The Prophecy

How do you write about your book without sounding like an arrogant know it all?

I have absolutely no idea because the line is so transparent. So have faith and trust in me. I am anything but arrogant which is ironic because that very sentence is arrogant. You love your story, your characters and you’re proud of them. You want to show them off, like a new mother wants to show off her baby. But how do you show off your baby without making those about you want to bend over in sickness? I have absolutely no idea, because I am new to this, so if you have any notes of advice, feel free to offer them up to me.

The core of my story…

What do I want from my story and where will it take me?

All of us are constantly trying to figure out the workings of life. What makes men go to war? Who is God? All of these questions are constantly at the forefront of my mind. And maybe in a sense a part of Celestine is connected to my need for answers. Celestine is the core of my story, she is an orphan, born into greatness but brought low by circumstances and this was vitally important for her as a character. Of course it would have been easier to allow her parents to live, nice and rosy. But Celestine’s life is anything but rosy and this is important. She is the heir to two thrones and she has to be a certain type of leader if her kingdoms are going to survive.

What makes a good leader?

I can only give you my personal opinion on the matter. I have spent countless hours reading and researching the subject, everything from Machiavelli’s ‘The Prince’ to Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’. My dissertation was about Queen Elizabeth (The Virgin Queen) and when I was busy researching her, I had a sense really of who I wanted Celestine to be. Strong, unyielding, compassionate when needed and intelligent. Of course Elizabeth isn’t the only strong female leader in history, I have a personal liking towards Queen Maeb and Joan of Arch. In the end, this is what I wanted from Celestine. But to get her to that place takes quite some journey, she is not a natural leader when we first meet her, in fact she anything but strong or out spoken. She is intelligent, shy and hates standing in the light. She is also a mediator, she likes to keep the peace, which for her is a fortunate gift. But for Celestine to take on her enemies and take control of her kingdoms she will have to give way to some of her characteristics and embrace new qualities. She cannot be seen to be weak or easily swayed and she will have to make incredibly hard decisions that could mean life or death to her subjects. But how do we get her to this place? How does she become a great leader and Queen?

Eveline...

Eveline (Celestine) we meet from the start. Her biological parents have been killed and she has been put into the care of Estelle who lives in Keswick and from that point onwards begins her incredible journey. She is cocooned in the beauty of Keswick, despite being an outcast in society due to her unusual gold eyes and fiery hair. Many superstitious villagers belief her to be a witch and others think her peculiar. And she is. She is gifted with magic, she is a good six feet tall with the most incredible eyes and hair. Her beauty is at first terrifying, but for her it is a curse. Luckily she is not alone, her adopted brother, Theodore shares similar abilities and in the book we find out why. They become best friends and find comfort in their bubble of existence, away from the gawking looks of those that live in the village. But times change as they get older and their relationship changes too.

Turning of the times…

Theodore has always been in need of getting out into the world, he is an adventurer and a natural born leader. In Eveline’s eyes he can do no wrong, but as you read on in the book you see quite a different side to Theodore, mainly because he has been masquerading under a different façade. Qualities that may seem harmless at first become harmful in the end. He is a seeker of position and power and he always gets what he wants. But I want to make it clear, he may have his flaws but he is no shadow. Theodore has loved Eveline for quite some time and asks for her hand in marriage. Eveline, never being in the company of men and unable to fathom a life without her best friend agrees, before Theodore is assigned to the RAF and leaves for London.

The Prophecy?

Ah yes, now we come to the intriguing if not slightly confusing part of Eveline’s story. It is hard to write about this without giving away the contents of the story. But she is the heir to two thrones, one being the throne of Heaven the other the throne of Calhuni. Calhuni is located on a different planet called Unas and it was from this garden that Eveline (Celestine) was taken upon the death of her parents. Unbeknownst to her, a great army of shadows, led by the ruthless Lagar have been searching in vain for Eveline since she left Unas. Guardians have been keeping watch over Eveline since her arrival on earth, but the extremities of the Second World War mean that her safety becomes breached and she becomes known to Lagar.

A prophecy has long been debated over, since her mother’s death. The Prophecy foretells of a great war that will shake the universe’s core, a war centered around Eveline. Her birth land is plagued by corruption and oppression and her throne has been taken by the very man who murdered her parents. Elsewhere, the throne of Heaven is now vulnerable to Lagar and his ever strengthening army. And whilst the all of this is going on, Eveline completely in the dark, the prophecy foretells another important piece of information. Eveline has been bound to a man since fate itself was born, a great man, whose bloodline leads back to Gabriel. If she is to bind herself to this man and only him, then she will conquer her enemies and take back her thrones. But the prophecy also speaks of another man, and if she binds herself to this man then the worlds of men will fall. Eveline does not realise that she has married this very man, and he in turn does not yet realize his true destiny.

Love, love, love…

Is an important element in Eveline’s story but it isn’t the only element. It does however account for a lot of her actions and it inadvertently molds her into a stronger woman.

How do you write a love story that isn't corny or cheesy?

Well you keep it realistic and you don’t let it overrun you story, you know it’s their but it isn’t the only reason you keep reading the book. Does Eveline really need a man to survive? This is a theory she will endeavor to answer during the book series. It is however an important component in the first book, it sets the story up. She finds herself in a love triangle and it’s her actions that lead her down a new and unnerving path towards her destiny. But from the second book onwards, we will be met by many new story lines and characters and so her love story, as important and beautiful as it is will not be the only story for the reader to immerse themselves in. But let’s be serious for a moment, a lot of what we do stems from love, not just the love between a man and woman, but the love between friends and family. And in the prophecy we see it in all its forms, how love can overcome the darkest of moments and the most evil of people. For instance we are introduced to Zala and Arae, two sisters, ripped apart by Heidan, the new King of Calnuthe. Their relationship is incredibly touching at times and I find myself crying over their tumultuous journey to finding one another again.

 Now Galean…

Galean happens to be Eveline’s destined lover, and he couldn’t be any more different from Theodore. His father is the High King of Meer, a great northern kingdom beyond the Calnuthe Mountains and he is the heir. He was born into royalty and all that it includes and so is well versed and prepared. He is a firm leader, wise and intelligent and his subjects respect and revere him. But he is not without his own problems. He as heir to the throne, must spend time in Gabriel’s company, as a soldier and guardian. He is the eldest of three brothers, himself, Loaki and Beon. When he leaves Unas for Heaven, the northern kingdom is flourishing despite his mother’s death. But when he returns a widow, he returns to a divided kingdom, now floundering into war and despair. Beon the once fair prince now has run mad and has waged war upon his father, seeking the high throne for himself. He is the King of Galgor, the largest of the three kingdoms and his closest advisor is Ethla, the black witch, a dangerous woman who will do anything to see Meer crumble.

Under orders of Gabriel and against his better wishes, needing to be with his people, he is sent back to earth to find Theodore and Eveline. When he returns, little does he know that he will meet a woman who will change his life. But the complications get ever deeper and in the end he must choose between Eveline and his people.

Now

The bad ass characters, every writer has to include, much to their dismay…

I must be writing on behalf of at least a dozen or so seriously ill reputed characters, both male and female. And I have to say the female characters for me are the worst. The first book really centres on incredibly evil male characters and doesn’t touch on the female characters just yet. The issue is this, you want your characters both good and bad to have their own dimensions, you don’t want to keep their bass ass natures general, no you want to make them complex, and they have to stand out from one another.

Lagar for obvious reasons has to be the worst, he is the lord of Hell and King of shadows and he is a real threat to the throne of Heaven. Of course it would just be simple for him to get rid of Eveline, but he isn’t that kind of character, he is insidious and his mind is a maze of complications, not even I have him completely summed up. Lagman, is his right hand shadow and is revered amongst the younger shadows, and his methods are to put it nicely despicable. Lagmar is on the hunt for Galean, who killed his only son Lagmar, knowing this, Lagar has made it Lagman’s mission to kill Galean, knowing him to be the man bound to Eveline through the prophecy. Then there is Belem, the child snatcher and possessor of minds. He wreaks havoc for Eveline throughout the story and renders her so beyond herself that by the end of the first book, her hands are drowned with the blood of those she loves.

It would take me forever to run through all the bad characters, but to top them all off comes Heidan, Eveline’s half-brother and son of Lagar. I really struggled to write on behalf of such a dark character and at times, I had to walk away from the book to clear my head. You find yourself having to think on behalf of them and that can lead you down a dangerous path if you’re not careful. Heidan will be Eveline’s true nemesis and their story will determine the fates of everyone around them. Have you ever found yourself pondering the levels of depravity a human can lower themselves too? With Heidan there is no one level, his is a mass of darkness and his story is not a pleasant one.

Keeping it real…

This book series is no fairy-tale, it is real and it is at times difficult to comprehend. But life is difficult and that was what I wanted from this series, I wanted to look at all the aspects of our lives. There are good people, bad people and those in between the lines and so my characters are sprinkled across this spectrum. There are love stories and then there are the stories of those that have or are oppressed by terrible men and women and so my series is filled with challenging dilemmas. I wanted to look at various subjects, war, greed, politics, religion, racism and injustice and try to analyse them through the eyes of others. I wanted to create small groups of friends, whose friendships would be tested and proved, I wanted to create a world filled with magic and possibilities, I wanted to offer some of my characters redemption , I wanted to see if love could outdo all the terror, I wanted to acknowledge human flaws and I wanted above all to follow the stories and see where they would lead, because still, I have no concrete idea of where a lot of my smaller storylines will end up and for me that is both exciting and terrifying. You want the best for your characters, but this is real life and so you have to be realistic. A lot of them may not survive, many may alter in a bad way and many who you would never believe to alter for the best may just. But that is the beauty of life too, everything doesn’t have to be in concrete terms, there are so many possibilities. In the end, I am hoping that Celestine fulfils the prophecy, even if her journey towards that at times may seem impossible. But there is no firm guarantee that all will go to plan, no guarantee that the good characters will achieve all that they have in mind and above all there is no guarantee that the light shall overcome the darkness, because that is the reality of life, many of the winners are corrupt people and a great many loses are some of the greatest people and to paint my world in a different manner would be unjust and unfaithful. But I have faith in Celestine and hope that she claims back her rightful throne. Hope is an integral part of who we are and even a little hope can bring forth greatness and that is my hope for this series and Celestine.

Iseult x