I had never written a historical fantasy before, but time travel has always interested me. My novel, Beyond the Fall, was my first fantasy, sending a woman from the 21st century back to the 18th c. after she explores a neglected graveyard in Cornwall, England.
Cornwall became an obsession of mine. I've set several books there and read about the mysteries attached to this portion of England. My husband I traveled to North Cornwall for the first time to
research one of my historical novels. On a misty, foggy day (how appropriate) we walked on
the Bodmin Moor. The first sign we encountered was a tiny one that said Cheesewring
with an arrow. In those dark ages days before the internet was so readily
available, we scratched our heads, wondering what this could be.
Traipsing the mysterious moor over scrubby grass, glared at
by disturbed sheep, I saw a strange rock formation in the distance and insisted
my husband take my picture with it. Only when we arrived home, and I researched
in a book I had, did I find that this granite tor had been the Cheesewring.
Located on the southern edge of the Bodmin Moor, the
Cheesewring, or in Cornish, Keuswask,
is a geological formation on Stowe’s Hill formed by centuries of weathering—harsh
winds and rain. The name is derived from the piled slabs that resemble a cheese
press.
Thirty-two feet in height, the tor is top-heavy, the fifth
and sixth rocks of immense size and thickness. Four lower rocks support them,
all perfectly irregular, the towering formation having no lateral support as it
clings to the steep hill. It’s said the formation spewed from the earth, and
crystallized as tubular granite.
In local legend,
the Cheesewring is the result of a contest between a man and a giant. The
giants who dwelled in the Cornish caves were angry when Christianity was first
introduced to the British Islands. The Saints had invaded their land, and the
largest giant Uther was sent to chase them out. The frail Saint Tue proposed a
rock throwing contest. If he won, the giants had to convert to Christianity. If
Uther won, the Saints would leave Cornwall.
Uther easily
threw a small rock to the top of Stowe’s Hill. Tue prayed for assistance. He
picked up a huge slab, and found it miraculously light. They continued
throwing, stacking the stones in perfect piles. When the score was twelve each,
Uther tossed a thirteenth, but it rolled down the hill. Tue picked up his
fallen stone, and as he lifted it an angel appeared to carry the slab to the
top of the rock pile. At seeing this, Uther conceded, and most of the giants
converted to Christianity.
In a book on
Arthurian Legend, it’s said that the slabs turn and twist at certain times of
the year. Or when the tor hears a cock crow.
Located adjacent
to the Cheesewring Quarry and surrounded by other granite formations, this
landmark was threatened with destruction in the late nineteenth century by the
proximity of blasting operations, but was saved as a result of local activism.
Later, to indulge in my time travel fantasy, I wrote Beyond the Fall.
Blurb: In Cornwall, England, Tamara researches her ancestors. Among
gravestones she tumbles back to 1789 in the midst of grain riots. Will she fall
for the secretive farmer, Colum, or struggle to return to her own time? Highly Recommended ~ History and Women
To purchase Beyond the Fall click HERE
For more on Diane
Scott Lewis and her Cornish novels:
http://www.dianescottlewis.org
