Guest Blog: The Reinvention of Myth, by debut author Amalia Dillin

From deep within the dangerous Edit Mines, a wild blogger cries out! Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic, but I’ve been buried under work-work and edits lately. BUT, today I have a VERY exciting post–a guest post! From a published author! And friend and critique partner! The ever talented Amalia Dillin.

Amalia’s first book, Forged by Fate, just came out earlier this week and is already getting excellent (and well deserved) reviews from all over the ‘Net. More on that later.

Without further ado…

The ReInvention of Myth

Every hardcore fantasy reader knows that Tolkien built The Lord of the Rings from mythology. Norse mythology, in particular, but not alone. Elves and Orcs, Dragons and Dwarves, Heroes who are not quite exactly mortal. He made these ideas, these characters and settings familiar to us, and built an entire genre from four well-loved books, and a couple less well-loved tomes. But he wasn’t the only one to recreate mythology in a way that brought it into popular culture – Superman, Batman, Thor, Captain America, even Spider-man are all part of this same evolution of mythology.

We see it most directly with Thor, of course, because Thor is still Thor, and Asgard is still Asgard, filled with the rest of the Norse pantheon – Baldur, Odin, Sif, Frigg, Loki. But Superman is built from Hercules and Samson, Captain America could just as easily be any other local cult hero of mythology – maybe Theseus, beloved example of everything that makes Athens great. Spider-man’s origin might be compared to someone like Arachne, cursed by the Athena and turned into a spider, and Batman – Batman is definitely an Odysseus, crafty and depending on his wits as much as his other strengths.

The retellings and references can be direct (Thor, Hercules, and Ares in Marvel comics, Wonder Woman and her Amazons in DC) or oblique (Batman’s dark path, fueled by a need to punish the criminals who murdered his parents is very reminiscent of the motivations which drive Orestes after Agamemnon’s murder), but they’re twined so thickly and so inextricably through the stories of our modern heroes that we often don’t even recognize it anymore. So we get graphic novels like 300, and the Marvel illustrated Trojan War stories – retellings of stories already being retold in the same medium, with a more literal approach. We root for Odysseus to find his way home the same way we read issue after issue while Batman hopscotched through time, struggling to return to the present – or for that matter, read issue after issue hoping that one day Bruce Wayne will finally find some kind of peace (I’m not holding my breath). And we read 300 – or watch the movie! – BELIEVING that the Spartans can hold the Persians off, and would have succeeded in destroying anything that was sent against them, too, if they hadn’t been betrayed!

But there’s a reason these stories are told and reinvented and told again, and resurrected. The themes are timeless. The need to believe in heroes and the triumph of the human spirit against any and all comers – against even the divine – gives us a sense that we have some control over the world we live in, we aren’t just at the mercy of all the suffering that surrounds us. We can take action. We have agency. There is hope.

So what does this have to do with FORGED BY FATE? Well, comic books are America’s mythology, Lord of the Rings was written for Britain, and Forged by Fate is my retelling of the history of the world, from creation to the present day, rebuilding it not just with the stories of one mythology, but with ALL of them. Because all those gods and goddesses – all those myths – they’re even MORE fun if they’re all real.

After Adam fell, God made Eve to protect the world.  — Adam has pursued Eve since the dawn of creation, intent on using her power to create a new world and make himself its God. Throughout history, Eve has thwarted him, determined to protect the world and all of creation. Unknown to her, the Norse god Thor has been sent by the Council of Gods to keep her from Adam’s influence, and more, to protect the interests of the gods themselves. But this time, Adam is after something more than just Eve’s power — he desires her too, body and soul, even if it means the destruction of the world. Eve cannot allow it, but as one generation melds into the next, she begins to wonder if Adam might be a man she could love.

Forged by Fate available now, from World Weaver Press!

You can also purchase Forged by Fate on Amazon! Either in paperback or kindle. Or both!