The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles by Author Robin John Morgan, as he explains some of his reasoning behind how he writes the Heirs to the Kingdom series, as part of the Christmas event for 2016.
The problem with calling a series Heirs to the Kingdom, and making it about the lines of the future, is that eventually someone has to die to make way for the next generation.
There have been many times when a reader has asked me. “Oh why did you have to kill so and so?” Feeling the emotion of their words makes it difficult to simply answer, “because it was their time to go.” Like all other aspects of HTTK there is always a well thought out reason behind the writing, I am not after all George R R Martin, and the removal of a character is never an unfeeling moment within the writing process. Timing is important, actually timing is everything, but to the reader lost in the pages, I know that there is never a good time to take a character forever.
From a personal point of view, I have never believed that death is the end, and I still to this day remember my physics classes from school. ‘Energy does not die, it merely changes its state and continues in another form.’ It is as much my own personal spiritual philosophy as much as it is the basics of science, and with that in mind I have followed my belief and written it into HTTK.
In the early days, I pointed the way with Gwendolyn and Opal, and then I began and followed each character and walked them through the reasons they had to leave, and what follows is my reasoning behind each of them. I love that many of the readers have become as involved with these people as I have in their creation, and the fact that you see them as real, is without doubt the finest compliment I have ever been paid, and so I thank all of you.
ERIC. (Book One)
Eric was a hard choice, because in my first draft he was never meant to meet his end so early. I had actually created a character to be killed in the silliness that was Harry. He was deliberately written in a comic piece, and never meant to live, but as his popularity soared and I saw the benefit of keeping him, I am sorry to say poor Little Eric became my next target. I will add that he would have gone in book two though, so his demise was a little earlier than expected, but he died for the very same reason.
Eric was always meant to be the one thing that brought everyone together and created a deep bond between the fractured and suffering members of the group. He was young and inexperienced, but dedicated, and that alone gave a privileged within the Specialists who wanted to take him under their wing. I did write a piece in the early days where the Specialists got to see the mass slaughtered people as the Cutters moved north, and Eric’s death was meant to be the thing that cemented them all together at the end of what was a harrowing time. Because I brought his death forward a little, I changed parts towards the end of Book One, and then later wrote a more detailed piece that was added during the journey to save Alice, and that became what I call the mound of red flowers on the edge of Scotland, after the burial of an entire town is butchered by the Cutters.
The Death of Eric in Book One does work so much better and Harry lived, which has actually been to the benefit of HTTK, as Harry has provided some wonderful and interesting moments. Eric’s death as a sacrifice and then the honour showed to him by his comrades I think is some of my best writing, as it really does add weight to the Specialists at a time when I was still trying to paint the basic picture of HTTK before adding in all the detail, so if I am honest, it was a good change that did indeed improve the story.
Hog (Anthony Ashford) Book Two
Hog was a much easier decision in the scheme of things, which probably sounds colder than it is intended, but when writing these books, none of you will understand the pressure I feel at times when it is time for a character to depart. In my mind Hog was an important yet simple loss, you see Hog was James’s younger, simplistic, if not stronger brother. After the death of their parents James (Fish) put his own life on hold to ensure the safety of his brother, but he was destined to be at the side of Amethyst. It was quite a simple decision, you see had Hog lived, James no matter how much he loved Amethyst would never have consented to marry her and move to Avalon and abandon his younger brother. It really was that simple, and so Hog was written out allowing for James to brood and recover from the death of his brother before the introduction of Amethyst into the Specialists. I felt a three book gap would serve as a good period of mourning, and so at the end of five and eventually in book six James finds his happiness besides Amethyst and moved to serve as the Queens consort in the crystal castle in the Mirrored Lake. In a way I think it helped cement the plot, as James deserved to find happiness, and even if Hog had remained at his side, it would still have meant him leaving the Specialists as they made their way back to Loxley, and so the outcome would have been the same. Hog on the stair protecting Runestone made for a far more honourable exit for him, so I think it all worked very well in the end.
Hilda Pickles (Mum to Maggs) Book Two
Most people forget about Hilda, she is the feisty yet very caring older mother of Maggs. She wears pink wellingtons with flowers painted on, puts water bottles under her pigs at night, and cares deeply for all animals and people in the world. It is a shame that few remember her passing, because I loved writing her and was actually quite fond of her, but in all honesty there was no more really to write about Honey Hill at that point. Even though I had considered a return to Honey Hill at some point, during the writing of Book Two it had not been scripted yet as I wanted to see where the story was going naturally, and so I took Hilda out defending her animals from the Cutters in one last act of bravery. However for those of you who have read Book Seven, you will know I decided to add a little tribute to her in honour of her memory.
Martin Reef Book Three.
Once again with Martin I had reached a point where Big John was becoming the principle character of the group close to Robbie and Runestone. Shortly before the writing of Book Three I wrote the piece. “Life from a Crushed Rose.” The story of Rose and Sinclair, and so once I began writing the third book I already knew there would be losses within it. During the book the group separates and each takes their own route up to the top of the castle of the Raven to meet in the final battle, and it started to become clear that I had a few too many running round the castle, and so I gave a great deal of thought to thinning out the group a little. Hard as it is to maybe understand, Martin was still a minor role that had not be as developed and I had no extra plans for him, whereas I had already pencilled in the partnership of Bear with Big John, and so in the final scene of the fight in the castle Martin is killed by the Dark One. In many ways, I think Martin accurately illustrates the sacrifice solders make every day, and I think there are times when we need to understand this point. Today we have great freedoms due to the sacrifice of many men and women like Martin during the world wars we have suffered in the past. I am absolutely anti-war (Yes even though I write this stuff) and yet I recognise the bravery and dedication our service men show every day, I think in my way Martin is my voice showing this and also showing how simply soldiers pay the highest price along with their families. All of us should feel the pain and the anger Lord Loxley felt, because maybe then we would speak out more against the horrors caused by wars, and petition for more peace.
Mac Book Three.
Ok I am just going to say this once, Mac was based on the characteristics of a group of three individuals who made my life at School a living hell, and so yes, from day one I wrote a character I was never going to like. Mac does serve as an important vehicle, in so much as his mother Una has to show some great strength in future parts of the story, and I have also found that I have gained great strength out of some pretty painful times. Una has given up the life of her other child to save her mother, and puts her focus on raising Mac, who in turn, turns against her and betrays everyone. It was easy to write him as I knew his death was imminent, and I must say I did enjoy those moments where Alice vented her frustrations at him and humiliated him. I also think there is a lesson to be learned from Mac, in so much as he did have a choice, and yet he chose the path of power and domination, which resulted in his life ending on the end of Violet feathered arrow. He could have walked a different path, he chose no too, and that was his undoing.
Lee Sherman. Book Three
I think it was clear from the start that Lee was the last of a generation, and I think it made very simple deduction that he would not last long, he was old and he was ill and he just wanted one more moment of action like he had experienced in his youth with Jake. I really enjoyed writing him into the story and I think he played his role very well indeed.
Rose and Sinclair Book Three
In book five I added the whole piece I had written prior to book three to explain the loss of Rose and the reasons behind it as she made way for Grace. Read the chapter Life from a crushed Rose.
Robert Lox Book Four.
Knowing Robert had to go was never going to be easy to write, and to be honest I wrote his death several times and did not really like any of them. None of them carried the weight of his position and loss as I wanted them too, and so after some frustration instead of writing his death, I slipped in a few lines and then focused on the consequence’s from the point of view of Robbie, Runestone and Jess, and to be honest I think it gave great weight to start of the book. Once again the difficulties of writing these parts often has a positive effect, and Robert’s death inspired one part of the story where Steph talks with Robbie as he heads home from the moors. I really enjoyed putting this small part together for the book, and I think Steph pays Robert a mighty tribute with her words. I think I have said it hundreds of times since, “This series is called HEIRS to the Kingdom” Simply put Robbie is the heir, and so Robert had to go.
Scarlet of Caerleon. Book Four
Once again Scarlet was always going to have to step down in order to make way for her daughter Jett Amber. In the chapter “The Coming of Queens” I paint the first real picture of what is to come with Jett. It is through her grief that you see how much training she had been given, and in a way that chapter was my little tribute to the power that was Scarlet of Caerleon. I have never really decided if there should be an after task for Scarlet, but I have referred to her legacy and skills in working out future events in advance to prepare the defences of Loxley, and once again this shows her the greatest of respect, not just from myself, but from those who worked around her.
Ruby Book Four
Ok some of you still have not forgiven me this one. Put as simply as I can, Ruby can walk onto any battlefield and wipe out the whole army opposed to Robbie in a matter of blindingly white seconds. As long as Ruby lived, there was no longer a need to continue writing HTTK, sadly as much as I loved her and loved writing her, she had to go so the story could progress, and I had the time and space to fill in all the blanks I had created. I always had a backup plan for Ruby, some of which you will see in Book Seven.
Mordred Book Four
Mordred was not so much killed as dragged screaming from the sword, and disposed of by Rhiannon in some unknown outer reach were the Dark One will never find him again, and that is probably a good thing. There was a very good reason for adding Mordred, and simply put, it was Raven Merle for Book Seven.
Alexandrite Book Five.
The death of Ally was simply a huge shock for everyone. She was a healer, weapon less and one of the gentlest members of the Specialists, and that makes her death so much harder to take. Life is never simple and we do not always get things our own way, and book five shows this to the Specialists in a brutal fashion. It’s the horror of war that the innocent must suffer, and this is another example of how evil war can be. There is no justification for her death, no reason she deserved to die, like so many in this world, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time, she pushed Gaynor out of the way in a selfless manner to save her, and in doing so it cost her her life. Nothing I write will ever make that right, and I certainly will never try.
Leenard/Merlin Book Five.
Did Merlin die, or cover his tracks, there are answers in later books (Smiles)
Deaths that were not Deaths.
Mason Knox Book two.
I love the this moment in Book Two where Mason and Robbie meet. It took a lot longer to write than you would ever think, and I think it was worth it. The joke was it was not his death, or at least I never intended him to stay dead, the clue here is in the next book with Mordred. It was always clear in my mind that if the Dark One can bring back Mordred, most readers would work out she would do it again with Mason. It’s all about the life tied to the Raven, and there will be much more on this subject in the final book.
Jade Opal Book Two.
Ok so Jade did not die, ( be honest we all panicked a little) but she would have if it had not been for the intervention of Runestone. What a horrible choice to have to make, and as you see it causes both Jade and Runestone immense pain. Life is about pain, and one of the reasons I added it was, firstly to actually show you what Una had done to save her mother, and secondly without death, we would not understand the value of life. It is an important lesson for Runestone as she makes the transition from young girl to women, and also as the force of Life within nature, she also needs to understand the worth of the life she gives. I think Runestone learns from this the value of the gift of Eve, and in doing so, she takes life sparingly and only with great reverence. It was a hard lesson, but possibly the most important one she will ever learn.
I realise there are other deaths around the edges, Sebastian being one who made room for his younger brother Bear, although as you see Bear does have another brother in Brett. Brett is older than Bear and should rule next, but in book five he gets crushed, and as it stands he will never recover enough to rule properly, and so he has side stepped his position for later when Bear takes his place.
Treen lost her father in Book Five, something she had to do to fully understand her role in life in the future. It was also important she was seen to be doing something against Mason, so when the time does come, she will be able to return to her home in Morbihan and take her father’s place.
Bess the dog was the sole focus of Woody in Books four and five, and as a result Woody was remaining isolated. In Book Six he takes on a task that will greatly affect his future, and as he recovers from the death of his beloved dog, he will find his inner courage to move forward and finally step out of the shadow of his sheltered life.
As you now see, losing a character is not a discriminate thing, it is well thought out long before the event happens, and it is something I do take seriously as I am sure most writers do. I honestly believe life is the single most precious thing we have, and I feel it should be valued far more than it is in this modern world today. I take a lot of care when writing these losses and try in some way to honour the life given. I know that the readers who have become deeply involved with the characters feel the loss as much as they would any one they may know, and I hope you can see, I try to show the very same level of respect and sensitivity whenever I take a character from the books.