One of the hardest things in life to lose, is someone so important, that your life falls into a void of pain and inability to understand a future without this all important person, in your life.
It is tragic and so difficult, as for years, you have had the joy of knowing this one special person that is always there to show you kindness and love… And suddenly… They are gone!
It happened to me, and I have spent many years trying to find a meaning within the pain I felt and the loss I feel. This is not an easy topic to write a book about, how can it be, it is sad, who would read that?
It is a question I have asked myself for some time, and a few years back, as I considered this topic, whilst up to my ears in HTTK, and outlining a few other things I wanted to write about, I had an idea… What if I could present this story, in a way that would enlighten a reader, express my feelings, and yet provide a smile, and a ray of hope to my character?
Han’s Cottage, by Robin and Rin Zara Morgan
I had no idea at that moment of the kind of book I was going to write, I felt I needed to write it, and I needed to write it simply because at that time no one really understood how I was feeling, and I wanted to express it, so that others understood. What began in that moment was the book I am about to publish, entitled, Han’s Cottage.
My problem was, that I was tired of being told, “You will get over it.” And “You have to move on, it will get better with time.” And not forgetting the old icon, “Time heals all wounds.” Honestly, it is patronising and it pissed me off, because they had no understanding of what this felt like for me. I still had the problem, that a book about the journey through grief, was a pretty heavy subject to wite about, and honestly, I needed a book that would at least gain enough interest to sell a few copies.
I sat back and pondered what should a good book really have to keep a reader enjoying the story, and turning the pages? I had written HTTK, so that was not that difficult to work out.
A good story in my opinion, needs, firstly a focal character in hopefully a difficult situation, well I had that, a villain or two, an element of fun and cheer, and a really good plot line to bind them all up in. because I love fantasy, and I needed to lighten the subject material, I introduced the secret element, and that all brought with it, some magic and mystery, and with all of that, I knew, I could write something worth reading.
For this particular story, I knew that the icing on the cake, was going to be experience, and I had that, I have lived it, and so shrouded some of my personal feelings, and mixed them around with others I have spoken to, and created the character of Emily Montgomery Duncan. Daughter of business tycoon, John Duncan, a man who was so destroyed by his grief, he forgot his daughter was a very important part, of the woman he lost.
I set the story up in the 20th year of Emily’s life, after a life of boarding school and University, and threw in her best friend and flat mate Shelly. I moved them both to another city, and gave Emily the job of working for an utter ass hat, and I sat down, and began to write the passing of her grandmother, who was the only real family she had ever really known, as her Grandma Han had raised her through every school holiday since age four, and I had the perfect start to a story.
I began with a story that would be the story of the journey that takes us through the process of grief, and also, that one question everyone wants an answer to, “What comes next?” No one really knows what the afterlife is all about, how could we, in order to know we must end our life here. Religion has a few variations, and other people have their personal spiritual views, as do I, but what I wanted, was something plausible, something that to a degree held a truth. As my readers know, within Heirs to the Kingdom, I took mythology and history, and blurred the lines a little to create something a little more believable, if not also a little bit romanticised.
I wanted to do the same thing here, my problem was, the topic I wanted to use was science. Enter the best friend, a paranormal investigator, and lover of folklore, who was terrified of ghosts… Well, you know, a smile helps break the tension?
The greatest thing about science, is it is theory, until it is disproven, it is considered fact, and once disproven, the theory changes. Talk about an invite to really blur the lines, which happens to be one of my favourite things to do, and it instantly occurred to me, one could use the same approach to spirits and mythology, it was like a eureka moment, as my brain spun out of control, as I realised, what is the one thing that baffles everyone, and drives scientist into melt down?
MAGIC!
They hate it, they constantly dismiss it, and the same goes for ghosts, spooks and all manner of the spirit world, they blatantly refuse to accept it, because there is no credible evidence, it felt like my invite to the game. I posed the question, what if there was another intelligent life form, what if it had learned from the humans and decided they were too dangerous to interact with?
Okay, so I spiralled for a while into conspiracy theories, but I still asked the questions, is Loch Ness really a myth, could a Yeti or big foot really exist and not be discovered? Scientist always tell us, “There is no credible evidence.” Well, if that is the case, why do so many people believe in them? So Okay, I am playing devils advocate, but hey, I am writer.
It appeared to me, conspiracy is a little like science theory, it is a fact, until it is disproved, sounds like magic to me. (Giggles) I knew I could take something wonderful, and work it into the story, and in doing so, I would return to what is one of my favourite aspects of reading and writing, I could throw in a lot of fantasy, and boy have I? Enter new characters Felix and Esme, and that is about as much as I am prepared to give away at this point before publication.
As I started to write, I knew I had something special, yes, it had sadness and a few moments that would make a reader take a breath and swallow hard. But, it also had joy, oh, such joy. Emily was made an ecologist, and staunch believer in science, and then I added the one thing she would never expect, the one thing she could never accept, and I rolled them up into the most wonderful and beautiful secret, and made it the life of her recently deceased Grandmother Han. I set it to a background of beautiful untouched wilderness, and then made Emily the soul owner, and person responsible for everything, and it was her task to discover the secret of her grandmothers beautiful and enchanting life, and all whilst having her terrified ghost hunting friend at her side. VCP have written the synopsis, which I will add below.
Han’s Cottage. (Violet Circle Publishing)
Emily Montgomery Duncan lost her mother at age four, her father fell apart, Emily ended up at boarding school. In her holidays, she came home to her Grandma Hanna and the only real home she ever knew. Shortly before her 21st birthday, the call came, Han, had passed away and her whole world collapsed.
Shortly after the funeral, Emily discovers she has inherited the cottage and all the land around, not her aunt, as she expected, but the thought of living in the cottage without Han, is so unbearable, she spends a year, lost, alone, and torn into pieces, as her uncle constantly tries to push her into selling the cottage and all the land to him, driving her to breaking point.
In a moment of anger, supported by her best friend Shelly, Emily decides to return, and as she confronts her life without Han, she discovers, Han had a very secret life, one she could never imagine.
What follows, is an enchanting, magical fantasy story, of wonder and beauty, as Robin John Morgan, has created a delightful Fairy Story for Grownups, that looks at life, loss, and the magic that surrounds all of us, in a thrilling and captivating way that is a joy to read. An amazing book, from the Author of Heirs to the Kingdom, Rise of the Raven, and The Curio Chronicles.
My wife was, as always, the first to read it, and she absolutely has fallen in love with it, which was a massive relief to me. This is a special story for me, it is almost sacred, as I have given Emily a great deal of my own experience, not all, but a good measure. In many ways, I feel the book has a slight innocence to it, which just adds to the enchantment of the story.
I have only ever wanted to be taken seriously as a writer of stories, and I hope with this book, I can add more weight to that, and people start to understand, that this still relatively unknown writer, is really dedicated to the kinds of stories I want to share.
I like my stories to reflect the truth, HTTK did as it highlighted the truth of the immorality we see in the world. The Curio Chronicles, whilst really blatant and in your face at times, also highlighted the power of victimising and shaming. With this book, I want to highlight the power and depths of the human spirit, I want readers to see how powerful our feelings can be, and yet how fragile at times it can make all of us feel. I also want, as I have in everything I write, to show how powerful and important friendship is, and how it can shape our life in such wonderful ways.
Han’s Cottage, I hope will do all of the above, and I hope that yes, if it does choke you up at times, you will also smile, because the hope and optimism that runs through every page, is there to show every reader, that no matter what, we can still love, we can always remember, and we can cherish every second of our magical lives.
As always, I really do hope you enjoy this book, and I thank everyone of you who has played a part in supporting my writing life. Han’s Cottage will be out in September, I hope you will read it.
Whilst I have a moment, I thought I would jump on with a quick update. For quite some time, I have been working on a story, which I hope to be able to offer to all of you soon. The story focuses on two themes, which are Fantasy, and Grief, and I understand that to some that may appear an odd mix, but I think once you read it, that it will make more sense to you.
As much as I love and have really enjoyed working on the Curio Chronicle’s, which are more modern and based in a fictional setting, there is a part of me which wanted to return to fantasy, especially after many years of writing Heirs to the Kingdom, and the upcoming book, ‘Han’s Cottage’ will allow me to do that.
I do not want to give too much away at this point, but I think I am safe explaining the basics, and also some of my reason for wanting to write it. For me personally, that is actually a very important aspect of this story. I would like to think of this book as a gentle book, which although does have an intensity to it, I hope I have written it in such a way, that it draws in the reader and has mass appeal. To lay the groundwork, I will supply the following.
Emily Montgomery, is almost twenty two, and flat shares with her best friend and Uni pal, Shelly Parkinson. Emily suffered the loss of her mother when she was only aged four, and as a result. has grown up not really knowing who her mother was. Her father fell apart after her mother’s death, and threw himself into his work, shutting off his feelings, trying to deal with her death, and sent his daughter to boarding school, which left Emily a little isolated and alone.
In order to ease the pressure on Emily, her father turns to her grandmother Hanna, and Emily spends a great deal of her holidays from age four onward living with Grandma Han, who is her only connection to a mother she barely remembers. Through Han, Emily learns all she knows about her mother, and Han’s memories in a strange sense, become Emily’s memories, as she grows up. To Emily, Han is the only real family she knows, as her limited interactions with her father leave her questioning why her mother ever married him, because she feels, her father is cold and withdrawn.
Shortly before her twenty first birthday, she receives a phone call from a stranger named Randolph, who informs her that her grandmother has passed on, and Emily’s world falls apart. The book starts a few hours after Han’s funeral, where a very well tailored gent, who is Han’s solicitor, pays a visit to Emily to reveal the contents of her will, and much to Emily’s surprise, she finds that the house and land, which had been her only real home since age four, have not been left her aunt as she expected, but have indeed been left to Emily. The solicitor is adamant that Han was very precise in his execution of his duty, and he handles everything, to ensure Emily has an easy transition into the full ownership.
It is a big shock, but one Emily is not ready to face, because the thought of being in the cottage without Han is too much to bear, and so the story starts to unfold, and the story passes forward by almost a full year before it really begins. Shelly tries her hardest to convince her to go back to the cottage, but Emily who is living miles away in Exeter and hates her life and job, has given up on living, as she struggles to deal with the loss of Han, having strange and frightening dreams. Her uncle. is constantly pestering her, and making offer after offer for the land, to the point where he is driving Emily mad.
This story follows Emily, and her thoughts, feelings and memories, as Shelly confronts her, and tells her to visit her grandmothers grave, as it is almost a year. In a moment of anger at her uncle, she makes her first move to face the truth of her life, and in a twist of fate and anger, her return marks the start of a journey through her grief, and into recovery. Han had a big secret, one that was very well hidden, and it all involves the cottage and the land, and with the arrival of Emily at the cottage, a series of strange events adds to her uncertainty.
In many ways this story is a fairy story for adults, it has some moments of joy and humour, and others that will make you sit up and ponder life, it’s meaning, and its joys. For myself personally, this is my way of explaining a little of my own feelings, over the loss of someone deeply special to me, and I have encountered many of the sayings and comments Emily gets in this story. I hope through explaining Emily, in a way, I also explain many of the people I have spoken with in my life, who could identify with my own personal way of dealing with loss. I know the fantasy aspect of this story will appeal not only to a majority of HTTK readers, but I hope, also a lot of new readers.
The story has a good mix of opinions on a few things, of which one is the fantasy realm, and within that, Emily with her scepticism and Shelly with her absolute belief of the mystical, clash with some wonderful dialogue that will hopefully leave all of you thinking and questioning today’s reality. In today’s cold world, there are still so many questions about life and death, and what lies beyond, and many people live in fear of what happens at the end. This story raises some of these thoughts and feelings in a gentle way, and considers all aspects of how we deal with life, loss and grief, and how our own beliefs can be challenged.
There are some good funny moments between them, and also some really close caring moments, as the story takes on Emily’s experience, and her journey towards her future of a life after Han. I feel it is a really well rounded tale, and I hope you do too. In regard to the fantasy aspect of this story I will allow you to read the story and discover that yourself alone, and I will not give too much away.
At the time of writing this to update the blog, the only person who has read the manuscript is as always, my wife, and I was concerned people would think that the subject material would appear too heavy and oppressive, as it is themed to a degree around loss.
Her opinion is, this story follows a young sceptic through her struggle with the reality of her life currently, her grief, her loss and her difficulty dealing with her friend, who is a believer in all things mystical and magical, to some humorous effect. When my wife considered the fantasy aspect of this story, (She smiled) she felt like she had her childlike wonderment given back to her, as she found the characters adorable, and it is a really magical tale, that makes her want to believe in all the magic again. She has really enjoyed reading it, which is a bit of a relief for me.
I currently have no cover images as they are in the final stages of production, except to say, I have provided a much bigger contribution to this one than some of my previous covers, and have really enjoyed the process. I will get something up soon, but for now this blog post will remain image free.
This book will strictly be a one off, I have no intentions of returning to it for further additional stories, as I am already working on other new material, and have further Curio and HTTK stories ready to be put out when I am happy with them, of which the next book in the Curio series will land later in the year. It is my hope to have Han’s Cottage out around mid September, and with the Curio book planned for later this year, that will be three in one year, which is pretty good, although Han’s Cottage has been written over six years, and all the Curio stories were written in 2020, as I have been busy with other stories.
The third Curio Book will not be as explicit, as the gang are growing up and settling down, and that is part of their journey. Abigail will be another two years older in this book and finally starting to see her hard work pay off, but her and the Curio’s will be encountering some new foes and problems, which will add to the crazy chaos of the full story of the whole series. I am sure all of you who have read the first two will have a few good giggles as you experience their strange and bonkers life around Birch.
I am working on other things, I have started a brand new dystopian story, which I am still outlining, but I am happy with what is on the page so far, and enjoying putting it together as well as continuing Ariel and Branna’s story, of which one particular aspect of that has been great fun, as it involves writing some moments of Robbie and Runestone’s children, which are yet to hit the book market in a book set eighteen years after Kingdom. My wife has had a little peep, and she is already in love with some of the kids.
Closing submissions for new manuscripts from other writers to VCP, has really allowed me to work with a lot more freedom, as now, instead of spending months working with new writers, who then pull out for other platforms, I have had time to work on my own material, and I have really been enjoying it. It is much less stressful, and allows me my creative freedom back, so for a while, VCP will only be putting out RJM books, of which, I have quite a few manuscripts almost ready.
I have other ideas in the works, one of which may be some form of channel with discussions of the books and behind the scenes stuff. That involves a lot of extra work and tech, which I have been working at for a while, but I am still working out the logistics, and which platform to use at the moment. Looking at how puritan and moralistic platforms like You Tube have become, I need to find something that will not ban some of the themes of Kingdom or the Curio’s. It is something I have wanted to do for a long while, and I hope after the summer to start recording some things, and will maybe have a guest or two featured, to talk books, writing and a writers life, not just mine, but possibly a few others.
As always, I am grateful to all my readers, and love getting things organised and ready for you all, and so watch this space for all the new stuff, that is coming in the not too distant future. As always, comment, like, and share this stuff around, and get everyone talking about the books, so I can continue to battle social media’s biased and unfair algorithms, and keep the books coming.
It is rather odd, as I sit here during the summer solstice of the year 2022, and I remember a time, many years ago, gathered with my Druid friends, at Stonehenge, on this same solstice day, watching the sun.
It is funny, remembering the times and the long talks with those around me, about being a natural human being, and living life, connected to the world around us, and honouring it. I was so young and filled with wild and creative ideas, and yet here I sit on a muggy humid day, and I feel no different. I have aged, I have wisdom (Allegedly) and the silver is running in threads through my hair, and yet time feels stood still, nothing has changed and everything has changed, it is a fun and strange place to be in life.
There is a quality to my thoughts and thinking process that feels timeless, I still believe in freedom, and living as natural a life as is possible in this modern cyber-tech world, and I am still captivated by those stories that never appear to age. If anything, as you read them, they appear to be relevant, even if they were written one hundred years ago. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells still appears as relevant now as it always has to me, it is a quality I have always admired in a good book, and in many ways, is something I have tried to emulate in my own stories.
Does the reader know which age HTTK is set in, or the year Abigail goes to university, and meets her roommate Birch for the first time? I hope they don’t, it is something I have tried to erase to keep the atmosphere and feelings of my work present, so the reader always feels they are in the moment.
The strange thing is, I actually use real calendars when I write, so that all my days of the week and special events are perfectly timed through my stories. The story of HTTK, actually starts on January first, 2038, and travels through the eight books, to finally end in mid August of the year 2039. The whole eight books last for a time period of one year and seven months, as this story was set in the future, but did it feel that way?
No… Not really, and that is because I took a group living in the future, threw in a whole host of modern day items, mixed up with items from yesteryear, and played one thing off against the other. As the result, it created a story that appeared so real, the reader no longer knew what actual age they were in. I, as always, lobbed in a few things to create that sense of time that had past, so that the reader in the present day would identify with them, and forget this was a futuristic story. A good example, would be. “Cool bangle.”
Jade utters these words as she picks up a very everyday object, such as a roll of cellophane tape, it is something we all know, yet to her it is a strange item, and one she mistakes as an item of jewellery, which is one of home occupations. Another good example from book one would be when Jade leans over a reading guard, to discover he is reading a Harry Potter novel. Before killing the guard, she whispers her approval to herself, regarding the novel as “A classic.”
That one line takes the story into the future, a future where the work of JK is an established classic of literature, which I do believe one day it will be regarded as such, once enough time has passed. The comment puts Jade in the future, it is a gentle reminder of what kind of story you are reading. Uncle Walter died hunting elephants, as Robbie explains, as he describes the barbed arrowhead, he has got the smithy to make for him. Hunting elephants in Britain, since when you ask? It is in that moment you realise, the world was destroyed and left to ruin, and obviously elephants escaped from the zoo, to find freedom roaming in the British countryside, of which Uncle Walter was a specialist at hunting them down.
The world came to an end in 2012, and this is 2038, which is 26 years later, and a great deal has changed. The readoption of the words lord and lady again, shift the clock. Titles revised from age past, and the story starts to feel like it is more a medieval story, with talk of King Arthur and Robin Hood, until of course you realise, Blades is sat on a roof fixing a wind turbine to generate power, aided by young Eric, and Harry thinks his vibes ain’t cool, because he thinks Eric is after bedding his daughter.
One era crashes with another, and the ancient walk side by side with the modern, and the reader no longer has any idea which era they are in, they are too engrossed in the story to care, and it all seems to sit happily side by side and no one notices the story has become a timeless work. Is it modern, medieval, or futuristic, who knows, it just fits? Actually, it takes a massive amount of thought and careful writing to create such a smooth flowing story, that washes away the time period, and lulls you into the words?
I do feel setting a book in a specific era can be a great thing, period dramas especially fit. My wife has a passion for Pride and Prejudice, a real classic period novel, but I also feel it can be limiting. Does anyone really know when Rise of the Raven was set? I cannot deny, for this one I used sleight of hand. It is clearly pre-Roman invasion of the British Isles, but apart from that, what else can provide a clue?
Robin John Morgan’s Rise of the Raven
I will not deny, there is a little deviousness involved in this one. The Fae are far more advanced at this time than the realm of men, we see this in the day to day living of Branna and Ariel, who at this time are using charcoals and quills to write on parchment, something the world of men has not yet come to adopt in day to day life. Most of the realm of men cannot read, so why would they write, their life is hunting and toil in the fields. When Branna makes her escape, her first encounter is a hunter who trades furs for gold and silver coins, he is considered a very rich and wealthy man by Roack, who realises his possessions will enhance the status of Branna.
Later in the settlement at Tintagel, she enters a long house, of wood, with dirty floors and a fire pit in the centre, it is a very different way of living compared to her small brick house in Avalon. There are no separate rooms, just one large one, and they all sleep on the floor, where as Ariel and Branna sleep together in a bed in Avalon.
Bouncing the two completely different life styles, plays a trick on the mind, and suddenly the era and dates disappear, and all that matters is the story. To add more weight Berengar walks out on his father, passing through a door, that has a heavy cloth to cover it. The house is of wooden construction, and yet they hang heavy materials to create their doorways, all of this distorts the time frame, and draws the reader closer to the details of the characters and their dialogue.
It is sleight of hand, and deliberate, as I want these stories to flow in such a seamless fashion, the reader becomes more and more engrossed. What year is Abigail’s Summer set in, does anyone know or really care?
Abigail’s Summer, the Curio Chronicles Book One.
It is a modern novel set for this age, and yet the years over the series pass by. In book one Abigail is nineteen, in book two she is twenty four, and by book five, she is twenty nine, and each book feels like it is being read as something set in this moment, this year, possibly this day. There is only one person alive at this point who knows the year, and that is me, because once again, I set the story to a real calendar, so that the bank holidays and dates line up perfectly to each day mentioned. On the calendar, Curio’s Summer is set exactly five years later, and yet, the date appears to be irrelevant, you are reading it now, and it feels like now, because the themes of the story fit perfectly with today, or tomorrow, or to that fact, the day after, and the day after that. No year appears to fit, and yet the story like Kingdom feels like it is happening now.
The Curio Chronicles have lots of clues as to this modern age time, but what year? Well it was all written in 2020-1, but was it relevant for that year? Well no not really, we know this because there is no virus in the story. I deliberately did not make any mention to the lockdowns or the virus, simply so in five years time, the books will still feel they were written for that time. There is social media, and Insta, and Abby swipes open her phone, so it does fit now, but there again, it also fits six years ago, and will probably fit in another six years.
Curio’s Summer, The Curio Chronicles, Book Two
I use the phrase, “Gossip travels faster than email.” So, it is a current book, and just to throw the reader off, in the last book of the series, (Not published yet) I add, “Gossip travels faster than messaging.” It shows the advance of technology, and keeps the books fresh. Birch is a naturist, and lives naked, which fits nicely with the 1980’s and 90’s, but does it fit today? Actually, with over fifty million naturists in Europe in 2021, and those are just ones we know about, Birch is a hell of a lot more current and up to date than most people realise.
At the start of the next book. (Book three whilst writing this) there is a reference to the World Naked Bike Ride, an event that has been running globally since 2007, and once again the story is modern, but how modern, and that all plays into the comfort of the reader who imagines the things happening in the book are going on right now? It is a deliberate ploy to make the reader place the characters in a modern time frame in their minds. The reader can create a picture of Abby, based on their own knowledge of what a quaint country village looks like today, or next year, and that brings Abby to life, and makes her very real to the reader, and as a result, the reader can identify better with her.
One of the best aspects of writing stories that appear timeless is the characters, it is clear from HTTK, that Hearne, Opal and Morgan le Fey are ancient, but the one character I especially enjoyed writing was Ariel. We see her in Rise of the Raven, where she is just under 200 years old, and yet appears young and vibrant, like a mid twenties modern woman would be. In kingdom eight, which is set many hundreds of years later, she is lifted from her box, where she has slept for ten lifetimes, and is revived by Runestone, she truly is timeless as she has not aged a day in her magical period of sleep. In two more books I am writing related to kingdom, Ariel will be featured, one set ten years after Rise of the Raven, and another one set eighteen years after the end of Heirs to the Kingdom.
It is a concept I wanted to play with more, and Kingdom is the perfect vehicle for it, and through Ariel within these stories, the passage of time becomes important to who she is, as she reflects back on her life which has spanned the ages. It is similar to Una and her sisters, who were imprisoned and then awoken, and had to adapt to a completely different world. I wanted to elaborate more on this in Kingdom, which I did in book five, where she talks about meeting King Arthur. I wanted more, but was defeated by the page count, and so through Ariel, I have the chance to express it more through her life. She truly is a timeless character who can look back on the world of men at its start, and has moved through the ages to live in the future.
For myself, it is all a big part of the joy of writing, and I hope for the reader, it makes the story more intense, and real. I want the readers to be focused and present in the moment, and so engrossed the story swallows them up, so they bask in the pleasure of immersive reading. Has this been achieved yet? As the reader of this blog, and I assume my books, only you would know. It is always a joy to get feedback on the books and how the reader perceives them, and all the comments and messages I get, I read with a thrill, knowing in part I have achieved my goal, it is also another great joy of writing for all of you.
I want seamless and timeless stories, and I am always looking to make the effect deeper and better for each new reader, and so, with that in mind, I will to look to the past, and note the improved efforts, and then, I shall continue my quest, and try my best to write timeless.
Robin John Morgan is a writer and blogger, who has published the fantasy magical adventure series Heirs to the Kingdom, and the modern sexual and body positive series The Curio Chronicles, he has also written Rise of the Raven, a dark fantasy, of political intrigue, love, loss and betrayal. He blogs his thoughts and opinions on ‘Robin’s Space,’ here on HTTK about his writing life, and also blogs as a guest for other sites, which includes a naturist world.
All his books are available world wide in digital and print formats.
Why do people write, or read for that matter, what is the point in wasting your time, when you could be working making real money?
That has been said to me many times, and I feel that those people miss the point.
In 1994 I took a five day holiday, I was exhausted, but I worked for a company where the boss had told me a good few times. “Your job will always be safe with us; we will never let you go.”
At that time, I really needed to hear that, oh, no one really has any idea how much that meant to me. I had worked hard long hours for that company and given it my all, I would even say I gave the best of me to that place. I loved the place, I adored the job, and I cared very deeply for the people I worked with.
I had holidays owed to me, because I never really wanted to take any, I loved working there so much. In the six months prior to my holiday, I had separated from my partner, it was not an easy breakup, and I became a single parent, and I will not deny, the pressure of working and not letting my employer down, raising a young girl alone, and juggling the bills I had discovered after my partner left, was taking its toll on me.
The breakup had been hard and very stressful, not just on me, but also on my daughter, I still feel it had a huge negative impact on her life, and changed her forever. When told I had to take a holiday or lose the days, I took it, and had a week alone in Wales with my daughter and rested, it was really needed.
I arrived back in work a week later on the Monday, and five minutes later, I was unemployed, and so shocked, I could hardly speak. Saying goodbye to everyone was soul crushing for me, and having to walk away from a place I loved dearly, destroyed me completely. I have never forgotten that moment as I walked out of the gates and looked back across the small bridge, and I swore to myself that after the betrayal I felt, I would never give my all to anyone else again. From that moment onwards, I would only work for me, and I have been true to that vow since.
Life got hard after that, and I struggled to survive, and yet, even though my confidence crashed and I fought like hell to stay afloat through what became a really bad bout of depression, I manged to do what I did best at the time. I saved all my spare change, propagated plants, and slowly built a business that was for me. Against the odds I fought like hell to survive, and in my spare time, I attended night school to occupy my mind. One other thing I did, was I wrote stories, one in particular, after all, when you have worked from dawn until dusk for years, being out of a job, you suddenly have a lot of spare time.
In many ways it was therapeutic, and today, I really do feel that it saved me. It certainly helped restore my sanity, and my devastated feelings, and slowly my confidence began to grow, as writing my thoughts down on paper, brought me back to life. I actually wrote a journal, about my whole life, which was thousands of pages long, and when finished, I burned it. What I learned from that experience, was the true meaning of facing the truth, and it became a big part of the way it would shape me for my future. I learned to be free, and lose the fear, especially when writing.
Night school taught me counselling and psychology, as did online courses. Daytime allowed me the space to build up stock for a new horticultural business, and spare moments and weekends gave me time to write, and slowly, between 1994, and 2005 I got my life back together. My business was not easy to build, I had so little cash to start with, but as a plant propagator, I had skill and knowledge, and so used it, until I had five thousand British pounds of good quality stock. It was then, I started to book market stalls, and began trading. I built the business up very slowly, it was a tough time, and I was not rich, but there again, I had lived on almost nothing, so the money I made, whilst not a lot, was far more than I was used to. Finally in the early 2000’s, I took on a wooden Market building, and fitted it out with an investment of my own cash.
I started counselling in my spare time, in a voluntary capacity to help kids, which as I learned more skills and got more training, I moved into sexual dysfunction, relationships and abuse, and I always worked for free. I have never charged any client, I saw them as the victims, why would I charge them, when it was the abuser who should pay? Once again, I was laughed at, and told. “You should charge, you are an idiot, you could be rich.” Those people had no idea at all about the value of life, and owning your own.
Through all of it, I wrote, a little here, and new idea there, and slowly over many years, one story in particular really gripped my imagination, hell it still does, I am still writing things for it behind the scenes.
the first book in the series heirs to the Kingdom by Robin John Morgan.
The one thing I will say without hesitation, is that since 1994, no matter what I have done, and as many people who have laughed at me will tell you, I never did any of it for money, I did it because that was simply what I wanted to do. I have never forgotten the helplessness I felt stood in that office after a holiday I was forced to take, and being told, the job I loved so dearly, was being taken away from me. Ironically, it was by the same man who had promised I would never lose it. I knew then, no one would ever have that power over me again, and since that day, they haven’t.
In 2006 the local council told me I was losing my tenancy because they wanted to pull down the market and build a garden style public square, how ironic, they booted the gardener out, and again I had to face reality, and I will not deny, I was pissed off, and so I fought the local council, and everyone laughed and told me, you will lose everything, I just laughed back, and told them, I know, but I will do it anyhow.
They were right, I lost almost all my savings and ended up with a garden full of stock, and yet smiled, I had been here before. Luckily for me, in 2006, I also began to write my story, the one that had been stuck in my head for such a long time. A friend of mine got to read it, and told everyone it was amazing. I told him, I have no hope of publishing it, he laughed at me and told me, do it anyway, so I did.
I shocked everyone who knew me, by announcing, “I am giving up horticulture and walking away from it.” It left them speechless, and some even laughed at me and told me, “You are so stupid, it is your life, everyone knows you are the go to guy for plants, what is wrong with you, are you deliberately trying to ruin your life?” I shrugged it off, I was done with life, I was tired and weary of the long hard hours, the freezing cold wet days, and I wanted more out of life than I was getting. If I was going to do something that sucked up all of my day, it was going to be something that gave me a restful peace, and the freedom to live as I wanted. So I published a book.
The publisher charged almost all my savings, and I ended screwed and never got a single penny in royalties, so I cancelled my agreement, and told those around me, sod it, I will publish my own books. In 2013, I sat down and started to learn as much as I could on how to publish a book, it took a while, but on January 1st 2014, I launched my imprint VCP, and did a full rewrite of my own works, and put them out. Again, I invested everything I had left in the bank, crossed my fingers and hoped to hell it worked, as I was really close to the wire and this time, I had nothing to fall back on.
I am still here eight years later, am I rich? Nope, do I care? Nope. Why?
I am a writer, and I learned something very important, as I faced all the trials of my life. What I learned, was betrayal from family, employer, and friends, false promises, fake personalities, people pleasing, guilt, lust, desire, greed, power, conceit, arrogance, shaming, fighting, simple living, survival, anxiety, dark thoughts, temper, abuse, victimisation, bullying, and a thousand other things. I had the advantage of a window into so many other peoples lives, as well as my own. I did not realise at the time, how important each of those moments of learning would become to my future.
When I was ten, my grandfather sat me down with a copy of Ivanhoe, and made me read it out loud to him. Watching him sat listening to me read, is still one of my fondest memories of him. I loved how he would occasionally smile, or nod his head, and the way the story impacted on him, and it made me a reader forever. It was not always easy, I do have dyslexia, and at times I confuse words and get mixed up, but it has never stopped me reading, and I have struggled to overcome it all my life.
I love Phillip Pulman, Arthur Conan Doyle, Tolkien, John Windham, H. G. Wells, and countless other writers work, and I have read thousands of books throughout my life. I learned to love stories of life, and my wonderful English Teacher from school, Miss Casey, inspired me to read more. To Kill a Mockingbird, Roots, 1984, A Brave new world, The Chrysalids, they changed me forever. I understand now, they also taught me something, they taught me what a good story is like for the reader. It has to be honest, written straight from the hip, and confrontational if needs be, and it has to also be alive with wonder, and suddenly I understood something very important.
At age 44, I knew a good story, and understood life better than anyone realised, and finally, something that had been more of a hobby in my past, became the focus of my life to come. You see, I love day dreaming and making up stories, and I love people watching and listening to their own stories of the lives they live. I absolutely love writing them down, and armed with a life seen as filled by mishaps by others, and working with hurt broken people, I had an arsenal of information built perfectly for my future, because I aimed to be writer forever, and now at 58 years old, I am.
The first job I mentioned, taught me how to use arrogance, complacency, greed, betrayal, and survival. It taught me the value of friendship and comradery, and the humour we bounce off each other working in difficult conditions. Being alone raising a child who hated me for throwing her mum out, taught me loneliness and dealing with the stress and pressure of taking care of others. It became Heirs to the Kingdom.
My fight with the council and some of their dirty tricks, taught me about those who felt entitled by their position, and how they abuse people because they were so ruthless, they can toss them away without a care. It all made HTTK even better, and it added such a powerful weight to the lead characters, that they walked off the pages like real people to those who read it.
My time as counsellor, taught me abuse, shame, victimisation, sexual behaviours and practices, manipulation and self hatred, and it became the foundation of The Curio Chronicles. It really gave me an insight into a life behind closed doors very few knew about, and has allowed me to follow the life of my character Abigail and some of her friends, as they go through life against a community that is set against them. I can hold up a mirror to modern society and show the real truth, behind the fake morality of this day and age. Why, because I have lived there.
A bad first long term relationship taught me the real pain and anguish of betrayal. Control of an arrogant boss, lies and deceit, combined with a corrupt council, gave me everything I needed to work into the dark fantasy of Rise of the Raven. The battle of Branna to stay true to her word, and fight through the darkness for Ariel. Her hatred for the fake image of Rhiannon, I have lived that and seen it, for me it was real and painful. For Branna, it became her story to overcome the dark to keep her love for Ariel alive and strong.
In 2007 I met a young woman, an artist, a reader and a creative person, and she changed my life. Her example became parts of Runestone, Jade and Jett. She inspired Abigail, Birch and Chloe, and also played a role in the relationship of Ariel and Branna. She added to the value of the person I was, and she became my wife. The daughter we had, has been an inspiration for other characters, and again it has all added to my later life as a writer. Not one day passes that I do not sit back and consider myself to be man of great wealth, and yet I have very little in the bank.
Nine years ago, I lost someone very special and very significant to me, and it is something that had a huge impact on my life, I have never quite recovered from the blow. I have not often spoke about it, some say I should deal with it and get over it, and I have continued to live my life as normally as possible. That aspect of me will appear in small parts of a story I have been working on for several years, and although no one will really know which parts, it has helped me to write it. Once again, my teacher and instructor of writing, are those I have read, and those who have impacted my life. Not that long ago I was told. “You need to make more money, you will never be rich writing, do something more valuable to society.” I simply smiled, at stupid they sounded to me.
I am a writer, nothing more, and I love it. I have been called a dystopian writer, a fantasy writer, even a writer of kink, which made me laugh. I have books in the fiction, Arthurian, LGBT, battle, magic, fantasy, rural, genres and a few others. I do not really pay that much attention to them, as I see myself as a slice of life writer. I take a character, and I write their life story, the whole living truth of it, regardless of where it is set, be it fantasy or real. I am a teller of tales, nothing more. It makes me so very happy.
RJM Writer/Author
I am told, I should sell myself more or I will never be rich, like it is some prerequisite for the successful life. Well, I can assure you, I will not tick that particular bench mark, and actually I don’t care. Money is not everything, I love what I do, I love being able to sit for days and use my mind, my dreams, and creativity to write down all these amazing and wonderful characters, that are a pale patchwork taken from the reality of everyone I have met. My thoughts and my words, paint the picture of a character that comes alive on the page, now that to me is real magic.
In essence, that is the joy of reading, every book opens up an aspect of life we never knew about. Each book is a challenge on some level, and we may not always agree with a part of it, but our eyes are still opened. We can sit alone, and live many different lives, and experience the unknown, which in turn expands our horizons and broadens our minds, and that is why I write. You see, all those writers I have loved, did the same, and it has helped me through life, and I aim to continue it on.
Life is not about fast cars, big houses and designer labels, it is about being real, and being honest with yourself, admitting your flaws and embracing them, and living a life that has real value, not monetary value. That moment with a loved one, when your eyes catch that momentary glance they stole of you, and you smile to yourself. Those moments when your child turns and says, I love you dad. That joy of a parent who looks at you and says, I am proud of you son, those count, they have true meaning, and no amount of money can buy them.
Knowing the darkness will pass, or that no matter how hard life gets, you will make it through, you have no idea what that will look like, but you know you will get there. Being smacked down, and having to get up again when you feel at your worst, but knowing that was the lowest point, and from here you will rise again, that is the true value of life. That is what I write about, because one day, someone as lost and feeling as hopeless as I did, will read my words, and just like I did, they will start over and move forward again, that is why I write.
So, again I ask, why do we read, and why do we write?
Simply put… Because we should, because within those pages, the answer to inspire you is waiting, or in need of being written down.
We live in a world that is losing the ability to understand why books are written, and my best advice to you, would be simply this. Never be one of them, books have the wisdom to guide you forward, forget that at your peril, and keep reading. If you cannot find that one book you desire to read, then write it, you have the skills, you have already lived them.
Go read, or write.
Robin John Morgan, is a writer blogger, who has written the series of fantasy adventure, Heirs to the Kingdom, is currently writing the slice of life fiction, The Curio Chronicles, and has also published Rise of the Raven, a dark pre medieval fantasy of political betrayal. He continues to write more. All his work is available in digital and print formats from all leading book retailers.
One of the delights of writing the Curio Chronicles, was that for myself, I finally got to write about something very close to my heart. It is no secret I have worked as a counsellor for many years, and for most of that time, there have been a couple of subjects that have been predominately the theme of those I worked with. I started out my counselling working with young people aged under sixteen, and then with more training, I moved into sexual dysfunction and relationships, which took me into the broader world of older teens and older generations.
The two most important points that came up time after time, were that of bullying and the lack of understanding between differing generations. I cannot count the number of times, I have heard, ‘they don’t understand, they never do’ or, ‘they are completely out of touch with how it really is.’ The crazy thing was, it was not just teenagers telling me that, forty year olds also said that about their neighbours or parents.
The more I worked, the more I could see how a large number of people were moving away from an attitude of live and let live, and acceptance of others. The world appeared to me to be becoming more and more divided, as I noted a lack of understanding drove a wedge between every generation, to the point I may add, that today, I feel that as a race of living beings sharing a planet, we are more divided than ever.
The Shame of the Village
With each generation the divide gets wider and wider, as traditional views, clash with new more modern ideals. In many ways, I can understand this, it has always happened, but I feel the gap is widening as the older generations look to the young. I understand that for someone born in the 1940’s the world was a very different place compared to today’s liberated and more open attitudes. Back then, morality and respect were enforced, sex was not spoken about, and neither was abuse, especially marital, there was a view that some things should remain unspoken, and swept under the carpet, and hidden from sight. Compared to my liberal youth growing up around the culture of bikers and hippies, those of the older generation appeared oppressive and controlling, and my generation fought against that, we wanted a more open and accepting world for the age of the1970’s and beyond.
The introduction of the contraceptive pill in 1964, changed the world as it gave women the freedom and liberation of a choice to control their own lives, and it started a cultural revolution, which for my generation, unlike say, my father’s, sex became much more widely available, and spoken about. We all went a little wild, and we all certainly had a lot of fun, and yet by today’s hook up culture and standards, it was actually quite mild and conservative. The biggest draw back of my generation, was even though it was more open, it increased an old attitude and new language, and that was I feel, the first really huge divide of generations, and the start of the culture of shaming people for their sex lives, especially women.
I hate the word ‘Slag’ it was freely used in my youth, and is still a word I react to with verbal aggression these days. I find the word vile and disgusting, and since that time, many variations of it have appeared, to shame and ridicule women for doing what everyone enjoys. It has always angered me, that in order for a woman to be sexual, in most cases there is a male involved, and yet through my youth those men were idolised and regarded with praise for their ability to have sex with many women, and yet the women were seen as trash, a whore, and a tramp. It was wrong then, and is still wrong now, and as Birch points out in Abigail’s Summer.
“So Hatty is a transient?” I shook my head.
“Nope, she is the Village Harlot.” Birch leaned off the glass, and walked over as the kettle clicked off.
“That is a bit mean, she is an artist, I have never met one yet that is not free spirited, and as for Harlot, I hate the way the world says women cannot be sexual or enjoy sex. I have watched my mum smash that myth to pieces for years, and it still won’t die. Wow this place really is like stepping back in time.”
She is referring to the attitude of Marjorie and her cronies, and the influence they have had on Felicity. It is Marjorie, who labelled Hatty a Harlot for her sexual behaviour, and it is at that point that I address the obvious, which is, Marjorie has no real proof of Hatty’s sexual behaviour, it is all speculation.
being disgraceful, gets approval from young Deb’s
The simple truth is, Hatty had an affair with the brother of Edwin many years ago, and word got out, nobody addresses the fact of her state of mind at the time. In truth as later comes out in the book, her mother had died, who she was very close to, as she lived with her. Hatty was heartbroken, alone, and had little comfort in her life, and through a chance meeting, she met Jeremy, who we see in Abby’s reaction later in the book, was a player who used women. Abby is of the mind that Jeremy took advantage of Hatty, and she is correct, which comes out when he zones in on Birch in Abby’s garden, after they return from the care home.
“Abigail darling so nice to see you.”
“Cut the crap Uncle Jerry, she is off limits.” He rolled his eyes.
“Really Abigail, I was just being polite.” Birch looked at him.
“No, you were hitting on me, but I am aware you are married, and I was seeing just how far you would go. I am sorry Jerry, but in this case, your reputation arrived long before you did.” He looked offended.
“I see I have no secrets here.” I agreed.
“Not in this house, I was there, remember? You know, when you took advantage of Hatty, and then used her to piss my dad off, and get her banned from here, so you could keep shagging her behind your wife’s back?”
This is a wonderful example of how the generation divide is growing, Marjorie sits in judgement of Hatty, and also attacks Abby and Birch. Marjorie’s view point is based on one incident, a mistake, a moment of bad decision on Hatty’s part, and for that, Hatty suffers the price of never being able to forget it and move on with her life after she ends the affair. Hatty’s moment to seek comfort in her grief, becomes Jeremy’s opportunity to bed a good looking women, and yet, no one attacks Jeremy, Hatty bears the brunt of it all and is shamed for life. Edwin even defends his brother, by refusing to accept he was responsible, and blames Hatty, and bans her from the house.
He glared at her with hate.
“God you are irritating, don’t you have a man to bed?” Her face was dead pan.
“No, he is giving his sermon at St Marks in Oxendale about now.” Even Felicity gasped.
“That is uncalled for Hatty, Edwin’s brother is past history, you should leave it where it lies.” She shrugged.
“Yeah, it was in my bed for two years and not his wife’s. I would say he was more of a man of the sheets than a man of the cloth, wouldn’t you Edwin?” His face was purple.
“If you were a man, I would hit you.” She smiled and wagged her finger at him.
“Now, Now, Edwin, don’t let my sex put you off, we have equal rights, but best not show all these good church going folk, your true colours. I have no idea what they would say?” It was simply too much for him to tolerate.
“I am going to the Hunters, I will stand her no longer Felicity, you bloody well deal with her.”
Edwin is unable to confront the truth, and so has decided to believe Marjorie, and it was all Hatty’s fault, it is a perfect example of the cognitive dissonance of the village, and I may add society today. One mistake can last an age, as we see in Curio’s Summer, when Birch reaches her limit and breaks down sat in Petal outside the house, and askes Hatty the obvious question.
She sniffled and sat back and took a deep breath.
“I thought I was strong, but she is hurting all of us, and I hate seeing them like that. How do you stay so strong Hatty, she has been at you for years?” Hatty sat back in the passenger seat and smiled.
“I face the bitch, I am disrespectful, and then I go home lock the doors, and have a dammed good cry.” Birch turned and sniffled.
“You cry, what, you mean all these years, you have gone home and broke down?” She gave a nod.
“Birch don’t do it on a lane where people can see it, and then tell her. Do it alone where no one will see it, that way she never knows she is winning.”
Curio’s Summer by Robin John Morgan
It is an important moment in the book, as suddenly the reality of all the shaming she has endured is seen it the cold light of day. Hatty has endured a living hell, her life has been ruined, for no other reason than Marjorie has no understanding of the circumstances, and so attacks and shames, and labels her without any consideration of the facts. In Marjorie’s mind it is simple, Hatty is at fault, it was all her doing, and Jeremy is erased from everything and left to walk free of all repercussions. Once again, the male is irrelevant, it is all the woman’s fault. I really feel it is a narrative that needs to change.
Shaming is not just about sex though, is it? Abby voices her thoughts perfectly in Curio’s Summer.
‘The Curio’s wanted to live in peace, and be a part of this place, why had no one ever understood that? I had dyed my hair and it started a five year war, and if it came to an end, I would not complain.’
Our society has grown to find fault through a lack of understanding for many issues, and it has been my aim throughout all of the Curio Chronicles to highlight this, using Wotton to mirror all of society. Lack of understanding leads to misrepresentation of the facts, and all it takes is for one person to make a comment, and others will embrace it and continue it, and I feel it has become a major problem with life today. I have used a lot of humour to highlight this within the series of books, but within it all is a very serious point, none more poignant, than in the speech Roni gives at the Summer Fete in Abigail’s Summer.
She slipped off the table and walked to the front of the stage.
“The one lesson I have learned in my practice, probably more than anything else, is this.” She turned and pointed to the large screen, and as she said the words, they appeared on the screen. “Grownups…. Bully…Too.” I gasped when I saw it.
I remember the reaction of my wife when she first read that chapter, it took her breath away. Like Abby and Birch, she had suffered under the scrutiny of adults and been shammed for it. Reading it on the page, for her, it was almost as if it was the first time she had ever encountered someone else, who was strong enough to simply state it. It had a profound effect on her, and since then, I have heard her say it to others in conversations. It fascinates me, and feels almost as if finally, she has permission to say it. Roni goes on to make what is probably the most valid point of the book, and like the experience my wife had, Abby is blown away by it.
“When we say the word bully, just about everyone thinks of school, that is just where it starts, and trust me, it is not a thing for young children alone, and it has been around for a very long time. I think is it one of the biggest fundamental problems of life today.”
She stood still for second, and looked round at everyone in the room, I could feel the tension in the air, and felt goosebumps on my arms. I mean holy shit, she was there in front of all of them, and calling them out for their own behaviour, I gave a slight gasp.
“Oh my god, she is brave.”
Abigail’s Summer by Robin John Morgan
I ask the question, is she brave? Does it need to be said? I actually think it does, which is why in 2020, when I finally made the decision to stop counselling after twenty five years, I made the choice to sit down and write something that reflected a large part of my life, and I wrote about everything I had learned in my time, sat alone with a person who was a victim of one of the many different forms of bullying and shame. They often say write from a point of view of knowledge, and this is a subject I have studied for a very long time, and as can been seen in the Curio Chronicles, I take two very important aspects of my life, and hand one to Abby, and one to Birch. In doing so, I have two aspects of myself within the characters, a writer, and a therapist, which I feel, allowed me the insight to create two very loveable characters to enact my thoughts and feelings together.
It is well documented that I prefer to live a very quiet and private life, and although there is an element of me in every character I have written through Heirs to the Kingdom, or Rise of the Raven, the Curio Chronicles holds far more of the person I am than any other story I have written. Okay, so remember, these books are the experiences of others, blended with my own life experiences, and contrary to popular opinion, there are even a few things within these stories that are a bridge too far for me in my own life. There are issues within these stories that clashed with my own beliefs, but as a counsellor, I had to struggle to gain full understanding of the situations. In many ways, I am glad I was able to do it, which again brings me back to my first point. It is the lack of understanding that drives a lot of shaming in this world, especially around issues of sex and kinks, and how the young have embraced it more than any previous generation, including my own.
I understand victimisation, I understand being shamed by family, and by others. I know what it feels like to have deep feelings about an issue, and be dismissed as irrelevant and stupid by those close to me, and because of it had my voice snuffed out, and was made to feel like a person of no value at all. It has happened to me and countless others I have worked with, and it is soul destroying as it eats away at you, to the point where you no longer feel of any value at all, and that has been well documented within the Curio Chronicles, as was seen in Abigail’s Summer.
“Children should be seen, and not heard, a respectful quiet child, is a child worthy of praise.”
I walked behind him in his shadow, I was his shadow, and unable to step forward, and be seen. Walking at the side of Birch, all I wanted was to be that unseen shadow again, out of sight, hidden from view and not the centre of the village’s attention.
I remembered the scarecrow in Sutton’s wheat field, stared at and alone, everyone was aware of them, but no one cared enough to really know them, a lonely figure in full view. That was me, it had always been me.
It is a feeling that was so powerful within in my younger years, I wanted to share it, and gave it to Abigail. I will add, it was not my father who made me feel this way, it was someone else. The point is, that it ruled my life for a long time, and took me many years to overcome it, and like Hatty, I too suffered in silence alone and isolated from everything. It happens, and as Roni states, ‘it has been around for a very long time.’
Shamed for no other reason, than she is Abigail
The world today has taken on board shaming and victimisation without considering the consequences, people have reached a level where they just slip into it without even thinking. Labelling people they do not agree with is out of control, and it is always derogatory. Curio’s Summer takes a really wide open look at youth culture today, I wanted to accurately show the truth. I made it clear long before its release, it was going to challenge the narrative of many, because I knew, there were a few levels I could take the story, that would confront the real startling truth, and highlight the generational divides within the reading population.
I have not been disappointed, and had conversations already, where readers expressed their comments and some disapproval, that is the point of the book, to highlight what our youth really think and feel, and then light it up with a huge spotlight, and get exactly the reaction I have received. In my previous blog post on here, ‘Summer with the Curio’s.’ I ask the question; after reading the book, how many will think Marjorie was right?
Chloe’s truth
The point was, will you be able to read and understand the youth, or will you disagree and form a different opinion, which stands in judgement? It is an important question to ask, because in order to do that, you have to face your own preconceived notions of right and wrong, and form an opinion based on your own moral view point. I have highlighted that to good effect in the sexual content of the book, but look carefully, see past the act and listen to the dialogue, for it is there that the truth lies in plain sight. Abby’s internal dialogue really shows her voyage of self discovery, and learning, but will it be noticed, or will people be too busy complaining about the content? If you can overcome your upbringing related to your own generation, and actually work to understand how youth culture is developing today, you will become part of the cure, instead of the cause. Modern culture is radically different to my 70’s generation, and for those born before 1950, it is beyond recognition, all the rules have changed, and traditional values, and moralities have swung completely in the opposite direction from 1950’s Britain. Let me elaborate with an example of my own life.
A few years back I took my wife on a date, and we went for a drink in a place she visited as a younger woman. It was her birthday, and we had a baby sitter, but they could not sit for very long, so I arranged to take her out, spend an hour with her, and invited her sisters to join us for a little celebration with her after I had to leave. During our time there, I had to visit the toilet, and so headed for the men’s room.
Whilst in there, a younger guy came in and asked me, if I had grown tired of screwing my wife yet? Okay, so I am a trained counsellor, very liberal, and have an amazing relationship with my wife, who like me, has a very warped sense of humour. I was a little taken aback, as he was so up front about it all, and very confident, so asked the guy, why he wanted to know? His response was this.
“Well, you know, if you are bored, I think she is hot, so I will give her a good fucking for you, and you can go fuck someone else.”
Liberal as I may be, it sort of threw me a little, but again, I know my wife very well indeed, and so in my warped twisted way, I responded.
“I do not own her, she is a free person, go ask her.”
He smiled, appeared pleased with himself and went to do exactly that. Knowing her, I felt sorry for him, because her response was to verbally destroy him and his maleness on the spot, in front of everyone for being so rude.
The point here is, that you may not like it, or not want to know about it, but the fact is, even a wedding ring is no longer a protection from modern culture. To them it means nothing, and they will happily sleep with your wife if they find her attractive, regardless of marital status. It is simply meaningless to them, all that matters is living life to the full and getting as much sex as they can, with whomever will bed them.
It is not just men, young women with happily hook up with a married man for that one night of pleasure, or your friend will happily sleep with your partner, and say nothing. This is not all of the youth of today, but it is a very large percentage of them. Whether you agree or disagree, is meaningless, that is where modern culture is at now, and it is spreading to all generations. Cheating has been normalised, the internet is riddled with sites that proudly advertise that it is a site to find people to cheat with. Oh yes, we shame it when we hear of it, but the simple truth is, like Wotton, people will shame you for doing something they are quite prepared to do themselves, and probably did last week.
All Girls Together.
Traditional marriages are dying, as the concept of one person forever is regarded as old fashioned. Most marriages last 3 to 6 years these days, and then people divorce and move on. The idea of a one true love, or soul mate, is a temporary notion. Monogamy is out of fashion, as couples embrace some of the many different types of open relationships, and they are on the rise, where sleeping with others is not regarded as shameful, but arranged with consent and agreed to by both parties. You may not like it, or even agree with it, but this is happening, and our young are being taught things like this, and sexual diversity early in their life, by schools, social media, and their peers. You may hate the politically correct, and diversity signals, and even disagree with them, but the fact is the whole of society has been overrun with them, and they are here to stay, and it is changing the perceptions of life as we all know it.
The darker side of it, is the pressure it has placed on everyone, which is increasingly growing stronger with our younger generations, who feel more than ever in history before, that they must conform. Without understanding how, greed and guilt have taken centre stage, creating a narrative of supremacy and control, it is almost like the old tale of the Emperors new clothes, where we worship the false ideals for the sake of inclusion, and in order to do that, we virtue signal our allegiance to our pack.
How it looks is the most important thing.
It is a fake front to shame others and keep the focus on them, to deflect it from themselves, and the older generations above forty, are experts at it. Nothing is taboo for the young anymore, it really is live in the moment and live life to the full, and we may not agree or like it, but in truth, we have to accept that life is now like that, and it is not going away any time soon. Celebrity culture, social media, and the mainstream media, all use the same tools to shame those who disagree with them, and any idea of discourse is dead. If you disagree, there is a long list of names you will be called, people are no longer open to listening, they simply go on the offensive, and brand you with a title that will shame you into walking away and avoiding them, and living in fear.
The public are watching this play out in their viewing and browsing lives, and they are adopting the very same behaviour they see on their computers and using them in real life, and I take those examples and work them into my story. Anthony is shamed for his gayness; Chloe is a tramp because she is prettier than the girls and more popular than they are. Abby is a slut for dying her hair black and red, Birch is a whore because she has trained in sexual subjects, and Edwina and Deb’s, as equally as shamed, simply by association. Victimisation and shaming, isolate and control them, for no other reason than they want to live as they choose, but it defies the narrative of the majority.
The Curio’s are liberated, open minded and filled with life, and they can party harder than maybe any of us ever have, but are they wrong and is Marjorie, right? Is a threesome wrong, when all parties consent and enjoy it? In today’s society, there are a lot of people who as a married couple, are engaging in threesomes for the joy and excitement it gives them. We may not agree, but that does not mean it does not happen. It does, and it is far more popular than you think, so is BDSM, you would be surprised what your neighbours get up to behind closed doors, I have had a peep, and it is eye opening, but if it is consensual, should it be shamed?
Abby’s realisation.
We have encouraged and now embraced a fake conservatism, as some sort of shield of morality to hide our own sins behind, and it has infected every aspect of life today. Sitting in judgement, is easier than trying to understand, and so labelling those who offend you and get everyone else to attack them brings a sense of security. The simple truth is, lost in the pile are our young, who are getting some very wrong signals, and as a result, they are living a wilder than expected life, but have no understanding of the consequences, or long term implications. It is crazy to think that in this modern judgemental day and age, you can lose your job over a drunken tweet, written ten years ago, and labelled and shamed for it, for the rest of your life, yet it happens.
It amazes me how hypocritical society has become, and no one is immune from the bullies, and yes, adults are far worse than school kids. It matters not what you think, or how you dress, someone somewhere today will be offended, and as a result, your clothes, your hair, your lifestyle, your sex life, all of it can be targeted on a whim, and it does destroy lives.
It is driven by a media narrative of fake filters, hypocrisy, and virtue signalling, all with the aim of setting the trends, drama, mispresenting, and fear mongering. I highlight this with Marjorie, as she jumps to conclusions, and her rhetoric of how the Curio’s will destroy the village, and soil its reputation, which keeps others afraid of forming an allegiance with them. It is a game of power plays, and control and it is there right in front of you, and all you have to do is sit back and take note. Try and see for yourself, and see how people talk in half truths, and take everything out of context to feel superior, and then ask yourself ‘What are they trying to hide?’
The one point that most people miss, is voiced often by Birch throughout the Curio Chronicle books. The simple truth is, the youth have understood something the older generations have not yet understood. In layman’s terms, you are only capable of being you, and how you live your life, has nothing to do with anyone else. If you have a kink or like to go wild occasionally, you can, it is no one’s business other than your own. You can shatter the shackles of society and live as you so wish without being harassed or victimised for it, simply because others have never lived that way, and the Curio’s do that, with at times, shocking results for some.
Simply herself, being Chloe.
The societal narrative, controls the masses with the huge threat of what will people say? The truth is, it is none of their business and people need to look them in the eyes and tell them, why does it matter? We have bought into the myth that we must comply, or be shamed, and all of us need to speak out against it, and own ourselves as Birch does. No one has the right to tell you what you can and cannot do, which is sort of the point of being an adult, but too many of us have forgotten that.
Marjorie and those like her have no right to comment or shame people for living by their own beliefs, and yet mass market media and social media comment and shame people for things such as a naked lifestyle or sexual practices. You may not agree with the Curio’s, but that does not give you the right to shame or bully them, even if social media says it is alright. I find social media to be the biggest and most thought controlling hypocrites on the whole of the internet. They allow you to point the finger and shame others for the reasons they agree with, and ban, and limit those who have voices they don’t agree with, and free speech is being stifled alongside free expression, and everyone is happily accepting it. In my eyes, that is just a big online version of Marjorie and her shrew crew.
Recent events saw comedian Criss Rock, verbally humiliate the wife of Will Smith, at a large public event, and as a result, Will, defended his wife and publicly slapped Criss rock across the face. Will Smith has been condemned across the whole social and mainstream media for his actions, some say he may never work again for it. I have a problem with that, I do not condone violence ever, and yet I have to sit back and ask, why is all the hatred being thrown at Will Smith?
Why has no one asked why Criss Rock chose to attack and shame a woman who through no fault of her own, contracted a skin complaint, that saw her lose a great percentage of her hair? No matter how you look at it, she has suffered, but has also been immensely brave, and spoken out publicly of her condition to help others. It is a brave act, especially as she lives within a world where people are measured by their image. In Hollywood, how it looks on the outside, is far more important that how it is on the inside, and she has had to deal with that. I do not believe she should have been publicly humiliated like that, and yet again, the Marjorie’s of this world turned a blind eye to the facts of Rock’s insensitive and disgraceful comments, and shamed and attacked Will Smith for defending his wife. Is it me, or does that feel wrong?
The Curio Chronicles, by Robin John Morgan
As the series continues, I will show and highlight outside aspects that work their way into Wotton, and how what started out as gossip in the village, will flood out into the wider world, and bring other troubles and shaming for Abby and Birch. My point is simply, the key to all of this is understanding and acceptance, because the world is harder to navigate these days, and knowledge is power, as we saw at the end of Abigail’s Summer and in Curio’s Summer. Knowing the truth, is your strength to fight against the injustice, and in this world today, there are few who stand up for what is right. When one does, it gets attention, and draws others to overcome their fears and stand with them.
We cannot simply trust everything we hear, and continue shaming and bullying as we are doing, we have to gain a better insight and understanding, and then with that knowledge, we can all adjust ourselves to work for the better of everyone, and understand, people have the right to live as they see fit, as long as no one is harmed. Roni states it clearly.
‘Be you… Appreciate each other.’ It is good advice, try it and see for yourself.
For those who have bought my books and supported my writing life, I thank you a great deal, it is the joy in my life to write and create such wonderful characters for all of you to share their worlds.
Curio’s Summer, the follow up to Abigail’s Summer is now available in digital and print formats, as is all of the Heirs to the Kingdom series and Rise of the Raven, from all online book suppliers and reading apps.
Shortly the second book in the Curio Chronicles series, titled, Curio’s Summer will become available to purchase, and so before all of you have the chance to grab a copy, I want to provide a little more insight, to where I was at when putting this series together. It feels strange, as this book was written in November 2020, so it was some time ago, and I am now working on other stories unrelated to anything I have written before.
Like all things I write, I like to present something that feels real and believable, and for myself as the author, I wanted the readers to really understand the character of Abigail. The first book, Abigail’s Summer gives a reasonable understanding of some of the events of the past, which accounts for some of the behaviours she exhibits in the book.
The second book in the series will to a degree pickup on some of the themes of the first, but it will also open up more aspects of Abigail who is still caught in the process of growing up and coming to terms with her own life choices. It is important to understand, that it is her relationship with her parents alone in Wotton growing up, that have shaped the person she is, and with the addition of Birch in her life, Abigail starts to learn why she reacts a certain way to certain things, and makes deliberate choices to change the narrative of her life.
In the first book, the bullying and shaming by Marjorie and the village are a powerful negative in Abigail’s life, and they do have a serious impact on her and her reactions to how she deals with things, but in the second book, it becomes clear, that the impact of her young life at home before Uni, has also played a much bigger role in how she reacts, and certainly in her ability to trust people. The damage of Edwin and his controlling manner, appears a lot more as she ages in her behaviour, as it fuels her self doubt, and even though she has worked hard to repair her relationship with her mother, it is Edwin’s treatment of Felicity, that has shaped a great deal more of Abigail, than she would at first realise, especially in regard to her friendships and relationships.
It is five years on from the first book, and the most prominent sign of Abby’s abusively strict childhood is her inability to accept her true feelings, as she overthinks and doubts the truth of who she is, and what she truly feels. In Abby’s own words, she has pretty much lived most of her life on edge, with her “Shields Up.” This is surprisingly more common in life than you would realise, and is one of the many effects of being bullied and shamed in earlier life, which does not appear that obvious to those around her, but it is there, hiding, and secretly working away inside her.
The Curio’s are scattered, and life is changing, the young idealism of their teenage Uni and college years, is wearing thin, as life becomes real, and harsh, and all of the Curio’s have to face it and deal with it, which alone is not an easy proposal. When the book starts, Abby is isolated and alone and not coping well, as she hides herself away, Edwina is working herself to death on the road. Deb’s is working in another part of the country and feels lonely, Chloe is struggling to stay afloat in a run down flat, with a poorly paid job, and Birch who has now qualified, is trying to prove her worth to her mother within the practice, in Manchester. The only one who appears to be anywhere near stable and adjusting, is Anthony, who has expanded his staff, but also has Delphine at his side to guide him.
The story of Abigail was always meant to chart the changes everyone faces in life, and how over time attitudes and beliefs can slowly change. The books are written at a good pace with a lot of tongue in cheek humour, and in such a way that highlights the differences between certain generations and their lack of understanding of each other. One of the best points of the first book, was actually how many people enjoyed reading it, I cannot deny, it was surprising, and yet delightful to see. I will offer at least one spoiler alert for the second book, which is, yep, the story is going to up the ante a little more.
Curio’s Summer is wilder, and just like all twenty four and twenty five years olds, there is a lot of crazy, wild naughty behaviour to come before the hormones start to settle into a more stable state, so get ready for the ride of a lifetime. Everything is written for very good reason, and there will be a few moments of gasps of surprise, but stick with it, as the answers will follow on later in the story.
The second book is going to take a good look at sexual behaviour and attitudes, language, and the choices we make as young adults, and all whilst shattering the attitudes of their former nineteen year old selves. In the first book, returning to Wotton felt like an uphill battle, in the second book, it will become all out war, as the group fight for acceptance, and face the unseen odds of Marjorie’s true vile and dark loathing of them as a group. The gloves are well and truly coming off, and it is within the confines of this aspect of the story, that the only support that the Curio’s have, is each other.
The bond between them, becomes their strength, and their only means of survival, and it is within the uniqueness of each of them, that they all provide a vital role to each other. It is here in this story, as their lives play out, that because the story of the group has now been established, I have had the space to really bring the full nature of each of these characters out, and what I am hoping with this book, is for you all to see, how it is within their normal everyday life, that each of them serves a role within the group, as their bonds grow even deeper.
I feel it is here within this aspect of the story, begins the start of something which over the series with show a subtle, and yet very powerful and beautiful story of care, compassion and deep love. Once again, I hold a mirror up to society, and show the ugly truth of what society has become, and yet within its core, there is a tremendous beauty to be found, within friendship, and support. Once again it is all girl’s together, to stand, to fight, or fall together, and within it all, Felicity, Hatty, and the villagers of Wotton will be dragged in to see the injustice within society, and learn not just about others, but also deep parts of themselves.
This book will chart the real depth of Birch and Abby, as the true power of their bond that started at Uni is revealed. In book one Roni talks of how Birch has formed a powerful bond with Abby that will last for a lifetime, and it is within this book, the real truth of Birch is revealed, and just how much Abby means to her, and the lengths she goes to, to show it. Like everything Birch does, there is a crazy insane logic to it, which was seen in book one, but Curio’s Summer really sets the bench mark for the rest of the series to flourish.
As with most things Abby, her sporadic anxiety attacks, moments of sheer panic, and chronic overthinking hamper her vision, and yet through this book, and Abby’s reaction to everything, especially her self doubt, you will start to understand a younger Felicity, and how she made that fateful mistake that led her to marrying Edwin, and how that ultimately defeated her, and brought heartache and pain into her life as the struggling, cleaning obsessed, unhappy person she was in book one. Abby strays dangerously close to repeating her mothers’ mistakes, with disastrous effect, and Abby has to look to Hatty and Birch for guidance, as she faces the same bitter choice.
With Birch as leader, and with the Curio’s united behind her, this story is littered with the wild antics, insane and out of control moments, of the life of a free, opened minded and liberated group of young women, hell bent on living life to the full, which has some very eye opening moments for Abby, as she finds herself asking herself, ‘did I really just do that?’ This is where Abby is forced to grow up, and take some responsibility for her own life and actions, as she truly breaks free of her parents, and takes full control of her own life, and for her, at times, it is shocking as she admits truths about herself, she has always played down.
Curio’s Summer highlights a lot of the joys of the young, especially some of their sexual ideas, but also some of the game playing, drama, exploitation and treatment of their peers, and the older generations. It highlights the differences between upbringing, and attitudes within the confines of a group, who share such differing lifestyles, from a rough council estate, to the well to do suburbs of the rich. This contradicting mix, will show how it plays on the insecurity of the young, but also highlights that when pushed, they can step up to the plate and be reckoned with.
I am sure yet again there will be a few raised eyebrows, and a challenge or two for some readers, as it shines a bright light on modern youth culture, and the entrenched views of the older generations. It is my hope it provides as much enjoyment as the first book, if not more, and as a series gains more recognition amongst a wider readership, but as with everything I write, I will sit back and watch.
Curio’s Summer, the second part of the Curio Chronicles will be available to purchase shortly.
Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. (Martin Luther King)
My whole life has been lived with the goal of freedom, and as a writer, it is a common theme of the stories I write. In Abigail’s Summer, part one of the Curio Chronicles, Marjorie Wallace has her ‘Transient Watch’ which is a group of residents, with the soul aim of spotting and removing undesirables from the village.
Their definition of an undesirable, would be a person who does not look like or act like the residents of Wotton would wish them too. I know that treatment well, as a young teenage hippie, I did not look like others wanted me to, and I did not fit in with their idea of what a young teenage boy should look like, and for that, I was shunned and shamed.
My grandmother told me I looked like a scarecrow, and I was an embarrassment to the family, and she was ashamed of me, I am quite sure Marjorie and her would have had a lot in common. Her friends reported everything I did in the local town, which to be honest was just walking around with friends, having a laugh, or campaigning for a good cause, of which I did a great deal. I was often questioned and shamed for what I saw as just living my own life my own way.
I had a lot of pressure placed on me to conform, usually by shouting yelling and shaming, so in many ways, my fight for to be free, has at times been a life long aim of my own life. I guess you could say, that was when my fight for individual freedom began.
I have sat for three weeks watching live streams on You Tube, as I watched the most surprising of people, rebel against the system and ask for their freedom to be restored. I am not that interested in the politics of this situation, if anything over the last few years I have become so tired of politics, I given up listening, but I do understand a stifled voice, I do understand being ignored, and I most certainly recognise acts of repression. It feels today, when one of the politest countries on the planet fights for it’s freedom to simply live a normal life.
In Heirs to the Kingdom, Robert Loxley fights for the freedom for everyman to have a life that includes, a safe home, and the space for a family to grow. In Rise of the Raven, Branna yearns to be considered as a dark haired Fae, equal to those of fair hair in her own realm. In the Curio Chronicles, Abigail yearns to simply be accepted as she is, and be allowed to be herself, and allowed to live as she chooses.
These are such simple things, they are not grand goals, and yet in all three stories similar to all those across the world who fight, they are denied. I suppose in many ways, I identify with all of my characters, as it is a strong theme of my own life, and in many ways, my fiction represents aspects of real life. From my point of view, all of my characters have a good point, their wishes to live a life of their choosing unharmed, or to look and dress as they choose, and live an unconventional lifestyle, or to simply be recognised as an equal within the confines of their society. For them, that is just a normal life, and I have to ask, isn’t that what all of us of want?
I consider myself lucky, I live in a democracy under the UK law, I have those freedoms, the right to think, the right to speak, and question. I can dress as I choose, even if it is frowned upon. I can leave my home and walk peacefully around my own town, and even though I find myself lost in the political wilderness, I still have the freedom to protest, and the right to vote in an election. Most importantly in today’s society, I have the right to choose what I put inside my own body, which is probably why for the last 42 years of life, I have been a vegetarian.
I have been surprised by Canada, I was under the concept that Canadians were warm caring friendly people, I have extended family there, so when I heard there was a protest, apart from being very surprised, I tuned into the news media to watch, as another very strong part of who I am, is I have always sought the truth.
Watching the Canadian TV news channels, I found myself surprised, the thought of Canada running wild with truckers’ intent on destroying their country, really shocked me. I do not watch TV, everything I watch is on You Tube, and so naturally, three weeks ago the algorithm started to show me streamers who were live on the scene. It was startling to witness the difference between the Mainstream Media News, and simply armature on the scene streamers, as they were telling very opposing stories.
I have an open mind, so tuned in, where I was confronted with just ordinary people, with a mobile phone, walking round Ottawa talking to people, and suddenly I started to see a very different story. You can imagine my surprise, to start to see things like social media pages linked to protestors, being banned on social media, Events miss quoted or painted as criminal by the Conventional News Media, and named called and shammed by their own government.
The more I watched the live streams, such as “Viva Frei, UOttawaScotty, Ottawalks, Travel fun 69, and more,” the more I began to realise, that a huge amount of these protestors were my age, and they sounded very familiar. The painted a picture of a peaceful protest, and preached love and brotherhood and community, the very same things that my teenage friends preached, and suddenly, it felt like my generation had come back to guide the young to the truth of real peaceful protest.
The job of a journalist, is to report the facts, and question. Sadly that is no longer a truth.
For a few years now, we have seen protests that involved riot’s, car and building fires, and looters, and yet over in Canada, the truckers protest, had free food for all, safe spaces for kids to play, free hugs, no violence, dancing, smiles, and bouncy castles. The streamers interviewed the truckers and visitors, simply stopping them in the street and asking them what they thought, and every response was the same. “It is warm, friendly, peaceful and wonderful.”
Like most things, early on in the protest, a person was seen with a swastika flag, and one seen with a confederate flag, and the mainstream media was quick to pounce. All of the protest members were smeared, and painted with a tarred brush, none of them reported how the protesters had evicted the two individuals from the protest. Sadly, it became part of the rhetoric of the prime minister of Canada, who refused to speak with them about their grievances, and having had years of my life protesting myself, I could not understand how he would dismiss and turn his back on them, when he has met other far more violent rioter groups in the past?
The media and the Prime Minister of Canada’s truth, are fake, this protest is nothing at all like they say, one comment I heard that I think really fits, is, it is like “Woodstock with Trucks.”
To be honest it is not hard to understand, as there has been a new wave of globalist socially divisive views sweeping the planet, which many political parties appear to be embracing, it is fuelled by power and greed. Sound familiar, I am sure Mason Knox would fit right in? It is not for me, and as a life long libertarian, I find myself unable to buy into such divisive beliefs, that gives one kind of person, more rights than another. I have always looked at everyone as a unique individual, who has the same rights and equality, which apparently is appearing more and more to be seen as an out of date view.
As I have listened to people talk, I saw very quickly that Canada had been suffering for two years of continuous lockdowns and restrictions, their lives have been turmoil, as their freedoms have been eroded, with mandate after mandate from the government, and I could really understand people saying enough is enough.
In the UK we had lockdowns, but here we are seeing the restrictions lifted, and as a parent that has been through home schooling, and deep worry for my family, I feel a huge sense of relief as normality slowly returns, as it has across many nations of the world.
I cannot deny watching streamers interview ordinary people and protestors, I feel for them. Even with less restrictions on my life here in the UK, I have seen how it has affected the emotional and mental welfare of my own family, and I really am not sure I could cope with much more. We have at least had small breaks, and I will not deny, looking at the world around us all, I can understand these people’s frustration, and why they feel so left behind and let down.
As I watch the screen for well over 30 hours of streams from these new truth seeking streamers, I can only think of the struggles from my own life and of my characters, and yet I feel hope, as I watch journalist shammed for following a political party line, and an out break of solidarity and community washing across the world from Canada. I hope the young are watching and taking note, as us old folks from the freedom movement of the 1970’s hand over the baton of peace, freedom and truth to the younger generations. Let us hope their voices do not get snuffed out.
I want to weep for those peaceful protesters, who have a government backed police state, that I am watching tweet that they will euthanise truckers pets, smash truck windows and drag drivers out, threaten to take protesters children away, freeze bank accounts, all with the aim of intimidating normal hard working people. Fear is a mighty weapon, and you can see it in action in Canada. The truth is meaningless and Freedom is dying, watch and learn, because it could be coming to us all.
In Canada freedom is under threat, free speech is being stifled, as it moves towards something of a government controlled police state. It is heart breaking to watch, and I fear for my children and ask, will this ever happen in the UK? If Canada falls, so will the rest of the free world.
Only when you are silenced, will you truly understand what you have lost. Robin John Morgan.
It has been a long busy summer for me, and I have lived pretty much at my desk, which in all honesty I love. Since coming to the end of Heirs to the Kingdom, in July 2020, and having the chance to write all five instalments of the Curio Chronicles during the Covid lockdown, I emerged from my desk in April this year feeling utterly alive and refreshed.
I love writing, I never ponder if anything will sell or if people will be interested in what I write, and actually I do not really worry about it, because it is those moments alone sat lost in thought, hammering away at the keys, that give me the greatest joy, and actually, one of the biggest for me this year, was knowing I would finally get to reveal a story that has been ongoing since 2017 as I wrote it. To be completely honest, it has been a story in the making for years.
Rise of the Raven by Robin John Morgan, front cover.
Rise of Raven has been a long time coming, I actually wrote the first chapter of HTTK book eight, and then turned to the story that would feature in small parts in that book, and I began the process of writing two books at the same time, as I leap frogged back and forth from book to book.
When The Circle of Darkness was published in July 2020, Raven was not complete, it was actually about ten chapters short, and so having completed Kingdom, and feeling the pressure lift, I went back to page one and began a complete overhaul of what had been written, and then started on the chapters that would finish what in my mind was a single stand alone book, that was related to kingdom.
I finished the book in it’s first draft in October 2020, and let my wife read it, it was pretty rough at the time compared to the final format, and she really loved what she had read, and so I took a break, and began working on another stand alone book that I had written a synopsis for back in 2017, and I began Abigail’s Summer.
That sort of ballooned, as I finished, and filled with more ideas of these new characters, I continued write. The problem with what became the Curio Chronicles, was most of it came from my counselling background, so I was not short of real life stories to write about, surrounding Abigail, and suddenly it was April 2021 and I was five books in, so called it a day.
Rise of the Raven, by Robin John Morgan, Back cover.
Then it was back to Raven, and the real truth of the two characters Branna and Ariel. It is at this point I will hold my hand up and admit, I did some creative editing with Kingdom book eight. To be honest, if I gave everything away in the Circle of Darkness, it would have been pointless writing Raven, and so I was liberal with what I revealed. It is so hard right now not to become overly excited and blurb out the whole story, and I have to hold back, but I will not deny, knowing everyone expected this book to come out, when it does, it is my hope, it will be nothing like what you expected to read.
There is so much more to this back story, and the two characters of Branna and Ariel, and for the first time ever in my writing, I decided to add more to the book and not let my wife read it. I wanted it finished first, and so using some much more advanced tech to help me, I did the full edit, and shelved the 29 chapters of what was Branna’s story, and started work on what will be the next book that is also a prequel to HTTK.
I began writing picking up where Raven left off in a time jump, and was fourteen chapters in, when suddenly I realised Raven was not complete. I read what I had written again, and all the new stuff I was writing, and it was at that point I stopped to give a great deal of thought to what would come out.
What I originally had in mind, and right up until late August 2021, was a story that was quick and easy and not very long. I had 29 chapters ready to cut into block format ready for publishing, but the problem was, the first eight chapters of what I considered to be another book, were very relevant to Raven, as I wanted the second book to lead into the life of Morgana of Berengar, but it was a clear as day, Branna’s story was not over, and so in early September, I cut the chapters out of the second book, and added them to Raven, and once again did a complete read through, and it was mind blowing how amazing I found the story.
Again, fighting here not to give spoilers.
It was the right choice, and provided the perfect climax to their story, but be aware, if you think you know how this story will go, you will be disappointed. As I do in usual Kingdom fashion, I have been very careful about what was written in the eight books of HTTK, and have carefully considered every clue I have given, and I have painted a picture that will lead the readers over the eight books to form a specific idea of the past, trust me, it’s wrong. My wife finally read the much improved full draft in mid September, as the digital version of book seven came out, and she loved it, and I was delighted by that.
Rise of the Raven by Robin John Morgan full book cover.
The real story is so much deeper and much more involved, I really am delighted with it, and just to set the stall out properly for the book, I have added an introduction from the year 2078, set long after kingdom, and written by Tila. Remember her, she is the Fae of Earth who lives with Crystal?
So, what can I tell you to get you all giddy, but give nothing away?
Firstly, remember the two books of Branna written by Ariel in Kingdom Eight? Well Raven is both of them, as transcribed by Tila for the House of Scribes in Florae. Rise of the Raven is the book round Ena’s neck, that was written in blood runes, that charts the story of Ariel as she was despatched to Avalon as an ambassador, on behalf of Queen Bridget Violet. You all know she is housed behind the Citadel Mount with Branna, and you all know that Rhiannon did it deliberately to keep Ariel away from Avalon whilst it was being built, so there will be no surprises there.
Book eight made it clear, that Branna was assigned the task of studying the Merle, and that Branna had no love of Rhiannon who she saw as a colour blind leader, but there is so much more to this story. Raven will chart why Branna was so unhappy before Ariel, what happened to her and Ariel in Avalon, and why Bridget Violet became so ill, and eventually left Princess Gwendolyn the throne. The story will chart Branna as she flees from Avalon and what she encounters, and why she was given the task to study the Merle, when because of her dark hair she was seen as inferior. You will witness the rise of Castle Berengar, and the realm created there, and also find out how Crina and Cezar ended up trapped. There is more to Crina, than book eight revealed, and slowly you will understand why Roack became more than just a connection to the Merle for Branna.
This is a fascinating story that will twist and weave, to reveal far more than you realise of all the realms in HTTK. There are a lot of new characters and some you know, such as a younger Merlin, and Fagan, who is the Maker in Avalonia in this book. Sequana will be alive and advising Rhiannon, and Avalon will be a brand new realm, freshly built and awaiting it’s queen. Florae will be under construction, and Ninian has all of his toes, and Gwynfor is a young unmarried man. Rayne the son of Rhiannon has not met Gwinne, and has had a long term relationship, which he walked away from, as he was not ready to settle. It is a really interesting tale, and so I will leave you with those few thoughts to ponder, and prepare to finally release the book, and if you think you can work it all before you read it, I very much doubt it, but give it a go anyhow.
As always, the support of every reader is massively appreciated, especially after fifteen years of writing, and if you have not got round to it, give Abigail’s Summer a try, it is nothing like kingdom, but it is certainly worth looking at, and as the first part of a very involved story of five, it will open up and really become a tale worth following, because like everything I write, the first couple paint one picture, but the reality is always so very different.
Rise of the Raven, is now available in digital and printed format, and I really do hope, you find it surprising and exciting.
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.
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.
