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The Path to the Sun
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Aug 05, 2013 07:44AM
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I am going to ask something that probably gets asked a lot, but here goes: What prompted you to write about a religious quest? I am most impressed with Kiran's growth not only from a boy to a man, but also his growth and ability to observe other cultures and their beliefs with an open mind and an open heart.
Kiran thinking he was an orphan, in my opinion, is part of what makes him so strong and so open. He has always been on the outside looking in. He has had to find his way but has always wanted to be accepted as a Toran. He is ridiculed by Deke and that type of peer treatment can bring a person down, but Kiran keeps going. I really like that he finds strength in his friendship with Bria and Roh.Is this the direction you intended us as readers be thinking or do you visualize it a different way?
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Great question, April. I've always been fascinated by religious belief. Why do people believe what they do? There are hosts of people out there writing books about it from the perspective of neurology, genetics, evolution, psychology, you name it. Indoctrination is a clear reason: most people share the beliefs of their parents.
As I delved into it, I became more interested in behavior based on belief. Specifically, intolerance. We know this is basic human behavior, to separate us from them, to be part of a group, a clan, going all the way back to tribal behavior for survival. So why, with the world being so different today, do we hold on to those tendencies?
I'm not here to bash religion. What I am interested in is how religious belief seems to exacerbate the "us vs. them" issue, the concept of sin goes to the heart of right vs. wrong. How do we know what is right? When one group claims guidance from their god and another group has differing views, claiming they come from their god? Is only one right and the others, therefore wrong? It's a philosophical question.
To observe with an open mind and an open heart, as you say, is, in my opinion, the most respectful and enlightening way to approach this issue in the world.
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Another great question. My intent as the author was to create a story that would encourage philosophical thought, not to preach any specific message. The only message I would say I strongly want readers to take away is tolerance. Kiran was able to learn from the other cultures he encountered only when he was open to their differences and could appreciate them. Deke's attitude on the other hand was to criticize where life wasn't lived as he thought it should be. He learned nothing new. And it cost him dearly. Would you agree?
When you created the world for the book, did you worry that your target audience of young readers wouldn't connect with a "primitive society" (i.e., one with no electricity, fossil fuel, mass communications, etc.) or did you think the readers would get the story message better since it was so far out of context with regard to their personal lives?
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Thanks Chris. That's a difficult one to answer. I have to be honest; I don't think I thought of it that way. I thought of it more as another world, like in a fantasy novel, one they were unlikely to be familiar with and eager to explore, yet one just like our real world, (which fit with the premise). I certainly was interested in having the Toran belief in supernatural occurrences be revealed to be natural phenomena. I think Earth is a magnificent, amazing place full of wonders we've yet to explain, some yet to discover. I really wanted to showcase that as part of the enlightenment experience. Traveling to new places here on Earth is often enlightening for the traveler. I hoped to give that sense or virtual experience.
How much thought did you put into deciding on Kiran's age? Would the story have worked as well if he'd been, say, five years younger or older?
As a follow up of sorts, did you consider having your protagonist be a female? How might that have altered your telling of the same story?
Mod
This was meant to be a coming of age story, yes. An 11 year old or 21 year old would have approached the quest quite differently I'm sure. I was interested in that age of curiosity, of testing your own strength, physically and mentally. Also, the relationships would likely have been very different. Do you agree?
Mod
Thanks for asking this question. It's a good one because I put a lot of thought into it. The main reason is because I felt Roh and Bria were significant characters as well, with their own strengths and struggles. For me, the author, I thought just as much about them as I did Kiran, even though in this story you only get his point of view. (I was also purposeful in how I portrayed all the women in the story.)
Perhaps this is the time to mention, book two is Roh's story, and book three is Bria's. Bria will be back. We will yet see the power of women ;)
I have thought a lot about the journey each of the characters took in this story. It seems like to tried to include an archetype of the main sorts of groups that many men and women fall into (of course not all do, but this is simplified for the question): a warrior, an intellectual, a leader, a follower, a rebel, a devote believer of "the Way", an outsider... and showed how each, because of their preset types fared on this journey. Do you believe that because certain characters were brought up to believe very specific things that it caused them to fall into traps that Kiran, being taught to question things, didn't fall into? Like Kail marrying the cult leader?
Also, are young adults/teens your target audience? I feel this book has a far greater audience.
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Thanks for the comment about the greater audience. I've been told that 80% of "young adult" book readers are adults. We all love this kind of story. I think there is a label because teens tend to not be as interested in adult books. But the guideline I was told is 12 to adult.
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HI Amanda, thanks for the question. I tried not to have my characters be two dimensional and only representatives of certain archetypes, but I suppose no matter how well developed a character is, we define them with certain attributes. (Bhau certainly wasn't a well developed character. So I killed him. ;)
I wouldn't characterize the situations as traps, per se. Who is to say that marrying The Guardian wasn't the right thing for Kail? I'm not suggesting you should think it was. I'm saying that our beliefs guide our behavior, not only in our own "right" and "wrong" behavior, but in how we view others whose behavior doesn't fit our belief system. Would you agree?
I agree. When I was 16, I was just starting to feel my own strength, independence, self-confidence, but also knew I wasn't a fully mature adult in all ways.Kimberli wrote: "Chris wrote: "How much thought did you put into deciding on Kiran's age? Would the story have worked as well if he'd been, say, five years younger or older?"
This was meant to be a coming of age s..."
Hi Kim!! As you know, I am not only any avid reader, but also an avid writer. You mentioned waning your characters to be more three dimensional which I believe you did beautifully! My questions is how did you do it? :) What do you think is important to do when creating a more dimensional character?
Mod
Hi Aubrie,
That's a great question. I admit, I don't have a scholarly answer. But I do know that when writing the book, I thought of them as real people. In my head, they felt and seemed alive. In fact, there were several times when I had an idea about how a scene would play out and the character wouldn't "act" the way I wanted him to. He just wouldn't be that wimpy or weak or something like that. So funny how the mind works that way. At first it was difficult, but I lived with these kids in my head for three years.
I know many writing teachers recommend making sure your characters have flaws. This makes them feel real, human, relatable, however you want to describe it. I think they also need to be consistent. My writer's group members caught me on that a few times, especially with Roh. They'd read an excerpt and come back to me saying, nope, Roh wouldn't do that. The biggest thing is knowing what motivates them. Some people just want to be liked by others, some seek fame, some want to be left alone. Usually their behavior reflects their desires.
Kimberli wrote: "April wrote: "I am going to ask something that probably gets asked a lot, but here goes: What prompted you to write about a religious quest? I am most impressed with Kiran's growth not only from a ..."Kimberli wrote: "April wrote: "I am going to ask something that probably gets asked a lot, but here goes: What prompted you to write about a religious quest? I am most impressed with Kiran's growth not only from a ..."
I grew up a Baptist in Colorado where the majority of the people are Catholic. We converted to Catholicism when I was 13. When I was 15 my family relocated to the mountains of North Carolina where the majority of the population is Southern Bapitist. I did not truly understand what a narrow point of view people could have until then.
I am not putting anyone down, but we would leave church and have flyers on our window from the baptist church telling us we were going to burn in hell because we were not truly saved. As I grew up, I married a Baptist man who also did not understand the Catholic faith. His first question to me was "you worship Mary" That is when it hit me that there was a huge education gap in the south about the Catholic faith. To this day there my husband is still asked "don't they worship Mary" and he actually chuckles and goes into the explaination about the catholic faith and how he too was very misinformed about it. His big thing to tell people is " Do you believe in Christ or a higher power, well Catholics are christains and that should be all that matters".
Not many people can be open to different faiths. There is always debate about religion. It is one of the biggest reasons people fled to the New World so that they would have that freedom. It didn't always work out well, but here we are today able to have this discussion with the freedoms alloted us by our founding fathers.
Mod
I still wonder to this day. I really try to stay open minded especially growing up Baptist, but occasionally we still get some sort of crazy flyer under the wind shield wiper. They mostly put them on major holidays.I am ready and willing to talk to and discuss anyone's religion because I am curious. I have been in some of the most beautiful churches and synagogues in the world. I would like to think I am a better person for being open minded.
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I certainly think so!
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I love to answer questions about the book, but also to engage in meaningful conversation inspired by the story. Please join me.
