E.G. Kardos

Swords, shapeshifters and sorcerers all confront Elias as he seeks an answer to the most compelling question of all time: who am I?

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I am an avid “student” of Joseph Campbell and have read and studied his many books. Campbell was a professor of literature whose area of research and expertise was mythology and comparative religion and he is considered the all time expert in this area. Sound boring? Well, I beg to differ. So let me tell you, what is most intriguing about him and his work is that over his lifetime he was able to truly connect today’s everyday human experience with the same concerns, dreams and hopes of humans over the last million plus years. This is the essence of humanity--it's our soul. It's what truly matters as we all take our personal journey, but that journey is connected to the past, the now and the future. Campbell was probably best known for his book, The Hero with a Thousand Faces . In it he shares his views and theories of the journey of the archetypal hero shared by world mythologies—or the Hero’s Journey.

Since then, Campbell's concepts have shown up in the works of countless writers, artists and screenwriters. "Follow your bliss” captures very real human aspirations that we ALL strive to find. This human need, want and desire has been part of the stories told over millions of years all the way up to George Lucas’ work on Star Wars...and continues to today. There are many recorded interviews with the two men during which Lucas recognized Campbell and his work as a great influencer of his stories that we have enjoed to this day.

Well, for me, this is ALL VERY BIG.

It's BIG for me as it fascinates me that the “hero’s journey” is so embedded in all cultures for thousands of years. So BIG that I want to be part of this tradition of storytelling. THE ELIAS CHRONICLES series (Book I and II) are true to form of Campbell’s hero’s journey, as I explore in these stories much of what’s most important in our lives today using the mythology and magic that are the very fabric of who we are as a people over the span of time. Elias asks the the age old question, "Who am I."

The following is an awesome quote by Joseph Campbell that you will certainly notice contain the themes we find in stories that have meant so much to us over the years.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls. Myths are public dreams, dreams are private myths. Find a place inside where there's joy, and the joy will burn out the pain. The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature. The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure. I don't believe people are looking for the meaning of life as much as they are looking for the experience of being alive.”

I grew up loving fantasy and couldn’t get enough of it whether it was in books or movies. Art, too, of all kinds has played an important role in my life as long as I can remember. I've written several books both for readers who are young and young at heart. My inspiration comes from the beauty that surrounds all of us—both in nature and in each other, and I am very thankful I can share in my stories the “hero’s journey” as defined by the great Joseph Campbell.

If only one theme in my writing stands out, I want readers to always remember to always "follow your bliss."

#followyourbliss, #JosephCampbell, #theherosjourney, #swordandsorcerey, #starwars, #storytelling, #GeorgeLucas

Journey On!

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