I’ve made no bones about this fantasy world of mine being based not on paganism/polytheism/humanism like ohhhh almost all fantasy out there that we’ve generally heard of. Yes I know there are several Christian authors, and 2 of the biggest fantasy authors based their worlds on Christian allegory.
But there’s that key word. Allegory.
I’m not trying to use allegory, in part because I want to remain distinct from those two greats and dozens of other lesser known authors. Instead, I focus my efforts on remaining true to scripture and what I’ve learned from deliverance ministries and the writings of some priests involved in exorcism, former witches and other related sources, writings and videos. That’s why it’s hard to manage this. Although I do retain the core of these concepts, I do allow for a little creative license. Sort of a Dragnet-esque “Change the names to protect the innocent” kinda deal, but the principles are the same throughout.
Of course, that has made it difficult at times because ya gotta be consistent with your setting, even if the special effects go to 11. Some of the fantastic stuff will have no explanation because that’s how God and the devil do from time to time. It ain’t supernatural without a good reason, and the Gift of Miracles is a great catch-all for that stuff.
So, you experts out there who can run rings around me, know I’ve made a specific effort to follow this school of thought on the subject. Y’all may know much more and much better than me, so forgive me my shortcomings. After all, this is just the “magic system” of the story. It is not meant to sermonize to people. If you want to see how that wrecks things, watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi/Solo/Rogue One (or the Ghostbusters reboot). There’s 4 secular SJW “sermons” before story for ya.
But recently, it has lead me to realize how much work I’ve needed in my life for repentance and deliverance. Writing is hazardous that way, particularly when you invite God into the process. On several occasions I’ve been saying “I’ll just take notes, Lord, you tell me what you want, okay?”
For those of you curious about some of the sources I’ve taken inspiration from in how things work in the spiritual realm (with the special effects turned up to 11 and a little creative license taken) you can check out the following authors and ministries.
Derek Prince Ministries. A rock solid pillar and deliverance centered ministry. I may not agree with all his suppositions, but I do agree on much of his teaching regarding deliverance.
Tony Evans. His books and sermons on the activities of demons not to mention the names of God were extremely helpful
Rebecca Brown MD. (sometimes co-authored with her husband Daniel Yoder) I never understood the concept of generational curses or cursed objects, till reading her work. Furthermore, her writing with an anonymous witch and satanist clarified a lot of my own personal experiences with the occult from when I was younger and dumber.
Frank and Ida Mae Hammond. “Pigs in the Parlor” is an excellent book on deliverance and what to watch for.
Some of you may not agree with these teachings, and that’s fine. Just treat it the same as you would reading a type of philosophy or pagan pantheon you don’t believe in and stick to the entertainment value. The rest of the religiosity you will find is a combination from several denominations, convoluted on my study of viking cultures and their adherant advancements through the culture of Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and to some extend Finland and the Sami, as well as Viking controlled areas of the Dane law of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Combine this with centuries of separation from their home nations, and you get the polyglot mishmash goop of the Forsamling culture in the fantastic land of Akiniwazi.
Anyhoo… not sure why I felt the need to bring this topic out other than to maybe give those of you new to the series a bit of insight to what’s happening beneath the surface. Oh! Speaking of beneath the surface, Book 3 is almost done! I know I’ve said that before, but I mean it. Not sure if I have 2,3 or 4 chapters left. Kinda depends how this one turns out. My hope is to finish this week. (I have vacation… woot!)
So here’s the latest autopsy on what’s been written since last I mentioned it:
Book 2 (A Land In Peril*) ->First Draft Done
| Pages | 211 |
| Words | 77122 |
Book 3 (Into the High Places*)
| Pages | 259 |
| Words | 92707 |
*working title
Neither of these include the glossary or “Encyclopaedia Akiniwazi” as of yet which may be kinda sizeable, and I may muddle a bit of where the ending is for book 2. It may include a chapter or two more, but I’m not sure yet. Meh. We’ll figure it out as we go, right?
New chapters since last. Luckily the chapter numbers are now becoming established order and the back-building is ending.
73. The Vultures Begin to Circle
76. The Burden of the Sword
80. A New Threat Is Discovered
82. Predator or Prey
That’s all for now. Hope for a new post next week with shouts of “Good news, everyone!”
Ta!
Michael,
A couple of thoughts to consider.
For your chapter numbers, consider continuing chapters chronologically from book one; for example: Book One, Chapters . . . 20, 21, 22; Book 2, Chapters 23, 24, 25 . . . 40, 41, 42; Book 3, Chapters 43, 44, 45 . . . 60, 61, 62, etc.
For your working book titles use a Forsamling translation to give it an ethnic/foreign/exotic fantasy feel.
“A Land in Peril” = “Forsamling translated phrase” “Into the High Places” = “Forsamling translated phrase” Then, when you reissue Book One, you can consider the same. It would be no different than Ragnarok. Audiences accepted that readily. Plus, it gives it an air of authenticity by a witness of the author/narrator.
I know it goes without saying, but as a friendly reminder, pahleez go over typographical scrutiny with a fine tooth comb! ?
BTW, did you get theologically raked over the coals for your spiritual wordsmithing that caused you to launch off? Curious.
Jonathon
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Thanks for the ideas, J I’m not settled on those working titles of course. They sort of fit the subject matter of the novels.
As for the chapter numbers, I seriously considered that. Still a possibility. Not sure if it will become too tedious though. We could break a thousand chapters before this is done.
No one has come at me over theology. To which I respond of course, “It’s fantasy” if they get too persnickety on it. The source is of course scriptural and I work my best to remain true to it, but I’m sure personal interpretations and thoughts on the subject will vary. I’m no scholar or expert. Just an layman with laity understanding and personal experience backed by my own research. This was more inspired by watching some Derek Prince sermons that made me happy I’m getting things right on many levels and deducing some things I got wrong that will be corrected later or at least re-worded.
The original thought was to have these books written as if a dictation like the Gospels were done. (I would have loved to have used a narrative like the movie “Matthew” where the whole script was the complete text of that Gospel and almost no outside lines, filmed as if you were watching Matthew dictate to scribes the scripture.
All sneak peaks of course are RAW ROUGH DRAFTS. So all the exposed nails, and drywall are visible. I do this as something fun for my fans who may be lurking out there, and let you know that I am moving forward. If my schedule holds true, I should finish Book 3 this week as hoped. That means, I will be on schedule to the begin “Story Grid” and once that’s done for continuity, then the grammar checks begin. If all things go according to plan, We’ll be looking at getting beta readers by Sept.
I’m waiting till after the Realm Makers Conference at the end of July to push hard on the editing.
So expect more info soon on that.