Writing away the time...

Hi all,

So, time is a very funny thing. What exactly is it? We can't touch it, experience it or change it in any way, but it affects us very deeply and tears us apart.

Connected to the idea of time, is the idea of fate and destiny. I myself have become transfixed by this idea to the extent that in 2005, I began writing a novel series based around the idea of destiny. I finished the first book on the first Saturday of my Junior Cert exams, in June 2006. Now, I've begun rewriting it.

It's title, or what I'm still calling it, is What Lurks Through the Mirror. People who follow me on Twitter may have noticed a few references to Hounds, nasties in the night and other such oddities. I can now confirm I have not stepped further into madness, I'm just working on a novel.

The idea behind the novel was that there was a War, the Great War, that split the World into several smaller Worlds - ours, a similar world, two worlds of magical entities, a world of the Fate (the beings that control Destiny), a world known as Death but what is really Purgatory for the dead, and the Chaos world, where all the evil went. The Fate made it so that the worlds were safe from each other, so long as the magical boundaries were sustained. Then they went missing.

They left only a lineage, an order; the Chosen would save the Worlds from a terrible doom, and potentially destroy the Chaos magic for good. But there are prices to pay, and skills to learn.

It begins six years before the main text, with the death of Gary Tane. His daughter and he had a similar gift of seeing hidden messages in the stars. Neither were aware the other could do it, and Sarah certainly didn't know she was capable of it until shortly before the story begins. That's when the Hound attacks.

Moving to Ireland, Eric Murphy finds himself caught in the middle of a fight - a pair of dancers are the target to a Disciple of Chaos. The Casters Guild attempt to save them, and Eric, when the world of Madness reveals itself, and the Chaos Crack opens.

Shamam twins struggle to find meaning in their seperate lives; an Ancient searches for freedom; the Hounds are loose, the boundaries broken - Darkness has fallen.

The Fate Saga is here Ladies and Gentlemen. It will change everything. A simple visit to the circus is now the biggest mistake anyone can make, when the Jester comes to play...

So yes, that was essentially a pitch for the books. But I think it summarises fairly well just how dark this story is. Three years ago it was nothing but a childhood fairy tale. Everything had to be safe then. Everything was convenient. Now it's not. Now the characters are struggling. Even with their abilities, they aren't guaranteed to win. The change has happened, and it's staying that way.