After people read my trilogy “The Chosen One of Allivar” I ask them a very simple question. How many times did you cry? I ask this for a very simple reason which is to determine if I connected with their two basic emotions – joy and sadness. To give you a hint, I’ll refer to my own emotions. Very dear to me are my faith, family, and country. So let me explore each.
Faith – I am not one who expands on my faith. My beliefs are between me and my maker. What happens to me upon death is important and I tried to give some insight in my trilogy. I will go no further into this subject matter. But all great stories deal with the afterlife. Whether it was Gandalf’s resurrection to finish his task or William Wallace praying to die well, they are thinking of their own afterlife. “White shores and a far green country under a swift sunrise.” Visions of an unspoiled world make us all cry for sadness of the loss of one and a homecoming to another.
Family – even though we fight like cats and dogs, we would still stand united for anyone who tempts to tear us apart. There are many people I consider as close to me as my own family. Allivar means “The One Family.” On Allivar, seven races must band together to withstand the onslaught of evil’s quest to divide and conquer. In our world divorce and murder/suicides are becoming too common. I cry for this for evil appears to be winning. I also cry when I see the birth of a new child or a young child crying from pain. If you want to bring this 6’1″ 220 pound man to his knees, inject a story with children. I also cry about stories of my elders who endured great pains from the great depression and world war. When you see a grandparent cry while hugging a grandchild you have witnessed a great sight, which is the joy of knowledge that evil had not defeated their family.
Country – I live in a country where freedom is regarded as the highest form of inalienable human rights. For that freedom, we may be called upon to sacrifice our very lives to defend the next generation’s right. Valor and courage are at its greatest moment when families of various races come together to fight for their country and are willing to sacrifice for one another. I was 19 when U.S. citizens were held captive in Iran. I almost joined the military expecting to go to war. Whether watching Viet Nam vets or warriors of the war on terror returning home gives me tears of joy and sadness. They are the real heroes in my world.
Central to the theme of my trilogy is the loss of these three. I honestly cried while writing about them. I wanted to keep images of past stories in my mind with music and images to support those emotions so that they would bleed from me to the pages.
So if you read the trilogy and you cry more than four times, the cryometer scale is at 100%. I look forward to hearing what made you cry and why.
