The 5-star review says The Fourth Queen has a "beneficial moral element"!
Read the full review HERE or copy and paste the link: http://homeschoolblogger.com/homeschoolbookreview/786414/
Monday, April 11, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Thresholds and Tests
21 days to The Lost Queen!
As Zandria continues her journey, she must cross several thresholds. These can be viewed either literally or metaphorically as doorways deeper into the special world. Many times these doors are blocked by guardians which test the hero's resolve and worthiness.
Aside from the hero structure, I wanted to incorporate familiar elements from other fairytales and folklore. I wanted to see characters that I knew, that my kids new, or maybe some we'd never heard of before. This led to extensive research. The result being that the major threshold guardians all come from our global subconscious and mythology.
First there is Baba Yaga from Russia. Then The Four Musicians of Bremen. In The Fourth Queen, they are quite opposite of their origins. The Kappa, who seems to be an audience favorite, came from Japan. Then Vasilissa and Psyche take on new personae from their source material.
The final threshold is guarded by an essential archetype of fantasy, the dragon. What fairytale would be complete without a dragon? I wanted Empyrean to feel ancient, so I decided to make common fantasy characters, like dragons and unicorns, either endangered or extinct. To me, this kept the focus more on the characters than on the monsters.
All of this leads to the Inmost Cave, Final Ordeal and finally the Death of the Hero.
As Zandria continues her journey, she must cross several thresholds. These can be viewed either literally or metaphorically as doorways deeper into the special world. Many times these doors are blocked by guardians which test the hero's resolve and worthiness.
Aside from the hero structure, I wanted to incorporate familiar elements from other fairytales and folklore. I wanted to see characters that I knew, that my kids new, or maybe some we'd never heard of before. This led to extensive research. The result being that the major threshold guardians all come from our global subconscious and mythology.
First there is Baba Yaga from Russia. Then The Four Musicians of Bremen. In The Fourth Queen, they are quite opposite of their origins. The Kappa, who seems to be an audience favorite, came from Japan. Then Vasilissa and Psyche take on new personae from their source material.
The final threshold is guarded by an essential archetype of fantasy, the dragon. What fairytale would be complete without a dragon? I wanted Empyrean to feel ancient, so I decided to make common fantasy characters, like dragons and unicorns, either endangered or extinct. To me, this kept the focus more on the characters than on the monsters.
All of this leads to the Inmost Cave, Final Ordeal and finally the Death of the Hero.
Friday, April 8, 2011
Meeting the Mentor
Only 23 days until The Lost Queen
Meanwhile, back in the pages of The Fourth Queen, Zandria is about to meet her mentor.
Campbell says, in the broadest terms, the mentor can simply be any source of wisdom. The mentor is there to assist the hero in overcoming basic fears. Many times this can be an evolved hero.
So, in a frozen part of the Dead Forest, Zandria and Olena meet William. He is a tragic character who once was something of a hero himself. Now he is 500 years old and, in Zandria's opinion, quite useless. As the story progresses, William does reveal his usefulness though. He has knowledge and wisdom to share with Zandria. Her view of the world is limited to Banookanook, while William has apparently traveled to all of the realms of Empyrean.
As I mentioned, William is tragic. He is found frozen and has been that way for 500 years. Everyone and everything he knew is gone. He found himself in this predicament because he lost his one true love. We know her as the late Queen of the Eastern Sky, but he knew her in an entirely different way. He almost calls her by her name once, leaving us with the clue that it starts with the letter "R". William awakens to a new world to see his home destroyed and his true love gone into the twilight. Yet, as a true hero, he pledges to aide the girls and helps them continue their journey. He repeatedly shows his compassion and bravery in each encounter. William even gives Zandria the final push along her path while apparently sacrificing himself.
Meanwhile, back in the pages of The Fourth Queen, Zandria is about to meet her mentor.
Campbell says, in the broadest terms, the mentor can simply be any source of wisdom. The mentor is there to assist the hero in overcoming basic fears. Many times this can be an evolved hero.
So, in a frozen part of the Dead Forest, Zandria and Olena meet William. He is a tragic character who once was something of a hero himself. Now he is 500 years old and, in Zandria's opinion, quite useless. As the story progresses, William does reveal his usefulness though. He has knowledge and wisdom to share with Zandria. Her view of the world is limited to Banookanook, while William has apparently traveled to all of the realms of Empyrean.
As I mentioned, William is tragic. He is found frozen and has been that way for 500 years. Everyone and everything he knew is gone. He found himself in this predicament because he lost his one true love. We know her as the late Queen of the Eastern Sky, but he knew her in an entirely different way. He almost calls her by her name once, leaving us with the clue that it starts with the letter "R". William awakens to a new world to see his home destroyed and his true love gone into the twilight. Yet, as a true hero, he pledges to aide the girls and helps them continue their journey. He repeatedly shows his compassion and bravery in each encounter. William even gives Zandria the final push along her path while apparently sacrificing himself.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Homeschoolin' Week
May 1st through May 5th, I will be appearing with Max Elliot Anderson (Mountain Cabin Mysteryand Barney and the Runaway) at The Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, North Carolina. This is all part of the Home School Association "Homeschoolin' Week". I will be on hand to celebrate the release of The Empyrical Tales Book II: The Lost Queen, signing autographs, doing workshops and lots of other fun and educational activities! Go to GreatWolf.com and enter discount code 1105HOME when booking your rooms.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Follow the link
I have a guest post on Gelati's Scoop today! Here is a snippet:
"I have a Theory of Firsts: the first sentence, first paragraph, first page and first chapter have to hook me. Too many times, if I’m not feeling it by the end of the first paragraph, then I may not enjoy the book or sometimes even finish it (kind of like my eight minute rule for movies). Try it with something like Great Expectations. When I start reading that one, I can’t stop. I’m not comparing anyone to Dickens, simply giving a good example of how the first page creates that needed hook for me."
To read the full post, go HERE
And please leave a comment for Giovanni to let him know you enjoyed my post.
"I have a Theory of Firsts: the first sentence, first paragraph, first page and first chapter have to hook me. Too many times, if I’m not feeling it by the end of the first paragraph, then I may not enjoy the book or sometimes even finish it (kind of like my eight minute rule for movies). Try it with something like Great Expectations. When I start reading that one, I can’t stop. I’m not comparing anyone to Dickens, simply giving a good example of how the first page creates that needed hook for me."
To read the full post, go HERE
And please leave a comment for Giovanni to let him know you enjoyed my post.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
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.
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.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Hello, Zandria it's for you...
Zandria receives the "call" in the form of the werewolf attack. Up to this point, the stage has been set for a grand adventure, but Zandria and Olena only know their tiny little world on the pristine beach of Banookanook.
Joseph Campbell states that an inciting incident needs to occur to get the story going. Something needs to create disorientation and discomfort for the hero to force them to move out of the "normal world" to the special one. This is quite often a major loss in the character's life. Luke Skywalker loses his aunt & uncle, Zandria loses her father. Then the character has no other option but to follow the call.
In Zandria's case, if she does not choose the path of adventure, her story is ended. She simply can not stay with the werewolves. She is literally forced into her own hero's journey.
Of course, she does not go alone. She is accompanied by her sister and Kez, the monkey-like Quzzak. Because they are sisters, they are like two halves of the same whole. They both share this journey and Kez serves as their mentor, and also a little comic relief. Once the girls meet William, Kez's role recedes a bit because William is more experienced in the "special world". Kez is actually a reluctant member on the journey as well. He did not really want to go, but his love for the girls forced him.
The Empyrical Tales are the stories of both sisters, but The Fourth Queen is ultimately Zandria's journey. The majority of the story is told from her POV and we travel with her through each stage. Olena is also a hero, but she does not get her own journey until The Secret Queen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)