The Sorcerer's Daughter--the story behind the story

So, I started writing The Sorcerer's Daughter specifically to address something that drives me nuts with today's movies and novels.

Namely, The Question that an author gets asked by people--editors, agents, readers, etc.---who have read the work about particular characters. "Is he (or she) evil?"

The response should be, "No. He (or she) is human."

Too many people expect a work of fiction--movie, book, whatever--to be about the Battle between Good and Evil, like it's two baseball teams or something. I realize this started because these things were intended to be a simple diversion and it was a quick shortcut to identify who we should be cheering for and who we should be pulling against.

But, over the years, it's become much more than that. People have lost all basic understanding about what Good and Evil actually are, and these days seem to expect everyone to fit into one of those two camps. It's what's led to a lot of the political strife we're going through these days--people who disagree with me on abortion, the death penalty, gun ownership, etc., are not people who have differing opinions from me, they are evil. Once you arrive at that decision compromise becomes impossible. You don't compromise with evil, do you?

(On a side note, I love how the wardrobe changes when a character makes a committment to one side or the other. Evil has much cooler and sexier attire.)

The central character in The Sorcerer's Daughter--that would be the sorcerer himself--is not good or evil. He's pragmatic. He's got a very difficult job to do, and has hard decisions to make, and he makes his choices based on what he sees as best for humanity as a whole. Sometimes this means that a lot of people wind up dying. He doesn't spend a lot of time in contempulation--he makes his choices and lives with them.

Some would consider him evil, because there are times he makes no effort to save some members of humanity from a threat. He just considered it to be a waste of his time.

Others, though, see him as a hero, because through his actions humanity still exists. And, I need to add, that he never pauses to think about his own chances for survival when he's doing battle with the enemies of humanity. He'd sacrifice himself without hesitation. It's part of his job, and the job is the only thing that has his loyalty. Often times that makes him seem cold and aloof, even to those who know him well.

That's the conflict that lies at the core--the sorcerer's daughter has to learn to adopt his attitude. She initially finds it repellant, but as she grows into her power and legacy that changes. His pragmatism is expected and necessary for him to do what he does--while he is enormously powerful, he's not omnipotent. He has to draw a line and refuse to cross it. It is the duty of the sorcerer to figure out where he or she wants that line, and then to never step across it.

It's not about shades of gray. It's about living life. There is no "dark side" or "light side." There is just life.

We need to start remembering that.