This One's Educational!

I've been wanting to do this for awhile. My publisher (Comfort) finally spurred me into getting ready for next week's big event.

I've created a nice little study guide/companion packet to go along with The Empyrical Tales.

I had already written some comprehension questions to use at school with Renaissance Learning's AR program. I converted those questions into two quizzes, one for each book. There's also a study guide with different activity suggestions for both younger and older students. For fun, I included an old-fashioned word search.

For those that really want a challenge, I made a Hero's Journey study guide. Basically, take the elements of Campbell's hero's journey and apply them to the plot of The Fourth Queen. It should make for some good discussion.

Anybody that wants the packet, please send me an email to Mark@MillerWords.com. I am offering them free for a limited time.

With only 5 days until the release of The Lost Queen, now is the perfect time to get this. Order from www.MillerWords.com and I will include the study guide along with your autographed book(s)!

Gift Giving

Another important element in the Hero's Journey is the Donor.

As you can surmise, the donor gives something to the potential hero. This can be information, but is often some useful tool or weapon that will help overcome the final obstacle.

Zandria and Olena meet their donor in the form of the Prismata, or Rainbow Princesses. The name I came up with implies their rainbow colors, each sister is a different color. Their contributions are a few gifts that are necessary to complete the quest. Some of the gifts are not actually used in The Fourth Queen (look for the Bronze Ring in The Secret Queen).

The final gift of the donors is to set Zandria and Olena on their path. A path which leads them to the next stage of the journey.....the encounter with the Mentor.

Now We're Moving

By the time we get to Chapter 5 in The Fourth Queen, all of the main characters have been introduced, as well as the land of Empryean.

Zandria and Olena have started their journey with Adam on their trail. Werewolves are searching the jungle. The bad guys are preparing their army. Even Fury is on his quest.

This is where Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey comes into play. Zandria has to go through her trials, because she is the hero here. All of the stages are in the plot and I will point them out as we continue.

The first stage is The Ordinary World. Kind of like a prologue where the hero is introduced. The hero is lacking something or has a tragic flaw. We also establish what's at stake.

From there, the hero begins the journey and hopefully a transition from the ordinary life to the special one.

One important piece of storytelling for me is the Character Arc. Following the hero's journey naturally provides for this arc. The character must change (who wants to see Harry Potter living under the stairs at age 30?). It doesn't always have to be the main character, but no story is complete with out someone undergoing some change.

Next comes The Call to Adventure...