The Journey Begins: Introducing Knight School!

You may have noticed I’ve been a little quiet on here and social media lately. Well, that’s all about to change…because I’ve finished my second-ever novel!

I’ve been working very hard through July and August to get my latest book, Knight School: The Rod-Man Cometh into its final form so that I can begin my querying journey. This will be my second finished novel after my previous one, The Showstopper, which I self-published back in 2020, and the first that I seek representation for. While I’m of course a bit nervous about how my attempts at querying work out, I’m very excited as well just to see what the process has in store for me and what it’s really like.

If you’re reading this, you’re probably wanting to know a little more…so in this post, I’ll be answering the most important questions you may have about Knight School!

What is Knight School About?

You can read my official back-cover blurb for Knight School on my books page, but in a nutshell it’s a medieval historical fantasy novel focused on the adventures of two main POV character. On one hand, you have Danitha Alder, a peasant girl who runs away from home in search of adventure and ends up becoming a squire for Sir Roderick Payne, a student at St. Cecil’s School of Sword and Sorcery. On the other, you have Tessa Blackstone, an unwilling princess caught up in courtly politics and an arranged marriage she desperately wants to escape. There’s magic, dueling, schooling, laughs, tears, and everything in between as both women try to navigate and break free of the paths laid out of them…and the key to doing so may lie with Rod, an extremely unconventional knight and perennial slacker neither of them can stand.

Knight School is my attempt to offer readers something outside of the dark fantasy/romantasy niche that seems to be saturating the market these days. While I certainly don’t begrudge anyone their own tastes, I miss fantasy stories that were just offbeat, feel-good fun like The Princess Bride, A Knight’s Tale, Labyrinth, The Neverending Story, and the like. It’s that kind of lighthearted, not-too-serious, but still with something to say story that I’m trying to recapture.

What Genre is Knight School?

Knight School fits firmly into the realm of fantasy, but also is designed to appeal to readers of historical fiction. In that way it’s very representative of my favored area of fiction to explore, historical fantasy: taking real places and settings from history and bringing some kind of fantastical twist to them that defies expectations. I definitely take a few liberties with actual, factual history, but I love leaving enough reality to make people question whether or not this story could actually have happened.

While there are definitely some serious parts and themes in Knight School, the overall tone of the story is designed to be light-hearted and a little goofy, focused a lot on the entertaining and sometimes combustible relationship dynamics between my characters. So if you’re into fantasy adventure and academia with a solid helping of comic timing and amusing, witty dialogue, this is the story for you!

Where Does Knight School Take Place?

Knight School takes place in a highly fictionalized version of medieval England, somewhere around the 13th century or so. The story leans heavily on Arthurian mythology (King Arthur and Merlin fans, rejoice!), with some of my own personal spin to it. After the fall of Arthur’s Camelot, Albion (as England was known in ancient times) has been divided into regional kingdoms overseen by leaders appointed by a central Council of Regents, making this feudal world a semi-democracy as well. The Code of Chivalry, originally meant to govern knightly behavior, is more or less the accepted law of the land, and in a parallel to today’s competitive education system, rival “knight schools” cover the countryside where students train to become the knights of tomorrow under different masters and educational focuses.

On a side note, I made a very deliberate choice when writing Knight School not to worry about crafting 100% accurate medieval dialogue. I’ve noticed a very common trend in historical fiction and fantasy these days is to include contemporary slang and phrasing where it makes sense, and it’s something I personally love using for enhanced comedic effect. I’m sure Shakespeare would be appalled…or would he enjoy it?

When Can I Read Knight School?

This all depends on what happens with my querying journey. My current plan is to start querying this month and continue attempting to get an agent interested for a year or so. If by that time I don’t have any interest or have not gotten an offer that works out, I plan to self-publish Knight School as I did with The Showstopper. Of course, if I get an agent, I’ll then have to find a publisher who wants the book, which could mean it takes longer.

Short answer, TBD…but hopefully sooner rather than later!

Where Did Knight School Come From?

I’ve only been working on Knight School in its current form for the last three years or so, but the history of this book goes way beyond that. Nearly ten years ago now I had come up with a story idea that was essentially an American retelling of Harry Potter: what I imagined a similar school of sorcery would be like in the modern-day United States, with all the cultural and political baggage that comes with it. It was primarily humorous, meant to be a satire not only on contemporary issues but the fantasy genre in general, and I created a cast of characters I absolutely loved…but despite multiple attempts at rewriting, I never felt the story was original enough to truly break free of its influences and stand on its own.

At the same time, I’d always wanted to create a fantasy story in line with The Princess Bride, as I explained earlier. I had a great plot in mind, but no idea what the characters would look like. So one day, I thought, “Why don’t I just put the two together?” I had to make some changes and cut quite a few elements, but many of my beloved characters from the original story survived, albeit in a different context and slightly different forms. I’m excited to finally be able to share them with all of you!

Will There Be More of Knight School?

I don’t want to say too much before this book is even published, but short answer…yes! This book can certainly stand on its own, but I always went into writing it with a longer story arc in mind: one that would span a full trilogy of stories. Hopefully that goal will be born out with time and however my journey develops, but I look forward to hearing people’s thoughts on all the threads I’ve left over for future installments to pick up.

Where Can I See More?

For all the latest inside details I can share about Knight School and on how my querying journey is going, follow me on Instagram @krobauthor! I look forward to welcoming you into the world I’m creating.