After I had finished writing Bound by an Oath I was ready to leave the fifth century behind. I had lived and breathed that period for more than two years at that point, watching every relevant TV show and reading as much as I could, to be sure that I was giving an accurate depiction of Britannia in the 400’s. (As accurate as anyone could, that is, given the paucity of hard evidence.) But much more time would pass before my book would come to be a real, solid, object in a reader’s hands.
The next step was the soul-destroying task of finding an agent or a publisher. It took many months and a LOT of refusals before I found a publisher who was willing to take a risk on a debut author (thank you www.pegasuspublishers.com ), and then it took a very long time after signing the contract until the book was actually on sale. I had no idea it would take so long! At this point in my life, every month that ticks by is a big chunk of the time I have left. To quote Andrew Marvell in his sonnet To His Coy Mistress, “but at my back I always hear Time’s winged chariot hurrying near”. I hear those wings beating daily.
In the meantime, between checking emails for my publisher’s responses and wringing my hands with self-doubt, I began to consider writing a sequel.
I had covered a whole generation in Bound by an Oath, from 412 to 462 which left me with two main options: I could double back in some way and perhaps write similar events from the point of view of a different group of characters, or I could move on in time and develop the characters of the children of Aethelreda. I chose the latter.
After I had made the decision to write a sequel, I found it hard to let go of my main characters. I took a long time to begin to like the new ones. If that sounds strange because the writer is the one in control of character development, I can only remind you of what I have written about the mysterious life of their own that characters can develop!
Aethelreda’s children are as unlike their mother as I am unlike my mother. (And yet, as I get older I find myself identifying more of my mother within me!) Aedisonne, the new king, is rash and ambitious whereas Aethelreda was thoughtful and conciliatory.
I haven’t finished the sequel yet. I have a plot line worked out, but who knows where Aethelreda’s children might lead me before I get to the end! Maybe some of you have some ideas for what should happen?
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