Behind the Scenes: Web of Truth

Did you know that books in Europe and the U.S. have different covers?

I realized this when I was a child and visited Belgium, where my mom is from, with my family. I needed more reading material, so I picked up some English-language books. They’d been produced by Penguin U.K. This was how I ended up reading the prequels to the very famous and award-winning Mists of Avalon before I read Mists itself. Which is, I guess, how book series are supposed to be read?

The funny thing was that since the covers are so different between there and here, I didn’t connect the prequels with Mists until much later. And – heresy, I know – I remember liking them better.

I’ve been interested in mythology and legends since I was a kid, especially Greek and Roman mythology. I’d read The Once and Future King as part of a summer reading assignment in high school and later a translated version of Le Morte d’Arthur. Mary Stewart made a bridge between ancient mythologies and Arthurian legend with her Crystal Cave series, as did Stephen Lawhead with his Pendragon Cycle (I didn’t get too far in those – his Merlin was too Christian for my taste). So I was familiar with the legends and their modern reinterpretations, but let’s be honest, with some notable exceptions, the women tend to get an unfair/bad rap. They’re portrayed as helpless bystanders, betrayers, witches, or – in the case of Guinevere – all of the above, depending on who you’re reading.

Poor Guinevere. I may tackle her next. But the character who always fascinated me the most was Morgan le Fay. Was she a witch? A temptress? An unlucky pawn in a cosmic/political game? So when I returned to the King Arthur legend in Web of Truth, I decided to redeem her. Or at least give her more agency, some kickass skills, and family issues. I realized as I was writing that the version of the Arthurian legend I was going from most closely resembled the one in the Mists of Avalon, although my story is in no way connected to that franchise.

In my version, Morgan, after having survived as a traveling witch and gradually regaining some measure of fortune post-Camelot disaster, indentures herself in the eleventh century to the Fae queen out of boredom and interest in the queen’s right-hand man Elric. She has to complete ten bounties, and as the story opens, Elric brings her the tenth, which should be easy. It’s a fledgling vampire…

…named Philippe. Yes, this is Philippe from Truth Seeker. You finally get to see what happened to him. Poor guy. Merlin’s an ass.

As for my real-life connection, the story is mostly set in Decatur again with some forays into the Collective Unconscious and the land of the Fae, which is a parallel dimension to ours. Maggie, Morgan, and Philippe end up in Avondale Estates at one point, in the woods behind the lake. As you can see, it’s a beautiful area and is on one of my regular running routes. It’s not such a stretch to imagine magical shenanigans there, is it?

Of all the heroines I’ve written, Morgan is right up there in the “most fun” category along with Lonna from Long Shadows. She’s a smartass, covers her insecurity with prickliness, and doesn’t want to have to deal with dear old Aunt Maggie. Too bad Maggie is the only one who can help her out of her current predicament. Exploring the family relationship and helping them – do I sound too much like a psychologist? – move past their old wounds.

Yeah, sometimes my two professions do blur. Oh, well, it keeps life and my writing fun.

You can learn more about Web of Truth here.

Or you can grab it on Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other retailers.

What is your favorite Arthurian legend retelling? Please let me know in the comments.