The Backstory of The Exile Trilogy
It all started with a secret.
I had just self-published Genevieve, My Familiar, A Gothic Fairy Tale, and Ceridwen’s Tale, which I now think of as the precursors to The Exile Trilogy. I was feeling at loose ends, not knowing what my next art project would be, with the usual restless feelings caused by a lack of passion and a lack of focus.
I was talking to a friend on an excursion to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was familiar with my books and wanted to know what in my childhood had prompted me to write about Wicca and the persecution of witches.
I have never been one to analyze my work psychologically, finding it the kiss of death to my muse. And feeling uncomfortable, I avoided the question.
Later that day, I heard my muse say, “You are entitled to your secrets”. That day, the entire story of The Exile Trilogy came to me.
Book 1, Exile
Ceridwen’s tribe decided to scatter to avoid the coming witch-burnings. She and her mockingbird familiar Belanos find themselves guided on their journey to a ship to the New World. Ceridwen finds that her best friend in the Tribe, Michael, a gay witch, has stowed away on the same ship.
Book 2, The Circus
Posing as indentured servants, Ceridwen and Michael find danger among the mortals and are once again led to find their tribe, which had formed a travelling circus. Ceridwen marries Adam, a mortal, who teaches the tribe how to stay safe, and they have a daughter, Branna.
Book 3, Twentieth Century Circus
The tribe finds itself in contemporary New York City, where the witches’ behaviours are accepted, even ignored. They relish their new freedom, but can they ever be truly free?
The story came to me at once, but The Exile Trilogy took me six years of writing, drawing, painting, putting the books together and having them published!
During that time I felt that I was living two lives, mine and Ceridwen’s. I was also living with Michael, who I love. His playful, restless spirit was a perfect balance to Ceridwen’s seriousness and caution.
I realized after I finished the Trilogy that Ceridwen and Michael are the archetypes of The High Priestess and The Fool. I miss them both terribly.
But the spinoff that I was called to do next, Raven in Black Lace, is about Branna, Ceridwen’s daughter, and Raven, the chief Bird Priestess of the tribe. It is a book about mother-daughter relationships. More to follow!
www.exiletrilogy.com
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