Pulse thudding hard and a grin tickling her lips, wee teenage Amelie hit “publish” for this blog in the spring of 2019, jittery with the excitement to scratch her writing itch through the sparkling new world of WordPress.
Sprinting down the corridors of my mind palace, racking my creative faculties for a name, I quickly settled on Swordmaiden of the King. “Swordmaiden” may come from other places, too, but I first stumbled across it in Wayne Thomas Batson’s The Door Within trilogy, my first fantasy fandom after Middle-earth and Narnia. I love the way that the battle against evil is allegorically depicted in that trilogy, and those kinds of stories inspire me to take up my sword and look to my King for strength as I live this life for his glory.
Becoming an author is one of my oldest dreams, and my hard drive and Notes app on my phone is stuffed with brainstorming and drafts for stories, sprawling lines of poetry, and fanfiction. If any of my written, or typed, words point to a splinter of beauty and fragment of God’s glory, nothing would fill me with greater joy in my writing. If you spend any amount of time around me, it’s also not hard to figure out that books are some of my favorite things in the world. (My name could be found next to “bibliophile” in the dictionary. Ask anyone who knows me.) My favorite authors include J.R.R. Tolkien, N.D. Wilson, Kyle Robert Shultz, W.R. Gingell, Andrew Peterson, Gary D. Schmidt, John Piper, Jackie Hill Perry, Joy Clarkson, and Sarah Clarkson. Rhapsodizing about written words, tugging out my fifty-page document of book recommendations, and supporting authors are some of my favorite things to do in the bookish world. Among other things, you can expect book reviews, cover reveals, and story spotlights to pop into your inbox (probably composing a large percentage of the content on this blog).
I’m broken in every way, but Jesus is still my King and Savior. He chose me, loved me, and saved me when I was his enemy, and he holds me fast today, keeping me as I stumble through the weary world. My heart can grow numb, but he is helping me to love him most and first, to care most about what he thinks.
* favorites *
to read: the lord of the rings + the ashtown burials + the aftermythos + the city between
to listen: andrew peterson + cityalight + the arcadian wild + soundtracks + podcasts
to watch: the lord of the rings + the chronicles of narnia + the mcu’s infinity saga + the star wars animated shows + all creatures great and small (pbs masterpiece) + doctor who
to marvel: theology, rain, walks, clouds, stars, chocolate, autumn and winter, biscuits, the United Kingdom, Goodreads, lists, journals, apple pie, coffee and tea, calligraphy pens, sunrises and sunsets, overnight oats, thunderstorms, wholesome conversations, singing
As a starry-eyed teenager plotting out every avenue for Swordmaiden of the King in my planner, I naïvely declared I would write once a week. But as I continued through high school and fell, sometimes literally, to my knees as life heaved around me, I quickly learned that this time in my life didn’t allow me to commit to a weekly post. The best I can hope for now is about once a month, but that’s still very rarely the case. When I do post, though, you’ll see the topic of books pop up frequently in my posts (hopefully not to a tiresome degree). I talk about my faith and life quite often, too, because every week I live, as I keep falling and God keeps pulling me up, I’ve grown convinced that He is good and kind and faithful. I hope my musings can help you see his beauty a little more, too.
I live in a tiny cupboard under the stairs of the Internet here at Swordmaiden of the King, and if you’ve somehow stumbled across my little home here, welcome. Elen síla lúmenn’ ommentielvo. I hope this is a warm and lovely place for you to stay awhile. And please, please don’t hesitate to say hello in the comments; I would love to meet you.
Thank you so much for stopping by (and bearing with my sporadic posting schedule). May the Lord bless you, keep you, and give you peace.
Swordmaiden of the King 