kategriffin

[kategriffin]

The Camelot Chronicles: A New Series

This is the first excerpt from my most recent work-in-progress, the first novel in a series about Camelot, told from the female perspective. The story is told from the point of view of Lady Guinevere, a young woman from one of the most powerful families in Camelot, and Morgana, a peasant girl who lives with her mother in the woods. Together they experience the rebirth of Camelot as the new king is crowned. I've decided to share the first chapter, told from the perspective of Guinevere. Please comment and let me know your thoughts, and if you would like to hear more of this story.

-Kate

Chapter 1

Lady Guinevere sat at the back of the carriage, her eyes set on the trees that rushed past, creating a blur of green and brown. Her hands moved restlessly across the fabric of her dress, which was a shade that matched the blurring leaves of the trees she observed. Every once in a while, she picked a tree to focus on, and let her eyes travel with it for a moment. It was all she could do to fill the time, as she had already finished her needlework, the only thing that kept her from having to converse with her father. Sir Leodegrance, or Leo as his close friends called him, was a kind and merry man, but he wasn’t her mother, despite how much he tried to be. But he could not be twice the parent he already was. And she could see how much it hurt him to look at her, and smile. Guinevere, or her father’s affectionate shortening of the name, Gwen, was aware of her similarity to her late mother, and she could see the pain in Father’s eyes each time he cast his glance upon her. So, she acted cold and dismissive towards him, something her mother would never do. Perhaps the less she acted like her mother the less she would look like her, she supposed.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the carriage jolting upwards, followed by her father’s loud huff of disappointment. She glanced over for a moment and observed her father on the other side of the carriage, his brows furrowed in a rare look of discontent. His leather journal lay in his lap, a charcoal sketch of the landscape outside scarred by a stray mark of pencil, undoubtedly caused by the carriage’s upheaval. Gwen returned her eyes to the trees, and she heard the scribbling resume. She lay her head on the wooden side of the carriage, anticipating a nap. They would not reach the Forest of Sauvage for at least another afternoon.

This was the first time that Gwen had traveled to the Forest, and it would be her first time at the summer festival held there annually. It was an important event for sons of noble birth, but alas, Gwen was an only child, and a daughter, so there was never a need to attend anyways. She didn’t ask why when her father suggested they attend this year. She quietly assumed it was because he was lonely; this was their first summer without Gwen’s mother. Sir Ector was an old friend of her father’s, and she hoped their reconciliation would bring her father some happiness, or at the very least, some laughter.

The carriage jolted again, this time downwards. It slowed to a stop, the splintering of wood echoing throughout the inside of the carriage.

“Bloody hell,” Father swore under his breath. He pushed open the carriage door, his journal still in hand.

“The wheel seems to have broken, sir,” our coachman informed him. “It can’t be repaired here. We’ll have to find a woodworker nearby to fix it.”

Gwen watched as her father ruffled through his journal and pulled out a loose piece of parchment. He unfolded it carefully, revealing a handwritten map, most likely of his own creation. “We should be fairly close to Sir Ector’s lands on the outskirts of the Forest of Sauvage,” her father mused. “Perhaps he has a woodworker in his employ.”

“Should I take one of the horses and request Sir Ector’s assistance?”

“Yes, yes, do that. And hurry, if you will, there are only a few hours of daylight left!”

The carriage door swung open, and Father took his previous seat.

“What shall we discuss in the meantime, my dear Gwen?” Delete Created with Sketch.

A few hours later, after the sun had settled below the trees and Sir Ector’s carriage had made its way to and back from their disastrous spot, Gwen and her father approached Sir Ector’s humble home. It was a small castle compared to her family home, but stately nonetheless. Ivy crept up the pale walls of the castle, framing the windows with a green boundary. Outside of its strong oak doors stood several people. A tall, slightly heavyset man walked toward us with a smile on his face, drawing attention to his short dark brown beard.

“Sir Leo,” the man said.

“Sir Ector, my good fellow,” said Father.

The two men embraced. Guinevere knew little of their relationship, but she remembered that the two men had fought together in several of the late King Uther’s battles before the uprising.

“Are we the first ones here, Ector?”

“Yes, well, you’re the only ones. The eastern wing of the house suffered some damage last winter – a fallen tree.”

Ector pointed towards the damaged portion of the house, momentarily distracted. He cleared his throat and resumed walking towards the house.

“Come, meet my family.”

He gestured for us to follow him to the door. A handsome young man stood in the line of people, along with an elegant woman in a burgundy gown, and a line of servants. The man was clearly Sir Ector’s flesh and blood, a clear copy of the knight himself, just thinner and younger. And next to him stood another young man with shaggy blonde curls that slightly obscured his eyes, a color too shaded by the hair to distinguish. But there was a gleam in those eyes that Gwen couldn’t help but notice. Sir Ector gestured to the woman first, eventually taking one of her hands in his.

“My wife, Aldora. And my sons,” he gestured to the young men. “Kay,” he gestured towards the first man. “… and Arthur. ” The man with the blonde curls smiled modestly at the mention of his name.

Kay bowed his head towards them. “Welcome to our home,” Sir Ector said, standing next to his family. And almost on cue, the great wooden doors of the castle swung open with a deep creak.

#historical fiction #camelot #guinevere #arthurian legend #sir kay #sir ector #my writing #share my writing #original writing #medieval

[kategriffin]

sneak peek #3

This is a pretty short piece from the second chapter of my Anne Boleyn book. In this chapter, Anne and Mary are preparing for the Château Vert Pageant, where Anne makes her debut in English and in real life is where she is first recorded in history at English court. 

I faced the mirror as Mary laced up my dress, examining my costume - the ivory satin, the pearled bodice; my eyes traveling until they met their reflection. For a moment, I did not recognize the girl in the mirror - she seemed so experienced, powerful, regal.  I blinked, and she was no longer there, just my own reflection. 

#share my writing #my writing #anne boleyn #england #the tudor dynasty #the tudors #tudor history #sixteenth century #mary boleyn #boleyn #chateau vert pageant #1500s #original writing

[kategriffin]

Hey! So the content of my Tumblr page is going to change a little bit. I’ve already updated my profile, so that kinda gives it away. But I’m going to make this a page that focuses more on all of my writing, not just my Anne Boleyn novel. I also want to possibly use this page to help any other aspiring writers! I’d love to help people with their writing if they need it and I’m happy to proofread anyone’s writing. 

- Kate

#writing #writers #proofreading #writers on tumblr #writer problems #writers block #writershelpingwriters #writers help

[kategriffin]

Anyone else just go through a long bout of writers block? Like it’s been about three months of no writing and then suddenly I just gain the ability to write again... but like only at 5 in the freaking morning when I’m falling asleep (I’m a night owl)... anyone else relate?

#writers block #my writing #writing #women writers #original writing #writers #night owl

[kategriffin]

Hi! Im sending this question to a few people in Tudor Tumblr to get their opinion. I'm wanting to write a historical fiction book set in Tudor England-namely from around 1530-1550, and was wondering where would be the best place to research. Namely online since I live in a small town, but any books I can find on Audible would be amazing as well! Thank you in advance!

Hi! I’ve used https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/ for a lot of my research, because everything there is researched and referenced. There’s information about a lot of notable Tudor figures on that site, not just Anne - but the novel I’m working on is about Anne, so that’s what I’ve been using a lot. I also find a lot of books at my local library and university - they might have some good nonfiction resources for you to use, like biographies and such. And if all else fails, you can even contact a Tudor expert! A lot of them are university professors and you can find their emails on their university’s website. I hope this helps and good luck! If you need someone to proofread or give feedback, I can do that!

[kategriffin]

sneak peek #2

This sneak peek is from the first chapter. I don’t want to give too much backstory, but it’s 1521 and Anne is in currently in France, serving as a maid of honor to Queen Claude of France. 

As soon as the crisp envelope reached my hands, I brought it up to my face and inhaled, hoping to detect my mother’s sweet perfume. But only the musky scent of parchment entered my nose. Almost immediately after unfolding the piece of parchment concealed inside,  I recognized the handwriting of my father.  My heart sunk as I read his elegant script. My father had found me a Suitor. James Butler. I had once dreamed of marrying for love, like Mary Tudor. I wanted someone of my own choosing. But I knew that I didn’t have that choice. I was no longer a girl, and those Foolish Dreams of a perfect man were exactly that - Foolish Dreams. Foolish Dreams that will be left behind in France while I advanced to England. 

#my writing #share my writing #british royal history #british history #english history #anne boleyn #mary boleyn #thomas boleyn #elizabeth boleyn #france #1500s #early 1500s #queen anne boleyn #james butler #mary tudor #queen claude #original writing #tudor history #historical fiction #sixteenth century #six the musical

[kategriffin]

sneak peek from the book!

Here’s a bit of my work of fiction about Anne Boleyn  (it’s still a work in progress) from the prologue, which begins with a flash-forward to her execution. Spoiler, guys. She dies at the end - that’s just history. The prologue is actually written in free verse poetry - I actually wrote this almost 10 months ago when I was still in high school. For some reason I felt like writing about this moment in her life in poetic form, maybe because it was kind of a poetic (yet tragic) moment - with the beating of the drums, the early morning, and facing her inevitable death. So there’s the backstory on that. Here is the first two paragraphs of the book.

 I walked, a straight line before certain Death. The pounding of my heart  filled my ears. Or perhaps those were drums? I could not distinguish between the two. The brilliant but distant sun shone in my eyes, blinding my view of the crowd that had gathered, surely here to witness my inevitable  demise. I silently thanked the heavens for  that small mercy they have blessed me with.

Each slow and fated stride gifted me with more Time, time to think and reflect and blame. Though Henry, my love,  was the one who condemned me to this fate, it was another who planted those doubts in his mind. It was  Jane who scattered the seeds.  Jane, the gardener, grew those doubts, and watered them daily with slander and lies to discredit me in his eyes. Jane has uprooted the tree of mine  and Henry’s love and taken everything I ever wanted – my crown, my power, my one true love. 

Please feel free to give me some feedback on this and any of my writing. Like I said, it’s a work in progress and it’s far from done!

#my writing #share my writing #henry viii #anne boleyn #wip #book #tudor #tudor history #jane seymour #british history #british royal history #english history #the tudor dynasty #free verse #poetry #original poetry #original writing #mary boleyn #elizabeth i of england #elizabeth i #six the musical #sixteenth century

[kategriffin]

Here’s my personal connection to Anne Boleyn. She is my 15th great-aunt, as I recently discovered with the help of Ancestry.com and Familysearch.org. I am a direct descendant of her younger brother, George Rochford Boleyn. Having already been fascinated by her story, learning this personal connection is what made me want to write about her. I wanted to write her story in a good light because she is now a part of my own history.

#anne boleyn #george boleyn #thomas boleyn #ancestry #family search #famous relatives #mary boleyn #henry viii #my writing #family history #tudor #the tudor dynasty #tudor history #the tudors

[kategriffin]

I just joined Tumblr.

Hi Tumblr. I have no idea how this works. But I want to share my writing, and Tumblr seems like a place to start, I guess. I’m writing this book, and I only have five chapters written, but I want to start sharing parts of it before I finish and hopefully get it published. It’s about Anne Boleyn. A lot of stuff happened in her life, she married a king, she got accused of incest, and she got beheaded. But that’s all she’s known for. And a lot of other books and movies about her don’t make her look good. So I’m here to do that. I’m writing a book that’s her story, fictionalized a little bit, to tell it from her perspective. So if you want to read it, like this post (is that what you do on Tumblr, like a post?) and I will be sharing parts of what I have written on this blog. 

#anne boleyn #henry viii #british royal history #my writing #writing #share my writing #mary boleyn #the other boleyn girl #six the musical #don't lose ur head #renaissance #sixteenth century #england #british history #english history #george boleyn #thomas boleyn #elizabeth i of england #elizabeth i #cardinal wolsey #original writing #poetry #history #historical fiction #historical figures #women of history #queens #british queens #six wives of henry viii #katherine of aragon