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?
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.
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.