GARGOYLES DESERVE YOUR LOVE
Posted on December 21, 2012
What monster is due its time in the limelight? What creature is deserving of rising up the ranks to party with the likes of the elite – vampires, zombies and werewolves? I want to make the case for the gargoyle.
Look, it's a creature made of stone, commonly used as a means to divert water, and it has cool bat wings! How could writers not jump on this and create a more layered mythology? Why haven't readers stood up and demanded their antiheroes be made of stone but warm of heart underneath? Talk about pathos out the wazoo!
They're the ninja turtles of the supernatural! Their hardened exterior is like a shell. They're wings allow them to perform dazzling aerial acrobatics. You could have them play the role of mystical fire hose, extinguishing a horde of flame demons with their ability to spew inordinate amounts of water out of their mouths.
And if you must insist on having a romantic triangle in your stories, consider the gargoyle as one loveable vertex. Being made of stone, they would automatically convey how emotionally removed they are. Doesn't that just get hearts going pitter-patter when the hero is aloof and seemingly unobtainable?
You could develop its powers to maybe having a touch that petrifies those around it. Even go all King Midas and have a bit of stone-cold tragedy happen.
Wow, all these ideas really set me in the mindset of writing a story about such delightfully complex creatures.
Wait, I've already done that. Except my approach didn't delve into hugs and kisses, or faraway looks conveying thwarted passion. Heck, I didn't even use the geyser notion and have my hero make with the Slip N' Slide.
No, I went a different way. I made the gargoyles turn to stone as they age. I made it so my lead was afraid of heights and doubted his tiny wings would help him make his First Flight. I filled my book with a brother and sister relationship that is real, tender, and divisive as much as it is bonding. I even threw in a flying mummy, a bully and the parting of a almost calcified grandfather from his grandson.
Not only that, I wrote a sequel that dug deeper into what it means to be a gargoyle and I'm about to start work on the third book in the series in February of 2013. I am hopeful you'll climb onboard and let Graham take you on a flight of fancy that is filled with danger, spirit and, the wisdom of the heart.
And for all those tough guys who say they can't be swayed by a book about a cute gargoyle, I say poppycock! That's right, I went there! You can't go back when you throw that word out. It shows I mean business, that I have conviction, that everyone has a little room in their life for a gargoyle named Graham.
And, who knows, maybe he's just the gargoyle to make being made of stone and a frequenter of high places the next big thing. Of course I could be wrong and have missed the mark entirely. Maybe it's the gremlin's turn to strike it big. If you feel that way about it, then boy do I have a book about a gremlin you're going to love!
Show your fine appreciation of the gargoyle by checking out the links below:
Graham the Gargoyle on the Kindle
Graham 2 on the Kindle
And if you're partial to mischief makers like gremlins, direct your peepers here:
Tagalong (my one about a snazzy gremlin) on the Kindle