A Look At Sanctuary-on-Severn

Concept cover art by Dan Morris

I am back from my anniversary holiday with my partner, and thought a good way to return would be with a more in-depth post about my novel, Sanctuary on Severn, and what inspired it. 

First, a quick note, if you haven't seen my other posts on here or on Instagram:

Sanctuary-on-Severn is an alternative historical, post-apocalyptic novel set in medieval England right after the Black Death plague. It follows Maven, a determined maid hoping to escape servitude, the spoilt and childish lady she serves, as well as the many characters and challenges they meet along the way in their quest to find safety in a changed and dangerous world.

I originally wrote this story for my undergraduate and masters degree dissertations.

The inspiration for this novel - apart from needing an idea for my undergraduate dissertation - came from two sources.

First, was the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy and, by extension, its film adaptation of the same name. I had great things about the book so decided to read it. I watched the film a few days later to see how it compared to the book and found it surprising similar. 

Second, later the same day I played a game I have played many times called Skyrim. For those who are unfamiliar, it is a medieval-esque fantasy game with dragons that is part of the Elder Scrolls series. 

Both of these influences got my brain thinking about how people in medieval England would have coped if the Black Death plague had caused even more devastation than it did. 

What if it had caused an apocalypse? What sort of dangers would people face? 

What would that world look like without guns and bunkers, etc.? How would they survive without canned goods, etc.? The things so commonly found in modern post-apocalyptic fiction. 

Next, I started to think of characters. So many post-apocalyptic fiction books, tv series, and films I had read/seen had male (or mostly male) characters. Therefore, I decided that the main character (at least) should be female. Another commonality for main characters in this genre is that they are usually adults, so I made my main character young, in her teens. 

This worked well with the medieval time period where most people were considered adults at the ages of around 12 or 14. So, although the main character is young, she would have the pressures of being considered an adult. And, as a female character, she has further stressors put on her by society.

I didn't want my main character to go on their journey alone, however, so I knew I needed to come up with a companion. But who? And what should their dynamic be with the main character?

I considered having the two characters begin the story as friends, but I wasn't entirely happy with this. The dangers present in a post-apocalyptic medieval world would be less constant or life-threatening than than those experienced in something like The Walking Dead. So, having a happy friendship between the two main characters would not be as entertaining or compelling. 

Eventually, I decided they would be characters that initially do not like each other, ad so, Maven and Dulcina became formed in my mind. A lot of historical fiction focuses on people in power, which is why I made Maven (the protagonist) just a maid. Making Dulcina a lady meant that the duo could have some use of power if needed. 

Finally, I needed a setting, an internal goal, and an external goal. 

The internal goal for Maven came easily. She finds Dulcina insufferable and wants to leave a life of service. She sees the new world created in the aftermath of the Black Death plague as the vehicle to do this. 

For the external goal, I decided to follow the tradition of a journey to promised (but uncertain) safety utilised by many post-apocalyptic stories. 

And for the setting,  I chose to go with something I love - the English countryside. 

I hope you've enjoyed this little insight into Sanctuary on Severn! If you would like to follow more of my progress with this novel, you can do so here on the blog or on my Instagram.