The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles, where the Author explains his perception of Heirs to the Kingdom. It is written to cover the festive season of Christmas 2016.
Between the Lines.
One of the things that I enjoy about the way in which I write Heirs to the Kingdom, is that it can be as simple or as deep as I want it to be. What I mean by this is that when I write, firstly I try to write it in such a way that it is written in a simple style without too many flowery words, so the reader can read at their own pace and garner a great deal of enjoyment out of it. But… if you want something richer and deeper, then you can also walk in my realm of hidden prompts and clues that take into account a lot of symbolism.
In the early days of writing Kingdom I used a Beta Group, who read the books as they came together and gave me feedback on the story. Two of that group in particular (Louis, Corinne) were used to reading books and looking at the detail to garner extra clues, and obviously both of them would try their hardest to get me to slip and spill a few details of what was to come, and I have to say they did at times really test me. The greatest aspect of this was it gave me the Author, a good insight as to how others perceived my work and how much I could hide between the lines. Not only did I make some things very obvious, I also hid certain little details about future events within small insignificant parts of the text. From my point of view as the writer, it was great fun seeing if they took the bait, and secondly it let me know if people who read the way I do would find the clues and create a much richer experience of the kingdom.
A few of my favourite aspects the earlier books were the twists that were, “Who is the traitor?” and “Who is the King?” I also thought the riddles of Gwendolyn worked very well, although in many ways they were pretty obvious to the deeper readers, but for me it was simply great fun. In regard to the identity of the king, I made it clear to all the readers that they either appeared or were mentioned in each of the first four books, and it was really funny to see them digging through the lines to find out who the king was. It was the same with the traitor in the camp, although I think it was so obvious, but that was all part of the plan, I made it so obvious that no one believed it, and then when they found it, it was hilarious to see their expressions. I deliberately created doubt, because hey that is what life is all about, but it worked very smoothly and just about caught out everyone I was in contact with at the time out. (Smiles smugly)
But hidden within the text are a million other little helpful clues, and as I tell everyone who messages me, “everything is written for a reason.”
I think the best example to give you all a hint, because I know that maybe there will be a few reading this who have not read everything yet, 90% of the names will give you the most important aspects of the character? Opal the first person we meet from the Green Circle family for example. Opals contain water, and water is the source of life. Runestone is life (and Opal’s Granddaughter) and draws her greatest power when closer to water, there is no coincidence that down from her home is a huge Mere, or that when just starting to understand her powers she achieved a huge feat by helping the boat get thrown out of the cave at Tintagel and into the open sea. Most names will give you a good idea of their magical traits. If you look on the website you will find a page of limited names and their meanings in the background section.
In book Two, you find the biggest clue to whom Rowan really is when he takes Jade back to visit his home, and he tells her his true name (Book two Revised Edition page 75). Look at the gravestones and the names carved on them, most people missed it, but I think you will a find a name on it that Billy used in his tale in Book One (page 5 of the revised edition). Did you go look it up? (Giggle) See? A lot of readers were caught out and surprised in book five, but it was always there. It is the same with the king, and once you have learned his true identity, you can then look back to book one and go through them slowly and you will see he is mentioned in book one, two, three and four. I hide him in plain sight and that is why most readers missed it.
Robbie’s chain is also a wonderful bit of symbolism. I ask you this? When Billy takes off his chain to offer the pendant to Robbie, he could have picked either the lion or the dragon. Both symbolise the king and royal assent, yet Billy chose the lion why?
The silver lion has diamonds for eyes, it is quite deliberate. In most old symbolism, the lion is a sign of Royal Protection, which was my first big hint in the early pages to give you a clue as to what would be asked of Robbie. Diamond: The symbol of Royal power (He will become a Lord and the kings protector). Promotes love and harmony and dispels anger. (He is the only guy for Runestone/will unite everyone) It is the symbol of brilliance and durability, (His task will be difficult and make great demands of him, even in doubt) It is the perfect object to transfer light. (The light of White Circle will transfer via Rune into Violet) Ok so it is cryptic, but it is not fool proof as a few people worked it out. The thing is it is there when you look deep, as with many other tiny little hints. I had a great deal of fun adding symbolism and naming everyone, and I must admit I tested myself a great deal researching the meaning of names. I do keep a log of all the characters and important events within HTTK, and at some point will add it to a book. I have always wanted to add it to the final book, but at this time it is only half written, and so I cannot promise as I am guided by the page count, either way it will appear at some future point.
The Circle and the Star are well used throughout all the books. The circle (or tables) that are woven and blended together in this tale actually represent our own lives. I can certainly say from experience and in my youth, I had several circles of friends that I kept very much separated. I would move from one to another, as each circle fulfilled a certain aspect of me. For example: I had one of close friends in my home town, one of my college friends, and one which was comprised of the people I talked music and visited Rock clubs with. Many of us have these circles if we look at their lives, I am sure you have your work mates, your family, best friends, acquaintances etc.. all of them overlap and cater to you as an individual, and I find in life it is something all of us share, hence the Specialists, Loxley Village, the Outlaws, family, and of course the tables of power, of which Runestone is the centre of all of them.
One of the most important symbols we have today which has been used throughout all time is indeed that of the circle. It represents the flow of time, which constantly repeats itself, and as we know history or at least the actions of man have repeated themselves many times, hence the sentence “look to the past and learn for the future,” in others words learn and try not to repeat the mistakes of the past, a lesson I feel Mason should learn. Circles most importantly represent life, the circle of birth, life, death and resurrection are a stable of every religion and are also the prime ingredients of life depending on your view point. The circle of life is a vastly important theme throughout all of HTTK as it deals with the life cycle of the planet with the seasons, and the attitude that we have towards it in the modern age. Once again there are countless other examples that I have worked within the text to hopefully present a deeper meaning. These factors which at first are not apparent, actually imitate life and as a result it provides the reader with something they can identify with. For myself as the Author, it is the single most important factor, because if the reader can identify with the life of the characters within their circles, they can draw a parallel with their own life, and thus, the story feels real.
The star is quite obvious, it’s a pentagram and represents all of the qualities of life in the realm, earth, water, air, metal, spirit, all essential elements in the composition of all things. The star also represents the Five Swords of power for good and the five spirits that created the realms, and if you look deeper I am sure you will find several other links that bond five items in union.
In Book Seven, (recently out) we deal with the ‘Bridge of Sequana.’ I am aware as I write this some of you have not read it yet, but one of the biggest response’s I have had to date, especially in the run up to the publication was: Who is Sequana? What you missed her I ask? Look at the prophecy at the very start of Book Two, yup there she is giving you a clue as to what to look for. Also remember the events of Robbie’s fall into the river and Runestone’s melt down? Now for this you will need the revised edition, as this small clue got edited out in the first edition, I put it back. After Robbie is found and recovers, he goes to Robbie’s Mere and shows it to Rune. They spend the night together, and in the morning Robbie goes off to hunt leaving Runestone alone. Her grandfather turns up and gives her a telling off for being reckless. When Robbie returns they talk of “The Book of Black Runes,” and Runestone’s response is, “but the black book is a myth, like Sequana’s Bridge.” So you see it’s been there for some time.
At the start of book five, the passage on the very first page is from Una’s childhood diary, and once again Merlin talks of the bridge, and here you have two clues, firstly the Bridge is mentioned and what it does, and secondly Merlin tells you he is going to use it, so later on in the book when he confronts Morgan… Well you already have the answer. Book seven has thrown a lot of readers, it does start in a pretty dire situation, but look back and it all there so do not despair, you have six books of clues, and yet none of you saw it coming (Grins) Why? I have to ask. Just who is Runestone?
Well she is the stone on which all is written. I must have written that so many times in the previous books, and book seven is the reason I use that phrase, also her grandfather is the guardian of the Whitelines. As Eve explained in book six, the powers mingle, so it should not take a huge amount to deduce that the Whitelines are also referred to as “The White Lines of Time.” We have also spent most of the last book in the Forest of Time, so the clues were there for the plot twist if you looked at it in a simple way. I was thrilled that my wife did not get it either, she is pretty good at predicting things, and I have to be so guarded when working to make sure I do not slip up, thankfully I pulled it off and hope you all enjoyed it.
One of the nicest compliments I have been given by quite a few readers to date, is that they have read the books several times, (which in itself is a huge compliment) and they tell me each time they read it, they pick up on other things, so slowly the layers are peeling back. From the point of view of the Author, I am delighted that for some of the readership these books have given you that kind of extra pleasure. In many ways it can be quite a solitary and at times hard life writing, so being able to play around by layering in symbolism and clues, I get a huge amount of fun in the writing process. I have never expected to be on the best sellers list or make millions writing this, my aim has always been purely the joy of being able to work this tale in a way that it will hopefully give other people the same enjoyment I get from writing it, and for the small readership that has remained faithful, I think it has.
Over the coming days I will provide more details on HTTK and show you how I pull it apart and build it brick by brick, and I hope it will add a little more depth to the books, which are a huge part of my life and also my persona as a human being. Previous Events and the website have a lot on it, so please have a good look round it.
Ok before I finish today, I think you now have a better idea of what is hidden within the pages and there are a great deal more little hints and clues than I have mentioned, so have a good look and as you wait for the final book of this series which I am currently working away on, think of this.
Who exactly is Ena? This one is a lot more cryptic than some of the others, but the loose strings are already there waiting to be tied up, all you have to do is dig deep enough.
Happy Hunting
RJM.