Synopsis

You know him, but you can't remember his name. He is the one that is always there, in the background, all but invisible to those roaming the hallways. What if he had a secret? What if it was a secret that even he didn't know?

Test Davis has always been a blur to those around him. He's a shadow like a million other kids--not smart enough for the academic team, not beast enough for the football team, not extroverted enough for the drama crowd. In all things Test is just...not, which is why no one ever notices him.

But what happens when someone does notice him--Nicole Paxton, a cheerleader, no less? What happens on the night that Test finds out there's nothing average about him and that a powerful gift has been hidden within, sectretly waiting to be set free and alter his life forever? The question is, will that power save him and those he loves or tear them apart?




Friday, June 18, 2010

Rules and restraints on how fantastic a fantasy can be?

Greetings everyone! Today I want to talk about the habit that some have to put a lid on how fantastic a fantasy can or should be?

To me this in direct conflict with the definition of fantasy. The Wikipedia online dictionary defines the term fantasy as "a situation imagined by an individual or group that has no basis in reality but expresses certain desires or aims on the part of its creator. Fantasies typically involve situations which are impossible (such as the existence of magic powers) or highly unlikely."

I'm confused in how one can read a fantasy and say "this is too much" or "that could never happen". This would be like going water skiing and getting upset because you got wet. It makes no sense to me.

I can remember when the last Indiana Jones came out. My wife and I were sitting in the theatre, very much enjoying the movie for keeping with the tone of the first three. Then the great waterfall scene comes where Indiana and his group go over the towering falls and come out unscathed! From behind me, I hear a man's voice say, "Aw come on! They'd be dead!" I turned and gave him a funny look and shook my head. Here he is, paying his hard earned money to watch an Indiana Jones flick and all he can do the entire movie is cut it down for being exactly what Indiana Jones has been for over two decades? What, you mean in the first three Indiana Jones movies that you saw everything was totally believable and possible? Really?

Superman has a TON of different powers. He can fly, use x-ray vision, run insanely fast, jump tall buildings in a single bound, is super strong, can shoot laser beams out of his eyes, bounce bullets off of his chest, and freeze super villains with his super cold breath. Who in the world would want to read something so over the top and impossible? How did he get these powers? Sure it's because of the color of our sun, but how in the world are all of these super powers possible? What happens inside of him that makes it physically possible? It's kind of like how many licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie roll tootsie pop..."the world may never know!"

Batman is nothing more than a human with deep pockets and a desire to right wrongs that are in the world. Using nothing more than a suit made of super durable material and an array of gadgets, he is able to stop any adversary. He can fall from the tops of buildings, have trees fall on him, get caught in explosions, and even fight true superheroes with actual super powers and win! Who in the world would want to read something so far fetched and, dare I say it...fantastic?

Maybe I'm different than the rest of the fantasy loving world? Maybe I can get lost in someone's imagination easier and dream of the impossible being possible? For me, there are no rules or restraints on how fantastic a fantasy is allowed to be. In fact, I say the more fantastic the better. If I wanted the real world I'd watch the news.

Take care all!
J.M.