Why Fantasy?

When I tell people that I write fantasy, often their first question is, “why fantasy?” I suppose I could write suspense, mystery, or even contemporary fiction. It isn’t such a stretch for me to imagine myself seeking a story beyond the fantasy genre. But to me, fantasy brings to light the very things that make us who we are.

The ability to contemplate fantasy, is what makes us human. Even as small children, once we’ve learned who mommy is and how to crawl, we are exposed to the fantastical realm of the imagination. Our first stories are of magical creatures, gallant heroes, beautiful maidens, and far away kingdoms. Through fantasy, we learn honor, perseverance, bravery, and love. The noblest aspects of the human character is taught to us through make-believe and flights of fancy.

As adults, we often times forget these beginnings, and choose to leave “childish” things behind. We ground ourselves in stark reality, and set in our mind the bare facts of day to day living. We no longer believe that Snow White was brought back to life by the kiss of true love. We understand that dragons are not real. We fail see the magic that once was as factual as the air we breathe.  

With fantasy, we can revisit the part of us that still wants to believe. Sure, I could choose a different genre, but for me, the wonder I find in fantasy fills my heart with delight. And when I am able to share it with others, I feel as if I have made the magic of childhood come back to life. For a few hours, I have rendered the wicked world of adulthood powerless, and allowed someone to forget how cruel life can be.

Release Date!

March 14th!

 

Buy Gold!

In the past I have written about the state of our financial system. It is well-known that I am against the Federal Reserve, the income taxes that support it, and our removal from the gold standard. The fact that we are using a fiat currency system, a system that has failed 100% of the time, causes me a tremendous amount of concern. I've advised my friends to purchase gold so that they can secure a modicum of wealth should our currency collapse. Some people think this to be an alarmist view, but I assure you it is not.



Russia, China, Brazil, along with dozens of other countries have been purchasing tons upon tons of gold for this very reason. They see the writing on the wall. Do yourself a favor and purchase gold whenever you can. And for the love of God, keep it accessible. Do not put it in a bank, for if history is any indication you may not be able to get it back out, in the event of a financial catastrophe. The government has seized gold before and there's no reason to think they wouldn't do it again.

Contest Time!

Huzzah! It's contest time! The prize? A preview of the first 17 page which includes the prologue and chapter one of The Godling Chronicles-Book Three:The Shadow Of Gods. Three winners will be drawn on Feb. 22nd.
Entries sent to thegodlingchronicles@gmail.com (contest in heading)
Just include your name. Preview will be sent to entry address.

Shame!

For those of you who are my age or older (I'm 40 by the way... Well, 41) I wonder... Do you ever look at the next generation and feel that we failed them miserably. Through our own selfish behaviors, and misguided sense of entitlement, becoming more and more apparent that we are leaving the next generation, and the ones that follow far less than what we received.

And I'm not talking about global warming or an outdated sense of morality that was best left behind in the 1950s. I mean the global environment that we allowed to be controlled by those who only serve their self interests. We have allowed the radical right, and the even more radical left, to frame every debate in every country around the world.

Once upon a time, to be a moderate was to be reasonable and thoughtful, a person who understood that a single unbending mindset would lead to disaster. It always has, and always will. Now, being a moderate is associated with disinterest and an inability to form a solid opinion.

When once the idea of a centrist was associated with wisdom and understanding, the unbending polls of the political and social spectrum have driven us underground; relegated to writing useless blogs, and taking part in even more useless online discussions. And even then, we are attacked.

We live in a world where Christianity is associated with hard-liners and evangelicals. Jews are swarthy bankers looking to destroy the Palestinian people. Muslims are fanatical terrorists, who want nothing more than to either kill you or convert you. Well, at least were not saying anything negative about the Buddhist nowadays.

The funny thing is, I have friends in every religion that I can think of, of every race there is, and not one of them fit the description the fanatical left and right portray. So in essence, we've allow the world become a polarized, chaotic, mess. And the real tragedy is, we haven't even equip them with the tools to fix it.

Shame on us!

Pure Hero

Recently my son discovered the hobbit, largely due to the current motion picture, which sadly I have yet to see. You cannot imagine how pleased I am to see Jonathan enjoying something which has brought me so much pleasure over the years. Though I was a bit older and read the Lord of the rings first, the spirit of fantasy and adventure is the same. Good versus evil in its purest form, untainted by the cynicism of adulthood and the malcontent that life brings.

In my own writing I tried my best to include the things in fantasy that I've always found to be its best qualities. And though I am by no means Tolkien I have been greatly influenced by his ideas and his views on a pure fantasy world.

I've listened t many critics of Tolkien. Some simply cannot labor through the mountain of description he included into his stories, nor can they relate to his black and white depiction of right and wrong, good versus evil, and that the good guy always wins. In such a cynical world I think these lessons are more important than ever. Every day we are faced with more and more tragedy, combined with an ever growing sense of despair and hopelessness. So what is wrong with the purest version of fantasy?

Without giving the story away, I can assure you that my work will not become a dark tragedy. I have no intention of killing off all the good guys and allowing the evildoers to triumph. I don't believe that I have to darken the plot to make it interesting. The story can be dark and desperate times, and the heroes faced with seemingly insurmountable adversity, but the reader can take comfort in knowing that ultimately good will triumph over evil.

As dark and violent as children's entertainment tends to be today, I can't help but notice my son enjoying it when the good guy wins. So I suppose there's still hope for the future, when the children of this world still seek out and desire a hero in its purest form.