Mark Ristau's Blog - Posts Tagged "quest"

In the first few pages of A Hero Dreams, our protagonist—a little boy named Ricky—is just moments from drowning in a gulf-side swimming pool when suddenly time stops, and an angel appears. A feeling of peace washes over him as she speaks in a voice that seems to come from within.

Something's wrong here, my love...and together we're going to make it right.

The something that's wrong is not Ricky, of course, but the violent world he's been born into. Thus, his quest begins. Surviving this near-death experience, he embarks on a journey that leads to the edge of a threshold, where everything he's ever dreamed of finally seems to be within his reach. All he has to do is take a step forward—a single step forward. But something holds him back.

Where is Ricky's angel when he needs her most?

We soon learn that she never left him, that she was with him every step of the journey, loving him with all her heart...

We also learn that, through love and forgiveness, it is possible to break the cycle of violence we've all been born into. This theme is further developed in the second and third books of the Hero’s Path series. Along the way, we are exposed to unpleasant, but invaluable, insights into this age-old problem of violence. In the end, we are rewarded with an uplifting message of hope—hope for the possibility of peace in our time. Stay tuned.

A Hero Dreams
Mark Ristau
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Nothing inspires me more than the idea that the impossible can be made possible…that stories have the power to transform the final arbiter of reality—the human mind. What could be a more “visionary” undertaking than to embark on a writing journey whose mission is to change the very nature of reality by influencing human perception?

My work is based on the fundamental principle that we write to inspire our readers with the idea that anything is possible. It’s true that there are plenty of very talented authors out there who write for no other purpose than to entertain their audiences. And this is fine. Perhaps even necessary. But we should be aware of the dangers inherent in introducing trivialized content into our culture.

I left behind a lucrative career as a corporate attorney with a very specific purpose in mind: To bring something new into the world—a story that would challenge its readers to think about society’s oldest problems in new ways…in short, to transform consciousness…

I’ve always been fascinated by stories that explore the fluid nature of time, space, and reality. The first such story I read was An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce, which I was assigned in a 7th grade humanities class. The idea that time was not an absolute concept, and that a writer could manipulate it to serve compelling literary purposes knocked my socks off.

Much later, I was introduced to the work of Paulo Coelho and Joseph Campbell, who became my most important writing influences. In fact, the narrative pattern identified by Joseph Campbell is a pattern I employed in writing the manuscript for A Hero Dreams, originally entitled “Even the Banyan Tree Know Peace.” This narrative pattern—"The Hero’s Journey”—follows the hero across a threshold into a supernatural world where lessons are learned, and wisdom gained. The idea that we can come face-to-face with life’s secrets through such a visionary quest has always captivated me.

To me, Visionary Fiction is a genre that allows writers to share stories about what is possible without being shackled by preconceived notions of how things are and how they ought to be. It’s a genre that encourages writers to break the rules and make discoveries that otherwise might have lain dormant for years…or perhaps forever…

Mark Ristau
www.MarkRistau.com