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| Tristan and Iseult |
Throughout April I have invited 26 authors who had been selected as Editor's Choice by the Historical Novel Society Indie Reviews
to help me out with the 2016 A-Z Blog Challenge...
Except to be a little different I interviewed
their leading Character/s...
Today's Character is
from :
HH : Hello!
I believe you exist in JD Smith’s novel
– what is the title of the book, and would you like to introduce yourself - who
you are, what you do etc?
I am
Iseult, daughter of a King of Ireland, mother of a Queen, a woman of the blood.
HH : Where and when are you? Are you a real
historical person or did your author create you?
It is the
6th century and the Romans have been gone from Briton for more than a
hundred years. Now is the time of the Saxon invasion. They have yet to take the
whole of Britain and tread the shores of my homeland, of Ireland, but in time
they will I am sure. I am a legend, breathed upon pages of history. And I
lived.
HH. In a
few brief sentences: what is the novel you feature in about?
It is
about my heart and the hearts of men. It tells of the future I might have had,
married to the man who murdered my father, and of the life I would lead
instead. It tells of how hearts are made and broken, how they suffer the test
of time, and how, no matter what, we must stand by our promises and oaths and
the words we have sworn in blood.
HH : I ‘met’ my pirate, Jesamiah Acorne on a beach
in Dorset, England - how did your author
meet up with you?
My name
and my tale have littered the pages of history, my story told in poems and
opera. I have featured in many stories because I am real and because I am
legend. I inspired Master Shakespeare to write of Romeo and Juliet, because I
have known the very truth and nature of that which we hold so dear; of love.
HH : Tell
me about one or two of the other characters who feature with you - husband,
wife, family? Who are some of the nice characters and who is the nastiest one?
To
breathe his name is to breathe life into an old dream, bringing to the surface what
was lost and could not be found. Tristan and my love, my light, my future. He
is the man who captured my heart the day I landed on the shores of Cornwall.
And Mark is the man who protected me, saved me, cared for me. They are two men
I cannot forget. They are not like Morholt, who would have married me for my
name and my blood and the legitimacy I could give him.
HH : What
is your favourite scene in the book?
The day I
discover the truth. The day I know what it is to find your world falling away
beneath your feet. The day the waiting began.
HH : What
is your least favourite? Maybe a frightening or sad moment that your author
wrote.
The story
told in my love’s voice. Words of hurt and anger and fear. Words he spoke to
protect us all.
HH : What
are you most proud of about your author?
To tell
my tale as others have not. With truth and honesty and a voice that is my own.
To not shy from what passed and to never glorify the simplicity of what me and
my fellow characters felt.
 |
| My Lady Scribe |
HH : Has
your author written other books about
you? If not, about other characters?
How do
you feel about your author going off with someone else!
My tale
is one that has no sequel, no second story, no life beyond the end. My author
now tells the tale of another woman, one bound by the love of her country and
her ambition, and not that of a man. She writes of a woman who is so different
to me, so much stronger and decisive and effective. I wish I could meet her,
but Zenobia is 300 years before my time. She is Syria’s Boudicca.
HH : As a
character if you could travel to a time and place different to your own
fictional setting where and when would
you go?
[Sighs]
To Ireland, perhaps. Back to my mother and my uncles in the north. Who knows? I
find I have no place in the world, not truly. No home to call my own. I have
heard travellers speak of Brittany, across the other water, and perhaps I
should visit there some day.
Thank you
that was really interesting!
Now where
can readers of this A-Z Blog Challenge find out more about you and your author?
Website
www.jdsmith-author.co.uk
Facebook
www.facebook.com/jdsmith-author
Twitter
@jdsmith_design
Buy on Amazon myBook.to/tristanandiseultamazon
Here is the company we will be
keeping on this
A-Z Blog Challenge!
APRIL
A 1st Friday
- Aurelia - Alison Morton
B 2nd Saturday - Bloodie Bones - Lucienne Boyce
C 4th
Monday - Man in the Canary Waistcoat Susan Grossey
D 5th
Tuesday - Dubh-Linn - James Nelson
E 6th
Wednesday - Evergreen In Red And White - Steven Kay
F 7th
Thursday - Fortune’s Fool- David Blixt
G 8th
Friday - Gift For The Magus - Linda Proud
H 9th
Saturday - The Love Letter of John Henry Holliday) - Mary Fancher
I 11th
Monday - In Liberty’s Wake - Alexandra Norland
J 12th
Tuesday - Jacobites' Apprentice - Dave McCall
K 13th
Wednesday - Khamsin- Inge Borg
L 14th
Thursday - Luck Bringer - Nick Brown
M 15th
Friday - Murderat Cirey - Cheryl Sawyer
O 18th
Monday - Out
Of Time - Loretta Livingstone
P 19th
Tuesday - Pirate Code - Helen Hollick
Q 20th
Wednesday - To Be A Queen – Annie Whitehead
R 21st
Thursday - The Spirit Room - Marschel Paul
S 22nd
Friday - Sower Of The Seeds Of Dreams - Bill Page
T 23rd
Saturday -Tristan & Iseult - Jane Dixon Smith
U 25th
Monday - A Just And Upright Man - John Lynch
V 26th
Tuesday - Victoria Blake – Far Away
W 27th
Wednesday - When Sorrows Come - Maria Dziedzan
X 28th
Thursday – The FlaX flower – AmandaMaclean
Y 29th
Friday - Young, Josa - Sail upon The Land
Z 30th
Saturday OZgur Sahin The Wrath of Brotherhood
So call back tomorrow
To meet the next exciting Character!
(unless it is Sunday - in which case, I'll have something different
but just as interesting !)
but just as interesting !)
JD, that was a big ask, taking on the story of Isolde. I have a friend named Isolde, whose father was a German speaker, so that's the way I always think of the name. She writes historical romances! The 'voice' you've chosen for Iseult is mysterious and compelling. And at last someone is writing about Zenobia! I've always been fascinated by her and have read a great deal about her--but there's still not enough good scholarship about this empress and her times. And you're so lucky to know already which portrait to use on your cover -- the brilliant painting of Zenobia in chains by Herbert Gustave Schmalz. I think that painting alone was enough to make me want to write about her --but I don't think I'm ready to tackle ancient historical subjects just yet ... All the best with your atmospheric evocations of the past.
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by Cheryl!
DeleteJD, oops, just reread the interview and noticed the three Zenobia covers. I didn't realise you had already published at least one of the trilogy, right? Looking forward to reading it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments, Cheryl. I'm really glad you find Iseult's voice mysterious and compelling. I've published three books in the Overlord series so far, chronicling the life of Zenobia, with the fourth due out later this year. You are right that there is not enough information about Zenobia out there. Very little is known about her life and Syria at that time, but I've certainly attempted to incorporate as much as I could find.
DeleteI just loved this book... so well-narrated!
ReplyDeleteanother one on my huge TBR pile!
DeleteThank you, Liza.
DeleteWho can resist such legendary, immortal love? (Not this Wagner fan for certain.) But, "no life beyond the end" will surely disappoint your readers...well, they'll just have to go on to your next award-winning novel, as I am sure they will.
ReplyDeleteThe lovely thing about these two 'legends' is that they DO go on... in the world of story, characters live for ever....
DeleteToo right, Helen. Thank you for your comments, Inge. I always felt compelled to write about the story of Tristan and Iseult because I found so much of it to be true to life regardless of the decade. I think it's timeless.
DeleteIt's fascinating how some stories, especially love stories, have such a force to them. I didn't know this story influenced Romeo and Juliet.
ReplyDeleteI so agree - they stand the test of time so well!
DeleteIt's certainly rumoured to have inspired Shakespeare, and he would have been familiar with the French poetry telling of the legend, so I think it's rather likely.
DeleteAhem, all sounds a bit mushy to me, and not a football in sight :-)
ReplyDelete*laugh* I wonder if Tristan ever kicked a filled pig's bladder around when he was a lad?
DeleteI reckon he probably did. If I ever do a rewrite I'll add that!! Thanks for your comment, Steven. I actually wrote a dedication to my eldest son which goes: For Marcus, a great reader, who one day may read this. Rest assured that, although it is a story of love, it also has swords - I think my Overlord series might suit your better, Steven. It's less lovey :-)
DeleteSorry I'm late to the party - I was away for a couple of days and then felt a bit ill on my return. A very interesting read, Jane.
ReplyDelete