Guest Post: Amalia Dillin

When Eve Hits the 15th Century, The 15th Century Hits Back

Eve has lived countless lives: Yocheved, mother of Moses; Helen of Troy; Olympias, Queen of Epirus; Mary, mother of Jesus; and  hundreds of lives in between.  She is Spartan and Amazon, Princess, Queen, Slave and Pauper. And in 15th Century France, she is Anessa, the daughter of a poor Baron, betrayed by the sister she loved and accused of heresy by the Church.

I’ll be honest, I kind of hate the 15th Century. I hate the clothes and the utter nonsense and complete corruption of the Church. I hate the mad kings and the senseless bloodshed. I hate the burning of Joan of Arc and the witch hunts – not for witches, necessarily, but for heretics. The whole period feels incredibly stifling all the way around, not to mention lacking in awesome myths and gods and heroes.

For Eve, I can only imagine how much more frustrating it would have been. Everyone around her is worshipping a god she knows is dead, and the Church is profiting off their faith and their backs, taking lives in God’s name when, to her mind, they had no right to use it at all. Making matters worse, as a noblewoman of that time, she had no real freedom of her own, and that’s before she’s locked up in the Palace of the Popes to await interrogation by an inquisitor.

But Eve isn’t afraid. The Church can burn her, but they can’t kill her. And this is France! Home to her House of Lions, the family she founded with her first husband. Even if Avignon is a long way from them, when the right opportunity presents itself, she can always go home.

Of course, she didn’t count on her Lions finding her first. Or the fact that the Marquis DeLeon, for all his kind words and good-intentions,  is still just a product of his time.

If Eve thought being accused of heresy was the worst this lifetime had to offer, in TAMING FATE, she’s about to learn her 15th Century problems are only just beginning.

Also By Amalia Dillin:

Forged by Fate
Fate Forgotten