I once answered a call for submissions based on ghost stories of my local area. Now, the funny thing with Caithness is: most people seem to believe in - and many people will share stories about how they've witnessed - supernatural happenings around the county. However, there aren't many well-known stories. Of course, there's the standard young-maiden-falling-out-of-castle-window story for at least two of the castles up here, and there's the eerie story of the man whose brother locked him up in Castle Sinclair Girnigoe with no food. Both characters feature in Caithness ghost stories. But it's high time someone actually explored the individual's ghost stories. In fact, that's something I might do, if I ever actually get sufficient time on my hands! Where are the stories which are connected to the "ordinary" buildings? We've been sharing our Stempster Spectres in our monthly newsletters and, believe me, there are plenty of those! A little further...
I remember when I was little, watching a Making Of documentary about Robin of Sherwood. One of the points which the writer made was that each person who retells the Robin Hood legend adds a little something to the story. He introduced the idea of the occult – the Baron de Belleme in particular is a terrifying character – and this later influenced other Robin Hood adaptations, including the character of Mortianna in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves.
You might be surprised to find that this blog is not actually about any version of Robin Hood. In fact, it’s about the TV series Merlin. That’s your recommended viewing for wet days during summer, if we have any rain ever again after this heatwave!
I first came across Merlin when it was released in 2008. It was such a Big Deal that a trailer for the series was shown at the cinema when I went to watch Tropic Thunder with my older sister while living with her in Ipswich. I mostly just remember the dragon and thinking it looked ok.
Something changed between then and 2013, when we became dedicated Merlin fans, just in time to watch the decline and close of the series. I say decline because, once they began to address the traditional stories associated with the legend, I felt the quality of the programme dimmed slightly. You see, the charm of Merlin is in the recreation of a well-known story. Arthur the spoiled brat with a good heart; Merlin the long-suffering dogsbody who is constantly denied his due acknowledgement; Morgana the kind-hearted ward who must face the consequences of a characteristic she cannot help… Not to mention Gaius and Uther, who help to make the story so compelling.
After finishing Merlin, I decided to write my own version of the Arthurian legend, borrowing from the series in places, adapting the traditional legends in others, and – in many cases – introducing my own aspects of the story.
For example, in my own work (currently titled The Promise and the White Sea), I put King Arthur (Artie) into Broughley, the town of my own creation which has such an insanely rich history that it’s a wonder English Heritage don’t just buy out the entire place! Honestly, it must be such an expensive place to live!
I also attempted to make Kaye and Ector more sympathetic characters than they have been depicted during the past century. Perhaps most significantly though, I introduced the idea of the Rite – the magic system which I first created in The Rite Way trilogy – into the story. At the point where a young person begins to demonstrate the ability to wield the Rite, they are considered of maturity. For a boy, this means being ready to become a knight. For a girl, it simply demonstrates that she is ready to become a wife. And this causes the main conflict during the story, as Kaye and Artie’s sister, Gwyn, attempts to hide her ability so that she will not be forced to marry.
The sheer joy of writing about someone from legend is that they can exist as whoever you wish them to be. Gone are the constraints of writing about historical figures: no one can tell you that your version is not the true version – so long as you can justify the stories which everyone knows.
I would love to publish The Promise and the White Sea. It is probably the standalone MG or YA book I am most pleased with. But there is always the concern that it won’t be received as warmly as I would hope for, so perhaps Artie’s adventures in Broughley will need to wait for a while longer! In the meantime, if you haven’t already, seek out the BBC series Merlin. It’s more than worth a watch.
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