Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
An Orphan In a World Beyond Imagination: An Interview With Ryan Collings about his YA Fantasy, Jack Ranis
I virtually sat down with Ryan Collings to talk about his YA fantasy, Jack Ranis and the Book of the Labi.
1) Tell us about your book.
Jack Ranis and the Book of the Labi is a fantasy novel, aimed at teen and young adult readers. The book follows Jack Ranis, an orphan who is confused about his life. He discovers that where he comes from is far from ordinary. After a near death accident, he meets a man connected to his past, who sends him to a world beyond anything he had ever imagined.
With the help from friends he meets along the way, he travels to destroy an ancient relic that threatens to destroy everything that he has come to know and love.
2) Where did you get the inspiration for your book?
I have always loved fantasy. Whether it is books or movies it has always been the genre that I have been the most drawn to. A couple of years ago, I had just finished reading a book. I sat there a moment reflecting back on it. It occurred to me that I could write a novel just as good, if not better. The next day, I was at a coffee shop with my computer.
3) Missing parents, either from death or just casual neglect, are surprisingly common in YA fantasy and paranormal work. Now, on some level this is obviously about allowing greater agency to characters. Do you think this sort of thing is necessary to get readers engaged with a proactive adolescent protagonist, or is there something else going on here?
I really don’t think that it is necessary for the development of the character. I really think that most writers, the lack of parents is less complex. It’s less character to develop for the writer, and more importantly in YA fiction it’s less content for the reader. In my book however, Jack’s lack of parents is the base of the story. The discovery of his parents’ history is what sets him up for his adventure.
4) You've received some praise for the forthright and confident nature of your hero. Did you always have this kind of personality in mind for your character, or did it arise during the writing process?
I would say it was a little of both. It the beginning of the story, I don’t think anyone would consider Jack confident. If anything, I would call him timid. It’s not until he is forced into situations where he must make hard choices that his bold confidence arises. During the writing process of this story, Jack became much more of a hero than I had originally planned. His development in the story is one of my favorite parts of this book.
5) "Cross-over" is all the rage in YA these days. It makes sense from a business perspective. Getting both adolescents and adults to buy a book amplifies the audience, but from a writing perspective it can be hard to craft a book that resonates with multiple demographics. Do you see your book as a cross-over book and why?
I do. Cross-over YA books are my favorite. More people are ready fantasy now than ever, and if you are a fantasy reader, you know that many books and series can be very complex. For the casual reader some of these books can be daunting. With Cross-over fiction, the reading is usually much easier. There are less character and fewer sub-plots. A person can read many of these books in a weekend, or if they can’t get back to a book for a few weeks or even months, it is much easier to continue were you left off.
6) Other than the protagonist, do you have a favorite character in the book?
Pheloni, one of Jack’s friends. I think most people have a friend, or at least know someone like her. She is very sarcastic and out spoken, yet would do anything in the world to help her friends. She is very confident in herself and her abilities.
7) Do you have any sequels planned?
I am currently working on the second book in this series. It is action packed from page one. All the great characters from the first book will be back as well as a few new ones. I am hoping for its release early next year.
-----
Thanks for stopping by, Ryan.
You can see more from Ryan at his website: http://www.ryancollings.com/.
You can find his book (in physical or ebook form) at Amazon and Smashwords (ebook only).
1) Tell us about your book.
Jack Ranis and the Book of the Labi is a fantasy novel, aimed at teen and young adult readers. The book follows Jack Ranis, an orphan who is confused about his life. He discovers that where he comes from is far from ordinary. After a near death accident, he meets a man connected to his past, who sends him to a world beyond anything he had ever imagined.
With the help from friends he meets along the way, he travels to destroy an ancient relic that threatens to destroy everything that he has come to know and love.
2) Where did you get the inspiration for your book?
I have always loved fantasy. Whether it is books or movies it has always been the genre that I have been the most drawn to. A couple of years ago, I had just finished reading a book. I sat there a moment reflecting back on it. It occurred to me that I could write a novel just as good, if not better. The next day, I was at a coffee shop with my computer.
3) Missing parents, either from death or just casual neglect, are surprisingly common in YA fantasy and paranormal work. Now, on some level this is obviously about allowing greater agency to characters. Do you think this sort of thing is necessary to get readers engaged with a proactive adolescent protagonist, or is there something else going on here?
I really don’t think that it is necessary for the development of the character. I really think that most writers, the lack of parents is less complex. It’s less character to develop for the writer, and more importantly in YA fiction it’s less content for the reader. In my book however, Jack’s lack of parents is the base of the story. The discovery of his parents’ history is what sets him up for his adventure.
4) You've received some praise for the forthright and confident nature of your hero. Did you always have this kind of personality in mind for your character, or did it arise during the writing process?
I would say it was a little of both. It the beginning of the story, I don’t think anyone would consider Jack confident. If anything, I would call him timid. It’s not until he is forced into situations where he must make hard choices that his bold confidence arises. During the writing process of this story, Jack became much more of a hero than I had originally planned. His development in the story is one of my favorite parts of this book.
5) "Cross-over" is all the rage in YA these days. It makes sense from a business perspective. Getting both adolescents and adults to buy a book amplifies the audience, but from a writing perspective it can be hard to craft a book that resonates with multiple demographics. Do you see your book as a cross-over book and why?
I do. Cross-over YA books are my favorite. More people are ready fantasy now than ever, and if you are a fantasy reader, you know that many books and series can be very complex. For the casual reader some of these books can be daunting. With Cross-over fiction, the reading is usually much easier. There are less character and fewer sub-plots. A person can read many of these books in a weekend, or if they can’t get back to a book for a few weeks or even months, it is much easier to continue were you left off.
6) Other than the protagonist, do you have a favorite character in the book?
Pheloni, one of Jack’s friends. I think most people have a friend, or at least know someone like her. She is very sarcastic and out spoken, yet would do anything in the world to help her friends. She is very confident in herself and her abilities.
7) Do you have any sequels planned?
I am currently working on the second book in this series. It is action packed from page one. All the great characters from the first book will be back as well as a few new ones. I am hoping for its release early next year.
-----
Thanks for stopping by, Ryan.
You can see more from Ryan at his website: http://www.ryancollings.com/.
You can find his book (in physical or ebook form) at Amazon and Smashwords (ebook only).
Monday, October 10, 2011
Magical Mondays #4: Ikiryō, Haunting by the Living
Welcome to my fourth Magical Monday. In these segments, I'll be briefly overviewing various magical traditions, creatures, and elements that people have been believed in (or continue to believed in) throughout history. Eventually, I may also move onto depictions that appear only in novels, but there's plenty of historical material to keep me busy for a while.
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"Now in the torchlight Genji saw at her pillow, before the apparition vanished, the woman in his dream. Despite surprise and terror, for he had heard of such things at least in old tales, he was frantic to know what had become of her, until he shed all dignity and lay down beside her, calling on her to wake up, but she was growing cold and no longer breathing."
The Tale of Genji (Tyler Translation), Chapter 4.
The above snippet from Murasaki Shikibu's 11th-century Japanese novel recounts the fatal end of tryst between the protagonist and a young woman. One night when they travel together to an abandoned mansion to spend some amorous time together, his lover is literally frightened to death by a frightening ghostly apparition.
Now Japanese folklore is filled with a variety of spirits, ghosts, and mystically inclined animals that can threaten people's lives and souls in a myriad of unpleasant ways. Indeed, in the full chapter I've quoted from above, the protagonist, Genji, who initially doesn't take some spookiness at the mansion seriously, even suggests that foxes (who are associated with many magical powers in Japanese folklore) might be causing mischief.
Interestingly enough, the killer of Genji's lover is not a ghost, spirit, fox, demon, or any other sort of hostile (or even mischievous) supernatural entity. Instead, she was killed by another jealous lover of Genji's (yes, he gets around a lot), Rokujo no Miyasundokoro. This is where things get even more interesting. The jealous lover never laid a hand on the woman. Instead, it was her ikiryō--a sort of malevolent traveling spirit manifestation from a person--that killed Genji's latest conquest.
Ikiryō are said to manifest because of extreme and generally personally directed negative emotions. They are basically a piece of the soul (or the entire thing) of the other person detaching themselves temporarily from their source and going to harass the source of their anger. In some cases, these ikiryō can even possess other people. Although though the tales note can be exorcised, particularly by Buddhist priests, they were often harder to remove with such rituals versus actual ghosts or supernatural creatures, perhaps due to their living human source.
The relative awareness of the person who provides the source of the ikiryō varies. In many tales, people weren't truly aware that their soul is striking out at another. Though, it is often the case that it is easier to separate from the host body when the person is resting or sleeping. Although the spirit may be acting on deeply held emotions of the person, it is effectively an autonomous entity. In some tales, the ikiryō manifests when the person isn't actively aware of the level of antipathy they hold in their souls. Potentially killing someone you don't even realize you hate is a fairly disturbing idea.
As the ikiryō is a part of the person's soul, excessive absence from the host can lead to weakness and sickness. That's an important aspect to note. This isn't about summoning some hostile creature with negative emotion but just taking a piece of a person and having it strike out. In that sense, it's kind of an autonomous version of something like the evil eye.
Although I won't discuss it today, I should note that Japanese folklore also has a positive flip-side of souls traveling distances to contact love ones, help people out, et cetera. Such examples, along with the ikiryō, are a reflection of the idea in Japanese folklore (and many other belief systems throughout history and around the world) that the soul and body as linked, yet still somewhat autonomous entities.
-----
"Now in the torchlight Genji saw at her pillow, before the apparition vanished, the woman in his dream. Despite surprise and terror, for he had heard of such things at least in old tales, he was frantic to know what had become of her, until he shed all dignity and lay down beside her, calling on her to wake up, but she was growing cold and no longer breathing."
The Tale of Genji (Tyler Translation), Chapter 4.
The above snippet from Murasaki Shikibu's 11th-century Japanese novel recounts the fatal end of tryst between the protagonist and a young woman. One night when they travel together to an abandoned mansion to spend some amorous time together, his lover is literally frightened to death by a frightening ghostly apparition.
Now Japanese folklore is filled with a variety of spirits, ghosts, and mystically inclined animals that can threaten people's lives and souls in a myriad of unpleasant ways. Indeed, in the full chapter I've quoted from above, the protagonist, Genji, who initially doesn't take some spookiness at the mansion seriously, even suggests that foxes (who are associated with many magical powers in Japanese folklore) might be causing mischief.
Interestingly enough, the killer of Genji's lover is not a ghost, spirit, fox, demon, or any other sort of hostile (or even mischievous) supernatural entity. Instead, she was killed by another jealous lover of Genji's (yes, he gets around a lot), Rokujo no Miyasundokoro. This is where things get even more interesting. The jealous lover never laid a hand on the woman. Instead, it was her ikiryō--a sort of malevolent traveling spirit manifestation from a person--that killed Genji's latest conquest.
Ikiryō are said to manifest because of extreme and generally personally directed negative emotions. They are basically a piece of the soul (or the entire thing) of the other person detaching themselves temporarily from their source and going to harass the source of their anger. In some cases, these ikiryō can even possess other people. Although though the tales note can be exorcised, particularly by Buddhist priests, they were often harder to remove with such rituals versus actual ghosts or supernatural creatures, perhaps due to their living human source.
The relative awareness of the person who provides the source of the ikiryō varies. In many tales, people weren't truly aware that their soul is striking out at another. Though, it is often the case that it is easier to separate from the host body when the person is resting or sleeping. Although the spirit may be acting on deeply held emotions of the person, it is effectively an autonomous entity. In some tales, the ikiryō manifests when the person isn't actively aware of the level of antipathy they hold in their souls. Potentially killing someone you don't even realize you hate is a fairly disturbing idea.
As the ikiryō is a part of the person's soul, excessive absence from the host can lead to weakness and sickness. That's an important aspect to note. This isn't about summoning some hostile creature with negative emotion but just taking a piece of a person and having it strike out. In that sense, it's kind of an autonomous version of something like the evil eye.
Although I won't discuss it today, I should note that Japanese folklore also has a positive flip-side of souls traveling distances to contact love ones, help people out, et cetera. Such examples, along with the ikiryō, are a reflection of the idea in Japanese folklore (and many other belief systems throughout history and around the world) that the soul and body as linked, yet still somewhat autonomous entities.
The Age of Tranquility and Peace, Heian Japan #3: The Fujiwara and the Poisoned Chrysanthemum, Fujiwara control of the emperor
I'm running a little late this week, but today, I present the third in my series on Heian-era Japan. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, just click here for a brief overview of the Heian era.
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Despite the presence of a monarch who claims descent from a sun goddess, Amaterasu, much of Japanese history has been defined by emperors rather lacking in absolute power and the concordant ability to rule unchecked. Today, the current Japanese emperor spends much of his time involved in religious ritual and ceremonial procedures rather than phoning the prime minister to tell him how to run things. The evolution of the modern role of the emperor is outside the scope of this series, but we'll instead discuss the rise and fall of the emperor during the Heian period.
The Heian era began with the 50th Japanese emperor, Kanmu, moving the capital to Heian-kyo (present day Kyoto) in 794. This came only thirteen years after a previous capital move. It isn't that the emperor just liked to move, though. Instead, the second move, in particular, was reportedly motivated by political considerations. Buddhist temples and local aristocrats had become too influential, effectively limiting the emperor's power. By moving the capital, the emperor was attempting to refocus political power into the central government lead by him.
The government of Heian-kyo was a bureaucratic beast consisting of a governing council, many departments and many officials. Due to the complexity of both the governmental structure and the socio-political factors that went into becoming an official, we'll set that aside for now other than to note it was influenced by Tang-era Chinese government, and many elements that defined the Heian-era Japanese government were codified during the preceding Nara and Asuka periods (710-794 and 538-710, respectively).
The emperor sat onto his government. The mere existence of a bureaucracy already limited a lot of the emperor's power early on by limiting his ability to get things done easily and directly. Certain religious considerations also kept down a lot of the kind of pure terror that might keep certain people in line. Violence was considered to cause spiritual pollution, which, in turn, required purification. So, he couldn't exactly drag people into the palace to have their heads cut off and stuck on pikes to terrify his enemies. One may laugh at my extreme example, but it's striking how many rulers in many lands (including Japan at different points in its history) basically preserved their power through monopolizing that sort of callous violence.
His daily routine was heavily influenced by religious ritual (particularly Shinto ritual) and so matters of spiritual purity were particularly important to the emperor. In fact, the emperor being so busy with daily rituals, both secular or otherwise, also limited his direct political influence. He simply didn't have time to micromanage the affairs of the government.
Emperor Kanmu's efforts to reorganize the government and capital to tighten central power were also undermined by the machinations of the Fujiwara clan. The Fujiwara were a powerful aristocratic family that had been previously involved in disrupting the attempt of another powerful clan, the Soga, to consolidate control over the imperial government in the 7th century. By the time of the Heian era, Fujiwara were in many positions in the government. Many Fujiwara princesses had intermarried with the Imperial line since the Nara period.
By the 9th century, with their power on the rise and many of their enemies politically neutralized, the Fujiwara made a more bold bid for de facto control. If the sitting emperor produced a male child with a Fujiwara wife or consort, the Fujiwara lobbied hard to ensure that child would be named successor. In the interim, the child would spend a lot of time around his clan. They would also appoint a formal adviser. If underage when the assuming the Imperial Throne, the adviser would become a type of reagent called a sesshō, and, as a result, the elder Fujiwara would have general control of the government. Such was the case with the first Fujiwara regent, Yoshifusa, who became the regent for the Emperor Seiwa (850-881, reign: 858-876). Though the Fujiwara couldn't always keep complete control of the government, they would exhibit considerable influence to the 11th century.
Another way the emperor's true power was taken, regardless of whether he was of partially Fujiwara blood or not was because of the Japanese institution of retired emperors. As I noted above, the emperor had to spend a lot of time on rituals, protocol, and other assorted official activities. An emperor, however, could choose to retire. As I'll explain more of in a bit, these retired emperors later ended up a power center themselves that competed with the sitting emperor.
The Fujiwara also exploited the earlier version of this system by encouraging emperors to retire young (usually in their thirties or forties) so that the next boy emperor could rise. So, even if a half-Fujiwara emperor started thinking seriously about limiting the ability of the clan (and why would he, if his own mother was a Fujiwara), he may soon have ended up finding himself pushed aside, so a newer, more pliable candidate could take the job. It is important to note that the Fujiwara were everywhere in the government, so the amount of social and political pressure they could bring to bear was tremendous, even on the emperor.
The Fujiwara's fortunes finally startd to reverse in 1068. The Emperor Go-Sanjō (1034-1073) had the particular misfortune (from the Fujiwara point of view) of not being born to a Fujiwara. There had been others since the Fujiwara squeezed their fingers around the throne, but he was the first in a hundred years. He also initiated several legal and political reforms to to curtail the influence of the Fujiwara. His son, the Emperor Shirakawa further eroded the control of the Fujiwara in an unusual way. He retired early as I discussed earlier, but went so far as to set up an alternative court in 1087 with officials and advisers. He became a so-called "cloistered emperor". This cloistered emperor system would seriously undermine the effective power of the sitting emperor, both weakening the emperor himself and the Fujiwara indirectly who had spent centuries developing their power around the control of the emperor.
With the close of the 12th century would come the Genpei War. That war saw the power of the emperor all but totally obliterated as the shoguns, military dictators, took firm control of Japan for centuries. Although the position of emperor was never eliminated, it lost almost all political power, either direct or indirect as the bureaucratic system, and the officials that populated it, became less important than the military might of the samurai. The cloistered emperors would linger for a few centuries, but their power had also been seriously curtailed.
There's a certain irony accompanying the cloistered system. I didn't go into detail above, but when these emperors retired, the standard practice was to go live in a Buddhist temple and take on Buddhist holy orders. So, the Emperor Kanmu had initiated the Heian era by moving the capital partially to escape the political influence of Buddhist temples on the government, but by the end of the era, retired emperors living as Buddhist holy men had tremendous influence.
 |
| The Imperial Seal of Japan, a 16-petal chrysanthemum, hence why the sitting empire is sometimes referred to as sitting on the Chrysanthemum Throne |
The Heian era began with the 50th Japanese emperor, Kanmu, moving the capital to Heian-kyo (present day Kyoto) in 794. This came only thirteen years after a previous capital move. It isn't that the emperor just liked to move, though. Instead, the second move, in particular, was reportedly motivated by political considerations. Buddhist temples and local aristocrats had become too influential, effectively limiting the emperor's power. By moving the capital, the emperor was attempting to refocus political power into the central government lead by him.
 |
| Emperor Kanmu (737-806) |
The emperor sat onto his government. The mere existence of a bureaucracy already limited a lot of the emperor's power early on by limiting his ability to get things done easily and directly. Certain religious considerations also kept down a lot of the kind of pure terror that might keep certain people in line. Violence was considered to cause spiritual pollution, which, in turn, required purification. So, he couldn't exactly drag people into the palace to have their heads cut off and stuck on pikes to terrify his enemies. One may laugh at my extreme example, but it's striking how many rulers in many lands (including Japan at different points in its history) basically preserved their power through monopolizing that sort of callous violence.
His daily routine was heavily influenced by religious ritual (particularly Shinto ritual) and so matters of spiritual purity were particularly important to the emperor. In fact, the emperor being so busy with daily rituals, both secular or otherwise, also limited his direct political influence. He simply didn't have time to micromanage the affairs of the government.
Emperor Kanmu's efforts to reorganize the government and capital to tighten central power were also undermined by the machinations of the Fujiwara clan. The Fujiwara were a powerful aristocratic family that had been previously involved in disrupting the attempt of another powerful clan, the Soga, to consolidate control over the imperial government in the 7th century. By the time of the Heian era, Fujiwara were in many positions in the government. Many Fujiwara princesses had intermarried with the Imperial line since the Nara period.
By the 9th century, with their power on the rise and many of their enemies politically neutralized, the Fujiwara made a more bold bid for de facto control. If the sitting emperor produced a male child with a Fujiwara wife or consort, the Fujiwara lobbied hard to ensure that child would be named successor. In the interim, the child would spend a lot of time around his clan. They would also appoint a formal adviser. If underage when the assuming the Imperial Throne, the adviser would become a type of reagent called a sesshō, and, as a result, the elder Fujiwara would have general control of the government. Such was the case with the first Fujiwara regent, Yoshifusa, who became the regent for the Emperor Seiwa (850-881, reign: 858-876). Though the Fujiwara couldn't always keep complete control of the government, they would exhibit considerable influence to the 11th century.
Another way the emperor's true power was taken, regardless of whether he was of partially Fujiwara blood or not was because of the Japanese institution of retired emperors. As I noted above, the emperor had to spend a lot of time on rituals, protocol, and other assorted official activities. An emperor, however, could choose to retire. As I'll explain more of in a bit, these retired emperors later ended up a power center themselves that competed with the sitting emperor.
The Fujiwara also exploited the earlier version of this system by encouraging emperors to retire young (usually in their thirties or forties) so that the next boy emperor could rise. So, even if a half-Fujiwara emperor started thinking seriously about limiting the ability of the clan (and why would he, if his own mother was a Fujiwara), he may soon have ended up finding himself pushed aside, so a newer, more pliable candidate could take the job. It is important to note that the Fujiwara were everywhere in the government, so the amount of social and political pressure they could bring to bear was tremendous, even on the emperor.
The Fujiwara's fortunes finally startd to reverse in 1068. The Emperor Go-Sanjō (1034-1073) had the particular misfortune (from the Fujiwara point of view) of not being born to a Fujiwara. There had been others since the Fujiwara squeezed their fingers around the throne, but he was the first in a hundred years. He also initiated several legal and political reforms to to curtail the influence of the Fujiwara. His son, the Emperor Shirakawa further eroded the control of the Fujiwara in an unusual way. He retired early as I discussed earlier, but went so far as to set up an alternative court in 1087 with officials and advisers. He became a so-called "cloistered emperor". This cloistered emperor system would seriously undermine the effective power of the sitting emperor, both weakening the emperor himself and the Fujiwara indirectly who had spent centuries developing their power around the control of the emperor.
With the close of the 12th century would come the Genpei War. That war saw the power of the emperor all but totally obliterated as the shoguns, military dictators, took firm control of Japan for centuries. Although the position of emperor was never eliminated, it lost almost all political power, either direct or indirect as the bureaucratic system, and the officials that populated it, became less important than the military might of the samurai. The cloistered emperors would linger for a few centuries, but their power had also been seriously curtailed.
There's a certain irony accompanying the cloistered system. I didn't go into detail above, but when these emperors retired, the standard practice was to go live in a Buddhist temple and take on Buddhist holy orders. So, the Emperor Kanmu had initiated the Heian era by moving the capital partially to escape the political influence of Buddhist temples on the government, but by the end of the era, retired emperors living as Buddhist holy men had tremendous influence.
Why Do Ladies Prefer Scotsmen? An Interview With Michelle Miles
Today, I'm talking with romance author Michelle Miles about her historical time travel romance, One Knight Only.
1) Tell us about your book.
A snarky Faery princess, a Scottish knight with a gambling problem, and a murderous earl all add up to one thing: Trouble. Maggie’s medieval education never prepared her for life in the Middle Ages!
Do-gooder Maggie Chase throws her thesis out the window when she wakes up in the arms of a hot Scottish knight. When she realizes she’s somehow ended up back in time, she embraces the persona of Lady Margaret. But she may be in over her head when she realizes she has to keep the sexy knight alive during a jousting tournament in order to get back to her own time.
Sir Finian “Finn” McCullough is a gambling man and owes a very large debt to an evil earl who is after his family estate. When the beautiful and outgoing Maggie arrives in his bed, he can’t remember tupping her the night before and thinks she’s a spy for one of his neighboring clans. He intends to find her kinsman and return her safely but he can’t resist her charms, her smart mouth or her sex appeal. Instead he keeps her close, taking her with him to an important jousting tournament—one he has to win or lose his castle forever.
2) What inspired you to write this book?
This book was born from my love of the Middle Ages and knights in shining armor. I actually started writing this book back in 2005 as a straight historical romance. But then, for various reasons, it wasn’t working out and I lost interest. I picked it up again in 2008 and changed the opening and the heroine to a modern woman with modern sensibilities. Plus she was kind of a meddler, so that worked really well with the story. Then I got sidetracked again by other projects and ended up putting it down until late 2010. I was determined to finish it. I had the first draft done by January 2011 and off to critique partners. By this summer, I was submitting (and getting rejected). Then a friend suggested I send it to her editor at Ellora’s Cave and I had a contract within a week. I was ecstatic!
3) Historical fiction (even time traveling alt history) is a bit more difficult than contemporary material because you can't just think about the world around you. Did you have to do a lot of research for this book?
Oh, yes. I read a lot about jousting and tournaments – what they ate, drank, wore, how they talked, etc. I also researched tournament events. After doing lots of reading, I set my story in the mid-1300s in the early years of the Hundred Years’ War. Most tournaments were celebrations of his victories during the war and, by this time, ladies were expected to attend tourneys. After each day, the events were followed by a masque or a banquet where there was lots of dancing and drinking and revelry. One of my favorite books on jousting is slim but is full of color photographs and lots of great information called Knights at Tournament by Christopher Gravett. I love looking at this book. I tried hard to get the historical details of the tournament and jousting right.
4) Did you have more fun creating the hero or the heroine?
Great question! I think it depends on the story. For this one, I had a blast with both Maggie and Finn. They were both such great characters with a lot of depth – Maggie with her do-gooder attitude and always wanting to help people and Finn with his gambling problem. They were both a lot of fun to write and I found I missed them when I was through editing the book.
5) Why did you pick a tournament as a setting?
I’ve always loved the Middle Ages. We have a local ren fair, Scarborough Faire, and I used to go a lot. I always watched their mock-jousts when I went. I’ve been fascinated with this time period for years so it seemed natural to write a book with this setting.
6) There are entire romance sub-genres devoted to Scotsmen. What is it about medieval Scotsmen that appeals to romance readers?
I think it’s the sexy burr and the idea that he’s bigger, brawnier, and knows what he wants from his lady! Plus there’s something about a man in a kilt… ;)
7) What's next for you? You've written three different types of books, so it's hard to pigeon-hole you.
I never could decide what genre to write. Paranormal and fantasy romance are my first loves but it takes a while to learn how to worldbuild effectively. So my fallback was erotic contemporary romance. That’s where I first got published. All this to say my current project is a new fantasy/futuristic trilogy about a girl named River who is taken to live in a brothel. While there, she falls for one of her “gentlemen callers” and discovers she may not be who she always thought she was. I’ve finished the first draft and am ready to revise and send out to my critique partners. I’m also working on the sequel to One Knight Only, which is Derron’s and Elyne’s story.
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Thanks, Michelle.
You can find One Knight Only here.
If you want to get more from Michelle, she's all over the net:
Email: michelle@michellemiles.net
Website: http://www.michellemiles.net
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/
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