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Blogs by Richard French
Welcome to Sagadac 4/12/2016 4:15:43 PM
Reading and writing fiction has been a major interest of mine since I was in the 8th grade in a suburb of Boston. After serving in the American army in a noncombat role during the early years of the Vietnam War, I wondered if I could translate my experience into fiction. While working at a bank across the street from one of Massachusetts' big schools,I found demonstrations against the war hard to absorb. So as not to flounder in confusion, I decided that the best way for me to make sense of the events of the day was to go back to the start of the experience of Europeans in North America, not a great leap for me, since my undergraduate degree was in history.
What follows is a very brief summary of fiction I've written as a result of my encounter with salient features of America's past and present. None of it has been published yet, but I keep revising these novels and working on others to add to my list. I've also begun research into agents. .
SAGADAC AND BEYOND
Novels of Life in a Democracy
Journey into the Wilderness The story, set in the middle of the seventeenth century in an English colony called Sagadac Bay that resembles Massachusetts, where I come from, concerns an isolated case of supposed witchcraft and the successful struggle of the old governor to overcome a mass outbreak of fear and suspicion.
Nightsongs of Arthur Goodbody. A young Canadian living in the US, a widower in his late twenties, drifts from the path that he and his late wife set for themselves. He meets an emissary of the devil who promises to bring him to Laura if he will join the organization he represents. Arthur reluctantly agrees and follows along in a series of disquieting adventures. Joy in life and new prospects return for Arthur at the end.
The World, the City, and the Wakemans. The story is set in an imaginary city mid-sized American city called Botolph, which resembles Boston and tells about several months in the lives of various members of the Wakeman family, most of whom, privileged and eccentric, strive quixotically for places of recognition in the public eye.
Hills of the Tigers. The novel tells the story of Carl Norberg, originally from Nebraska, who makes his way through various alien environments to become an artist. The story is set chiefly in two locales, Botolph and an imaginary Asian country named Kulon during the start-up of a war the United States enters with disastrous results. One purpose of the story is to encourage readers to develop their own creativity.
The Opinionists. The story consists of two alternating narratives: descriptions by various participants of a film crew on location in the mid-1950's and an eye-witness account of the controversial episode in American colonial history that is the subject of their film. The story is set in Sagadac.
Here's a few sentences about the first three in a series of novels that I hope will have five in all.
In the Time of the Scythians. Three parallel stories take place in the aftermaths of two American wars, several centuries apart from each other, and concern the struggles of the characters to lead decent lives and make sense of what they’ve endured and witnessed. The ambitions and criminal activities of a barbarian cult called the Scythians complicate the lives of the characters in the present-day part of the story.
The Angel of Recovery. The story takes place in the early 1980's and in the next-to-last decade of the 19th century. Various narratives involve people who live in the aftermath of war. The arrival of new troubles hinders their quest for renewal, and in the 20th century part of the story, the activities of a secret society called the Scythians bring a pile of trouble. The main characters slowly deepen in strength and wisdom, and the gain in maturity moves them closer to the revival they seek.
Testimonies. War. Plague. The crimes of the Scythian cult. The editor Stephanie Markham brings together stories from the past, present, and future of the United States to illustrate the relationship between ordinary citizens – plus a couple of sociopaths – and the government. Again, the stories Stephanie collects concern the campaign against the Scythians and various quests for new lives.
I have other short things, but that's the center of my fiction writing in a sumarized list form, which is okay for now.
