Helena Schrader's Historical Fiction

Dr. Helena P. Schrader is the author of 24 historical fiction and non-fiction works and the winner of more than 53 literary accolades. More than 34,000 copies of her books have been sold. For a complete list of her books and awards see: http://helenapschrader.com

For readers tired of clichés and cartoons, award-winning novelist Helena P. Schrader offers nuanced insight into historical events and figures based on sound research and an understanding of human nature. Her complex and engaging characters bring history back to life as a means to better understand ourselves.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Meet My Main Character

Welcome to today's installment of the "Meet My Main Character" Blog-Hop! I'm delighted to be in such distinguished company!

It's my pleasure to introduce to the main character of my recently released novel, St. Louis' Knight. To find out more about St. Louis' Knight you only need to scroll down to the previous three entries on this blog which includ excerpts and a little background about the book. To buy the book, just click on the link in the add to your right.

Now to the introductions!

1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she a fictional or historical person?
Geoffrey de Preuthune. He's a fictional character but based on a family legend.

2) When and where is the story set?
The novel is set in the Seventh Crusade, 1250 AD, in the Holy Land. The Seventh Crusade was led by King Louis IX of France and ended in a terrible debacle, with the King of France and virtually all of his nobles, knights and troops captured.  While the common troops were slaughtered if they refused to convert to Islam, and enslaved if they did, King Louis and his knights and nobles were held for ransom.

3) What should I know about him/her?
Geoffrey is the younger son of minor Cypriot nobleman. As a younger son, Geoffrey is destined for the Church, but at age 14 his feeble father is killed by robbers because he is unable to defend him (not having any training at arms). This trauma makes him determined to join the Knights Templar, so he can be both a monk and a fighting man. The local commander agrees to take him on as a squire with the understanding that if he can learn the skills of knighthood to meet Templar standards, he will be knighted and accepted into the Order.  As a squire he accompanies a troop of Templars on the Seventh Crusade, only to watch all his brothers slaughtered at the Battle of Mansourah. In the aftermath of this defeat, the wounded Grand Master wants to knight the squire Geoffrey and take him into the Order, but Geoffrey knows that the initiation ceremony requires him to say the Lord's Pray. Only he can't say "Thy Will be Done" after what he has just witnessed. 

4) What is the main conflict? 
Geoffrey has lost his faith in God and by denying the divinity of Christ to the Grand Master of the Temple in a fit of outrage, he has abruptly ended his own chosen career. He now has to find a new place for himself in the world that he no longer understands.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?
At the start of the novel, his goal is to understand God's Will so he can re-apply for admission to the Knight's Templar, but, of course, life isn't that simple. His quest takes him to an Orthodox prophet in the mountains of Cyprus, to the Old Man of the Mountain (leader of the Assassins) in Syria and to the court of King Louis of France in Acre, where the King is trying to raise the ransom for his knights still in captivity. In a chance encounter, he also meets the Damsel Eleanor de Najac, the daughter of a condemned Cathar heretic, and now a ward of the King of France. 

6) Is there a working title? Where can I find out more?
The title is final: St. Louis' Knight. It is the first of a three part series titled The Templar Tales. You can find out more on this blog, or on my website: http://talesofchivalry.com.

7) When will the book be published?
The book was released March 31, 2014 and can be purchased on amazon.com here.

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