Now I suppose you might be wondering as to where I got my inspiration for my retellings of the Arthurian cycle, eh? 

Well for starters, I've always been fascinated by the legends of King Arthur and was surprised to learn that Tolkien used some elements from Arthurian lore for his immortal classic, 'Lord of the Rings', concerning Aragorn. 

Yeah...Tolkien is another inspiration for obvious reasons. 

Norse mythology also had a hand to play in this retelling, due to the very fact that the Vikings DID invade England and conquer most of it. 

And yes, the Normans were Viking descendants so they count. 

I've also been inspired by three Total War games...two of them I have played before, the third...has yet to be available for Mac users like me. 

They are Total War: Thrones of Britannia, Total War: Warhammer and Total War: Warhammer II. 

Celtic culture and mythology, particularly from Ireland and Scotland which I share some connection to, also play a part in this retelling. 

I was also inspired by Guillermo Del Toro's fantastic imagination when it comes to creating a race of beings, particularly in Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Where the Elves are shown to be pale-skinned and fiery-eyed...and the armor they wear...definitely awesome...but...they're also my inspiration for the Svartalfar (Dark Elves). 

The new God of War is another inspiration, along with the video game Kingdom Under Fire: The Crusaders, Shakespeare's classics A Midsummer Night's Dream and Macbeth, Disney's Gargoyles and another video game, The Bard's Tale, which I am a big fan of. 

Lastly I've also been inspired by Bernard Cromwell's Saxon Stories, particularly The Last Kingdom TV series.

Ah...and I've finally found the perfect Big Bad for my Arthurian cycle retelling, Prince Maleagant or Malagant, son of King Oberon from a mortal Queen who seeks control not only of England, but also of Oberon's domain, the Otherworld...and will do ANYTHING to make sure he becomes King, even use Morgause, Mordred or even the Fomorians and their allies to get what he wants.