Full Transcript for A Conversation on Epic Storytelling with Author Terrence Rotering

00:02:26.639 --> 00:02:29.039 first trilogy, just because I wanted to show my boys 37 00:02:29.080 --> 00:02:31.000 that you could write a book, that anybody can do 38 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:33.919 a book and talk to the world. And then after that, 39 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.000 I said, oh, you know, five years later, I was like, 40 00:02:37.240 --> 00:02:40.719 I need to do the prequel to this, and so 41 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:44.159 I started that, and in twenty twenty four I finished that, 42 00:02:44.439 --> 00:02:47.360 and I did I decided, well, you know, because of 43 00:02:47.400 --> 00:02:50.039 these godwinks that I think we'll get into the stories 44 00:02:50.080 --> 00:02:52.120 not finished. I felt like a reporter that I was 45 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:54.680 just discovering the story, not writing it. And so I 46 00:02:54.680 --> 00:02:58.840 did another three which just really expanded the fantasy into 47 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:03.000 sci fi, exploded it to seven dimensions, which just made it, 48 00:03:03.360 --> 00:03:05.599 you know, kind of the unified theory of everything. And 49 00:03:05.639 --> 00:03:08.680 then I have another trilogy coming out here in the 50 00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:11.680 spring AJ that will kind of it's kind of like 51 00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:14.400 you mentioned the egg within the egg. So the first 52 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:16.479 trilogy was a little egg, and then another egg around 53 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:18.479 it with the prequel, and then exploded it to a 54 00:03:18.520 --> 00:03:22.439 massive egg. And then you need the fourth volume here 55 00:03:22.479 --> 00:03:26.120 to really just solidify the whole thing and tighten it down. 56 00:03:26.159 --> 00:03:30.439 So it's an incredible, massive story and I look forward 57 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:32.319 to talking a little bit more about it. But yeah, 58 00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:35.400 so fantasy, sci fi, and spiritual warfare all wrapped together, 59 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:39.000 all the genres, and they do kind of compete with 60 00:03:39.080 --> 00:03:40.879 all the genres that are out there, all the greats 61 00:03:40.879 --> 00:03:42.120 that are out there, so. 62 00:03:43.560 --> 00:03:45.479 Absolutely tend So let's end. 63 00:03:46.120 --> 00:03:48.919 You make it sound so easy, but none of these 64 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:53.400 it's easy neither. You're you know, you the times that 65 00:03:53.479 --> 00:03:56.719 you walked in the US Air Force and then even 66 00:03:56.759 --> 00:03:59.560 as a writer, so let's understand it a bit, you know, 67 00:03:59.639 --> 00:04:04.400 from that point of common person's perspective, is that what 68 00:04:04.560 --> 00:04:07.280 inspired you to become an author? I means you were 69 00:04:07.599 --> 00:04:10.759 so busy in your you know, work life. You could 70 00:04:10.759 --> 00:04:14.280 have just relaxed after that. Why to get into a 71 00:04:14.439 --> 00:04:19.279 line which was totally new. It's from weapons to you know, 72 00:04:19.600 --> 00:04:22.920 ben as a sword. If you can put it that 73 00:04:23.120 --> 00:04:26.720 help us understand that part for the audience students. 74 00:04:27.079 --> 00:04:28.879 Sure, So in two thousand and five, when I wrote 75 00:04:28.920 --> 00:04:31.519 that first one for my children, it was a little one, 76 00:04:31.560 --> 00:04:33.839 and then twenty ten I did that prequel, which was 77 00:04:33.879 --> 00:04:35.759 much bigger, and I kind of said, well, you know, 78 00:04:35.839 --> 00:04:38.600 someday after I retire, I have to have something to 79 00:04:38.639 --> 00:04:41.720 do and I can't move around anymore, so maybe I'll 80 00:04:41.759 --> 00:04:44.439 just start this writing and see how it goes. So 81 00:04:44.519 --> 00:04:46.439 then that took another fifteen years. After I had a 82 00:04:46.439 --> 00:04:49.600 little bout with cancer, I got out of the Air 83 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.240 Force and I said, you know, the story isn't finished. 84 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:55.759 I needed to finish the trilogy. So I finished the 85 00:04:55.800 --> 00:04:58.439 third one, that Forever. So The Faithful Stand Forever was 86 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:00.399 the first trilogy, and that was finished then in twenty 87 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:06.600 twenty four, and then you know, I needed to finish 88 00:05:07.160 --> 00:05:10.800 before the story The Faithful Stand Forever. There was a 89 00:05:10.839 --> 00:05:14.360 whole backstory to that, a whole history. So I did 90 00:05:14.360 --> 00:05:16.959 the prequel to that and really was excited about that. 91 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:21.600 And when I finished that, my granddaughter was born about 92 00:05:21.600 --> 00:05:23.439 a year ago, and I said, I need some day 93 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:25.040 she's going to read these and I need to put 94 00:05:25.079 --> 00:05:27.319 her in this story. And that kind of was the 95 00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:31.600 inspiration for doing that third trilogy. That just exploded it. 96 00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:35.759 The exploded the story. And then just a couple of 97 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.680 months ago, I realized it's not finished yet. So you say, yeah, 98 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:41.040 it's not. It's not easy, but in a way it 99 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:42.920 was kind of easy for me because it followed my 100 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:45.319 journey along the way. The you know, the first trilogy 101 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.839 is about family and that's where I was back when 102 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:49.439 I was flying. Didn't have a lot of time, but 103 00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:52.040 the focus was on the family. And then the second 104 00:05:52.079 --> 00:05:56.079 one expanded it to the world of triininging just because 105 00:05:56.240 --> 00:05:59.319 you know, I was flying and in my mind, you know, 106 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:01.879 do my best to protect our country and protect the 107 00:06:01.879 -->

00:06:05.800 world from you for freedom. And then once again it 108 00:06:05.839 --> 00:06:09.680 expanded because I retired and I didn't have anything to do, 109 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:12.720 and I was really into mission back when I was flying, 110 00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:14.839 so I said, well, what's my mission? And so I 111 00:06:14.879 --> 00:06:18.199 wanted to expand this story to reach all of the 112 00:06:18.199 --> 00:06:21.079 people that are out there that are reading it, and 113 00:06:21.519 --> 00:06:24.480 my mission is to show them something different. So in 114 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.879 fantasy and fiction right now, there's a lot of negative, 115 00:06:27.680 --> 00:06:29.839 a lot of despair, a lot of hopelessness, and this 116 00:06:29.920 --> 00:06:33.839 story really spreads hope. It tells everybody you are important, 117 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.000 you are unique, There is purpose and design in the universe, 118 00:06:37.480 --> 00:06:39.560 and there is someone out there to help you. And 119 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.040 there are answers to the questions. So instead of leaving 120 00:06:42.120 --> 00:06:44.959 it where the Martins and Jordan's and a lot of 121 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:48.920 those really big fiction writers leave it, I say, there 122 00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:52.399 are answers and and and get rid of that hopelessness. 123 00:06:52.399 --> 00:06:54.680 There's a lot of hope. So that that really is 124 00:06:54.720 --> 00:06:57.720 the mission AJ is just to spread hope now and 125 00:06:57.800 --> 00:07:01.639 positive instead of the nake and nihilism that's out there. 126 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:04.879 Absolutely absolutely hope. 127 00:07:04.879 --> 00:07:07.560 You what the world needs at all points at time, 128 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:10.480 especially at this point in time, especially in the times 129 00:07:10.519 --> 00:07:18.600 of artificial intelligence. So, so to understand your book series, 130 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:22.800 you know, chronicles series, ten book series, how would you 131 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:27.079 like a common person who is mostly used to one 132 00:07:27.639 --> 00:07:31.240 one book at a time to understand this ten book 133 00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:32.839 Chronicles series. 134 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:36.040 So The good thing aj is, you know, you could 135 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:38.199 read one of the books and it's kind of standalone. 136 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:40.720 You could enjoy it. So the first trilogy, if you're 137 00:07:40.759 --> 00:07:44.399 really into fantasy and then you know faith, family, hope, 138 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:46.759 and a lot of adventure, you could read just that 139 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:49.920 one book, and then if you wanted to really continue it, 140 00:07:50.040 --> 00:07:52.560 that trilogy is a standalone trilogy. So you have an 141 00:07:52.639 --> 00:07:55.360 egg that by itself is just fine. You can eat 142 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.439

that egg. But then when you say, you know, I'm 143 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:01.399 hungering for more, I want to see what happened before that, 144 00:08:02.199 --> 00:08:04.120 then you could go into that second egg, and there's 145 00:08:04.120 --> 00:08:06.519 that whole prequel, and that's where you really start getting 146 00:08:06.560 --> 00:08:09.759 into a little bit of sci fi with the fantasy, 147 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.360 and you mentioned AI. It starts bringing in artificial intelligence too, 148 00:08:13.399 --> 00:08:17.360 as the protagon or the antagonist. And then so you 149 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:19.279 could enjoy that and be happy with that, and then 150 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:21.360 years later, if you wanted to, you could go, you 151 00:08:21.399 --> 00:08:23.879 know what, there's a lot more to that story. And 152 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:27.519 there was because that those first two eggs were just 153 00:08:28.519 --> 00:08:32.639 one dimension, if you will, That third trilogy, the Chronicles 154 00:08:32.639 --> 00:08:35.159 of the Seven Wheels, expands it and explodes it into 155 00:08:35.240 --> 00:08:38.200 seven different dimensions. So now all of a sudden, Instead 156 00:08:38.200 --> 00:08:41.919 of just one area, you have seven areas, and they're 157 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:44.799 all intertwined. There's people going back and forth between them 158 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:47.159 in time tunnels. It really blows up the sci fi 159 00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:50.720 you can imagine with black holes and testarets and photon 160 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:53.080 entanglement and all kinds of really crazy things if you're 161 00:08:53.080 --> 00:08:56.639 really into sci fi. So that's your big sci fi trilogy. 162 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:59.759 And then when you finally want to get the whole universe, 163 00:08:59.799 --> 00:09:04.080 that that whole unified theory of everything all together, that's 164 00:09:04.120 --> 00:09:05.840 when you get this last one that I'm putting out 165 00:09:05.879 --> 00:09:08.639 in the spring. So you can enjoy just one book, 166 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:11.000 you can enjoy one trilogy, or you can enjoy just 167 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:13.399 the whole massive thing. Or you can wait for it 168 00:09:13.440 --> 00:09:15.799 to come out in Netflix or or Prime Video or 169 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.240 or you know, hopefully that will happen or Angel Studios 170 00:09:19.320 --> 00:09:21.360 or something. Someone will pick it up and then you'll 171 00:09:21.360 --> 00:09:23.240 get to really go, wow, this is an. 172 00:09:23.120 --> 00:09:28.440 Awesome, absolutely absolutely Terence. 173 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:31.919 We'll come to the egg within an egg structure and 174 00:09:32.039 --> 00:09:35.360 also about the cord wings. But first to understand, you know, 175 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:39.080 who are your books for? Is it for only one 176 00:09:39.440 --> 00:09:41.679 particular type of audience age group? 177 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.240 I want to understand a bit more from that point. 178 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:49.639 So as the series grew, it grew more for teenagers 179 00:09:49.679 --> 00:09:51.919 to adults. So there's a lot of big concepts when 180 00:09:51.919 --> 00:09:54.200 you get into the sci fi that that really appeal 181 00:09:54.279 --> 00:09:58.480 to adults and you and a college level. But but 182 00:09:58.559 --> 00:10:00.679 you could probably start at about four teen years old. 183 00:10:00.759 --> 00:10:03.200 I would say the younger younger than fourteen. I would 184 00:10:03.200 --> 00:10:05.519 want the parents to read it first because there's there's 185 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:07.960 no sex stuff in there, there's no bad language in there, 186 00:10:08.240 --> 00:10:11.480 but evil does some bad stuff. So you know, there's 187 00:10:11.519 --> 00:10:14.600 some things and there are nothing really gross or anything 188 00:10:14.639 --> 00:10:17.799 in there, but the concepts are kind of kind of scary. 189 00:10:17.879 --> 00:10:20.440 So who is it for. It's for everybody over about 190 00:10:20.440 --> 00:10:22.080 fourteen years or if you were going to read it 191 00:10:22.120 --> 00:10:24.039 to your children, there's a couple of little parts you 192 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:27.639 could leave out if you were reading to them. 193 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:33.320 Absolutely absolutely not to understand. You know, from your journey 194 00:10:33.320 --> 00:10:36.879 point of your Air Force career, how much did that 195 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.440 influence your epic negatives? 196 00:10:40.000 --> 00:10:40.559 Absolutely? 197 00:10:40.600 --> 00:10:42.559 I mean there's a lot of because you can go 198 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:45.080 from you know, fantasy sword fighting all the way to 199 00:10:45.200 --> 00:10:48.120 there's a lot of there's battles in there that are spaceships, 200 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:50.960 there's battles in there where there are pilots flying fighters. 201 00:10:51.720 --> 00:10:55.120 I incorporated a lot of that into the stories. And 202 00:10:55.200 --> 00:10:58.080 another thing that really affected or that the Air Force 203 00:10:58.120 --> 00:11:02.240 really affected the storytelling was in just the organizational aspect 204 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:05.279 of it, because you know, it's it's very complicated as 205 00:11:05.279 --> 00:11:07.279 far as it's not very simple. It's not simple. It's 206 00:11:07.320 --> 00:11:09.759 very complicated as far as the concepts and as far 207 00:11:09.799 --> 00:11:12.240 as everybody in a relating and the people moving around 208 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.159 in the time tunnels between books and between times and 209 00:11:15.200 --> 00:11:18.279 between dimensions. So that organization and the Air Force and 210 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:20.720 at the Air Force Academy, I think is what really 211 00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:23.399 helped me with the stories.

But yes, there's a lot 212 00:11:23.399 --> 00:11:26.000 of flying in there and a lot of battle sequences 213 00:11:26.080 --> 00:11:29.360 that that my Air Force career did influence. 214 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:31.720 Absolutely absolutely. 215 00:11:31.759 --> 00:11:35.559 That you mentioned about you know that you wrote because 216 00:11:35.600 --> 00:11:41.120 of this, But was that the only inspiration motivation? I 217 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:45.360 want to understand, miss Where did you get this continuous 218 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:48.919 motivation to write? You can put it that okay, I was. 219 00:11:49.039 --> 00:11:52.480 I wasn't retiring. I was thinking, well I'll not be 220 00:11:52.559 --> 00:11:55.200 able to that is okay, that is, but that is 221 00:11:55.279 --> 00:11:58.759 that cannot be the full reason. How do you continue 222 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:03.679 to keep your you know, motivated for writing, everybody would 223 00:12:03.720 --> 00:12:07.240 even write. Not everyone can be an author like you 224 00:12:07.559 --> 00:12:10.240 and to write this sort of stuff when you are 225 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.440 you know, you're talking about the greats Talkien and others. 226 00:12:14.600 --> 00:12:18.919 So I want to understand from that point of epic storytelling, 227 00:12:19.159 --> 00:12:22.960 what was your motivation, what was your inspiration? Where did 228 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.279 you get all these things? And then we'll come to 229 00:12:25.360 --> 00:12:28.519 the god wings. It will only come to those who 230 00:12:28.559 --> 00:12:31.840 will actually have that motivation and inspiration. 231 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:35.279 Well, I would say anybody actually can write, and it's 232 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:38.399 making it. Technology is making a lot easier now as 233 00:12:38.440 --> 00:12:40.320 long as you have something to say, You start with 234 00:12:40.360 --> 00:12:42.879 something to say, and then you just start writing. And 235 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:45.720 the thing that all scares people about writing is having 236 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.879 a blank page of paper. Well, I just develop a 237 00:12:48.919 --> 00:12:51.200 couple of characters and I let them start talking. And 238 00:12:51.240 --> 00:12:54.399 when the characters start talking, they kind of go the 239 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:56.720 direction that they want to go. You know, that's something 240 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:58.759 that we all, like we're doing right now. We love 241 00:12:58.840 --> 00:13:01.320 to talk, and when we talk, we come up with ideas, 242 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.279 and so you let the characters come up with the 243 00:13:03.320 --> 00:13:06.559 ideas for you. So you start with a purpose. And 244 00:13:06.600 --> 00:13:09.080 my purpose was at first, like I talked about, just 245 00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:12.000 showing my boys they could write, and then you know, 246 00:13:12.360 --> 00:13:14.200 because of the Godwinks that we're going to get into. 247 00:13:14.759 --> 00:13:18.080 The inspiration kind of came to you know, make this different, 248 00:13:18.159 --> 00:13:19.960 make it different than what's out there in the world 249 00:13:20.039 --> 00:13:22.879 right now. Make it positive. And and that's the biggest 250 00:13:22.879 --> 00:13:24.919 thing for the books, AJ, is I just want people 251 00:13:24.960 --> 00:13:28.080 after they read them to know, you know, that there 252 00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:32.159 there is hope and that they're not alone, and there 253 00:13:32.200 --> 00:13:34.440 are answers to the questions and to search for them 254 00:13:34.480 --> 00:13:37.120 and to be positive. So the books are very positive 255 00:13:38.279 --> 00:13:41.720 in the middle of all that action. And I'm ready 256 00:13:41.720 --> 00:13:43.440 to get into the god winks if you are, because 257 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:45.159 I think that's a big part of your of the 258 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:47.440 answer to your question about what kept me going. 259 00:13:48.279 --> 00:13:50.600 Absolutely absolutely, let's understand that. 260 00:13:51.399 --> 00:13:54.000 Okay. So at the end of that first trilogy, when 261 00:13:54.039 --> 00:13:56.279 I was coming up with one of the land masses 262 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.039 for Forever, you know, the Faithful Stand Forever. So it 263 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:01.000 was the third book in the first trilogy I was 264 00:14:01.000 --> 00:14:03.320 looking for and this all the hair on the back 265 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:05.240 of my neck always stands up when I tell the story, AJ. 266 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:08.279 But I was looking for one land mass where I 267 00:14:08.320 --> 00:14:11.120 needed the very beginning of the story to start where 268 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.360 and this is part of that part where over fourteen, 269 00:14:14.039 --> 00:14:16.679 you know, people were sacrificing their children over a fire 270 00:14:16.799 --> 00:14:19.799 to a demon called Molk. And I was like, well, 271 00:14:19.840 --> 00:14:21.960 I don't know what to name this island. So I said, 272 00:14:22.000 --> 00:14:24.519 I'll take the first letter of all of the land 273 00:14:24.559 --> 00:14:26.519 masses that I had put into my books in two 274 00:14:26.559 --> 00:14:28.759 thousand and five in twenty ten and see if it 275 00:14:28.840 --> 00:14:31.039 spelled something. And so I did that and it came 276 00:14:31.120 --> 00:14:33.879 up toph E T for all of those land masses, 277 00:14:33.919 --> 00:14:35.240 and I was like, well, that's got a ring to 278 00:14:35.279 --> 00:14:35.840 it tofit. 279 00:14:36.279 --> 00:14:36.879 Okay. Cool. 280 00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:38.519 So then a couple of days later, I said, I 281 00:14:38.519 --> 00:14:40.759 wonder if that's a real place, And I went and 282 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:43.200 I looked, and I googled it and it said, you know, 283 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:45.799 this is a place

in ancient Israel and the valley 284 00:14:45.799 --> 00:14:49.279 of Henam where people were sacrificing their children to a 285 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:52.360 demon called Molk. And I was like, I could not 286 00:14:52.559 --> 00:14:55.480 have planned that because it was five, you know, ten 287 00:14:55.559 --> 00:14:58.120 years and fifteen years earlier where I did the first 288 00:14:58.120 --> 00:15:00.960 two books, and I random it came with these up 289 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:04.279 with these names for these places, Trinnian and Omentia, Parlantis. 290 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:07.080 Heath just got pulling them out of my ear and 291 00:15:07.159 --> 00:15:10.039 so and then you know, fifteen years later, I put 292 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:12.039 just those letters together and it comes up with a 293 00:15:12.159 --> 00:15:15.279 name that is actually what I was writing in the story. 294 00:15:15.399 --> 00:15:19.080 So it's it's beyond belief to me how that happened. 295 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.200 So I said, well, something's going on here. I'm not 296 00:15:21.240 --> 00:15:23.320 trying to say, you know, the books are inspired or whatever, 297 00:15:23.360 --> 00:15:26.440 but I think someone was inspiring me to write these books, 298 00:15:26.440 --> 00:15:29.120 maybe just to spread hope in the world. And then 299 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:33.080 and then it continued on in the second series really quickly. 300 00:15:33.639 --> 00:15:36.440 Every morning on Facebook, I put you know, I wake 301 00:15:36.519 --> 00:15:38.679 up early, so today wasn't a big deal. It's five 302 00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.519 am here, but I wake up at like two o'clock 303 00:15:40.559 --> 00:15:42.639 in the morning and I look at my clock and 304 00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.639 three sixteen kept coming up. So I put John in 305 00:15:45.639 --> 00:15:47.120 front of it, took a picture and put it on 306 00:15:47.120 --> 00:15:50.279 my Facebook for years John three sixteen, because you know, 307 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:52.840 that's in the Bible, the Gospel where God loves us 308 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:55.399 and he sent Jesus to save us. And so I 309 00:15:55.480 --> 00:15:57.279 was doing that and then all of a sudden, a 310 00:15:57.320 --> 00:15:59.200 bunch of three sixteens came up. When I went to 311 00:15:59.200 --> 00:16:02.759 publish my book, I think it was stand. I had 312 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.679 a little piece of gold, and I asked, how much 313 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:06.559 are you going to give me for it? And the 314 00:16:06.600 --> 00:16:09.320 place I was selling it too, said, well, it changes constantly, 315 00:16:09.759 --> 00:16:12.679 but right now it's twenty three hundred and sixteen dollars. 316 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:15.039 I was like three sixteen. And then the first person 317 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:17.559 that did a review on my book it was her 318 00:16:17.639 --> 00:16:20.279 number three hundred and sixteenth review, and I was

like, 319 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:22.759 what's going on here? And then I get the book 320 00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:24.720 back and the publisher, you know, they do a bunch 321 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:26.000 of changes on it, and they put it out and 322 00:16:26.039 --> 00:16:28.240 it's got three hundred and sixteen pages, and there was 323 00:16:28.320 --> 00:16:32.080 just a ton of those things that happened aj along 324 00:16:32.120 --> 00:16:35.080 with the naming of the Katuvam and the chronicles of 325 00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.480 the seven Wheels. I don't know if we have time 326 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:38.399 to go into that, but it was there's a bunch 327 00:16:38.399 --> 00:16:42.279 of amazing coincidences, if you will, And I want to 328 00:16:42.279 --> 00:16:45.200 tell the audience that there are no coincidences. Everything that's 329 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:48.639 happening in the world around us is happening for a reason. 330 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:50.960 And that's another one of the things in the book 331 00:16:51.080 --> 00:16:53.799 is just to push people to look and pay attention 332 00:16:53.840 --> 00:16:55.559 to what's happening in the world around them. There's a 333 00:16:55.639 --> 00:16:58.120 bunch of amazing things and we just need to open 334 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.639 our eyes to them. So, you know, those were a 335 00:17:00.679 --> 00:17:03.080 few of the things that hit me that inspired me 336 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:05.039 to keep going and to just go, you know, there's 337 00:17:05.039 --> 00:17:06.920 more to this story. And like I said, i'm a reporter, 338 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:09.440 I'm just a you know, it has come very easy 339 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:11.240 to me. I take a walk with the dogs and 340 00:17:11.279 --> 00:17:13.400 I come back and I just be amazed at the 341 00:17:13.440 --> 00:17:15.759 things that would hit me to include in the story 342 00:17:15.799 --> 00:17:18.079 and to expand it. So I hope that touches a 343 00:17:18.119 --> 00:17:20.799 little bit about you know, on the inspiration. 344 00:17:20.440 --> 00:17:22.200 For the books. 345 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:28.240 Absolutely absolutely, What about the egg within an egg structure? 346 00:17:28.319 --> 00:17:30.480 How did you come with that? 347 00:17:30.720 --> 00:17:34.519 Means that needs a lot of you know, experiences and expertise, 348 00:17:35.319 --> 00:17:37.119 and I just understand that part. 349 00:17:38.200 --> 00:17:40.920 Sure. So I think that came a little bit naturally 350 00:17:41.680 --> 00:17:43.240 just because of you know, when you start with a 351 00:17:43.240 --> 00:17:45.680 little story like that first trilogy and people are reading 352 00:17:45.720 --> 00:17:47.079 that and it's like, oh, that's kind of nice. It's 353 00:17:47.119 --> 00:17:49.359 kind of like little House on the Prairie meets fantasy 354 00:17:49.440 --> 00:17:53.880 meets swords. And then I realized that there was a 355 00:17:53.920 --> 00:17:56.000 bunch of elements that I just dropped in there in 356 00:17:56.039 --> 00:17:59.200 that first trilogy that you know, needed to be explained, 357 00:17:59.519 --> 00:18:01.519 and so I said, well, you know, I got to 358 00:18:01.559 --> 00:18:04.000 explain that. So that's how that second Egg happened, where 359 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.640 it expanded it to explaining a lot of the fantasy 360 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:10.799 artifacts and the different things that were going on. And 361 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:13.440 then you know, I introduced a bunch more mysteries and 362 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:16.240 in that second trilogy and they needed to be explained. 363 00:18:16.559 --> 00:18:19.559 So that expanded it into the third one, where it 364 00:18:19.599 --> 00:18:23.240 really went into the sci fi. And once again, you know, 365 00:18:23.279 --> 00:18:25.359 there's so many neat things in this story a j 366 00:18:26.279 --> 00:18:28.759 there's so many aspects. There's a ton of hidden gems, 367 00:18:29.119 --> 00:18:31.960 if you will, jewels, and the more you spend reading 368 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:33.279 it and the more you look at it, the more 369 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:36.920 you'll see how things interconnect and just the amazing things 370 00:18:36.920 --> 00:18:40.480 that happened. So and then you know, realizing that once 371 00:18:40.519 --> 00:18:43.640 again it wasn't finished. I had to wrap it all 372 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.519 up and solve basically everything within the story, so I 373 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:49.240 don't leave things hanging like, hey, where did that come from? 374 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:51.440 Or where did that spaceship come from? Or who's this 375 00:18:51.480 --> 00:18:54.799 little girl? There's there's so many things to mysteries, to 376 00:18:54.880 --> 00:18:59.400 explore and to solve within the story, and so that's 377 00:18:59.440 --> 00:19:02.000 where the different eggs came from. 378 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:02.799 Absolutely. 379 00:19:02.839 --> 00:19:05.680 You talk about you know, Telkam and others, and you 380 00:19:05.759 --> 00:19:10.880 also talk about your characters, you know, and I want 381 00:19:10.920 --> 00:19:12.839 to understand your characters. 382 00:19:12.880 --> 00:19:14.359 How are they different? 383 00:19:14.440 --> 00:19:17.920 You talk about Proudo, you talk about Harry, you talk 384 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.920 about the Wan, you talk about the Ring, and you 385 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:24.440 talk about the Stones. That's the But how do your 386 00:19:24.559 --> 00:19:28.880 characters differ from those greats characters? 387 00:19:29.319 --> 00:19:31.119 Sure? So, a lot of the characters and in a 388 00:19:31.119 --> 00:19:34.359 lot of those stories, you know, the Talk and and 389 00:19:34.359 --> 00:19:37.160 and the Martins and the and the Jordan's, Uh, they 390 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:48.880 struggle a lot with moral clarity, and my characters are 391

00:19:48.920 --> 00:19:51.200 primarily struggling with faith and how they're going to get 392 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:53.119 through the different struggles. So they're very similar in a 393 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:55.720 lot of ways. But they're also different in that they 394 00:19:55.759 --> 00:19:58.400 have a hope to hang on to. And you know, 395 00:19:58.440 --> 00:20:01.200 there's evil characters of course in the story too, so 396 00:20:01.200 --> 00:20:03.519 so you have the whole mix just like everywhere else. 397 00:20:03.519 --> 00:20:05.839 But you know, I like to say, you know where 398 00:20:05.880 --> 00:20:08.160 Martin has his wheel of time that's turning and it 399 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:12.839 just keeps going, and Jordan, you know, he has what 400 00:20:12.960 --> 00:20:15.680 was I gonna say? I lost my train of thought there, 401 00:20:17.160 --> 00:20:22.359 But you know Frodo in Tokens, Frodo in the Lord 402 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:25.440 of the Rings he has the ring right, and and 403 00:20:26.039 --> 00:20:29.680 in in uh Rawlings, you know, stories with Harry Potter, 404 00:20:29.759 --> 00:20:32.319 he has the wand. And in my stories, you know, 405 00:20:32.440 --> 00:20:35.720 in that fourth volume that's coming out in the spring, 406 00:20:36.920 --> 00:20:39.079 you'll find out that you all have the wheels. So 407 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:41.799 I don't know, when you see an action flick or something, 408 00:20:41.880 --> 00:20:43.839 or you know, even a fantasy movie, you you come 409 00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:45.359 out of there and you feel like you've been in 410 00:20:45.400 --> 00:20:47.319 the movie. So a lot of times I'll drive my 411 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:49.599 car really fast, thinking I'm in a fighter jet or something, 412 00:20:49.599 --> 00:20:52.400 when after I watch a Tom Cruise movie or whatever. 413 00:20:52.759 --> 00:20:55.319 In these books, after you're done reading him, you'll find 414 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:58.079 out that you have the tools. You have the stones 415 00:20:58.079 --> 00:20:59.119 if you will. And I don't want to give it 416 00:20:59.119 --> 00:21:01.559 way too much, but the zones are really critical in 417 00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.559 this in the story. And so you know, unlike these 418 00:21:04.559 --> 00:21:06.680 other shows where you get out of there and you go, oh, 419 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:08.880 you know Roto had that ring and you know Harry 420 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:10.839 Potter had that wand, and I don't have any of those, 421 00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:13.799 you have the stones. So I condensed this this final 422 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:16.480 volume down right back to Earth and right back to 423 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:19.880 the reader, and so the reader realizes, Hey, you know, 424 00:21:19.920 --> 00:21:22.559 this battles going on around me, and this whole thing 425 00:21:22.599 --> 00:21:24.720 that I've just read, I'm part of it, and I 426 00:21:24.839 --> 00:21:27.559 have the tools to fight within it. So I know, 427 00:21:27.799 --> 00:21:29.319 I'm sorry I lost my train of thought there in 428 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:31.640 the very beginning, but I think that's that's what I 429 00:21:31.680 --> 00:21:33.319 wanted to say. And so you have the tools, and 430 00:21:33.599 --> 00:21:35.359 there is hope, and you have you know, I have 431 00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:38.440 everything you need to accomplish the battles that you face 432 00:21:38.480 --> 00:21:40.359 every day and the struggles that you face every day. 433 00:21:41.720 --> 00:21:45.720 Absolutely did. It's so you talk about spiritual walk. 434 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:49.920 Pit that us understand what what is this spiritual wark? 435 00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:54.400 Okay, so once again the you know, the different genres 436 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.480 that are in here, spiritual warfare is added in. So 437 00:21:56.480 --> 00:21:58.319 you have angels and you have demons, and you really 438 00:21:58.319 --> 00:22:01.160 have the protagonists and the antagonist you're the kings on 439 00:22:01.200 --> 00:22:04.880 the chessboard behind the battle. So throughout this thing you 440 00:22:04.960 --> 00:22:07.480 have all the fantasy aspects that you have in fantasy 441 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:10.319 uh stories, and and in movies and the and the 442 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:13.240 same thing with sci fi. But the spiritual aspect is 443 00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:16.680 kind of what drives the protagonists that in the characters, 444 00:22:17.079 --> 00:22:18.759 you know, to get through the struggles that they have 445 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:21.839 and get to the end. So their faith is very important. 446 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:24.079 So that's why I say it's about faith, family, love, 447 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:30.559 and adventure. So you that's what gives really the the 448 00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:32.880 the design and the purpose and the and the help 449 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:34.640 that you have and the hope and all the answers 450 00:22:34.680 --> 00:22:37.400 in the story is is the God aspect to it 451 00:22:37.480 --> 00:22:39.279 and the spiritual aspect to it. So I don't want 452 00:22:39.279 --> 00:22:41.079 to shy away from that. That's why I wrote this book. 453 00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:43.920 I think that's the source of where we can get 454 00:22:43.960 --> 00:22:46.799 positive in our storytelling nowadays, and where we can provide 455 00:22:46.799 --> 00:22:49.799 that hope and purpose to people is through faith and 456 00:22:49.799 --> 00:22:52.720 and through our belief in God. So that you know, 457 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:55.359 that's where the characters come from, at least on one 458 00:22:55.400 --> 00:22:58.119 side on the on the white side of the chess 459 00:22:58.119 --> 00:23:00.319 board and on the black side of the chessboard. And 460 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:02.640 I don't mean that racially, of course. You know there's 461

00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:05.400 a black and white characters, you know, on the on 462 00:23:05.400 --> 00:23:08.319 a chessboard, all like all the the different pieces on 463 00:23:08.359 --> 00:23:11.359 the chessboard represent all the different levels of protagonists and 464 00:23:11.359 --> 00:23:14.200 antagonists that are in the stories. But angels and demons 465 00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:17.640 really drive and help their sides in the story, and 466 00:23:17.680 --> 00:23:20.960 that spiritual aspect is very important to to this trilogy 467 00:23:21.039 --> 00:23:23.160 or the trilogy of trilogies. I like to say. 468 00:23:24.599 --> 00:23:28.640 Absolutely so in an RHL, what do you want your 469 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:32.400 you know, readers to take up from your book? What 470 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:35.680 is it that you learn from your own books? What 471 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:39.200 is it that you uh expected from your books? And 472 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:40.839 have you achieve those? 473 00:23:42.440 --> 00:23:47.519 Okay, so we touched on a little bit. But again, uh, 474 00:23:47.599 --> 00:23:50.079 you know, I want people to really enjoy the fiction 475 00:23:50.160 --> 00:23:52.440 and the fantasy that's in the books, and there's tons 476 00:23:52.480 --> 00:23:55.359 of it. There's tons of science fiction, I should say 477 00:23:55.400 --> 00:23:57.599 in fantasy. But at the same time, I want people 478 00:23:57.680 --> 00:24:00.599 to walk away knowing that they are now alone. They 479 00:24:00.599 --> 00:24:03.119 are very unique. There is design to the universe, there's 480 00:24:03.160 --> 00:24:06.799 purpose for what they're doing. Love is very important, and 481 00:24:06.839 --> 00:24:09.279 there are answers to the questions. So if you're tired of, 482 00:24:09.720 --> 00:24:12.359 you know, the nihilism and the negativity of a lot 483 00:24:12.400 --> 00:24:14.240 of the sci fi that's out of there, you can't 484 00:24:14.240 --> 00:24:16.440 watch it with your kids, or you can't give them 485 00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:18.759 a book to read because it's just too negative and 486 00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:20.400 there's just too much bad stuff in there. 487 00:24:20.680 --> 00:24:20.880 You know. 488 00:24:20.960 --> 00:24:23.880 Dive into the Chronicle series and enjoy one trilogy or 489 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:26.319 all of them, that all of the eggs, and I 490 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:28.240 think you'll really come away with a lot of hope, 491 00:24:29.440 --> 00:24:32.000 and you'll give your kids hope, and they'll know that 492 00:24:32.039 --> 00:24:34.960 they're important, and they'll know that there are answers, and 493 00:24:34.960 --> 00:24:37.480 it'll provide some of the answers if they're and oh 494 00:24:37.480 --> 00:24:39.039 and one thing I also wanted to say a at 495 00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:41.079 the back of the books, a lot of my experiences 496 00:24:41.079 --> 00:24:42.759 that you've talked about in the air force and stuff, 497 00:24:42.759 --> 00:24:45.039 I put a lot of those in there because there 498 00:24:45.240 --> 00:24:48.119 are blog entries from my chronicles of trinnion dot com 499 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:50.880 website that I had for over the years. So a 500 00:24:50.960 --> 00:24:54.559 lot of the neat flying experiences or different near death 501 00:24:54.599 --> 00:24:57.160 experiences that I have I talk about in one to 502 00:24:57.200 --> 00:24:59.599 two page just little blog entries at the back of 503 00:24:59.599 --> 00:25:03.400 these books also, So with those and some poetry, you'll 504 00:25:03.440 --> 00:25:06.519 get the whole gamut of everything. You get all the storytelling, 505 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:08.400 and you get the real life experiences, and you get 506 00:25:08.440 --> 00:25:11.839 the hope that I want to give to people. 507 00:25:12.599 --> 00:25:17.119 So absolutely, absolutely, there's so much to learn from you. 508 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:19.960 There is so much to learn beyond from your books. 509 00:25:19.960 --> 00:25:22.079 And I'm sure a lot of people would want to 510 00:25:22.119 --> 00:25:24.480 connect with you to connect get your books. 511 00:25:24.480 --> 00:25:27.160 What's the best way for them to do so? 512 00:25:27.160 --> 00:25:29.839 So they're available on Amazon, Barnes, and Noble, you know 513 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:33.359 from my Zulon publisher. But if you go to chronicles 514 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:36.440 off Trinion dot com which is all one word Chronicles 515 00:25:36.480 --> 00:25:41.079 of trinnion dot com, or you look google Terrence L. Rodering, 516 00:25:41.400 --> 00:25:43.200 you'll be able to find a connection to all of 517 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:44.680 the books and be able to order them. And I 518 00:25:44.720 --> 00:25:47.039 just want to say you can get the audiobooks through Kindle. 519 00:25:47.359 --> 00:25:49.519 They're very cheap, so you can get this whole series 520 00:25:50.240 --> 00:25:52.279 of ten books, plus the ones that are coming out now, 521 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:55.160 probably for less than thirty dollars American, so you know, 522 00:25:55.240 --> 00:25:57.480 you could listen to them and it wouldn't cost you 523 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:59.400 very much. And then you get to you get that 524 00:25:59.480 --> 00:26:02.640 hope and that purpose and get to maybe inspire your 525 00:26:02.720 --> 00:26:05.160 kids with some good sci fi and fantasy, but also 526 00:26:05.240 --> 00:26:06.920 some spiritual aspects. 527 00:26:08.079 --> 00:26:09.039 Wonderful with this. 528 00:26:09.319 --> 00:26:12.079 It's set up on this very special edition of the 529 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:13.440 kJ Masterclass Live. 530 00:26:13.799 --> 00:26:15.960 Thank you so much, indeed, thank you a J. 531 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:16.799 I appreciate it.