That’s what happens when Auralia’s colors are revealed to House Bel Amica. Or it can be an exciting invitation to discovery.

That can threaten a person’s ego, or their sense of control. But it also humbles us and makes us feel smaller. I can’t tell you how many times a good book or a good song has done that very thing for me.īeauty restores my faith because it reminds me what is possible, and it trains me to read the world around me in such a way that I sense the design, the love, and things that-as Hamlet tells Horatio-“are not dreamt of in our philosophy.”īeauty inspires us to awe, and makes us feel like we’re a part of something tremendous. He’s determined to follow those implications and lead his people to a better place. That shakes up his assumptions about the world. King Cal-raven realizes that Auralia’s colors suggest there is a better world somewhere within reach. I’m not surprised that the characters around Auralia and her extravagant artwork have been struggling with questions about what they believe. They both ask us to venture into mysterious territory. Writing these three books, I’ve found the characters stirring up a lot of those questions: Where does inspiration come from? Should an artist seek to please an audience, or focus solely on their work? What is going on when a work of art takes on a life of its own? Religion was never the primary subject.īut conversations about art and religion are intertwined. So forgive me if I ramble on for a moment.įor me, the central questions in The Auralia Thread are about art. What inspired you to explore this territory? But Raven’s Ladder delves more deeply into false religions and their origins and powers than it does into the “true faith,” even showing how truth can be twisted into something deviant (I’m still thinking about the scene with Auralia’s Defenders). Rachel: The “one true religion” concept is common in Christian fantasy, although it’s more likely to be couched in political terms (the “one true king” idea) than presented as an actual religion. Today we discuss allegory, art, religion, and shockwyrms. So this week my touring days are going to extend to Thursday, methinks :).

A slight change to the planned schedule: as I revisited this interview, I realized that it is long and rich and worthy of being posted over more than one day.

Auralia's Colors by Jeffrey Overstreet