The Faces of Queen of None
Here’s a little family tree primer:
Anna Pendragon is our heroine and narrator. She’s the sister of Arthur. Gweyn is Arthur’s wife.
Together with her first husband, Lot, Anna had Gawain (also Gaheris and Gareth, but they come later). While Arthur is her full brother, she also has three half-sisters: Elaine (not pictured), Morgen, and Margawse. Bedevere is Arthur’s right-hand man, and also Anna’s old paramour. Vyvian is her aunt. Merlin and Lanceloch, well, they aren’t directly related, and too much about them might make some spoilers.
QUEEN OF FURY is Available Everywhere!
Yes, yes. I’m aware this was news last week, but I’ve been traveling for the holidays and then traveling for work, and I really haven’t had a moment other than to shoot off various social media posts. (Also, BlueSky is awesome. If you’re not already following me there, please do!) Queen of Fury was written, mostly, in 2021, but then had a rather unconventional little trip afterward, wherein I didn’t think the story would ever see the light of day. When the series was acquired by Solaris Books in 2023, that meant that the book wouldn’t be out for another (nearly) two years. Which was fine. I had plenty of work to do on Queen of Mercy, and soon, all the Netherford books. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, this book forever changed me. Every book is special, of course, but something in the story of Hwyfar’s rage and Gawain’s redemption really shifted and healed a part of me. I suppose all my books do that, of course, but through so much of drafting this book it felt like I was just furiously taking notes as these two just showed me their story and their adventures. I remember most of the summer of 2021 mainlining Garmarna and Wardruna, just lost in the tale. And that certainly doesn’t happen with every book. Readers have, amazingly, also fallen in love with these two. And that brings me such joy. What is even cooler is the audiobook, which is performed by Lucy Rayner and Philip Battley. Hearing them bring each of these characters to life in such a beautiful way left me in tears multiple times. There may be nothing cooler in all my career than getting to hear my stories told back to me via the incredibly talented voice actors I’ve been lucky enough to work with. Your local bookstore or Bookshop.org are always my preferred places for purchase, but you can find Queen of Fury just about everywhere!
Thread Talk | Cloaks and Capes
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantle_(clothing) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloak https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaperon_(headgear) MICKLEWRIGHT, NANCY. “CLOTHES MAKE THE MAN.” Ars Orientalis 47 (2017): 6–17. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45238929. KARL, BARBARA. “EARLY MODERN EUROPEAN COURT FASHION GOES GLOBAL: Embroidered Spanish Capes from Bengal.” Ars Orientalis 47 (2017): 69–90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/45238932. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupinambá_cape https://huntington.org/verso/stunning-and-sacred-cape How Paris Became Paris – Joan DeJean –https://www.amazon.com/How-Paris-Became-Invention-Modern/dp/162040768X
Queen of Fury Review Round-up!
Somehow, inexplicably, it is almost December and Queen of Fury is one week out from publication. I have so very many feelings about this book, this series, and this relationship in particular, but the biggest joy/relief is to see how many people are just enjoying and really getting the story. This book took a long time to get here, and there was a whole period where I thought Hwyfar and Gawain’s story might never come to be. But now we’re here. And it’s nearly Christmas, which is exciting because Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is, technically, a Christmas tale. The timing is lovely. Booklist comes first, and they said: “Barron’s delightful reinterpretation of Arthurian legends continues, embracing different perspectives to provide new insights.” Over at Fantasy Hive, the review is truly one of the most impressively comprehensive I’ve ever had. I particularly appreciate how review T.O. Monroe used pull quotes to illustrate points and add a little flavor to the review. Hwyfar and Gawain seem to be winning people over with their snark and charm and romance, and I love that so much. And readers. READERS! I have a few folks live-DMing me as they’re reading ARCs, which have resulted in conversations like this one: Then, there’s the lovely BlueSky reader who said it was one of the best romances she’s read in a long time (WOW!) or these amazing reviews currently on Goodreads. I don’t get bogged down in reviews, truly. I know who I’m writing for, and there are folks that are just never going to get what I’m doing. And that’s totally fine. But seeing people connect with this story in this way is just the best feeling ever. Here are some choice Goodreads reviews if you’re feeling the vibe. If you want to get in the mood, here’s some music that is either 100% the vibe or I listened to on repeat while writing the book.
Thread Talk | Rhapsody in Blue
Bibliography: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isatis_tinctoria https://gwtoday.gwu.edu/gw-researcher-identifies-oldest-textile-dyed-indigo#:~:text=The indigo-blue cloth found,to be 6%2C200 years old.&text=If it weren’t for,jeans as a wardrobe staple. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/17/colour-blue-rich-divine-ancient-egyptians-virgin-mary https://www.jstor.org/stable/4255151?searchText=blue+dye&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dblue%2Bdye%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A90e7d5ec7ef715158152fdf9ff9d6eff https://www.jstor.org/stable/24097672?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents https://www.jstor.org/stable/277679?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctv1f8853c.12?searchText=blue+pigment&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3Dblue%2Bpigment%26so%3Drel&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A9a9dda4b3dcc2dc4a078b1b95c09a7de https://www.jstor.org/stable/24760385?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents https://www.jstor.org/stable/42616178?read-now=1#page_scan_tab_contents Blue gauntlets – 1690–1710 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/157532 Robe a la francais – 1765 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/83094 Corset – 1770 https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/48635/corset?ctx=6e39d3035e674c37cd695909636d7d827cbb650d&idx=21 Man’s pants – 1840 https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/96500/mans-pants?ctx=f75ca6631e0bd3e5911dfb111747e42cf33958c7&idx=68 Women’s jacket – 1850 https://fashionmuseum.fitnyc.edu/objects/97239/jacket?ctx=15129086ecc433eb395bd34f50762b53243ce21e&idx=80 1400-1500 – Towel https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15355/towel-unknown late 14th century | Tartan Velvet https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O109657/textile-fragment-unknown Mantle – Spanish – 1804-07 https://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/80029364?img=0 Suit – French – 1740s https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/84428 Banyan – Chinese – 1760 – 1770 https://www.metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/80077351?img=1 Blue silk brocade bodice – 1750 – 1770 https://augusta-auction.com/list-of-past-auctions-by-date/auction?view=lot&id=10611&auction_file_id=22 Women’s working clothes – late 19th century – China https://collections.mfa.org/objects/8048/womans-domestic-semiformal-robe-pao?ctx=5e0f233a-8cd8-4690-8857-80b90105af3b&idx=5 Women’s tunic – 19th century https://collections.mfa.org/objects/73417/womans-tunic?ctx=d91a2cda-827a-4ed3-88fc-2683c9f4eb52&idx=347 Child’s tunic with ducks – 6th century Egypt https://collections.mfa.org/objects/70038/childs-tunic-with-ducks?ctx=47c0b6b8-1b7f-4bf8-802e-9c03ce625140&idx=51 1869 Daydress 1881 – Loesser Gown https://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/158972?&imgNo=1&tabName=gallery-label 1881 – Velvet Dress https://www.mdhistory.org/resources/dress-58 Wadded Coat – Netherlands – 1820 https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/BK-16000 Aniline Blue Dress – 1910 https://www.mdhistory.org/resources/dress-25 1868 Dress – https://www.mdhistory.org/resources/dress-30
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A quick one while I’m away… 2012 to 2013
Presenting The Portraits of Fate: Anna Pendragon and Sir Bedevere, Art by Mae Morrison
