Let me start off by saying that when I felt the call to start writing Journey Through Sattara I was so excited.
It felt exciting to receive sudden flashes of inspiration and to wonder where the story was going to go.
The characters hadn’t been developed yet, and I didn’t know what their motivations were, their faults were, their failures were or anything like that. I just knew that I had sudden flashes of insight that I needed to translate into words.
Chapter after chapter came together and I found myself sometimes as excited as the reader to find out what was going to happen next. It was as if the chapters were only revealed to me once I sat down to write.
As I got deeper and deeper into the story I realized that all the characters in the story were me. I realized that I was creating a world where there were injustices that needed to be resolved, feuds that needed to be ended, and internal struggles that needed to be faced and erased.
Once I realized that all the characters were me, parts of my real life story, or parts of my own soul – my stomach started to turn.
Everyday after I finished writing the book I thought to myself,
This book is bigger than me. This book is bigger than me. This book is bigger than me.
That gives you an idea of the repetitive thought pattern that was running through my mind at the time.
But it wasn’t that the book was bigger than me. It’s that the book had parts of me that I was afraid to express. There were injustices that I was afraid to address in my life that I had projected onto the characters in my book.
It’s so funny how we can’t write about something that we do not know. There’s a scene in Journey Through Sattara that hits close to home for me. When I was younger there were times when I would get beatings from my guardian for things that were so small.
I mean can you imagine spilling a glass of water and being immediately popped in the face. Or bringing home a “C” in one of your most difficult subjects and getting beat so bad that you literally were ashamed to even exist.
When I created the scene of Su’Ma returning to his village after he betrayed his family, I had to put feelings and emotions from my real life experience into the heart and soul of that character.
When I wrote that scene I was in Su’Ma’s shoes the whole time and Su’Ma’s father was the guardian that use to beat me.
So when Su’Ma’s father whipped him, I felt the pain of Su’Ma inside. I also had to be the villain. I had to transform myself into the abuser as well. I had to get inside the mind of Su’Ma’s father and become evil, ruthless, and merciless.
Trust me, it’s not an easy thing to do. Especially when you know that through your writing you are facing that monster. You are facing that character that you didn’t have the courage to confront that often in real life. So when Su’Ma had the nerve to stand up to his father that was me acknowledging the fact that I belonged in the world, and my dreams and will needed to be heard. Now don’t get me wrong, standing up for what you believe in doesn’t come without consequences.
Here is a small snippet from the book.
Su’Ma’s father was there when Su’Ma woke up. Su’Ma was moaning underneath the cloth that covered his face. “All the years I took care of you, watched after you, taught you, and you make a fool out of me like this,” his father said. Su’Ma’s father’s face had lost all sympathy. He sharpened the knife he had in his hand furiously. He placed the blade on the edge of a piece of wood and sliced it to make sure it was sharp enough. His father grabbed his arms and sat Su’Ma up on his knees. His eyes scanned the healed branding in the center of his back and the one running down his spine. His father removed the cloth from Su’Ma’s bloody face, grabbed hold of his locks, and bent his head back. “That symbol on your back is a Ya’Tu symbol? You allowed another tribe to brand you?” Su’Ma moaned and groaned and his father gripped his hair tighter. “Answer me,” his father said going ballistic.“Yes,” Su’Ma said barely able to catch his breath. Su’Ma struggled through each breath and then went silent. “So you would deny your entire heritage, your entire lineage, the people you grew up around and who taught you all you know, for a few people that you just met?” “Yes,” he said panting through his breaths.
“How dishonorable.” ^^Excerpt From Journey Through Sattara^^
I am going to stop right there. I just wanted you to see how intense the scene got. You must read the beginning of the book before you indulge in the rest of that scene. For you to understand and really feel the true emotion of that scene you will have to go back to the beginning of the story. You have to get a feel of who Su’Ma is, what his tribe is like, and what his reasons for denying his lineage were.
The scene is brutally honest and heartbreaking. By that scene you will have fell in love with Su’Ma and to see him go through the pain that he is going to go through is heart-wrenching.
Why The Hell Should You Care To Read What I Write?
I chose to share my novel Journey Through Sattara with the world because I believe there are lessons in the book that will not only shape the way one thinks, but will also reach into your heart and demand sympathy, love, and respect towards the world around you.
So to answer your question… why the hell should you care to read what I write – the answers are simple.
I’m no different than you. I’m someone that has a dream of becoming a writer. Someone who pours her heart and soul out into her books. Someone who wants to make sense of the world. Someone who wants to change it. Someone who envisions a better life for herself and those around her. Someone who believes that there are countless stories to be told and not everyone can relay information in the same way.
Journey Through Sattara is a work of fiction, but it is more real than you think. There isn’t a page written in that book that I didn’t bare all of myself. The good, that bad, and the ugly.
The story is not just about me. The story is about life. It’s about overcoming obstacles, breaking through barriers, and standing up for what you believe in. It’s a tumultuous journey that shapes the characters of two unforgettable individuals.
I guess I would say that you should read the book – simply because I had the courage to write it.
A lot of ideas never even get off the ground. A lot of people doubt themselves before they even try. All I can say about me is that I did have doubt and fear, but regardless of all of that I still put pen to paper and bled.
I believe in my writing. I don’t have any fancy degrees or big name publishers, but I do have a voice and I do have many stories to tell. The only thing that I can promise you is that when you read my novel you will feel the rawness and genuine-ness from which it was written.
Thank you for reading!
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Renee "Soul Writer" Brooks 