GUEST POST
Looking for Dei Inspiration
for the Novel
The inspiration
for Looking for Dei was an interesting beast. Ever
since I was a wee lad, I have wanted to write a novel, and I read lots of
fantasy. Loved fantasy! Still do. My full-time job
has been as a major crimes investigations Sergeant, however, so my
qualifications better fit the crime or thriller genres, but my passion just
hasn’t been with those genres, and they didn’t fit my goals. Goals
to inspire.
In my career, I’ve
seen some of the most horrible things that people do to each
other. I’ve dealt with heinous crimes, thousands of them, and
learned a lot about human suffering. Through all that, I’ve seen how
pain changes people, how it makes them fearful, and how it shuts them
down. It’s sad to see how we restrict ourselves from doing great
things because of fear, and I wanted to address that aspect of human
experience.
I also wanted to
address the importance of human life. Much of my worldview involves
the inherent value each human being has, a concept which is the core of the
magic system in Looking for Dei.
Through all these
experiences, I’ve learned that we are all, to a certain extent,
broken. Pain changes us, irrevocably affecting our experiences, and
changing the lens through which we view the world. Yet somehow, when
broken people triumph over the obstacles set before them (or those they create
for themselves), there is a sweet victory to be had. I wanted to
tell that story, too. Victory is important stuff.
Pain, fear, inherent
value, brokenness and victory. I wanted to show it all, and fantasy
is a very flexible genre for such ambitions. Besides, I loved
fantasy novels as a kid. Did I say that
already? Loved! But I also wanted to inspire, and I am
convinced that there is no more fertile ground to plant these seeds of hope
than in the minds of youth, so I chose Young Adult Fantasy.
So there it is.
Looking for
Dei
Genre: YA Fantasy
Release Date: March 23rd 2018
Summary:
Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her mysterious father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.
A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people.
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PROLOGUE
Southside Orphanage
Fairmont – Capital of the Great Land
652PB
(Post-Breshi)
The toddler blew at the
dandelion bloom until its seeds broke free and floated away on a breeze that
gusted past the man watching her from the bushes. His breath hitched as his
burdens were lifted and briefly forgotten.
It had taken ten years
to locate her. A life of study, prayer, and service to Dei in a monastery had
not prepared him for so many years on the run, hiding under false names while
he searched for the one he feared he might never find. His grizzled, greying
goatee and unkempt hair might have labeled him a beggar or a desperate
criminal, but the hope in his eyes told a different story.
Oblivious to the nearby
threat, the girl dropped the crumpled dandelion stem and stumbled clumsily near
a pile of stones. No more than two years old, she waddled across the overgrown
orphanage courtyard, her cloth diaper askew. She plucked more flowers, her red
hair dancing as she hopped after the seeds. She seemed to favor the world as
her playmate, ignoring the twenty other children in the courtyard. She bumped
into a small boy, fell down, and hopped back up with a baby-tooth grin before
trotting off.
When she fell, a
glimpse of her back jolted the man to his task. It was the blemish that
beckoned him here—an ugly red scar stretching from upper back to waist, announcing
her identity as the prophetic treasure he had sought for so long. The weight of
the manuscript in his backpack grounded his thoughts, and he glanced around the
area. There were no fences, plenty of bushes for cover, and a single matron
leisurely surveying the yard. The woman sat on the aging building's back steps,
watching the little ones as they ran about. She wore a dress and would be
unable to chase him. How long would it take for her to alert the authorities?
As he surveyed the
grounds to plan his escape, the girl waggled her hand at a passing butterfly
and giggled as it flew away. Fortune favored his plans when she ran to a group
of dandelions just a few feet from his hiding place. Squatting, she grabbed
several stems, preparing to blow and release the seeds.
The man looked over to
the matron, who had turned away to manage a quarrel between two other children.
Knowing this might be his only chance, he burst forward and scooped the babe up
in one arm, then raced back through the bushes behind the orphanage. He ran as
fast as he could, unable to avoid jostling the child in his arms. She began to
cry at the shock of her abduction, still gripping the dandelion stems in one
tiny fist.
Back at the orphanage,
the matron in the dress looked toward the back of the yard. The only evidence
of a disturbance was a cloud of dandelion seeds that drifted upon the air,
scattering in the light breeze. She turned to the many children she cared for,
oblivious to the crime that had just been perpetrated under her watch.
About the Author
David A. Willson is fantasy novelist who lives in the great land
of Alaska with his wife and five children. His passions are faith, movies,
books, coffee, traveling with his beautiful lady, and hanging out with his
wonderful kids.
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