I find it intriguing that, as I work toward re-releasing my fantasy trilogy (and then a prequel), the publisher I’m working with suggested “The Fight for Hope” as a subtitle for the first installment.

They suggested a few other subtitles, none of which I liked at all. “The Fight for Hope” grabbed at me, and I couldn’t think of anything myself that I liked better.

I love the idea of making the subtitle about hope, because I have long thought to myself that if there is a Bible verse to encapsulate the soul, as it were, of this particular, it would be John 12:24: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

I think we often find success and bear fruit in life when and where we least expect it, and only after dying to ourselves, our egos, and our expectations.

The idea of serving a greater good necessarily involves dying to selfishness.

All of this holds true in its way for the members of The Crimson League, the organized resistance movement fighting against sorcerer-dictator Zalski Forzythe.

“Hope means hoping when things are hopeless, or it is no virtue at all. As long as matters are really hopeful, hope is mere flattery or platitude; it is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength.” -G.K. Chesteron

This is one of my favorite quotes by one of my favorite writers. I think my novel demonstrates this is, shows how that plays out.

In some ways, I think my novel put one (of several possible) faces on what hope as a virtue really looks like.

I also really liked the subtitle for a couple of other reasons:

• I could use the subtitle format as a template for the rest of the series, and I immediately knew how to subtitle the later installments
• It resonated with me and what I have been doing these past years, starting over after discerning out of religious life. I mention that frequently on the blog because it’s something I still grapple with. It’s not that I think I made a mistake or anything, but I did feel like a failure even leaving for the right reasons. Starting over after every plan and expectation I had for life collapsed on me, RIGHT before covid lockdowns, hasn’t been easy (What I said about expectations above? That’s for a reason.)

Hope is a motivator. It keeps us fighting when it feels like we’ve lost any reason to fight and any chance for victory.

That’s what makes it so beautiful.

The Crimson League: The Fight for Hope releases June 15! Mark your calendars, and spread the word to those who would enjoy a fantasy action/adventure story. You can also follow my Facebook page, read an excerpt, or read a character spotlight of Lanokas, for whom hope come most naturally than for the other leaguesmen.

• Doing the grunt work feels thankless . . . but it’s actually magical
• What the pícaro?
• A look into an author’s mind a week before launch day
• What the graveyard scene in “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” taught me about high stakes action scenes
• Character Spotlight: Zalski Forzythe, because everyone loves a good villain