Love in A TIME OF KINGS

With the honoring of the Valentine saint once again, we can turn our attention to the meaning of all of it. As the years turn over, from childhood delight at receiving cute cards and cuter candy to our adolescent throes and expectations of receiving romantic cards and more expensive candy, to our young adult ambitions to only share the customs of this day with a special someone, to the truly adult situations where we may decide to simply relax and watch some romantic comedy to celebrate the day, to our later years where it is all too much trouble to put forth the effort - or else the significant other is gone - we strive to make something of this day, not so much for a long-dead priest who married couples in secret but instead for nothing but our own modern trifles. 

If you are not so predisposed, you might enjoy an old blog post where I ranted about the day. You can find it here - thanks is unnecessary.

When last we indulged in blogging, I concluded a four-part series on the writing of my ribald comedy set in a medieval future time titled THE WARRIORS BAUMANN. 

As the culmination of the FLU SEASON Saga, I turned toward a lighter story yet one in which serious matters still occur. First of those serious matters is why, 200 years after the conclusion of my apocalyptic Western epic THE GRANDSONS (Book 6), has the states of America devolved into rival kingdoms. The answer is multifold: social unrest, collapsing economy, and natural disasters reduce civilization to survivors who must rebuild. In our tale of two brothers on a mission, we find them on the road to Louis, the capital of the Kingdom of Missoura, a fine example of the rebuilt civilization albeit a decadent place. What happens in Louis tends to stay in Louis, of course. 

Set entirely in the year of 2353, THE WARRIORS BAUMANN has a satisfying conclusion, one which is not so obviously linked to my next novel, titled A TIME OF KINGS. Except for the exceptions. Let me explain....

Our future medieval epic opens with a battle scene in which a wounded king takes a boy found on the battlefield back to Louis, puts the boy into his family as brother to the king's own son and daughter. The adopted boy is given the name Jack, and he uses it throughout most of the book. His true name comes out later when we learn he is one of the ling line of Baumann descendants (there are earlier hints). Hence, a connection to the whole FLU SEASON Saga. However, this epic drama is not intended to draw from the earlier books any more than to recount the fall of civilization that occurs in them. There are no direct references back to those other books (unlike in THE WARRIORS BAUMANN where a stage play is performed based on an earlier character's opera, itself based on a much earlier character's notebooks recording events).

Thus, we have a wholly new story: an epic of vast scope covering the lifetime of our narrator, Jack, who becomes the Royal physician, giving him access to much Court drama, and thrusts him into the war between the twin princes. More crucially, Jack witnesses the aftermath of the war's outcome. Although the chief matters are settled, the Realm slowly succumbs to its liege's increasing melancholy despite attempts to intercede. No need to offer spoilers at this point. It is enough to offer this overview: a three-part novel - before, during, and after the great war between Chicageaux and Cinnati - with a vast scope (the kingdoms of the Americus) and a large cast of memorable characters living in the medieval society of the time. 

Background. In my early days of grandeur, around thirteen, when I thought i was on the verge of world domination, I opened a spiral-bound notebook and put Bic pen to lined page, and scribbled out the opening scenes of a big book that filled my head so full I feared drowning in the story. I didn't get far, writing by hand. Instead, I set myself to planning the story. I put some of my notes on paper using my manual typewriter. The main thing at that time was to record as much as I could of everything that happens, knowing that the scope of the epic story was too great for me to tackle in my adolescence. Also, I had yet to experience life in the way that's necessary to portray so many different people in the story with accuracy and verisimilitude.

I kept at it, held it in the back room, and in college wrote it as a screenplay - in those days where I believed I'd end up in Hollywood. At least in that format I was able to get the whole story down on paper: all the dialogue, all the twists and turns - and camera angles, fade outs, etc. From that screenplay, I began trying to novelize it - after being rejected by Hollywood. I started in the wrong place, and gave up. I gave it time and tried to write a novel version again only to run aground. In 2017 I published my only fantasy novel: EPIC FANTASY *WITH DRAGONS. In that story, the characters recount the infamous "War of the Five Princes" as a turning point in their ancient history (ancient to the characters in the far future where dragons fill the skies, but I digress...).

Then, as fate would assign it, many things happened in life and I wrote the FLU SEASON series. Then THE WARRIORS BAUMANN came along and I linked it back to the post-pandemic/collapse-of-society/rebuilding series of books. By the end of THE WARRIORS BAUMANN I knew that A TIME OF KINGS was inevitable. There are only a few minor references back to THE WARRIORS BAUMANN or the earlier books - easy to miss even if you've read those books. I intend for this newest epic novel to be a work on its own, but it's always fun to have a few ties to other works. No, this epic is completely serious (but with moments of natural humor, romance, wisdom, and so on like any good novel) and takes its subject seriously: the rivalry between twin princes that destroy the Realm in a future version of America built up from survivors' struggles to medieval kingdoms.

A TIME OF KINGS is finished. Complete. Undergoing the usual revision stage as I blog, with the cover artwork coming soon. Expected to be available in Fall 2026.

Next time: More on the plot, background in the story, and various connections. 

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(C) Copyright 2010-2026 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.

The Anti-Valentine Rant

February is rife with celebratory occasions, from the Super Bowl (shoulda been Chiefs over Saints) to the Chinese New Year (Go, Pig, go!) to Valentine's Day. However, as we approach the day of reckoning, the most dreaded day of the year for many of us, perhaps it's of some comfort to realize that it's all based on someone being executed. 

Why the fuss? Well, long ago Mr. Valentine was killed for daring to marry couples in secret against the wishes of the government. Romans, you know. So strict. Strange how what goes around comes around. At any rate, he paid for his crimes. And there is nothing more romantic than that, right? Dying for love, for the cause of love. So, well, there's that. Otherwise, it sucks.

Chocolate, flowers, tokens of affection, greeting cards, love notes.... Most of this slush funding comes as crass commercial putsch, of course. Marketing 101. It's all just a crummy money mill. Invent a season and sell stuff for the season - or else you will be labeled a rube, called insensitive, shown the door as the truly despicable person you are! It's foolproof inasmuch as only fools fall for it. And there are so many fools among us. Especially this week. I fall for it every year. But not this year! Oh, noooooo.

So this love thing.... What is it? Science tells us it's nothing more than a firing of neurons. It's a biochemical reaction to a certain stimulus. See a pretty face, feel happy. A pretty face is determined based on genetic programming and environmental quirks. Also cultural sensitivity training, perhaps. We know what we like; we have been taught what we like. For men, it's easy: there are ass men, boob men, and so on. For women...well, I've read they like broad shoulders and a non-physical attribute called confidence. Perhaps also some cash in the bank. I've heard that. Magazines can be wrong, I've also heard. Or it's all fake news. 

Even so, it's a walking stimulus.  Advertising is based on walking stimuli; Valentine advertising is based on sex-related stimuli. The problem is that such stimuli exists year-round, so what's the big deal with the focus being on one particular day of the year? Because, dear lovers of love, if you do not demonstrate said love to said lover on or near this special day of love, then you are identified as a dolt at best and an ex-lover at worse. There is no middle ground, only a pit of ruin, an abyss of regret. And that pit is not filled with chocolates - not even half-bitten chocolates.

Yet never fear! We have the means to solve your problem. Just like the commercials now on radio and television and with increasing annoyance the Internet (every ^&@#$%^&* web page!) there is a message that you (me? yes, you!) have a problem. You did not know you had it but you do. And it will zap everything that makes you the you that you think you are right out of you! You do not want that problem, do you? Obviously not. Well, as luck has it, we can cure you of the problem you did not know you had.

So for a certain amount of money we can give you something which will solve that problem. Drug companies seem to do this, too, and clearly have mastered the art. You go along with your simple, unadorned life thinking it's just a matter of getting older, not having a quality sleep, suffering a poor diet, not having enough friends, or at least not enough cool, hip, advertising-worthy friends (but who can ever have enough of those?), and then...BAM!!! It hits you. No, it's not your fault, so don't worry. Besides, we have a solution. 

Buy this! Plenty to choose from. Eat this! Drink that! Take this! Wear this! Drive that! Look this way! Pay me! Pay us! Pay all of us! Or else you are not the person you want to be. Or else you can never be the kind of person you think you are! Give us money and we will roll back time, give you a make-over, prep you for your big re-debut, help you sweep the lover of your dreams off his/her feet! We will make you a god/goddess! 

Give us your money. It's that easy. Oh, for shame. Got no money? Well, then you don't count. Never counted, in fact. And who would want you in his/her life anyway? That is, without all the money to buy all the solutions you need to fix all the problems you obviously have in order to fit into this perfect, virtual society we have constructed and dutifully maintain for the glory of all who worship the almighty Valentine and his many minions of Münchausen mania! Only then will you become worthy of membership in the Valentine Club. 

Just click off the obstinate media and return to your humble, quiet existence. Perhaps cuddle up with a wonderful, understanding book boyfriend/girlfriend. Many do. It's not that weird. Three-hundred pages or so will definitely last longer than an awkward round of that sexercise thing you used to do - well, that was before that Valentine thorn stuck in your side and started to hurt. Here's to that box of chocolates you eat all by yourself! You might also indulge in a vampire trilogy. I happen to know of one, in fact, so.... 

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(C) Copyright 2010-2019 by Stephen M. Swartz. All Rights Reserved. No part of this blog, whether text or image, may be used without me giving you written permission, except for brief excerpts that are accompanied by a link to this entire blog. Violators shall be written into novels as characters who are killed off. Serious violators shall be identified and dealt with according to the laws of the United States of America.