A fair amount of research was required for my new fantasy novel Ravenseed. Here’s a bit of an insight into that process, as well as a few ramblings about the locations and revisions to the story made ahead of writing the first draft of the manuscript.

Whilst the Dark Ages setting for the bulk of the narrative didn’t necessarily require strict factual veracity given the parameters of the fantasy genre, I wanted to ensure the correct names were used for regions, towns, and so forth, assuming they existed at that point. I discovered Plymouth, Exeter, and Camelford were already established, but Bristol wasn’t. However, the region was called Abona, so I used that name. I also opted to use Anglia rather than Albion as the latter generally refers to Great Britain rather than just England. My novel is set entirely in the latter.

Beyond that, as I’ve already mentioned, I didn’t necessarily cling to strict historical fact. For example, plate armour wasn’t around in those days, but it is used in my novel, as it is part of Arthurian fantasy iconography. On the other hand, I did try to stick to geographic fact as much as possible, making sure the journey taken by the characters reached caves in the Mendips before going far further north to Sca Fell Pike in the Lake District (the highest mountain in England), for example. The clash of Christianity with the old religion is a key theme of the Arthur legends, and likewise informs my novel.

Before I wrote the first draft of the Ravenseed manuscript, my plot outline changed many times. For example, the original parallel story wasn’t set in the present, but only a generation or two after the main story. Instead of Fay, Abel, and Anne, and their modern-day journey, I had a story about a blacksmith’s apprentice who happens upon Sir Peter’s account. At the same time, I had the mysterious masked traveller rampaging from village to village, searching for “the last of the Ravenseed”, killing without mercy, and leaving terror in his wake. I worked on this version of the story in some detail, before deciding the parallel tale lacked contrast, so opting for a contemporary version instead.

Another glance through my original notes informs me I’d originally considered reincarnation themes, as well as a lot of ponderous piffle about the idea of the written word as contagion (in relation to the disfigurement subplot in the modern-day storyline). The straightforward, less pretentious curse I ditched all that for is far more appropriate to the fantasy genre. I honestly don’t know why I was so foolishly abstract in my narrative approach, but then again, my outlining process is mostly about getting rid of the bad ideas.

A second outline featured the journey culminating in the Malvern springs in Worcestershire. This idea came from ancient legends about Malvern water supposedly containing restorative or healing properties (it was once considered sacred). These stories were later put down to the water’s purity when samples were scientifically tested. Anyway, I eventually ditched using this location in favour of what takes place in the novel, but reading around this subject anew was immensely interesting.

At one point, I considered setting part of the novel in France, with an invading French force repelled by the King and his knights (which included Sir Peter and Sir Matthew). This ultimately changed to the Cornish rebellion and subsequent battle that features early in the final novel. Some of the fantastical elements were a bit more out there in the original drafts too. I even considered an appearance from Lucifer, along with a dragon that acted as a clumsy sexual jealousy metaphor. The dragon sequence survived to the point that it was written into the first draft before it got excised. But more on the deleted scenes in a future article, as I’ve rambled on enough.

Ravenseed is out now. Here’s the blurb from the back of the book to whet your appetite, if you’re yet to pick up a copy:

532 AD. Knights Sir Peter and Sir Matthew ride to battle, but when they take an ill-advised detour, the two friends find themselves involved in a quest to break a curse on Sir Matthew’s love, Elizabeth.

The quest sends them on a journey through Anglia, where they encounter magicians, spirits, gods, and dangers beyond their wildest dreams – from without and within.

 In the present day, as teenager Fay Pendleton reads an ancient account of the two knights, scars start appearing on her face. Despite her ongoing disfigurement, she becomes obsessed with discovering the outcome of the quest, and her link to this mysterious story.

Ravenseed is available from Amazon on Kindle or paperback here(in the UK) and here (in the US). Downloads or paperbacks are also available from Draft2Digital, Smashwords, and associated outlets here.