office and shutting the door will result in frantic paddling on the door and howls of anguish.

We think his previous human might have croaked on him, which is why he needs to be with us constantly. Yes, he does get booted out of my office occasionally, but then I feel like a heel. Sometimes he will curl up on a blanket and sleep while I work. Not today, though. Today, we had messed up his plans by dumping the white stuff all over.

I never comment on reviews … but

I find I must answer one repeated question. For those who asked; yes, there will be a sequel to Darkspire Reaches. I am currently working on this book and I am taking notes of all the things readers would like to see advanced. Thank you kind folks.

If you want to see more of my worlds, my next book is a start of a new series and is entitled Shadow Over Avalon. Here is the description my publishers will be putting on the book, coming out on this Halloween. Oh, and yes there is a sequel to this already with my publishers. The second book will be released in 2014.

Beyond the mists of time, a dying warrior binds his soul to his sword with an oath to protect his people. His shade rides with the Wild Hunt while he waits for the call of greatest need, but when it comes, he doesn’t know it is a lie.

In the undersea city of Avalon, Arthur nears the end of his acolyte training. But he doesn’t want to spend his life serving the Archive, he wants to fight side by side with the air-breathing people to defeat the predators who are determined to ensure their own survival no matter the cost.

Ashira, War Maid princess of the surface-world, is ready to sacrifice her life to defend her kin, but when she is betrayed she must choose whether to die with honor or become one of the creatures her kinsmen fear and loathe.

Fortune twists in the strongest hands. This is no repeat; this is what happens next.

Following two threads of time, CN Lesley’s fresh take on the Arthurian tales of old delivers the perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy.