S.2 Ep. 150: Camelot, Curses, and the Arthurian Villains History Remembered: Victoria Mier on Between the Rival Courts
S.2 Ep. 150: Camelot, Curses, and the Arthurian Villains History Remembered: Victoria Mier on Between the Rival Courts  
Podcast: The Mythic Mic Podcast
Published On: Fri Nov 06 2026
Description: 🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where sometimes a man leaves presents at your door like a cat, except the present is the severed hand of the man who harassed you.This week, host Sara Santillan sits down with author Victoria Mier to discuss Between the Rival Courts, an Arthurian fantasy filled with dangerous druid magic, rival spies, morally complicated characters, reincarnation, feminine rage, and a very different take on the legends of Camelot.Nyneve is a banished witch desperate to prove herself to the Druid clan that cast her out. Mordred is a changeling knight secretly spying on King Arthur’s court for the fair folk. When both find themselves embedded in Camelot on behalf of rival factions, their personal missions collide with broken alliances, looming war, dangerous magic, and the question of whether the people we love can always be saved.🗡️ What happens when a banished witch and a changeling knight are both secretly spying on Camelot?🖤 What if the villains of Arthurian legend were never as simple as the stories made them seem?🐈 And is it romantic if he leaves gifts at your door like a cat when the gift is a severed hand?If you love Arthurian legend, dangerous witches, morally gray knights, rival spies, feminine rage, reincarnation, knife-to-the-throat tension, complicated villains, dark fantasy, and characters who might leave you questioning exactly who you should be rooting for, this episode is for you.🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT:✨ Victoria’s journey from journalism and antiquing back to the fiction and fantasy stories she always wanted to write.✨ Why writing characters who make readers feel deeply seen also requires an author to allow parts of themselves to be seen.✨ Victoria’s argument for writing the stories you wish existed instead of trying to predict what the market wants next.✨ Between the Rival Courts and its reimagining of Arthurian legend through banished witch Nyneve and changeling knight Mordred.✨ Two rival spies infiltrating Camelot while broken accords threaten to send humans, druids, and the fair folk toward war.✨ Questioning why characters like Mordred and Morgan le Fay became the villains of Arthurian legend and what might exist beneath the stories we inherited.✨ Why Victoria is unapologetically pro-discomfort and would rather make morally complicated characters worse than sanitize them for readers.✨ The knife-to-the-throat moment that made readers even more obsessed with Mordred than Victoria expected.✨ Reincarnation, past lives, and the hidden dialogue and imagery connecting this prequel to Victoria’s modern-day duology.✨ Why Victoria wants readers to finish the book with dread, suffer before earning their happy ending, and still recognize hope as something worth choosing.CONNECT WITH US🎙️ The Mythic Mic Podcast – @MythicMic👤 Bethany Amanda – @BethanyinFantasyland👤 Sara Santillan – @the_magical_quill📚 Victoria Mier – @By_VictoriaMier✨ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review. It helps more fantasy readers and aspiring authors find their way to The Mythic Mic.