The Shadow Master by H-R- Kasper — Blog

Leigh and company are about to embark on their most treacherous adventure yet. Their mission? Find the mysterious and powerful ShadowMaster and convince him to betray his own nation. If he does, there is still a spark of hope. If he doesn't...war seems inevitable. Everything Leigh and her friends have ever known hangs in the balance. They are not just fighting for their lives, but for the ground they stand on. If they lose? The universe will be an endless mass of chaos and darkness.

Heroes are not born, but forged in the fiery furnace of catastrophe.

Guest Post by H.R. Kasper:

I recall talking to a very close friend and fellow author one night, and I expressed my dismay at how his works always had sad, tragic endings. “Why do you do these things to your characters?” I asked. He replied simply, “I don’t do that to them. They do it to themselves.” I remember telling him, “That’s nonsense! You’re the author, you can make anything happen!”

I realize now that isn’t true. When writing The Mirror, an amazing cast of characters introduced themselves to me and guided me through the whole story. The main character, Leigh Kline, elbowed her way into my heart, as did her other friends. I had intended for the story to have three parts, sort of like a mini trilogy. Then I finished the third part and my characters had become so real to me that I felt them throttling me from all sides saying, “This isn’t the end!”

Indeed, it was not. I went on to write The ShadowMaster. During the writing process I became even more aware of my characters, studying their inner workings. It was then that they began to foil my plans. They twisted the plot and laid waste to my romantic pairings. The flimsy outline I had built up in my head lay burnt and broken, but in its place was a magnificent structure, so much more honest and true than the last construction. Looking over it in hindsight, I realize how much of the ‘building’ was almost beyond my control.

When I began The ShadowMaster, I had no idea that new characters would come into the story unannounced and steal my heart away. I could not predict that my mental romantic pairings would crumble into dust in favor of romances which simultaneously shocked me and made more sense. It was then, looking over my completed story, that I now understood the words of my friend. I was certainly the author of The ShadowMaster. Yet, I had very little control over what happened within the vast expanses of the worlds I created. The very characters I breathed into existence had taken control in a much different way than they did in The Mirror. In The Mirror, they took me by the hand through the path that was my plot. In The ShadowMaster, however, they looked at the trail I had made specifically for them and said, “Actually, we’re going this way,” as they pointed a finger at a thicket of thorns—and I found myself tagging along. In retrospect, it was a lot more fun. Even I, the all-powerful author, was surprised by the events taking place in my own story! Now I definitely understand my friend’s words, and I, too can agree with his statement: “I don’t do that to them. They do it to themselves.”

Happy reading (and writing)!

-H.R. Kasper

Where you can find H.R. Kasper:

www.hrkasperbooks.jimdo.com

https://www.goodreads.com/H_R_Kasper

www.twitter.com/luxvincemus

Where you can find The Shadow Master:

http://www.amazon.com/ShadowMaster-Worlds-Collide-Book-ebook/dp/B018W1WQ32/