Lionheart Update

 

Remember this teaser? 🦁 One of my favorites.

Remember when I thought I could have Lionheart out by December of 2020? 😭

Been really itching to work on Sons of Rome lately, but have lacked the time to dedicate to it. I’ve had several questions about it across multiple platforms, and I wish I had a release date. But! The series is most definitely not done with. I have *several* more installments planned. There was a period of time, right after Golden Eagle released, when I was furiously working on Lion, that I began to panic a little; I thought, in order to maintain reader interest in the series, I’d have to fast track the rest of the books, cutting some of the slower storylines along the way, reducing flashbacks in favor of a quicker-driving plot. But that’s not what this series IS. This is my passion project, a creative dream that’s haunted me since high school, and it NEEDS to unspool slowly, richly, indulgently. I knew that if I caved, if I narrowed and winnowed and cut back, the final end product result of the complete series would be but a ghost of the series I’d set out to write. With this series, I’m not aiming for mass appeal; not trying to “tighten” it into more manageable chunks for the skimmers, scanners, or GR keyboard warriors. It’s a slow burn by design. It took Nikita more than 2k pages to confess his love. We haven’t BEGUN to see what the mages can do. Newly-immortal characters like Adela and Mia are OF COURSE not as fascinating as Val and Vlad; give them time, don’t expect them to be as interesting as a centuries-old vampire at first blush. We’ve still got kings and gods to meet, after all. Lionheart will be even more challenging to write than Dragon Slayer. Do I really want to shift from modern day Bucharest, to the siege of Acre, to the reimagined legend of Robin Hood? To tie it to Rus’, and a Norse god, and meet a mage who broke bread with Julius Caesar in a Gallic campaign tent? Yes, I really do. The scope of this series as a whole is tremendous; y’all ain’t ready.

So I’ve taken some time to tackle more manageable projects since GE’s release, but trust that our immortals are always on my mind. I can’t wait to return to them soon. With a little luck, and a lot of puppy cooperation, I’m hoping to have the NY pack-centric novella, The Winter Palace, out before the end of the year 🤞🏻

This was yesterday's Instagram photo and caption, and I wanted to expand upon it a little, if I may, and offer a glimpse into our illustrious, titular king. 

Look-See: Lionheart

 All my best storytelling happens when I allow myself to be incredibly self-indulgent. When I slip down into the non-linear, lush world of flashback, backstory, character recollection. People don't exist in a vacuum; we recall things; scents trigger memories, and dreams leave us nostalgic for the past. Not to mention, to study history is to leap forward and backward in time; to tread well-worn avenues, and to diverge down forested footpaths, into the unknown, the rarely explored. To dabble in theory and empathy. I can write tidy stories, but that isn't where I flourish. That isn't where I feel wild, and attached to the story, and like a conduit for its energy. I can ask myself: what's most marketable? What will the greatest number of readers prefer? Or I can ask myself: what story do these characters need me to tell?

With Lionheart, it's a case of the latter question. It's why I've not rushed it. This is going to be a behemoth of a book. And could I streamline it? Yes, of course. But the streamlined version wouldn't be the same story at all. For me, every scene, every sentence, is the result of great thoughtfulness. I'm thinking "what do I hope to convey through showing the sunlight glint off of a ring?" "What does a scent or a sound add to our understanding of this character?" Sure, the gist of the story would be the same, without the flashbacks, and the small details; without the attention to expression or gesture or physical fear response - but without those things I would not have portrayed my exact vision of a character, of a moment, of an emotion, of a whole story. Because that's what I want to tell - the whole story. I'm not here for the gist; for the suggestion of something. I'm always chasing that particular ache that only comes from the richest kind of narrative; from the complete understanding of a group of characters. 

If I want to wander down the footpaths of Sherwood Forest with Robin, I won't set that aside for expediency's sake. If I want to pull back the curtain on a wild, violent, passionate duke-turned-king-turned-crusader, I will allow myself the indulgence. I thank those waiting on the next Sons of Rome installment for their patience: it's been a long wait, and I don't have a date for you yet, but I promise that it will be most worthwhile. 

Excerpts from Lionheart

Copyright © 2021 by Lauren Gilley 

 

Both of Robin’s parents were storytellers.

#TeaserTuesday: Lionheart First Look

Big teaser today! A look at Sons of Rome book five, Lionheart, due out this Christmas. 

Red set the little potted cactus down on the table in front of her brother, Eighteen. We have to give him a name! she thought for at least the hundredth time. She wanted him – both of them, Twelve, too – to choose their own names. Rooster had given her hers – but it had been a choice. What about Red? And she’d liked it right away, the simplicity of it; the way, just three letters, it sounded like a pet name, something intimate between two people who cared for one another. And in his low, rough voice, too…Red…

Up Next: Lionheart

I've teased it here and there on Instagram, but the end of Golden Eagle makes it official: the next book in the series is titled Lionheart, named for Rob and his part-wolf, part-human company, which is named for their master, Richard I of England, dubbed "Richard the Lionheart" for his valor in battle and ferocious personality. Call me silly for being excited about the mere title of a book, but I am. Because though we finally get to meet Richard in the flesh - another highly controversial, larger-than-life historical figure, more legend than man at this point - the book's title isn't a simple and direct reference to him. It's about all our characters. It's about having the heart of a lion. It's - like every book in this series - about a lot of things, and I love choosing titles that start to make more and more sense as you read along. 

The main romantic focus of the book will be Red and Rooster, and their still-uncertain relationship. Red wants more, Rooster's trying to be a gentleman, and struggling with some conflicting emotions, and Marian just wants them to kiss like they mean it already. 

There's a lot more going on, though, and a lot of it was teased in GE. Under the cut in case you want to avoid spoilers!