Guest post by Cas Peace: What's in a Theme

I'm excited to share this guest post by Cas Peace, author of King's Envoy and King's Champion, on themes in novels. Enjoy!

WHAT’S IN A THEME?

It wasn’t until long after I had finished writing my triple-trilogy Artesans of Albia fantasy series that I realized there were several themes running throughout the novels. I didn’t set out to deliberately explore these topics – they appeared naturally as part of each character’s life. I guess there are themes in every fiction novel, otherwise there would be no plot, but I confess that mine snuck up on me.

Having realized this, and then taken a good look at my writing with the aim of spotting them, it became clear that the main subjects were personal development, humility, and the potential consequences of personal power.

At the start of Book One, King’s Envoy, Taran Elijah is a despondent and desperate man, struggling with a deep, yet unfulfilled desire to learn the control of his power. Taran’s yearning has been frustrated by the death of his mentor (who also happened to be his father), and the fact that the Artesan power is in serious decline in the realm of Albia.

The concept of “what lengths might a person go to in order to achieve their potential” had been on my mind for many years, planted by a seemingly-insignificant scene from a 70s children’s TV show. Little did I realize then that it would be the catalyst that kick-started my entire Artesan series. Only now was I discovering just how fundamental to the series this question had become.

Although Taran is not the central character, the story follows him through several stages of his life. By the end of Book Three, King’s Artesan, he has made significant progress. In many ways he alters beyond all comprehension, yet in one major factor his nature remains unchanged. I didn’t plan this, and it fascinates me. With no conscious help from me, Taran took control of his destiny and his nature developed at its own pace.

He is also not the only character to have his mettle exposed and tested to the extreme. Humility in power is another strong premise running throughout the series, and two other characters demonstrate completely different sides to this fundamental topic. As I don’t want to give too much away, you’ll just have to read the books to find out who they are and what effect this conflict has on the plot!

Give away: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/e2f8dd3

Author website: http://www.caspeace.com/

Amazon Author Profile: http://www.amazon.com/Cas-Peace/e/B0098KMASI

Book Links:

Artesans of Albia, Book One, King’s Envoy: http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Envoy-Artesans-Cas-Peace/dp/1936850133/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376639999&sr=1-1&keywords=kings+envoy+cas+peace

Artesans of Albia, Book Two, King’s Champion: http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Champion-Artesans-Albia-ebook/dp/B008OPADEQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376640074&sr=1-1&keywords=kings+champion+cas+peace

Artesans of Albia, Book Three, King’s Artesan: http://www.amazon.com/Kings-Artesan-Artesans-Albia-Book/dp/1936850222/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376640111&sr=1-3-fkmr0&keywords=kings+artisan+cas+peace

For the Love of Daisy: http://www.amazon.com/Love-Daisy-Cas-Peace/dp/0955488982/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1376640296&sr=1-1&keywords=for+the+love+of+daisy+cas+peace

Cas Peace

Author of the fantasy novels

King's Envoy and

King's Champion

and the non-fiction book

For the Love of Daisy

www.caspeace.com

www.rhemalda.com

http://rhemalda.com/authors/p/cas-peace-2/

Watch the King's Envoy book trailer:

http://rhemalda.com/2011/04/kings-envoy-book-trailer/

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http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/cas.peace