Alexandra Ammon Parthun is joining us today to talk about her novel, For the Love of the Quest. Here’s the publisher’s description:
The search for King Arthur’s Excalibur invites danger—and potentially love—in this sapphic historical romance, perfect for fans of Cat Sebastian and Freya Marske.
Lady Edith Darling is supposed to live a quiet life in her family’s manor. She is not supposed to go unchaperoned on a quest to find Excalibur. But Edith won’t let that stand in her way, especially not when she’s on this mission to honor her beloved grandmother’s dying wish. Determined to prove her grandmother right, Edith packs her satchel with Arthurian legends, pastries, and her grandmother’s ashes and runs off to hire a mercenary.
Thomasin Shaw leads the most feared gang in London. For years, she had the constabulary safely in her pocket, until a scandal involving the chief inspector’s wife was brought to light. Now he’s demanding an enormous sum of money—without which Thomasin will lose the protection of the police along with her criminal empire. But when the rich Lady Edith waltzes into her life seeking an escort for a treasure hunt, Thomasin sees a willing kidnapping victim and a massive ransom.
As Edith’s clues lead them to underground chambers booby-trapped with arrows, doors locked with arcane puzzles, and even Arthur’s fabled round table, Thomasin finds herself swept up in the quest—and in Edith herself. Edith is also drawn to Thomasin, despite the ruthless mask she wears. But the chief inspector won’t let Thomasin forget her crimes, and Edith’s father is intent on bringing her home. Every legendary quest has an ending, but finding Excalibur might not be enough to make this a happy one.
What’s Alexandra’s favorite bit?
I had such a hard time deciding on what to pick for My Favorite Bit. Both because I don’t love tooting my own horn, and also, somewhat contradicting that claim of humbleness, I felt like there were so many bits to choose from. From Edith and Thomasin’s first kiss, to the different puzzles that required much research, to that pivotal church scene, I found that picking a favorite part was actually quite a challenge! This was a wonderful moment of surprise as I realized that I was indeed very proud of what I’d written in this book. In the storm of emotions that have come with publishing my debut novel, it has been easy to lose sight of the fact that I really did write something that I love. All that being said, what I finally landed on was this exchange of banter between Thomasin and Edith during their first—well technically second—but their first proper meeting.
“Is that what you keep stroking in your satchel? The artifact?” Thomasin reached for the bag, but Edith tugged it behind her back.
“No.”
“Then what is it?” Thomasin stepped into her space, reaching around for the strap of the satchel. “C’mon, I’m curious.” They grappled for control of the bag. Thomasin could have had
the satchel in seconds if she wanted to, but she was having far too much fun needling the girl. Not to mention she smelled better than anyone Thomasin had ever known. Like lilacs and vanilla.
Edith pulled back roughly. “It’s my grandmother’s ashes, okay! Are you happy?”
Thomasin dropped her hands, and Edith clutched the bag protectively to her chest. After an awkward beat of silence, Thomasin asked, “Are they like, loose in there? Or is it an urn situation?”
“Ugh! Obviously, an urn. Can you imagine trying to clean—you know what, never mind.”
This scene does two things that I love. It establishes the tone of the humor, and it threads in the heart of the story. That’s what it always comes down to for me—humor and heart. I think my best writing comes when I find a way to weave the two together. One of the things I’m most proud of about For the Love of the Quest is this mingling of heart and humor, and I feel as though this little bit of banter is a moment that really exemplifies that.
The humor in this book is very modern. The characters speak almost as if they’re in a contemporary novel, and that is intentional. While I knew that style would not be for everyone, I personally find it hilarious when historical characters joke around like we would today. Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition, the contradiction between tone and setting that I find funny, or maybe it’s just that I think it’s silly! Either way, the line, “are they like, loose in there? Or is it an urn situation?” is one of those moments of modern comedy breaking into a historical setting. This moment establishes something that I think is very important. This book is silly! We are here to have a fun time.
But most importantly, we can be silly and find depth at the same time. What I think really elevates this scene from just another joke is the way that it reveals the deeper emotion behind why Edith is going on this quest. We find out that Edith is keeping her grandmother’s ashes in her satchel, toting them around with her wherever she goes. This is both an absurd and very sad thing to do, and it tells us a lot about who Edith is. A very absurd but very heartfelt woman.
With just one snippet of banter, the reader is laughing (hopefully), getting a sense of the vibe this book is going to have, and they’ve learned something very important to Edith’s character arc. If something I’ve written can do that many things at once, I consider it a victory!
Thank you so much to Mary Robinette Kowal for allowing me the opportunity to reflect and gush about this little piece of writing!
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BIO:
Alexandra Ammon Parthun is a romance and fantasy writer with a BA in creative writing from the Ohio State University. She loves immersing herself in fantasy worlds, whether it’s through books, video games, or her favorite shows. When the real world isn’t as fun as she expects it to be, she writes stories where magic exists in the way she wishes it did. Where there’s always a dramatic adventure or epic love affair to be had. All of her books have been written to a soundtrack of Taylor Swift and songs from The Vampire Diaries, and her dog Piroshki has sat in her lap for every word.
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