Please welcome Eli Easton! Eli wrote a wonderful historical romance for the Goodreads Love Has No Boundaries event (which means you can download for free!). Eli is also the talented artist who made the lovely cover for Treasure.
Going Medieval on Your Ass – “The Lion and the Crow”
By Eli Easton
Like many writers, I have this super-duper list on my computer called “story ideas”. Anytime anything with the least molecule of potential springs into my mind, I type it in there. If the world never ends, and I gain immortality, I might just write a story for each idea in that document. One of the things in there was “Medieval period – two knights (m/m).”
Ideas, like fruit, eventually have their day to ripen. So when I decided to write a story as part of the “Love Has No Boundaries” event on goodreads, and I saw a medieval knight prompt among the story pictures submitted, I grabbed it faster than you can say “Is that a halberd in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?”
Hence was born “The Lion and the Crow”, a 32K word novella about two medieval knights, Sir William (aka the Lion) and Sir Christian (aka the Crow) who find themselves on a journey together to rescue Sir William’s sister. Alone on the road for weeks, both men must face, in very different ways, their lifelong desire to love another man. I wanted to make the story as realistic as possible, both in the medieval setting and in the slow burn relationship. This is not an erotica piece that ignores the historical realities, but a real attempt to imagine what it would have been like to have been a man born with a same-sex preference in that day and age of macho warriors to whom honor and valor were everything.
But what inspired my interested in the medieval period in the first place? Here are some of my most favorite films and stories:
Ladyhawke: A shifter romance set in the medieval period—very romantic, tragic, and beautifully shot. Starring Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The Name of the Rose: Both the book by Umberto Eco and the movie starring Sean Connery are terrific. Mysterious deaths at a monastery are being blamed on the devil, but a more literal-minded investigator tries to see past the superstition.
Braveheart: Although primarily a battle movie, I loved the gritty realism of the villages and culture as depicted in this Mel Gibson movie. And medieval Scotland! That’s the height of romance. I even worked William Wallace into my epilogue.
A Knight’s Tale: This is more Hollywood spin than reality-based, but it’s still got hunky knights, jousting, and a lovely romantic plotline (though m/f, more’s the pity).
Game of Thrones: Super hot HBO series full of violence, betrayal and love. Brilliant!
You can read my take on a medieval m/m romance FOR FREE as part of the Love Has No Boundaries event. The links are below. I hope you enjoy it!
Eli Easton
About Eli Easton
Eli Easton is a new nom de plume for an author who has primarily published mystery thrillers in the past. As an addict of m/m romance, she decided to tip her size-nine toe in the water and write in the genre herself. “The Lion and the Crow” is her first published m/m novella. She has two short stories out now and three new m/m romance books coming out from Dreamspinner in 2013. You can get news about her books on goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7020231.Eli_Easton
Or visit her blog:
The Lion and the Crow links:
Read online or Download ebooks here: http://www.mmromancegroup.com/?p=2687
Eli Easton’s website: www.elieaston.com