Nearly twenty years ago I found myself in a rental car driving from the Orlando Airport to Clearwater for work. It was late at night and the moon was full. The view of the tropical forest under that moonlight was breathtaking. I stopped the car on the shoulder and got out to take it in. As I did, an image passed through my mind of a young woman standing on the beach of a tropical island staring into the surf as grotesque shapes lurched out of the water towards her. This is my first memory of what would eventually become the stories I am writing. They will make up the series of novels collectively called the Dissonance Paradox.
At the beginning of the year to satisfy a resolution, I began to write a novel. I was pulled from it for two months for work but then I resigned and began to dedicate all my time to writing the first book. By September I had a monster that well exceeded 400,000 words and was only two-thirds finished. Even if I edited 25% it would still be a monster.
After researching and talking to writers in a couple of Facebook groups, I realized it was highly unlikely any agent or publisher would invest the time on a massive novel written by an unknown. I also realized that interested readers would be wary of buying such a large book for the same reasons.
The first story is told from the perspectives of multiple characters across the world. Their stories loosely overlap with some small number coming together before the conclusion. Over following novels their stories will converge for a definitive climax.
I have not decided on the title of the novel yet. I am torn between two: Humanity Frayed or A Chaos of Butterflies. The idea of our souls or lifeforces being connected in a tapestry is a theme of the story. Butterflies are a thematic I also rely on.
I am now leaning into taking the larger novel and breaking it into five smaller novels each representing one or two of my major characters. The intent of each is that it could stand alone, but there would be references to characters and events in the other books. What I have now are five novels that are each a few chapters from completion. I will have the first two completed in a few weeks, do my own edits, and then hire editors to work them over. Next I will solicit beta readers from companies who do this kind of work. From there I will send to agents. If I have no success I will begin to do what is necessary for self-publishing.
Today I wanted to lay out the core concept behind the book.
It supposes that our universe is one of many. All universes are designed by a Creator who defines its rules and allows it to produce life if it desires. In our universe this Creator allows life to flourish and where intelligence arises it provides guidance to ensure that the beings understand that they have a soul that is guaranteed an afterlife of peace or torment depending on the individual’s choices.
There are certain structural weak points in our universe where it makes contact with other universes. The Earth is such a point. Our world is a contact point with two other universes. One of these universes is filled with worlds which are alive themselves. One world is aligned with Earth. Its lifeforce is divided into three aspects that fight for supremacy as life has spread across it. One is the aspect of singularity which abhors the life infesting it and wants to be alone. For the races of this world it is the aspect of death. One is the aspect of chaos and diversity. It tampers with the evolution of life for the sheer delight of seeing changes occur. The third is a force of life, protection and civilization. It is a mothering force that behaves as a shepherd. It is the ascendant force at the story’s beginning.
Throughout history this motherly force has had the ability to control natural and unnatural disasters by shunting the destructive energies out of their universe into ours. Many of the natural disasters in our world are actually triggered by this. When this occurs lifeforms, particularly humans, are sucked away from our world onto the other. The trip is one way.
When humans die on this world and their soul tries to depart they no longer have anywhere to go. Their destiny has been stolen, they are apart from their Creator. With no other choice they finds their way back into their body but they are no longer living. They become undead. Their minds controls this transformation based on the mythology, religious beliefs, or popular representations of their time. Most humans arise as simple things like ghouls or in our time, the zombies of our media culture. Others with great charisma and evil natures can arise as things much more powerful.
Human infestations throughout history have been small, numbering in the thousands at a time at most. The races of this world fear and hate humans for the threat they present and most hunt them down. Long ago some humans began to learn that they could shape the destiny of the dying through will and ritual and move the soul into an object. The soul would give the object power and it would be able to continue to provide service to the community. Some souls retained their intelligence and become items of great power, weapons, armor, and the like and can communicate telepathically with the person who carries them. These are the Vajur.
Other races, upon learning this, began to capture the people who could cause these transfers. These specialists are called Dobains. These races began to raise two castes of humans. Some who would become Dobains and others who were essentially livestock whose souls would be transferred into things. These may be light sources or a thousand other simple things. The creation of Vajur is forbidden because they can only bind with other humans and they are too powerful. They ensure that their livestock is kept simple and dumb.
At the story’s opening this world named Daria is assaulted by an attack from a world in the third universe directly in its core. The power unleashed could potentially destroy the world. The aspect of life shunted that force to our universe destroying our world. One to two billion members of our race as well as other animals are sucked over to Daria. Realizing what it has done this aspect of life touches certain people (my main characters) and gives them the potential for great deeds. The other aspects do the same.
These first five books told in parallel show this world through the eyes of the main characters as they grapple with their fellows rising from the dead, conflict with the races of this world, learning how to use the powers they discover within themselves, and dealing with the Uhk-Yalfor, or moon souls, who are undead lords that live in remote parts of the world plotting for just such an occasion. Throughout this is a more distant threat. Something has moved into this world from within its core from the third universe. Humans are also not the only beings from our universe to move over. Aliens have been among us and have found their way to this universe over the millennia. Something hungry watches from Daria’s moon.
This is the stage for the Dissonance Paradox. The saga is character driven. The themes are:
It doesn’t matter what you were on Earth. It matters what you do here.
A community can be stronger because of its diversity.
Those who are good will do Whatever It Takes to ensure the success of the community. Those who are evil will do Whatever It Takes to further their agendas.
I would define these stories as survival horror fantasy/science fiction. They are for adults and deal with all of the issues people would confront when all laws and civilization is taken away in a moment. The characters have nothing but what was in their possession when they appear and most of this world is against them.
I hope this intrigues you because I have a lot of story I would like to share.
Thanks.