Dear Reader,
Howard Andrew Jones, today's guest author, lives in a lonely tower by the Sea of Monsters with a wicked and beautiful enchantress. He's the author of the Ring-Sworn heroic fantasy trilogy starting with For the Killing of Kings, the critically acclaimed Arabian historical fantasy series starring Dabir and Asim (beginning with The Desert of Souls) and four Pathfinder novels.
When Howard's not editing Tales From the Magician's Skull or hunched over his laptop mumbling about flashing swords and doom-haunted towers, you might find him lurking at www.howardandrewjones.com, where he blogs about writing craft, gaming, fantasy, adventure fiction, and assorted nerdery.
Howard Andrew Jones can be reached via e-mail at: joneshoward@twc.com.
Be sure to say "Hello" to Howard, and when you do, you'll be entered in his book giveaway. He has two complete sets of The Ring-Sworn Trilogy. To enter, email: joneshoward@twc.com (And please be sure to include your shipping address.)
Heroes
I think a lot of us are inspired by heroism before we really know what it is. For my part, I tuned into an original Star Trek re-run for the first time when I was five. Before long I saw Kirk and Spock stand against a horde of angry miners after they discovered the creature everyone thought a murderous monster was simply defending its young from genocide. Those two faced their own prejudices and changed their minds when exposed to new information, then risked
their lives to see the just thing done.
I wanted to be like THOSE guys. Episode after episode, even if they didn't always have the right answer, even if they sometimes made mistakes, they struggled to do the right thing when there might be no reward but death. They risked everything for their friends, their allies, and those who had no voice. When I look back on that touchstone and those that followed, like the accounts I read about brave soldiers and civilians in the Second World War, I'm not at all surprised that I've ended up writing about heroes.
Nowadays, when fame seems easily acquired by looking good, possessing a lot of money, or shouting loudly, heroism can be taken for granted, or seen as quaint: often the most celebrated modern figures are those who get away with things they probably shouldn't, or those who act the most outrageously entitled. These are cynical times, I get it, and sometimes it seems that facts and truth are dead (along with irony) and that heroes are just people whose dark sides haven't been scooped yet.
But I don't think I'm alone in remaining fascinated with heroes, and wishing we heard more about them. Heroism can supersede our cultural wars because it isn't about defending a narrow set of beliefs dictated by a few who want to stay in power. It isn't defined by ideology, but by the selflessness of those who protect others. Above all, heroism stands in stark contrast with selfishness, that most common of evils that creeps into a person or a society too self-indulgent to keep it at bay.
I have an honest love of adventure stories, and I surely hope my fiction amuses and even thrills readers. But if my words can provide solace and, dare I hope, inspiration for someone to stand tall in the face of adversity, and to take right action when wrongs are being committed, why, that will be a pretty grand thing.
-- Howard Andrew Jones
To be included in the drawing for one of two copies of Howard's The Ring-Sworn Trilogy, email joneshoward@twc.com and please be sure to include your shipping address
Thanks for reading with me. It's so good to read with friends.
Suzanne Beecher
Suzanne@DearReader.com
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