I recently had the opportunity to meet and work with Corbin Bernsen. You might know him from L.A. Law, Major League or Psych. I know him as an interesting guy with some new ideas. He was in Orlando and we did a one day shoot for a faith-based movie I am involved with called Heading Home.

While we were on set we talked about one of my favorite shows, Psych. We also had the chance to discuss the importance of positive values in entertainment. We are on the same page in saying there needs to be more books, movies and TV for the family. He and I are both at interesting points in our spiritual journeys as well. I won't put words in his mouth, but he seems to dislike labels as much as I do.

Now, I'm patiently waiting for his feedback on The Fourth Queen. I have to say it was a treat working with him and the very talented members of the rest of the cast and crew.

Here's me spouting

If you're a fan of Star Wars (I am, even after the prequels) then, at least once, you've seen or read an article when Lucas talks about the Hero's Journey.

It's a real thing. It's not something he made up to justify cardboard actors in an effects-laden space opera.

This guy, Joseph Campbell, devoted much of his career to it. He was huge and did a lot with fairy tales and folklore and mythology. I'm not going to bore you with the details, but if you are interested, google him. Trust me, it's worth it.

Anyway, Campbell lays out a blueprint for a Hero's journey. There are necessary steps to become a hero, like humble beginnings, the wise mentor and the hero's death. Not every story has every element, but all have at least some.

When I set out to write The Fourth Queen, I wanted to make a true fairytale. I read alot of Campbell's work and laid out my plot with all the necessary steps for Zandria to become a hero. Yes, Zandria is the hero, regardless of the story's end. Without going over every detail, she comes from humble beginnings and is thrust out of her element. She meets her Obi-Wan in the form of Prince William. She even experiences the Hero's Death in the bell chamber. That is when she truly becomes a hero and is "resurrected" as one. That is where her character arc completes.

Oh yeah, character arc is important to me. If the character never changes, why do we care about them? Sometimes they change for good, other times for worse. At least one character in a story has to have an arc, or I don't consider it a real story. What's the point of only having a story arc with no character arc?

Now you're sitting there thinking, "He ripped off Star Wars." From the beginning of written communication, people told stories and before that they actually talked and told stories. These elements were present from the start and are infinitely older than Lucas, Campbell or Shakespeare, but maybe not Beowulf.

So, I did not borrow from anything, instead I worked really hard, did a lot of research and created a traditional, structured fairytale. Also, it's a really fun story!

Three's Company

The dwarf Lord Vanril, the snail-like General Gusk and the gypsy witch Sasha. Oh, and Adam.

One of these things is not like the others. Three of these people are not nice. Their only goal in life is to bring about the return of the Forgotten Evil.

*****SPOILER ALERT*****

Don't read this unless you've finished The Fourth Queen, or don't mind spoilers. The three baddies fail and Adam changes sides. When Adam, a ten-year-old boy, is introduced, he is working for the bad guys. He spent his life underground as a slave in a mine. They send him above ground to stop Zandria and Olena in their quest. He gets his revenge by helping the sisters instead.

*****END SPOILER*****

Vanril, Gusk and Sasha were all created as recurring characters. Until the final showdown with the Forgotten Evil, the girls need other nemeses. We probably won't ever learn much more about them than that they like to do mean things. (The preceding sentence might win an award for the most repetitive use of "th")

Adam serves a better purpose. He is the same age as Zandria. While that age is still young, as the characters grow older, their relationship may develop into something more. Adam also becomes one of the identifiable characters for male readers. True, The Fourth Queen is a classic fairytale about two sisters, but boys like fantasy-adventure too.

I needed a guy like Adam to balance the story. Besides, he's a good kid, only a little misunderstood.

There's one other male lead still to be introduced. Before then, I'm going to act like George Lucas. Next post, I will spout off about fairytale structure and the Hero's Journey.

Oooooh, Scary Story...

For the main part of the story, Zandria and Olena are chased by werewolves.

I did not want the girls to meet the principal bad guys in this story. They never encounter Gusk, Vanril or Sasha directly. That left me with the opportunity to maybe bring those three back later. Instead, werewolves!

Are werewolves too scary? They definitely add a sense of tension and urgency to the sisters' journey. The werewolves work well as a constant reminder that Zandria and Olena must keep going. There is also an intense scene involving the werewolves and unicorns. So, yes, they are very scary.

I believe it was Walt Disney who said we need fear. He did not mean outright Stephen King-type terror, but King works from the same principle. Disney employed wicked witches, killer whales, step-sisters and ghosts across his stories. That little bit of uncomfortableness reminds us of where and with who we are safe. Maybe a werewolf jumping out of the shadows gives us a fright, but then a giggle and the reminder that we are surrounded and protected by the ones who love us.

Happy Halloween!

My Girls

After a sweeping introduction to the land of Empyrean, we finally meet the two main characters:

Zandria and Olena

Two sisters born four years apart. They spent their early childhood in the beach side village of Banookanook. My own girls are only eighteen months apart, but the older one definitely acts older and the younger is my baby.

I wrote this story for them, really for all four of my children, but especially for the two girls. Life's hard enough and being a parent makes it that much tougher. Here I had a chance to teach my girls some values, show them how important it is to be strong and independent. I could sneak a lesson into a make believe world of fairies and unicorns. That way, when they reach the age when they know more than me (probably twelve), it will be ingrained and my job will be done.

So yes, Zandria and Olena are my daughters. It's almost like having two sets of daughters. At least with one of the sets, I will have complete control over where they go, who they date, etc. Unfortunately, life is not as easy as coming up with an outline and writing a chapter.

I took some of the best traits of my girls and gave them to Zandria and Olena. I even stole some of their behaviors and idiosyncrasies. That click that Olena does when she has something important to say is real. Then I had to give them some things to make them different and allow them room to grow. My oldest is not nearly as self-centered as Zandria starts out...at least not yet, she's not a teenager.

I gave them a beautiful home and a happy life. Then I took it all away and threw them into a huge adventure. Even with two young girls as the main characters, I needed the story to have a broader appeal. The girls couldn't sit around building sand castles and playing dress-up.

So I sent my girls out into the world of Empyrean and I am going to do my best to keep them safe.

A Little About The Bad Guy

So, The Forgotten Evil kind of sums it up.

He's really old, so much so that he's been forgotten. Literally, there's no one around that remembers him.

Oh, and he's evil, really evil.

The Forgotten Evil will not be seen until the final story, The Last Queen. Until then, he is a shadow and a mystery. Any bad guys that come along in the meantime work in service of this guy. He's the reason they do what they do. The Forgotten Evil is nameless and shapeless. Maybe at one time, he was a person and there will be more on that in Book IV: The First Queen.

For now, he is the man behind the curtain, serving mostly as a plot device.

Being such an absentee master, he still manages to be quite a motivator. In the land of Empyrean where peace has reigned for hundreds of years, the Forgotten Evil has managed to muster quite an army: the snail-like General Gusk, dwarf Lord Vanril, Sasha the gypsy witch, carnival ringleader Raymond Shaydaway, Spynum Begg, Emperor Am-Li. Not to mention the hordes of underlings willing to do mean things: werewolves, Rockhorns, dwarves, half-dino warriors, black cloud monsters, or kappas.

The question is, who will win in the end? The Forgotten Evil or the queens?

He's small, but not a chicken hawk

Aeran is the Captain of the Guardian Hawks of Empyrean. 


These hawks are like an honor guard. Oh and they're tiny, like hand-size tiny. They do important things like deliver messages and look good at special events. The hawks have a rich history and they used to be much larger. There will be more about them in Book III: The Secret Queen and Book IV: The First Queen.


In The Fourth Queen, the hawks are represented by Aeran (he gets his name from my brother Aaron, btw). This little guy is the newest captain and he's fairly cocky. Chapter 3 shows his change from a bragging showoff to a dedicated and honorable soldier. He has the first encounter with one of the Forgotten Evil's beasts and gives us a tour of the eastern realm at the same time. We see from the air all the terrain that Zandria and Olena will have to cross on the way to the castle.


Besides Aeran, his three fastest hawks are Bellevue, Derek and Habrok. While Aeran's name is borrowed from the real world with an avian twist, the other three are homages to fictional birds. Hábrók comes from Norse story Gylfaginning, dealing with the creation and destruction of the world of the Norse gods. Ever heard of the Bellevue Blackhawks? I'm not a sports fan, so I wonder what I was thinking in retrospect, but that name comes from the Bellevue, WA basketball team. Derek is inspired by Derek Blunt, the greatest agent in the history of Darkwing Duck's S.H.U.S.H. agency. While the names were inspired from their hawk origins, they really have nothing more to do with their source material. 


One of many "easter eggs" in The Empyrical Tales.