1. Can you please introduce yourself and tell us something about your book "The Princess of Selgovae and the High King (A Tetralogy of Tales Book 1).”
Answer - Yes, I’m Bryce Gibby, an American, a writer, photographer and a professional aviator. Often I combine my aviation business with book research. I conceived of the idea of the first book of my Arthurian series years ago and after many trips to England, Wales, Scotland, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Denmark, Iceland and Greenland, I wrote six works of historical fiction and I’m now on the 7th. I have also written a “Valiant” series of biographies of true life heroines and heroes. A more detailed bio can be found at ArthurianStories.com and HeroicAnnals.com.
2. When did you get the thoughts of writing this book? i read the book and i loved it, your writing style is commendable. You are amazing.
Answer - I was writing a biography on Joan of Arc and came across a prophecy that France would be lost by a woman and saved by a virgin. You can read the details of this in my book Valiant Young Women–Heroines. I was struck with the idea of a prophecy that had credibility in France at so late a date as the era in which Joan lived. My question was: who was the prophet? The answer was stranger than fiction, for it was Merlin of Arthurian fame. This led me to Snowdonia, Wales and to the site of “The Vision of the Dragons”—a very real place. You can see my photographs of Dinas Emrys in The Princess of Selgovae and the High King, or click on the “Landscapes of Legends” tab on my web pages.
3. What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?
Answer - I began writing after 15 years of research and continued to travel and work on the later books in the series for an additional 5 years now—but this is still ongoing.
4. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
Answer - Although the Tetralogy of Tales and its outgrowth, the Annals of the Heroic is fiction, much of what I write about really happened. I discovered great truths that no one else has detailed in modern works. For this reason, this series is referred to in the Audible audio book editions as “A new vision of timeless legends."
5. Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?
Answer - Although each work can be read independently, books 1 & 2 are companion works, as together they tell the complete story of the kingdom established by King Arthur and Princess Vivien of Selgovae. Also, books 3 and 4 are companion works, as they continue the storyline of King Arthur’s son and grandson, and their interaction with the Queen of Saxony and Britannia, Covianna, the exquisite priestess of the goddess Ashtoreth. Books 5 and 6 are truly stand alone works. Book 5 tells of the founding of Brittany against Angle Saxon tyranny–an untold story until now. Book 6 is rather different, as it is told in the first person of Sir Alun, a boy-knight, and his intrigues with Princess Jariya of Hispania, Countess Thela and King Clovis—all who are the same age as Alun.
6. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
Answer - That is a hard question as the answer grew within me as I read many books by C.S. Lewis, Nesbit, McDonald, Hugo, Saint-Exupery, the Bronte sisters, the historical works of Durant, etc. etc. It was an incredible experience and still is.
7. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say?
Answer - Yes. There seems to be a common theme in the letters I’ve received–most people not only want to be entertained, but inspired–they want an uplift, to feel better when they’ve finished reading than when they started. This is far more than just writing in a happy ending. Of course there are many tragedies in my works, but ultimately everything has a purpose and those who are valiant prevail over incredible odds. Life is truly like that and most everyone faces difficult challenges. People tell me that my works not only offer them an escape, but also give them hope.
8. How would you express your journey as an Author?
Answer - I believe all of us are given gifts of heaven. I discovered rather early in life that I could fly most everything with wings, and I love adventure—to travel, not only in the sky but to fly through the ages, transported by books. Writing is re-writing—it is like “painting your mile.” I began writing as a young boy and have never stopped.
9. What other things do you love than this writing?
Answer - I love to photograph the landscapes of legends of my works. This has taken me all over the Americas and Europe. Incidentally, many of my photographs I shot with my Nikon 810, and now my Nikon Z7 II—very high resolution. This requires a lot hiking to get the right shot—which I also happen to love. I’m addicted to biking, both road and mountain biking, and kayaking too. Of course I love people, especially family and close friends.
10. And last, What advice do you have for writers?
Answer - Unless you're a journalist, forget deadlines. Don’t be satisfied with your work with the first draft. Leave it for a while, then come back to it and re-write, again and again. Listen to your readers (who read your drafts). Every page, every paragraph, every sentence and every word is vital and must be well chosen! Do this and when you finally are ready to publish your work it won’t embarrass you. Also, you’ll find that some things you’ve written will stand as they were first written, and other things you thought at the time were terrific, you’ll delete as you laugh at yourself!
Book review Link - Click here!
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Author Page - Click here!
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