Return to Sherwood

Now that Queen of Caradale is with my editors, my main focus is my brand new series! The first book in that series is Return to Sherwood.

Today I thought I'd share a little bit about my new project.

This story follows the same characters from my Robin Hood series, with a few new ones added in. It will follow the adventures of Robin Hood and his family, as well as his Merry Men, after the events in Sherwood have long since been over.

Because my version of the Robin Hood story is a little legend and a little history mixed together, their story doesn't end with a happily ever after. According to history, after King Richard the Lion-Heart died, his brother John became King. In my story, as in most others, Prince John was not exactly fond of Robin Hood. So I thought to myself, "what would happen to Robin Hood and his gang if John became King?" And because John did, in fact, become King (historically speaking), I had the perfect opportunity for a new story!

I have spent the last week or two brainstorming, outlining, and preparing to write this new adventure. I have also been doing a lot of research! Because I've been writing my Robin Hood series for five years now, I have that era in history pretty well memorized. However, now I'm writing a new era--if only by a decade--so I have a lot of history to catch up on. Before I began my research, the only thing I knew about John Lackland (aside from his association with Robin Hood legends) was that he signed the Magna Carta. That was the extent of my limited knowledge. I have discovered in the past two weeks that there is a lot more to his reign than just that.

I simply LOVE the research aspect of writing! I have a blast delving into the details and learning new things. I'm also having fun re-assessing my now well-known to me characters. It's been a few years, and people grow and change over time. So it has been fun learning how these characters have changed since their years in Sherwood Forest.

I am also bursting with excitement because it has been a long time since I had a completely new story. I've been writing the Robin Hood series for five years now. And that series is structured in such a way that I basically wrote the exact same story over and over for five years (which got boring). I have also been writing my Finding Hope trilogy, which to date has been my favorite writing experience. But that story has also been with me for more than a couple years. I haven't had anything completely new to work with in a very long time. Now, however, I have a blank slate with all sorts of new directions to go and I am more excited than I can tell!

I do realize I have the same characters, but working with the same characters is not the same as working on the same story. I have a new story, one I don't know yet, to write and I cannot wait for this journey to begin!

Overall, I am quite simply beyond eager to write this story and see where it will take me and my characters! :)