FAQs
Guardians of the Keys is a magical realism novel. Why did you decide to write your first novel in this often difficult-to-write genre?
Magical realism is one of my favorite genres to read. I love to be transported to different places by through the power of imagination. When I first started writing Guardians of the Keys, I knew I wanted an element of magical realism in the story. I had just moved to the Asheville area after taking a sabbatical from teaching high school English for close to twenty years, and I hiked the gorgeous trails of the Blue Ridge mountains almost daily. My time in this landscape helped me reconnect more deeply to both my imagination and creativity. Also, I read a lot of magical realism novels in the evenings (like the ones by Asheville-based novelist, Sarah Addison Allen). From these things combined with all my hiking and daily writing practices, this novel began to take shape.
How have your hobbies and interests inspired the book?
I’ve been practicing yoga now for over twenty years and so there is a little bit of hidden yoga philosophy scattered throughout the novel (like the keys being connected to the different chakra energy centers, for example). Also, my yoga practice (and now tai chi which I started nearly three years ago), really help me describe how my characters may physically feel and react when confronted by their emotions and actions/reactions of other characters.
Another hobby of mine (a passion really) is hiking. It’s not only a soothing, meditative practice, but it helps me fine tune my observation skills of the natural world. Hiking gives me an opportunity to put into words how the landscape I’m in affects me emotionally and physically, which in turn allows me to write descriptive settings in my novel, short stories, and poetry.
What do you want readers to take away from this novel?
I hope readers are entertained by the story and really enjoy getting to meet all the wonderful characters. I hope they can visualize the story in detail, almost like a movie in their minds. Furthermore, my wish is that this novel helps activate readers’ imaginations and lets them feel the tenderness and special magic of the developing bond between the characters as they move closer to the truth of discovering what friendship and family mean to each of them.
Journal Collage Cover by Megan J. Wheless
How did you come up with the plot of this novel?
As silly as it seems, I feel like this story chose me to a certain degree. I knew I wanted a strong-minded female character who needs to confront her limited perspective on how she believes her life should be unfolding. I also was interested in how ancestral connections and family ties play a role in who we perceive ourselves to be. That’s where the idea of the keys acting as ancestral portals came from. At first, I started with a general plot outline for the novel, but then as I wrote I learned my outline was becoming too restrictive and too predictable. So, I asked myself, “Am I willing to ditch the outline and instead get curious about where this story might lead me?” The answer was a resounding “Yes!” From there, I would write down dreams and snippets of scenes I was able to visualize in my mind as I was hiking (my forever “go to” activity when I need inspiration). Each new scene and eventually chapter would open a door to the next chapter and teach me where the story line should go next or what my characters should do or how they should react to the next challenge or obstacle presented to them. Then, I would jot down notes and outline the next chapter and see where it would lead me. I was always pleasantly surprised.
You have spent a lot of time on character development. Which character do you think readers will be most drawn to and why?
I think readers will connect to Elaine, the main character. She is a very independent and intellectual woman who on the outside appears to have her life together. The adventure that is presented to her asks her to confront her limiting beliefs she has about herself, others, and the natural world. She learns that there is more to life than what she can only experience through her five senses. All the other characters, even the antagonist, really teach her what it means to open herself up to imagination, magic, and love. I think that’s a great internal adventure readers can go on with her.
I also think readers will really fall in love with Elaine’s great aunts, Mildred and Daphne. Although they’re deceased before the novel begins, their antics, their eccentricities, and their humor are present in nearly every chapter. They were the two people in Elaine’s life that never stopped believing in her and her potential to do great (and magical) things. Who knows? Maybe there’s a second novel that introduces the reader to the younger versions of Daphne and Mildred and their adventures? I am not going to rule that out. I know that there are more novels I will be writing to make Guardians of the Keys part of a series.
Are there other projects in the works for you?
Yes! I’m currently working on my second novel, a literary fiction about a middle-aged man named Denny Gannish. Denny is an out of shape, unhappily married, pet insurance agent living and working in the westside of Belleville, Illinois. He discovers yoga after a chance encounter with a young, energetic woman who opens a yoga studio next door to his office. From her unlikely mentorship, and his newfound friendship with a group of yoga women who call themselves the “Belleville Beauties,” Denny embarks on a soul-infused journey through not only funky yoga poses but also to the wilderness of the Blue Ridge mountains where he discovers what it means to be your truest, wildest self.