Dedicated to the One I Love
From Carol Browne
When you pick up a book, do you turnquickly to chapter one, or do you check out the dedication first? Perhaps, likeme, you are intrigued to know who the book is dedicated to and why? If there isa name but no explanation for it, I always wonder what that person did to havetheir name immortalised in this way.
If you’re an author, your work might notnecessarily be dedicated to the one you love. It could be to someone yourespect, admire, or have reason to thank. Many dedications are humorous andplayful and there are many examples of these online, but if you have put yourpassion and energy into a novel, which is a time-consuming and difficultundertaking, the dedication ought to be as weighty as the dedication you neededto write it.
In my first book, The Exile of Elindel, the dedication reads, ‘For Harry’, andreaders might speculate that he is my husband, son, brother, or whatever.Actually, Harry was my dog for sixteen years and he saw me through one of themost challenging periods of my life. I don’t think The Exile of Elindel would exist had I not had Harry to give me areason to get up every morning when everything was falling apart.
After Book 1, my ideas for a sequelsolidified into a novel mainly because a close friend wanted to read it. So, Book2, Gateway to Elvendom, was dedicatedto that friend, Pat Longmuir. Even an audience of one is sufficient reason towrite a book!
Books 1 and 2 called for a third book totie up all the loose ends and bring everything to a satisfying conclusion. Whenit was written, I knew it should be dedicated to the memory of my niece, BryonyCawley, who was tragically killed while only in her early 30s. She had leftEngland while very young and lived a fearless, adventurous life in other lands,so we were apart, but I remembered a conversation we had two weeks before herdeath. It occurred to me at the time that she was wise beyond her years and whenshe died, I wondered if she had learned everything she needed to and gone on tosomething better. I didn’t know what to do to honour her life, but I wanted itto be recorded somewhere. Dedicating Wyrd’sEnd, the third book in my trilogy, to Bryony seemed to be a good way for meto pay tribute to the memory of this very special human being.
As writers we can always thank people inthe acknowledgements at the end of the book, but to dedicate an entire book tosomeone is a unique tribute and a lasting memorial to a person who has had asignificant impact on the author’s life. After all, when you have put somethingout into the world which will exist as long as literature does, it seemsfitting to make your dedication a special gift to posterity.
Here is a brief intro to Book One of Carol's exciting trilogy.
Banished from Elvendom and forced to seek refuge among the Saxons, young Elgiva faces a grim future - until she crosses paths with Godwin, a Briton enslaved by the people she must now call allies.
When a dark power rises to claim dominion over Elvendom, Elgiva and Godwin set off on a dangerous quest for the legendary Lorestone: the only thing that can stop the looming darkness. With a reluctant elf boy as their guide and a stubborn pony by their side, they must navigate the treacherous land and harness ancient magic before it’s too late.
As battle lines are drawn, Elgiva must embrace her true heritage, and Godwin must learn to wield the secret power he possesses. But can they find the Lorestone in time - or will Elvendom fall forever?
An historical fantasy adventure set in 6th century Britain, THE EXILE OF ELINDEL is the first book in Carol Browne's The Elwardain Chronicles series.
Once upon a time a little girl wrote a poem about a flower. Impressed, her teacher pinned it to the wall and, in doing so, showed the child which path to follow.
Over the years poems and stories flowed from her pen like magic from a wizard’s wand.
She is much older now, a little wiser too, and she lives in rural Cambridgeshire, where there are many trees to hug.
But inside her still is that little girl who loved Nature and discovered the magic of words.
She hopes to live happily ever after.
Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
