Religion, Mythology and Fiction.

For some, Religion, Mythology, and Fiction all mean the same thing. Many find profound truths in Religion, deep moral lessons in Mythology, and just plain good entertainment in Fiction. However, every once in a while a book intermingles the three into one tale. Such is the case with my novel "The Forsaken" (Children of Cain - book one). I have to admit that I was heavily influenced by my own religious beliefs when it came time to come up with my own mythology for Gwenevere's story. My fantasy world is after all spawned from one of the oldest stories ever told, the creation. However, mine starts with Adam and his first wife Lilith.

Now some of you just scratched your head and asked yourselves, "Who is Lilith?" Well, Lilith is sort of a cross between a redundancy in the Bible and an ancient myth. The creation story is told twice in the Bible. First in Genesis 1:1-2 and secondly in Genesis 2:4-25. In the first scripture man and woman are created at the same time, however, neither of them is ever named. And, in the second telling of the creation, man was created first, then the animals and then woman. The man’s name isn't mentioned for a few scriptures but he is introduced as Adam. Only after she has eaten from the tree of good and evil and persuaded Adam to eat as well does the woman get a name. Adam calls her Eve because she will be the mother of all living now that they are being cast out of the Garden of Eden and she now must bear children. Add this to the fact that other stories emerged over the years, naturally this got me speculating. What if there were two women created in the garden of Eden? What if Eve was actually the second woman to be created on the Earth, and not Adam's first wife? Some mythologies suggest that this was the case. See the link below for more details: http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1513/whats-the-story-on-lilith-adams-first-wifes 

Growing up in a Christian home reading the Bible and being fascinated by different religious beliefs, I was aware of the notion of a first wife prior to Eve in the Garden of Eden and always thought the idea was fascinating. What might have really happened to make this first wife fall? Now do I believe that Lilith really existed? No. However, the idea of such a person got my wheels turning and before I knew it I had created my own version of the creation story with Lilith as the original wife of Adam and her eventual fall from grace. This leads to her becoming the mother of all mythical beings and myths we've all grown up with. You might know them as Witches, Elves, Vampires, Werewolves, Fairies, Giants, Dwarfs, Mermaids and such but in my mythology they are all known as The Forsaken. 

A while back I met a fellow author, C. David Belt, who had a series with a very similar name to mine, “The Children of Lilith Trilogy”. I even wrote a blog about this meeting, read it here. Since both our stories deal with Lilith in their mythologies we started talking about the possibility that such a person might have existed. "The idea of Lilith as Adam's first wife supposes that God makes mistakes, and God does not make mistakes." C. David Belt reasoned. And I have to say that I disagree. If God gave us free agency to choose as we wish so that we might learn for ourselves right from wrong then any choice made by us would be no one’s fault but our own, for we are solely accountable, not God. So I reason that such a person could have existed and not threaten the belief that God knows all, as the master planner. 

To write this story I had to delve into a lot mythology and fairy tales as well as learn a lot about Wicca and Witchcraft in general. As a born and breed Christian, do I believe in any of these things? No. Does writing about them contradict my real life faith and values? No. In writing this book I seek only to entertain and to teach a moral about the true importance of one’s character and the choices we make throughout our lives. I believe in God and Jesus Christ. I believe there is a heaven and hell. But any speculations about these places in my books are merely mythology, intertwined with religion for entertainment.

For my character I built a world in which she is doomed no matter what she does because of what she was born, a Witch, one of The Forsaken. My purpose in creating this world and writing this story is to answer a few questions. "What would you do if you were damned no matter how good or bad you were? Would you still choose to do the right thing? Would you be a good person if there was no reward waiting for you in heaven, or would you just indulged yourself and do whatever you liked? A lot of religions teach that if you're faithful you'll receive blessings in heaven and a mansion on high, and thus the motivation for some to do good. But shouldn't we do good and be righteous and selfless, giving to others just because it is righteous and not just because we want a reward for our good deeds? These questions and more I strive to answer in the Children of Cain series. I invite you all to read the series and find out what Gwenevere does when faced with these questions, and find out where her decisions lead her. 

"The Forsaken" is currently out and can be purchased at www.rjcraddock.com. Links to my book on Amazon and Barnes and Noble can be found there or at the top menu of this blog. "The Offspring" book two of the six-part series comes out in April 2014.

Now go forth and pick up "The Forsaken" and may it inspire you to make righteous decisions and have strength to overcome even when in the face of true evil. Till next time. 

R.J. Craddock

Has every story been already told?

My book "The Forsaken" (The Children of Cain) (volume one) has been out for a month now! I've had my launch party which was a blast and I'm just reviving my advertising campaign. Recently my husband and I were brainstorming for ideas and thought maybe it wouldn't hurt to rent one of those kiosks in the mall and sell the book there. Ironically, tonight as we strolled through the mall with our kids, we came across a man doing just that. A local man named C. David Belt who asked if he could tell us about his book as we were passing by. I said sure and listened to his whole pitch. When he asked my name, I told him I was an author as well and had just published my first book May 1st. We chatted a little about publishing and such. I gave him one of my bookmarks/business cards and I took one of his.

I went to find my husband, who, of course, had wandered off like he always does into one of his favorite stores. When I found him I had to tell him the crazy shocking coincidence I had just experienced. On the cover of this fellow author’s book the title reads: "The Unwilling" (The Children of Lilith) (volume 1). I thought, "You've got to be kidding me! What are the chances I would bump into this guy one month after my book came out, an author with a series that has a startling similar title to mine?" My husband had to go back and talk to him. First, to pick his brain about the whole kiosk thing and how profitable it is, and second, to get a better idea of what this author's book was really about and if there were any other similarities to my book. As we talked to him it became clear that our books are nothing alike. We just both happened to pick similar titles for our series. He explained that Lilith, in his mythology, is the daughter of Cain not one of Adam's supposed wives. She is the mother of all Vampires. "Wait, where have I heard that one before... Oh, yeah, they're doing that on HBO's "True Blood", too!"  His book is also an LDS Fiction, believe it or not; an interesting idea for a Vampire novel if you ask me.

This encounter, along with other recent observations, has made me wonder, "Has every story already been told? Are there any truly original ideas left?" The answer is yes and no. After all this time with mankind thinking, exploring, imagining, creating, and storytelling, of course you'll see similarities, duplicated themes, titles, ideas, and names. However, every one of us sees the world differently. We can all look at the same picture and get a different emotion from it. We can all hear the same song and extract a different denotation. We can hear the same story and get inspired to write one of our own, however, they won't be alike other than the fact that they came from the same concept.
Did J.K Rowling invent witchcraft, wizardry, mermaids, dragons, werewolves, prophecies of a chosen one, or an indomitable villain? No, she didn't. Did J. R. R. Tolkien invent Dwarves, Elves, a dark lord, dragons, Wizards, Trolls, and Goblins? No, he did not. However, what these authors--and others like them--did do was take the basic elements of mythology, folklore, and legend and twist them. They re-imagined them into their very own unique tale, building their own worlds on the bones of ancient stories passed down through the generations of culture and literature. Along the way they contributed a few new ideas of their own to the mix, creating Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and new races of creatures like Hobbits and Oarcs. And because they dared to let their imaginations runaway with them they created something very special and earned a place in the history of literature.

Recently, while playing with my three young sons, my oldest son said something that sparked an idea for a new book. I started writing it and told my mother a little about it. She said, "Oh, someone already wrote a book like that. Your sister would know the one I'm talking about." So, I asked said sister and she explained the concept of this other novel and really it wasn't that much like my own at all. Should I let this stop me from writing my own book? So someone else had a similar idea to mine; I had not heard of the book when I started writing mine. Also, because that author and I are two very different and unique individuals even if our books have a similar concept they will be completely different in every other way.

So what's my point here? My point is that, in literature, it's almost impossible to copy another person's idea. You cannot write exactly all the same words in the same order develop the same exact characters and plots as someone else because you are you. Each writer, each human being has their own way of seeing and interpreting the world, thus no two writers will ever write the same book. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you all and encourage other authors to keep writing. Don't let someone else's similar idea stop you from writing your own story. Dream up your own world and take it to the limits of your imagination. No two people are the same. No two books are the same either. So, in case you were wondering, I am going to write that other story. Maybe I'll tell you about it someday. For now I'm still working on "The Children of Cain" and promoting my first book "The Forsaken" If you're interested in looking up the fellow I met tonight his website is www.unwillingchild.com his Publisher's site is www.parablespub.com. His book is called "The Unwilling" and his name C. David Belt. If you want you can always read mine and his back to back and let me know how we match up. To get my book go to www.rjcraddock.com. I plan on getting his book and reading it myself. Once I have it and have read it, I'll be sure to post a review of it here.

Now go forth, be fruitful and multiply the many great ideas upon the face of the earth... and go get your copy of my book while you’re at it. Until next time...

R.J. Craddock