As a writer who has just completed their first novel after over twenty years of research, peparation and writing the cliche of ‘writer’s block’ is not one I recognise. The real writer’s block is more an obstacle in the form of a chasm that can’t be crossed until an agent lends you a rope bridge so you can be swayed in the wind over the depths still not knowing what’s on the other side or if you will ever get there.
I have finished a 125,000 word novel set in 410CE when the Roman Empire abandons Britania to its own devices, withdrawing support as the Western Empire crumbles. The Britons have been under Roman occupation and administration for four centuries but have retained many tribal characteristics and culture. This is a fascinating period as the Britions establish their identity and fight off those seeking to raid and steal or colonise lands. This is before the Englisch (a celtic term for stranger or foreigner) arrive. There is no national structure, no king or leader or consensus. The Civitates, administrative areas based on tribal lands, assume their own running. Few areas have any in depth martial knowldge or capacity, something the Romans saw to after the early rebellions. There are exceptions, the Cornovii centred around Wroxeter and covering much of modern Cheshire and Shropshire were unique in having military capacity and the ability to manufacture arms. They appear in the Notarium, the record of Roman military matters. It is from this rich tradition that figures such as Vortigern, Ambrosius and potentially the legend of Arthur originate.
The first novel in a series of books I am writing will take into account this histrorical background. There is no contemporary written account only incomplete archaeology though recent evidence points to a much richer and continung culture than history has traditionally assumed. I am exploring the politics, difficulties, and possible events that established Briton and that led to the wars with the English. Some of the steps are recorded and provide anchors for the narrative but much is unknown to history and ripe for imagination.
So far I have made submissions to 10 Literary Agencies. I rejection and 9 unknowns to date. I will continue to submit and to develop and write the next volume that will take account of the rise of Vortigern and the betrayals that he is, in part, responsible for. It is a fascinating period and the least known, simply referred to as the Dark Ages. British history seems to begin around the Norman Conquest in most text books, and they avoid the Britons, who are surviving in the Celtic fringes of Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and Brittany with the English ruling the majority of the land until the events of 1066.
Sardonnick
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