A Gift or One Giant Curse? Back to Blog
Update: The winner of a copy of MARKED is Gabrielle! Congrats, Gabrielle!
Big thanks to Cynthia for inviting me back during her Deadly Days of Summer. I can’t wait to get my hands on both of her new books!
If there’s one thing I love about Cynthia, it’s that she makes writing look easy. Her voice, her style, her stories and characters…even her contests….they all come off effortless, don’t they? I strive for that. I hope my work comes off that way. The truth, though, is that every book I write is harder than the last, and from talking to other writers, I’m pretty sure it’s the same for them as well. (Even, I’m guessing, for Cynthia!)
My upcoming release – ENTWINED – book 2 in my Eternal Guardians Series, was my hardest book to date to write. The Eternal Guardians are a group of warriors descended from the seven greatest heroes in Ancient Greek mythology who protect the human realm from the dangers of the Underworld. I love this series because it’s based on elements from Greek mythology, a personal love of mine, but ENTWINED was a challenge right from the start. You see, Zander, the hero in ENTWINED, is a descendant of Achilles. I’m sure most of you know the story of Achilles: he was the greatest hero of Homer’s Iliad, the fiercest warrior in the Trojan War, and (by some estimates) the most handsome of all the heroes ever assembled. Of course, Achilles had a vulnerability – his heel. He could fight like a demon, heal from any wound, but he wasn’t immortal. In his case, one small wound to his heel was all it took to do him in. And in my world, all of Achilles’s descendants have the same “vulnerability”, though they don’t know where that vulnerability lies until they experience it. By then (as I’m sure you’ve already figured out), it’s too late.
Zander, however, has been injured just about everywhere a man can be injured and is still alive. In fact, he’s not just alive, he’s 829 yrs old. He’s seen kings come and go, watched his brothers in battle both arrive in the world and leave it. He has no family left, no one he cares about, because everyone he’s allowed himself to be close to has died. I used to think immortality would be a gift, until I viewed it through Zander’s eyes. Now I know it’s not a gift, it’s a curse. One never ending day that just keeps stretching out in front of you without a finishing line.
This, of course, lead to my second struggle with Zander. He wasn’t simply immortal, he was an immortal with a death wish. A serious death wish. He’s spent years trying to kill himself only to know now that isn’t ever going to happen. And when he realizes he’s lost his soul mate – the one person who could make him want to live – that death wish grows exponentially. So how do you make a character who simply wants to die come across as heroic?
I didn’t have an easy answer, which is why ENTWINED was my hardest book to date to write. But the end result? Well, I’m probably biased but I happen to think it’s the best book I’ve written as well. I’m anxious to see if readers agree.
Here’s a sneak peek at ENTWINED:
ZANDER — The most feared of all the Eternal Guardians. It’s rumored he can’t be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But as a descendant of the famed hero Achilles, he’s got to have a vulnerability… somewhere.
Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the Underworld. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own realm and the humans’. Zander can’t afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching before him, he also can’t fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he’s found his weakness, after all…
To celebrate my upcoming release of ENTWINED, I’m giving away a copy of MARKED, book one in the Eternal Guardians series and the book where readers get their first glimpse of Zander. To be entered in the drawing, simply tell me what you think: Would you want to be immortal? Why or why not?
Only in the love of my life was inmortal two.Other wise no way in hell.
sasluvbooks(at)yahoo.com
Oh, I don’t know if immortal would be so cool….watching your loved ones die and all that. Maybe if my soul-mate could share that with me I would consider it.
Wow, after reading this post, I can understand how difficult it must have been to write this book. Looks good though, put it on my wishlist.
Valerie
valb0302@yahoo.com
in Germany
Can’t wait to read Entwined!! I love those tortured heroes. 🙂 And things really aren’t easy, promise!! If only!
Thanks for guest blogging with me!
Now my hubby would say yes…everytime we watch a movie with a vampire or anything mythical he always says he’d want to be immortal. Me? I wouldnt. Why? Just to watch everything I love grow old and die around me? No thanks. I would think it would be incredibly lonely to go through life living a endless ‘groundhog day” seemingly. I mean it might not be the same things but its the same life..day after day after day. I would much rather have some kick ass powers but be able to die at some point…maybe it would be harder to die then most, but still wouldnt want the option taken away from me.
Can’t wait to get your book! I really enjoyed your first book in this series!!
I would if my husband was an immortal too. The thought of dying scares me.
No wouldn’t want to be immortal, it would be too hard to watch everyone around you die and you just keep going and going. Nothing about you ever changes.
Can’t wait to read your books, they sound really good
I think that if you get to spend forever with the people you love then yes, maybe. But I think that living forever would become more of a curse than a gift. Eventually, even if you had everyone you loved with you, you’d just get tires of it all. Although I would so love to see what happens with the world in the future. Long distance space travel would be awesome.
Great blurb – sounds like a good summer read. If immortality means being able to change (physically & mentally)and not stuck in one mode, then I’m all for it!
I don’t think I’d want to be immortal unless I was with an immortal lover. Life would become too static.
No, I would not want to be immortal. Practically speaking, it would be much too difficult watching all my loved ones die. But beyond that, I am a Christian, and I know what is waiting is better than life on Earth. Interesting question and post. Thanks.
I wouldn’t want to be immortal. I am too emotional and could not bear to see family and loved ones pass on, it would break my heart.
its 50/50 for me! It would be great to live forever if the one you love get to be with you too. but it would also be horrible if all the family and friends you love don’t get to be immortal. but i also always wondered if your immortal, and something happens to the planet, what would happen to you???
Thanks for sharing today!!! I can’t wait to start this series!!!
JoJo
I wouldn’t mind being immortal if my family were too. I would love to be around to see if humanity ever solves all it’s problems 😀
i would ONLY be immortal if the Love of my life was immortal. otherwise, life wouldnt be worth living.
I would like to be immortal as long as I had something fulfilling to do and other immortals to do it with. If it was to just sit around and watch everyone I know and love die, that would be depressing.
I do not think I would want to be immortal if the ones I love were not… too much goes on in the world without the support of your family.
No, I definitely would not want to be immortal. Life is hard enough to deal with now when we have our 60-70 years alottment, I can’t imagine having to go through 200-800 more years. There’s just too much pain in the world today to wish immortality on anyone.
Your books sounds like great reads that need to be added to my TBR pile.
I would love to be immortal as long as I had a soul mate to share it with!
[…] Today I’m hanging with Cynthia Eden for her Deadly Days of Summer Contest. We’re talking about ENTWINED and I’m giving away a book! So hop on over to Cynthia’s blog to join in the fun. […]
Fabulous comments everyone!
Stacey – love the “no way in hell” comment. I laughed out loud. My thoughts exactly.
Thanks, Valerie. Yeah, a hero with a serious death wish was a major struggle. But I love those wounded heroes so in the end he was both a challenge and a joy to write.
Cynthia – thanks so much for having me here! And nice to know you’re not quite as perfect as you seem to be. LOL Though you really do make all of this look easy, which is a good thing. 😉
Nikki – I was thinking about Groundhog Day when I was writing this post! Actually, as I’ve been working on this series I’ve realized “immortal” is an ambiguous term. Some people view vampires as immortal – live for a thousand years and then die. Others view the mythological gods as immortal – live forever and can NEVER die. I actually posed the question on Twitter a few weeks ago – how do you distinguish between the two? I mean, one really isn’t immortal it’s just a very long life. The other is, well, completely immortal. But either way, yeah, it would be very difficult to live so long everyone around you comes and goes. I don’t think I could deal with that.
no need to enter me because i am currently reading it 😀
but to answer the question, yes, i’d like to immortal–to be able to see and live through different times but yes, i’d prefer to be immortal with a soul mate or at least a family member.
Crystal – I noticed several people mentioned the same thing you did, that being immortal so long as your significant other was with you would be okay. I see the lure of that, but I keep thinking about my kids. Would I want to live so long I see them live and die? And what about my grandkids? That would be weird, even with my DH with me.
Thanks, Jean. I hope you enjoy the Eternal Guardians!
Audrey – okay, on that I am totally with you. I was a science teacher for years before becoming an author and space was one of my favorite topics to teach. I’d love to live long enough to see long-distance space travel a reality.
Kylie – now there’s an idea…immortality changing a person. Hm…will have to ponder that.
Viki – thanks for the comment. I probably agree.
LSUReader – thanks for stopping by. I think you’re right. Very hard to watch those around you die. I had a hard enough time when my dog died at 13 yrs of age.
Brandy – ditto.
Jodie – now I never thought of that! They say the earth will only last another 4.5 Billion years or so…what happens to you then? LOL Now you’ve got my brain working.
Ilona – good point. Think we have a chance?
Lindsay – a true romantic. I love it!
Barbara – that’s the hardest part for Zander. He’s the only one in his world who is immortal. Which leads to his death wish. *sigh*
Colleen – so very true. I think we read romance books for that family/friendship connection. The stories would lose their impact if it weren’t for that element, don’t you think?
Valerie C. – thank goodness we can read about immortals and not have to experience it ourselves, eh?
Denise T – thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the Eternal Guardians!
Michelle – so glad you stopped by. I hope you’re enjoying MARKED! I agree that living through different times and seeing how the world changes would be very tempting.
Hi! Are we assuming that eternal life includes eternal youth? Isn’t that what happened to a mythological character who just got older and older until the gods turned him into a cricket? I don’t think anyone wants to suffer 800+ years of achy knees or bad backs.
The problem I see is that our perception of longevity includes physically slowing down and not taking so many risks. What if we could physically stay 25-years-old forever? Would that mean that our mental age stays the same? Is wisdom connected to our physical aging; do we develop our minds as our bodies start to break down? I’m sure many of us had grumbled about a young man, “he thinks he’s going to live forever”, so is the immortal going to behave like that young man forever? Would that make the immortal not much better than a robot in “AI”? I better stop now. 🙂
Hi Elisabeth! You know I really had to think about this question. You know, being immortal sounds very cool, but I imagine that it gets awful tiring living forever. I think of all the friends etc., that would have passed on long before me and I just don’t think that I could handle it. I wouldn’t mind having an extended life span! That would give me a little more time to do some fun things! ** LOL ** Can’t wait to read the series.
That’s a tough question but I would choose not to be immortal so I can just live my life out with my family and friends, avoiding watching everyone I love pass away as the years pass.
Hmmmm wow – being immortal is a super tough question. Would I have friends who are also immortal? Or live a long time?
I think we’ve all seen too many tragic films/stories where the protagonist initially is all “yeah! live forever!” and then it’s really awful.
However, there is something appealing about being able to know a lot, how to read people, and accumulate wealth.
In the end? My answer is I don’t know. It depends :X
Like Limecello, I think it would depend–if I would not be immortal alone, and if I had the power to do more than just sit idly by and watch the world go to hell in a handbasket, then it might be a “yes.” Otherwise the pain and frustration would grow to the point where you’d long to end it all! (Boy, that sounds depressing, doesn’t it?!)
Please don’t enter me–I just got my copy of Marked and can’t wait to get reading!
I would like to be immortal if my loved ones were too. I wouldn’t want to live forever alone so I need my family.
I wouldn’t want to be immortal-watching friends and family go while I am still there would become unbearable after a while. And of course you’d have to keep reinventing yourself once people see you aren’t aging like you should. What would you do-leave town, fake your death and then return with subtle changes in appearance and claim to be a descendent or relative of some sort. That never works in the end.
I definitely wouldn’t want to be immortal–too many losses, too many regrets.
Hi Elisabeth,
I’m not sure if I would want to be immortal. I don’t know if I can live with my family and friends.
My answer is yes and no…Yes, because the world is changing and growing and I would love to be a part of it or to witness all the changes. No, because all my loved ones will eventually die and will be left alone.
Cories – deep thoughs. I love it! I would hope after 800 yrs on the planet your brain would have developed and wisdom would be a no brainer. But having never BEEN immortal, I have no idea. Great point, btw.
Hi Barb – I hope you enjoy the Eternal Guardians! I never think of a mortal life as being too short until I hear that song 100 yrs by the Foo Fighters on the radio. Broken down like that, time really flies by.
Jeanette – thanks for the comment. I think I’m the same.
Limecello – a fence straddler! 😉
Fedora – key in all answers in favor of immortality seems to include a “reason” to live. I agree, hanging around for all eternity with no purpose would suck. I hope you enjoy MARKED!!
Caitlin – good point.
Nancy – you’ve got it all planned out! I didn’t get that far in my thinking. LOL
Azteclady – oh, imagine the regrets! Not like Groundhog day where you get to try the same thing again.
Jane – “I don’t know if I can live with my family and friends.” Okay, I know you meant to add a “out” in there, but I read your comment and laughed out loud. I have three kids home for the summer who are fighting right now and I’m thinking the same exact thing.
Tracey – I think it would be a tough call if it were offered.
I would love to be immortal. I would have all the time in the world to read and hopefully write a novel.
Eli, this is exciting because the hero in my last book has been alive for 3500 years. He’s not a warrior, and it is hard on him that he can’t form long-term close relationships. It tends to be a problem when you stay young and everyone else gets old. So this is something I’ve thought of.
I don’t know if I’d like to live forever, but I would like to stop aging.
There are so many pros and cons!! I guess I am divided!!! I am just glad I don’t have to pick!!
Entwined looks like a great read!!
I would only want to be immortal if my family and friends were. What would be the point to live forever if you were alone?
Wow! This sounds like an excellent series (because I love Greek mythology, plus it’s unique!). But I would only like to be immortal if my sister was with me and my soulmate too. Otherwise it would suck majorly.
Hi Elizabeth,
I can’t wait to read this series. I look forward to reading Zander’s story as well as the rest.
I might want to be an Immortal if my family and mate were also. But then again the thought of all those years end on end makes me think Not so much 🙂 So I;m 50/50 on this.
Carol L.
Lucky4750@aol.com
It depends. If the people that I love could be immortal, then yes. However, if all my loved ones kept dying then no.
It’s more like torture to live and see everyone you love and or like die in front of your eyes, I would want to be absolutely sure the ones I love would be also.
Lots of reasons either way – definately would like to be immortal if spending it with the love of my life. Not so much fun to think of outliving my children!
It depends. I wouldn’t like to be inmortal and watch everyone I love die. If they’re inmortal too, then I wouldn’t have such a big conflict.
I initially thought that I’d want to be immortal because there is so much out there to learn, but the more I think about it, the more it seems that the bad would outweigh the good. Would you stay young? What about when everyone around you is always dying? What if one of those awful dystopian visions comes true and you are stuck on a dying world? Hmm, I think I’ll pass on immortality.
I think it would be kind of interesting to be an immortal, but I got to agree with Valerie. I wouldn’t want see my family or any other of my loved ones die on me when there isn’t anything I can do to stop it.
Maybe if I had someone other than my family who was immortal too like a close friend or lover to make the loss easier it might not be so bad. I might go a little crazy if I were immortal by myself.
I MUST have these books. I love anything mythology. I started reading everything in the encyclopedia that I could find on the subject when I was in 4th grade. I’m in **ahem** my mid-50’s now.
To answer your question, I would only like to be immortal if I found one of the extraordinary immortal heroes I love to read about to share eternity with. Otherwise, not so much.
Ni, I don’t think I’d want to be immortal. It would be hard seeing friends and relatives die and then having no one! I can’t wait to read this books, they sound absolutely awesome.
mlawson17 at hotmail dot com
Okay, I looked it up. It was the Trojan Tithonus who was granted eternal life without eternal youth and was turned into a cicada. I don’t know why he complained then, at least he could fly.