QSFer Carol Anne Douglas has a new Lesbian Historical Fantasy out:
A young girl sees a man rape and murder her mother. She grabs a stick and puts out his eye. Her father raises her as a boy so she will be safe from men’s attacks. She practices and practices until she becomes a great fighter – Lancelot.
She wants to protect women, and she does. Lancelot hears about King Arthur, a just king across the sea, and journeys to earn a place at Camelot. She vows to serve him, but fears that Arthur and his men will discover that she is a woman and send her away. Lancelot is shocked to realize that she is falling in love with the king’s wife, Guinevere.
Guinevere is a strong woman who would have preferred to be queen in her own right, not just through marriage. Saxons attack Arthur’s kingdom, and Lancelot finds out that fighting a war is far different from saving women in single combat. The savagery of war devastates her.
According to Curious Wine author Katherine V. Forrest, “Lancelot: Her Story takes a place alongside Nicola Griffith’s brilliant Hild (2013, set in the Middle Ages), in its highly detailed depiction of life in medieval times, in its reimagining of the Arthurian legends, specifically that noblest, purest of heart Knight of the Round Table, that polestar of the Arthurian legends, Lancelot. The story is both ingenious and suspenseful in its reworking of the tapestry of medieval times.”
Author Bio
Carol Anne Douglas has loved Lancelot for many years and has pictured her as female. Carol Anne sees reading as akin to writing and thus loves to rewrite favorite stories and legends.
She was born in New York State and grew up in Los Angeles, but she has always seen the East Coast as home. She can’t live without autumn leaves. The District of Columbia is her home, and she wants it to become a state.
Carol Anne has spent many years as a journalist and editor. She loves the process of creating publications. She is a feminist and cherishes the women’s movement. She taught women’s studies at George Washington University for a decade and has also taught community classes.
She also is an avid birder and visits the national parks whenever she can.
Lancelot is embarrassed by how much I praise her, but Guinevere says there could never be enough praise of Lancelot. — Carol Anne Douglas