Jolene has been very kind in letting me have a spot on her blog, and I’m taking this opportunity to talk about the core ideas in my upcoming urban fantasy novel Wyrd Calling.
Wyrd Calling follows a shifter by the name of Thalia, and it’s written from the first person point of view, which really allows me and the readers get into her head. She’s what’s termed Wyrd Bound, which means that she belongs to the Wyrd Sisters and must perform their ‘tasks’. When that first started, all those lives and centuries ago, Thalia was incredibly happy and proud to be doing those things. She was helping keep existence in balance; her work, her tasks, had meaning. Over the years, she began to feel as though they were more of a cage that was closing in around her.
Unfortunately, things started to fall apart, stuff happened (no spoilers here!), which meant that Thalia began to really wonder who and what she was. Her drive, her absolute goal, is freedom. That presents an interesting dichotomy within both the story and people’s view on the world – what is most important to you, complete freedom? Or the security of knowing where you stand in the world?
There is absolutely no denying that Thalia is ‘broken’. That, however, brings up an interesting look at society’s views of what is deemed to be broken, and our constant struggle to figure out who we are and where we belong in the world. Thalia’s story isn’t something that you could read in a newspaper; unfortunately, there aren’t really fae, hellhounds, and shifters lurking in the shadows of Prague. That being said, it’s close enough to home that I hope people will be able to relate to her very real struggle.
Who among us hasn’t made a foolish decision that we later regretted, all because we wanted to fit into the right box? Who didn’t do something stupid once because they wanted a certain social circle to view them the right way? She is fighting to understand her place in the world, to understand who and what she is. The vast majority of her life has been devoted to doing the Wyrd Sisters’ tasks, and even during the brief periods where she was free from them she wasn’t truly free. She had to hide who and what she was, she had to run from the Sisters. She has never found out who she is outside of her role.
I have to ask, how many people can say that they feel the same way? We find ourselves constantly pushed into various boxes, we’re acting in certain ways, saying certain things, all so that we can fall into the right place in the world. How many people feel lost and alone because they’re not quite sure who and what they are outside of those boxes?
When people are asked who they are, they will tell you a name, a job, a role, maybe a hobby. When you push them harder, how many people can genuinely answer without falling back on those things?
Thalia is driven to ask, is there more to us that merely a collection of boxes and labels? Can we be truly happy when given absolute freedom to be ourselves? Is there even such a thing as our real selves?
She makes stupid decisions, she gets herself into a lot of trouble, and there are a lot of times when I want to throttle her. She does however remain true to her cause, she’s determined, loyal, and devoted to the idea of being free. She does whatever it takes to do what she needs to do, to be who she needs to be. How many of us can say we do the same thing?
Wyrd Calling
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About the Author Shen Hart
I’m a passionate writer who happens to be lucky enough to call the beautiful city of Prague home. I enjoy nothing more than cavorting with my muse and exploring this amazing city. My writing is my addiction, collecting words and carefully caressing them until they form captivating stories is my drive. I have a particular fascination with the darker strains of fiction, the shadows whisper seductively in my ear and sociopathic protagonists whisper sweet nothings. Who am I to ignore such delightful, exquisite callings?
Shen Hart
Thank you for having me! It was interesting writing this post and really pulling apart the heart and core of Wyrd Calling.
Fred Van Liew
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