I used my favorite quote from J.R.R. Tolkien as the structure for the story:
“Not all who wander are lost.”
One issue Hyam (the male protagonist) faces is that he doesn’t fit in. From the beginning – in the first few pages of the book – Hyam is forced to accept that that his father is not his father, his mother is not his mother and he’s not fully human.
He’s placed on a road that’s not of his choosing. A women who’s been the bane of his existence since he was a child tells him that war is coming, and that his personal feelings are not important.
Hyam has a choice to make: he can either dwell on the unfairness of life or he can use the amazing abilities he has and move beyond who he thinks he is and who society expects him to become. If he accepts this quest, he can never go home again.
More Q&A
Check out more Q&A posts here at TLocke.com and also at DavisBunn.com:
- Describe your creative process in inventing three races?
- Have you ever owned a wolfhound?
- Is EMISSARY a David vs. Goliath story?
- Why are you using a pen name?
- Why is the protagonist in EMISSARY named Hyam?
- Does EMISSARY make political statements?
- How do you hope to encourage EMISSARY readers?
- What is “epic fantasy for modern readers”?
- Who are your favorite fantasy authors?
It was just coincidental that I was reading John Eldredge “Waking the Dead” while I was reading “Emissary.” He speaks of the value of “myth” and the story as the language of the heart, and how Jesus was a master storyteller. He quotes from the “Lord of the Rings: I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?” I loved falling into your tale, and pray that I will learn to see beyond the here & now, into the unseen realm; into the heavenlies, where I am seated with Him, the Master Storyteller. Thank you for the inspiration.
Funny you should ask . . . I just finished reading EMISSARY for the third time, and my favorite scene from the book is as follows: “Hyam drew in all the power he could muster, then released it in a bellow that shook the watchtowers on their foundations. . . . “WAKE UP!”