The United Inspirations SPOILER EDITION!

 

Mornin!

 

Last week I talked about inspirations for The United, well today I would like to continue in that theme, and talk about a couple inspirations about specific situations, hence the SPOILER EDITION added to the title of the blog post.

 

DEATH:

The number one comment I get back from The United, either as a comment or complaint, is that all the protagonists die.  To which I always reply, “The United is about Blaze, and he didn’t die.”  And one thing to keep in mind about death in the Rai Saga, is that those beloved characters come back later as Creatures of Rai, either as angels or demons, pending on whose teaching they choose to follow.

On the overall subject of death.  The United was never a happily ever after comedy, in the simplest terms of literary phrase, where the protagonist finds love, gets married, and lives happily ever after.  The United was ALWAYS about how you die, what you are willing to give your life for, and what you are willing to live for.

I will be completely honest with you, in the original story, the character of LyAnn has always died after giving birth to HeatherAnn, leaving TJ single father. Why does LyAnn die?  That’s easy, LyAnn’s death was the only way I could get TJ motivated to do anything against Lord Yrimwaque.  As shown in Blaze’s character, death is a powerful motivator.  Initially taking care of HeatherAnn was TJ’s reason to live, but as I came to know him better through our many interviews, TJ told me he could never kill anyone, even Lord Yrimwaque.  (Yes, I interview my literary characters often.)

TJ died because he was put in a kill or be killed situation, and he refused to kill Lord Yrimwaque.  In the course of our many conversations, he confided in me that he believed at that time he valued the life of others more than his own death.  And Lord Yrimwaque did not share that belief.

Byron’s death.  *sigh.  From the start of the ‘Dark Fang’ short stories, TJ always had two friends.  In one version they were cousins, in another twins, then finally I came to understand they were brothers, Blaze and Byron.  In The United, Byron died saving TJ’s and Blaze’s lives before any of them really understood what they were up against.  Byron’s death fueled TJ’s drive to live life to its fullest, and Blaze’s need for revenge.  Once again, using death as a motivating factor for character development.

Amanda’s death.  I cry every time I read or edit Amanda’s death.  Her life was meant to continue.  She was meant to be HeatherAnn’s adopted mother, but Lord Yrimwaque had different plans.

 

 

WHY THE LIGHT ALLOWED THE TRAGEDY TO TAKE PLACE:

Creatures of Rai are angels and demons.  After death, our soul wakes up on the Hill of Entrance in the Realm of Rai as a Creature of Rai.  Therefore death is not the end of existence, but merely the gateway to the next stage of existence.

As Creatures of Rai, the Creator has great things in store for TJ, LyAnn, Amanda, Byron, and Blaze.  To become the person they need to be to fulfill their future roles, they needed to fight against Lord Yrimwaque alone in mortality.  Simple as that.  The Creator, not the Light, willed it because He has great things in store for them, great things that they cannot accomplish without those mortal experiences.

 

 

For more info on The United, The Realm of the Light Book 1, click here.