Short-listed for IBPA Award: Kim Headlee’s King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court

King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court by Kim Iverson Headlee.

Written as though by the old master himself, King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court by Mark Twain as channeled by Kim Iverson Headlee offers laughs, love, and a candid look at American society, popular culture, politics, baseball… and the human heart.

Great news! Headlee’s book is shortlisted for the 2016 IBPA (Independent Book Publishers Association) Benjamin Franklin Award in the category of Science Fiction & Fantasy.

Illustrated with more than 100 pen and ink drawings, the book reprises Twain’s original publication of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, creating a new story  “channeled by Headlee” while all the while remaining in the Twain mode. Kim Headlee’s extravagantly illustrated book is lush with illustrations that capture the comedy, the pathos and the pure fun of a peek into our culture from an outsider’s perspective. Each chapter begins with an illustration, as did Twain’s celebrated book, and drawings grace the pages throughout, as they did in Twain’s. This is a book to enjoy, to treasure and to thumb through just for the humor of it. [Illustrations are by cover artist Jennifer Doneske and Tom Doneske, in collaboration with author Kim Headlee.]

The story begins by taking us back to the infamous Morgan le Fay, sixth-century Queen of Gore and the only major character not killed off by Mark Twain in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. She vows revenge upon the Yankee Hank Morgan. She casts a spell to take her to 1879 Connecticut so she may waylay Sir Boss before he can travel back in time to destroy her world. But the spell misses by 300 miles and 200 years, landing her in the Washington, DC, of 2079, replete with flying limousines, hovering office buildings, virtual-reality television, and sundry other technological marvels.

Whatever is a time-displaced queen of magic and minions to do? Why, rebuild her kingdom, of course—two kingdoms, in fact: as Campaign Boss for the reelection of American President Malory Beckham Hinton, and as owner of the London Knights world-champion baseball franchise.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is a work of passion by Kim Headlee, and author known for her Arthurian romance novels and her no-holds-barred insights into today’s world and culture. Working with Lucky Bat Books, she held her vision of a book that was not just a novel, but was a recreation of a book design, story and art from bygone years — more than a hundred years bygone! But most important? Her story entertains and pokes fun, as did Twain’s, which is possibly why he chose her to be his channel into the 21st Century.

The Lucky Bat Books team worked to find the fonts, the art style and the expressions of all to bring this book to life on the page, living up to the tone set by author Kim Headlee. We’re proud to be your publisher, Kim!

Read more about Kim Headlee and her published works here on our website and on her website: The Maze of Twisty Passages.

Managing editor & interior book designer: Judith Harlan

Cover and illustration artist: Jennifer Doneske