Richard III really wants me published…

by maryehopewell

Life is full of coincidences, as is writing.

Quite a few years ago now an idea for a story floated into my head (as story ideas often do). The resulting plot was packed full of colourful characters, and among them just so happened to be the infamous usurper King Richard III.

 (Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/King_Richard_III.jpg)

Now, I’ve said this before but sometimes, when you’re writing a new book, it seems as if the Universe is sending you signs – urging you to get it done. At the inception of my new idea, the Universe was silent. But I was not to know then that as 2012 came around the corner it was preparing to send me perhaps its most dramatic signal yet.

As most of you will already know, 2012 witnessed the discovery of Richard’s bones under a car park in Leicester. I suppose you could say it was the excitement surrounding this historic event that got me thinking: ‘Now might be a good time to get started on this idea.’ Richard was all the rage, and books about his life were filling the shelves. It seemed fitting that mine should be alongside them, but I had University to think about and another story really close to my heart that I was desperate to put onto paper.

Sadly my Richard-story got sent to the bottom of a long backlog of unwritten story ideas, and slowly but surely the Richard hype of 2012 began to fade away. But there are some story ideas that find their homes in the backlog of your mind and others that creep their way to the surface insisting that you bring them to life.

August, 2014. Enough is enough, I said to myself, this story is never going to leave me alone if I don’t get it done. Like my first novel back in 2013, I set the Times/Chicken House children’s fiction competition as my deadline and raced against time to get my book written by the end of October. It wasn’t easy, and as I sat at my desk the night before the deadline I knew that I had not left myself enough time to achieve the vision I had for my story. But what harm could it do to enter it anyway?

I sent it off, wiped the sweat from my brow, and waited to hear if anything had come of my last-minute submission.

This was when the King woke up…

The judges’ deliberation was on the horizon and all of a sudden the world was talking about Richard again, marvelling over the peculiar announcement that his bones were to be reburied at Leicester Cathedral in a manner befitting a King of England. Don’t get me wrong, it was the strengths of my book: ‘Keeper of the Crown‘ that saw it making the Times/Chicken House longlist, and soon after the shortlist. Even so, I couldn’t help but feel like old King Richard was cheering me on. Whether he was a murderous monster, or misunderstood, I still haven’t made up my mind, but one thing I think is perfectly clear – Richard III wants me published, and he was known for being a man who got whatever he desired.

When this book eventually does make it to the shelves – and I am determined that it will – I’m not quite sure how much of the Richard-fever will be left. But with any luck, ‘Keeper of the Crown‘ will muster up a fever all of its very own!

 (Source: http://www.theguardian.com/uk/richard-iii?page=2)

Richard III was laid to rest on 26th March 2015. I was watching. Were you?