Aliens as in people on other planets. It seems that some things just may be universal. Things like insensitivity and cruelty. Things like courage and compassion.
~*~
Raphyel Montez Jordan grew up in a household sensitive to the creative arts. As a child, his hobbies were drawing favorite cartoon and video game characters while making illustrated stories. This passion for art never left and followed him all the way up to his high school and college years.
It wasn’t until college when he underwent a personal renaissance of sorts that Jordan took his interest in writing to another level. When he was 19, he started writing a novel for fun, taking inspiration from the constant exposure of different ideas and cultures that college showed him while staying true to the values he grew up to embrace. However, when the signs of the times influenced the story and the characters to spawn into universes of their own, he figured he might possibly be on to something.
Even though his novel is not necessarily a religious book, Jordan utilizes his Christian faith by urging people to encourage, not condemn, in his story. Best known for ending his PSFC newsletters with Unity Within Diversity, he hopes Prossia’s success will inspire people to consider and support the positive outlook in the difference human kind can share, whether it be race, religion, or any other cultural difference.
Tell us about your new prequel to Prossia, Raphyel.
~*~
Aly’s a seventeen-year-old Goolian who can charge into the street, exposing herself to enemy fire, because she’s a good soldier. She’s willing to do what needs done for the greater good, and I must say, she looks pretty epic when she does it too! She’ll keep an entire platoon of enemy soldiers at bay on her own if she has to, only with the aid of two Goolian blades and an alien blaster. Yes, as the novel, “Prossia” says, “Aly is a sight to behold.”
So, it might come as a bit of a surprise to know that Aly used to walk to school, eyeing the ground, being too nervous to look anyone else in the eye. At one point in her life, she would hunch over a little, so she could appear as short as the other girls in her class and village. Why, she even had a stuttering complex whenever people spoke to her! That was Aly, not long before the events in “Prossia” took place, when her main concern was proving her worth so she wouldn’t be bullied anymore in “Evaluations of the Tribe.”
· Not having anyone to stand up for you
· Having parents or guardians who can’t seem to help
· Having parents or guardians who only make matters worse when they try to help
· Wondering what you possibly did to deserve being born different, the reason to your harassment
· Wishing that you were either dead, or better yet, had never been born at all
· Hating yourself along with those who make your existence miserable
· Dreading every morning you wake up, knowing “that person” or “those people” are just waiting on you, and you can’t do anything about it
Regardless of the circumstances, having to deal with the constant harassment, both verbal and physical, of the people you must mingle with is not acceptable. Like Aly, you do not have to simply “cope” with it. If you do, you might break, just the way she did one day in “Evaluations.” Still, there is hope. I know it’s hard to believe, but it does get better. Take it from someone who’s gone through the trenches, himself.
And what about those of us who now get to watch the travesty from the sideline? It is in our power to act and stand up for those who cannot defend themselves, much the way Aly’s best friend, Catty, does for her in the story. That means you’ll have to go out of your comfort zone. It means everyone around you will look at you, as if you’ve lost your mind. It means, at times, you might lose the support of some friends, and yes, even family.
Thing is, we’re all stuck on this tiny blue dot in the vast universe, so it’s way past time we start standing up for ourselves, and those around us. No, it doesn’t mean you have to do something as epic as a March On Washington every single day. But maybe we can learn a thing or two from Catty, who took the time to help Aly pick up her things when someone knocked her down. Who knows how that small gesture will come back in good favor. You might just save a world, at least for a day. One down. Over 7 billion to go. Good thing there’s a bunch of us around ready to do our part, eh? 😉
Goodreads Book Giveaway
~*~
Thanks, Raphyel!
Author website: http://www.raphyelmjordan.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RaphyelMJordan
A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: A character of whatever age you choose sees someone else being bullied. Does the character join the bullies, defend the target, ignore it, or what — and why?
MA
Jane
December 6, 2013 at 10:06amA really nice conversation about this book series. I liked the illos. I liked the ideas. If you’d boiled this down to a typical blurb, (Ex: Aly is a poor little misfit in her own village. Why does she have to be so different? Golly, what can she do? Along comes the new hot guy! ALong come her new powers! Oh, my! how will she cope now?!), I’d have zero interest in the book OR the writer.
Congratulations for not being that guy!
Raphyel M. Jordan
December 6, 2013 at 12:37pmWell! I’m most certainly glad I’m not THAT guy either, Jane. “Phew!” 😛
Andrew
December 6, 2013 at 5:12pmHi There,
Thank you for sharing this wonderful interview. This book seems like a great read, and I hope that one day I will get to read it. It seems very well thought out, and something that could be true. We even have people like this on our planet. Thanks for sharing,
Andrew
Raphyel M. Jordan
December 6, 2013 at 5:41pmThank you for the kind words, Andrew. I really do hope you take the time to check it out. Remember, it’s… Oh no! The links to download the book aren’t in the article! “Evaluations” is free on smashwords and kobo, and only .99 cents on Kindle and Nook. Here are the links:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/378624
http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/evaluations-of-the-tribe
http://www.amazon.com/Evaluations-Tribe-Prossia-Raphyel-Jordan-ebook/dp/B00GPS28GK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1384791186&sr=8-2&keywords=prossia
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/evaluations-of-the-tribe-raphyel-m-jordan/1117442192?ean=2940148944454