Hello. I'm a buddy
of Conni's from the Viable Paradise workshop, and she was kind enough
to invite me to her blog today to talk about my medieval fantasy
romance THE BEAUTY'S BEAST, which was just re-released this week.
My novel is a
retelling of "Bisclavret," the medieval poem/fairy tale
about a cursed werewolf knight written by Marie de France. I was
captivated the first time I read her story and immediately decided to
write my own version of it, mixing in a little bit of Beauty and
the Beast too because I just can't resist a fun fairy tale
retelling.
I thought a good way
to help introduce y'all to my book would be to tell you about some of
the books I've read that helped inspire me. :)
Spindle's End and
Beauty by Robin McKinley
I didn't discover
Robin McKinley until my late teens, but once I did I went on a tear
and read at least half her backlist in one go. I've always been a fan
of fairy tale retellings (which is part of why I wrote one…),
but these two books made a big impression on me. I loved the wry
humor in her characters and their brusque practicality. Another one
of my favorite elements was the slow build of the romances in
Spindle's End; there's a proposal scene in this novel that has
to be one of the most romantic things I have ever read. I also loved,
loved McKinley's world-building and all its intricate, well-thought
out detail.
The Brother
Cadfael Series by Ellis Peters
Growing up I was
always asking my mom for stuff to read, and I remember when she
handed me my first Brother Cadfael mystery I was totally sucked into
the world, and I binge-read the entire 20+ books in the series.
Brother Cadfael is a cozy mystery series set in a Benedictine
abbey during the English civil war between King Stephen and Empress
Maude. The historical period is a little earlier than the one I'm
writing in, and some of the research by Ellis Peters is out of date
now, but I still remember how wonderful I thought Cadfael's world
was, the history, the community. And Cadfael himself, of course. He's
a wonderful hero and one of the characters in my book (the wry and
worldly court magician Llewellyn) is a sort of homage to Cadfael.
This charming series was a huge influence on me and a big part of the
reason I wanted to write my own medieval-set story. (Of course mine
has werewolves…)
The Elemental
Masters series by Mercedes Lackey
(Especially
The Serpent's Shadow and The Gates of
Sleep)
This was my favorite
fantasy series for a little while and the first two books were a big
influence on how I wanted to write my own historical fantasies. I
loved how Lackey would twist existing history to fit her fantastical
elements in. I also appreciated how she incorporated various magical
creatures like sylphs, fairies, and even Puck himself into her
stories. But, of course, my favorite aspect was how she
twisted the basic elements of each fairy tale. She changed things in
new and interesting ways so that the bones of the original story were
still there, and yet by the end the reader had something totally new
and wonderful to enjoy.
If you
like fairy tale retellings and historical fantasy THE BEAUTY'S BEAST
is currently available for the Kindle and in paperback. Click here:
Thanks again for
having me, Conni.
Happy reading,
everybody! :D
E.D. Walker
(a.k.a. Beth
Matthews)
@IAmBethMatthews
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