On June 24, my hero path novel The Sun Singer will be four years old.
The novel, structured after Joseph Campbell’s heropath scheme tells the story of a young man who goes into an unknown land to finish a task left undone by his avatar grandfather.
During the past four years, I’ve been lucky to receive decent reviews on Amazon and BarnesandNoble along with many kind words on various blog sites. The book hasn’t become an “underground cult favorite” yet, but I’m still hoping.
Mythic stories such as The Sun Singer are only tangentially “about” the characters within the story. Sure, my story focuses on a young man named Robert Adams who has been running from his psychic talents. When a family member dies, he treks off into the unknown, a fictionalised version of Glacier National Park, to finish a dangerous task. While doing so, he is changed.
In myths, becoming changed is more important than completing the task. But there’s more to it than that. The trappings of mythic stories are less important that the “inner work” accomplished by the hero or the seeker. The Sun Singer could have been set anywhere at any time because, truth be told, it’s about you.
Myths are catalysts for readers. Yes, we hope there’s an engaging story there to keep people reading to the last page. But really, it’s a road map, a means through which the reader will find ways to listen to the call of adventure, head off into the unknown, and become transformed in the process.
It’s your story. It always has been.
So, as the book’s fourth anniversary approaches, I’m hoping that many of my beloved readers have discovered that the novel, figuratively speaking, is their story. If you haven’t experienced the novel, I invite you to do so and then write me and tell me in you found yourself and/or your path within the text.
Copyright (c) 2008 by Malcolm R. Campbell
