Today I'm excited to have my first GUEST Blogger!!  Heidi Ruby Miller is a friend, talented author, and fellow Seton Hill graduate.  She has a short story in a newly released anthology titled, Sails & Sorcery (it's great - I got to read it before it was published - author perk!).  Below Heidi writes about her inspiration for her story- enjoy!

Thank you, Maria, for this opportunity to talk about "The Islands of Hope."

For those readers who haven't yet heard, Fantasist Enterprises just released their latest  anthology Sails and Sorcery: Tales of Nautical Fantasy with twenty-eight wonderful stories, each illustrated by the very talented Julie Dillon. (Just look at how fabulous that cover is...

I'm here to talk about the inspirations behind my SAILS story "The Islands of Hope."

Kami

In Japan, a 'kami' is a spirit. Some Japanese belief systems hold that everything has a kami; people, stones, trees, houses. That concept in itself is intriguing. Add to it the 'shinbashira' and I had the beginnings of a story.

A 'shinbashira' is the central pillar of a pagoda, often the trunk of a cedar tree. It floats, or at least isn't anchored in the ground so that it can dampen the effect of small and sometimes very large seismic movements.

It occurred to me that there were various parallels between a central pillar in a pagoda and the mast of a ship, including the idea that each would be inhabited by a kami that was charged with the stability of the structure, whether on land or at sea.

Now, what if the kami decided the occupants weren't worthy, that there was no longer a need to protect them? But, maybe one or two deserved something more...a choice?

That's where Julian comes in.

Julian

I enjoy writing reluctant heroes, or sometimes anti-heroes, because I believe that most people can't or won't be heroes until put into a situation where they have no other choice, and I believe they will fight that role and resent it until there is a resolution.

Julian is a reluctant hero. Nepotism has left him as first mate on a ship that should have been his commission, and a delusional captain has left him to keep a mutinous crew at bay when the voyage takes a turn for the worst.

I'm anxious to see how readers respond to Julian's final choice. Some have told me it disturbed them, while others felt it was very hopeful. Hmm...is that a hint at the title?

Those kinds of endings, which are satisfying if not exactly what a reader would have wished for the characters, are what I enjoy most in fiction; they make me think about them long after I've read them, trying to decide if maybe there could have been another way. Like, did Catherine have to die in A FAREWELL TO ARMS?

So far, I'm pleased with the various reactions to "The Islands of Hope" ending. Even I still wonder if there could have been another way.

Heidi has an author interview series of her own called HEIDI'S PICK SIX. You can read all 65 so far on her Live Journal ambasadora.

And to learn more about Heidi - check out her website: Moonstone Writings