RBE-Roundup

 

Welcome as we round up the Showcase on RBE. All thanks to Jason M. Waltz CEO of Rogue Blades Entertainment and the writers, artists, affiliates and associates who have or are working with RBE and most--no doubt--will be working with him again in the future.

Now then, back to the matters at hand. RBE is best known for anthologies and at the RBE site both original works of RBE and affiliated works are available. Let’s start at the beginning…

 

 

Return of the Sword

 

“Return now to the days of true adventure! Join fierce warriors in savage battles of survival and supremacy as they face hordes of vile foes, vie against inner demons, or struggle before onslaughts of both. Enter the halls of heroic fantasy in awe and marvel at the deeds of the mighty. Close upon the heels of Howard’s Conan, Moorcock’s Elric, and Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser come Ehart’s Ninshi, Heath’s Brom, and Hawkes’ Kabar. Unsheathe your sword and follow in their steps if you dare!” –RBE

Return of the Sword is RBE’s first original work and sports twenty two talented authors.

 

 

 

Sages & Swords

 

Sages & Swords is an original Pitch Black Books Anthology (Pitch Black Books) and is available for purchase on the RBE website.

I would like to add that Lords of Swords is also available from Pitch Black books and includes thirteen stories with authors from Tanith Lee, Vera Nazarian, E.E. Knight, D.K. Latta, Nancy Virginia Varian and more.

 

                                                                                               

Demons

Boasts of at least twenty-eight stories by many authors who have already graced the pages of RBE’s anthologies as well as a few new faces.

 

Roar of the Crowd

Scheduled to release sometime in mid 2010. Don’t worry, you have plenty to read until then.

 

Rage of the Behemoth

This RotB Anthology contains 21 stories about the biggest, baddest, boldest behemoths ever to roar across the pages of heroic adventure! Over 150,000 words of monstrous mayhem record the ferocious battles that rage between gargantuan creatures of myth and legend and the warriors and wizards who wage war against, beside, and astride them. Behemoths and battles will be presented in four-story sections of five different habitats introduced by the stunning illustrations of John Whitman and headlined by well-known authors Mary Rosenblum, C.L. Werner, Brian Ruckley, Lois Tilton, and – writing together for the final time - Andrew Offutt and Richard K. Lyon.

I may add that this anthology is a clever work of art. Here is a glimpse of the habitats and corresponding authors:

Frozen Wastes

• Mary Rosenblum ~ Ice Dragon ~ “Blood Ice”
• Carl Walmsley ~ Hydra ~ “Serpents Beneath the Ice”
• Jeff Stewart ~ Giant Bear ~ “Nothing Left of the Man”
• Bill Ward ~ Wolf-God ~ “The Wolf of Winter”

Scalding Sands

• Lois Tilton ~ Giant Sand Cobra ~ “Black Diamond Sands”
• Michael Ehart ~ The Behemoth ~ “As from His Lair, the Wild Beast”
• Martin Turton ~ Sagarki ~ “The Hunter of Rhim”
• A. Kiwi Courters ~ Manticore ~ “Stalker of the Blood-Red Sands”

Depthless Seas

• Andrew Offutt & Richard K. Lyon ~ Chinese Turdragon ~ “Portrait of a Behemoth”
• Sean T. M. Stiennon ~ Giant Crab-creature ~ “Black Water”
• Robert Mancebo ~ Storm Djinn ~ “Passion of the Stormlord”
• Kevin Lumley ~ Sea Monster ~ “The Beast”

Mysterious Jungles

• Brian Ruckley ~ Giant Serpent ~ “Beyond the Reach of His Gods”
• Bruce Durham ~ Yaggoth-Voor ~ “Yaggoth-Voor”
• Jason Thummel ~ Elephantine-God ~ “Runner of the Hidden Ways”
• Kate Martin ~ Cockatrice ~ “Poisonous Redemption”

Ageless Mountains

• C.L. Werner ~ Gashadokuro ~ “The Rotten Bones Rattle”
• TW Williams ~ Griffin ~ “Where the Shadow Falls”
• Jeff Draper ~ Wen Quaar ~ “Thunder Canyon”
• Daniel R. Robichaud ~ Bear-God ~ “Vasily and the Beast Gods”

 

The anthologies are not all the RBE site has to offer and don’t take my word for it go there and check it out yourself. Here, I’ll even make it easy on you just click: Rogue Blades Entertainment.

 

That wraps up the Showcase for Rogues Blades Entertainment. It has been a year of hardships, struggles and sore trials and Jason it seems has not been able to elude the grip of this year. Support him, help him, and lift small publishers upon your shoulders so that they may have a fighting chance against the giants of big house publishing. Jason, here are the comments from your friends, peers, and associates to help encourage you to trudge through the final days of this year and hope that the New Year brings greater victories.

 

…And now the praises for Jason:

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“Jason is a very good editor, striving for success and excellence in his writers, and has tons of potential. I really enjoyed working with him, he polished the story without trying to change it, and I'd work with him again any day.”

–Mary Rosenblum, author of Horizons, Water Rites, The Stone Garden, Chimera and The Drylands. Mary has over fifty published short stories and is an instructor at Long Ridge Writers Group.

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“I've worked with Jason off and on since his early days as an editor for Staffs and Starships, then on through his tenure at other publications and now in his leadership role at Rogue Blades. Though we've never met in person, I consider Jason more than just an editor, I consider him a friend. He has published a couple of my stories, one in "Return of the Sword" and another upcoming in the Demons: A Clash of Steel Anthology. He's also read a good bit of my short fiction and at least one of my novels, and he always has solid advice and offers praise where warranted. My only regret is I often don't have enough time to send him more stories and to lend a hand with RBE.”  

-Ty Johnson (Author of the epic fantasy, Kobalas trilogy: City of Rogues, Road to Wrath and Dark King of the North. He also has numerous published short stories).

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"Through Rogue Blades Entertainment, editor Jason M. Waltz strives to bring the audience the best in contemporary heroic fiction.  He brings vision, resolve, and an incredible store of enthusiasm to the process from inception to completion.  He knows what he wants, and is willing to patiently work with the author to get it.  In my own experience, Jason was a real pleasure to work with as both editor and human being, and I certainly hope to be able to do so again in the future." 

-Jason E. Thummel (has appeared in multiple venues such as Rogue Blades' own Rage of the Behemoth, Ricasso Press' Magic and Mechanica, Flashing Swords, The Lorelei Signal and is forthcoming in Black Gate Magazine).

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"In the resurging genre known as Sword and Sorcery, few editors have proven what it takes to grasp the intricacies and nuances that set this style of fantasy apart from all others. I’m pleased to say that Jason Waltz is such that editor. I have had the pleasure of working with Jason from his days at ‘Staffs and Starships’ through his tenure with ‘Flashing Swords’ to his own current brand, ‘Rogue Blades Entertainment’. During that time I have found Jason to exhibit an uncanny sense of what works and what doesn’t, being one of those rare people who know how to squeeze the best from an author. He displays an almost childlike enthusiasm and passion for his projects, as witnessed with the ideally themed anthologies ‘Return of the Sword’ and ‘Rage of the Behemoth’. To top it all off, he’s a NICE GUY, a real pleasure to work with. And at the end of the day, what more could one ask?"                       

-Bruce Durham has appeared in both ‘Return of the Sword’ and ‘Rage of the Behemoth’, in addition to several anthologies as well as publications such as ‘Flashing Swords’, ‘Paradox’ and ‘Abandoned Towers’. He has authored over 20 stories and will see the release of the graphic novel based on his award winning story ‘The Marsh God’ in November.

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"There is a natural order in the publishing world, the same as in the bloodiest jungle. Writers write and Editors then rip the pound of flesh nearest the writer’s heart from their still palpitating chest and hold its dripping mass over their heads for all to see, all the while cackling maniacally the unholy editor’s chants of “doesn’t meet our current needs” and “restraining order”.  I have worked with Jason Waltz since he was with Flashing Swords, and I can say without equivocation that I have never seen him kick a dog, steal candy from a small child, or cross a picket line unless he really needed to, or at least felt like it. In truth, Jason has purchased perhaps a half-dozen stories from me, and each time has shown professionalism, courtesy and a passion for the genre that make him stand out amongst his peers. Most importantly, his checks have all cleared, which fact alone makes him a prince among editors."

–Michael Ehart’s stories appear in Return of the Sword and Rage of the Behemoth, both available from RBE. He is the author of over 30 short stories and his second book, The Tears of Ishtar will release Feb. 14.

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"I think Jason Waltz is a positive force in keeping the torches burning for traditional sword-and-sorcery stories.  It's not just that Jason comes up with interesting themes for his Rogue Blades Entertainment anthologies, it's that he buys my st... no, wait ... it's because he's a genuinely nice guy who cares about the writers he hires in the right way -- meaning he challenges them to polish and trim and pushes them to produce the most coherent, entertaining copy available." 

-TW Williams wrote a John Humble tale "Where the Shadow Falls" for RBE's Rage of the Behemoth. "Born Warriors" is scheduled to be part of RBE's Demons: A Clash of Steel anthology.  His works of speculative fiction have appeared in two Ricasso Press anthologies, "Black Dragon, White Dragon" and "Magic and Mechanica", as well as in other anthologies and magazines and e-publications, including Everday Fiction, Electric Spec, Flashing Swords, Abandoned Towers and Mindflights.

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"It has been a privilege and an honor to know and work with Jason Waltz. Not only is he a talented editor and dedicated publisher, he is also one of the most worth while human beings its been my good fortune to encounter anywhere. If he never edited a word of fiction again or published another book (and I hope he does much of both) he would still be one of the most important people I talk to every day."

-Michael D. Turner worked with Jason on the staff of Flashing Swords.

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-RBE- 

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Merry Christmas and have a great New Year!

-Christopher & Melissa Marshall

-RBE- Part Two

Welcome aboard as I continue the showcase with Rogue Blades Entertainment. First off, my apologies for the tardy second entry. Things got off to a slow start on the circulation to the showcase and I wanted it to have a little more ‘face’ time before I went on.

Thanks to Jeff Draper for kicking off the comments and to Jason for his replies. Jason wants the comments so feel free to speak your mind and always be civil.

I would like to explain once again that The Author Praises for Jason will appear here in the next part of this article. Currently, they are on another site. I have five sites so I keep things spread out for different hits. However, I simply repeat the same material on all sites so you aren’t missing anything.  It’s just a matter of when you will be seeing it.

Before I start…

The old pun, “Editors wear many hats,” is well known. Jason it seems has taken this concept a little farther to include hat and beard. Or perhaps this is his version of good editor/bad editor?They say pictures are worth a thousand words so…

            

…Need I say more?

Sorry Jason I just had to do it. You can enjoy Jason’s alter ego on von Darkmoor's thoughts. He has well written and concise articles so enjoy them.

Enough of that… The next question I asked Jason was,

What do you feel it [heroic fantasy] brings to both old and new generations?

Jason replied,

“I think Heroic Fantasy brings the same thing to both generations: Hopes and thrills. For the older readers, it is the thrill of familiarity, of a return to what once was…and the hope that it is so. For the newer, it’s the thrill of freshness, of novelty…and the hope that such is truth. For both, for all readers, it is the hope that there is someone out there worthy of being named ‘hero’ – and the thrill of finding it to be true.

The more exciting authors can make it, the more believable they can make the unbelievable, the more addictive it is. Give the reader somebody he/she can be or at least believe in – no matter how remote a possibility it is, convince the reader that the possibility ‘to be’ exists – who, reluctantly or not, does what Spectra Editor David Pomerico said in his Pulse of Spectra newsletter (“Heroic Measures,” 7-2-09) – saves the “regular people.”

‘Good’ still matters. Down deep inside each of us is the recognition of what ‘good’ is, and we want someone to do good by all of us. Saving us regular people is good.

Here’s an interesting yet not new thought: Batman is actually much more of a heroic figure than Superman. Superman is the epitome of a hero. Superman possesses most every quality man deems heroic. He naturally possesses them. There is no struggle to attain or maintain them. There is no choice for him but to save the regular people. On the other hand, Batman must regularly struggle to even be considered heroic. He must overcome personal fears and biases, and thwart personal desires. It is a choice for him, and each time he must question saving the regular people. He must choose to stand for something he is not…and in that standing become it for the rest of us. Both are expected to be heroic. But every time Batman is, we’re still a little bit surprised. That’s Heroic Fantasy.” -Jason M. Waltz

Again, I think Jason made valid points. One such struggling character turned heroic is R.A. Salvatore’s Artemis Entreri, each time he chose not to do what came naturally, you were surprised. Yet, if felt good to see the change in a man who once spent his life killing without thought or condemnation. Somewhere deep in the darkness of his cold heart a hero began to form… a batman if you will. Conan a hero? I think he grew as a hero as he grew in age. For all of his savagery he had a rough code of honor and in some ways kinder than the civilized world of his time.

Frodo a hero? In the most unlikely way he was far more than a hero. Why? Because he exceeded over what was ever expected or believed he could have and all of that was by choice. A choice not to be fettered by what should have been his limitations, but to exceed those limitations for others. A a selfless sacrifice gains the status of hero.

Look at Robert E. Howard’s Kull.  I think the turning point of his heroism was made in one simple decision in the short story, “Exile of Atlantis”.

*SPOILER*

Kull chose to defy the people that raised him as there own to spare a girl he did not even know. He killed her quick to save her from being burned, but his first thoughts were to free her even at the risk of killing the entire tribe. He couldn’t do that due to the thickness of her chains, but he spared her a horrible death. In my mind, that moment marked his future as true hero. He did what he thought was right despite the popular beliefs that opposed him—and nearly killed him.

In my early twenties (many moons ago) I was at a restaurant eating with some family and friends. A lady there had just changed her mind about something. I commented, “Women always change their minds.”

“We do not,” She looked at me indignantly.

“Yes you do.” I foolishly retorted. (Since then I have discovered the futileness of arguing with a woman.)

“I do not.” She smiled, “I simply reevaluate my decisions based upon newer information.”

I laughed until I cried. That statement has stuck with me for about twenty years.

I think the mark of a heroic protagonist is freedom, not freedom to do—sometimes they have little choice in that—but freedom to choose to do something heroic. To reevaluate their decisions as it were, based upon new information to do the right thing.

 

The final question I asked Jason was,

What direction would you like to see Heroic Fantasy take in the future?

He replied,

“I would like to see a future wherein ‘Heroic’ in fiction is recognized, is not frowned upon nor ignored. A future wherein ‘doing the right thing’ is not dictated by anything other than simply being the right thing.

Won’t happen for two reasons.

We’re flawed. Rather, the creation known as ‘mankind’ was allowed to become flawed, misaligned. Aggressive, profit- and domination-oriented decision making is our norm. Only total reprogramming of the human psyche will ever replace that. And if that were ever to occur, we wouldn’t be we any longer.

The other reason this won’t happen is that we do not want it to. If mankind were ever to attain the peace of equality and unity, the perfection, as it were, of Superman, there’d be no need of heroes. There’d certainly be no villains to thwart, no anti-establishment figures, no dissension or crime or wars requiring salvation from. By attaining our ideal, we rid ourselves of our need for heroes.

For that is part of the heroic appeal: its unattainability by all. The Few. The Proud. The Heroes. A community of superfolk – men and women composed of Kal-El’s personal fortitude – is alien to the mind of man. The best we have ever imagined was the multitude of religious pantheons nations crafted. The original ‘superior’ folk, the gods were built upon lies – for they but mimicked us on a grander scale. With infinite power came itty-bitty living space – the confines of the human mind.

We need our heroes to be more than we can be. En masse and individually. So where would I like to see Heroic Fantasy take us? To acknowledgment of our plight, our need and our chance for redemption. We need our heroes – for we’re only as good as they are.”  - Jason M. Waltz

Not a whole lot I can add to those comments. That is the responsibility of the writer. More so for Hollywood has failed us and television has failed us more often than not.

The depth of the true hero is flawed. Flawed not just because the hero has faults, but flawed because the hero is believable. A flawed character is a realistic character, a character who learns from mistakes and makes those mistakes because the human persona in itself is flawed. Why is that so important? In a nutshell, because the reader can relate and with that relation they continue to move on and read.

They share the struggle with the character and if the writer can pull it off with craft and skill, the writer becomes invisible. A seamless weaver  joining the hands of the hero with the reader and leaving all else behind. Simply put, a page turner. The best writers do it, and the rest [of us] struggle because they can’t.

Often I hear writers comment, “I am in control of my character, they do what I tell them to do.”

That is a mistake and unfortunately not just a mistake that only some novice writers commit. Characters do what they should do according to who and what they are. If they are real and if you expect the reader to believe they are real, you have to let them decide their own actions. Once you create a three-dimensional character they should “come to life” in your mind. If that is true, they make the decisions and you write them accordingly. If not, your character becomes  just an extension of the writer and not a complete persona.

I have found myself in a pickle many times by placing my main character in a situation that I have no way of knowing how they are going to get out of it. So, I ask them, “Okay, what are you going to to do now?” Sometimes it takes a while before I get an answer. It can’t be the great omnipotent writer who gets them out, it has to be them according to there wits and perceptions or it just isn’t believable.

For instance, how believable would Frodo had been if Tolkien had him pick up a sword and slay a thousand orcs? Or Aragorn beaten by an unarmed goblin? Characters have to stay in character. That is something I learned in Drama and Theater Arts. Characters need to stay in their character not in your interpolation\interpretation of that character. That makes them believable. That is hard for a writer to do, almost like having  a child and then letting that child go to make there own decisions and sometimes their own mistakes.

That is the difference between a Superman and a Batman. Superman is perfect, unflawed, everything the writer makes him per se, and Batman is what the hero truly is unbiased by what the author thinks he should be.

Agree or disagree with Jason? Put your comments below. He is not out on a witch-hunt so don’t feel bad. Jason is kind and answers questions in an established and professional manner. You have the right to agree or disagree but you do not have the right to not be civil about it… Well, at least here you don’t.

I’ll will wrap the third part up with the Author’s Praises and a little about the authors themselves and what RBE offers in terms of anthologies and novels.

I hope you enjoyed yourself and gained something from it. Until next time… well, bye.

Rogue Blades Entertainment P1

(RBE) CEO- Jason M. Waltz

Part One: What is Heroic Fantasy?

To look upon the home page of Rogue Blades Entertainment is to take a nostalgic glimpse of what is Sword & Sorcery, or at least what has become of it. Perhaps not just what has become of Sword & Sorcery, but a more personal view into the true heroes of Sword & Sorcery.

The fantasy genres have blended so much over the years (and sadly diluted through innumerable RPG games and misplaced Hollywood films) that the heart of this iconic genre has been nigh but lost—or at least incredibly misinterpreted to the common population.

Say the word “Sword & Sorcery”, and most people give you an, “Oh you mean like that old stuff that use to be in Weird Tales? Authors like H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard? Yeah and those old characters like Conan, Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser, Elric of Melnibone.. . Aren’t all those authors dead?”

And no, they are not all dead and no, they all did not write S&S. The actual terminology of Sword and Sorcery was originally given to Robert E. Howard’s Conan stories by a correspondence  between Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber (Mr. Leiber being the one to actually coin the term)…If the account in Wikipedia is accurate and that is never an assured thing.

The sad truth is that video games and Hollywood have miscued fantasy characters and creatures to the point they all run together. I have read forums where youths think elves are, “Just humans with pointed ears.” Dwarves are “Short people” and Ogres…well, who else but Shrek? Dare you ask them about a goblin they will brighten immediately and say, “Oh you mean the Green Goblin from Spiderman?”

Go to the Middle School and older and all your replies will usually involve Forgotten Realms, R.A. Salvatore (Drizzt may have played a huge part in the revolution of RPGs), MORPG’s or novels constituted by Wizards of the West Coast. I happen to enjoy a good RPG game and have played many. I loved R.A. Salvatore’s Drizzt novels and Mr.Salvatore himself is an alright guy. I tip my hat to any man who can sell over ten million novels. Plus he gave me very good advice on my first novel by saying (paraphrasing) enjoy it while you can because after the first novel you have deadlines to meet forever thereafter.

Still, the pulverization of vanilla fantasy characters into the younger culture does create a stereotype of said fiction characters. Other than a few different abilities and physical appearances, most interpretations of fantasy characters are just extensions of humans.

Yes, a small part of the media’s archetypical understanding is based on poor literature. Some stories have portrayed elves as nothing more than pointed eared humans, dwarves as short people (or in one Hollywood film that I recall, they didn’t even bother to make the dwarves short) fan fiction may play a huge role in diluting what was once a highly revered genre of fast action, brawny sword wielding men and voluptuous heroines. A time when a man was a man and a woman a woman…By Crom!

Could you imagine our politicians and liberalists in the Age of Conan?

“Oh Conan, you shouldn’t steal that man’s horse.”

“Conan, if they don’t want you to be king…you should just resign.”

“Conan, put that sword down. We need to communicate with our enemies.”

“Conan if they want to slaughter the entire village, you should let them. If you raise your sword against them you are just proving you are no better.”

…I could see the walls of Conan’s Aquilonian palace lined with the sun-bleached skulls of many a politician.

For that reason, I cringe to use the term Sword & Sorcery. Plus, most of the works today have blended the genres so much you can’t really place them in one category. Sword & Sorcery needed a face-lift, an upgrade for a newer generation and at Rogue Blades Entertainment, I assure you it has. Heroic fantasy is a new skin for a newer generation, an upgrade from Sword & Sorcery.

RBE describes heroic fantasy as, “This is the fantastical root of and father to all that RBE is interested in. Heroic fantasy incorporates the epic/high fantasy tale on one hand and the sword & sorcery/low fantasy tale on the other. It is a strictly heroic tale written in favor of neither one side nor the other. Its story often appears to be of a lesser magnitude than that of the epic tale, while its protagonist sometimes appears to have a higher purpose than that of the usual sword & sorcery character. David Gemmell’s novels are good examples of heroic fantasy.”

David Gemmell—(1948-2006) Bestselling British novelist best known for Heroic Fantasy and with over thirty novels to his credit.

The true heroes of this iconic genre are the writers themselves: Not just the pioneers like Howard, Leiber and Moorcock but all of those who sought to follow in the footsteps of heroic fantasy. Wielding pens like swords, weaving words like intricate spells, and pages the land both beautiful and deadly that their heroes embarked on with fearless passion. For without the writers, the legend of heroes fades…

Just as important are people like Jason M. Waltz and Rogue Blades Entertainment to keep the legacy of the writers alive or they too, would fade into dismal history. Small press publishers like Jason are devoted to the art of the literature not just the monetary value of it. Perhaps someday that will change and small press will grow as people’s interest in better quality literature increases. Perhaps one day big publishers will fail to reinvent themselves and inadvertently collapse into the ashes of a far less viable regime. Until then, we must rely on small press to read good heroic fantasy.

Does that mean that the heroic fantasy genre is dying out? As I mentioned earlier, it is commercialized into perpetual oversaturated boredom via Hollywood and video games (much like this sentence).

Do not be sad die-hard heroic fantasy fans, for the genre is far from dead. Don’t believe me you naysayers and skeptics? Well, of course you don’t.

Read the introduction under, “Welcome To Rogue Blades Entertainment” and all of your doubts of a dying heroic fantasy genre will begin to fade. How can you doubt a man who introduces his web site with:

“…We are invigorating a NEW Age of Heroes with hard-hitting, fast-paced tales reminiscent of mythic battles and warriors from pulp and lore. With a clash of swords and ringing steel, RBE delivers the ultimate in motivational entertainment…” --RBE

Jason M. Waltz has strived with fierce enthusiasm to wield a notch with sword, axe, fire and blood. A banner to the legend that is heroic fantasy fused with a younger generation. A hope that heroes and heroines, whether by wit or forged steel, will carve the immortal legacy of heroic fantasy into the hearts of readers both young and old. Heroic fantasy is not just about charismatic sword wielding heroes of another age, it is about hope, stamina to persevere despite the odds and bring forth victory even in the face of defeat.

It is about following a warrior as he fights through a throng of blood crazed savages only to be outmatched in brawn and forced to use his or her wits to win the day. After you close the pages you can reflect on life and say, “losing my job isn’t so bad, or even my home,” or any kind of hardships or tragedies that may come your way. You could say, “at least I didn’t have to fight through a thousand savages. I can get through this; I will get through this and become stronger for my troubles.”

In other words,

HEROIC FANTASY IS NOT A MEANS TO ESCAPE YOUR PROBLEMS; IT IS A WAY TO COPE WITH THEM. You can consider it a stress relief, perhaps just a momentary escape—or a literary aspirin, if you will. If you have no stress then consider it Nirvana for the brain.

I asked Jason M. Waltz a simple question and like everything that Jason does, he answered with a cogent tenacity that reflects his heroic personality.

I ask you—the reader—to take a moment and step into your mind’s parlor. That’s it, sit back in a carved walnut high-back chair. Tap the proverbial ashes from an A. Peyrau terracotta pipe (caricatured in the likeness of Joseph Pulitzer’s head) and pat the old English bloodhound one last time as we cogitate with Jason as he answers my question:

What in your words is Heroic Fantasy?

“Heroic fantasy is the conceptualized desire of mankind to save itself…or at least others more vulnerable than we. It is our hopes embodied within an iconic figure all and more than we could ever be that foremost faces the worst that can be done to us – and somehow survives. That’s the key: Success measured in survival. Surviving – hopefully but usually not unscathed – to renew assumption of those hopes and dreams, to shoulder anew a duty to persist in the face of any and all odds.

So what makes a hero? All that is done in spite of one’s personal desires or despite one’s inclinations. Aragorn succeeded as a hero not because he wanted to – but in direct opposition to his own hopes and desires…and fears. Conan succeeds as a hero not because he wishes to – but directly as a result of his normally-considered less than savory desires…the pursuit of wealth, women, and wine.

Heroes – as I stated in the Foreword to Return of the Sword – are ordinary people performing extraordinary actions. They are the ones who do what no one else does or will. They face down the ugly foes not because they dream of their body broken and the loss of their personal pleasure but because they cannot allow such things to happen to those around them. Inadvertent heroism is normal. Recurring heroics is abnormal. It bears repeating: Heroic individuals are those who do the extraordinary in ordinary times – and also those who continue to do the ordinary in extraordinary times.

Heroes have larger stories than you or I do. There is no tale that does not have a hero, though not all are bigger than life or face gigantic, global, or galactic foes – but the best ones do! The best tales of heroes are the ones most memorable, those most attractive, and most controversial. Mack Bolan. Jason Bourne. Odysseus. Drizzt Do’Urden. Hondo. Shane. Edmund Dantes. Tom Swift. Doc Savage. Tarzan. Jack Bauer. The list is endless.

What is ‘Heroic Fantasy’? Heroic Fantasy is man’s ideal experienced individually: It is the triumph of the one on behalf of the many through survival with a dash of élan.” -Jason M. Waltz

                  

A huge thanks for all the writers who participated in this and yes, all of your golden comments will be posted here in the body of one of these parts as well as on the other site. Until then, if anyone wants to check them out here is the link: RBE Authors’ Praises 

Most importantly I want to thank Jason for his kindness,  patience, and his comments. Not to mention the time he took to write them and think them through…And for actually trusting me to do this!

Jason commented on “Return of the Sword” which is one of his anthologies chock full of stories by talented authors. If you haven’t picked up a copy you should. That way you can see what heroic fantasy is first hand. I have given you a link below. You can own a copy for under twenty dollars or have an electronic version for under ten!

Return of the Sword

 

 

…and that my friends [or enemies] is it for now. Join me next week as I bite my nails, rip my hair out and continue our journey with RBE. You want to know what I asked Jason next? Well, join me next week and find out.

Until then, why don’t you visit RBE and if you have already—do it again!

      Rogue Blades Entertainment     

   

-RBE-

If you are not happy with this article, or if I have offended you in anyway, please send any and all complaints here: Forward