Tag Archives: Heroes

The Gift of Escape

T’is the season of goodwill, so first, happy holidays and may you and yours enjoy a new year of good health, love and friendship, and the realization of whatever goals you dream of. Thank you for supporting my writing and for your wonderful feedback and encouraging messages. I treasure each and every one of you. 

This eNewsletter started out as a shameless plug to entice you to buy paperback copies of the Wycaan Master series as gifts for your dear ones, especially young adults. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am happy to try and meet, to sign and inscribe a personal message.

But as I wrote it, this message became something quite different.

Asif reading series

2017 has been a tough year for most people, but I want to focus on those who are coming-of-age, It is difficult for any young person to be oblivious to what is happening in this country or abroad. The world is a darker, more violent place, where selfish self-interest seems to cast a depressing shadow over all.

Where can a young person look for inspiration and respite? I am not advocating for them being cocooned and oblivious to those who cry out for help or to ignore the injustices around them. But in a world of 24-hour news on every platform, the millennial and Gen Z are growing up fast…too fast. This is about gender, color and sexual preference. This involves everyone. My sons are white and straight (as far as I know), but their friends transcend these definitions.

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Think back to a time you lost yourself in a book series. Did you ride the dragons with Eragon and Brom? Accompany Frodo and Sam into Mordor? Whatever the novels that come to mind, think back and remember how it consumed you for a precious few weeks or months. Recall the heroes and companions along the way and what they taught you.

When I wrote the Wycaan Master series, I did so with a strong impulse to impart certain values to my sons. I wanted them to value friendship, honor, to be aware of the responsibility and abuse of leadership. I desired that they be aware of inequality and intolerance. I learned early on that lecturing them is the least effective method and I harnessed their love of stories to share what I wanted to convey.

These values are as relevant today as they were back then and they are under assault now with a greater intensity than I could have imagined when we sat under the majestic redwoods in 2011 and first summoned the Wycaan Masters.

DSCN0193 Taking a journey through a book series remains a memorable and powerful experience for people of all ages. It offers the reader an opportunity to step back for a while, to soar to a new land, bond with characters who take on great challenges in the name of the very values we want to believe in. It is a chance to dream, to be by yourself but never alone.

 So, as we enter the season of gift giving, perhaps consider giving a present of an epic fantasy series. Whether it is the Wycaan Master books or others, it will be appreciated long after the holidays lights are extinguished and the Starbucks’ Peppermint Mocha removed from its menu!

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Here is a review on Amazon by someone who calls herself Mother-of-Four:

My almost 12 year old son read this book for his summer book review project (prior to 6th grade). This is his review:

Seanchai, an elf is living in a world in which human rule, dwarves hide in the mountains and elves are slaves. Seanchai is trying to recreate a great alliance between men, elves and dwarves in the land of Odessiya. The emperor does not want Seanchai to recreate the alliance and sends out men to attack Seanchai and his companions. Seanchai takes safe harbor with a woman named Mhari who teaches him the ways of Wycaan’s. Mhari is the last of the Wycaan’s. They are great masters of magic and great storytellers. His friends are captured at the walls of Galbrieth. Seanchai and Mhari go and save them and take down the garrison. In this book, Seanchai successfully recreates part of the alliance. In the next book, he will hopefully bring the dwarves to join the alliance.

At the Walls of Galbrieth teaches you about the good and bad things in life. I think Seanchai is an interesting character, because he always has to choose between his friends and his destiny but no matter what anyone tells him he always chooses his friends. I like this book because each and every one of its characters have their own secrets. I like this book because it fills you with curiosity and you never know what will happen next. This medieval fantasy story is filled with action, suspense, and adventure, it is entertaining and interesting, and it teaches about friendship, and loyalty. I couldn’t put it down.

This is why I write!

Happy Holidays and thank you for your support, 

Alon

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Alon Shalev is the author of the 2013 Eric Hoffer YA Book Award winner, At The Walls of Galbrieth, and five other Wycaan Master books all published by Tourmaline Books. The link above takes you to the Kindle versions. For all other eReaders, please click here. 

Learn more about Alon Shalev and his novels here and download a free copy of his latest novel as a publisher gauges interest – . Help secure a book contract by reading and leaving an honest review.

Kingfisher Cover

I Need A Hero: Can You Kill Too Many Good Guys?

I’m reading (or rather listening to) a best-selling fantasy series. Each book is thick and extensive. The world-building is impressive, the multiple plots intertwine seamlessly, and the characters are deep and plentiful. 

imgresThis series has made my oft-challenging commute almost enjoyable and several times I have sat in the car outside my house waiting for a chapter to end. I dream about these characters and imagine myself alongside them.

 I am about two-thirds through the third book and happy to know that there are at least two more waiting in the wings. If I intersperse each book with something different, I can easily keep my commute comfortable until well into the summer.

But, and here is the reason I have not revealed the author or series, twice this week, as I was merrily driving home from work, a number of the good guys were put to the sword (or otherwise dispatched). Now, this is not the first time that our well-respected author has killed off heroes/heroines. He does it with drama, dignity and a huge amount of skill. He has left me in tears or sitting stunned at my driving wheel (hopefully while stationary) on a number of occasions.

But suddenly, I feel adrift. Each time one of my heroes dies, another emerges to take his (or her) place. These characters are usually in the background and, figuratively speaking, step up to the plate. And once more, our intrepid commuter is as happy as those drivers who gloat as they pass all the stationary cars while in the carpool lane.

imgres-4One of the fascinating aspects of this author’s craft is that most of his characters are not totally good or totally bad. It is challenging but possible to remain interested, even invested in some of the more fiendish without rooting for them. And there are plenty of characters with the potential to be heroes who fail or turn to the dark side (not a hint to the series).

But, suddenly, I am bereft of a hero: one who is fueled by noble principles, by a cause, and who is…well, heroic.

I find myself questioning my considerable investment in the series, the immense time I am spending on it, and even walk to my car with a certain level of tension and resignation. I am no longer sure with whom to stand when I dream and fantasize about the outcome. 

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And so I must pose the question: Can you kill too many of the good guys and still engage all your audience? What say you, sir/milady?

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Alon Shalev writes social justice-themed novels and YA epic fantasy. He swears there is a connection. His latest books include: Unwanted Heroes and At The Walls Of Galbrieth. Alon tweets at @alonshalevsf and @elfwriter.  

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I Didn’t Make The Cut

I’m bummed. This week 50 writers saw their manuscripts advance to the Semi-Final stage of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award – YA category. My humble offering – Wycaan Master – was not one of them. It reached the Quarter-Final, ahead of a few thousand others, but…

In an odd sense of timing, I will finish reading the 95,000 word epic fantasy story to my writer’s group. They stuck with me over the past 18 months though none (until the last couple of months) read or are interested in fantasy. Thank you – Berkeley Writers Group.

Either you think epic fantasy is alive and thriving (Tolkien, Terry Brooks, R.A. Salvatore etc.,) or you think the only fantasy that sells is high concept – Harry Potter, The Hunger Games…

It is hard writing in two genres – social justice-themed novels reflect my lifestyle and values. Young-adult fantasy was inspired by a writing project with my preteen son and has been a lot of fun. But they serve two separate target audiences and I maintain a separate blog and twitter account.

I have to admit, I’ve arrived at a junction. I have not only sweated over a first YA fantasy manuscript, but completed a second, and am 30,000 words into a third. It is  a series and I must admit: I’m kind of hooked on it.

I want to see how my young heroes (and villains – who I am also quite attached to) grow. Will the races of Odessiya unite? What is the Emperor’s secret power that enables him to keep winning? Will shy Seanchai and his guide, Ilana, ever hook up?

As a reader becomes hooked on a series and feels compelled to read through to the end, I have discovered that so can an author become ensnared. It might well be an issue of not writing an outline and having faith in the story evolving, but I need to discover what happens in the world I’ve created.

Even if I didn’t make the cut.

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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He has written two fantasy novels and the first reached the Quarter Finals of  the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award as of March 2012. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (@elfwriter).