Society Author Spotlight
Cynthia Breeding

This month we are profiling one of our newest authors to join The Society. I recently sat down with Cynthia Breeding and discussed her novel Camelot's Destiny, the powerful but tragic love story of Arthur and Gwenhwyfar, and whats coming next.

Following the interview, answer the trivia question and you could win a signed copy of Cynthia's novel Camelot's Destiny.

1. TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF:

I live on Corpus Christi Bay in Texas with my Bichon Frise, Nicki, who rules the place. She quite accepts being spoiled as her queenlyl due. (Garfield, move over.)

Growing up in Minnesota, subject to months of snow and ice, makes me appreciate our warm winters here. But when I'm sweltering in 110 degree heat indexes in the summer, those northern climes sound really good.

I have the privilege of watching sunrises and moonwashes over the ever changing mood of the water. I don't think I'll ever get tired of watching pelicans crash or dolphins suddenly surface and roll over for a look at me standing on the pier. Being a Scorpio, water is my element and I really do draw inspiration by listening to the waves crashing against the seawall. Crazy as it sounds, I like to take vacations near other bodies of water..Hawaii, Caribbean, the north shore of Lake Superior...

And I love to imagine sailing the high seas in a tall ship...back to more romantic times than our present day world offers.

2. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ROMANCE TIME PERIOD?

My favorite time period is Medieval. Although the reality of life in the Middle Ages was hard, the idea that knights were honor-bound to uphold a Code of Chivalry and women were nigh-worshipped as such has a very romantic appeal. (I still don't mind at all when a man opens a door and steps back to let me proceed through ahead of him!!! Or holds my coat... Or kisses my hand instead of shaking it...)

3. IN AN ERA WHERE ROMANCES ARE A TIDY NEAT PACKAGE WITH A VIRGINAL HEROINE...WHY WOULD YOU WRITE A ROMANCE ABOUT ARTHUR AND GWENHWYFAR?

The Arthurian legends have always intrigued me, yet so often, Gwenhwyfar is seen as the adulteress who brought down the Round Table and Lancelot is either seen as a hapless, guilt-ridden victim or as an arrogant usurper. I wanted to tell the story from the perspective of a woman who is really torn between two men that she loves--one for his ideals and beliefs in unity and peace and the other for the karmic passion that makes them destined for each other. I took the liberty of giving Arthur a romantic interest in the priestess, Nimue, and siring a daughter by her to balance the scales a bit. (In reality, a Dark Age king as powerful as Arthur was would probably have a bevy of concubines at his disposal and it would be the queen who would have to ignore that fact.)

4. WHO WERE YOUR INFLUENCES FOR YOUR VISION OF ARTHUR, GWENHWYFAR, NIMUE AND LANCELOT FOR HISTORICAL ACCURACY AND AS A WRITER?

Historically, I spent several years reading non-fictional theories of the existence of Arthur and his compatriots. Most significantly, I was influenced by Chris Barber/David Pykitt: Journey to Avalon; Norma Lorre Goodrich: King Arthur, Guinevere; P.F.J. Turner: The Real King Arthur, Volumes I and II; and Phyllis Ann Karr’s The Arthurian Companion.

As a writer, I followed Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur for the basic storyline. Tennyson's story of Elaine of Astolat, who pines away for Lancelot, has always interested me and in Chapter 13 of my book, I write my version of "the lily maid".

I wanted my characters to be very real people whose passions were not hidden behind bedroom doors with only allusions as to what takes place. I also wanted their conflicts to be things to which readers could relate. Wayward sons, scheming relatives, torn responsibilities between duty and passion...

I also have great respect for more modern writers such as Nancy McKenzie, Sharan Newman, Rosalind Miles and, of course, Marion Zimmer-Bradley. The Mists of Avalon is one of my all-time favorites.

By the way, there really IS a Lancelot who influenced me.

5. WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND (DO YOU READ LATIN/ANGLO-SAXON?)

I don't read Latin, but the more research I did, the more I realized how much of our language is derived from it. The Roman place names came from researching Roman Britain, before Arthur's time. The Welsh personal names were gleaned from several sources, both fictional and non-fictional. I even bought a Welsh tape so I could listen to the cadence of the language. Very difficult to imitate!

I taught high school English for fifteen years and the Arthurian legends are covered at the sophomore level, so I was able to teach a unit on something I thoroughly loved.

6. WHICH ROMANCE AUTHORS DO YOU LIKE TO READ?

Tough question. I am an avid reader and I like everything from historical to time-travel and paranormal. Angela Knight has an interesting "Arthurian twist" to her erotic paranormals. Kinley MacGregor and Hannah Howell are favorites and I love Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series, although the jury's still out on her new Fever books. Among more recent "newbies" are Deborah Macgillivray, Jackie Ivie, and Joy Nash.

7. WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES? DO YOU FOLLOW ANY RITUALS WHILE WRITING?

My (deceased) husband and I owned sailboats for fifteen years and did some Intra-coastal cruising. More recently, we had taken to the earth roads in an RV. I love horseback riding and long walks on winter beaches that are deserted.

Rituals? My routine is that I try to get chores/errands out of the way in the mornings, eat an early lunch and then use the afternoon to write. (I am not an early morning person and barely coherent before 10 am and then only after several cups of coffee).

One thing I do is wear high heels while I’m writing. Strange as it sounds, it helps my posture and keeps my back and shoulders from tightening up!

8. FROM IDYLLS OF THE KING (ALFRED, LORD TENNYSON), WHICH POEM IS YOUR FAVORITE?

This one is easy. Lancelot and Elaine, even though it does portray Guinevere as jealous and spoiled. (Now if only Lancelot had given her those diamonds he’d won for the past eight years instead of waiting for the biggest and last diamond...)

I really like Tennyson's other version of the Lancelot and Elaine story which is found in his shorter poem, "The Lady of Shalott".

9. WILL YOUR NEXT NOVEL BE SET IN THE SAME TIME PERIOD AND CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT IT?

The next novel, My Noble Knight, is due out in June and is set in the same time period, but the location is Scotland. It has an Arthurian twist. The heroine, Deidre of the Languedoc, arrives in 6th century Scotland at Beltane, in search of the Philosopher's Stone that an old magician has stolen from her priestess mother. In its place, the old mage left a book called Locus Vocare Camulodunum (A Place Called Camelot), which fills young Deidre's head with visions of chivalric knights. So, in addition to searching for the Stone, she also hopes to find a noble knight in the Isle of the Mighty. When the tall, dark-haired Gilead Mac Oengus saves her from near rape on that Beltane night, she's sure she's found her man. But Gilead has his own agenda, which doesn't include allowing any woman to get close to him emotionally. An excerpt can be read on my website: www.cynthiabreeding.com

10. WOULD YOU CONSIDER WRITING A NOVEL ABOUT CASSANDRA FROM THE TROJAN WAR OR ABOUT SCHERIZADE (ONE THOUSAND AND ONE ARABIAN NIGHTS)

The Trojan War era always conjures romantic ideas about what men will do for the love of a woman. Cassandra, as a prophetess, is certainly one of the stronger women of that period, but I would really have to do a whole lot of research to get comfortable going that far back in time and trying to make it real.

Scherizade's story lends itself to possibilities...either keeping it in its original Persian setting or updating it a little. Basically, it would be a story of a woman's will to survive and her cunningness in persuading the man that it was all his doing. The hero would almost have to be an anti-hero for a large part of the story, though, which might be a hard sell. Food for thought, though...