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The Author’s Kingdom #8

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The Authors Kingdom is the Author, Robin John Morgan’s point of view that reveals an insight into his writing of Heirs to the Kingdom. It forms part of the Christmas Event for 2016.

 

The sinister edge of everything

When I first started to seriously plan the first book in the series, I asked myself the question, Is Mason Knox a God fearing man?

I realise it may at first to be an odd sort of question considering who Mason is and what he doing to the country as it recovers, but it felt like a very important question at the time, simply because I was dividing up the loyalties of the people to create the areas that would eventually become Woodland and Stone loving, and I knew that any surviving churches would have some say with the people.

The answer to the question was obviously no he is not, I mean how could he be, considering who is mother is? so I asked a second question. Could he bribe or influence the church to support him?

This is a far more interesting question, especially considering the state of the country at that time. I looked at the scenario I was creating, with the Cutters inflicting pain and death and stealing the harvested crops of those who could not defend themselves, and it was abundantly clear that Mason was storing up as much as possible behind his walls and swords. So here was the man who had everything, and he controlled everything, and in this scenario I think it would be pretty clear that to support Mason at that time, would indeed benefit those individuals.

It was clear to me that after a chaotic event such as the Red Death, people would seek out answers as to why the world went the way it did, I was under no illusion that there would be members of every faith that pronounced this as Gods will, after all there are certainly enough passages in all religious writings to show how God would punish the evil. It is a modern day phenomenon that after all disasters and community crisis, churches that have been almost empty for months, suddenly find themselves filled to the rafters as lapsed worshipers seek some form of spiritual guidance and answers, and in my mind the Red Death would be no different.

Ok so I have had a little bashing in the last nine years, and I have even been called anti-Christian, but actually this is so far from the truth, and my defence has always been, I have done my best to show a balanced representation of how I feel the church would evolve after a post-apocalyptic crisis. I am after all a people watcher, and obviously I have used the Christian Church as my example simply because firstly, Mason has been raised in what up until recently has been a predominately Christian country in which he has had to blend in for 100’s of years, and secondly, I have been involved with it and have spoken at great lengths to members of this faith throughout my life time. I would say also that when I talk of Christians, I am not talking about “The Church,” to me they are very separate indeed, as I see the Church as the organised political wing of Christianity, and Christians as the many diverse individuals who believe in the faith, and in my mind mainly due to my own experiences, they are indeed two very separate machines.

The Christian Church is simply wonderful material for a writer, it has a rich and at times highly questionable history, and really if you take the time to look at the broader picture of the Roman Catholic, Church of England, Baptist, Methodist and even Latter Day Saints side of the organised parts of the Church, there is a whole list of drama’s and scandals on which a writer can build a working profile. I asked myself would men who want wealth and power be drawn to the church, well yes of course they would, these kinds of people have filtered into every walk of life in the past to seize control and make personal gains, and so I had no problems lining the hierarchy of my surviving church with such people. I would add at this point that Mason has these kind of people all around him, they are in his Marshals, Captains of his Cutters, part of his military and so forth, and so it makes great sense that they would also be in the church. This was never a personal attack on belief, if anything it is my own attack on capitalists and greed as individuals, for the world today is riddled with them and I despise every one of them.

I once knew a Reverend who was to be honest one of nicest and kindest individuals that I have ever known. He was pretty unorthodox in his approach to the way he ran his church, he was very much a reformer, and I can tell you he was not popular with the old crowd. He died not that long ago, and I was so sad to hear it, because I genuinely really admired the work he did with his wife, I have some wonderful memories of his time at my local church, and the happiness and joy he created as he filled his church with young people and children.

The old crowd hated him, he disturbed their out dated ideas and routine in the church, and after a year they conspired and found a way to get rid of him, it is of these people, the control freaks and monopolisers of the church that I speak about when I write of Brother Argus and the First Church Council. Even though I was young at the time, it was easy to see how he threatened their control and the comfort they felt controlling the local church. I saw with my own eyes the pure vile and evil of these people, and it was a harsh eye opening in my youth to confront such prejudice and two faced hypocrisy. At the end of the day it all boiled down to a power play for control of the church, they won by underhanded means, but their church emptied and the collections slipped back to normal, in a way at the time it felt poetic.

I think it is very important to make the distinction between how I feel about people like this, and how I feel about people of faith, and within the plot line of this series, which I hope is as accurate and true to life as it can be for a work of fantasy, I would like to think that I have struck a good balance that highlights the difference between those who truly believe in their faith, the those who see it as a convenient position of power for personal gain and control of the people. Historically the Church has always played its part in politics and the control of their local areas, today they are not as influential which I feel is a good thing, but take the country into the kind of scenario I have created, and I think you will see some traits of old resurface, especially in a leaderless society.

It has been my aim throughout all of HTTK to show the accurate picture of division within the Christian faith, because it is an important political element to the plot. As the story has progressed and the Church has been woven through it, I show the side of Christianity I have seen in the form of Sister Mary, Father Warren and John Stevens, and I have pitted them against their opposing numbers, which again I have seen in life, such as Bishop Holmes, Brother Argus or the Brethren. I think it is evident, that good people do good things, and corrupt people corrupt everything, and I have shown this not only within the church, you see it in the midst of the army of Mason and at times within the Woodland forces, especially in the south where there is very much a sense of distrust amongst certain groups. Silas and his jealousy of the Outlaws for example.

One thing I do know, and has been something I have watched all my life is the scramble for power at every level of life, and so I think it is a natural element of every organisation, and no matter how hard you may want to believe that all within the church or any religion for that matter are pious, the simple fact is hypocrisy will show its hand far more often than not. When you pit the faith of one against another you will always get sparks of prejudice, and history is riddled with it within the church. The witch burnings, the crusades, the slaughter of native Americans and even the Irish conflict are examples of how certain aspects of the Christian church in the past has exerted it’s power, and even in today’s climate we see a great deal of war that has become embroiled with religious conflict within what should be a modern civilised world. I think it takes little to get emotions high and then factions clash and all text about peace and love get pushed to the side as the texts of fire and brimstone are wheeled out for battle.

The Church has always played a very important role in the affairs of state, none more so than in the monarchy. Lord Loxley mainly due to his teachings from Leenard is wise enough to know that without the Church he will never convince the people to support him. I think is also a relevant point that Mason has been more aware of, as he began very early on garnering support with the recovering church, and as the books begin it is already very obvious he has been hard at work behind the scenes laying the foundation for his own coronation.

Most of this comes down to a single point of great interest in relation to HTTK; can the church tolerate a Pagan King? This really is the centre of everything, because had Leenard provided paperwork for an heir to the throne that was a recognised Christian, would Lord Loxley really be having the fight he has to convince the church to support him? I think not. I am well aware that under the constructional laws of this land, the King or Queen become the immediate head of the Church of England. No Catholic is allowed under constitutional law to be seated on the English throne, so really any prejudice that is aimed at Lord Loxley in not so much about the fact he supports a Pagan faith, but more about the point that he supports a king assumed to be Pagan, I would imagine Argus and co would hate him equally as much if he was trying to place a Catholic, Muslim or Buddhist on the throne too. It is a rather wonderful mess and absolute gold for a writer as the web of deceit and intrigue widens out.

Historically the church has always used its very significant power to control the masses, and I think it is for this reason Mason would have looked to the church. He built them a new stone headquarters at Hull. He repaired and expanded the Cathedral at Lincoln, and funded Argus after the fall of the Church Council, in order to ensure that the church continues to publicly support him and convince the people to side with Mason as King, and not this so called Pagan pretender offered by Lord Loxley. As Mason is attracted to the church and its power, so are others for exactly the same reasons, and I would say if you look hard enough, you will see some of these kinds of people in positions of power in the church, local and national government and industry today, they are the ones who enforce the rules, yet they themselves do not live by them.

I see all organised religion today as divisive, and I think it shows in the writing. Religion preaches tolerance and compassion, and it is very evident in the world today that some people honestly believe in those ethics and live their life accordingly. On the other side of the coin, if you look at the internal squabbling in recent times over women vicars and bishops, and more recently gay marriage, the divisions are also clearly seen, and they are very deep indeed. On a more personal level, if you talk religion, or better yet compare religions with others, you very soon see the divisions between individuals, and this from my point of view has allowed me to open up a debate within all parties in the story to create much greater depth. Robbie takes what he has read in the small book given him by Sister Mary and found a great deal that matches in with his own belief system, and yet Sapphire who has suffered at the hands of the church hates them with good reason, although even she was touched by the kindness of Bishop Stevens. It is this wonderful set of contradictions that play well into the story line and it does give me great latitude to play people off against each other, be they Christian against Pagan or Christian against Christian.

Religion can be a mine field and I do tread carefully when writing, after all my aim is not to offend, but to provide interesting dialogue, but I do find I have a wonderful wealth of information on which to base my characters and their belief system. In book Seven you see yet another great example of the divisions created by religion when even Jett Amber, possibly one of Robbie’s loyalist supporters, speaks out publicly her objections to Robbie’s support of part of the church. It’s a wonderful heady mix that helps add yet more life to this tale, and it is my hope that it does keep the plot alive and bubbling.

I think it is safe to say that Mason probably enjoys watching the church fight internally for the controlling power of the people. To a degree it serves his purpose well, as all he has to do is sit back and wait for one to emerge with all the power, who he can then manipulate via their own greed to give him what he wants. After all he is the one holding all the best cards as he has the best equipped force, and all the reserve supplies to push the country forward into something more inclined to his view of the world. I have a three way conflict in so much as I have Mason, the church and Lord Loxley, and as the story has evolved there has been a good amount of doubt and uncertainty on all sides, which has allowed me to play out a scenario that does indeed hold tension at times. I have always felt this was good for the reader, and it has embroiled them in what possibly is one of the oldest conflicts of mankind. Historically none of these groups can be perceived as thoroughly good; all of them have a somewhat jaded history, be it the crimes and greed of the Christian faith, the rape and pillage of the Saxons, and even the Celts as they spread out from Europe long before biblical times, committed some horrendous acts against their enemies.

My aim has always been within the plot to show that not everyone is nice, and some people try very hard to do the right thing, I think this is a clear example of mankind, we are all saints and sinners and no one is perfect. As much as the old hippie inside me wants peace in the world, I fear it will never be so, it’s a great shame as we have the technology and the intelligence to actually create a far better world than we have today, hence my unrest and lack of faith in mankind at times. Sadly part of the human condition for some is greed and control, and I think no matter how far the human race goes, even if some apocalyptic incident happened, we would still be the primitive war mongering tribes we have always been. I think in the world today we may wear suits and act like we are responsible humans, but always simmering just below the surface is the primitive being we have always been, and all it takes for that side of humanity to emerge is one big chaotic event. Heirs to the Kingdom is for me a chance to lift up the false charade and take a peek at why lies underneath, and whereas sometimes it’s not really that bad, occasionally it does make all of us a little uncomfortable.

So in conclusion I will simply say this, I am a writer, and from my experience of writing and reading over my lifetime, I have found at times being uncomfortable makes for good thinking and the questioning of ourselves, and that is not always a bad thing.

As always, I love questions, because that begins good conversations that broadens the minds of both parties, and all of you are welcome at any point to message me and ask them, so until my next piece, I bid you all happy ponderings.

 

The Author’s Kingdom #7

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The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles by Author Robin John Morgan that provides some deeper detail and understanding of his writing. This event has been written and planned for Christmas 2016

 

The Cycle of Life.

There is something quite special to the relationship between a person who works with the land and the natural world that surrounds them. Having spent most of my life working with plant life, I feel a lot more in tune with the world, than say some of my friends and acquaintances that work in offices and factories.

Even now, whilst I am no longer working as a professional in horticulture, and I sit at a desk most days to write, I still take out time to walk within the natural surroundings of my home. The strong urge to reconnect is never far away, and I can only go for so long before I feel the urgent need to work in the soil or walk beneath the trees. It is often hard to explain this to others who live a more material life within the built up areas of town or in the city. I feel that it is within this part of the person that I am that I have created the woodland peoples and the realm that they live in.

There is something about working outdoors and being part of the circle of creation of life that has a deep impact on you, and in many ways your senses changed and become more in tune with Nature. I have found after most of my life working with plants within each season that I feel the changes in the weather and the atmosphere as they build. People laugh when I tell them I can smell snow or rain coming, but I do notice those slight subtle changes. It is probably odd to say it, but the smell of the earth changes as you work through the seasons, and there is a very real difference between the damp earth of autumn and the earth of high summer.

Basing my Woodland dwellers in this cycle of a working life that is dependent upon the life cycle of life, not only gives me the chance to express a great of the joy I take from the wilderness, but I have also used it as a vehicle in which I can share some of these precious moments of my year with the readership. There is no coincidence that Robbie and Rowan react as they do to the world around them as I add small details to the background of my writing to let you know what is going on in the British wilderness at that specific time of year.

I started the books on New Year’s Day as a deliberate act so that as I progressed through the books I could introduce the circle of the year’s events and some of the tasks involved in the life cycle of the plant and tree life around the characters. It really pays to visit the British countryside and witness the life that the people there live, it is very similar to the way in which Loxley functions, and it is a very important part of our living heritage. Many towns and villages still celebrate many of what are now the old country traditions, and you would be surprised at just how many people get involved and celebrate. We are indeed a country that was built around Christian worship, and yet I am never surprised to see that a great deal of our Celtic and Saxon country based traditions are still upheld and celebrated, be it corn dollies in Somerset or well dressing in Buxton.

In many ways it is nice to know that around the country there are small pockets of people that work very hard to keep alive important skills and traditions. All of us have visited craft shows organised around our larger towns where we get to see just a small selection of a few of the living skills we hold on to, and it is important we see them, but it always appear to be the same old skills of wood turning or hand pottery throwing, yet in my travels over the past forty years I have delighted in finding that there are people keeping these important crafts alive such as spinning wool and cottons by hand and traditional weaving, even glass blowing has had a resurge over the years. What is even more important is that these skills that have been passed down from an age where they were essential to the survival of the community are now being taught to our young, and this is all happening quietly behind the scenes of modern life.

There is no coincidence that I started my series by mentioning how those who flocked to the countryside were saved by the country folk who had the skills but were too old to carry them out on a larger scale. I was questioned by a few in the early days of HTTK as to whether or not this would be a likely scenario, but if you look at the plain facts of younger people fleeing in terror from the crumbling cities, it is abundantly clear to me that the influx of extra youth into rural communities would serve to greatly enhance the survival rate of all of them.

I have always tried to encourage the people around me to look at these skills and learn them, my children have benefited greatly from both myself and my wife taking time out of our routines to teach them these skills. My children see this as fun family orientated activities, but it serves the important tradition of helping to keep these traditions alive, and it also has the added benefit of allowing me the personal experiences that enable some of my writing from a point of knowledge. We have made our own arrow heads, started fires without matches, learned to identify all the wild foods that are actually very nutritious and safe to eat. As you can imagine the kids love our wild rambles outdoors, as I always point some form of food they much as we walk, and even though they are not aware of it, I am preserving some very important ancient skills that sadly were once common knowledge.  

As with all things within the writing community, every experience helps to enhance the writing and although most readers probably do not realise it, HTTK is riddled with some really important ancient skills that are the reason we survived through the pre modern times. Ok so maybe we will not have some major apocalyptic event, I mean it’s not like I am planning one any time soon, but the thing here is we do really know the fate of the world? When I look back at my youth and then compare it to just the last five years of my life, I think it is very noticeable how the weather has become more and more extreme round the globe, even here in the UK we are seeing flooding and freak weather we have not witnessed before. It matters not if this caused by global warming or not, the fact is that the world as we know it at the moment is very unpredictable, and so the scenario I have painted or something similar could very well happen, and I feel that is even more an important point to consider. Learning a few of the skills of our past may be the very thing that gets us through some major future event, and that is why I feel it’s important to share the information or make people aware, which is one of the many purposes that HTTK also serves as a hidden layer between the pages. Ok so we don’t all have to become arran clad folk singers, who spend our days weaving and carving, although I must admit I think the influence of my father has given me a bit of a desire to get into wood work, which I need to find more time to practice more, but let’s be honest being more connected with anything remotely natural is not exactly a bad thing.

I cannot mention nature, country living without the influence of Pagan ways on my woodland dwelling folk. Earth Faith, which I created as a slightly enhanced version of what is traditional Paganism. I have had the privilege of being around Pagan’s for a very long time, and I do have a very deep understanding of their beliefs, many of which I share. HTTK does contain a huge amount of pagan ritual and beliefs due mainly to the fact that the faith is based to work within the wheel of the year and it is a very seasonal linked faith. When I wrote the very first draft of the Bowman of Loxley with a readers beta group, a great deal of the questions I got were Pagan based. The Beta group asked if it was actually feasible that a woodsman type belief would actually resurge across the country as depicted in the introduction of the book. I think they were surprised to learn that actually in this country there are far more Pagans than people realise, it is a faith that has been growing steadily since the 1950’s and I have been a large part of it. Unlike most mainstream religions Pagan tend to be quite secretive about their beliefs, which mainly is due to the stigma placed on it by both the Christian and Islam faiths. Devil worshiper is a tag often placed on Pagan, and even in this modern time, the slightest hint of anything remotely Satan based is still something very much shunned and frowned upon. The sad thing is that Satan or the devil is a Christian creation, and no self-respecting Pagan would support such nonsense, but mainly due to the fact that for almost two thousand years the Church has demonised Pagans, it is still a very sore point with modern pagans today, and society frowns due to a huge lack of understanding of the Pagan faith.

From my own observations and involvement with Pagan belief, I see it as a kind of spiritual environmentalism, which considering who my lead female character was going to be revealed as works perfectly into the woodland community. From my own point of reference and my knowledge of the lifestyle that surrounds plant life, I do not feel that there is a great stretch of the imagination to understand that people who turn to country ways in order to survive would embrace a Pagan based faith. I have always felt that people would tend to embrace what was around them, and Pagan tradition and lifestyles do still predominately get practiced on a higher scale in more rural areas today. It did help create a good backdrop on which to work in the politics of some of the Christian faith, after all we have over a thousand years of historical rivalry between the two, so from a writing point of view it does give me a good vehicle for a lack of understanding between the two factions. Although it was never planned or scripted, I have found from my conversations with readers of HTTK that it has actually broadened peoples understanding of the faith, which cannot be such a bad thing as knowledge breeds acceptance, so I take that as a plus for the books.

In HTTK I have taken the workings of the rural community, added a more earth based faith, and introduced what are basically the living skills of the medieval era, spliced with a small amount of modern technology. In my mind this was always a natural direction to take considering the scenario I had created, but I have to admit that from the initial scripting, to what has evolved in the books to date I am happy to find that the story almost feels timeless. I have had quite a few people comment that suddenly during the reading they stopped to think, and realised this is a story set in the future, and yet it would also fit snuggly into modern or even medieval times. It is hard for to me comment as at times I become so immersed in the story as I write that even I lose track of the date, although I will add at this point I do actually keep a calendar of 2038-40, to which I add each event as it is written just so I am aware of the actual date and the season. It is important that I keep this kind of record of events as it allows me to place my horticultural knowledge in its correct time frame, which is why I can write about the aconite popping through the snow or the honeysuckle creeping through the hedgerows of green.

There are days I sit back and ponder just why the hell I spend so much time sat at my desk adding all this stuff to the story in ever increasing layers, and then I get a message or someone I meet who has read the books comments on a particular aspect of the story, and it is during these moments of seeing the enthusiasm of a reader that all of it makes sense and it brings me a great feeling of satisfaction. I really do enjoy the feedback I get and the chances to explain something in deeper detail, and I always encourage questions, and so as I pull this next instalment of The Authors Kingdom to a close I will say that I am here and even though I have written a lot for this event already, I am happy to work out a piece that explains any aspect of the Kingdom, all you need do is message me, and I will write something to provide my view of it for you. It matters not whether I have one, or one million readers, as long as it is required from one of you, I am happy to keep writing it, and I am very grateful to all of you for the love and support you have shown my work, as always my thanks to you all.

 

 

 

 

The Author’s Kingdom #6

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The Author’s Kingdom is a series of articles, where the Author explains his perception of Heirs to the Kingdom. It is written to cover the festive season of Christmas 2016.

 

Modern Living?

When I first began to write HTTK, I was asked what would be the one bonus of the world grinding to a halt in a major disaster. I have not forgotten that moment because as I remember it, I took less than a second to answer it. It may appear like an odd question because in all honesty who would even want the Modern World as we know it to end?

Sad as it may appear, I would.

When asked at the time I answered without even questioning, and my answer was, the collapse of modern banking and multi-national corporations would be the greatest gift to humanity that we could ever wish for.

It blew the mind of the friend that asked the question, for a moment they stared at me unable to completely comprehend what I had said, and in my mind I could see in their eyes that the fight between green and stone had already begun.

Heirs to the kingdom is exactly that question answered through my eyes. I have brought the state of today down to simple camps, those who would fight to maintain the status quo, and those would throw it away for a more simple and sustainable way of living. Mason vs Loxley.

Life today is unnatural. As a race of beings we have sold out our values and given up our heritage and the skills that allowed us to develop into the beings we have become. Today no one really understands those vital skills that brought us here, we no longer knit, crochet or weave, we do not labour in our gardens to grow our own food that is healthy and chemical free, we have lost so many of our stone cutting and wood working skills that if disaster struck, we would more than likely starve to death, because eating money would not be a viable survival option.

Today we are born into a world where everything is created by machine, packaged and assembled in convenient large stores, where we travel out of town and collect what we need with the little money we own, and then we head home and eat the food, that is not really food, but some chemical laced enhanced molecular plastic mixed with a few real organic ingredients, and we sit at our electronic devices that inform us of the world view, that seldom contains the truth as it is manipulated to death by the media, and we live the fantasy of thinking this will make us happy.

We go to school, where once again we are taught the world view which is not really the truth, and we are taught to pass a test after years of sitting in a small classroom that will not help us create a good life, but it will inform the world of our place in the endless mass of working opportunities. We will be condemned to spend the next forty years, not earning enough to really live, as we can just about afford our bills. Without even noticing we have entered the labour machine and a lifetime of boredom and resentment as we work longer hours creating more rubbish for the world to buy. What we buy has designed obsolescence built into it, and it will break so we will throw it away, and add it to the landfill where it will decay and poison the land. We will simply buy the newer improved version and tell ourselves we cannot really afford it, but that is what credit cards are for, and again we will hold the fantasy that we are happy. Welcome to capitalism, a system of legal slavery, where we are the source of revenue that makes the top 4% richer and richer, and all we get is a pitiful existence as they reap the benefits of our labour.

I do not know anyone who really loves their job, I see a world around me filled with people who are becoming more and more isolated from each other. Everyone complains about their life as they count what little money they have and hope it might just be enough to get a cut price holiday for two weeks each year. They hold some false hope that by sitting in a strange foreign land for two weeks will somehow magically make the people they live next door to nicer, and their job somehow better when they return broke, and feeling a little worn out from the endless cocktails they drank to cover the fact they were counting the days in dread, and wishing their holiday would never end.

This is what we called the world of Modern Man. I could write pages of this stuff on the modern world, and the fake charade that people endlessly play to con themselves into thinking they are happy. I am told I am cynical, I argue that maybe I am just better informed, I am told I am just some unrepentant old hippie, and I agree, I am. I am told that I am just a dreamer, and need to grow up. I respond I am a writer, I watch people and study life deeply, and yes I do dream, it is a wonderful dream, because it is a dream where everyone wakes up. They snigger, tell me I am lost cause with a head full of magic and I smile… Maybe?………………… Stone Lover… Hippie!

I am a dreamer, I do indeed have a head full of magic, oh and what glorious magic it is, you see I have seen the greatest kind of magic there is. I have had the joy of spending the last 35 years of my life working in something I did love, and I am lucky to have found another love to sustain me through into old age, and it is not part of the machine, it is not part of some elaborate money making system, hell I am not sure looking at my bank balance each month there is a name for what I have become, I simply call myself writer. I do dream, I do look at life, pull it apart and then find ways to put it back in a way that has wonder, and yes I am not ashamed to say it has magic, deep and glorious magic.

I began my career in horticulture, I look back with great joy on it, because it was magic, I have had the privilege of working with something so wondrous and magical, it made every day a joy. It took one simple ingredient to make everything fascinating and glorious, you may know of this magic, it is in many books, and has been talked of often in the modern world, and yet it also something that was once a deep part of who we were as people, and yet most people have forgotten this wonderful and glorious magic power. I call her Runestone, you will probably know her better as Nature.

Want to meet her? Simply go outside and turn around and take a good long look, go on… look up… There she is in the form of a tree, go on take a good long look. Enjoy the structure, man could never in his wildest dreams create something that complex and intricate, and keep it looking as simple and beautiful as that. We see trees every day, and yet we never really take the time to look at them, and it is such a shame for there before you is the wonder of true magic. Look at its feet, look at that brown stuff it sits in, that my dear friend is the earth on which we live, and it is rich and organic and filled with millions of micro life forms and trace elements, all of which have one task, to sustain life.

We do have a choice in this world, and it is one that is not the easiest, but it is still a choice. We can live hand in hand with nature, we can throw away our paper money and grow our own food, farm our own livestock, weave our own clothes. The sun has free power, so does the wind and the water, and the crazy thing is, we have created the technology to actually do this, but we don’t.

I have built up this lifestyle and called it Loxley, Woodland, Green. All you have to do to sample it is read Heirs to the Kingdom, there it is, a simplistic way of living that reunites man with the earth, in a way that provides the very best of the modern world, working side by side with what we now call the old world view. It is a world which requires community, people working together, laughing together, sharing a way of life and at times crying together. It is a world of balance, and one that will not destroy what surrounds us, but respect it and nurture it because there is the understanding that actually we need it.

To quote John Lennon “You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one.” I am not, there are a lot of people out there who think as I do, and within the story that I have written is the message of my belief that mankind can change, and can turn away from the banking world dominating multinational corporations to build something more in tune with the earth. We have forgotten that we are a part of this earth, we have forgotten that we need to understand that, and live as such, because if we do not, then just maybe like my story Nature will turn on us and there will be a mass extinction, and no amount of paper money or gold bars will prevent it. The reality is that if we continue treating the earth as we have, which is basically as our personal asset to strip and dismantle, mankind will not survive the next 1000 years.

Heirs to the Kingdom is not just some random fantasy filled with love and the struggle of a family against another family. It is a very serious message of what could be. I actually think it will be worse than I have portrayed it, but the message written throughout all of it is very real. I see the modern world as a con, and I do not believe I am wrong, the irony is because of the way world is, HTTK will never be a best seller and so my message will only reach a limited number of people. That is OK, because if a few of you understand my words, you may be able to change a few small things, and that could lead to other changes etc… I believe that if one man changes the way he lives, it does have an effect on others, and they may change as a result, and they will affect the lives of others, and so on….. and so on. But hey I am just a dreamer!

 

Provoking Thought.

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When I first began to seriously write Heirs to the Kingdom, I thought I would take the story that I had built up in my mind over what had been a long period of time and get it down on paper without really thinking about the words I was committing to the file. I know that sounds a little odd for someone writing a book, but at the time I was just doing an exercise to see if I could actually achieve it. There wasn’t any thought of publishing, or even having to talk to other readers of a finished work, it was simply me alone with my thoughts and feelings, letting everything I had kept deep inside me flow into my fingertips. It is still like that today, I cannot allow the thoughts of what others may think to even enter my mind, it has to be plain and simply that deep inner voice guiding my words, and although most of the people reading my work do not see it, it is probably some of the most deeply held parts of myself that come to the surface.

Sometimes a bike ride can help reduce carbon, so each trip you make will help in a small way

Sometimes a bike ride can help reduce carbon, so each trip you make will help in a small way

Personally it can be quite a surprising experience, as things I never actually intend to share come out in the words I put down, of which I would say the most obvious has been the power that is contained in my love for the plant world and the whole of the planet on which we live. Shortly after writing the first two thirds of the Bowman of Loxley, I let a few very close friends read what I had done, and then waited with baited breath for their comments, it was to say the least quite a nervous point in time. I suppose having been surprised myself at what had come out on the paper my insecurity did increase a little, because I had made some bold statements about how we all live within this world, and pointed out a great deal of my private disillusion with the world.

One of my market trading friends Pru was actually the very first person to read HTTK, and she surprised me a great deal when she informed me that it was indeed very thought provoking, and she had thought a great deal about what was written for quite some time after reading it, and that became a bit of theme, as I allowed others to read the first drafts of the first book. I have never forgotten that time, and even though I still do not allow the opinion of others to cloud my writing of the books, I have begun to open up and share a lot of what I feel passionately about in my Blog posts.

The blogs are for me, another way of expressing my thoughts in a none story environment, it’s a place when I can be a little more direct about my point of view, yet remain within the confines of the HTTK themes. I have found that there are quite a few readers who have not read the books, who still read the blog posts, and as a writer it’s another wonderful way of allowing all the thoughts tumbling through my mind to tumble out for another audience.

The story of HTTK is very much the representation of my struggle through life with various issues, especially that of a green campaigner and supporter. I do see the world as two separate sides in these days, and to be honest at the moment I think the side of stone builders is winning. I see a lot of the ways of Mason Knox in the world today, especially in our Governments across the world as they are seduced and corrupted by big large multinational corporations, I think if Mason was indeed a real living person in today’s world he and his evil mother would very much be the people behind the scenes pushing government’s into raping all of the natural resources of the planet on a road that can only lead to the eventual destruction of everything.

I am and always will be a member of the Woodland Realm, like young Robbie in my own early teens I sought to fight those of power to change the world, and even today I still try to educate people in a way that opens them up to what is really going on globally. I have been ridiculed for a great many years for being the Hippie type campaigning for trees and life, and to be honest what felt like insults in my youth, I wear today as my badge of honour. I have campaigned for petitions and protested and even at times employed a few Specialist tactics under cover of darkness to strike one for the green cause, although these days I am getting a little too long in the tooth for covert activity, and my mind has turned to thinking about other solutions.

Writing is certainly one of them, it’s a little warmer sat at the computer than walking the cold streets handing out leaflets, and I also look at today and the way the world has changed so much since my youth, and ponder as to whether there is a better way for all of us to live together in a more balanced way.

In the UK this week, we have been told that over the coming years we will see our bills rise to an unprecedented level because as our natural gas supply runs out, and old coal power stations are taken offline, we will need to import more gas from the continent. It’s a reality that in a world where those like the Knox family, have corrupted every system, and brought the global economic climate crashing down to the benefit of themselves. Once again the poor of this country and countless others, will be forced into the hardship of bearing the costs, and the costs are not just financial, they are also a cost to the world we live in, a cost that will punish our future generations.

The biggest argument I face is that in this world of technology, people will not support an environmental point of view, because even though they are not calling the government’s into question over their lack of effort on the environment, they have embraced all the new technology so much that to take an environmental road will deprive them of the little joy they have in life these days. When you look at the wide range of products we have available to us, it is a valid point, let’s face it communication and labour saving devices have never been so good, and our lives have been transformed by all of them, but surely there has to be a way forward for all of us to do our bit.

It can appear like a double edge sword, either we change drastically and give up everything, or we continue on the road towards destruction, but really do the choices need to be so stark?

I think not. Why is so impossible to see that the environment and technology can walk hand in hand. In my books I take the best from the old

We can make a choice that uses the best technology to balance our lives, with very little change to the wat we all live

We can make a choice that uses the best technology to balance our lives, with very little change to the way we all live

world and add it to the natural world, in a way that benefits people and yet has little impact on the world, why is so hard for the UK and other countries to follow the same lead? Oil does not have to be the future of everything and neither does Gas powered, I am very anti-nuclear, simply because it’s just too expensive and as we have seen in Japan, it’s not quite as safe as we thought it was. Britain is considering fracking as a gas alternative, but that is actually banned in many European countries because it has been proven to be far more harmful to the water table than our Government are admitting. We have already had one large scale earthquake caused across Yorkshire and Lancashire because of the early drilling; do we really want to destroy and poison the North West of England?

We need jobs to get the economy growing again and take the pressure off the benefits system, as well as move away from the old fossil fuels, so why are we not looking towards Germany for inspiration? Literally on our doorstep, we have so many solutions that are good for everyone that it must provide a way that leads to jobs and cheaper fuels for all. In Germany they invest heavily in green technology, not only do they encourage solar power plates on homes, they have solar farms, which they combine with wind power to create a substantial amount of clean green energy. Ok the costs for setting it up have been high, but let’s be honest, it has to be better to pay UK citizens a good wage and build and install these systems rather than just paying our money to an Eastern European country for extra gas. Wind power across the globe rose by 20% in 2012, Ok so there are a great deal who hate the sight of windmills; personally I think they look a lot better than the gaping holes we create for strip mining, or the sight of large Fracking drills. I love windmills I have to confess, I want a small one on my house, I will probably paint it to look better than just plain white, but yes as soon I can afford it, I will get one simply because it will drop my household bills over time, which means I can invest in more fun tech for me and the kids.

The environment and technology can work as partners, and benefit all of us, but it takes a slight change of thought before we can implement it. Governments can change their view when they see that votes will not go their way, and it is up to all of us to finally make that stand and point them in the right direction. The future of this planet can only come with the will of the people, and it is up to everyone to share the information that will eventually force governments to change their mind. We have to abandon our complacency and apathy towards the way we choose to vote. It can be done as we have seen with the banking industry recently; as it was the public’s opinions that forced the government to make changes that are finally bringing them into line, and caused some very high profile job dismissals.

You make not like the way they look, but its a hell of lot nicer than drilling platforms of a devastated landscape

You make not like the way they look, but its a hell of lot nicer than drilling platforms of a devastated landscape

Just imagine this small point. This country has a huge amount of public buildings, what if we all made it clear that the government should fit solar panels to every one of them.  Have you any idea how many jobs that would create in fitting and manufacturing them? Do you know how much pressure that would take off our old and rapidly decaying oil and gas burning power stations? New technology can be environmental, and a shift such as this would not change the life of anyone, but it would do a massive amount towards reducing carbon emissions in this country, let alone globally. There is a very important lesson to be learned from some of HTTK, and it shows that we can share the best of every world and create a sustainable future for our children and our grandchildren’s generation, it just takes a few moments to think about it, and then voice your opinion, which funnily enough was what the hippies were saying forty years ago, It kinds makes you wonder why we didn’t listen?

There is always another way forward if you take the time to think about it, and then get out of your seat and do something about it. If you look hard enough there are so many other ways to improve our lives and the planet we all share, and whether you believe it or not, it does not belong to those like Mason Knox, it actually belongs to all of us, its home to seven billion people.

 

Taking Stock.

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There comes a time in every man’s life, where it is time to stop and take stock of all you have done and achieved, for most men it is a single event that comes around forty, and it is an important moment as you look back at all you have done, and with a little hope the picture is pretty good.

I have done it a few times in my life; I often think that was due to the fact that I had to change direction often, as deep inside me there were important changes going on brought on by changes in my life. My first break up from a long term relationship, losing my job after 12 years of hard grafting loyalty, fighting a council to save my business, all of them exacted huge changes that made me stand up and take notice, and forced me to drastically alter the way I lived. Within the past two years two events again have made me sit and focus on what is important in this life we live, and I feel it poses as many questions as it answers.

I think most of us take Nature for granted, and I think within that lies a note of caution, because Nature holds all of us within a delicate balance, something brought home to me in the hardest possible lesson recently as I watched my first daughter suffer, it was a reminder that had been served to me a year earlier as I watched my father struggle when he nursed my Step Mother back to health, and from those hard and painful times, I have started to understand the true value of the gift we all call life.

A recent survey I read (Which I cannot find the link to. If I do I will add it later) listed the five biggest regrets men had on their deathbeds, and one that struck me whilst reading, was the high proportion of men who wished they had not worked so much. I think it resonated so deeply within me, because in the childhood of my first daughter I worked at large Garden Centre, and the job which I loved took me out of the home at weekends and holidays, and also involved almost dawn till dusk working hours, as a result I missed all of those important moments watching her grow up. The sad thing was it wasn’t even worth it, I worked so hard and was without doubt one of the most loyal members of staff, but when it came down to the line, the owner let me go simply to save money in a budget cut, where he kept on the cheaper members of staff. OK in the long run he lost out, after all I was the one who brought in the sales, and to a large degree could justify my long working hours with my wage, but it hit me hard at the time, and it knocked me flat on my face for a long time after. I vowed then I would not work for another employer again, and began to set up my own business.

I learned an important lesson, one which I was lucky to get earlier in life than most other men, and when by what I see as a miracle, I became a father again later in life, I knew I was not going to pass up the chance of a lifetime to enjoy the life of my new child. Today I write from home, the money as a writer is not great, I do not live as well in comparison to my days working in a large Garden Centre, but I am surrounded by my family, and even though it is a struggle at times and I do worry about what happens if my books do not sell, I still think by comparison I am a lot happier than I was back then. It does pose the quality versus quantity argument as to which approach is best, and yet being by my wife’s side and enjoying the freedom to take my children out and watch them as they excitedly investigate the world around them, for me is something of extra special value, as I now want my time here with all of them to count.

As most of you know I love Celt culture and tradition, and one thing in particular that I am reminded of at the moment, is how they believed you should honour your ancestors and all who have been before you. To the Celts, it is the sum total of each member down your family line that has brought you to this point in your life, it is a profound thought when you sit and think of the lives of your family dating back through each generation, In a way I think it is a very important point that most of us have forgotten.  In heirs to the Kingdom I used the phrase, when I leave this realm, I will sit in a place of honour at my father’s table, it is a reference to this the oldest of Celt traditions and it is something that is a deep part of my own personal beliefs. Again it poses the question of when I finally leave this realm, what will make me worthy enough to earn my place at the table?

I know a few people who have worked hard all their lives, and in many cases they have built themselves up quite a business or small empire to show the world the worthiness of their achievements, and you cannot react in any other way than to admire the courage and determination they have shown in achieving such a feat. But at the moment I do question whether or not it was worth the sacrifice and effort, because I can only ask what will happen when they are finally gone? The cost they pay to achieve such a thing is very high indeed, and in most cases behind every successful business man, is a divorce or unfulfilled wife, and children who really do not know who their father truly is a person, it feels like a heavy price to pay for success to me.

History teaches us that all empires fall, so is it even worth building one in the first place? That at the moment is a question I have no answer to. Something that I think about and is important to me is the example set by my father. His father died when he was a small boy, and I often think of how my father worked his way up in his job to finally reach the top position, it was not an easy journey as he began at the bottom. Along the way he earned a great deal of respect, due mainly to his even handedness of those he managed. He spent a great deal of his free time in the Mountain Rescue, again playing his role as a team member saving the lives of a great many people. Is his father sat in another realm watching with pride? I would say a very resounding yes; my father has indeed earned his place at the table, because even when he is no longer with us, as a result of his life, other lives have been touched and changed by the way he lived.  As you can probably imagine I am very proud to be his son, and I can only hope that one day I will measure up to him, and all that have been before me, and take my own seat at the table that is the legacy of my family line.

I have lived quite an unconventional life, I am a natural rebel and I have lived a life without too much planning, taking in the moment and trying to make the best of it. I have always felt we place far too much emphasis on money and possessions and how everything appears to others, we are indoctrinated from when we are small children as to what is and is not acceptable, and yet those who teach us these so called important rules for life, disregard them completely and are usually the ones who obsess over money and gather great possessions, whilst breaking every rule ever set for what is deemed to be acceptable moral or otherwise. It is their way to control us, and I think today we are seeing that clearer and clearer as we watch corrupt governments and religious leaders lie and cheat to gain power and wealth for themselves, and the banks and business grow ever larger under the rule of their fat cat owners, as inequality and injustice are heaped upon the rest of us, so why should we live our lives at their benefit? The world has become obsessed with celebrity culture and the material gains they flaunt, I mean lets be honest why does the sex life of a celebrity really matter? Who cares if they have had an affair or slept with ten people in one night, I mean really does it matter that much in the scheme of things that they spent ten million on a marriage that lasted only fifty days? Focus on your own sex life and enjoying it, and make yours the one marriage that no matter what trials you have, it works.

Is it not more important to live as feels right for us?

Shouldn’t we all live in a way that honours those who came before us? I think it is time for change, and it should start by all of us taking stock of who we are, and what is more important to us. For myself, it is important that I leave something behind that my children and wife will never forget, it is also important that I earn the respect of my father and earn my place at his table. I am lucky I am a published author, I will leave something behind, my words will remain on file in the central library of the UK forever and so future generations of mine will be able to read the words I have written and share in my world, for my books do contain my life and my feeling and thoughts, even if they are written in a way that is encrypted to the rest of the world. More importantly I want my children to hold the respect for me that I hold for my father, that is the legacy I want to leave them, I want the memories to be of happiness as they remember how I introduced them to Nature and showed them how to use the tools we have to create and build things, and also to remember the lessons I learned in life to aid them and prevent them making the same endless mistakes I have. I want them to live free of thought, and not shackled by the rules of the institutions that have crept into this world and dominated opinion for generation after generation.

The one thing I am very proud of is my thirty year role around plants. I have sown millions of seeds, taking hundreds of thousands of cuttings, and travelled this country selling them on cheaply to people who have taken them home to plant and grow on with care. As I look out of my window across the woodland and wild fields, I can see countless trees that have been planted by me, some of which are now growing into early maturity. I have collected and scatted millions of wild flower seeds across this land, and helped revive some flagging varieties by reintroducing them back into the wild, and I have fought and campaigned to save trees all around the world, so when my moment comes to walk out of this world into another one, I will know I am leaving it a little more beautiful than when I came into it. That is one thing I am immensely proud of, and even though no one will ever truly know the extent of my life with plants, I have left something behind me which with hope will remain as a marker to my life for many years to come.

Be UniqueThe one thing I have learned more than anything else in the past 18 months is that life is precious, and it should be lived to its fullest. It is so unimportant what others think, being true to yourself and living every moment is far more important, because we really do not know when Nature will slip and the balance will change. The media is filled with endless opinion on what is and is not acceptable, but the daft thing is, it is only at that moment of time that it appears relevant, all the shocks and scandals we see blow over in days as the news rolls ever on, and it is the same of life, none of it really matters, but your family and its past heritage will, so honour it and those around you, by being true to yourself. It does not matter how you live, what is really important is that you live it well.

The Celts believed: Respect all of nature and every living soul. Live your life to its fullest, and hurt none. It is a ten thousand year old piece of advice, and to be honest, it is still the best piece of advice I have ever read.

Nature moans into the sky?

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As anyone who knows me well knows, I do love the weird and the strange, after all I am the creator of Harry and Maggs, but recently around the world there has been a series of phenomena that has well and truly caught my imagination, and it is more relevant to me personally considering it’s the year of 2012.

For those of you new to my writing, I am currently in the middle of a series of fantasy adventures named Heirs to the Kingdom, which are based in the year of 2038, set against the background of a deadly virus (Red Death) that was unleashed by Nature 26 years earlier (2012) to curb the destruction of the world by man. So yes as the world stands fuddled and tries to work out the recent phenomena of strange sounds in the sky, I am delighted that it is being referred to as the sounds of Nature moaning in distress.

I will add that at the time of setting up my story which was in the late 1980’s I had not at that time heard of the Mayan calendar and the so called end of the world in 2012. I just chose the date as it fitted in nicely with the exhaustive list of generations I had followed for my hero, to link in well with his past, I was a little chilled to the bone when a good friend of mine handed me an article many years later that gave the prediction for the end of the world in this same year, and considering the time it has taken in between working self employed for many years, I never thought I would reach this year whilst in the middle of publishing the story.

I now feel somewhat delighted to find the many videos on Youtube of people stood frozen and unnerved as they hear the strange moans and wails coming down from the sky, and although I have absolutely no idea of what is causing it, all I can say is “Look to the coming of a Bowman,” and “prepare for death, for it is coming and its colour is red.”

I am delighted, but also curious, as I have been out in the woodland in all weather, and at all times of day and night, and I thought I knew pretty much every sound made by Nature, but even for myself, this is a very new experience and I am rather enjoying it, although if you are some of the few who have not heard it yet, then click the link below and have a listen, this article which has many serious and comical answers on it, also contains some of the best clips of this strange unearthly sound, and I will say when you first hear it, it is indeed quite eerie and unnerving.

I know I should not really exploit it, but I have to admit this is a little bit more of a coincidence than I ever expected.

 

Click the link and see what you think

http://dorsi.hubpages.com/hub/Strange-sounds-in-the-sky-from-around-the-world