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Author Insights EC: Giovanni's Angel Excerpts

Author Insights 12: Topics vs. Themes (part 3)

authorinsight

Topic: 1a subject of conversation or discussion

Theme: 2a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art

The Three Major Themes of Eternal Curse

Purpose | Discovery | Faith

Faith

Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe. ~Voltaire

The first thing I want people to understand about the importance of faith is that faith and religion are not the same thing. Granted, a lot of the time when people discuss faith it’s usually directed toward faith in a particular belief system or religion, but you can or cannot have faith in anything. In Eternal Curse, I touch on many facets of faith.

So before I really get into the basic faith themes in this book, let me tell you what tests the faith of my characters. Dealing with such issues as death, solitude, and the existence of angels, demons, and others stretched the limits of what my character are willing to believe in.

Most people agree with the old saying that states that nothing in life is as absolute as “death and taxes”, but what if you experienced something that made you question the finality of death. What if death wasn’t coming for you, ever? Is Eternal life on Earth all that it’s cracked up to be? And what about an afterlife; would you want another life after death, bad or good?

Solitude can be experienced in so many ways and at varying levels. Giovanni feels that his solitude has left him with little faith in humanity. If you have no faith in someone or something, is it worth pursuing, worth preserving, worth dying for trying to save?

So, now it’s time to talk about faith.

Faith in one’s self– In Eternal Curse, the characters have some insecurities to overcome. While Mira is confident in her strengths and knows just how much she is capable of, she never stops to consider that there might be something completely different for her to do with her life. Giovanni on the other hand is obviously endowed with great power, but because he has no faith in his ability to be and do good, he hides away and does nothing.

I think Mira suffers from minor displaced faith in herself. She has so much faith in what she’s currently good at that she can’t see the other options and things presenting themselves around her. I think Giovanni suffers from a complete lack of faith in his goodness. He only sees the odd and the bad.

Faith in something or a purpose bigger than your needs and wants– It happens all the time, though we don’t always know about, but people discover causes worth pursing and go after them. I know that in the US it’s hard for people to look outside of themselves to see something greater because our culture focuses on individuality (not that that’s bad). It may not be front and center in our culture, but all kinds of people are putting faith in something bigger than themselves right now. People are giving to charities even though their money is tight because they have faith that that need is greater than their situation and that their donation will make a difference. People are volunteering time, people are writing books and songs, people running and hiding or coming out and standing up, people are risking their lives because they have faith in something bigger than themselves.

Faith in a being, power, or force beyond you– This is where the question of religion comes in. Most people believe in something even if it’s not a religion. While some people put their faith in a god or gods, others put their faith in science, or nature, or fate, or politics, or what have you. Even with my own personal beliefs, I respect people for believing in something, even if I don’t agree with it. I think it’s sad when someone doesn’t believe in anything.

*Disclaimer- There is currently debate about whether my book is strongly religious. Though it is a work of fiction and is a paranormal romance, it does have a monotheistic faith-based approach to concept of angels and demons. The current consensus seems to be that though the book weighs heavy with religious ties it remains fresh, thought provoking, and entertaining. It is more figurative than literal and more inquisitive than informative.*

That’s all for my contemplation on theme and topic. Thank you for sharing this experience with me and please enjoy this excerpt from Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.

~

Cover

“So, I take it you had an especially rough day today,” said Abraham in a questioning tone.

Mira shrugged her shoulders and slowly turned around and gave a sigh. “This isn’t what I was expecting,” said Mira, beginning to pace again. “Tell the truth, Abraham. Is there really something special here or am I just wasting my time?”

Abraham answered swiftly, “You’re asking the wrong person, my dear. That is why you are so upset. I can’t tell you if Giovanni is special, you have to decide that for yourself. Besides, you’ve been running all of these tests, surely you’ve learned something by now.”

Mira paused in thought before she puffed out her breath and responded, “The computer is compiling all of the information into a single, easy-to-read report. I’ll print it out in the morning and then…well then I’ll know.”

“What will you know?” asked Abraham.

“The truth!” she snapped back at Abraham before realizing it. She took two steps back and sighed again. “I’m sorry, Abraham. I shouldn’t be taking my frustrations out on you.”

Abraham moved closer to Mira; he reached up and touched her shoulder. “You didn’t know about me when you headed out to come here, and yet here I am. I existed before you knew I did. You came here with hope,” he said, removing his hand from her shoulder. “Find that hope again. If you’re really concerned about being so frustrated, maybe you could try to have a little faith in something you don’t know and can’t see or feel.”Mira was left standing there speechless as Abraham began to roll away. He was already at the backdoor of the house when he stopped for a moment to say one final thing. “You know, you and Giovanni are a lot alike in that way… Neither of you seem to have much faith.”

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel Copyright © 2013 Toinette Thomas

A new edition of this book is now available.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Author Insights EC: Giovanni's Angel Excerpts

Author Insights 11: Topics vs. Themes (part 2)

authorinsight

Topic: 1a subject of conversation or discussion

Theme: 2a unifying or dominant idea, motif, etc., as in a work of art

The Three Major Themes of Eternal Curse

Purpose | Discovery | Faith

Discovery

The discovery of truth is prevented more effectively, not by the false appearance things present and which mislead into error, not directly by weakness of the reasoning powers, but by preconceived opinion, by prejudice. ~Arthur Schopenhauer

Much of the “action” of this story is fueled by need to discover something or the actual process of discovery. In this story the role of discovery is two-fold. There is the physical act of finding something new or “new to you” and then there is the realization of something that’s been there all alone, but has been hidden or unseen.

I’m not giving away any spoilers here, but the discovery of the Eternal Curse is the ultimate goal even though the characters don’t know they are looking for it. In truth, the curse itself isn’t a secret or mystery, but the characters do struggle with acknowledging that it truly does exist. Ultimately, it is the discovery of what the curse actually is and deciding how it will affect their lives hence forth that is greatest discovery Giovanni and Mira will find.

Oh, but there is so much more to be discovered in the interim. Intimacy between two people is always a journey of discovery especially when not focusing on the physical. While Giovanni has much to learn and discover about relationships, in general, platonic and romantic, Giovanni, Mira, and Abraham learn a lesson or two about emotional intimacy and attachment to others.

Eternal Curse also happens to be one of those stories that doesn’t just come right out and tell you some things. Much of the plot has to be figured out by the reader which also adds to the sense of discovery. There are some discoveries that are so minute, that if you aren’t reading carefully, you might not pick up on them until the very end.

Lastly, the discovery of truth is hindered by the presence of fear. Fear is the main obstacle holding back the characters of this story from learning the truth. As fears are overcome and set aside, discoveries will abound only to lead to more mysteries and struggles to solved and overcome.

To hunt is instinct, to discover is intellect; to be human is to never stop searching.

Next time I’ll touch on the subject of Faith. Until then, please enjoy this excerpt from Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel.

~

CoverMira sat in silence, watching a tear form in Giovanni’s right eye. She couldn’t figure out if he was trying to scare her or if he really meant what he was saying. With shivers running down her spine, Mira realized she had to break this awkward silence. “So, what did you think when you first saw me, that is before I fainted? Was I what you were expecting?” she asked cheerfully.

Giovanni’s body perked up as he began to answer her question. “You were not what I expected you to be. I thought you’d be older. You seemed to have done so much in your life and expressed yourself with such wisdom and maturity. I thought you’d be a good companion for Abraham.”

“Abraham!” Mira said with a giggle. “You must have thought I was really old… Tell me, am I much of a disappointment to you?”

Giovanni thought about it for a moment. He relived the experience in his mind and tried to explain and understand what he felt the moment he first saw her, but he couldn’t do it. He had never felt that way before. “I don’t think I was disappointed at all,” he said. “I think I was overcome with excitement. I liked the way you looked right away, but you also made me feel…small somehow.”

“Oh, okay,” said Mira, a little flattered and disappointed at the same time. She felt she’d heard a compliment somewhere in Giovanni’s statement, but his speech and mannerisms lacked the emotion to solidify the feeling. Mira wasn’t quite sure how to react at that point. After a few silent moments of awkward tension, Mira began to raise herself up to head back into the house. Just then, Giovanni started to say something, as though they had been conversing the whole time.

“Did you know that you’re named after a special star?” he said, looking up at the sky.

“No, I didn’t know that,” she replied, retaking her spot on the porch. “I always just assumed I was named randomly. My benefactor never told me that my name had any significance.”

“Oh, but it does,” said Giovanni as he turned his head to look at her. “You are named after the first of a series of stars that change their brightness over periods of time. Mira is a large red star and it shines for like three hundred or so days at a time and then disappears from sight.” He returned his eyes to the sky as he continued to explain. “Then it miraculously reappears again. That’s why they called it Mira when they discovered it. It was like a miracle to them.”

Mira was in awe at Giovanni’s rhetoric. “Thank you for sharing that with me. That was wonderful,” she murmured. Giovanni shook his head, as if to say you’re welcome, but said nothing else and remained gazing upon the starry night. Mira thought to ask for the significance of his name, but it seemed that Giovanni had already shut down socially for the night. Mira said good night to him and headed off to her room.

Eternal Curse: Giovanni’s Angel Copyright © 2013 Toinette Thomas

A new edition of this book is now available.

If you missed part 1 of this post, please visit the Writer’s Revolution to get the scoop.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords

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Guest Posts

When A Fantasy World Spills Over by Jaq D. Hawkins

Click image to see more books in the Deathgate Cycle.

I’ve read Fantasy since a very young age and one of the wonderful discoveries of my young reading days was the series. Fantasy writing involves a lot of world building and setting up ‘rules’ of the society, but more importantly, the reader as well as the writer often falls in love with an imaginary world and a series allows both to continue to visit these Fantasy realms in our imagination.

Some of my early loves were Anne McCaffrey’s Pern and Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Darkover. I was fascinated by the laws of Physics and how they were gently warped in Roger Zelazny’s Amber. Some worlds were less of a joy to visit, such as the challenging worlds conquered by Michael Moorcock’s Eternal Champion series heroes and the prison world of the Deathgate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. Even these worlds embraced the fantastic and stretched the imagination into the far reaches of possibility. The seedy streets of Thieves World and the subculture of vampires in Anne Rice’s novels that began with Interview With the Vampire allowed the reader to adventure in dark and dangerous realms from the safety of their favourite reading chair.

I first became a published writer in the old traditional way in the 1980’s, but I was writing in a non-fiction genre and there was a part of me that always wanted to write in my own Fantasy world. I made an attempt once or twice to formulate an imaginary world and found that it couldn’t be forced. I had written a lot of fiction in high school, but as much as my Mind, Body, Spirit books flowed easily, my inspirations for fiction had become fragmented during many years of my life when I was travelling a lot and experiencing different aspects of real life.

It was something from real life that eventually sparked the seed of a new Fantasy realm. George Bush II was about to be re-elected *cough* and I had dipped my toe into activist groups in an attempt to start a worldwide protest movement that would reflect the atmosphere of 1969. I found that modern activist groups mostly worked separately and each had their own agenda, so co-ordinating anything after the effects of the ‘me’ generation of the 1980’s was effectively impossible. While contemplating how things should be rather than how they are, a line of dialogue entered my mind.

“We are not like you. We do not glory in having power over our own kind. Or imagining that we do.” ~Haghuf, Dance of the Goblins

It wasn’t something that a human was likely to say to another human, so in my mind the speaker became a goblin and suddenly an idea for a whole society, a Shamanistic subculture of goblins was born. Ten minutes later I was busy scribbling and when I stopped, chapter one was finished. I threw in some magicians for the goblins to interact with and they took over as the ruling class and suddenly, a whole new Fantasy world had effectively laid itself out for me.

During the course of writing the first book, the second and third books became notes files. There were things I wanted to follow up in subsequent generations, but I decided I would definitely stop at three. A series that goes on too long can weigh heavy on a reader. As much as I enjoyed Deathgate Cycle, I was very anxious for it to finish in the last few books. However, Darkover and Anne Rice’s Vampire books had transcended the sequential series by expanding through stand alone books. These worlds can be dipped in and out of without any need for sequence. My answer to this was to work towards a book of short stories related to my goblin world, Meat For the Storytelling. At this stage I have story notes to fill two volumes, but the stories that have been released to date can be read at http://jaqdhawkins.wordpress.com/.

When I finish ten of them, I will bundle them into the first collection and offer it at minimal price. How long it will go one to further volumes will be decided by the goblins. As long as I still have need to visit their world, the short stories will make a convenient arena to fill in pieces of back story or new adventures that reveal more detail about the societies that make up the series.

If you are writing about a Fantasy world, don’t feel that you have to put everything into a first book. Let it unfold in stages so that both you and your readers can enjoy the thrill of discovery at every point along the way. To build a world begins with a basic landscape and a few rules. The rest will fall into place as you write. Once you have established your own world, side novels or stories can go on for as long as someone, especially the writer, wants to return just one more time to experience this special realm of your imagination.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. If you like it let me know and share it with others. See you next time, Toi Thomas. #thetoiboxofwords