Thanks to fellow author Victoria Grefer for posing a question she receives from readers asking her about her stories. Where did your idea come from? Well here it goes. I had already decided to write a story inspired by my love of all things JRR Tolkien and specifically the Lord of the Rings. The story definitely involves an epic quest, war, love and sacrifice. Then I was challenged by a group of men in a Bible study group, to include a creator in the story. As one stated there are plenty of stories where evil has a face, but good is some unseen and benign presence.
Let me explain that the Bible is a fantastic source for creating epic stories. However, I believe in free will and not being judgmental or preachy. This is a story about the near loss of all life and paradise to evil. For this I referred to the historical account of the siege of Masada. Those who are not familiar with the story, it is a story of a band of Jewish rebels who held off a Roman legion at Masada. These rebels held off the Roman’s for months. In the end, when the Roman’s had finally stormed the fortress, everyone had been killed by their own kind, with the assumption the final person committed suicide. They did this to show the Roman’s they would prefer death over slavery and torture.
Now from this story, I formulated the following questions to my story premise:
- How was my fantasy world created and how was evil born?
- How would one react to be called the Chosen One?
- How would you react to those of different races?
- Would you lose your faith and denounce your creator if you were the last one standing?
- What was the creator’s test for this last person standing?
- What if this last person passed the test, what would the creator do next?
- What is the purpose an afterlife?
From these questions the chapter outlining began, followed by research and finally writing and editing. In all, this epic effort took ten years. The core values of the story are contained in a fantasy realm, complete with monsters and demons, and unbelievable accomplishments of the hero. I can promise you this much, remain faithful to the end and you will be touched.
One final point, this trilogy is about the human family, which includes all of us, our parents, our children, our races and our differences. Evil works to separate us day and night, and the outcome of their interference is the destruction of us all. Evil leads us to hatred, bigotry, bullying and finally war. It is the story of the reconciliation of our differences to come together to defeat evil. It is not only allegorical, but topical to our times. How will we respond? Will we make the stand for good over evil. Read the trilogy, think it over and then let’s talk about it.
