Back in the Saddle Again

Reproduced from http://Gaddy.gather.com

Back in the Saddle Again

November 05, 2007 01:08 AM EST (Updated: November 10, 2007 01:50 PM EST)

The Feral World lives!

Lately, I have been editing and publicizing the first two books in The Feral World. So, I have had little time to work on the exciting third novel in the series, Riders of the Mapinguari. However, in the past few weeks, I have returned to writing this book, and let me tell you, it feels great.

In Riders, the two protagonists, Blake and Lana, have found a home in the Warmland among the Corpushi people. Their life is good, and because they have known otherwise, they are grateful for that. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when the Terran army invades neighboring Laredo, and sets their gaze on conquering Corpus, along with the rest of the Warmland, too.

Now, I have returned to writing this book, which is challenging and fun. Whereas Migration of the Kamishi was an odyssey across the Great Plains, and Trials of the Warmland was an exploration of the Warmland, Riders is an epic. It's the story of simple, decent people who are fighting against an unbelievably powerful and malicious enemy for the fundamental reason of preserving their way of life. To me, this is a very important theme. How many of us have felt like that? How many of us have done battle, or wanted to do battle, or shied away from doing battle with an overwhelming force that threatened something we held dear? I think many of us can relate to that experience, particularly in this day and age, when the global culture seems determined to devour our little enclaves of liveliness, tradition, and comfort, all in the name of economic prosperity and "progress."

I'm all for economic prosperity, as long as we are aware of the fact that nothing comes without a price. Nothing. And it's up to us, both as individuals and as a society, to evalute what we are willing to give up and what we are gaining, and whether we are getting a good deal. Unfortunately, we often are not.

In the Feral World, the enemy is Terra, a nation of conquest-minded warriors
who are hell-bent on invading the Warmland, killing or evicting its residents, and claiming it as their own. The threat is all the more terrifying when you consider that the Terran Army is thousands strong, and equipped with military technology that is centuries ahead of Bebelishi technology. What's more, the Terrans' secret weapon is a horde of mapinguari - powerful beasts with natural armor and fearsome claws that have been trained to fight and destroy anyone who stands in their way.

I am currently in the middle of writing one of the many intense battle scenes in this story. I have the whole scene mapped out, but it takes time to put it into novel form. Sometimes I write whole passages, inspired by the images in my mind. At other times I must go back and edit so that the story is coherent and meaningful. It can be tough getting things straight, but getting into this world and creating this battle is quite a thrill.

So that's where Riders of the Mapinguari is now, and I'm eager to keep forging ahead. The Feral World continues!

Gaddy Bergmann
http://www.GaddyBergmann.com