Greetings lovely ones—

So much going on I can’t even make one blog post about one thing! In the interest of your time, here are the links, then we’ll have more detail below.

Book 6 author interview – on the Children of Arthur blog

Book 6 is on Kindle Unlimited – Read it for free if you’re on KU

King Arthur Basics article – A new article for the total newbie to King Arthur

And now more detail:

Book 6 author interview

First and most exciting is an interview focusing on Book 6 with fellow Arthurian author Tyler Tichelaar. This is a good and very in-depth interview that gets into the nuts and bolts of interpreting the centuries-old legend while maintaining fidelity. Here’s a sample:

Tyler: Do you ever feel too constricted or limited in your writing by having to stick so closely to the legend? Does it become somewhat tedious to write as a result, or do you feel you have enough leniency to deviate and make up your own interpretations?

Scott: Actually, I love it! That has been the gift that keeps on giving, because the original Arthurian legends stand up to it and continue to reveal new depths as you investigate further. It also makes it interesting and like a puzzle for me to look at what we know and don’t know and think of a way to make it work.

For example, all we know about Ulfius is that he was Uther’s friend and ended up arranging Uther’s marriage to Arthur’s mother Igraine, and that later he accuses Igraine of being false. So, it becomes a game to think of what his character might be like, based on the few things we know and what kind of story might make sense and feel honest between the plot points. So, I have to create a character that will work within those strictures, and that is a fun challenge.

The downside is, as people say, “we all know the plot,” and knowing that if I am sticking to the legend, a certain number of people will know what is coming. That hinders the amount of surprise I can offer, but on the other hand, I also think about new readers who do not know the Arthurian legend and might discover it through my books. So, they may have heard about the sword in the stone, for instance, but don’t know the entire story that brought us to that point. So far, each novel has presented its own challenges and has its own focus and tone, so that keeps me interested. It is far from tedious, for sure!

Go to the interview > > > 

Book 6 is on Kindle Unlimited

If you have Kindle Unlimited, you can read Book 6 for free. If one of your friends you have been trying to start the series has Kindle Unlimited, they can read for free. There are few on ramps to the series since it is so dense and based on accumulated history, so I am advising people that they can start at Book 6 with relative ease, since it begins the story of Arthur’s reign, makes a pretty good self-contained adventure, and there won’t be too much confusion for those new to the series. 

Find Book 6 on Kindle Unlimited > > >

King Arthur: The Basics article

I am in the process of sprucing up the website for The Swithen, which is in pretty desperate need of some loving attention. I am going to re-organize it to focus more on resources for readers of the novels, like character lists and insights about the books and Arthurian legend, and one of the first things to do is revamp some of the stale articles. This one is a basic orientation to King Arthur for the total newbie, which can still be interesting to read if you already know it all. 

Read King Arthur: The Basics > > >

Thanks so much for supporting the book series! Feel free to let me know anything else you’d like to see.