"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body." Sir Richard Steele

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Guest Blog Post with author William LK

   It is with a great deal of excitement and pleasure that I welcome my guest author, William LK. Since this is my first guest blog, I am even more thrilled to have him be my guest today.

William's Bio:
William L.K. lives in the suburbs of New York with his wife and two children. He began writing creatively as a teenager and has written and produced several successful plays and musicals in the NY area. William earned his B.A. and M.S. from Dowling College. He is currently a professional musician on the weekends and a science fiction/fantasy author during the week.
He is currently working on The Stritonoly Chronicles  which begins with the novel,  The Eye of The Storm. This is the first in a series about the purple mountain planet called Stritonoly.



The Multiple Self: Writing The Eye of the Storm
   The Eye of the Storm was a unique writing experience for me in this way; the story had been brewing for some time, and the subplot (as it turned out) became not only the basis for the main plot but the driving force behind it.
   The idea of having the subplot fuel the main plot intrigued me. I am quite used to reading and writing subplots that too often serve the story only as a decoration of sorts. This book purposely strayed from that familiar formula. Every character and event on the planet Stritonoly takes place in the form of what I’ll call a ‘multiple-self separation.’ In fact, I found a considerable amount of enjoyment going back and rereading the book after its completion. It was interesting to analyze the aspects of Rebecca Brown’s inner self and discover how she materialized in a new world.
   The idea that human’s have many different selves is not new. However, the theory behind multiple selves was stretched to a science-fiction fantasy in this book by asking this question: What if multiple selves could become physical entities? That’s right, not pieces of our memory, or neurons firing off, or even mental infiltrations into our psyche, but real physical beings. In a world ever more aware of artificial intelligence and virtual reality; is it really so difficult to fathom a world where some of our ‘selves’ may live on? Personally, I would like to think it’s possible.
   I humbly submit, as many have before, that no one person can be all good or all bad, it is simply not a possibility. The nuances of the human self are far too complex for such a generalization. This is a fact we see over and over again, just read today’s newspaper, or any day.
   For me, the character Dmitri symbolizes the tormented self struggling to find out who he truly is. And as much as I want to hate him, I cannot. Even in his madness, there is a goodness that flickers through, a trace of normalcy, something that says there is more to him than the actions he commits.
   This thought leads me to wonder if there is something we are missing entirely. What if all the lives we will ever live, or have lived, already exist within our subconscious? And what if these inner selves are not just pieces of one personality? Couldn’t they become living, breathing, physical entities, each individual unto themselves?
   It’s something I’d like to believe. And in the absence of a realistic answer to the daunting mysteries of life and death, it could certainly be perceived as naïve…but also somewhat comforting.


The Eye of the Storm


   I had the distinct pleasure of reading and reviewing this book recently. It is a wonderful science fiction read and I highly recommend it. I will be reading the second book in the series Barok's Exodus very soon and I am really looking forward to it. Three of William's books are presently on sale for $0.99 at Amazon until the end of the month. If you go to http://www.sci-fi-cafe.com/, you can click on the book and it will take you directly to the Amazon location. You can also find out more about William's books.


Barok's Exodus (The Stritonoly Chronicles)


   I wish to thank William for stopping by my blog today and giving me the opportunity to have him as a guest.




1 comment:

  1. Nice to read this post. I've just read Eye of the Storm and Barok's Exodus. The other selves idea is certainly intriguing.

    ReplyDelete