Beyond Our Control

Writer Aliette de Bodard recently posted on Uncanny Magazine about stories focusing too much on characters having or gaining agency (control). I believe strongly in what she's saying. In my stories, the characters seldom achieve their goals because they are in control or because they learn to gain control. In fact, it's often the opposite: they learn to relinquish control to something beyond them, such as chance, synchronicity, often a mysterious power about which they have little understanding. Aliette mentions that there are some things we don't have control of in life. That's very understated. We are in control of very little, apart from our perceptions and reactions and small actions. Aikido and surfing are two great examples of human skills that work with power that is far greater than us and would otherwise defeat us.

If you're interested in a story where the characters face powers beyond them and still somehow come out of it with a whole skin (and sometimes a bit more), try The Blue Lamp from Rogues of Merth: The Adventures of Dareon and Blue. I have many more stories—heroic fantasy, contemporary fantasy and literary—that have the same theme. They will all be published in due time. For now, enjoy The Blue Lamp!

The Blue Lamp Audio Adventure: http://www.dreamtowermedia.com/productions

The Blue Lamp Ebook: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MXRV9M5