Before queenship and Camelot, Guinevere was a priestess of Avalon. She loved another before Arthur, a warrior who would one day betray her.
In the war-torn world of the late fifth century Britain, young Guinevere faces a choice: stay with her family to defend her home at Northgallis from the Irish, or go to Avalon to seek help for the horrific visions that haunt her. The Sight calls her to Avalon, where she meets Morgan, a woman of questionable parentage who is destined to become her rival. As Guinevere matures to womanhood, she gains the powers of a priestess and falls in love with a man who will be both her deepest love and her greatest mistake.
Just when Guinevere is able to envision a future in Avalon, tragedy forces her back home, into the world she barely recognizes, one in which her pagan faith, outspokenness, and proficiency in the magical and military arts are liabilities. When a chance reunion with her lover leads to disaster, she is cast out of Northgallis and into an uncertain future. As a new High King comes to power, Guinevere must navigate a world of political intrigue where unmarried women are valuable commodities and seemingly innocent actions can have life-altering consequences.
You may think you know the story of Guinevere, but you’ve never heard it like this: in her own words. Listen and you will hear the true story of Camelot and its queen.
Fans of Arthurian legend and The Mists of Avalon will love Daughter of Destiny, the first book in a historical fantasy trilogy that gives Guinevere back her voice and traces her life from an uncertain eleven-year-old girl to a wise queen in her fifth decade of life.
This book has been short-listed for the 2015 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction.
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Nicole Evelina is St. Louis historical fiction and romantic comedy writer. Her debut novel, Daughter of Destiny, the first book of an Arthurian legend trilogy that tells Guinevere’s life story from her point of view, was recently published and has been short-listed for the Chaucer Award in Early Historical Fiction.
She has three additional books coming out in 2016:
1. Camelot’s Queen (April 12 – The second book in Guinevere’s Tale trilogy)
2. Been Searching for You (May 10 – award-winning contemporary romantic comedy)
3. Madame Presidentess (July 25 – Goethe Award-nominated historical fiction about 19th century American Presidential candidate Victoria Woodhull, the first American woman to run for President)
She hopes to have the final book in Guinevere’s Tale available in late 2016 or early 2017.
She is one of only six authors who completed a week-long writing intensive taught by #1 New York Times bestselling author Deborah Harkness. Nicole has traveled to England twice to research Guinevere’s Tale trilogy, where she consulted with internationally acclaimed author and historian Geoffrey Ashe, as well as Arthurian/Glastonbury expert Jaime George, the man who helped Marion Zimmer Bradley research The Mists of Avalon.
Nicole is a member of and book reviewer for the The Historical Novel Society, and Sirens (a group supporting female fantasy authors), as well as a member of the Historical Writers of America, Women’s Fiction Writers Association, Romance Writers of America, the St. Louis Writer’s Guild, Women Writing the West, Broad Universe (promoting women in fantasy, science fiction and horror), Alliance of Independent Authors and the Independent Book Publishers Association.
She spent 15 years researching Arthurian legend, Celtic Britain and the various peoples, cultures and religious practices that shaped the country after the withdrawal of Rome. Other historical interests include the Middle Ages and women who made their mark on history. She’s also a frequent visitor to Chicago, where Been Searching for You takes place.
Her website/blog is http://nicoleevelina.com and she can be found on Twitter as well as on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram.
Read an Excerpt
I am Guinevere. I was once a queen, a lover, a wife, a mother, a priestess, and a friend. But all those roles are lost to me now; to history, I am simply a seductress, a misbegotten woman set astray by the evils of lust.
This is the image painted of me by subsequent generations, a story retold thousands of times. Yet, not one of those stories is correct. They were not there; they did not see through my eyes or feel my pain. My laughter was lost to them in the pages of history.
I made the mistake of allowing the bards to write my song. Events become muddled as ink touches paper, and truth becomes malleable as wax under a flame. Good men are relegated to the pages of inequity, without even an honest epitaph to mark their graves.
Arthur and I were human, no more, no less, though people choose to see it differently. We loved, we argued, we struggled, all in the name of a dream, a dream never to be fulfilled. Camelot is what fed the fires that stirred us to do as we did. History calls it sin, but we simply called it life.
The complexity of living has a way of shielding one’s eyes from the implications of one’s role. That is left for others to flesh out, and they so often manipulate it to suit their own needs. To those god-awful religious, I have become a whore; Arthur the victim of a fallen Eve; Morgan, a satanic faerie sent to lead us all astray. To the royalty, we have become symbols of the dreams they failed to create and Arthur is the hero of a nation, whereas to me, he was simply a man.
To the poor, we are but a legend, never flesh, and blood, a haunting story to be retold in times of tribulation, if only to inspire the will to survive.
We were so much more than mute skeletons doomed to an eternity in dust and confusion. We were people with a desire for life, a life of peace that would be our downfall. Why no one can look back through the years and recognize the human frailty beneath our actions, I will never understand. Some say grace formed my path; others call it a curse. Whatever it was, I deserve to be able to bear witness before being condemned by men who never saw my face.
It ends now. I will take back my voice and speak the truth of what happened. So shall the lies be revealed and Camelot’s former glory restored. Grieve with me, grieve for me, but do not believe the lies which time would sell. All I ask is that mankind listen to my words, and then judge me on their merit.
My Thoughts
There are a lot of different depictions of Guinevere and the story of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Camelot. One in particular that I liked was the Mists of Avalon, the movie. Such a mystical and mythical time it was. Or was it? We really do not know for sure but Nicole Evelina gives us her take and another perspective on the classic tale. Daughter of Destiny takes place before Guinevere is Queen to Arthur's King.
This story starts in the Spring of 491 with Guinevere arriving on the island of Avalon to begin her training as a priestess. She came from wealth where her family had slaves and servants to do their bidding. In Avalon, on the other hand, she has to learn to do for herself, washing her clothes, chores etc. She is proficient in wielding a sword, though, being trained by her mother. Guinevere also has the 'sight' and this is another reason she has been brought to Avalon, to learn to control her powers.
Life goes on and things are pretty normal and she meets and falls in love with a man but things are not meant to be as tragedy strikes at home and she is bidden to return home to Northgallis where she survives by her wits and her mother's ways, she is a Pagan Celt and even though there is an increased surge of Christianity she intends to follow the old ways.
Her first love, Aggrivane, arrives in Northgallis and because of this relationship, she is sent to Pellinor where she is virtually treated like a slave but befriends the daughter of the household, Elaine, and Morgan another trainee from Avalon. In spite of being under lock and key if you will, she still manages to spend time with Aggrivane, even though it is against her father's wishes. The novel ends with Guinevere becoming engaged to King Arthur.
Daughter of Destiny is the first in a trilogy, very well researched and thought out, if you want to learn more about Camelot and it's inhabitants, pick up this book. I eagerly await the second in the series where we learn more about King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, the threat of the Saxon's, Irish and Pict's and their invasion of Britain. Whether you believe or not, this is a story not to be missed for the historical fiction fan.
I received a signed copy of the book for my honest and unbiased opinion.
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