With the release of Betrayed in only 20 days, here is a little glimpse into the world that Nimue and Tacitus live in.
This was first published at the Lovin' Me Some Romance blog in October 2010, on the release of Forbidden, book #1 in my fantasy historical romance series.
I’ve always loved history and historical
romances, but because I enjoy writing about heroines who are powerful in their
own right and don’t need a man in order to conform to their society’s view of
propriety, it had never occurred to me to actually write a historical romance
until recently.
But when Maximus stormed into my head one
night and refused to leave until I discovered why he was searching for his
Druid princess, a whole new world of possibilities opened up. The Romans, with
their military skill and advanced technology, were literally taking over half
the world. While to a certain extent they assimilated the various religious
beliefs of those they conquered, when it came to the Druids they wanted nothing
less than annihilation.
All we really know about the Druids from
contemporary sources comes from the Romans themselves. The Druids held
responsibilities for lawmaking, were the keepers of knowledge and wisdom and
were known as magicians. They were widely respected as the priests of Celtic
society, and the Romans feared the power they wielded over the rebellious tribes
that inhabited ancient Wales.
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My muse was enthralled :-) Here was an entire segment of people that, despite the power and
knowledge they clearly held for many generations, we know almost nothing about.
Did they believe in the goddess culture? What was their societal structure?
Their world unfolded around me. In Forbidden,
the Druids do worship the goddess culture and their women are as powerful as
their men. My heroine, Carys, is not only a princess by virtue of her birth but
also an acolyte of the Goddess of Wisdom, Cerridwen. Carys has never
been used to taking orders or believing that a man is her superior, simply
because of his gender.
Since the Romans believed the opposite,
there is of course that conflict between Carys and Maximus, but because of
their personalities and willingness to open their minds to a culture so
different from their own, it’s far from insurmountable. The greatest threats
come from the Roman Emperor and his desire to wipe out all trace of Druidic
culture from the face of the earth, and the High Druid of Carys’s clan who has
his own agenda.
Forbidden, and the
second book in the series, Captive, both have strong heroines
who are struggling against all the odds to preserve their way of life so their
beliefs don’t vanish into the mists of time, lost forever to future
generations. Forbidden is about ancient goddesses who will do anything to
ensure their names linger on in the minds of their children. And most of all,
it’s about how love can conquer anything.
“The
sexy elements of the book did not overpower the plot or the
characterisation, but added to their love story. The real heart of the
book is the emotional elements between them, and I really liked how that
was played out throughout the book. Although the well written love
scenes added a sensual layer of heat and passion, and *fans self*, I
will never think of Roman Baths the same way again.” Has, The Book
Pushers. Full Review can be read here.
