Sword of Light Blog Tour
The "Sword of Light" blog tour ends tomorrow, and what an interesting month it has been! This is the first time I have done an official blog tour for one of my books, and I've been asked for everything from author interviews, to a guest post on the historical evidence for King Arthur, and even an undercover soundtrack that inspired the book.
Best of all, to celebrate the end of the tour my publishers Templar are giving away TEN hardback copies of "Sword of Light" to lucky UK readers! To claim your copy, register before 3rd March at Feeling Fictional.
Meanwhile, if you've missed any of the posts, here they all are again conveniently collected in one place with links to all the lovely bloggers who bravely welcomed Rhianna Pendragon to their blogs.
(Thank you, everyone! I hope she wasn't too much trouble.)
January - The Bookette
A week-long interview with Katherine.
I’ve read a lot of (adult) Arthurian fiction and have tried to keep the most popular elements while adding some inventions of my own. I’ve also simplified things slightly, so you’ll find King Arthur’s half sisters have vanished, but he has gained a daughter...
1st February - Do Authors Dream of Electric Books?
The difference between e-publication and traditional hardcover publishing.
It’s interesting to compare the publication journey of a traditional hardcover such as "Sword of Light" to that of an independently produced ebook like the others on this site...
6th February - The History Girls
King Arthur: history or fantasy?
King Arthur is obviously less historical than Alexander the Great, even when authors try to stick to the facts, so I thought it would be fun to create a History Girls scale of 0-5 (where 0 is pure fantasy and 5 is historical fact) and try to grade some well-known elements of Arthurian legend...
8th February - Memories of a Future Life
Undercover Soundtrack: Maddy Prior, Steeleye Span, Clannad (with audio links!)
I sometimes wonder if I write fantasy because I listen to folk music with its roots in legend and myth, or if it is the other way around. Whatever came first – the music or the fantasy – I do believe that one feeds the other, and music certainly plays an important part in my books...
9th February - Book Angel Booktopia
Katherine's Arthurian Reading Quest.
What if I combined my love of epic fantasy with the legends of King Arthur, and wrote a fantasy series about his daughter for younger readers?
10th February - Book Maven
Thomas Malory's women of Camelot meet Rhianna Pendragon.
When the lovely Book Maven heard I was writing a series about King Arthur’s daughter, she kindly sent me one of her own Arthurian books – the beautifully illustrated “Women of Camelot”, which faithfully retells the stories of Arthur’s women from Sir Thomas Malory’s “Morte D’Arthur”. Since my heroine Rhianna Pendragon is not mentioned in these stories, I thought it might be fun to send her through the mists on her enchanted horse to Malory’s Camelot, and see what the ladies of legend make of her...
13th February - Seven Miles of Steel Thistles
Katherine interviewed by Katherine Langrish.
I first came across the idea of King Arthur having a daughter in a collection of novellas by Vera Chapman (“The Three Damosels”), which I won in one of the infamous Fantasycon raffles organised by the British Fantasy Society. That was way back before I’d had any books published myself, but the concept of a Pendragon princess certainly caught my imagination. As Vera Chapman says in her introduction to the story: “Nobody can say that King Arthur did NOT have a daughter. King’s daughters, unless they make dynastic marriages, are apt to slip out of history and be ignored.”
15th February - Writing in the House of Dreams
The Heroine's Journey
My inspiration for ‘Sword of Light’ came in a waking dream, when I attended a workshop led by the lovely Jenny Alexander, who guided a few of us children’s authors on a ‘Hero’s Journey’ along our personal writing paths. It went like this. Imagine you are walking in a familiar place, when you see a sign saying, ‘To the Treasure…’
18th February - Feeling Fictional
Katherine interviewed by Sarah + UK giveaway!
I’ve been a fan of Arthurian fiction since I first discovered Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment) in the school library. For a while back in the 80’s it seemed nearly every fantasy author was writing something Arthurian, and I read my way through most of them, so I suppose it was inevitable that I would eventually write something Arthurian myself...
20th February - Girls Heart Books
Rhianna Pendragon and Talina Molin exchange letters.
Michelle Lovric's heroine from "Talina in the Tower" writes to Rhianna from across the sea in Venice. These are two girls from different books and different countries who know exactly what they want and won't let anyone (or any kind of magic) stand in their way!
Meanwhile, if you've missed any of the posts, here they all are again conveniently collected in one place with links to all the lovely bloggers who bravely welcomed Rhianna Pendragon to their blogs.
(Thank you, everyone! I hope she wasn't too much trouble.)
January - The Bookette
A week-long interview with Katherine.
I’ve read a lot of (adult) Arthurian fiction and have tried to keep the most popular elements while adding some inventions of my own. I’ve also simplified things slightly, so you’ll find King Arthur’s half sisters have vanished, but he has gained a daughter...
1st February - Do Authors Dream of Electric Books?
The difference between e-publication and traditional hardcover publishing.
It’s interesting to compare the publication journey of a traditional hardcover such as "Sword of Light" to that of an independently produced ebook like the others on this site...
6th February - The History Girls
King Arthur: history or fantasy?
King Arthur is obviously less historical than Alexander the Great, even when authors try to stick to the facts, so I thought it would be fun to create a History Girls scale of 0-5 (where 0 is pure fantasy and 5 is historical fact) and try to grade some well-known elements of Arthurian legend...
8th February - Memories of a Future Life
Undercover Soundtrack: Maddy Prior, Steeleye Span, Clannad (with audio links!)
I sometimes wonder if I write fantasy because I listen to folk music with its roots in legend and myth, or if it is the other way around. Whatever came first – the music or the fantasy – I do believe that one feeds the other, and music certainly plays an important part in my books...
9th February - Book Angel Booktopia
Katherine's Arthurian Reading Quest.
What if I combined my love of epic fantasy with the legends of King Arthur, and wrote a fantasy series about his daughter for younger readers?
10th February - Book Maven
Thomas Malory's women of Camelot meet Rhianna Pendragon.
When the lovely Book Maven heard I was writing a series about King Arthur’s daughter, she kindly sent me one of her own Arthurian books – the beautifully illustrated “Women of Camelot”, which faithfully retells the stories of Arthur’s women from Sir Thomas Malory’s “Morte D’Arthur”. Since my heroine Rhianna Pendragon is not mentioned in these stories, I thought it might be fun to send her through the mists on her enchanted horse to Malory’s Camelot, and see what the ladies of legend make of her...
13th February - Seven Miles of Steel Thistles
Katherine interviewed by Katherine Langrish.
I first came across the idea of King Arthur having a daughter in a collection of novellas by Vera Chapman (“The Three Damosels”), which I won in one of the infamous Fantasycon raffles organised by the British Fantasy Society. That was way back before I’d had any books published myself, but the concept of a Pendragon princess certainly caught my imagination. As Vera Chapman says in her introduction to the story: “Nobody can say that King Arthur did NOT have a daughter. King’s daughters, unless they make dynastic marriages, are apt to slip out of history and be ignored.”
15th February - Writing in the House of Dreams
The Heroine's Journey
My inspiration for ‘Sword of Light’ came in a waking dream, when I attended a workshop led by the lovely Jenny Alexander, who guided a few of us children’s authors on a ‘Hero’s Journey’ along our personal writing paths. It went like this. Imagine you are walking in a familiar place, when you see a sign saying, ‘To the Treasure…’
18th February - Feeling Fictional
Katherine interviewed by Sarah + UK giveaway!
I’ve been a fan of Arthurian fiction since I first discovered Mary Stewart’s Merlin trilogy (The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills, The Last Enchantment) in the school library. For a while back in the 80’s it seemed nearly every fantasy author was writing something Arthurian, and I read my way through most of them, so I suppose it was inevitable that I would eventually write something Arthurian myself...
20th February - Girls Heart Books
Rhianna Pendragon and Talina Molin exchange letters.
Michelle Lovric's heroine from "Talina in the Tower" writes to Rhianna from across the sea in Venice. These are two girls from different books and different countries who know exactly what they want and won't let anyone (or any kind of magic) stand in their way!
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