Monday, June 3, 2013

What if Magic is Real? by Rayne Hall

I've never had a guest post. Rayne Hall's main character, Dahoud, was supposed to be the second interview of the writerly show Under the Fireworks with Father Dragon. Due to different commitments and obstacles, I couldn't continue with my original idea of the interview. However, I'm very happy to still be able to have Rayne as my guest today. She is promoting her book Storm Dancer (which I highly recommend) and picked up a very appropriate subject for the occasion. For a dragon, magic is very real. Please welcome Rayne Hall.
Note: British English. 

People all over the world have always believed in magic. Most cultures and periods had professionals who studied the craft and followed its rules. Only in our modern western society do people think that magic does not exist.

What if the vast majority of people in the world and in history have known something we don't? What if this is simply a knowledge that eludes most modern westerners? What if magic is a scientific phenomenon that's still waiting to be discovered?

Magic, to the modern westerner, is like electricity would have been to someone in ancient Greece. Imagine explaining to someone in 1000 BCE how electricity works and what it can do. Lightbulbs? Telephone? Television? Internet? Carts that move without being pulled by animals?  The good folks would either laugh at your gullibility, pity you for your madness, or whip you out of town for your lies.

Electricity existed in their world and the effects of it were all around them, but they explained these in ways that fit their view of the world. When they saw lightning in the sky, they assumed it was their God Zeus hurling lightning bolts in anger.

Perhaps even in our modern world, magic is all around us, although we don't understand it and attribute its effects to other causes. Perhaps we are as ignorant about magic as the ancient Greeks were about electricity.
When I write fantasy fiction, I base my stories on the premise that magic is real, but it needs skill to harness its force, and abuse brings danger.

The wizards in my yarns are highly trained experts, each specialising in a field of their trade.

Merida in Storm Dancer is a weather mage. By dancing, she can bring storms, rain or sunshine. She has travelled to a distant country where droughts ruin the harvests and the people are starving. Her gift of rain will bring relief.

The ruler has promised her everything she needs: privacy for preparations, a date when the right planets align, an energy-rich location at a river mouth, and an orchestra playing a specific tune. On arrival, she finds the conditions are not as expected. Her ritual is treated as a public spectacle in the arena, the date is wrong, and the only musicians are two drummers who have not rehearsed and don't know the tune.

The only way to raise the needed power is to draw energy from the spectators - an unethical method Merida has sworn to eschew - and to enter an extreme level of trance, potentially lethal, that will leave her vulnerable to attacks. What will she do?
Storm Dancer is the story of Dahoud, a demon-possessed siege commander who needs to atone for his dark past. When their lives intertwine, Merida and Dahoud are drawn into a whirling spiral of darkness. They have seared each other's hearts with betrayal. Now the only way they can stand against evil is as allies. Can they learn to trust?



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 ABOUT RAYNE HALL

Rayne Hall has published more than forty books under different pen names with different publishers in different genres, mostly fantasy, horror and non-fiction. Recent books include Storm Dancer (dark epic fantasy novel), 13 British Horror Stories, Six Scary Tales Vol 1, 2, 3, 4 (creepy horror stories), Six Historical Tales (short stories), Six Quirky Tales (humorous fantasy stories), Writing Fight Scenes, The World-Loss Diet, Writing About Villains, Writing About Magic and Writing Scary Scenes (instructions for authors).

She holds a college degree in publishing management and a masters degree in creative writing. Currently, she edits the Ten Tales series of multi-author short story anthologies: Bites: Ten Tales of Vampires, Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts, Scared: Ten Tales of Horror, Cutlass: Ten Tales of Pirates, Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, Spells: Ten Tales of Magic, Undead: Ten Tales of Zombies and more. 
Rayne has lived in Germany, China, Mongolia and Nepal and  has now settled in a small dilapidated town of former Victorian grandeur on the south coast of England. 


Do you believe in magic? If not, do you enjoy reading about magic in fiction? What makes fictional magic real to you, so you can suspend your disbelief? What's the most convincing magic you've read about in fiction? Leave a comment, and I'll reply.

68 comments:

  1. Congratulations, Rayne!
    Sounds like most gigs - they really weren't prepared at all.
    When it comes to fantasy, I have no problem suspending belief.

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  2. I believe in magic, but then again, I've studied a few ancient cultures. I enjoy song magics in fiction. I used to sing quite a bit in choirs, so it's easy to feel how combined voices in song can create magical spells.

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    1. Ah yes... the connection between music and magic. :-)

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  3. Very cool video and I think magic does exist...it's all how we choose to look at things :)

    Congrats to Rayne on her new book!

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    1. Thanks, Mark. I'm glad you like the video. I had fun making it.
      By the way, Storm Dancer isn't exactly a new book. It was first published in 2011. :-)

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  4. Excellent post! Storm Dancer sounds awesome and the trailer was really well done, Rayne:) There are many things in our world left unexplained - belief in magic is not far-fetched!

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    1. Thanks. Do you write about magic?

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    2. I do indeed:) I love instilling believability by intertwining magical elements in with reality. Of course, I have two little girls, so my reality is filled with magic *belief in magic is an essential parental qualification in this house* This includes dragons!

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    3. Yes, intertwining magical and realistic elements is a key to believability.
      I've never thought about parenthood requiring a belief in magic... but then I'm not a parent, so I lack the essential experience.

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  5. Loved the trailer but that last crash nearly knocked my ears off as I was listening with earphones. Sounds a super story.

    Of course I believe in magic, I am reading a blog written by a dragon aren't I? I don't know about which type of magic I most believe in, authors come up with so many different ways of using magic and whilst I am reading their stories I believe in their ideas implicitly. If you give me a story of dragons and magic, preferably good dragons, I am as happy as a pig in ****

    JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

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    1. Hmm, was that final thundercrash too loud? I thought I had it balanced, but maybe I got it wrong. It was my first attempt at sound editing.

      Storm Dancer has magic, but alas, it has no dragons. A woeful lack, I'm sure. :-)

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  6. Very fun post. I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I would be sad if there were no magic in the world. I believe in the Spiritual and to me, that's magical.

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    1. Yes, I believe the magical and the spiritual overlap and to some extent are part of each other.

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  7. Your book sounds great. Magic is all around us. We're just mostly out of touch. Great to meet you.

    And a wave for Father Dragon!

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    1. It's amazing how many people say they they acknowledge the existence of magic - at least the visitors of this blog do. Do you think that's because the people who visit this blog are a special sort? :-)

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    2. It's because this blog belongs to a fire dragon, Rayne. To talk to a dragon, it's kind of essential to believe in magic. ;)

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    3. Not necessarily. To talk to a dragon, it's kind of essential to believe in dragons. :-)

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    4. Not necessarily. To talk to a dragon, it's kind of essential to believe in dragons. :-)

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  8. Happy Monday, Rayne and Al :)

    I've had some weird experiences that makes me believe not all reality is what we think. However, I tend to think magic is technology/science we don't yet understand.

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    1. Yes, I think along those lines as well. Maybe one day magic will be an acknowledged form of science, properly studied and understood.

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  9. I believe magic is all around us but we don't understand it or dismiss it as something else. Your book sounds awesome!

    Al...BOLITAAAAAA!

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    1. You folks keep amazing me. Elsewhere, people think I'm weird when I suggest the possibility that magic is simply not understood, and on this blog, everyone more or less shares my view.

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  10. We create our own realities. When we choose not to believe in magic because science can't [at present] prove or disprove its existence, we're limiting the quest for knowledge. I see magic as nothing more than the unexplained. It makes no sense to deny it.

    Awesome trailer and great premise, Rayne. Congratulations!

    VR Barkowski

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    1. True. We choose what to believe in or not to believe in, and most people in our society choose to believe that anything that can't be proven doesn'texist. We could instead choose to believe that anything that can't be disproved does exist. That's how people in other periods and societies thought, and who's to say they were wrong?

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  11. One of the most convincing magical stories I've read is the EarthSea Trilogy by Ursula LeGuin. I liked the idea that everything has a true name and I loved the dragons who were ancient and wily and wise.

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    1. Ursula LeGuin is amazing at building believable worlds, isn't she? Anything she invents - characters, creatures societies, histories, traditions, magic - is believable. I find it easy to suspend my disbelief while I'm reading her stories.

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  12. If you write fiction, you have to believe in a little bit of magic.

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    1. Perhaps by writing fiction we're creating a little bit of magic? Sometimes I think that it takes similar skills and talents to be a magician or a writer.

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  13. I believe in magic, except on the very darkest of days. There is too much that is not only unexplained but inexplicable. This sounds like a book I could more than happily dive into. Thank you Father Dragon, and thank you Rayne.

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    1. On the very darkest of days, you don't believe in magic? Why? On such days I'm inclined to believe in jinxes, hexes, sorcery, curses and other dark stuff. Like "I'm cursed to forever fail" and such. :-)

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    2. My reply to your comment seems to vanish every time I post it. (a jinx? dark magic?)

      I'm trying once more.

      Why don't you believe in magic on the very darkest of days? On such days, I'm inclined to believe in jinxes, hexes, sorcery and curses. Like "I'm cursed to forever fail at everything."

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    3. I've replied to this comment four or five times... and each time, the connection broke or my computer crashed. Let's see if this reply arrives. If yes, I'll write the proper reply again.
      If not, I'll suspect dark magic at work. :-D

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    4. Ah, it's worked this time. Let's see, what was I trying to say... Ah yes.
      Why don't you believe in magic on those very darkest of days? Those days are when I'm inclined to believe in hexes, jinxes, sorcery and curses. Like "I feel like I'm cursed to forever fail." :-)

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    5. On the very darkest of days I start to think that there is no hope, no excitement, no magic... Despite the inherent dangers of magic I don't ever see it as a soul-sapper. For that, I need NO magic. And the fear it will never come back.

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    6. Some magic can be very dark. For example, if there's a curse on you, and can condemn all your endeavours to failure and haul you into the pits of depression and keep you there. When those black days descend and despair threatens to smother me, I have sometimes wondered if there's a curse. Fortunately, curses are very rare, and it's simply the depression monster trying to vanquish our spirit.

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  14. Interesting premise. Best of luck, Rayne!

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  15. Interesting video. Wishing you every success with your book, Rayne.

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    1. Thanks. Maybe someone knows good a book success spell? :-)

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  16. Well, I know what she'll do because I've read what she did! :)

    I like the realistic, plausible way you've implemented a magic system into Storm Dancer, Rayne. More fantasy novels could benefit from following the example. I see magic in tales as rich-flavored plot, not the means of pulling God from the machine. LOVE the trailer, by the way.

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    1. Thanks, Jeff. I had fun making the trailer, and I'm pleased that people are watching it (most book trailers hardly ever get viewed).
      I've read some superb published fantasy novels with well-developed magic systems.
      I've also read a lot of unpublished fiction (slush pile submissions) where the magic was of the deus-ex-machina kind. When I explained to the writers where they went wrong, they really insisted that 'Magic isn't real, therefore it doesn't need to be plausible.'

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    2. I've read some superb fantasy novels where the magic systems were imaginative as well as believable.
      I've also read a lot of unpublished fantasy fiction (in slush pile submissions) relying on deus-ex-machina kind of magic. When I explained to the authors where they went wrong, they insisted that since magic isn't real, it doesn't need to be believable.

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    3. Sorry for the duplicate post. For some reason (spam filter, apparently) the original didn't show up, so I posted it again.

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  17. Hi, FD... Hi, Rayne,

    Nice to meet another fantasy writer. You novel has a wonderful premise and I love anything that is magical. Yes, I am a believer. And like you, Rayne, I believe magic from the earth is spiritual as well. My first novel, the first in a series, features an half human/half sylph elemental child. She poses the power of the winds and must use this power to save her enchanted home.. a willow tree grove inhabited by fairies and magical creatures. SUCH FUN...

    I am working on the finals now and hope to query it soon.

    Merida and Amber (my eleven year old MC) can be related distantly. LOL.

    Thanks for hosting such an intriguing guest FD...

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    1. Writing about magic is fun, isn't it?

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    2. Writing about magic is fun, isn't it?

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    3. Sorry for the duplicate post; the first one didn't show up so I sent it again.

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  18. Interesting discussion on the absence of magic in modern western culture. I think there are people in the west who believe in magic, though generally they are not the mainstream white culture. Nice to be introduced to you, and may you have continued success.

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    1. In modern white western culture, there are the neo-pagans, especially the Wiccans - they believe in magic and often practice magic. They're a fairly large group, and quite open about what they believe and what they do, but they're almost the only ones.

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  19. Looks interesting. And I have to agree that magic is a product of the imagination of the current age. I can tell you, I never want to know how a magician performs his "tricks". I want to believe in magic.

    .......dhole

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    1. I think what you're thinking about is 'illusionism' - entertainment rather than real magic. It relies on the entertainer's phenomenal skill at misdirection and sleight of hand, rather than on real magic.

      I love watching a good illusionist at work. Knowing how it's done can spoil the enjoyment for some people, though for me, it actually increases the pleasure. It increases my admiration for the illusionist's craft. I know how many of the tricks are done, and I know how much skill and practice it takes to pull them off.

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  20. Wow, congrats Rayne on *all* your writing achievements - and writerly edumacation :)

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    1. What's 'edumacation'? (I admit a gap of knowledge)

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  21. Hi Al and Rayne - that was fascinating .. I loved romantic novels with alchemy in when I was a kid .. so your description of magic being real could take me across the centuries of history .. love the thought. Your video is wonderful .. and particularly the ending ..

    Well you know your way round the publishing world and I'm sure this series will be successful ... welcome to the dilapidated south coast of little old England .. I'm here too .. but I don't think in the same town!

    Cheers and all the best - Al - great interview from your guest .. loved reading it .. Hilary

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    1. Have you ever written an alchemy story, Hilary?
      I'm in St Leonards. You?

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  22. Sounds excellent! Love the cover. Best of luck to Rayne.

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    1. I had fun creating this book cover, instructing the artists (Paul Davies and Erica Syverson) exactly how I wanted it. The book originally had a different cover, and when I decided to replace it, I invited fans to describe what they imagined Dahoud looks like. Then the artists painted that. :-)

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  23. Greetings Al and Rayne,

    First of all, very good of you to share your site and bring such further awareness. A most intriguing premise. Magical wishes from a typing dog named Penny and a collection of wee folks.

    Gary :)

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    1. Hi klahanie,
      This sounds like you're surrounded by mythical creatures. Hmm, maybe that's a subject for another blog post. Typing dogs, wee folks, and of course dragons... :-)

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  24. Congratulations, Rayne! I'm so glad to meet you and learn about your book, it sounds excellent and is going on my TBR list. I agree with Mary's comments, I've had experiences that make me believe there are things that simply don't fit with what we see as reality. I'm totally fascinated by magic and the spiritual world.

    Thanks for sharing this post with us, Al! :)

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    1. Hi Julie,

      If you're interested in Storm Dancer, you may want to read the free sample pages first, to see if it's your kind of book. Storm Dancer is quite dark in places, with war, rape, torture, animal and human sacrifice, demonic possession and other disturbing elements.

      Although most readers are ok with the dark parts, some find them so upsetting that they can't bring themselves to read on. (And some others say it's not dark enough for their taste, lol.)


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  26. i love discovering new authors and it sounds like Rayne Hall writes the kind of stories I loove to read.
    Nutschell
    www.thewritingnut.com

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    1. Do you like magic? Do you like dark stuff? Much of what I write is dark, disturbing, creepy.

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  27. Can't let the kids have all the fun!

    There's a little peter pan in all of us, no matter the age. And father dragon lets all of us believe, even if only for a minute.

    Good luck Rayne with Storm Dancer, sounds exciting.

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    1. Perhaps one of the wonders of fiction, too. Reading fantasy stories allows us to believe in magic again.

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  28. Who doesn't like magic, dragons, and the arcane? Love fantasy of all kinds, Storm Dancer sounds magical, good luck, Rayne.

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