October Writing and November Plans

[osprey_archer]

Obviously the main writing news this month is that I published A Garter as a Lesser Gift! Still tossing around the idea of a Lancelot/Guinevere/Arthur World War II OT3… My latest thought is “What if Gwen works for the SOE and she helps get Lancelot out of France after his plane goes down?” Further thought, what if she works for the SOE Sorceress Division, coworkers include Morgan La Fay and Nimue? Might have to do a bit of research on the SOE, but then again Arthurian SOE may have the same extremely loose relationship to fact as Arthurian RAF.

Anyway, as a result of trauma and also Fate Gwen and Lancelot fall into each other’s arms after this, cheating angst (I’m afraid with this particular OT3 cheating angst is inevitable), BUT eventually they figure it out, in part because the cheating angst is 100% in Gwen and especially Lancelot’s heads? Art is fine with it. Art is fine with everything. Art loves them both so much and just wants them to be happy and if they want him to bow out so they can go live in a cottage in the Cotswolds–

Gwen and Lancelot: NO! We love you! We would die without you!

However this perhaps needs more time to marinate and in the meantime you will be SHOCKED to hear that I’m at it again with Sleeping Beauty, now tentatively entitled The Sleeping Soldier, now also enriched with chapters in Russell POV, which I like to imagine will make the book work but who even knows anymore? Faith is not the absence of doubt, but the will to keep on trying despite very good reasons to doubt…

Comments

[troisoiseaux]

My latest thought is “What if Gwen works for the SOE and she helps get Lancelot out of France after his plane goes down?” Further thought, what if she works for the SOE Sorceress Division, coworkers include Morgan La Fay and Nimue? Might have to do a bit of research on the SOE, but then again Arthurian SOE may have the same extremely loose relationship to fact as Arthurian RAF.

YESSSSSSSSSSS, GOOD.

Art loves them both so much and just wants them to be happy and if they want him to bow out so they can go live in a cottage in the Cotswolds–

Gwen and Lancelot: NO! We love you! We would die without you!

YES, ALSO GOOD.

(Did you ever end up listening to High Noon Over Camelot, by the way? The songs are a bit hit-or-miss but in one of them Lancelot has "Guinevere, you’re my stars; Arthur, you’re my night" as a lyric which is just !!!)

Good luck on The Sleeping Soldier!!

[osprey_archer]

Merlin is the head of the SOE magic division. He is elderly and apparently dotty but in fact knows absolutely everything that goes on.

Replying slightly late to this comment bc I took the opportunity to listen to High Noon over Camelot! They may have made the ending EVEN DARKER which is a lot given how much death there is in the orignal ending... but now Mordred is killing THE WHOLE STATION.

[troisoiseaux]

Merlin is the head of the SOE magic division. He is elderly and apparently dotty but in fact knows absolutely everything that goes on.

YES. GOOD. INCREDIBLE.

[osprey_archer]

I realize that I already basically wrote this character as Daniel's boss Mr. Gilman in Honeytrap, but never mind! Everyone loves the apparently dotty boss who actually knows everything!

[asakiyume]

I love your definition of faith! Is that original with you or something you picked up somewhere?

I like the touch of Morgan Le Fay and Nimue working with Gwen.

[osprey_archer]

The wording is mine but the sentiment is almost certainly cribbed from someone.

Gwen was perhaps recruited by her sister-in-law Morgan? Will have to consider this more. Have already run roughshod over most of the traditional Arthurian familial relationships (Gawain is not Arthur's nephew, for instance) so maybe shouldn't bring that angle into it.

[kore]

ART. Art loves both of them! He knows they love each other too!

[osprey_archer]

"Art is the only sensible person in this love triangle" is a surprisingly common interpretation! T. H. White goes for it and so does Mary Stewart. Guinevere and Lancelot (a.k.a. Bedivere) may angst but Arthur is like "Whatever."

Except in Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset where he absolutely loses his shit, but Artos is Very Troubled in that adaptation anyway.

[landingtree]

New subscriber waves hello! I've been seeing skygiants enthuse about your books for a while now, but only just discovered you had a Dreamwidth also.

[osprey_archer]

Oh hello! Nice to meet you! Yes, I have been on LJ and then Dreamwidth since what feels like the dawn of time, essentially, and will probably be here till the internet shuts down.

[kore]

When the last living thing is gone from DW, we'll....punch out the person trying to put the chairs on the tables, turn off the lights and lock up! SOB.

(People I know on Twitter are recommending Mastodon. No.)

[kore]

I just bought Garter and REALLY enjoyed it. I would totally be down for an OT3 sequel!

Loved the bit at the end where they all have (SPOILER) altho I have read too many folktales so I kept expecting the (SPOILER) protection to have some loophole, lol.

[osprey_archer]

I'm assuming that you're talking about the garter? TBH I think the loophole is "this is a 100% normal garter that won't protect you from anything," as evidenced by the fact that Gawain got shot while wearing it.

[kore]

Yes! The garter.

AHAHAH right. But it was only a graze! A love nip (from a bullet)!

[rachelmanija]

“What if Gwen works for the SOE and she helps get Lancelot out of France after his plane goes down?”

YES PLEASE.

[osprey_archer]

I'm contemplating what to do with the whole "end of Camelot" theme that is such a keynote of the love triangle... Is it necessary for the love triangle to cause the fall of Camelot, or could I just use the natural and inevitable break-up of the squadron when the war ends?