By R.J. Scott (Guest Blogger)
I've always wanted a
secret *super* power. Very often this was because I saw it as a way
to escape, or to understand, the situation I was in. How often have I
wished I could control time, or be invisible.
My favourite comic
superhero has got to be a combination of Spiderman crossed with
Professor X. I'm not sure which of the latex wearing superheroes I
would want to be if I have to select one, but I know for certain I
don't want to be the Hulk (I just can't see the positives in his
story!).
I love the idea of knowing
things other people don't - maybe the power to see inside another
person's thoughts or control those thoughts. I'd also like to be
invisible and have freaky powers over technology. Oh, and fly, I'd
quite like to be able to fly.
I have always been
fascinated by the Greek and Roman myths and their Gods and Goddesses
and the earliest kinds of superheroes. I have a favourite, Apollo,
the sun God. I have to admit this is based on a combination of his
back story and my unrequited love for Apollo from Battlestar
Galactica (original version!)).
The first superheroes were
a fascinating bunch of beautiful godlike men and strong Amazonian
women. Their stories were dictated by the whims of a God and of fate.
My favourite ancient story is of the Three Fates who sit up there
watching us all deciding how long the thread of our life is, and when
to cut that thread. It's intriguing to think that there is a trio of
women somewhere who decide our destinies and the visceral idea of a
pair of shears literally slicing your thread of life is creepy and
very final.
I also love the stories
about Troy, Jason, the Minotaur and so many others. I was brought up
on the old Ray Harryhausen stop-motion films like Jason and the
Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and loved
the hero at the center of it all. The hero had Olympian-God-given
talents and items were often sneaked to them by the capricious Gods
that would help them win against the varied and amazing bad guys. And
my love of Greek and Roman stories lives on. Every time a Harryhausen
film pops up on the TV (normally in the slow week between Christmas
and New Year) I sit and watch every second with absolute fascination.
When I 'created' Alex in
Oracle he knew he had special talents. He never questioned why he had
them; he could escape the bullies from his childhood and he felt
powerful. He was a man who had no understanding of what he was or how
he came to be like it. Then I gave Alex his Luke. Because every hero
needs someone to ground them and explain to them what the hell is
going on. I imagine if I was suddenly given the ability to read
people's minds I wouldn’t automatically go "hey, I can read
people's minds". Knowing me I would analyse why, and approach
the gift with trepidation and more than a little fear. I would need a
Luke just to calm me down.
Hero's don’t have to
save the earth or bring peace between ancient gods. They can be a
carer, or a teacher, or a first responder, a soldier… But, if you
were given one superpower, one gift or curse, what would it be?
* * * * *
Oracle is available
Oracle 2 is out today and
is available here:
A list of all my
published books is here:
http://rjscottauthor.blogspot.co.uk/p/published-writing.html
* * * * *
About me...I live in the UK just outside London and most of my written work is published with Silver Publishing. I love reading anything from thrillers to sci-fi to horror; however, my first real love will always be the world of romance. My goal is to write stories with a heart of romance, a troubled road to reach happiness, and more than a hint of happily ever after.
My website is here –
www.rjscott.co.uk
and my facebook is here: https://www.facebook.com/author.rjscott.
I love hearing from readers and my email is rj - at - rjscott.co.uk
