Welcome to Realm Explorers! In this weekly series, we visit a variety of unique worlds created by talented science fiction and fantasy authors. Enjoy your travels! And don't forget to read to the bottom of the post to find out more about each author and see how to purchase the featured book.
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Jeffrey Allen Davis
Title of book and/or
series:
Gateway to Thera:
Book Three of the Adventure Chronicles
Brief summary of the
story:
The group known as “Adventure” is an adolescent team of
martial artists who regularly find themselves in situations where they have to
use their special skills to defeat various villains, ranging from ninja clans
to racists. Many of the characters are
Christians and their beliefs dictate how much force they use when they have to
fight. Until the third book in the
series, the stories have been grounded in the “real” world (fictitious towns in
Missouri). However, in the new novel,
half of the team is spirited away to another world to save a girl with the gift
of prophecy from a dark wizard.
Brief description of
the world or location you created for this story:
Thera is a world that shares a history with our own. Around 1000 AD, Merlin—who is a prophet in my
stories—was disturbed by a growing interest in people trying to explain
everything without keeping God in the equation.
Understanding that such “knowledge” would result in Satan creating more
false religions to attack the one, true faith,
he drew a number of people into a new world to help them avoid the
coming religious wars, hoping for a Utopia.
Unfortunately, man cannot physically escape the fall of his first
parents and evil followed them to the new world, as well. As the histories of the two worlds diverged,
Thera did not go through an industrial revolution and, thus, is still in a form
of the Middle Ages.
If we were to visit
Thera as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?
The King’s City in New Camelot is a place of wonders. Though I won’t detail it much until the
fourth book, it is where the current king—a true descendant of King
Arthur—lives. Also, it is the home of
the largest church in that world, complete with some of the most breathtaking
art and architecture of EITHER world.
What dangers should
we avoid in Thera?
The Dark Lands, to the south of New Camelot, are the lands
of Tarent the Mage. His army consists of
bloodthirsty, human warriors and human/reptilian hybrids known as crechaw, both
of whom obey their dark master without question. The people of his lands feel the weight of a
tyrannical ruler who randomly picks them for various experiments.
What types of
weaponry or fighting styles are common in Thera?
Gun powder has not been invented there, so weapons are still
of a Middle Ages type. Various types of
swords and bows fill out the requirements for weapons in the army of New
Camelot.
What types of
vehicles, animals, technology, etc. are used to travel in or to Thera?
The people who first traveled to Thera took their horses
with them. Horseback is still the most
common form of transportation, although some powerful wizards (all of whom on
Thera are evil and not trusted) have found ways of traveling by magic.
Gateways from Earth to Thera are rare, natural occurrences
that only Tarent of the Dark Lands has been able to successfully duplicate at
will, using two gold coins to form the base of a doorway between the worlds.
What types of plants,
animals, or sentient races might we encounter in Thera that we don’t see on Earth?
The flora and fauna are very similar to what’s on Earth,
though the heroes of the novel note that some of the sounds that they hear from
the animals seem more primal. Some of
the animals, like the deer, have adapted new features to help them feed from
high trees. A deer has much stronger
back legs that they can use to leap several feet from the ground.
Elves exist on Thera and it is important to note that, while
they look like we’d expect from depictions in other fantasy novels and movies,
they are viewed as simply another race of humans here, rather than another,
long-lived species.
What role, if any,
does magic or the supernatural play in the lives of people in Thera? If there is magic, please give some examples
of what it involves or how it’s used.
Having a basis in the real world with a Biblical worldview,
there are no “good” mages. Wizards
always follow some aspect of Satan and draw their power from him. The opposing people who would fill the niche
of “good wizard” are, in truth, prophets.
They travel with words of encouragement from the Lord, doing good where
they can and always giving Him the glory for any miracles performed.
Are the days of the
week and months of the year the same in Thera as on Earth? What holidays or
special events are celebrated regularly there?
As the world shares its history with earth (which the people
of Thera refer to as “the Mother World”) the days of the week are the
same. The holidays celebrated haven’t
been spelled out yet, although I expect the major Christian holidays to be
celebrated, as well as those practiced by the high liturgy churches (Lent, for
example).
Is there a particular
religion practiced in Thera? Please
describe what it involves.
Christianity is the primary religion in New Camelot. As the splitting of the history happened in
1000 AD, the Protestant Reformation had no part in the history of Thera. As a result, there are no “denominations,” so
to speak. The Church is viewed as the
body of Christians and the people view and respect the Trinity with
reverence. However, the corruption in
the Church that caused the Reformation never happened here, so the church is
still heroic and concerned for the well-being of the parishioners.
Other nations follow false religions and the leaders of
these realms know that they are following aspects of Satan for the power that
he gives them.
What is the political
or government structure in New Camelot?
Who is in charge there at the moment, and what kind of leader is he/she?
The rulers of New Camelot have always been descended from
King Arthur. I have not gone into much
detail about the current ruler yet, although I intend to introduce him in the
next novel.
What, if any, “hot-button”
or controversial topics do you touch on in your book?
Racism is discussed when the topic of elves comes up. An elf maiden points out to the protagonists
that, while she may look different, she is “no less human” than them. Religion always seems to be a hot topic and
Christianity is, foremost, the TRUTH in my books. That, in and of itself, tends to garner some
anger, especially from those who don’t take note that the books are listed as
in the Christian genre.
Author Autobiography:
I’ve been writing in some form or another since I first picked
up a pencil. I can remember drawing a
picture book—before I learned how to read—showing a duck on a pond getting
eaten by a shark. The characters in the
Adventure Chronicles have been in my fiction since the second grade, where I
started drawing comic books about them.
By the time I was in high school, I realized that I can’t draw a stick
figure and started writing long-hand stories about them.
I currently live in a suburb of St. Louis, MO. I live less than four blocks from the
hospital in which I was born. I’m
happily married to Vickie Davis. I have
a daughter and two step-children. I am a
Baptist minister, although I’m not serving in that capacity at the moment. My faith will always find its way into my
writing, even if the story is not overtly religious.
Where, and in what
formats, can we purchase your books?
Gateway to Thera can be purchased in multiple
formats:
Though the other ebook versions haven’t been released yet,
you can pretty much find all of the versions on Smashwords.
Also, for anyone who would like to get a taste of the
series, the first book is free at the following links:
Where can readers
connect with you online?
Well, there are a few places:
I hope you all enjoyed the trip to Thera. Questions about the world or the book? Ask them in the comments and the author will get back to you!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the Halloween world of Mistral's star, in Realm Explorers Part XX!
Click here to read other posts in the Realm Explorers series.
Please join us again next Monday for a trip to the Halloween world of Mistral's star, in Realm Explorers Part XX!
-Annie Douglass Lima
Are you an author who would like your world to appear on Realm Explorers? Click here to download the instructions and interview form, or email me at AnnieDouglassLima@gmail.com for more information.
2 comments:
I'm intrigued by the role Merlin plays in this series. Thanks for sharing this at Booknificent Thursday on Mommynificent.com!
Tina
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