Brock Eastman
  • Home
    • Imagination Exploration News
    • eNews Signup
    • Imagination Explorers
    • Rate & Review Challenge
    • Welcome
  • Store
  • Fizzlebop
    • Dr. Fizzlebop
    • Fizzlebop Books
    • Fizzlebop Videos
    • Fizz Extras >
      • Fizzlebop Straw Rocket
    • Fizzlebop Lab Updates
  • Books & Writing
    • Middle Grade & Young Adult Books >
      • Parable Port >
        • Penguincast with J.R.
      • The Quest for Truth >
        • TQ4T Books
        • Questers
        • #TQ4T
        • Glossary
        • Resources & Activities
      • Sages of Darkness >
        • Sage Books
        • Hunters
        • #FightaDemon
      • Kingdoms of Color
      • Crimson Pulse Media
    • Picture & Board Books >
      • Bedtime on Noah's Ark >
        • Bedtime on Noah's Ark
        • Bedtime on Noah's Ark Activities
      • Little Lion Books >
        • Little Lion
        • Daddy's Favorite Sound
        • Mommy's Favorite Smell
        • Little Lion Activities
      • Afraid of the Light
      • Hippopolis >
        • Hippopolis
        • Hippo Activities
      • Saint Nicking at Night
      • Obby the Obot
    • Devotionals & Bibles >
      • Faith and Science with Dr. Fizzlebop
      • Edge of the Galaxy
      • Key Verse Challenge (Go Bible)
      • Go Bible
      • The Action Bible: Faith in Action Edition
    • Early Reader Books >
      • Imagination Station
    • Magazine Stories
  • Author & Speaking
    • Author
    • Speaking
    • Tyndale Summer Camp
    • Adventures in Odyssey
  • Parents & Teachers
    • Activities & Resources
    • Book Lists
    • Book Reviews & Interviews
Seek Adventure and Truth at Every Turn

Q&A with Jeremiah W. Montgomery: Dark Harvest

9/10/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Interview by Brock Eastman

Featuring The Dark Harvest Trilogy


I want to introduce you to a series you may not have heard of, but one any spec fiction fan should read. I've been following Jeremiah's series from the beginning and have enjoyed the story's development thoroughly. He's published with P&R, which is also my publisher for The Quest for Truth series.

Brock: Jeremiah thanks for joining us. First, will you tell us how you came up with the idea for Dark Harvest?

Jeremiah: A friend of mine sowed the first seeds of Dark Harvest several years ago when he suggested to me that I read about the Synod of Whitby, a real event that occurred on the island of Britain in the kingdom of Northumbria in AD 664. After reading about the outcome of that synod, the questions arose: what if the synod’s decision had gone the other way? What would be the implications? Would the losers sit back and accept defeat, or might they try again, years later?

Brock: Northumbria just sounds like a fantastical world, yet it really existed. Tell us about the main characters. Who are they, what makes them unique? And will you give us one fact about each that no one else knows?


Jeremiah: Morumus is a monk for whom life is as serious as death. His seriousness stems from two sources. First of all, he is intelligent and introspective by nature. But secondly, horrific memories stalk the corridors of his mind.

As the younger son of a king, Oethur is a prince turned monk.  He is possessed of an easy humor, yet beneath the surface he is solid. When grim events force him to forsake the monastery for the battlefield, he will confront both foe and fear – and learn the true nature of courage.

Urien is a woman imprisoned from her youth in a world of dark rituals. When she comes to realize the true character of her childhood faith, she rejects it. In time she comes to appreciate the beauty of the faith of Morumus and Oethur, but struggles to know whether or not it is actually true.

All of the above you can learn from the books. But here are a few things you may not know …

Morumus’s mastery of several languages is the embodiment of my own love for foreign languages. Yet unlike Morumus, I have yet to become fluent in anything beyond English.

Oethur’s persistent dislike of peas is another echo of my own personality. I’ve heard it said that tastes change as we age. In some cases, that has proven true for me. But not for peas.

Of all the characters in the series, Urien was the one who changed most from the first conception to final conclusion. In the first draft of The Dark Faith, she was not introduced until near the end, and shortly thereafter became a convert. But another friend convinced me that her conversion was too easy, and my editors persuaded me that she needed to arrive earlier in the story. And so I began to rework Urien’s tale, fleshing out her history and taking her along the tortuous path from paganism to skepticism to inquiry… and finally to faith. By the end of the trilogy, something quite surprising had happened: Urien became the main and most important character in Dark Harvest. The whole story begins and ends with her.

Brock: It is interesting how a character who we (authors) don't intend to be significant can soon become a favorite. This happened with Obbin in my series. I never intended for him to continue from the first book and we'll he's still there four books later. In three sentences tell the us what this book about?

Jeremiah:
The Threefold Cord brings the theme of Dark Harvest – that there is an enemy far deadlier than dark magic – to its climax and resolution. It shows the reader how this theme irrevocably changes the life of each of the main characters. And finally, it demonstrates that every outward conflict in history is but another cycle of the great “invisible war” (to borrow a title from the late Donald Barnhouse).

Brock: That's one of the things I connected with most in this series; the "invisible war." Too often we (Christians) don't consider how it's affecting our daily lives. Can you expand on the biblical background or basis for the series?

Jeremiah: Dark Harvest is based on the overall biblical contrast between the Christian gospel and every other religion in history or today. The gospel of Jesus Christ is insistently exclusive, yet persistently gracious. Every other religion (or attempt to blend religions) is ultimately a manifestation of humanity’s darkest impulses toward self-salvation and self-worship.

Brock: That’s a great explanation. Are any other books planned for the Dark Harvest series?


Jeremiah: Though The Threefold Cord leaves several cupboards cracked and threads dangling (real history usually does), it is the last planned volume in the series.

Brock: Sad, but understandable.  Life is a continuing story that never truly concludes, it carries on from one generation to the next. Did you outline the Dark Harvest trilogy, or do you write as you go and let the characters take control of the story?


Jeremiah: From the beginning, there was an overall outline to the series and a rough outline for the first book. Yet as I’ve alluded to above, The Dark Faith underwent some serious changes, and these cascaded into the sequels. The main story arc stayed the same, but there were several developments that I did not foresee when I first began. Chief among these was the transformation of Urien’s journey. But there were lesser surprises as well: the storming of Cuuranyth in The Scarlet Bishop, and the discovery of Melechur in The Threefold Cord. Neither of these existed in the original trilogy notes.

These confessions aside, I am a stubborn proponent of outlines. After the changes to The Dark Faith, I made it a practice to create detailed outlines for The Scarlet Bishop and The Threefold Cord. After these outlines were drafted, I reviewed them with my editor. Having a complete outline in place allowed both sides of that conversation to examine the story as a whole, and surprising as it may sound, it was the process of thorough outlining that enabled me to work in creative developments. Because I could see the whole landscape clearly, it was relatively easy to know where I could make changes that would enhance the story without disrupting its overall movement.

Brock: Being that this book has some roots with an actual historical event, what sort of research did you have to do? What things did you come up with on your own?


Jeremiah: Dark Harvest is based in a world that intentionally parallels our own cultures and history. As you might expect, then, it involved a fair amount of research. Yet most of this research came through life experience. I spent many hours of my young adult life walking wooded paths and reading fantasy stories, and I enjoyed many semesters in seminary studying Ecclesiastical history and theology. As a late teen I had the privilege to visit the cities of London and Edinburgh, which gave me the opportunity to walk through castles, cathedrals, parks, and palaces.

Where life left gaps, friends and further research filled the voids. I corresponded with an antiquarian book expert in order to describe certain aspects of a Dark Ages library. When I wanted to see a picture of a Roman bridge or an old church, I used the Internet.

Brock: Certainly our ability to use the web for research has increased the accuracy to factual representations for our stories. I know for one of my series I used Google maps to walk inside places I was describing; it was amazing and a lot less expensive than flying there. What are your hopes for your future as an author?

Jeremiah: As the pastor of a mission church in a diverse community, I hope to author resources aimed to help bring the unchanging Christian faith to a rapidly changing society.

Brock: What can you tell us about any future releases you have planned?


Jeremiah: I am working with my publisher to edit a new edition of The Westminster Shorter Catechism in Modern English that will include Scripture proofs.

Picture
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    Follow me


      Picture

      Join Phoenix eNews

    Subscribe to Newsletter
    Picture

      Share a Joke.

      Tell us your joke and the answer.
    Submit
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    zazzle store

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    October 2022
    September 2022
    January 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    March 2019
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    November 2011

    Categories

    All
    Activities
    Adventure
    Adventures In Odyssey
    Barnes And Noble
    Bedtime On Noah's Ark
    Bedtime Routine
    Blizzard Sage
    Board Books
    Book Lists
    Bookshelves
    Brock
    Brock Eastman
    Career
    Christmas
    Clubhouse Magazine
    Colorado
    Contests
    Crimson Pulse Media
    Crimson Pulse Writers
    Crimson-sparrow
    Daddy's Favorite Sound
    Demon Hunters
    Devotional
    Dinosaurs
    Edge & Narro
    Edge Of The Galaxy
    Experiments
    Faith And Science With Dr. Fizzlebop
    Family
    Family Activity
    Family Fun
    Fiction
    Fizzlebop
    Focus On The Family
    Free
    Fun
    Galactic Exploration Collection
    General
    Get In The Show
    Guest Post
    Guest-post
    Halloween
    Harvest House
    Harvest Kids
    Hippopolis
    Holidays
    Hope
    HowlSage
    Imagination Station
    Inspiration
    Interview
    Interviews
    Ireland
    Irish
    Kids
    Library
    Lost Realms
    Mars
    Middle Grade
    Moon
    Nebula Chronicles
    New Release
    Parenting
    Picture Books
    Pirates
    Publishers
    Publishing
    Q&A
    Questers
    Readers
    Reading
    Reading Lists
    Referral
    Review
    Sages Of Darkness
    Saint Nick
    Saint Nicking At Night
    Science
    Sci Fi
    Sci-Fi
    Serial Stories
    Social Shoutout
    Space
    Space Exploration
    Spiritual Warfare
    Story Craft
    St. Patrick's Day
    Teaching Kids
    Thanksgiving
    The Quest For Truth
    The Runners Of Abra
    Thrones
    #TQ4T
    Warriors Of Aragnar
    Wasted Wood
    What Do You Want To Be?
    Write Early
    Write Often
    Write Well Contest
    Writing
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

Services

Speaking
Publishing

Company

About

Support

Contact
FAQ
Terms of Use
© COPYRIGHT 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • Home
    • Imagination Exploration News
    • eNews Signup
    • Imagination Explorers
    • Rate & Review Challenge
    • Welcome
  • Store
  • Fizzlebop
    • Dr. Fizzlebop
    • Fizzlebop Books
    • Fizzlebop Videos
    • Fizz Extras >
      • Fizzlebop Straw Rocket
    • Fizzlebop Lab Updates
  • Books & Writing
    • Middle Grade & Young Adult Books >
      • Parable Port >
        • Penguincast with J.R.
      • The Quest for Truth >
        • TQ4T Books
        • Questers
        • #TQ4T
        • Glossary
        • Resources & Activities
      • Sages of Darkness >
        • Sage Books
        • Hunters
        • #FightaDemon
      • Kingdoms of Color
      • Crimson Pulse Media
    • Picture & Board Books >
      • Bedtime on Noah's Ark >
        • Bedtime on Noah's Ark
        • Bedtime on Noah's Ark Activities
      • Little Lion Books >
        • Little Lion
        • Daddy's Favorite Sound
        • Mommy's Favorite Smell
        • Little Lion Activities
      • Afraid of the Light
      • Hippopolis >
        • Hippopolis
        • Hippo Activities
      • Saint Nicking at Night
      • Obby the Obot
    • Devotionals & Bibles >
      • Faith and Science with Dr. Fizzlebop
      • Edge of the Galaxy
      • Key Verse Challenge (Go Bible)
      • Go Bible
      • The Action Bible: Faith in Action Edition
    • Early Reader Books >
      • Imagination Station
    • Magazine Stories
  • Author & Speaking
    • Author
    • Speaking
    • Tyndale Summer Camp
    • Adventures in Odyssey
  • Parents & Teachers
    • Activities & Resources
    • Book Lists
    • Book Reviews & Interviews