Reporting a major plot alteration made within Horned Winged Blessed.
As many of you know, my latest novel is in editing and will soon be ready for publication on Amazon in preparation for the launch.
However, after several discussions with my beta readers and main editor, the meanings behind what Horned Winged and Blessed actually stand for is being revealed much earlier in the book than previously scheduled.
I was planning to have it written subtly within the pages of the novel, so that readers could put the pieces together as and when they were able. (And don’t worry, there are still plenty of other aspects in the book that readers will be able to do exactly that with!)
But as this is something as crucial as what the title of the book actually means, I’ve altered it to now reveal this vital information within the first chapter instead.
Horned Winged Blessed… what does it mean?
In a post-world war III, dystopian future my next novel is set in what is portrayed (at first) as a utopia. A new Wiccan government is in power and is doing what they can to revive Broken Britain after the war.
One of their main new laws is the introduction of the new words given to the three genders:
Men are now called Horned ones. Women are now called Winged ones. Anyone other than that are called Blessed ones.
Some of you will see the issue there already. If you don’t, then make sure to grab a copy of Horned Winged Blessed as soon as it’s out!
Ok, I’m going to be honest with you. I never intended to write such a strongly feminist and generally controversial novel. It was just meant to be a tad dark, with a few social comments. But the more I explored the world I had created, the more sinister the story became!
I always wanted Horned Winged Blessed to be a pro-female, pro-LGBTQ+ novel. That much was unapologetically clear from the start. I just never expected that to be achieved in such an atmospheric way. By flipping the current gender roles that we see in today’s society on their heads, I unearthed an ugly array of bugs and vermin.
The book tackles issues like abortion, oppression and even rape. It’s all brought to light by having an all-female government at the core of the story. This allows me to portray society in an ironic way: where women are in charge, and it’s men that are oppressed. For me, this does two things. It shows just how much women are oppressed in society currently. It also reveals how gender equality isn’t simply a movement towards putting women in power. That wouldn’t achieve anything. True equality means peace and freedom for men, women and all other genders on the non-binary scale.
The war for equality is far from over…
Horned Winged Blesssed is in editing, and will be ready by the winter of 2019. If you fancy a dark, dystopian delve into what life would be like with gender roles swapped and WOMEN in the same position as men currently are, keep an eye out for the previews to come!
E L Croucher 