Author Post: Jay Stritch

Title: The Man of a Thousand Faces
Author: Jay Stritch
Description: Nineteen year old Achill has never left his training camp on Mars. With the revelation that his mother was exiled from the strict system after he was born he feels even more pressure to prove his loyalty and status as a fearless warrior who doesn't think before he kills. That is until he, who has never been taught of love or freedom, is sent on a secret mission for which he must travel through the other seven planets and fight for survival. As his journey unfolds he will discover unknown truths, potential love and face the strangeness of the lives and culture of those raised so differently to him. He may even uncover the timeless mystery of the man of a thousand faces. As tensions rise and the stakes are higher than ever Achill must decide who he is actually fighting for as he tries to understand both conflicts between the planets and also within himself.

~~~

Hey guys! I am bringing a new author post today. Jay Stritch is the author of an upcoming sci-fi series, The Eight World Chronicles. The first novel, The Man of a Thousand Faces, is now out. Check her post below about what makes us love the anti-hero and details on where to get her novel!

~~~

Thank you for having me on your blog today. I am thrilled to be able to talk about ‘The Man of a Thousand Faces.’ Today I thought I’d talk about a topic that makes up a large portion of the book and that is the power of the anti-hero.

I don’t know what it is but the characters I always wind up falling in love with the most are those who I hated to start with. To my mind it has always been far more appealing to have a character that is flawed but capable of redemption than a ready-made hero who you are supposed to fall in love with. Maybe I'm just a little dysfunctional (certainly a possibility) but it definitely makes for more interesting reading when a character undergoes such a transformation.

I think the reasons this is so powerful centre around hope, identifiability, and environment.

Hope: This is often what we live for, what makes us thrive, keeps us happy and I think that when reading about a character’s ability to change their ways it gives us hope for our own lives and for the world in general which so often feels stuck in ways of prejudice.

Identifiability: I think it is a lot easier to identify with a flawed character than a hero. In the presence of a hero I tend to shrink away, to feel inferior but I can root for someone who is a damaged product of the life they have lead so far having to turn it around and become a hero. We like to be able to relate to what we read, to see our lives reflected back at us in all their gritty realism, horror and delight and that is what you get when you read of someone’s struggle and not only of their success. 

Environment: I think that it is impossible to get to a certain age and not feel like the world has messed you up a little. Like you have to hold it accountable for some of your darker moments. Also looking around the world or opening a news paper we see many environments people have had to endure which seem unbearable. War, hardship, poverty, indoctrination, I think it’s always a wonderful reminder when you can separate a person from their environment and allow them to think for themselves. It gives us inspiration not to be defined by circumstance but to live by our own standards and beliefs.

These three things are the key to why an anti hero can be so powerful, likeable and readable in my humble opinion.

When writing ‘The Man of a Thousand Faces,’ I really wanted to explore the psyche of someone who had been raised in a very all consuming system and knew nothing but a certain way of life. And then I endeavored to take him out of that system and confront the other possibilities of life. It was interesting seeing how these beliefs unravelled and how difficult it can be to try and start from scratch again and discover who you are when who you've been told you are no longer holds true.

I hope this doesn't make the book sound too serious, it is actually a fun read...you should buy it, it’s available on Amazon now: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thousand-Faces-Eight-Worlds-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00U8OJF4U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1426863508&sr=8-3&keywords=jay+stritch

~~~

Author Bio: Jay Stritch is a published author, Cambridge student and part time occupant of the real world. (They’re trying to convince her to go full time but she’s having none of it.)

Born and raised a country girl and more accustom to cows than cars she is an avid reader, writer and adrenaline junkie. Jay wears big glasses for her short shortsightedness, both literally and figuratively. She has just published the first installment of the eight worlds chronicles - 'The Man of a Thousand Faces.'