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When Does a
Blood-Soaked Cucumber Solve Your Problems?
J. K. Knauss interviews Doña Lambra,
Villainess of SEVEN NOBLE KNIGHTS
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| The author with Doña Lambra in Barbadillo |
As Chapter II of Seven
Noble Knights opens, the people of the capital city of Burgos are
already celebrating while they prepare for the wedding of Don Ruy Blásquez, one
of the Count of Castile’s most loyal knights, to Doña Lambra de Bureba, some
twenty years his junior and the most beautiful lady in the land. Today author
J. K. Knauss sits down at the long table in the farmhouse in Barbadillo
sometime between Chapters VII and VIII to talk with Lambra while the cooks try
to prepare supper quietly at the hearth.
JKK: For the record, my
lady, where and when were you born?
Lambra: At Busto de Bureba under
the sign of Leo in the year of Our Lord 959.
JKK: You recently got
married. I don’t think things went as well as you’d hoped.
Lambra: Of course they
didn’t. Not only was I forced to marry some minor noble I’d never heard of
before, but I also unwillingly became the aunt of the so-called seven noble
knights, and they killed my cousin Álvar Sánchez! (Looks at her maid Justa, who has been sitting in the corner so quietly
the interviewer didn’t even know she was there until she tried to cover up a
sob with a cough.) If you can’t keep quiet, go outside and slop the hogs! (Justa slips out the front door.) Sorry
about that. She really doesn’t know her place these days. What right does she
have to be sad about Álvar? He was my cousin, not hers.
JKK: Tell me about your
cousin Álvar.
Lambra: Oh, I loved him so
much! He was the best knight Castile ever had, so strong and brave, and he
loved me. He took such good care of me at the wedding, always asking how I was
and holding my hand when I was scared. If he hadn’t been so closely related to
me… His body was so perfectly formed, he was more beautiful than a sculpture. Tall
and blond with icy blue eyes….
JKK: So he looked a lot
like you, my lady?
Lambra: Until all his teeth
were knocked out! They blame the horse, but I know it was my “nephew” Gonzalo’s
fault. And then, what that Gonzalo did to Little Page, my wedding present from
the count!
JKK: I am deeply saddened
by what happened to Little Page, but do you think Gonzalo was provoked? I mean,
it’s not every day your aunt’s servant dips a cucumber in a bucket full of
hog’s blood and throws it at you to stain your shirt—and your honor.
Lambra: No, not every day,
but it does happen and a man should know how to deal with it. If it had only
been because of the cucumber, he might’ve controlled his awful temper. But he hates
me. His whole family hates me, and that’s why they keep attacking my household.
JKK: You weren’t trying
to say anything with the bloody cucumber? I heard Gonzalo say it could be
interpreted as a death threat.
Lambra: What does he know?
JKK: He’s studied the law
of your Visigothic ancestors, my lady.
Lambra: Enough! You didn’t
say we were going to talk about my so-called nephews.
JKK: I thought all was
well between you. I thought you apologized for overreacting and sent your
husband, Ruy Blásquez, to make amends with his brother-in-law and nephews.
Lambra: (muttering) Oh, he’s making amends. (Justa drags in the door, even more
disheveled than when she left.) Justa, escort this… interviewer… to the
road out of Barbadillo, never to return.
JKK: (Takes Justa’s arm and walks out to the road.)
I’m happy to leave, Justa. I’m only sorry you have to stay here. (They embrace.) Please forgive me for
leaving you here with Lambra, dear girl. But without you, Part Two can’t
happen. I promise I’ll make it up to you in the sequel.
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| Available on Amazon |
Spain, 974. Gonzalo, a brave but hotheaded knight, unwittingly
provokes tragedy at his uncle’s wedding to beautiful young noblewoman Lambra:
the adored cousin of the bride dead, his teeth scattered across the riverbank.
Coveting his family’s wealth and power, Lambra sends Gonzalo’s father into
enemy territory to be beheaded, unleashing a revenge that devastates Castile
for a generation.
A new hero, Mudarra, rises out of the ashes of Gonzalo’s once
great family. Raised as a warrior in the opulence of Muslim Córdoba, Mudarra
must make a grueling journey and change his religion, then chooses to take his
jeweled sword to the throats of his family’s betrayers. But only when he strays
from the path set for him does he find his true purpose in life.
Inspired by a lost medieval epic poem, Seven Noble Knights draws from history and legend to bring a brutal yet beautiful
world to life in a gripping story of family, betrayal, and love.
“Let Seven Noble Knights welcome you to historical fiction!
…it’s a rich saga populated with characters you will grow to love (and a few
you will love to hate). The ancient empires of Spain are a beautiful backdrop
to the struggles of humankind across all generations of all lands: romance,
revenge, war, and adventure.”
—Pushcart Prize nominee Reneé Bibby,
The Writers Studio
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Born and raised in Northern California, J. K. Knauss has
wandered all over the United States, Spain, and England. She has worked as a
librarian and a Spanish teacher and earned a PhD in medieval Spanish literature
before entering the publishing world as an editor. Her acclaimed novella, Tree/House, Kindle Scout–winning
paranormal adventure Awash in Talent, and short story
collection, Unpredictable Worlds, are currently
available.
Her epic of medieval Spain, Seven Noble Knights, is now available on
Kindle from Bagwyn Books! The softcover edition comes out on January 16, 2017. Discover
all the amazing stops on the Grand Book Launch Blog Tour at JessicaKnauss.com. Feel free to sign up for her mailing list for castles,
stories, and magic.
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