To this day, Alinor and Tristan de Clare remain my
favorite characters I have created. They are as much a part of my life as any “real”
person I know.
It’s hard to explain the love of a fictional character
that was born in your head. They are your children. So, I think I’ll talk about
the birth process.
At the time I was recovering from a terrible
illness, and 2 bypass surgeries - one in each leg. It had actually been years
of remarkable pain that prevented me from sitting
at my computer for more than a few minutes to check my email. Then, one morning
in January of 2013, there was no pain as I sat in my computer chair! ‘I think I’ll
write a letter.’ I opened up my word program and instead of “Dear…”, I typed:
Beaumont Palace, Oxford England
April 22, 1213
A low, slow, drizzling rain blanketed the
countryside, deepening the shadows while giving that misty appearance that did
little to improve his mood. It was good to be back in England again, the home
he had dreamed of for the last eighteen months. It had been much longer since
he last set foot on English soil, having lived in Normandy for three years prior to his captivity.
Home, what a foreign word these days, even the joy
of being here had been dampened by the ache in his bones and the throbbing pain
in his side. Eighteen miserable months languishing in France serving as a
kinsmen hostage to King Philip II, left him depleted of the hard earned
confidence from his knights training. All at the whim of his own King John.
John had caused his own problems, fighting with Pope Innocence, and expecting
his subjects to bear the cost. Be it money, lands, freedom, or standing, King
John took it as his due. Standing outside the palace, Tristan de Clare leaned
against the cold, wet stone of the gate,
delaying as best he could the moment when he would once again face his liege
lord. His own personal freedom being too new to be thrust aside as the king
willed.
Tristan doubted that he had won any favor through
his sacrifice. More the like, he had been made a permanent target. Pushing his
six-foot body away from the wall, he began the long walk to where King John
awaited his return. A person who took notice of the thin, gaunt man slowly
working his way through the throng of people would see a deep sadness that
filled those dark blue eyes. A living testament to the hell he had been put
through. His dark brown hair was matted and scraggly, dripping with rain, a
thoroughly miserable image. A lesser son, he had lost his lands in Normandy,
and all because of a greedy, foolish king.
There were no plans for a book in my head, especially
since I had been trapped in ‘Writers’ Block World’ for more than 30 years. I
sat back to read it, and I liked it. A lot. Had I not still been recovering
from surgery, I would have jumped up to do a happy dance. From then on I spent
as much time as I could tolerate at the keyboard.
As a writer, I do not work from an outline or a
pre-planned sequence of events, I just write whatever comes into my head. My
great love of history and genealogy influences my writing tremendously.
Remembering my 24th Great Grandfather,
Richard de Clare, the book evolved around the struggle he faced with King John
and the document that eventually became the Magna Cara.
I wanted Alinor to be a strong woman who took
control of her life in the only way available to her in 1213 England. She is
the bastard born daughter of Lord Hugh de Bertram and takes back that name when
her husband died. Her first marriage was arranged when she was 11, by her hateful
stepmother, to Ranulf de Bridge, a man
who was old enough to be her grandfather. Ranulf
was in a word, a pig. A cruel drunkard who gave his child bride a life of pain and
terror paid little attention to the
welfare of Bridge. He wasn’t a good lord to his land and people, using the
rents and revenues to drink and gamble. From necessity, along with a need to
heal her body and spirit, Alinor takes over the management of Bridge, building up
the home crops and secretly increasing the earnings of Bridge.
Her dower land, Sunnid, was located next to Bridge
and Alinor began to slowly buy the land adjoining it until Sunnid owned all of
the valley it was located in.
By her intellect, business acumen, and building
her life in remarkably secret ways, she built Sunnid into a haven for those who
were broken in one way or another. For 20 years she managed to build a very
wealthy and self-sustaining estate with various merchandise lines, beginning with
the wonderful honey from their hives, later adding ceramics, woolen goods, including
the clothing they produced and other cottage industries. She and the people of
Sunnid live well above what most in England were at that time.
Tristan, oh how I love Tristan. Through no fault
of his own, he became the bitter enemy of King John, fed by the King’s jealousy. Year’s before, King Richard had
awarded land in Normandy to Tristan’s father, Devon de Clare, as a boon for his
service and Richard’s love for his friend. Prince John was enraged by this,
believing that the land rightfully should have been his.
After the death of his father and older brothers
in the Holy Lands, Tristan inherits the Normandy land. All other properties of Tristan’s
father were swooped up by his grandfather, Richard de Clare, 3rd Earl of
Hertford, 6th Lord of Clare, 6th Lord of
Tonbridge, 5th Lord of Cardigan (c. 1153–1217) (my great+ grandpa) leaving him
only with the Norman land. Tristan’s first wife, Lucille, was forced on him as additional
punishment from John and she did her best to fulfill her job and paid for it with her life.
King John conspires to have his old enemy, King
Philip take Tristan’s property, believing it would be easily taken back when he
invades.
After spending 18 months as a prisoner of King
Philip of France from King John’s machinations, Tristan returns to England a desperately
ill and spiritually broken man. His mind and body weakened, he is taken to
Bridge and wed to Alinor in a ploy to keep
him from marriage into a wealthy and powerful family, and one day having an
heir of his own.
Through it all,
we discover what truly extraordinary people Alinor and Tristan are. Alinor’s
family, the de Bertram are also modeled after my ancestors, as are several
other characters that arrive in the series. Hint: my parents are characters in
these books, and one of my favorite aunts!
All of my books contain at least one ancestor.
Next week: Come in and make yourself at home - Love’s Sweet
Home
Happy reading!
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