Valuing Differences — The Journey of the Marked

Bullying. Bias. Judgment. Almost daily we see news reports and articles about someone being treated negatively because he or she is different. Yet, it’s those differences that make the world an interesting place. I couldn’t imagine living in a world of cookie cutter people like me. So when I started to write my story, I focused on creating something that was entertaining, but carried a strong message.

Valuing differences.

This is the fundamental message behind my novel, The Journey of the Marked, and the related series. Regardless of ability or appearance, everyone can contribute, everyone can make a difference.

The Miyran Heir

The Miyran Heir

While I wanted to highlight the advantages of differences, I also wanted to write something entertaining that I loved, which led me down the path of gritty sci-fi mixed with high fantasy. My story takes place on a different world and, while there are Humans, I created a number of species, each with unique abilities, which allowed me to highlight ways their various strengths were important.

There’s the Plinte that are land-based, but have breathing slits that allow them to breathe underwater. They’re raised to fight, which is a carryover from their culture prior to landing on the planet. Then there’s the Liput — While they don’t train to fight, the Liput are extremely skilled mechanics and can be quite clever. As well, there’s the Krystic female, a beauty that can tame even the scariest of beasts on the planet. The Krystics tend to avoid fighting, as well, but if properly trained, have some unique skills that are useful.

Red WingsThe dire circumstances on the planet throws a group of teenagers together, attempting to reach a training camp while being hunted. While tempers flare, they must learn to work together and accept each others’ strengths and weaknesses in order to survive.

The fundamental concept of the book will continue throughout the series. And, of course, where there are differences, there’s also often persecution. So don’t be surprised if that surfaces in various forms in the series.