The Children of Darkness
(The Seekers #1)
"But what are we without dreams?"
A thousand years ago the Darkness came-a terrible time of violence, fear, and social collapse when technology ran rampant. But the vicars of the Temple of Light brought peace, ushering in an era of blessed simplicity. For ten centuries they have kept the madness at bay with "temple magic," and by eliminating forever the rush of progress that nearly caused the destruction of everything. ~ Childhood friends, Orah and Nathaniel, have always lived in the tiny village of Little Pond, longing for more from life but unwilling to challenge the rigid status quo. When their friend Thomas returns from the Temple after his "teaching"-the secret coming-of-age ritual that binds young men and women eternally to the Light-they barely recognize the broken and brooding young man the boy has become. Then when Orah is summoned as well, Nathaniel follows in a foolhardy attempt to save her. ~ In the prisons of Temple City, they discover a terrible secret that launches the three on a journey to find the forbidden keep, placing their lives in jeopardy, for a truth from the past awaits that threatens the foundation of the Temple. If they reveal that truth, they might once again release the potential of their people. ~ Yet they would also incur the Temple's wrath as it is written: "If there comes among you a prophet saying, 'Let us return to the darkness,' you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the Light."
A thousand years ago the Darkness came-a terrible time of violence, fear, and social collapse when technology ran rampant. But the vicars of the Temple of Light brought peace, ushering in an era of blessed simplicity. For ten centuries they have kept the madness at bay with "temple magic," and by eliminating forever the rush of progress that nearly caused the destruction of everything. ~ Childhood friends, Orah and Nathaniel, have always lived in the tiny village of Little Pond, longing for more from life but unwilling to challenge the rigid status quo. When their friend Thomas returns from the Temple after his "teaching"-the secret coming-of-age ritual that binds young men and women eternally to the Light-they barely recognize the broken and brooding young man the boy has become. Then when Orah is summoned as well, Nathaniel follows in a foolhardy attempt to save her. ~ In the prisons of Temple City, they discover a terrible secret that launches the three on a journey to find the forbidden keep, placing their lives in jeopardy, for a truth from the past awaits that threatens the foundation of the Temple. If they reveal that truth, they might once again release the potential of their people. ~ Yet they would also incur the Temple's wrath as it is written: "If there comes among you a prophet saying, 'Let us return to the darkness,' you shall stone him, because he has sought to thrust you away from the Light."
Review
This is a really interesting take on a dystopian world from the younger group. Of course we get the adults or older teenagers, but we never think about the younger teenagers. I wished the beginning would have grabbed me a little quicker, but the book overall was really good. But I really liked the world building- ALOT! And I liked the adventures the characters went on. And I also liked the character growth, because they did grow and change. But with a fantasy type novel- even dystopian, I think I was expecting more action- something needed to blow up, have a natural disaster, have someone chase them for their lives. LOL This is more the epic adventure with a dystopian back ground coming of age. LOL I liked it, but I think it hurt that my expectations were way different than what I thought. I kept hoping a sword would fly around or a fire ball. I know, I like all the action stuff so please do NOT hold that against the author- I just happen to have favorites LOL Also, I wanted the characters to act their age- umm, 14 year olds do not speak that well without slang- I should know, I am around them all the time! And I need to remember that this is a different time and different place and I can't base all teenagers on us southern folks LOL. But I loved Nathanial, Orah, Thomas, and how awesome and real the author made them. And I felt a relationship with them. And it's also a coming of age and finding yourself story which is always good. So, with that, I'd like to see more action, or at least some more climax from each build up scene, and some more less formal dialogue. I want to feel like I could really hear the characters say that. And I would like to know what happened after the end because there's some pretty big openings to continue on, without being a major cliff hanger or anything, so I'll be picking up book two. :) 4 PAWS!
Author Interview
- First, tell me a little about your book and why you wanted to write this particular story….
The seed of an idea is a curious thing.
I went for a walk along one of my favorite places on Cape Cod. On one
side was Vineyard Sound, with Martha’s Vineyard rising from the
fog, and on the other a series of inlets of increasing size. The
first is called Little Pond and the next Great Pond. For some reason,
I imagined young people growing up in Little Pond and envying those
of Great Pond, wanting to find more from life than they had in their
small village. From there, the story expanded. What if their
limitation was not their small village, but a repressive authority
that limited their potential to think and grow?
At the same time as I was developing
this plot, the real world was changing. Increasingly, I saw on the
news stories of oppression and rigid limits placed on freedom of
thought: modifying school curriculum to restrict the sciences;
rewriting history; destroying evidence from the past; restrictions on
dress and diet; banning music and the arts; and severe punishments
like stoning for daring to think differently.
Over time (several years), all these
thoughts evolved in the Seekers dystopian trilogy.
- Do you recall how your interest in writing originated or did you always just know?
The
urge to write first struck me at age sixteen when working on a
newsletter at a youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It
may have been the wild night when lightning flashed at sunset
followed by the northern lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was
the newsletter's editor, a girl with eyes the color of the ocean. The
next day, I had a column published under my byline, and I was hooked.
- Are experiences based on someone you know, or events in your own life?
Of
course, everything I write has some basis in my own life. But fiction
is less about recording reality than stitching together bits and
pieces of things you’ve experienced and combining them with your
craft to make a story—one that will hopefully let the reader add
their own life experiences to it and be moved in some way. I’m not
one to think a writer must only write about what they know (how else
do you get alternate worlds?). But you have to write about things
you’ve felt.
- Out of all the characters in your book, who is your favorite to write? There’s always a fan favorite to read about but sometimes it’s the side characters that are the most fun
I used to say that my favorite was
Kailani from The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky. She’s so
mysterious, but at the same time wise, naïve and vulnerable. Now
that I’m nearly done with the Seekers series, I think I’d say
Orah. She smart and passionate in her beliefs, and a natural leader,
yet she always doubts herself and questions her decisions—a trait
that would be a good thing in some of our real world leaders.
- Is your book part of a series, and if so, how many will there be?
The Children of Darkness is Book
one of the Seekers dystopian trilogy. The second book, The Stuff
of Stars, has just published.
- What are you working on now?
I’m working on the finale of the
Seekers series, to be titled The Light of Reason. If all goes
as planned, it will come out in November 2016.
- Who do you look up to as a writer?
There
are so many I love that have influenced my writing. I have always
read cross genre. When I became an avid reader in my teens, I
devoured fantasy and science fiction, but also literary fiction. I
loved the works of Arthur C. Clarke, Isaac Asimov, and of course,
Tolkien, but also of Hemingway and Steinbeck.
- Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?
Writing
a novel may be one of the hardest things you can do, so it’s all
challenging. But nothing is harder than writing the first draft. I
don’t yet know the characters that well and, while I have a general
sense of where the story is heading, I can take a wrong turn at any
point and have to redo months of work. When I hit that point where
I’m terrified the story has gone off the rails, I take a break for
a few days. Almost always, it’s not as bad as I feared, and I can
fix the problem with a modest bit of work.
Once
I’m beyond the first draft, the rest becomes just hard work. I do
lots of revisions, but I find it easier to fix the story than to
write it from scratch.
There’s
a reason why Hemingway once said: “Write drunk, edit sober!”
- Who designed the covers? And do you help with them?
I’m
fortunate to work with a wonderful artist, Mallory Rock
(http://www.malloryrock.com/index.html
). We collaborate on the design but she is way
better than I am at visualization. I tell her what I’d like to see,
and she does a rough draft. Sometimes, when I see it, I realize my
original idea was off base and we try again. It usually takes several
iterations to get it right. You can see the quality of her work.
- Did you learn anything from writing your books and what was it?
Learning
to be a good writer is a lifelong task, and perfection is a high bar.
Stay humble and keep trying to improve.
- Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
To
each and every reader, we’re partners in the story. I use my craft,
and you use your imagination to flesh out your own unique version of
the story. If I’ve caused you to re-experience some of the most
intense moments of your life, then I’ve succeeded as an author.
To
quote Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned
that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you
did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
- Coffee addict? No. I can’t even stand the smell. I get my caffeine from diet Pepsi and 5-hour energy drinks.
- What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage – a nice Rosé.
- If you had to chose Coffee or Chocolate? –definitely chocolate (see answer to A)
- Beach or mountains? Mountains. I like to hike, and I get sea sick.
- Winter or summer? Same thing. I summer on Cape Cod and winter in Florida. It’s always summer.
F.
Cold or hot? I used to ski, so I didn’t mind the cold. Now I’m a
spoiled snow bird, so definitely hot.
Ok,
that’s enough! LOL thanks so much for coming visit me, and
thanks so much, for doing this with us! I appreciate it and I look
forward to the next time!
About the Author
The urge
to write first struck at age sixteen when working on a newsletter at a
youth encampment in the woods of northern Maine. It may have been the
wild night when lightning flashed at sunset followed by the northern
lights rippling after dark. Or maybe it was the newsletter’s editor, a
girl with eyes the color of the ocean. But he was inspired to write
about the blurry line between reality and the fantastic.
Using
two fingers and lots of white-out, he religiously typed five pages a
day throughout college and well into his twenties. Then life
intervened. He paused to raise two sons and pursue a career, in the
process — and without prior plan — becoming a well-known entrepreneur in
the software industry, founding several successful companies. When he
found time again to daydream, the urge to write returned.
In this new stage of his life, he’s published Along the Watchtower in June, 2013 and The Daughter of the Sea and the Sky in May, 2014. The Children of Darkness, the first of the Seekers series, a dystopian trilogy, was published in June, 2015. It’s sequel, The Stuff of Stars, will be out in November, 2015.
David
and his wife split their time between Cape Cod, Florida and anywhere
else that catches their fancy. He no longer limits himself to five pages
a day and is thankful every keystroke for the invention of the word
processor.
Find out more at his website- http://davidlitwack.com/wordpress1/
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