Our Blood & Devotion

[klvanderveer]

I am one of the authors in Blood & Devotion, and I wanted to offer my support for William's plan to get the book to print this summer. I think the title is an apt metaphor for how we should view our work. We devote ourselves to telling our stories and put a bit of our essence into every one of them. It is as much a journey for the writer as for the reader; perhaps even more so in that the writer has to take those difficult steps into the inner forest of the mind unaided. I believe that fantasy is particularly good at this. It is mythology for the modern era. It lets us delve into beliefs, ideals, and social elements that are sometimes resisted when cast in forms that are too grounded in the world we live in. Fantasy opens up the imagination to what is often perceived as impossible, and, in that opening, the reader is primed to receive an insight they might otherwise have been closed to. Many of us have likely experienced something similar as we write. I believe that Blood & Devotion, with its dual theme of war and religion touches on issues that can benefit from the touch of fantasy. It will bring together in two volumes all of our different perspectives and, through seemingly innocuous story, give people new ways of looking at difficult subjects. It has ever been the mythmaker that has changed the flow of world cultures. This time, we have the opportunity to be the mythmaker.

In short, I believe that it is important that our stories be read. If we did our job, and open the door of the imagination, the reward will come. I also think that our obligation to our stories doesn't end with the writing. We have to help them take their first steps into the world. We put our blood and devotion into writing them; we should put our blood and devotion into getting them into the hands of those who need to read them, for it is in the hands of an avid reader that they will truly come to life. Each book that each of us helps sell though local book store signings, writers workshops, fantasy convention panels, arts and crafts shows, and anywhere else we can think of will help all of us share our work with others. Nobility's worth is not proved by the brilliance of its glory but by the light it lends to others in the dark night of need. If we want royalties, we need to get out there and demonstrate our nobility.