Dawnflight

(The Dragon's Dove Chronicles) (Volume 1)

Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
414 Pages
Reviewed on 11/06/2013
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Author Biography

Kim Headlee lives on a farm in southwestern Virginia with her family, cats, goats, and assorted wildlife. People & creatures come and go, but the cave and the 250-year-old house ruins -- the latter having been occupied as recently as the mid-20th century -- seem to be sticking around for a while yet.

Kim is a Seattle native (when she used to live in the Metro DC area, she loved telling people she was from "the other Washington") and a direct descendent of 20th century Russian nobility. Her grandmother was a childhood friend of the doomed Grand Duchess Anastasia, and the romantic yet tragic story of how Lydia escaped Communist Russia with the aid of her American husband will most certainly one day fuel one of Kim's novels. Another novel in the queue will involve her husband's ancestor, the 7th-century proto-Viking king of the Swedish colony in Russia.

For the time being, however, Kim has plenty of work to do in creating her projected 8-book Arthurian series, The Dragon's Dove Chronicles. She also writes other romantic historical fiction under the pseudonym "Kimberly Iverson."

    Book Review

Reviewed by Ray Simmons for Readers' Favorite

Dawnflight by Kim Headlee is volume one in a series on the Arthurian legend. This is an ambitious work on a subject and characters that many writers have tackled. Ms Headlee sets herself apart by making the story about Gyanhumara, or as she is more commonly known Queen Gwenivere. The story begins with Gyanhumara preparing to meet Urien, one of Arthur's commanders and the man she is expected to marry as part of a peace treaty forced on her clan when Arthur defeats them. There are many reasons Gyanhumara should marry Urien. He is a handsome, respected warrior and heir to the chieftainship of clan Moran. The land of their two clans border each other and a marriage between the next chief of one and female leader of the other will make both clans stronger. The marriage also fits into the plans of Arthur to strengthen and unite Britons against Saxon and Irish invaders. It makes absolutely no sense at all for Gyanhumara and Arthur to fall in love, which of course makes for a great love story.

Dawnflight is a tale reeking of historical authenticity and detail. The use of archaic names for people and places gives this novel a tone and feel many novels about this era lack. The descriptions of life in an England beset with fractious strife between clans and the constant threat of invasion is very convincing. Ms Headlee does a great job weaving plot, character, and setting into a very wonderful story.

Kim Headlee

Thank you for having a look at DAWNFLIGHT, the award-winning first volume in The Dragon's Dove Chronicles! Dawnflight is available in print, ebook, and unabridged audiobook editions for your reading/listening pleasure.

The sequel to Dawnflight, MORNING'S JOURNEY, is now available in print and ebook editions, and other volumes in this projected 8-novel epic series are in progress.