John Claude Bemis
The act of creating a story
becomes an opportunity to explore truths about life. This is one of the most exciting aspects to being a
writer. In writing The Prince
Who Fell from the Sky, I discovered
something very interesting: our identity is often based on our relationships
with others.
The unnamed boy who is at the
center of my novel is the sole survivor of a crashed spaceship. He has landed on a future Earth where
no humans remain. In our absence,
animals and the wilderness have taken over. To the powerful and outcast bear Casseomae who finds the
boy, he becomes her surrogate child.
None of her real cubs have ever survived, and she longs to be a mother,
even if it means given up all she has ever known to protect this boy. But wolves rule Casseomae’s forest,
wolves that carry legends how their kind were once hunted by humans. To the wolves and their merciless
leader, the Ogeema, the boy is a threat and a devil. So the wolves begin a deadly hunt for Casseomae’s cub.
Other animals have legends
about humans as well. Dogs remember
how their kind once lived gloriously among us. And it is because of this that dogs are viewed as traitors
by the wolves and other animals of Casseomae’s forest. To the dog Pang, the boy is a spark of
hope, a possible savior for Pang’s kin, and he joins Casseomae in her quest to
lead the boy to a safe haven. The
boy’s third companion is a rat named Dumpster. Rats have very different legends about humans. To Dumpster, the boy brings out
conflicting feelings. Humans meant
food and a comfortable life to his ancestors, but humans were also a
threat. Dumpster struggles with
his feelings and intentions for Casseomae’s cub. To each of the various characters of my novel, the boy takes
on a different role.
While the story makes for a
grand and often harrowing adventure, it also allowed me a chance to wonder
about our relationships, our dreams, and our fears. Who are we if not the person others see us as? It’s a fascinating mystery that’s left
me wondering long after finishing The Prince Who Fell from the Sky.
Bio:
John Claude
Bemis is the author of The
Clockwork Dark, a fantasy adventure trilogy that takes place in a mythical
America. The first book, The
Nine Pound Hammer (Random House), was described as “a
steampunk collision of heroes, mermaids, pirates, and good old-fashioned
Americana” by Booklist and was a New York Public Library Best Children’s Book
2009 for Reading and Sharing. The trilogy continues with The Wolf Tree and The White City and has been described as “original and
fresh” and “a unique way of creating fantasy.” His new book The Prince Who Fell from the Sky was named an Amazon Best Book of the
Month for May 2012. John
lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his wife and daughter. www.johnclaudebemis.com
Thanks for the interview, Sandra. What an intriguing premise for a novel. I wonder what sparked the idea for John Claude.
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