Author2Author: Juliet Marillier & Jules Watson, Bonus Question

Juliet Marillier: I found the psychological journeys of your main characters in The White Mare absorbing. Without giving too much away, can you say a little about where you will be going with the other books in this series in terms of both theme and character development?

Jules Watson: One of the main themes I wanted to explore in these books was the concept of self-worth: how we often see ourselves as unworthy before "God(dess)" and the world. When Rhiann experiences her trauma and loss of connection to her spiritual life, she blames herself. I wanted to take that as a starting point and track the way she opens up to love again. In the next book, The Dawn Stag, we see the culmination of that process for her not just in terms of a love story, but in terms of her self-worth and spirituality. She is tested to her utmost both by worsening Roman attacks on Scotland, and her own inner demons. I wanted to show what I thought the fulfilment of this learning might be for her, how she might finally release her true soul and power to the world. Eremon, meanwhile, has his warrior identity tested, and Rhiann has to help him find a new way of being, too.

I guess I start out in The White Mare with a certain idea about what their masculine and feminine roles might be, their destiny, and then in The Dawn Stag that all gets flipped on its head. They both must delve further to find out what their true callings are. The third book, The Boar Stone, takes place three hundred years later with a connection to Rhiann and Eremon's descendants. The new heroine, Minna, has a very different path to walk from Rhiann. She has not been damaged by violence at the outset, so there's not that same healing to do. I am therefore able to take her deeper into discovering her psychic gifts and true identity. The last book is more about finding a sense of soul belonging, and remaining free from bitterness in the face of difficulties. And then.I'll have a rest!