Kings of Legend & Knowledge from Storytelling!

If I knew who painted this I'd gladly put up a credit to the artist! But I don't, and can't, but this image so easily represents a mythical person related to Great Britain, and of more kings who actually existed. 

Isn't it strange how almost everyone in the Western world and ex-colonial states have heard or read of the myth surrounding King Arthur. Was he ever a king? Did he ever exist? And, with every legend there really has to be an element of truth: is that right!?

Given that storytelling in the era Arthur supposedly walked, rode and fought across the wild untamed countryside of England & Wales, it's likely old oral tales told to youngsters over the centuries have deviated from the original, sometimes embellished, sometimes, perhaps, played down. 

The sword in the stone, taken to mean a sword wedged in some dirty great rock. Think about the logistics and reality kind of quashes that theory. But, add a little magic and it all appears quite feasible, and for kids a little added magic makes for a WOW!  Now, if one takes the logical route of iron from the ground (steel) heated, (smelted) and turned into a sword, we have the logic of "sword from the stone".

Getting back to Arthur, how then did he pull the sword from the stone?  Was he a blacksmith?  If he was and the sword, probably not his first but his greatest and worthy of display, boy was he an important man! He had the power of knowledge in how to turn iron into a sword. No doubt he'd fought alongside his fellow men when need arose and knew the power of a fighting tool/weapon, and back in the dark past a nobody-man could become a great leader!

Right, that's Arthur sorted. But no, there's the added myth of the lady in the lake who supposedly seized the sword - when cast into the lake - and there to guard it. A mermaid? Hardly, they belong to myth and legend, too. So what could possibly represent the lady in the lake?

I give you the moon: the lady, the goddess! She who controls the tides, she who sets the calendar of the cycle of a woman's life. She whom caused men - rat-assed on cider - to rake about in a pond in belief it was a floating cheese: The Moonrakers! Ahem, I digress, and another story entirely.

Anyhoo, part of Arthur's legend we've kind of solved, and he makes for a great mythical king, but with every story there's always an element of truth within! Don't most writers/story tellers, draw on personal and second/third-hand experieces whether from own life or that of reading/hearing about others misfortunes and triumphs, and many authors draw inspiration from favourite books. 

Now, that image up top has been tickling my subconscious, and I don't see Arthur, I see Owain Glyndwr, the last "true" Prince of Wales. Man not myth!

This image of Owain Glyndwr's statue copyright BBC Wales.

You can read about Owain Glyndwr here.

     

He being the first warrior prince to set up a parliament!  A real man for sure, a hero, his legacy in defeat to the victor: "how-to" run your country in a democratic way.

Fairy Folk - Fact or Fiction?

Fact or fiction, either way, almost every little girl has at one time or another dreamed of seeing a fairy.

So, how did a Victorian photographer achieve this photographic image?

It stunned people at the time it was taken. Cute, ain't it?

I really posted today to say, although I've quit the A-Z challenge, I'm still visiting blogs as and when.

It really had to be a case of priorities: my WIP beckoned, revisions beckoned, the garden beckoned, and all fell neglected due to the challenge. Yesterday I spent the morning in the garden, bunked off with dog across my own land in the afternoon, and penned 1500 words in the evening.

Pure Inspiration!

Best to all who are blogging on with A-Z ;)



A-Z: D = Daniel Day Lewis!

Today is a special treat for fans of Daniel Day Lewis: the Last of the Mohicans one of my favourite movies!    

 The movie was based on the novel "Last of the Mohicans": A Narrative of 1757 written by James Fenimore Cooper. It was first published in February 1826 - the second book of the "Leatherstocking Tales" pentalogy and the best known. The Pathfinder was published 14 years later in 1840: the sequel.

The story takes place in 1757, during the French and Indian War (the Seven Years' War), when France and Great Britain battled for control of the North American colonies. During this war, the French called on allied Native American tribes to fight against the more numerous British colonists.





Today I'm bowing out of the A-Z challenge, because since day one my present WIP has suffered, and as I have revisions on the go as well, plus the garden is crying out for attention, something has to give. That said,  I'll be slipping back into visiting blogs as normal and posting as and when.  BTW: Clannad are my fav band!

Sorry: this item removed. Better that than have my blog crash!

Before I go: any blogfests going down in May onward let me know and I'll post up your banner.

A-Z = C for Sex Sells!

Most Americans will be familiar with bonkbuster novels written by Jackie Collins, in which she pokes fun at Hollywood's glitterati, tweaks their sparkly bits and mocks their lifestyles.

Whereas, here in the UK, the queen of bonkbuster novels is Jilly Cooper, who shreds the honesty and credibility of the upper-classes (toffs) and mocks the nouveau riche, albeit in a jolly hockey sticks kind of way.  She learned wordsmithing as a journalist and columnist, her background having afforded much knowledge of the upper-classes. She is, though, a lovely person, and a secret fan of Georgette Heyer! 

I simply adored many of her non-fiction works and loved her novels and all available through her new website inclusive extensive backlist: now on Kindle!

The most famous of her bonkbusters started with Riders culminating in a long series of outrageous novels, and the latest that of Jump! 

Besides her bonkbusters, Jilly has penned loads of books inclusive animal related stories.    

  

Anyhoo, if you've never read a Jilly Cooper bonkbuster, you've missed out on saying:

Ooooh . . . really . . . in that position.

OMG, is he for real?

What was she thinking!

You've got to be joking!

WOW! Yikes! I don't believe it!

Grief! Oh no, not him! Why?

And more . . .

Incidentally, if you're considering a new pseudonym you might do well with J and C 

Jackie Collins, her sister Joan Collins and Jilly Cooper all famous.  Tempting, ain't it?

  I'm also at Heroines' with Hearts today talking about writing whilst music on the ether, and emotions stirred by such !

A-Z & B for one of the best writers, ever.

If you’ve never read an H. E. Bates novel,

you’ve missed some of the best novel writing ever.



Born 16^th May 1905, Bates loved writing but life got in the way, until a young girl in a red lined cloak getting out of a carriage at a station inspired the writing of Love for Lydia: a truly sweet story. After many rejections from publishers, he finally cracked it with The Two Sisters, The Seekers, and many more novels alongside his wartime writing: Flying Officer X Stories.

The latter reflected his time in the RAF.  

He’s probably best known to all of us for The Darling Buds of May (TV series), and Fair Stood the Wind for France. But, I urge you to read books such as The Purple Plain and The Jacaranda Tree: both made into movies, and a reflection of his time as a pilot in war torn Burma. His prose, sense of time, place, and emotions of characters are second to none. He was a master wordsmith! His writing career initially proved the path to rank of published author just as rocky back then as we have all found to our cost now, but good luck befell him. His post-war writing received a setback too, and ever the brave he took control of his own destiny. His biography page is here.  



Never, never give up on your writing if you believe in your work as worthy of publication!