itsjoysworld.net

1) While “The Tale of Onora” is an ensemble piece, the main character is Aithein. He is a fictional character but he is symbolizes me, as the entire story is a metaphor for my life and the world as I see it, not as I want it to be. There are many historical things incorporated into this story that are dressed up to appear differently in a fantasy world.

2) The story is set in Caliphweald, a little over a decade after The Great War of the 4th Era.

3) In regards to Aithein (I phrase it that way because every other characters’ journey is equally important, but I can only speak from my perspective) the thing that people who are curious about my background should know is that Aithein is me down to every last detail. To give you examples in Book One, I’ll unravel a few metaphors for you while maintaining a certain anonymity. He is raised by the Amori in a secluded village in the middle of a magical forest. He is a distant relative of the Amori, but he didn’t come from the Shade like them. He was unnatural to the environment, and he does not have his own fairy. It’s known that he isn’t quite one of them, but they raise him as their own anyways even though he feels distant from all except Ellia (a metaphor for the female energy I had to part with when I left home) and The Bannitlarn Brothers (a metaphor for the brothers who I’ve been best friends with since I was five years old, the ones who took me into their family and grew up with me as outcasts that saw beneath the veils of pretentiousness of the yuppies we grew up with). Amori Village is a metaphor for a place I was raised. I spent many years of my childhood growing up on an island that was inhabited by predominantly wealthy caucasian Protestants, with some Catholics/Christians and Jews as well, and then there was me. I grew up with the upper class of society, and even went to one of the most prominent private schools, yet my natural ability to belong there was all an illusion. My mom worked especially hard, sometimes having 3 jobs, to raise me in that kind of environment and send me to that school. Dani is a partial metaphor for the strong women that had a hand in raising me, especially my mom. You’ll see her help Aithein grow into a man without infringing upon his freedom to make mistakes and learn from his experience of life. All the while, she bears the burden of raising a boy by herself to fulfill some great purpose, that which she doesn’t know yet, and the spiritual and physical toll that takes. My mom sometimes says things that, if you’re not paying attention, will go unnoticed. But if you listen closely to what she tells you, you’ll uncover certain truths that you would’ve otherwise never found. For example, under the right circumstance, she’ll tell you who she really is, and the nature in why she manifested on this planet. Who knows, you may even hear her say that she came to this realm to give birth to me so that I may change the world, the sort of whispers that all tales possess in their cores. Or she might casually explain to you something about the spirits you see in the corner of your eyes, the ones you thought were figments of your imagination, observing you, yet when you look directly at them they’ve already fled. She downplays the power that’s within her to make you feel comfortable around her. But trust me, do not mistake her for the mask she wears. While I was baptized, I never received communion, so on weekends I was one of the only one of my friends who didn’t attend Church or Temple. I always felt like an outsider, a feeling that never had more potency than being at dinners in different homes when it came time for me to say grace. I was the boy without a fairy, without communion, without God or a guardian angel. My mom became all of those things for me, so Dani becoming Aithein’s fairy is also a metaphor for my life. The other thing that’s pertinent to Aithein is the nightmare he has and the dreams he has of a girl he’s never met. My whole life I’ve dreamt about this girl, and I don’t know her by a name, so when you read the man’s journal, its sincerity is unmistakable because I didn’t make anything up. I named the girl Onora, the girl whose solar eyes contain the secrets of the universe, the girl that other people have dreams of too, often side by side with me. Her name is a play on the word “honor”. As the man writes, “My Onora,” my honor; “The Tale of Onora,” the tale of honor. If I were to explain every metaphor, I would write something as long as the book itself because they are one in the same, just adorning different clothes. So this concept is what you should know about Aithein, and unlike most other fantasy novels, the reason my story is so real, so well organized, is that I lived this. It’s my life, my truth, my experience. You’re just seeing it behave as something else, in this case a fantasy tale. Most authors can only fantasize about the journey I’ve been on, from the safe little corners of their world, from the confines of their cells of “security”. Not me. I wrote this while inside the belly of the beast. And I’m still here, waiting for you to unleash me.

4) The main conflict is this. There are only two types of people in this world, those that want to be left alone, and those who won’t leave you alone. The latter is responsible for all the world’s ills, and good people yield their minds to this small percentage of the population because they are completely handicapped by the thought of someone being capable of such iniquity, so much so that they refuse to believe the truth that’s been in front of them the whole time. They don’t want to know. Their easy lives cannot continue if they understand what’s being done to them by wolves dressed as sheep. Their livelihoods are dependent upon them believing the lies that allow them to perpetuate the fraud of this paradigm. And every great historical figure that’s tried to expose them has met an untimely death. I can’t say I’ll be any different, unless you, the people, wake up. I don’t have much faith than any will, but know that it only took 3 million of us to declare our independence to a world of billions. The conflict of this story, like all conflicts, has two perspectives. Depending on which side you stand, you’ll see that there are heroes and villains on each, which is why the theme of this story is to walk your own path, have the courage to be yourself, and never allow yourself to be led by anyone or under any circumstances sacrifice what’s good and best about you to a collective organization.

5) In Book One, Aithein’s personal goal is to get to the root of what’s causing his nightmares, and ultimately to find the girl with the solar eyes in the waking world.

6) (Not pertinent to my series.)

7) Book Two should be published by the end of July in 2014. I’m just waiting on the editors and the artist to complete the cover. Very exciting! Cannot wait to reveal who it is! Book Three should be published sometime in November. It’s a very gratifying thing to be a part of and I look forward to sharing the process with everyone that wants to be included in it. If someone is reading this and has no idea what we’re talking about, they can read the first ten pages of Book One for free here: http://bit.ly/taleofonora

As a side note, no mainstream media or Hollywood journalist will ever get this candid of an explanation of my story and its metaphors. They will be left to merely witness it unfold and be entertained by the outer layer of its appearance. The metaphors are only something I’m willing to reveal to Joy and others like her that support independent artists and conscious individuals who are doing everything they can to minimize their exposure to a paradigm that does not benefit them.