In my opinion, a writer’s secret weapon is theme. Theme is the underlying message. Theme is what elevates a good book to a great read. To learn about theme, I studied Frank Herbert’s Dune, how he wove the themes of religion and environmental science into his settings, his characters, and his plots. If done well, your theme should permeate your book, from the plots to the characters to the dialogue to the settings. My epic medieval fantasy, The Silk & Steel Saga, has many themes woven through it. One of the main themes is to explore the mechanisms of evil. Evil is not just a horde of ugly orcs brandishing swords. In my saga, those who walk on the Dark side are beautiful, smart, and manipulative…which makes them scary as hell. The avatars of good must recognize evil and foil their mechanisms in order for good to have a chance to prevail. The second theme of the saga is prejudice, how stupid, cruel and wasteful it is. In the Silk & Steel Saga, those who are overlooked often make the greatest difference. And the third theme is how women gain, keep, and wield power in a medieval world. This third theme also influenced the very name of the saga itself, Silk And Steel Saga, with the acronym of SASS, I hope you will agree that the women in my saga have plenty of sass! As a reader, themes are the key to truly understanding a good book, as a writer, themes are the key to elevating a good book to a great book.