Summer with the Curio’s

Curio's Summer, Robin John Morgan
Curio’s Summer.

The second book in the Curio Chronicles series is here, and is out in print and digital, and so I want to take a moment to look at what is the second book of this series. As I have said before, the Curio Chronicles is the story of the life of Abigail Jennifer Watson, that charts her life and the choices she has made, and has to make, as she moves through life with her friends, centred around the conservative, and somewhat old fashioned thinking residents of her home village.

In the first book, Abigail’s Summer, she was just nineteen years old, and as she enters on page one of the second book, she will be twenty four, facing a life away from university, stuck at home, as Birch her best friend has remained at university to finish her doctorate in psychology.

It is here that I want to begin to highlight my thinking as I wrote the book, and firstly approach the theme of the story as the process of starting to grow up, and facing maturity begins. Based on my experiences with working with younger people, I have had a good chance to sit back and observe the reality of life, which let’s be honest, is not at all fair. The Curio’s as a group grew very close in a short space of time, but the movement into adulthood, is a difficult one, and once college and Uni were over, life takes a dramatic change as suddenly they are all faced with work, and the responsibility of an adult. The bond is still strong, but to a degree has been strained.

Anthony consults Abby

I really do feel that we do not teach enough adult skills in schools these days, and once set free from the bonds of education, our young tend to go a little wild for a while, and at times, that has some very negative consequences that the young are ill equipped to deal with. As a result of that, we see a lot of jumping to conclusions, overthinking, and drama. Oh yes, there can be a lot of drama, especially in the 22 to 30 year old bracket.

Having watched this, and I am currently experiencing this with one of my own children and their friends, I do find it quite fascinating from the point of view of human behaviour. The simple truth is that at eighteen and out of college and high school, the young tend to think, I am grown up now, and I can do as I like, and as society clearly shows, yes you can, but do not expect others to see it that way, especially the older generations. The culture clash that follows can bring with it a lot of resistance, and that will always lead to confrontation, not only with other generations, but also with each other, especially, if you are a young person influenced by the drama around you.

One of the delights of this book, was in the bringing together the group who all have different backgrounds and different attitudes, and allowing them the freedom to interact. To a degree, having established their persona’s in the first book, I was free to really explore and expand these characters, and I had a lot of fun doing so. Having Birch around helps, she is a natural negotiator, but she is fallible, as all through Uni she carefully controlled the amount of experiences that Abby has so as not to freak her out, and in many ways, Birch feels she has to take on that responsibility for all of the group. It is a beautiful characteristic, but it can also wear on you, and there are moments when even Birch finds life a struggle.

This book allows me the chance to really explore the characters, and get inside their heads as they interact with each other, and I cannot deny, I love the chaos that it brought through the group dynamic, as the group still felt very much like they could live as they did that summer aged around nineteen, but as they find out, it is not always as easy as they think, and there are some hard lessons to face and resolve.

Abigail’s Summer

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this book, was exploring Abigail, and taking into account all of her past history, with her cruel father, her aloof mother, and the wild liberated attitude of Hatty. Abby has learned to overthink everything, and she is always close to the edge of a panic attack. Her naivety is her weakest point, and it is simply her lack of knowledge of the outside world, and what people are really capable of, that leaves her at times a little too trusting, and as a result she gets exploited. I have seen this so many times in life, and when it is pointed out to the individual, they are shocked and at a loss of how to really respond. The problem is, when people are raised in such a protected environment, they do tend to move towards becoming inward, and start jumping to conclusions, and I have seen so much of this. They start to believe their own truths, and sadly they are so far removed from the actual truth, that when they are finally confronted, it is usually a massive blow to them, that leaves them reeling and unable to cope.

Abby and Birch feel their doubts

Abby, is very prone to such behaviour, hence Birch is always trying to point things out and increase her education, especially around issues of sexual discovery. It is easy to think that Birch is the most mature and responsible, and in that you would be wrong, it is actually Edwina, who favours her mother more than her father, and actually has a very acute mind for business. Birch is prone to outbursts of joy, and running off on excitable tangents, whereas Edwina, is far more grounded and level headed. Her sister on the other hand is only interested in emulating her idol, Hatty. Chloe swears like a sailor, and her passion is to paint and get laid, and she is exceptionally good at both, as we soon discover in the first few chapters of the book.

The thing is, Chloe is actually really tuned in to who she is, and she is actually a lot brighter than you would first expect. She is probably the best cook in the group, as she shares the role with her mother in the kitchens of her parents’ restaurant. She has simple tastes, and simple pleasures, and trust me, as we saw towards the end of the first book, she has absolutely no inhibitions at all, which does surprise and startle Abby more than she would be willing to admit. Within all of that, the most unexpected thing emerges, which is her huge heart, as Chloe is actually a deeply caring person, but in that, she is also very vulnerable. Chloe is very good looking and has never been short of admirers, but in many ways, it is also her handicap, as the simple truth is, most girls within her age group, hate her for being better looking and more popular at school.

Behind the scenes, Chloe has also been bullied a lot more than people realise, and her face of self assurance, is not quite as strong as you would at first expect, as will become clear in later books. The Curio’s, are the first group of girls that have ever treated her as an equal, and within that, she has grown to really care about them, because for the first time in her life, she has female friends, something she never thought would ever happen, and it actually means a great deal to her, and she is fierce in her defence of them, especially Abby.

A strange moment for Chloe and Deb’s

Deb’s in the first book was very shy and naive, but since that summer, she has really come out of her shell, although there is still an innocence to her when it comes to girl things, especially around sexual subjects. Deb’s biggest drawback, is she has always felt isolated and a little lonely, and in many ways, with the addition of Birch at Abby’s side, Deb’s feels it a little more. When it comes to sex, in the last five years, she has more than made up for her lack of experience in book one, and she has lived quite the secret life, especially in Cambridge, where she has been working for the last three years.

With a reunion in mind the story begins, and in true Curio fashion, all of them are young, idealistic, and filled with exuberance, and yes, they feel they will just simply return to normal, and go as wild as they did in book one, which they do. Here the group get to show modern hook up culture and attitudes, and as many older readers will see, it is very different, if not eye opening from the days of their youth. I have no issue showing the generation gap here, and I hope my older readers will take a step back and just think for a moment, as they try to comprehend how much the world has changed. I know from my own youth, things are very different in comparison, and for my time, I was quite the liberated lunatic we see from Birch at times. There is a serious point here, because in the last book, Marjorie really was the villain and the culture clash really showed, but I cannot deny, when I pull off the covers and show the real difference between then and now, I wonder how many will find themselves feeling caught between the two groups?

It is easy to attack Marjorie in the first book, she really is vile towards the girls, but once you see what the girls are capable of, will you sit back and think Madge was right? There is a step up of sexual content in this book, I do try to hold back and write it more from Abby’s thoughts, but at times, a little description is required to paint the picture, and so, it is in the book, or subtly hinted at. I do not write any content, simply for idle titillation, there is a point to all of it, as is revealed either late in the chapter, or in the book, some events will play into other books, which is why it is there, as it is the vehicle towards the group learning a lesson. Will it be a little shocking for people who have not encountered this? Probably, but just read on, and all will be explained later.

Birch responds to Madge

I have stated a few times, within the Curio Chronicles, I take the village and all its inhabitants, and I use them as a tool to hold a mirror up to modern day society. I am lucky, I have had the fortune to be able to talk in great depth with many age groups in the last thirty years of my life, and I have learned a lot about the way society has changed a great deal. The young today are more exposed to adult media than my generation was, and as a result they learn things a lot quicker and earlier than we did.

Is it a problem within society, I feel it is and it isn’t? It concerns me that the young are exposed to this, and yet our education systems appear to be only concerned with certain issues. They do not teach relationship skills adequately in schools, or look at the responsibility that comes with sex. They are very good at teaching abstinence, but with the rise of porn and other explicit media young people are learning from what they watch, and honestly, it leads to behaviours that in many ways shock the older generations, because they can be abusive. It is out there, and it is happening, and this book reflects on some of the danger that comes with it, because our young are not shown how to deal with it maturely.

Deb’s makes a request for good reason.

In today’s modern life, alcohol and a party attitude are where it is at, and whether you want to believe it or not, it happens. Most of the time, nothing really comes of it, but on occasion it can cause chaos, and I portray this from the point of view of young adult women, with their attitude towards life and their relationships, which is surprisingly accurate compared to today and those I have worked with. This kind of attitude and behaviour is reflected all the way from age 18, right up until past 30. Is it damaging? Some of it is, and in that some parents and parts of society are responsible, I have a very liberal and tolerant attitude, but even I feel concerns with how society is taking our young, and educating them.

The young have no education on issues such as empathy, compassion, and especially love. They really do not understand the relationship dynamic and feelings that bond two people together, and to be honest, they are so involved with image presented from aspects such as Social Media, they are too busy living their sexual lives. I am not condemning them, all of us have been there with our infatuations, what I would like to do is present it through the stories in a way that people begin to try and understand how our young have been abandoned by educational systems to fend for themselves, and learn the hard way.

Within the Curio group, I have placed Birch central, as she has grown up mainly with adults around her, and so even though she can appear unstable at times, she actually is a very well educated woman, who brings a dynamic of responsibility to the group. In this scenario, I also have Edwina, who is far more mature than the other girls, but she spends most of her days interacting with business people, and so has matured a lot faster. I have Chloe, who can be childish and is not very academic, but she is very street wise. Deb’s is maturing faster than Abby and Chloe, and is very grounded in her sense of loyalty and family. Last of all there is Abby, a very intelligent girl, who has retained a lot of her innocence, and yet due to the way she was raised, suffers from self doubt, and really finds it hard to truly trust her feelings or others. Anthony is a very business driven, and much more mature because of it, but he has suffered more than any, and understands the world in ways others never will, and within that, he has a lot of inner insecurity and loneliness.

It is a fascinating group dynamic, that leads to wild chaos, and yes is a great vehicle for humour, and within that, I do not hold back, unlike many outlets, I do not agree with so called modern censorship, and believe if presented properly, humour can be applied to any situation, as was seen in HTTK where in the midst of battle, the Specialist found that making a joke, lifted their spirits and got them through the tough times. Maybe it is a British thing, we do have a reputation for making fun of ourselves as well as others, and we do like to chuckle at the expense of others at times. Like all things with my writing, within the humour there is always a message that makes a serious point, and I do try to show it as clearly as possible, and in that, I have the best vehicle with the Curio’s. The conversations between Abby and Birch when they are alone, are a very important parts of the books, for it there that Abby’s understanding gains the most, and she learns so much to help her navigate life.

Abby’s background is the most important aspect of her in this group, and in a way, she is caught between two very differing philosophies. Abby has the very strict conservative views of her father, with his ruthless discipline, and that of Birch and her open liberated modern ways, and that causes a clash, and an inner crisis for Abby. In many ways she is caught between two fires, one that was beaten into her, and one of a yearning to be free and really understand who she actually is a human being. It does cause an inner turmoil for her, and just like her mother, at times she goes against her gut feelings, and finds herself in the midst of chaos, and heartbreak. It is a wonderful balancing act, and actually for myself one of the best parts of writing this book, and I do wonder as the book comes out, how many will pick up on her creeping self doubt, as she tries to really understand herself?

Like all things I write, there is much more, and within that, you must consider the grownups. Harriet is still living life on her own terms and giving out great advice to both Abby and Flick, although she is not as present in this book as she is in the first, and of that you will find out why. Edwin and Felicity are still together, and yet within that, there is more than meets the eye. This book shows some of the parallels of Felicity’s life repeated in Abby’s, and through that you draw a greater understanding of Felicity and the life she had before Edwin. Felicity still has much to learn about herself, and with Abby and Birch as examples, she starts to see herself very differently.

Roni and William bob in and out throughout the story to offer wisdom and insight, and yes, somewhere lurking is Bev. (Guard your Vagina!) As Bev matures a little more, and stretches her wings beyond the borders of Uppermill. Marjorie and her cronies are still very much alive and well, and spreading their vile thoughts across the village, and there have been a few changes to some of the background characters. Marion is back, and she is going through her own changes in life, as the story steps up another level, as some of the behind scene’s dealings by Marjorie surprise even her. As always, Lillian and Celia, the oldest perverts in the village are around for Birch to flirt with, as Lillian becomes over excited and fans herself with anything at hand, to cool her wild and naughty thoughts. There is a new central character, in the form of Isabel Johnson, who comes down from Manchester to bring her northern expertise to the frame, but I will leave that for all of you to discover within the pages of the book.

Abby is in awe of Izzy.

It is a good fast story with a lot of inuendo, and I feel a good pace, with some wonderful humour, as the book heads towards yet another climactic end in true Curio style. I am delighted with the response to the first book, it has been received very well indeed, and I am hoping this addition to the series will enhance the first book more. If you really do enjoy it and find it a fun illuminating read, please, tell your friends and encourage them to read it, I still have a long way to go before I am truly recognised for my work. Hit the like buttons on posts, write a revue, and comment about your enjoyment, they all add up to spreading the word, and I really would love more people of all generations to pick up the books and read them.

It is available in digital from all book app platforms, and also in print from good book retailers online or otherwise. The books are print on demand, and can be ordered from anywhere. Once again, I thank all of you who have read this, and I am already at work on other projects, one of which is Curio three, as well as a little more to add to HTTK, and other things completely unrelated to anything I have written so far.

Thanks for all the support, it really does make a huge difference to my writing life.

RJM.

The Absolute Power of HTTK.

I got asked recently, what can be learned from HTTK, and I responded, take a look at the world, and then read the whole series again. Enjoy it, get to know the characters and understand them, and then when you do, consider how much you have in common with them.

Take into account, Kingdom began as an idea in the 1980’s, and I really began to write it in 2006. Honestly, since the writing started, it has become more relevant in my thoughts, as I watch the world today.

Kingdom is written from the point of view of those being oppressed, as they fight their way to freedom. There is a great deal of effort in the writing that places the focus on understanding the freedom and joy all the principal characters share. There is a reason it took 14 years to write the eight books, as they do take a long hard look at the life of mankind. The book is focused on two main characters and their friends, as they take for granted what is all around them. I highlight the success of Lox farm, and its abundance, it is to a degree an idyllic place, of friendship and community, where the goal is almost a utopian ideal of what every reader would want in their own life, which could be why so many readers have identified with the series.

Book one is almost a merry jaunt as the group set off to discover the root of all the evil that is attempting to take all of their abundance away, and in many ways, it does not appear to be that sinister a book. I would say it appears as quite innocent, and yet I would also argue, that when you look past the joy, and the developing love story of Robbie and Runestone, there is a dark sinister presence simmering in the background.

It is easy to miss the most obvious aspect of the Bowman of Loxley, because it is subtle, but if you take a step back, and consider it for a moment, suddenly it is not quite the picturesque picture you first thought it was. I would argue, that there is a very significant warning to be taken from that first innocent feeling book, so let me elaborate.

Early in the book, two things occur that are very important, the first is, that the young Dirk, goes out to hunt for food for his family in a remote and isolated part of middle England. His family have chosen to be isolated, and stay well away from all other communities who are banding together to try and survive, and yet his father chose to hide away, separate from everyone, why?. On Dirks return, his mother, father and little sister, have been brutally murdered and their house burned to the ground. In his heartbreak, he is visited by Opal, who tells him to hide his identity, and take aid in the form of a sword to aide Loxley, and she renames him Rowan of the Woods, why?

Secondly, Rowan is a robust tree, known for its strength and resilience, two qualities needed to resist oppression, it is a very important symbol, and one I may add that made everyone assume he would one day be the leader of the country as a king. Rowan, becomes a vital part of the resistance in later books, at our hero’s side.

The next thing we learn, is that one man, rises out of the destruction, and builds a wall to seal off a part of the nation. He is a hero to his people, who has saved them from a deadly virus… a life-threatening catastrophe, hmm, sound familiar? Out of nowhere, he declares himself by birth right, to be ruler of the land, and he despatches out a ruthless and merciless unit of, for want of a better word, ‘murderers’ to attack and frighten all the survivors. These men are the Cutter Brigade, and they lead by using fear, that sounds familiar too. They rape and kill and take all of the supplies, which are sent back to Cornwall, where the supreme ruler is based. A leader taking all the best for his own needs, with no regard for the people, yep, sounds about right to me.

The man is Mason Knox, a historian of the old world. There is no coincidence he has a past as a history lecturer, it is how he understands dominance, and why he is so organised. Mason means wall, a worker of stone, Knox means vault, think about that for a second. Walls are a symbol of strength, and a vault symbolises wealth, combine money and strength, and you have a recipe for supreme power. If you want an example, look to any dictator of the historical past, they hide in their dwellings behind high walls and security, country’s hide behind walls such as China did, and there is no greater example than the Berlin wall, something that is a stark memory from my youth.

The Cutters are spread far and wide, so much so, they reach the north of England and Robbie come across a small raiding party at Joe’s cabin. Later in the book as the group journey away on a mission to produce the evidence to prove Mason is an illegitimate heir to the throne, they enter a village which has been attacked and devastated by Cutters just north of Loxley. Mason is already trying to surround the town of Loxley. It is a huge surprise for Robbie and Rowan, who question, how did Mason get so far undetected? It is an important question, and one you should ask yourself.

At the Abbey, even further north, a large army is spotted quietly building up strength, and as the group skirt back south, they end up in a small town which is run by organised Marshals, who are confiscating weapons. It is subtle, but look carefully, they are in a town that is organised and operating without any resistance to the Marshals, if anything, they have embraced them for their own security. The path of least resistance does appear right at the time, but it is a dangerous path to walk.

At this point there is a very real plan of action being revealed from Mason Knox, who I deliberately kept out of the book until he was revealed in person at the end. The whole premise of the Bowman of Loxley, was to show the slow subtle build up of Mason’s power, and hope that people would notice a very familiar pattern from the past. Look to the past, and learn for the future, is a line and theme that run through this book, and all the others, and it is not there by chance. It is possibly the most important message of all the books, and a very real warning about allowing others to change our historical concepts of history. In using this line, it does also highlight the very real danger in Mason’s action plan, I would say to be specific, look to Germany 1933.

Okay, so let’s take a moment to understand the plan so far. A self appointed dictator who desires supreme power. A fear driven private military force acting under his personal instruction, and control. The confiscation of weapons from the population, under the guise of protection from the newly imposed state, secret groups attacking at random places whilst slowly building up around its enemy, and a secret police force, in a town that has been compliant and simply accepted their authority without speaking out.

So, so far so good, we have the making of a totalitarian regime by subtle means, and now for the big hint. A rider arrives at Lolxey’s gates demanding entry on the orders of ‘The Duke of Cornwall, and newly elected Governor of England.’ There it is, Mason now sees himself as being completely in control, and all of you have to now do as you are told. It is John Lox who points our the obvious, when he states, “Newly elected, I didn’t vote for him.” Well no, that sort of democracy has gone forever, you now have to blindly obey. If you do not, well that comes at the end of the book, you will be surrounded by an army, and wiped out. There is no coincidence that Loxley and York, the two most organised places had an army on their doorstep, they were in the way, and could foil Mason’s plans, so like every dictator from the past, he was going to silence them, and remove them forever.

Boom! There it is right in your face, no one elected him, he is a self imposed leader, and as you follow the story, you get to see the full power of Mason as he reveals his armies at Tintagel and his weapons creation at Weston Super-mare, and his attempts to quash Caerleon. The end of the book shows the full power of Mason as he finally appears in the book, and tries to take the crown and become supreme ruler of England and all its realms, as the fascist dictator he is.

The simple point is HTTK is written in such a way, you have to look for it, and it is all there in the background quietly building away and actually revealing far more than you would at first realise. Jump to book two, The Lost Sword of Carnac, and yep, it just gets better.

Let’s start with the surrounding area of Canterbury. In an act of temper, Mason labels certain types of people, and sends in his Cutters to destroy them. These people are in no way affiliated to Robbie, and yet Mason labels them, Leaf Lovers, Wood Choppers, and he brutally murders them on mass. Sound familiar? Sadly, this is not fantasy, it happens in our modern world, it is not always as extreme and results in death, but it goes on every day, we just choose to ignore it.

A certain section of society is seen as inferior, and as taking up space, and so they are wiped out completely, look to the past? How may regimes since 1945 have seen their own people wiped out by fascist dictators under the guise of their creed, culture, or religion? A section of their own society is labelled by its government as unfit, and then slaughtered and labelled as inferior, second class, unworthy of the same rights.

Think this is a fantasy, look back at the UK, we may not have wiped them out, but it happens. Back in the seventies, it was the hippies, and the drop outs who had no rights, and were targeted as unfit by the government. Margret Thatcher’s government labelled and stigmatised single parents. Under Tony Blair’s government anyone opposing immigration was a white supremacist or racist. When David Cameron was in power, it was the unemployed, and today with Boris Johnson’ it has recently been the un-vaxxed. It happens every day and we all choose to ignore it, or go happily along with it as the media backs up the government narrative. It is subtle, but it happens, and all it takes is one man to make a stand and seize power, and suddenly, a whole section of society that may even have once been a hero to the people, becomes the enemy, and has to be silenced and beaten into submission. You think this is fantasy, try being a peaceful trucker in a certain part of the world at the moment?

Heirs to the Kingdom may feel like an innocent romp through the woodlands with a bad man after you, but it is a very subtle warning about absolute power. I know, I was facing a localised one when I first began to write this series, and it is really frightening to face alone, or with a few dedicated friends.

The second book reveals the rest of the plan of Mason, with enforced labour camps, where you own nothing, but will be happy. Orphanages that force women into birth to breed a population, rows and rows and grey dull dwellings, suppression of decent, and endless slaughter of those who resist. It is all there, and the most frightening thing about this, is in this modern world of today, it has, and is still happening. Do you think slavery has been abolished? Try looking towards the middle east, open your eyes and it is there right in front of you. One global power, or one person who feels entitled to dominate are always there, and not always who you think, it is the curse of man, and the lessons we refuse to learn from our past.

Book three creates monsters from experimentation, drugs are used to enhance human abilities, and the race for more modern weapons to outsmart the enemy is always on the forefront, as the power and dominance grows as fast as the slavery, as people are controlled with fear to do the bidding of their self imposed masters. Heirs to the Kingdom is a dystopian series, but it hits a hell of a lot closer to home than many have realised.

So how do we win, well we fight, okay, so what with?

There is no coincidence that the swords of power are named such. Truth, Justice, Knowledge, Courage, Honour. These are the ingredients of ‘Democracy, and Freedom.’ They are cherished as they allow for freedom of thought, and the freedom to speak, and through the union of these ideals, we create a world that is fair to all, and that is the message to all the readers of HTTK. Take these qualities into your heart and into your life, and if you do so, they will unite in one union with others, and that my friends, is ‘Destiny.’

The modern world today is not quite as black and white as it first appears, and I would say, that we are all stood on the edge of a woodland glade watching, surrounded by those we love, but Mason is out there, and he is not alone. Behind the scenes he is at work, and it is as clear as day if you open your eyes fully, and stop blindly obeying everything you are told.

You will never get the truth from social media, you will never be able to fully trust the legacy media, they are driven by a controlled system of subtle people of power. Just because everyone else believes it to be true, does not mean it is. At times like this, like Robbie and Runestone, we have to stand alone and take a step back, and look with the eyes of destiny, because if you blink and lose focus, we all will end up in a world ruled by the likes of Mason. The human race stands on the edge, and it is the task of all of us to pay attention, and stop blindly following with our virtue signalling and politically correct adherence. Just because everyone else is doing it, does not make it moral or right.

Be a leaf lover, embrace the role of woodsmen, and fight those who are bringers of stone.

Absolute power, is far more corrosive than rust. Never forget that.

Heirs to the Kingdom by Robin John Morgan, is available in Digital and Print formats from all leading online retailers of books and apps.

The Age of Digital for HTTK.

It is hard to believe, this is my 100th post on this blog.

How the time has flown. This year marks the fifteen year marker of starting to write Heirs to the Kingdom. It feels a little surreal, especially when I look back at all those nights sat alone coming up with ideas, and making notes, that actually led up to me starting to seriously attempt to write a first book in 2007.

HTTK back in 2007

Before that fateful May of 2007, I had spent many hours, drawing symbols, writing short back stories, and working out family trees. I even researched the powerful properties of certain gems and stones, all to add extra qualities to each of the characters, and yet at that time prior to 2007, I was not even considering writing something I would publish. HTTK was a little like Dungeons and Dragons, it was simply something I did in my spare time, it was just a little fun, it was never meant to be a serious thing. Being realistic about things, Heirs to the Kingdom has been a work in progress for at least thirty five years of my life, and it still is.

Over the last two months of my life, I have been working some very long hours, as finally, I have the chance to convert everything to digital. If truth be known, I have wanted to do this for a long time, but me and computers are not a good mix. I wanted the eBooks to be as well formatted as the Print books, it is not a hidden secret that I hate the three books put out with a different publisher back 2009 and 10, which was why VCP came about. I wanted more control over the way the books looked, and so when it came to the digital copies, I wanted the same or better. Actually, I wanted better, and so behind the scenes I have been spending some very long hours working on all the books, to create what I am referring to as the 2021 updates.

HTTK as part of VCP’s Digital Summer.

It is my aim to get out all the digitals, and then when that is done, to update the prints to match. Fifteen years ago, I was new to writing, and I made some pretty rookie formatting and writing mistakes, and so with that in mind, I have made quite a few subtle changes to the books. What I could change was limited, but for those of you who have read these books several times, I am sure you will spot the differences in the digital copies. There are a few substituted words, those missing commas have been added, and a few various other little tweaks have been made, and as a result I think they are without doubt much better copies. None of the story has changed, it is exactly as was, but the flow of the text, and the reading I think is massively better.

I have been none stop writing for fifteen years, and as I picked up the master copies of the manuscripts to start to edit the books from the first to the last, it was very clear how much my writing has changed and improved. As I look at everything I have written, which also includes the Curio Chronicles, as well as some other stuff I have been working on, the one thing I really am overjoyed with, is how my characters have really come to life on the page. Looking back at those early Robbie and Alice moments and certainly the Robbie, Rune relationship, I am thrilled with how through the eight books they developed, and as a result, gave me the confidence to create such wonderful characters as Deadly and Birch in the Curio series.

Writer Header for web presence.

Kingdom was not an easy series to write, I struggled at times with all the strings that needed to be added and tied together, as the plot had to come together in a way that was simple to the reader. It was so complex at times, just knowing when to end one thread and start another, and yet it was a wonderful learning curve for me as a writer.

I sat in thought a few nights ago and pondered if I could write these eight books better, and in many ways, I think if I wrote them now, they would be a little better than they were fifteen years ago, but maybe that is part of the charm of them. As I look back at other writers, and some of the series I have read over the years, I think maybe it is a right of passage, the first book always feels over time a little less than the others, and I feel with Kingdom that is maybe the case. The Bowman of Loxley is a wonderful book, Carnac and Dunnottar are a real step up, and as for the rest of the series, I feel they improve page by page.

Fifteen years is quite a chunk of time to be learning, and I have learned a great deal, which I feel is evident in what will become another addition to the HTTK journey, as I look to the birthday of Runestone, and Samhain this year, and celebrate the woodland New Year, as I release a new part of this story, and go back to the roots of Heirs to the Kingdom.

I am thrilled with the Rise of the Raven, it is the book everyone expected, and yet this book will be nothing like the reader expects. It is an important part of the Kingdom story, but do not think that what I revealed in the Circle of Darkness will in any way predict what is to come, it won’t. (He smiles) I did a lot of very clever editing in book eight.

Rise of the Raven (To be released Oct 2021)

The Circle of Darkness, gave tiny little insights, and to be honest it painted a picture to HTTK fans of one way of looking at what this story will be, but trust me when I say, I really think this book will be a huge surprise to many. Again, Branna and Ariel are wonderful characters, and I have loved writing their story, which in itself is such great platform for the start of HTTK, and like all things in my work, there is a good back story to really add depths to each of the characters. This book will be only one part of a story that will take the journey through the darkness, and beyond the eight books, so yes, there will be others, but this is not a series of books like HTTK.

Each book that I have been working on will pick up threads of each other, and also threads of HTTK, and it is my hope they will weave a tapestry that will make all of the books one big and complete adventure. This book marks the start of an adventure that will take you through two books prior to HTTK, and then take you past the eighth book and into Loxley after the final war and beyond. A book to follow Rise of the Raven is my current project, and is half written, and a book to pick up after HTTK is planned out, with a few small parts written parallel to Raven, so there is much more to come.

It does feel a little strange, as for the last few months, I have started on page one of the first book, and gone through each book reading the story for the first time in a long while, and it has surprised me how much I have written, and also reminded me of the joy of writing this story, that evolves around the love of Robbie and Runestone. I have felt very nostalgic of late, but having this story come back to life in all its glorious detail, has been an inspiring process, that has helped with the editing of Raven, and in writing other books that will be part of the Kingdom world.

I guess at the end of the day my obsession with this story is still very alive and healthy, and I am very excited to get on with it, although I am still updating the digitals at the moment, and have my work cut out for me. Each book has landed one per week, and as you have all seen they have moved through the summer and into Autumn. Like all magic, it weaves in strange ways, as does technology, and just as Runestone collected her powers as she learned more, I have shared a similar journey into digital, and advanced programs to write with.

I have much more advanced programs to work with these days, although, I do miss my Windows XP computer, which was where I started, but new technology has been a huge part of advancing and updating these stories, and so hopefully there will be less need for updates in the future.

The Curio Chronicles, will continue to surprise people, there is a great story behind it over the series, and I hope you all follow it, and Heirs to the Kingdom will grow, and who knows what other tales I can manage to bring forth to delight readers? I simply know that I will never stop writing, until I stop breathing, and hopefully there will be enough done, for my wife to keep the tales flowing for long after that.

Never forget, every line was written for a reason, and that is the wonder that is reading and writing.

Rise of the Raven is set for release in October 2021.

Discovering Abigail.

There is one aspect to being a writer, that does tend to irritate people a little, which simply put, is if you want to sit and talk about the weather with me, you will bore me to death, and I will probably get up and leave. I will not apologise for this, as I simply cannot sit and talk about menial things, like will it rain tomorrow?

I am a lover of real conversation, I like conversations about dreams, hope, aspirations, the universe, and interactions, and even people’s thoughts on modern sex, and I do use much of what I hear and see as a vehicle for stories. I always go away and think long and deep about whatever it is I have discussed and even look it up for other thoughts on the internet, and it all adds to the bank of data in my head for those moments sat writing. Add to that my love of simply observing people, and throw in my own life story, which has included a lot of deep conversations, about some very personal matters with people, and there is a recipe fit for a book, and actually, I have just written it, and its accompanying four other books that create the series entitled, ‘The Curio Chronicles.’

Abigail's Summer By Robin John Morgan. ISBN: 978-1910299-27-2

The first book, is an introduction to a whole list of new characters, the most obvious being Abigail, a nineteen year old university student, who is studying, Literature, Business, and Public Relations, for her degree. Abby is very intelligent, studies hard, and is an absolute book nerd, so if it is printed on paper, she will read it, but her greatest love in literature, is gothic horror, for which she is awarded her Uni nick name of ‘Deadly.’

Abigail was raised in the picturesque village of Wotton Dursley, a place she refers to as being stuck in the 1950’s, which she also states is like the Village of the Dammed. She has been raised by a wealthy family, and is very sheltered and naïve. Wotton is a place where how it looks, is the most important aspect of life, and the village is ruled by the Church Council, with the vicar’s wife Marjorie as the Chair Person. For Abigail, who hates her life in the village, because she has no means of expressing herself, her biggest and only act of rebellion, is to get as far away as possible, and so when it came to picking a university, she picked Manchester over four hundred miles away. Her Parents Edwin, a boring old accountant, and her controlling cleaning obsessed housewife mother Felicity, are mortified, and so Abigail’s departure to university, was not as smooth as it could have been.

Felicity phones her husband Edwin.

On her first day she arrives, and finds herself lost, and having wandered around for hours dragging her large trunk of possessions, she knocks on the door of what she hopes is her dorm, and is confronted by a slightly taller, completely naked girl, with long white hair that has black patches on it, resembling birch bark, who gives her a huge smile, with sparkling green eyes, and says. “Hi Sweetie.”

Enter Birch, a girl who is one year older, having taken a year off to travel Europe with a promotions company, that was touring promoting authors. At twenty years old, with a mother who is a leading and world renown sex therapist, and a father who is a clinical psychologist university professor, Birch with her Manchester attitude, very high intelligence, is a Wiccan naturist, who is training in psychology, studying sexual practices and dysfunction, and literature, so that once she gets her doctorate, she can join her mother in practice.

For shy, naïve, Abby, who has been sheltered all her life, Birch is everything she never thought was possible, and they become instant friends. Over the first year, Birch’s open free spirited lifestyle rubs off on Abby, and she finally gets to embrace her freedom, and start her journey of deciding who she wants to be in life, and for Abby, Uni life becomes everything she has ever dreamed of, as her friendship with Birch becomes closer and closer. She discovers the joys of parties, alcohol, the odd tote on a spliff, and most importantly, the joy of sexual conquest. With the sexually liberated Birch at her side, she lets go, and goes wild, and embraces her freedom with a passion. Abby has her eyes well and truley opened to the reality of life in the north, and even gets to meet some of Birch’s friends from home.

Hi Bev... Guard your Vagina!!

All of this takes place before the book starts, and is briefly referred to throughout the story, the book starts with Abby sat in thought and starting to panic, as the first year of Uni is almost over, and suddenly she is faced with the reality of going home for the summer, and she is terrified, as she has changed a great deal, especially her appearance, of which she understands, the villagers will never accept her new image.

Abigail’s Summer, is the story of her return home, accompanied by Birch and the reaction she gets from her parents, and the villagers. From the moment she arrives there is conflict and misunderstandings which causes chaos around the village. I strongly feel that this is a story many will relate to, as we have all been through that time in our life, where we look inside to work out who we really are, and seek the answers to who that is, and this story follows Abigail’s journey of self discovery.

The book is actually very true to life, and is based on the many real life experiences of either myself, or my friends, or people I have worked with, either in a counselling role or just as supportive friend. The story is gritty at times and has a few situations in it that will challenge people’s perceptions, as it deals with modern life head on. Compared to Heirs to the Kingdom, for those fans and readers, this does have some similar threads, but this is definitely not a fantasy story, although it is a work of fiction.

Felicity looked at Birch. "oh God, how will i tell the vicar."

The main vehicle to drive the plot and the story is humour, and there are times when people will laugh, and as the chapter progresses, it will twist to show the cold reality of some aspects of life that we are all aware of, and yet in many cases choose to ignore. It does contain some very tongue in cheek moments reminiscent of Tom Sharp, or even the Carry On films of the seventies, and misunderstandings do open a situation up to some really funny moments in the story.

Birch is a wonderful character, who is calm in the centre of a whirlwind of madness and chaos, which is usually of her creation, and Abby plays off against that wonderfully as she panics and goes into meltdown, as she tries to control and maintain stability in the house. Through the story, the two of them attract others to them, the first being Debbie or Deb’s, who is at a different university in the south studying to be a biochemist, and the three of them become the core of the story and the endless strange and bizarre situations they find themselves in. It does not take the three of them very long to realise, the village has many hidden secrets of its own, and the hypocrisy of the residents becomes very apparent.

Deb's response to Abby's arrival in the village.

Like everything I write, there are strong themes and sub plots throughout the whole story, some relevant to this book, and some that will become apparent in the books that follow. In that aspect the story shares some similar aspects with HTTK, but this is a very modern story, that does confront some very current themes of the world today. Each crazy event is leading up to the final end of the book, which anyone who has read my books before knows, will twist in such a way, it will make for surprising reading.

I have allowed a few to read it prepublication, and I have some great feed back, and a few nervous looks, and raised eyebrows. The story is gritty in parts, and like most young teenagers of today, there is some foul language, and some scenes that are sexual. Is this a book of erotic fiction and sex, no it is not? I am not a lover of graphic sex books, and I like to think I add enough detail of description to paint a realistic picture, but it is not that graphic, if anything, it deals more with the inner dialogue of those involved in the act. It is a little more detailed than those moments of sexual involvement in HTTK, because for this book, it has to be, in Kingdom it was not completely relevant to the plot, but in this book, some of it is, especially as the book progresses into the rest of the series.

Ultimately there is a very important point of this first story, and it is very relevant for living today. I have used a fictional village, but the theme of this book and those that follow, which differ from book to book, do all address some important aspects of modern life, and I use a light hearted and almost comic way to deliver the story with impact, especially in the last three chapters.

Abigail's Summer by Robin John Morgan. Strong appeal to women and men alike.

I have been told this book will strongly appeal to women, and I can see that, it is after all written from Abigail’s point of view, something I have not done before, as I have always written from a narration point of view of an observer. I also think that males will learn a lot from this book, and enjoy it, ultimately, I will see after people have read it. This is not a fluff fiction, it is a serious story with some very important points in it, and a little after thought once the book has been read will show that. I think some age groups will be challenged by it, and not just the old, because the book does highlight how disconnected generations have become and why.

The Curio Chronicles no matter how challenging they may be for some readers, are an important set of books, with a very illuminating set of themes, and I am very happy with how they have turned out, and Abigail’s Summer is a great start to this series, and I really do think it should be on everyone’s reading list.

In the Buff, at the heart of the Village of the Dammed.

The irony of this story is, that in its first few weeks of issue to the public, it has been caught in the same problematic traps Abigail goes through in the book, of being restricted by those who feel they control everything. It has been hard to get the book out there, but ultimately, I really do feel if you order it and have to wait, it really is a book that is worth waiting for.

Abigail's Summer, available in print and digital from all book retailing sources. ISBN: 978-1-910299-27-2

It will be interesting to watch how it goes over the coming months, and as always love it, or hate it, jump onto my FB page and comment about it.

My thanks to everyone who has supported my stories, I always appreciate your support, and I hope you enjoy Abigail’s Summer.

The Women of the Kingdom.

Silhouette Image by Mohamed Hassan, with additional background added by this blog. Images royalty free.
Archer at Sunset

Now the series of Heirs to the Kingdom has come to an end, and whilst I am looking at other projects, I have taken a little time to sit back and reflect on what is now a full body of work.

Heirs to the Kingdom has many messages within the pages, be them about justice, the environment, betrayal or loyalty, but one message that I wanted to be loud and clear, also reflects an aspect of my own life, especially in the role of management or business owner, and that is, I believe in complete equality for all.

In recent years I have seen messages certainly around the book world, and in film that there really isn’t enough female hero’s, and at times I have sat back and gasped with disbelief, history is packed them, Boudicea and Joan of Arc come straight to mind, as does Wonder Woman, who has seen a huge revival on the silver screen in recent times. I cannot think of a better example of a female hero than Wonder Woman, the bi-sexual, whip and sword bearing shield maiden who fights for justice, she has it all, and even as a boy I was a huge fan of Linda Carter, who was the Wonder Woman of my 1970’s youth. Literature is littered with rebellious strong women, and yet they appear ignored, Pippi Longstocking the free spirited teenager, Jo out of Little Women, and not forgetting Elizabeth Bennet out of Pride and Prejudice, as some of the strongest female character’s I have read, and I would say for women they should be inspiring figures.

When it came to Heirs to the Kingdom, I wanted similar characters. Yes the book is an action and adventure story laced with magic and mythology, and there was always going to be fights and brawls, but when I first set out to write the books, I looked seriously at the situation created by the Red Death, and to me it made perfect sense that not just the males, but the females would out of a survival instinct, fight to protect what little they had. Today I know my wife is as capable as me if it came to a survival situation, she has been by my side throughout most of HTTK, and yes we have made our own arrows, and taught the kids how to filter water and start a fire with wet wood, everything in the books has been looked at and examined, and if I simply did not know, together we tried it to document the process for the writing. I will add at this point that the sexual reference to barbeque tools in book seven, is very specific to Jett Amber only, we have no knowledge of such things, although my wife has had green hair, which happened once as an accident, and she did do it once on purpose.

Heirs to the Kingdom whilst a fantasy, had to reflect real life in my mind, and so I started by creating females who would enter the books as the very ideal of what is the stereotyped female, especially in the case of Runestone. Rune is a few bits of several people I have known in my life, her long red hair and sapphire blue eyes, are from one person, her temperament comes from another, and her slender frame and kick ass abilities, came from yet another female from my life. I grew up in the 1970’s around hippie culture which morphed into rock culture, and I was surrounded by friends like Runestone, Jade and Jett. It was my intention to show Runestone as would be expected of a young innocent girl, and then I began her transformation from girl in the clothes shop, to kick ass powerhouse side kick to a warrior lord, her evolution through the series has been a real pleasure to write, and for any young girl reading HTTK, I hope it shows them, that the stereotyped world is not their only choice in life.

The hippie community was filled with slender elegantly dressed, and certainly very feminine women, and it was from these people I referenced a selection of characters, the biker/rocker community gave me a sample of strong capable women, and it was from combining the two that I came up with a basic idea of how the females within the books would be shaped. For myself Runestones ability to lift a sword and fight besides her husband is a natural thing, I have seen women who are more than capable outshine the men in real life. The broad South Wales speaking, at times flaky, yet highly aggressive Jett Amber, is actually quite a normal persona from my past, and I actually think I live with Jade, as my wife is much happier in oversized hoodies, my shirts and her heavy boots. All of these people who shaped my story entered my life in a very feminine manner, and as I grew to know them and they became good friends, I began to see all their wonderful additional qualities, and to be honest there was no debate back then of treating them differently, as they were naturally seen and treated as equals. I think in many ways today the battle of the genders has become so fraught, we fail to see how alike we can all be at times, and that is a main point of HTTK.

This a post-apocalyptic story, a dystopian tale, and in a situation where the uncertainty of death hangs over you. I would say all the fights and squabbles over gender would be brushed aside, as everyone pitched in to help overcome the trials of the changes to life. It is a shame that we have such great stories literally within arm’s reach, and yet it feels at times like the world is stuck in this fight for rights and power, when if such an incident happened in the real world today, everyone would see that given the situation, all of us are capable of simply getting stuck in and doing what was necessary to survive.

The biggest change I have seen is my life is the eroding of acceptance. Growing up in hippie/rock culture, I saw a different way of living, which was based more in nature and less in the world of money and stone, it shows in my writing. Today we have moved away from simply being ourselves and accepting everyone around us for whom they are, this media driven world has become critical and is all about shaming others, and I find it very sad. I would like to think that HTTK whilst a wonderful vehicle for escapism, also can show a more natural way for all of us to live together, which is the whole principle behind Robbie’s Mere as the base of the Specialist’s. I really love the fact that there are alpha males and alpha females’ side by side, who get along and serve the community.

Human nature I feel is naturally accepting with an open mind, there will always be love and romance, sexual frustrations and expressions. Bravery will appear in the most unlikely, and fear will create doubt in the strongest, there are good and bad people in all communities, and there is certainly no shortage of bullies and those who will become their victims, and these things apply to both sexes equally. They have always been there, history tells us the tales of those times, and they are at times misleading, as they are only the words of the one person who wrote them. I think it is why I admire Celtic culture, for they believed in complete equality and in community. They lived by tribe mentality, and accepted each other as equals because their way of life depended on it, so why are we not teaching more of this to our children?

To say there is a shortage of female role models or hero’s I feel is misleading, if you look hard enough you will find them. Arwen and Eowyn from lord of the rings, Lyra Silver Tongue from His dark Materials, Jo Playton from Day of the Triffids, Super Girl, Bat Girl, Black Widow, Harlequin, Storm, there are so many of various types, and there is one pretty much to suit every woman alive, and now you also have Runestone, Jade Opal, Jett Amber, Scarlet, Sapphire, Opal Green Circle, Gwendolyn, Tila, Crystal, and Amethyst to add to the collection, and the thing that makes them all admirable is, they are all true to themselves and those they support. I will add if perchance you hate them all, go follow Rags for a while, because that girl can cope with just about anything.

Heirs to the Kingdom is a series of eight fantasy and adventure books, written by Robin John Morgan, and is available from Amazon and all online book retailers.

Life and Darkness.

It was always my hope that within the pages of HTTK the characters would take on a life that felt real. I wanted the readers to form a bond with the characters as if they were real people within their lives, and so a great deal of my time writing this story was put into thinking each and every movement of the characters, and their reactions, which I hoped breathed life into them.

HTTK albeit a fantasy story, is in my mind about life, the normal everyday life that we all live in the time that we have. Life has many wonderful things, such as love, family, companionship, laughter and joy, but it also has its fair share of hurt, betrayal, sorrow, jealousy, and heartbreak. We are taught that life has to be a balance of both, and have many sayings such as, “taking the rough with the smooth,” and even though we may talk to others about their pain and suffering, I find it is often the case that people hide their own fears and pain, by burying it deep inside them in fear of the shame that they will appear less complete or weaker than those that surround them.

HTTK has many themes, but one underlying theme has been within the pages since the very start, and that is of course the darkness that is hidden from everyone. Throughout this story spanning eight books, every so often a little of the darkness hidden deep within has seeped to the surface, and this was shown in book one with betrayal, and two and three especially in the manner in which Mason’s soldiers conduct themselves. All of these served the purpose of showing a much deeper layer hidden inside the story that I hoped would serve to prepare the reader for the final two books. Greed and Power also show the darkness within people, and that has been very obvious within the tale since the start, and so these were my vehicles that would provide the truth of life, and clues to the final book in the series.

It is well documented, that in order to write Kingdom, I took much of my life experiences and that of others I had observed, and wove them into a fantasy series of books, using my characters as the vehicle to deliver my message, so if you take some time, and having read all eight books and follow the darkness, you will find that the final book comes to the most natural conclusion possible for this story, although I am sure at first reading that will not appear to be the case, and you will spend a little time pondering the way the book comes to its close.

In order to fully understand this, you have to go right back to book one and look at the actions of the green lord. He had watched for a long time, and seeing how out of balance the world had become, he decided to act, hence the Red Death virus that wiped out the largest percentage of mankind. Evil had spread through the lines of men, and they were blamed for all that was wrong, and so he took action to halt it for good. The opening of book eight begins with our old lord as he ponders everything, and in doing so he begins to realise he has made a mistake, for there deep within everything was a darkness hidden from everyone.

For myself personally, I feel that at some point in life, we too sit as the green lord does, and we all take some time to reflect on our past and on the life we have lived, and it is in these times that we begin to see that at some point in our life, we too have had to deal with a circle of darkness that surrounded us. Our lives do slip out of balance, and it is usually in these times that we suffer silently with our own dark thoughts, as our mind tries to deal with the experiences that we have had, and in most cases it is within the hours of darkness that our greatest fears creep into us, and we see the truth of not only our own lives, but also the lives of others. These are our own times within the circle, and they are powerful moments hidden from view, veiled from the rest of the world, and book eight is the book that finally brings these moments to the surface as everyone feels its effects and loses a little faith.

Without revealing any spoilers for the final book, I am sure those who have read the book will be a little surprised at the way this book comes to its close. I think I am right in saying it will be unexpected, although the clues have been there if you look for them.

The pace of the final book is very different from the rest, it is irregular as it weaves and twists through the highs and lows, and is filled with doubt and confusion. Book three was pretty dark in places, but this book takes that to a whole new level, you start to realise that the Specialist’s are jaded from over a year a hard fighting and they have lost a little of their zest, I think Rowan says it perfectly when he states, “he has seen things no man should have to witness” and just for the quiet contemplative man he is to suddenly admit that, shows the fatigue they all feel. He too is looking back and seeing his own personal circle of darkness and finally having to deal with it, as is Robbie, Rayne, Runestone, Jade and Sapphire.

Book eight reveals just how badly out of balance everything is, and it is not just a world view, or a natural environmental view, although they are important themes within all eight books, this time it on a personal level, and it does shake the inner most foundations of everyone’s beliefs, and that is why the ending of this book is the right one.

The only way to survive is to try and return things back to balance, there has to be light, but in order to keep the scales level, there also has to be some darkness, and this book looks at the way that can be achieved, and I am sure the last page of the book will highlight that perfectly.

Heirs to the Kingdom by Robin John Morgan

Heirs to the Kingdom was always meant to reflect life as it is today, and whilst it is wonderful to live in a fantasy that involves families, love, desire, friendship, simple living and compassion, sadly life today has too much of exploitation, violence, rape, war, and greed for wealth and power. Take a moment to study history and it reveals the great evils of the past that men have committed on their own race and other races. History shows how we have destroyed and exploited nature for gain, persecuted each other for power and control, and committed acts of horrendous evil. There was no coincidence in Opal saying “Look to the past,” her message was always to look deeply into the darkness and cast the light on the truth.

Life no matter how much you want to avoid it contains a great deal of pain and injustice, I know I have lived it myself, and witnessed it in the lives of those who have surrounded me. I have walked in my own circle of darkness and suffered, and I have fought on through it to find the light again, and I have accompanied many others on their own journey through the darkness into the light. What I have learned on these many journeys is that we do not always have control over it, we certainly hide most of it and wrestle alone as we deal with it, and sometimes, it is not us who can finally banish it, sometimes it takes another at our side to finally rid us of it.

We are never completely alone, we may feel it at times as the pressure mounts, but no matter how dark things become, if we have the courage to face the darkness and reach out, all of us find the help we so desperately need, be it a friend, professional or family, and that is the heart of the story that is Heirs to the Kingdom.

Heirs to the Kingdom by Robin John Morgan is a complete fantasy Adventure series that is available to purchase from Amazon and all other online book sellers.

Behind the pages.

The one question I get more than any other question is, “Why did you leave horticulture to become a writer?”

For those who have no idea about my life before writing, I spent 35 years working with plants, and it is true to say, I am a huge fan of green life. I walked away from horticulture in 2008 which came as a huge surprise to a lot of people, as most people saw me as a very dedicated supporter of the growing and nurturing of all forms of plant life, and it may come as some surprise to know that I still am.

The reason for my sudden change back then was simple, horticulture for me as a profession had run its course, I had worked for nurseries, garden centres, ran a dedicated group of enthusiasts, and set up and run my own business, and each of those aspects of my life had provided me with passion, drive and ambition, but in truth, there was so much more to who I am as a person, and ultimately horticulture was holding me back from living a free and open life.

Through writing I discovered I had a voice, and I had thoughts, dreams and ideas that filled my head with endless possibilities. The life of a horticulturalist involves long days of work, and even though I will never regret a minute of that life, there simply was not enough time for me to explore the many facets of the person I had grown into, and writing gave the space and time to explore all of those aspects of my evolving persona and mind set.

I live a very private life, my circle is small and my mind is vast, and over the span of time I have lived on this earth, I have encountered many ups and downs along the journey of this life. I know devastation, I know heart break, I know inner turmoil, I know pain, and I know betrayal. I have seen the worst in people there is no doubt, but I also know joy, contentment, inner peace, companionship and deep love.

In life we share our time with many different people, and we are challenged by different beliefs and by other cultures, and it is from these kind of associations, which in many ways contradict each other, I have through life developed a wonderful curiosity about the human condition, and yet even though through watching plant life grow and develop, which in itself shows you natures interactions, I had no real way to apply my understanding of the things I learned about human interactions.

In 2006 I began to add my thoughts to a story that had preoccupied a large chunk of my life, and very soon I realised this was the perfect vehicle for me to explore what I had learned. In many ways it is ironic, because by bringing together a fantasy fiction, I could express what was my real life observations and my own experiences. Daft as it may sound, it was a powerful experience to know I could recreate situations I had seen or lived through, and have other characters act out those scenarios with different outcomes. For the first time in my life, I could unleash my mind and allow my thoughts that were so mixed up and jumbled in my head, onto paper in a cohesive form, and I cannot deny it felt at first like an exorcism, and it was very powerful.

Since that time, what has become a series of books titled ‘Heirs to the Kingdom’ I have found a place where for the first time in my life, I have felt a sense of belonging that matched my love of the green world, and it has changed everything about how I see myself, and who I wanted to become. It is within the pages I have written, this somewhat awkward, introverted outcast discovered some way of making sense of a life that was confused, mixed up and at times lost, flapping in the winds of the wilderness. It was truly life changing for me to put pen to paper and finally make sense of everything, I can only describe it as some form of awakening, and it felt so positive it dwarfed everything, including my life working with people and showing them the ways of nature and raising plant life.

Heirs to the Kingdom by Robin John Morgan

My life still has many ups and downs, but I find I understand them and deal with them better now, and no I have no intentions of writing a self-help book. Today I understand that to be a writer it is important to look at the world and record your observations. It worries me that in this current time (2020) there is division and divisiveness all around the globe, it feels very much like the voices of many are being suppressed, and only those of certain creeds and cultures have the right to talk, and as a thinker and writer, I can see how destructive that is, and understand that without realising it, I have been writing about it for over ten years, for that really is what Heirs to the Kingdom is about.

I had no voice, I was not given the platform to talk openly and freely, and it has been that way since I was a child. That is the purpose of a writer, and yet it took me 44 years of life to truly understand that even though I was being guided by the voices of every writer I have ever read, I was in fact silent.

My story will shortly come to its conclusion, and I feel there is a stronger voice within the pages than ever before, and my attention will turn to other stories and other experiences, it has indeed been a very fulfilling journey. I still have hurdles to climb, none more so that the frustrations of multinational book sellers who have made life during the lockdown caused by the coronavirus harder than it should be, and I have to comply to the frustrations of staff shortages that cause delay after delay within the book production industry, but shortly, I will finally get to where I want to be, and I feel great optimism for the future writing about my loves and my hates and the flow of mine and others I have observed lives.

Heirs to the Kingdom is something I am very proud of, it is not a best seller, but it is known to a dedicated few and I appreciate their support. I often get asked what the book is about, and I always say the very same thing. It is about life; it is the story of families, and friends, the pain and the joy, and the hopes and dreams we all hold along the way. Yes it’s a fantasy, but the core of it is as real as your life or mine, and if I never write anything else, I am happy to have finished it, for it was a mammoth task, and a labour of love.

The Final Circle.

When it comes to Heirs to the Kingdom, you have probably noticed that it’s all about Circles. It has become one of the most important aspects of the story, as everyone is interwoven into groups and circles of friendships that all revolve around each other. This is a reflection of my own life, as I have wandered from circle to circle, never really belonging to any one circle, and yet welcomed in many. Life in itself is a circle, and I feel it has shaped and influenced my own life in such a way, that it simply appeared obvious that I would include it in my series, which is based around the life of two families and their circles of influence.

Book Eight "The Circle of DarknessOne circle that has been hidden for most of the books is the one that will be used to title the final book, “The Circle of Darkness.” This is the final circle, which revolves around the family line of Morgan le Fey, and for most of the series has been hidden in plain view from everyone, including the characters, which is why it took seven previous books to arrive at it.

Throughout all the books I have brought snippets of the family of Morgan into the tale and slipped them out, almost as if this whole series has been one circle that the reader would enter for a brief time and then move on to another, and in doing this it has helped me as the Author to show you a glimpse, and then snatch in from view again, so that the reader has never truly understood how the line of Morgan became so powerful, but all of that is about to change.

There is a fascinating backstory here of mystery and devious behaviour, and it is my hope that the final book will cast some light into a very dark place and illuminate the whole story of HTTK in doing so. It has not been the easiest of the books to write, and as with everything I have added to Kingdom, I hope it is enough to really make you want to go back and look through all the books again and seek out those Aha! Moments, as you start to fully understand all those little bits of information woven throughout the first seven. Whenever I have been questioned in the past, I have always responded with “Everything is written for a reason,” and I hope that becomes clear in the final book.

The Circle of Darkness has taken longer than any of the series to write, and yet I have enjoyed putting it together immensely. As I began to write this book, I suddenly started to realise how large a world I had created in my head, and as I sifted through piles of notes to make a start, I must admit I found myself reading something I had written up a note years ago, and simply sat reading, which did somewhat slow the process.

This final book has allowed me to bring in one realm I planned in 2002, Florae, the realm created by Hearne and Eve especially for the Fae of Earth, which could only be accessed from the world of men via the doorway on the Violet Isle. Florae for me is a Utopian dream, a place where one truly is at one with nature, where nothing is wasted and every aspect of life is lived in harmony with nature. It is indeed a place I would live happily to the end of my days, surrounded by green life and beauty, and a place where I could rest my mind and simply relax.

Florae was ruled for ages by Queen Bridget Violet, the equal of Rhiannon and grandmother to Gwendolyn, and was built by her husband Malcolm, and her son Ninian, And considering who Runestone actually is, you will understand the wisdom of Gwendolyn, and her passing of a future Queen of Florae to the care of the Woodland Realm. This book will not reveal all of the life of Bridget, but it will show enough for you to understand her wisdom and care of her people, and yes there is still a good backstory there for later days.

As with all previous books I shall bring forth new characters, a few in particular that I absolutely loved creating for you, two such characters will be Branna and Tila. These two are poles apart in their character and philosophy towards life, and I hope you will all enjoy meeting them. Like all things characters will come and go as the book draws to its conclusion, which again I hope is as unpredictable as the ends of the others have been.

I have to confess I will miss many of these characters I created. The confusion and profound simplicity of Fagan, who Jade understands completely. Those dithering moments of Woody before Una took charge of him, the confidence of Jett and Blades in the thick of the fight. Opal, oh how I will miss her calm and insightful conversations, and also Steph, the voice of reason in the midst of nerves, or her absolute revulsion at the menu. Robbie, Runestone, Rowan and Jade have been the focus of many long nights planning their love and lives, be it woodsman boots under a wedding dress, or Robbie’s endless confusion of the family he married into. It has been so wonderful, like the moment Sapphire kissed Robbie in the cave, and my wife became outraged with her, or the text message I got over one of her favourite characters that simply read,  “If you kill him, I am divorcing you.” And as I reassured her at the time, “keep reading.” It has been a wonderful journey.

Heirs to the Kingdom

Heirs to the Kingdom has always been the story of life, with its loves and pains, and learned wisdom, from all that happens. Much of this tale has been taken from real life and given a fantasy twist, but if you look deep enough, I am sure there is much to take away from it. I never realised when I began to seriously write that first terrible draft back in 2007 that it would grow to be such a detailed and inspiring tale. I do think I greatly underestimated how much I would come to love these characters, and the realms in which they lived. My life since that day has been filled with excited conversations, wonderful emails, and some very long nights working quietly in the darkness, lost in a world that is alive in my head. It has been such a thrill to create it, and if just one person falls in love with my world and lives through a thrilling adventure in their thoughts, I will feel satisfied and a little less insecure about putting it all together, and out in print.

The wait will not be much longer as the final manuscript is edited and formatted, and soon you will hold it in print, and it is my hope, you enjoy it as much as I have creating it. Heirs to the Kingdom is not the biggest seller, or the most popular, but the love shown it by such a dedicated few, made it feel like the world’s biggest best seller to me, and I am so deeply grateful for the love you have shown to it. Thank you.

Happy New Year 2019.

Winter within the Woodland

At one hour past midnight in a glade filled with soft snow, the sounds of a small babies cries echoed through the bare snow dressed trees, around the ancient woodland that surrounded Robbie’s Mere, and the house of the Lord Loxley and his wife Runestone.

   As if they all knew, the few animals that scratched in the snow for food, stopped and all raised their heads and looked in the direction of the wooden house. It was a sacred time when a power of the sight of the future was brought by Stephanie and Jessica into the world.

   The house rang with cheers, and laughter and the ringing of glasses of celebration, and somehow in the world of the woodland that was asleep for the winter, life seemed to tread round the trees and bring tidings to all of a new addition to the noble line of Loxley.

Taken from The Queen of the Violet Isle. HTTK Book Four, by Robin John Morgan.

Is it 2019 already?

It is hard to believe that 10 years ago in January of 2009, I sat with my girlfriend, later to be my wife, and looked through every page of the Bowman of Loxley. We were in the process of starting what was to become a publishing deal for the first editions of HTTK, the only problem was, the publisher was concerned about the word count. We edited a sizeable chunk from the first book, something I did very begrudgingly, as this book was the culmination of 20 years of research and ideas.

It was an exciting time, I had been pushed and pushed by a lot of people to publish this book, and for two years I had dodged doing it, from my own point of view I did not feel like I was a writer, I simply wrote stuff down and enjoyed doing it. Writing was a past time, a hobby, it was not something that was meant to be serious, but having been pushed by just about everyone who had read the rough first draft, I had finally made the decision to publish and set about getting things ready.

The rest as we know is history, the book was edited down, the book was published in April 2009, followed by book two the same year, and the third book came out a year later. It has all felt like a whirl wind trip, and the kind of story dreams are made of, but sadly that was not to be the case.

The fourth book in the series was not published until 2014, four years after the third book, which was mainly due to the fact that as my third book hit the stores, I began to feel very uneasy about allowing my publisher of that time work on the fourth. Things felt wrong, and my suspicions grew a great deal that things with the publisher were not as expected. I am glad now that I listened to my gut feelings because as I arrive in 2019 I still have not received a single penny in royalties from those first editions, and I can no longer reach the publisher as they have disappeared, I have had no choice but to write off those earnings from what at the time was a lot of book sales.

It served as a lesson for the future, and became my driving force to set things right and establish HTTK by a means I could control, and funnily enough, it was New Year’s Day 2014 that I launched Violet Circle Publishing, after a year of seriously hard work and effort on the part of my wife and myself. January 2014 was once again a hive of activity as I pushed to firstly revisit the first three books, and put back all the edits that had been removed from the first editions. The focus from that point on was to completely re-format the interior with a format that could be replicated throughout all the books, I wanted it simple, clean, and easy to read, and by making the page size a little larger, I manged to drop the page count, and thus reduce the price of the books, as I had always felt the first editions were just too expensive.

January 2019 is going to follow a similar pattern; I will be writing none stop as my wife looks towards the editing of each chapter as I write it, in order to speed up production of the final book of the series. It will feel good to finish with the final book on the tenth anniversary of the first publication, a feat that will bring to a close a whopping twelve years of none stop writing of this particular series of books. Who knew it would take so long to actually get all of it to this point and into print?

Heirs to the Kingdom has seen me write millions of words, spend literally a good few years of just editing and revising, I have taken thousands of photographs, driven hundreds of miles, and have hours of notes on my digital voice recorder, and I think I have used a good few trees worth of recycled paper in the process.

I would love to say it’s been exhausting, but honestly even though there have been so many nights sat up alone writing, and I have at times suffered sleep deprivation because I got carried away on a particular stubborn part of the tale. Exhaustion was never an issue, it has been a challenge of that there is no doubt, but I loved every moment I have worked on this story, and it has become a huge part of the person I have become, and hopefully I think I can say I have finally earned my stripes as full time writer.

2019 will take me into a place where my focus and concentration have to be better than ever, I have a lot still to do to bring this story to its final conclusion, and it with that in mind that I take my inspiration from the last ten years of working to publish this story. It still needs a much bigger fan base if I am going to continue to write, and once the final book hits the shelves, that will be my goal for the second part of this year, but for now, I am simply doing what I love the most, writing the tale that you have all come to love, for all of you who read this are one of the inspirations that drives me forward, and I will be forever grateful to all of you.

I wish all of you the very best for this coming year, I wish you all peace, and safety in whatever you may face this year, and I hope all of you will get to walk a greener path lit by the shade of old trees.

Happy New Year 2019 to you all.

The dappled shade of the Woodland

The roadblocks of life.

When I started this year, I had high hopes and a long list of notes and ideas to move forward and complete the final book of the series in Heirs to the Kingdom.

Looking back through all the data I had collected last year, which for the past ten years have been the backbone of what was a story that had been an obsession for 20 years, it became clear very quickly that the notes for the start of this story, where sketchy at best.

I have extensive notes on the Ruling Council, Gwendolyn, Opal and the different lifestyles of all the different races of people within this story, but what I lacked was the very start of the line of Le Fey. Mostly I had a small roughly scribbled story of two members of the Fae races that met in Avalon during the time it was being constructed for Rhiannon, and it lacked a great deal of detail.

The main bullet points highlighted the importance of this time, but they were just the bare bones, and lacked any kind of meat to build on. It became very clear that in order to complete the final story of HTTK, I needed a lot more detailed information on those times, something that could be achieved by writing the tale from start to finish. I soon understood that what I was about to embark on was the writing of two books side by side.

I began as I always do, researching and making rough notes of the plot, and started to write the back story, which was actually the very start of the series that I wanted to complete. Ten chapters in I had enough to go on with, and so turned my attention back to the final book of the HTTK series and made a start. The process that has been my routine for most of this year has been a strange kind of writing leap frog, the start of this series, and then jump to the final book and so forth, and as a result both books have progressed at a much slower pace than they would normally.

To give you all an idea of how fast these books come together, I wrote book one back in 2007 in a rough draft based on over twenty years of thorough research and notes, it took approximately three months to write the first draft, which was then revised and edited over a whole year to become what was the first edition. At that time (With a different publisher) I was not that happy with the final book, and so spent a further five months working on a revised edition in 2012, which was published as a second revised edition in 2014 via Violet Circle Publishing. Book One is still the fastest book I have written, book five took almost two years to write, and here I am trying to put together two very detailed books in as little time as possible, to say I have felt the pressure is an understatement.

2018 has to date possibly been one of the most difficult years of my life. My family life has been rocked since the year began, and as a family we have faced some very difficult and challenging times. I cannot deny that as I arrive in the last month of this year, I find myself stressed and strained and suffering from complete emotional and physical exhaustion. Endless hurdles to face and overcome has been the theme of my year, and even though there have been many times when I ached with the frustration to simply hide away and write, such has been the theme of this year that I have not completed anywhere near as much work as I would wish to. Writing, promoting my books and getting out and about to actually sell books to the public, have all been pushed on to the back burner many times, in order to have to stop and drop everything for the needs of others.

I have entered December this year hoping for some calm and stability in the hope of finally having the time to work through this whole month and play catch up on my writing, I am even considering planning to leave the house and hole up in some distant guest house, in order to finally complete the first manuscript of the last book, something I may well do in January if resources are available.

It has always been my plan to complete the last book and get it on the shelves, and then take my time finishing the final edits of what will be one last related book in the HTTK series, as it will become a prequel to the story with characters of whom you may have heard in references throughout the books, but you have not actually met to date.

I do get asked on a regular basis if there will be any other related tales, so I can say yes to at least one book, and there will always be a possibility of shorter tales, but for now I can only focus on the final book of the series, at which point I will see. I have other stories unrelated to HTTK I would love to complete, and so given the time and good health, I hope I can continue with those as well.

For now my frustration levels remain high, and my fingers are crossed for an uneventful life in 2019 so that I can relax and focus on the writing. Life is getting a little too much in the way, and I want to address that next year and withdraw more from the circles that surround me in order to focus on what I love the most, making up stories and getting them down on paper.

In the very little free time that has been available, I have managed to get some rough pieces together for the blog, and so with luck I will edit them and clean them up, and then get you some more insights into this wonderful tale on the blog over the coming weeks. Fingers crossed life will remain stable this month and I hope you enjoy what I can share with you.

My thanks and blessings to you all for the coming festivities. May you all walk safely and in peace into the coming New Year.