Finding Joy in a Tragedy

Good day to you, Champions! Today I wanted to talk about why I ended King Arthurs the way I did.

As I mentioned previously, I knew how I was going to close out Britt’s story even before I started writing the first book. The reason for that is very specific: At its heart, the legends of King Arthur are tragedies. I’m sure this has you going “whaaat?” but it’s true.

King Arthur and his knights start out really well. Knights like Gawain, Percival, and Lancelot right wrongs and save dozens of people. As Arthur and the knights grow older, younger generations of knights step forward and also act honorably. Annnd then they start dropping like flies.

It begins with the occasional knight dying while questing, all so other knights have an excuse to set out and avenge him. But the death toll reaches a new height when Lancelot’s affair with Guinevere is discovered. Lancelot flees, but Guinevere is to be killed for her transgression. (In most versions of the story, Arthur’s hands are tied in the matter–he doesn’t really want to kill Guinevere, but the law demands it.) Lancelot returns to Camelot to free her, and in the process kills a large number of knights–most notably Gawain’s little brothers.

This action deeply wounds and angers Gawain, who then convinces Arthur to attack Lancelot and declare war. Even more famous knights die in the battle between Arthur and Lancelot. Gawain himself is grievously wounded. Eventually Lancelot and Arthur make peace, with Arthur taking Guinevere and sending her home.

Back in Camelot, Mordred holds a coup, and crowns himself king. (In many versions, he marries Guinevere to solidify his claim.) Arthur learns about this and rides back to face Mordred in battle. Many knights fall in the fight against Mordred–one of them being Gawain. Arthur and Mordred face off, and though Arthur slays Mordred, Mordred fatally wounds Arthur. Bedivere is the only knight who is still alive (though some legends have additional knights as well) and it is he who throws Excalibur into the water, summoning faerie ladies who then carry Arthur off to Avalon in hopes of healing from his wounds. Traditionally, it is said that if Arthur does not return he has passed away, but some of the more modern interpretations of the legends claim he’s still mending from his wounds and will return when he is well.

So. The most notable knights who actually survive are Bedivere and Lancelot. And the fun doesn’t end there. Guinevere becomes a nun, and Lancelot a hermit. After Arthur dies, Guinevere realizes what her affair with Lancelot caused, and refuses to see him even on her deathbed.

Super happy and joyous, right?

The tragic ending to King Arthur made my take on the legends particularly difficult. I really enjoy putting content from the original legends in my books, but I am also 100% committed to having a happy ending, so how was I going to pull it off? First of all, instead of shattering the kingdom for a humongous battle, I decided to bind it together for an equally humongous battle. Instead of using Lancelot as the enemy, I chose Emperor Lucius–who Arthur and his knights did fight and defeat in many different legends and stories. I knew I needed to have Britt grievously wounded, but what next?

And so came the idea of sending Britt back to her time in the same way Arthur is supposed to be taken from Britain–by throwing Excalibur into the water and having magical ladies send her off.

I still include Lancelot’s treachery as he is partially responsible for Britt’s wound, and hinted at Guinevere’s maturing character in the last few scenes she appears in.

The story of Merlin and the knights being sealed in the cave actually has its origins in legends, too. In the original stories, Merlin fell hook line and sinker for Vivian–who was not a Roman spy, but was a black magic user. Vivian in turn sealed Merlin into either a tree, stone, or in some stories a tomb, where he would essentially be stuck forever. Sending a group forward in time also let me wipe away all of those knights’ deaths. (They disappeared suddenly as if they were dead, but in my version they were trying to rejoin their King.)

And that is how I made a happy ending out of a tragedy. The sad thing is that while I manipulated events and the timeline, the major thing I changed was characters’ attitudes. (It really shows that the way you chose to react to something will have huge consequences.) With what she thought was her dying breath, Britt forgave Lancelot and changed Camelot’s future. If she hadn’t, Britain really would have been torn apart by war as her knights would have done everything in their power to see Lancelot and his lands destroyed. In doing so, Britt teaches her knights the most powerful lesson of all: the healing power of forgiveness over the all-consuming darkness of hatred, which is the same final lesson of the original King Arthur.

Thanks for reading, Champions! Have a lovely day!

The End of a Series

Wow, Champions! You are amazing, and you’ve unlocked the final King Arthurs freebie: Date Night. (You actually unlocked it yesterday, but I try to spend my Sundays off my computer, so its release was delayed until today.) It’s a nine page short story that ties up some loose ends with Britt and the Knights who live in modern times. You guys were so speedy Editor #1 hasn’t yet had a chance to look at it, so there might be some editing errors in it right now, but later this week I’ll replace it with the edited version. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Moving on! With the release of Endings, this brings one of my first major series to a close. It’s a bittersweet feeling, but I’m happy with the series, and I’m particularly happy with how it ended.

I first wrote King Arthurs as part of a Champion vote waaaaay back in 2013. I had asked what to write next, and Britt and her boys won the poll. King Arthurs was also a bit of an experiment for me as it gave me the chance to try out 99 cent books. (King Arthurs, with all its Arthurian lore, is naturally already episodic, so it was the perfect fit for novella books.) It took me about four years to complete the series, and the books add up to over 280,000 words total.

I want to give a big shout-out thank you to all of the King Arthurs Champions. Your loyalty to the series is what kept me going. Over the past few days I’ve received some touching messages, and I’m so honored these books had such a positive impact on people. I’m also so glad Britt and the Knights of the Round Table were able to entertain you, and I hope you find their final story a fitting end.

There’s been a couple of questions about the series I thought I would address here, so everyone can be on the same page.

Question: Will the King Arthurs books ever be available in paperback? Answer: Yes! I’m waiting on a piece of software to become available that will make the formatting process easier. It should launch sometime this summer, so you should see the paperbacks pop out later this year.

Question: Is there going to be a spin-off series? Answer: Sadly, no. One of the hard parts about being an author is to know when to close out a series. I’ve read too many series in which the books drag on just because its popular, and the stories have lost the sparkle of the first few books. I never want that to happen to my work. Britt, Merlin, and the knights are all in a good place now, and as sad as it is, Endings is the last book I’ll ever write about them.

Question: Is the end of King Arthurs the finale you had planned all along? Answer: Yes! If you read the series, you’ll notice I have a few seeds planted that hint to the big reveals in Endings. We’ll talk a bit more about why I went with the ending that I chose in an upcoming post, but I want to give everyone a few more days to read it so it’s not too spoilerific.

That’s all for today, Champions! Thanks for reading, and thank you for supporting Britt in her journey as King Arthur.

First Freebie Unlocked!

The title says it all! You, Champions, have been extra amazing and unlocked the first freebie in record time! I mean, the book has barely been out for 24 hours–way to go guys!

The thing is, this short story is filled with spoilers, so don’t read it if you haven’t finished Endings! I mean it! Spoilers ahead! In fact, because you Champions were so incredible in getting your reviews in, I’m going to refrain from talking about the short story–or from naming it–as I suspect there are a fair number of Champions who haven’t had the chance to finish it. So here’s the PDF File, but again, don’t read it if you haven’t finished Endings!!

I hope you guys enjoy it! Both this extra, and the last one will tie up a few loose ends from the story. Once the weekend is over and everyone has had a chance to read, I’ll begin my string of King Arthurs blog posts. We have some fun topics ahead of us, so I’m really looking forward to it! Thanks again for your amazing reviews, Champions, and have a lovely week!