Like all good fantasy novels, Nor Iron Bars A Cage is set in a land similiar enough to ours to understand it yet distinctive enough to spark the fantastical spirit in the reader. Caprice Hokstad's unique setting and characters drew me in and I'd like to share some of the author's comments to spark your interest. I asked her a few questions and here are her responses:
1. You have two distinct groups of people who live in Byntar/ Latoph: Elva and Itzi. Can you contrast and compare these two races for me.
Let's start with the Itzi. I had several ideas in mind with them:
a. humans with Down's Syndrome
b. the Amish
c. sheep
The Itzi are perceived by most Elva as less intelligent. But are they really "stupid"? How long ago was it that we (Americans) didn't bother to try to teach Down's syndrome kids at all? We assumed they could never master reading, so we didn't even try to teach them. But it turned out that some of those people we call "retarded" can indeed learn to read, among other things we assumed they couldn't do. In Keedrina's case, all it took was a little extra effort. She learned to read because no one told the teacher it was impossible. Most upstanding Elva don't persecute Itzi any more than most upstanding "normal" folks in our society don't persecute people with Downs. Sure, there are the occasional jerks, just like here, but it's not a racially "charged" situation. Don't think African/Caucasian. Think Average Person/Down's Person. Most of us would not date them, but we wouldn't be mean or nasty either. That's the kind of relationship I wanted to show.
Please don't take my inclusion of Amish people here to be any implication whatsoever on their intelligence level. I had Amish in mind solely in reference to social aspects. They live in the same world, but they are content not to "rule" it. The Itzi have gender-based familial associations. Males raise sons. Females raise daughters. They don't marry, but rather "compact", which is just a short-term contract between a man and woman for procreation. Most Itzi compacts state that once the woman bears one son and one daughter (so each person gets an offspring), the association may be dissolved. The Itzi don't try to convince the Elva that their way is better. They just want to live their lives quietly, without interference. And since the Elva don't see the Itzi as much of a threat, they generally let them be.
I hope the sheep aspect is self-explanatory to Christian readers. Jesus called His followers sheep all the time. If Jesus can call ME a sheep, it shouldn't be too outrageous to make my characters sheeplike as well.
I spent a lot of time describing the Itzi, because they are meant to be a parallel to humans. The Elva are sometimes symbolizing Jesus (usually Vahn specifically, but Capt. Shil also takes that role in Nor Iron Bars a Cage) and other times, the Elva are just the ambitious movers and shakers in Byntarian society. In some ways they are like Tolkienesque elves, in others, like Roddenberry Vulcans. I wanted to explore themes of superiority—what we think it is, how it manifests itself, how perception may be wrong, etc. I gave the Elva many "advantages" over the Itzi (height, intelligence, ambition), but unlike Tolkien and Roddenberry, I didn't think they should get the longer lifespan to boot. Itzi live roughly twice as long as Elva. It seemed logical that ambition and the accompanying stress would burn them out faster.
2. Slavery is a key element to your characters. You show the good and the bad but I still have a hard time getting my head around the issue. One one hand we see slaves chained to the walls at the school and on the other we have kee who wished for nothing more than to become one of the duke's slaves. Can you explain what you were thinking about when you decided to introduce this element and how the reader should be viewing the slavery in the Ascendancy trilogy?
I guess a lot depends on the reader's worldview. I had in mind some very specific Biblical principles here which I will get to in a moment. If a reader is not a Christian, they could choose to view this very differently. One could make a case that Keedrina is simply stupid and doesn't know any better. I left it ambiguous enough that that is a legitimate way to interpret it. There is even a point in the first book where she regrets what she got herself into, because the benevolent master she swore herself to throws her out and leaves her at the mercy of a cousin who is not worthy of her devotion.
The Bible tells us that we are all slaves to sin. That's not a very pretty picture, is it? Guess what? The only way out is to submit to a better Master. There is no choice of being one's own boss. Those who think they are choosing "freedom" are really just choosing sin as their master. God the Father is the ultimate gentleman and doesn't take ANY slaves that aren't Freewill. We MUST choose Him as Master.
Does it seem like this is a way-out-there doctrine? I realize it's not popular. It does sound foreign to the modern Western mind. But it is Biblical. Many of the early apostles used "bondservant of the Lord" as their title, including Paul (Romans 1:1, Philippians 1:1, Titus 1:1) James (James 1:1) Peter (2 Peter 1:1) and Jude (Jude 1). Bondservant doesn't mean "minister" or "pal", folks. It means "slave". And guess what? It wasn't glamorous back then, either!
Some might also see the slavery institution in my work as just another employment arrangement. Yes, in Latoph, they do use slavery as a penal measure. We have work farms and prison work release programs, so that's not really so foreign to us. I don't dwell very much on that type of slavery in my books. The slavery seen most often in my books is more like what we would call indentured servanthood. But here again, we don't have many modern examples.
Probably the closest we can come to a "respectable" analogy in our time is voluntary military service. We respect young men and women who voluntarily relinquish a good deal of their personal rights and submit to the authority of others, in order to join the military. And, if you think about it, most of us are to some degree, a "slave" to a job. You can't just work when you feel like it. You can't make just any old remark to the boss or to the customers/clients/patrons. You may be techically able to change jobs, but it's often risky or such a hassle as to be practically impossible. Total freedom is an illusion.
3. Is kee really in love with the Vahn, Duke of Rebono or is it an attachment akin to love because she sees how kind and benevolent he is, and feels a great sense of gratitude towards him? How should a reader view kee's eagerness to become banded to the duke?
This is hard to answer, because the answer changes throughout The Duke's Handmaid. At first, it's nothing more than an infatuation or "crush". He's kind to her and he avenges her murdered family. And yes, she does notice he is handsome. But he also shows her a way to a life that's better than what she's always thought possible. I don't want a reader to compare her choice of becoming a freewill slave against the choices she might have if she lived in our society. It's not like she could just apply for a grant and go to University of Latoph! While Duke Vahn is married to the spoiled Saerula, kee truly does not have any romantic designs on him whatsoever. Her work is less physically arduous as a slave than it would have been on the chicken farm. And her life in general is easier. She's thankful to have a bed, a bathtub, and plenty of food to eat, none of which would have been possible had she refused the duke's offer.
If we go back to the analogy to the Christian life, I wanted to make it clear that choosing to become a bondservant of the Lord is not all a bed of roses. It isn't only about obtaining a "Get Out of Hell Free" card. Calling Jesus "Lord" is about submission to authority and doing what He wants instead of what we want. While Jesus accepts us as we are at our moment of confession and repentance, it is not supposed to stop there. We are supposed to grow in the Lord and become more and more like Him. What did Jesus say to His disciples? "Whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matt. 20:27-28)
kee does not really start to fall in love with Vahn until she has no contact with him at all. At this point, she doesn't think she will ever see him again. She fully expects her love will be unrequited. It is only when she learns that the duchess betrayed Vahn and left him that she starts to hold out hope. Yet, even at that point, she thinks she's going to die, so she doesn't push it. When Vahn tells her that he loves her, she can hardly believe it. They marry in secret at the end of book one, and they are really in love for all of book two, even when they publicly pretend otherwise.
4. So much of Nor Iron Bars A Cage, and its prequel centers around medieval and renaissance-type life. You have woven in so many details of these periods that the setting is alive to the reader. Where did you get this knowledge . . . it feels like more than research, it feels like you have "lived" this life.
Well, I don't believe in reincarnation, so I can't claim any real "experience" in those times! My husband does do Ren Faires a lot, and both of us have made period costumes. I was weaned on Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella and other such medieval-ly tales and fantasy has long been dominated by this type of setting. Maybe I should have been more creative and stepped outside the fantasy "norm" but I happen to like it. Call me nostalgic.
As for living it, I guess the closest experience I had were the summers I worked at a Christian camp. We worked long hours at tedious jobs for very little pay. If you weren't doing it for the Lord, I don't see how you could do it at all. I only did it for a few summers, but my husband did it full-time for almost 13 years. But we usually had propane and electricity, so it's not quite the same situation as I describe in my books. I'm glad it feels "real", even if it's mostly imagination. Fiction isn't supposed to be like textbooks!
Thank you, Caprice. I am certain that your descriptions and explanations here will intrigue readers to pick up your book!
For anyone not yet totally convinced that Nor Iron Bars A Cage or its prequel, The Duke's Handmaid is for you . . . Caprice offers excerpts of both books on her website: Latophdotcom.
Now let's see what others have to say about Nor Iron Bars A Cage with a quick web tour:
S.M. Kirkland, Back to the Mountains (pop quiz here), Bibliophile's Retreat, Christian Mystery Writers, Melody Within, Sword of Fire,
Cathi Hassan at SL
Now, some administrative items . . .
Nor Iron Bars A Cage
Caprice Hokstad
Vici Publishing
ISBN: 978-0615163604; 348 pages; October 2007
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