The Premise

About Me

Hello, my name is Zachary Parker, and I started this little project for fun. I teach a mythology class at the local high school, and in my spare time, I draw a webcomic called Flatwood. Although artwork has always been an avenue I have used to get my work across, I also enjoy writing, and since I have started teaching a class on Greek mythology, I have fallen in love with it.

The Idea

It's hard to explain how or more importantly why I get ideas, but one in particular has been kicked around in my head for a while. Now, I have plenty on my plate with working a full-time job and drawing a webcomic every week--but on the same token, I also need a way to switch gears and try out my hand at writing.

The question behind this online novel-in-progress (that's the best way to describe it, I guess) is a simple one: What if you had Hermes as your personal tour guide through mythical Greece?

I don't know why I like Hermes so much. I think it's because he strikes me as the one god or goddess on Olympus who seems to know what's going on. Zeus is a hothead, Hera is an evil fiend, Aphrodite is a twit, Ares is borish and cowardly...I mean, they all act like a bunch of two-year-olds. And who's always there to do their dirty work? That's right--Hermes. Who saves Odysseus? Who forwards the voyage of Aeneas? Who does everything?

And, to me, it seems that Hermes is the most youthful of the gods as well--Dionysus being the lone exception. And who better to give us a Generation X view of Olympus than the illustrious Messenger God himself.

The Problem with Mythology

There are thousands of wonderful stories in Mythology--stories that can take you places you've never been, meet people you've never met, and see things you could never see in the mundane world. But, the sad fact remains, most mythological stories read like a dicitonary entry.

At our school, the textbook used in class is Edith Hamilton's Mythology. Now, my apologizes to Ms. Hamilton. She did do us a wonderful service by translating these classcals, which otherwise would remain "Greek to us", but, seriously, reading the woman's writing is like driving a salad fork into your leg.

This is an attempt to give Greek mythology a life of its own, and hopefully, it will be successful.

The Audience

I can't rightly say if this will be more of children's book or a book for an adult. The main character will be a young man, but that will not dictate the style of the book. I think there will be quite a bit of stuffy-sounding things like "whimsy" and "fantastical sights" in it, but they will all have a meaning. My aim is to make it as un-classifiable as possible. As for profantiy or explicit content, it will contain none.

The Manner

I will be writing this story piece by piece, and while I did post it in this manner to receive comments, the reader must understand that it's not a finished peice. Posting in a blog site merely helps me see my progress and give me some motivation. The fact that you get to see it and comment on it is great, but it's not the primary reasoning.

It won't have any regular update schedule, but if you subscribe to this blog, the latest chapter will always be emailed to you.

I will frequently go back and republish certain parts of this--mainly to keep everything consistent, so subscribing would also keep you abreast of those changes as well.

Thank you for reading.

ZP