Stories & Myths

Good day to you all,

I thought today I should start introducing you to my ways and styles. In my spare time I dabble in myths of various cultures. I am very attracted to Greek and Japanese mythology, personally, I think, that’s where the essential ideas of the plots I’ve written come from. I have not had the time to take a gander at African myths, but I think that those and Australian Aboriginal myths are some of the most ambiguous myths. Ambiguous in the way that, you really have to try and be part of their culture to understand what they mean. I don’t know if you understand what I’m trying to say?

Before I get carried away and start babbling on about myths, I want to explain how I’ve managed to incorporate that into my stories.

The amazing thing is that I have become so shaped by the way our ancestors wrote stories -- in which they speculated about things they could not explain -- that I don’t know if it is subconsciously done or there is just an ethereal muse whispering in my ear, but if I trace back the names of some of the characters in Feather Spade and (not all of my characters have) an alias, they will be linked, the name and the alias, and I swear to you – I had no idea how these two completely different things were related to each other and what’s more, how they have roots in mythology!

I’ll be giving more examples that involve Feather Spade in due time. I believe that the relationship of an author and his audience is a lot like the beginning of a romantic relationship. They’re alike in the sense that you have to get to know the author’s style and essense, judge if you like them or you (somehow) relate to them, then slowly progress into a more serious commitment. In this particular case, that commitment is a following. Much like some of us follow J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter (and future projects) and how some others follow Stephanie Meyer and her Twilight series.

Now back from that little tangent, let us continue on the topic of my stories and mythology. What I find amazing is how easily we can turn our imaginations into our little myths. If we look at some folkloric myths (i.e. Colombian myths and legends) we have little folk stories that are dark and mysterious and have this esoteric aura to them. These stories are usually very frightening, but there is always a moral. The fact that those myths and legends were created in order to reflect a moral upon us, shows us how the imagination of a person evolves by simply exploring an idea. To take a moral, like a skeleton, and dress it with tendons, muscles, veins, a skin, and bring it to life is a demonstration that the imagination is capable of an art that is beyond the understanding of most people. Only when you truly master that imagination – YOUR imagination, will you understand how your mind works, how you really see things, and how your creations reflect who you are.

Writing, like painting is an art. I have always said this to my colleagues and friends: Books are like paintings, because the pages of the text are the canvas and the words we use to describe the scenarios inside those books, are the colors splashed on the canvas; they both show us a picture of what we can only see with our mind’s eye.

Thank you for taking your time to read what I have to say, I promise that I will try my best not to disappoint you.

Your writer,

James Fenix