The epic 10th century poem Beowulf is the oldest existing literary work in the English language, and yet few speakers of the modern tongue would be able to pick out more than a handful of words throughout its nearly 3200 lines of verse. Year after year throngs of distraught Lit-101 students are subjected to extracts in bad translations, leaving the vast majority with a less than fond remembrance of the effort, and little desire to pursue the story further.
Fortunately for me, I was in the minority in this respect. I had gone to college at the age of 28 to learn the craft of writing, a non-traditional student with an outlook altogether different than the hoards of degree-seeking teens whose goal was merely to get through. I fell in love with Beowulf. It captivated me. Something about this ancient folk tale from the cold northlands called out to me, and so I followed.
At the time I was working as a counter clerk in a rental video outlet, and one day it occurred to me that there had never been a film made of this classic work. By then I was several years into my study of the poem, learning Old English that I might read it in its original language, and reading every academic essay concerning it. Thus, I felt I was ideally suited to undertake that task. And so I set to work.
Unfortunately for me, so did Neil Gaiman. After several more years of work, as I was sending out my script to agents and producers, I was to discover that not one, but two filmed adaptations were already in the works, rendering my screenplay obsolete.
Yet, as I had wanted to be a novelist in the first place, I didn’t let this hinder me, but took it as a sign to press ahead. Thus began the adaptation of my adaptation into prose. What I feel came out of this was that the novel has a heightened visual aspect that it might not have gotten otherwise. Throughout the screenwriting process I had imagined vividly exactly how each scene would play, and although the book has naturally more in it than the script, its characters were brought to detailed life long before I ever wrote page one.
Like many fantasy authors, I’m a devoted fan of Tolkien, and it was through him that I had my first real taste of Beowulf. I had read professor Tolkien’s 1936 dissertation on the poem, and read Gummere’s translation as a result. During the reading of the poem that first time I woke up in the middle of the night with a wholly unrelated story running through my mind, a lucid dream as vivid as if it were the story of my own life. So compelling was it that I got up at 3 a.m. and started to write it down, working diligently until the sun came up. That next day I went out to a thrift store and bought a beat up manual typewriter that barely worked, and decided to become a writer.
That was nearly twenty years ago, and just last fall I finally published my first novel, the culmination of ten years worth of work on Beowulf. I have yet to finish writing down the dream I had that night so long ago, as the journey it revealed is still unfolding.
For detailed notes on the adaptation process I underwent in writing The Saga of Beowulf, or to read sample chapters, please visit my website at www.fantasycastlebooks.com, where you will also find a wealth of resources to further your enjoyment of this epic tale.
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R. Scot Johns is a life-long student of ancient and medieval literature, with an enduring fascination for Norse mythology and epic fantasy. He first came to Beowulf through his love of J. R. R. Tolkien, a leading scholar on the subject. As an Honors Medieval Literature major he has given lectures on such topics as the historical King Arthur and the construction of Stonehenge. He owns and operates Fantasy Castle Books, his own publishing imprint, and writes the blog Adventures of an Independent Author, where you can follow his progress as he writes The Jester’s Quest, his second novel.
You can visit his website at www.fantasycastlebooks.com.
Several things influenced me to write Grayrider. The idea for the character of Grayrider had been with me for a number of years. The concept for the hero and his sword came from a troubled home life as a child. It was from that I first visualized Grayrider as a character.
A former technical writer, detail is important to Bruce Skye. His research for the Deathsong Chronicles included medieval armor and fortresses, as well as Celtic names and magic. “If you create a world, it must be consistent. And that’s what I strive for Grayrider’s world to be. I’ve built a database of material for each of the Deathsong Chronicles. Those databases aid me in keeping the world the same from book to book.
There has to be a better way. That’s what I thought to myself for years when reading all manner of strange and sundry articles about assorted upheavals, unrest and turmoil around the globe. Isn’t there somewhere where people are naturally in harmony with their environment and with the creatures around them? The concepts of naturalness, balance and harmony are all interwoven into the complicated plot threads of fantasy, romance and adventure, so evident in the 600+ pages of The Winds of Asharra. The book is not just a story of an epic adventure or a otherworldly romance. It is a journey of self discovery not only for the characters but for the author as well (and hopefull for the readers). The creation of Asharran culture, so rich and complete including language, rituals and worldview, enabled me to create my place that indeed has “a better way.” This mystical world of the purple sky, under twin suns, is the backdrop for an exploration of what it means to change one’s way of looking at oneself and the universe. I spent many years studying a variety of diverse cultures ,religions and societies. Frequently, I would rejoice over the discovery of some little “nugget” of wisdom or example that people could really be in harmony with their world and be happy. However, the more tidbits I amassed, the more I felt ultimately unsatisfied, since the result was a crazy patchwork that didn’t quite fit together. Asharra changed all that. This strange and sensual alien world, seen through the eyes of two American teenagers suddenly transported there, was my backdrop. The term “Asharra” to the native Asharrans means “the home around us” and applies to their planet and every living thing on it. They believe you don’t even have to be born there to be Asharran, so long as you are natural and “true” (in their terms). Thus, when one native Asharran tells the two main characters (from Earth), “welcome home”, it is because Asharra is simply the home they have never seen yet. Superimposing an entertaining adventure and romance story upon accounts of semi-utopian philosophy and fantasy alien culture was the proverbial icing on the cake for me. The fact that the story contains fanciful elements like telepathic trees, musical dragons and evolved felines made the creation of The Winds of Asharra a pure joy to write. The combination of the ecologically friendly mystical Asharran philosophy and culture, with the unusual characters and setting is a fusion which pleases me greatly. To me, The Winds of Asharra stealthily addresses many present day concerns while managing to tell an unusual and complex story. For each bit of adventure, humor or sex appeal, there is an integrated “nugget” of my own which I unashamedly share. James Hilton told us in the 1930’s that there was a better way, in his classic work, Lost Horizon. It was something I read several decades ago and which subconsciously influenced me when setting out to chronicle the adventures of the strange creatures of Asharra (and their Earth-Asharran immigrants). For me, The Winds of Asharra is not only an exciting fantasy/romance novel. It represents a new possibility for the readers of today, just as the land of Shangri-la, to Hilton’s audience represented that same half remembered vision to his generation. I wrote not only to entertain but also to reassure the reader and inspire him or her to never give up hope for a better tomorrow. I ask each reader to stretch the line between myth and mundane when they read this book and perhaps, echoing the experiences of Victor and Zoe, the two teenagers from Earth, to discover that there is a better way. Things might actually get better if we look at the world differently. As the Asharrans say, the only way to fail is if you give up. By that definition, since I plan on continuing to write other stories about the world of Asharra, I have already succeeded.
Awakening the Dragon
