King
Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court
by
Kim Iverson Headlee
Genre:
SciFi Time Travel Fantasy
How
sick are you of US politics? How doomed is the world because of who
has claimed the Oval Office throne—er, chair?
Refresh
your spirit by laughing along with what Mark Twain might have written
about today’s political falderal.
“Solidly
entertaining.” —Publishers Weekly
WINNER
2016 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for Science Fiction &
Fantasy.
Morgan
le Fay, sixth-century Queen of Gore and the only major character not
killed off by Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s
Court, vows revenge upon the Yankee Hank Morgan. She casts a spell to
take her to 1879 Connecticut so she may waylay Sir Boss before he can
travel back in time to destroy her world. But the spell misses by 300
miles and 200 years, landing her in the Washington, D.C., of 2079,
replete with flying limousines, hovering office buildings,
virtual-reality television, and sundry other technological
marvels.
Whatever
is a time-displaced queen of magic and minions to do? Why, rebuild
her kingdom, of course—two kingdoms, in fact: as Campaign Boss for
the reelection of American President Malory Beckham Hinton, and as
owner of the London Knights world-champion baseball
franchise.
Written
as though by the old master himself, King Arthur’s Sister in
Washington’s Court by Mark Twain as channeled by Kim Iverson
Headlee offers laughs, love, and a candid look at American society,
popular culture, politics, baseball... and the human heart.
Mark
Twain began work on A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court in
1879—the same year the Yankee Hank Morgan departed for his sojourn
in sixth-century Britain. The first edition was published in 1889 and
features more than 200 illustrations by the man who later would
become founder of the Boy Scouts of America, Daniel Carter Beard.
These illustrations are now in the public domain, and a handful have
been incorporated into King Arthur's Sister in Washington's Court as
an artistic homage to this classic edition of the first time travel
story in all literature.
**On
Sale for only 99 cents!!**
Kim
Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family,
cats, goats, Great Pyrenees goat guards, and assorted wildlife.
People and creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old
house ruins--the latter having been occupied as recently as the
mid-twentieth century--seem to be sticking around for a while
yet.
Kim has been a published novelist since 1999 with the
first edition of Dawnflight (Sonnet Books, Simon & Schuster) and
has been studying the Arthurian legends for nigh on half a century.
GUEST POST
Introducing Queen Morgan the Wise
Name:
Morgan
Age:
Sixteen hundred and eight in the latter years of your century. In my
rightful century, my age is none of your concern.
Gender:
Female
Birthplace:
Tintagel Castle
Profession:
Queen of Gore
Ethnicity/Species
(if not human): I am human. That is all that should matter to you
mad people.
Describe
your body and build, skin tone, height and weight. Include any unique
features such as dimples, freckles, or scars.
My
glorious silken hair is auburn. Anyone who calls it “red,” like
that of the coarse, unruly mane sported by my dead husband, King
Uriens, shall join our dungeon’s denizen who made that same
mistake. Provoke me to exceptional anger, and I shall arrange faux
funerals of your kin for you to watch from your window slit too.
Okay, fine. I do excel at holding a grudge. Sue me.
All
my other features are kept perfect by cause of my magic… or
cosmetics, to which my assistant Clarice introduced me in your
century. Using cosmetics in lieu of magic I have found to be ever so
much more efficient in terms of energy expended, allowing me to focus
my magic on far more important pursuits, such as causing the peerless
Malory Beckham Hinton to become President for Life (she vetoed my
idea to make her Queen of America, though I know for a certain fact
that she would be quite good at it).
Who
is the significant other in your life?
In
my ancient life, the man I loved best was Sir Accolon, the comeliest
of men and manliest of lovers. In the latter twenty-first century,
Sandy Carter—who could be my dead lover’s twin—owns my heart,
and I his. Sandy surpasses my dead lover in all respects, bedchamber
prowess most especially, by a hundred fold.
Please
tell us a little about yourself.
My
name, Morgan, was chosen by my mother, Duchess Igraine, to honor the
Great Queen of the Old Religion, Mór Rigan, goddess of war. My
mother never knew how prophetic her choice would prove to be.
I am
the daughter of Duke Gorlois, the sister of Queen Margawse and Queen
Elaine, the wife of King Uriens of Gore, and the mother of Sir Uwaine
of the Table Round. Blessed good fortune made me all of these things.
By
the capricious hand of ill fortune, King Arthur became my younger
half brother, spawned upon my most virtuous and blameless mother by
that demon in man’s raiment, Uther Pendragon.
I
despised Arthur from the very hour of his birth.
What
is your viewpoint on wealth?
I
love it, of course, and the more, the better. It can be quite the
burden, but it does convey its own brand of magic too.
On
what special skills do you rely?
Have
you not heard of Morgan the Wise, healer and sorceress
extraordinaire? What is the name of the rock under which you have
been living?
What
kinds of things do you always carry (in pockets or purse)?
I am
never without my circlet, for I find it useful in your lunatic
century to remain mindful of my true nature. Well… almost never.
You shall have to read my chronicle to discover what caused me to
become bereft of that symbol of royalty, which had to do with the
other item I keep concealed upon my person for emergencies and which
I am fully capable of wielding to deadly advantage: a dirk.
Do
you have children?
My
only son, Sir Uwaine, lies dead and gone these past fifteen
centuries. But a mother never forgets the tautness of that eternal
bond, I assure you.
Do
you care about what others assume about you?
La,
what a question! I am a queen. Of course I do not give a single
overripe fig for what the masses think of me; I do not require their
approval, only their obedience. That said, however, there is one man
whose approval I have sought more and more often of late: my lover,
Sandy. He has been known to influence my decisions even when he is
not present. I find that most disconcerting… and yet not at all
unpleasant.
If
someone from your past showed up, who would you most want it to be,
and why?
When
Sandy reunited with his lost and presumed-dead sister, I discovered
that I craved to see my long-dead brother, King Arthur, that I might
set things aright between us. That wish looks unlikely to be
fulfilled, alas, though I do remain hopeful that it shall one day
come to pass.
What
inner doubt causes you the most difficulty?
I
never had experienced such a calamity of the magical arts as when my
time-travel enchantment failed by three hundred miles and two hundred
years. Since I know not how the spell went awry, I confess I have
been afraid to assay it again, lest it leave me forever lost in time.
What
are your biggest hopes and dreams?
Although
I have experienced marvelous adventures in your shiny new century,
and Sandy has become more dear to me than any other man I have ever
known, I do hope I can one day return to my rightful era. I have made
quite a fine place for myself as owner of the London Knights world
championship baseball team, but I do not belong here. Sandy,
naturally, wishes for me to stay,—but he is man enough to bow to my
wishes in this sensitive matter. He is, was, and always will be such
a daisy.
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