Pam

1. Story Statement: If good is to triumph over evil, one must be willing to abandon personal goals and desires for the greater cause.

2. The Antagonist is Ren, the lord of darkness. His goal is to kill four-year-old Timothy Hatcher, whom Ren realizes is The One.

But there are rules. Ren cannot personally bring harm to Timothy, nor can the demons over whom he rules. He must employ humans for this task. To conduct the mission of eliminating Timothy, Ren visits an old acquaintance and calls in an overdue debt. This character is referred to as ‘the man’ throughout the book, enticing the reader to narrow down the list of suspects as the plot unfolds.

Ren’s engages his agent in several plots, including a car bombing and two shootings.

When Ren’s agent continually fails to kill Timothy, Ren alters the plan. With single mother Jenna out of the way, Timothy will become easy prey. Ren frames Jenna for murder.

Although Ren occasionally morphs into a frightful demon, he prefers to blend with society. When surrounded by children and soccer moms in a park, he’ll wear Under Armour jogging attire. Other times he’s clad in his favorite attire: black leather. He indulges in the many earthly pleasures, including cigarettes, booze and motorcycles.

Although no one can like an antagonist whose goal is to kill a child, Ren, at times, is difficult to hate. Whereas Mr. O, the lord of light is traditional and serious, Ren can be witty, charming, and fun-loving.

 

3. Title(s)

1. The Boy With Fire On His Chest
2. Timothy
3. The One

 

 

4. Genre and Comparables

Suspense.

Comparable: Any of the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child—murder, suspense and intrigue laced with the supernatural and metaphysical.

 

5. Conflict

 

 

Jenna Hatcher’s future couldn’t look brighter. After performing a complex placenta previa-percreta surgery, saving both mother and child, she is recognized nationally as a rising star in obstetrics and gynecology. It’s a dream beyond her wildest imagination when offered an assistant chief-of-staff position at the prestigious Saint Philomena’s Hospital for Women and Children.    

 

The twenty-nine-year-old single mother views life as a tapestry of absolutes. She refuses to recognize that her four-year-old son, Timothy is bestowed with special powers and talents, abilities that science cannot explain. Nor is her mind equipped to comprehend what O, the lord of light and Ren, the lord of darkness already know—Earth is facing cataclysmic changes, and Timothy is designated as The One, the future savior who will lead humanity in restoring civilization.

 

The cocoon that Jenna has constructed around Timothy and her begins to unravel when they narrowly escape a car bombing. In the following four weeks, Timothy, under the tutelage of O, works to strengthen his defenses against Ren, while Jenna mourns her recently deceased father, receives death threats, is framed for murder, and falls in love with investigative journalist, Nick Giarelli. By the time she accepts that Timothy is no ordinary child, and that the danger targeting them stems from forces too dark to fathom, the atheistic Jenna makes a pact with God—give back her son, and she will dedicate her life solely to Timothy. But it appears that her revelation comes too late. It will take sheer determination, as well as a miracle of Red Sea-parting magnitude to save her son and the future of humanity.

 

From the above, we see that Jenna Hatcher, has two inner conflicts to resolve. The first is that of motherhood. As a single mother, she has double the responsibilities, and she had no good role models for relationships/parenting from her parents. The second inner conflict is that of opening up her mind beyond what science can explain.

 

Jenna has plenty of opportunities to test both of these inner conflicts, culminating in the decision of a lifetime. Does she forego everything she has always believed and step out on faith? Can she really abandon all personal and career goals, as well as the only man she’s ever loved in order to seek out an unconventional and assuredly lonely life that is devoted to her son?

 

 

 

 

6. Setting

 

The story begins (and ends) in the sacred Halawa Valley on the island of Molokai. It is a region lush with vegetation and adorned by waterfalls coursing down buttressed ridges. This side of the island is devoid of electricity, stores and houses. Its only resident is an old kahuna who prophesies about the boy who will one day wear fire on his chest.

The next few scenes are set in Colorado Springs, CO. Ren (antagonist) discovers four-year-old Timothy Hatcher and realizes he is The One. At the same moment that Ren is declaring Timothy must die, Timothy’s mother, Dr. Jenna Hatcher, recognized nationally as a rising star in obstetrics and gynecology, is offered the position of assistant chief-of-staff at the prestigious Saint Philomena’s Hospital for Women and Children in Colorado Springs.

Three scenes are set among the red rocks of Arizona, where Timothy is infused with an exorbitant amount of power after a lightening strike, as well as a permanent Lichtenberg imprint of red flames on his chest.

Because of a vacation that goes haywire, the bulk of the story takes place in Mobile, Alabama, where we see the full gamut of life in the deep South—from the river and ocean front beaches, to the old magnolia aristocracy with their mansions and country clubs, to the shabbiest of trailer parks. Mobile is a city that designates the haves from the have-nots. Things are slow to change in this region of the country, social attitudes and prejudices notwithstanding. Below is a passage in which when Ren, Lord of Darkness is describing it to one of his agents.

“I always feel at home here in Dixie. Southern hospitality and all those high-flown manners. Cotillions and debutante balls. What a delicious reminder of class inequality. Speaking of delicious, the down-home cooking, yeah that’s another plus. Grease, grease, and more grease. Enough to send the arteries squealing for mercy. And I simply adore how those crosses light up a front yard, hell, an entire neighborhood. Saves on street lights and electricity. Living green at its finest. What’s not to like?”

1. Story Statement: If good is to triumph over evil, one must be willing to abandon personal goals and desires for the greater cause.

2. The Antagonist is Ren, the lord of darkness. His goal is to kill four-year-old Timothy Hatcher, whom Ren realizes is The One.

But there are rules. Ren cannot personally bring harm to Timothy, nor can the demons over whom he rules. He must employ humans for this task. To conduct the mission of eliminating Timothy, Ren visits an old acquaintance and calls in an overdue debt. This character is referred to as ‘the man’ throughout the book, enticing the reader to narrow down the list of suspects as the plot unfolds.

Ren’s engages his agent in several plots, including a car bombing and two shootings.

When Ren’s agent continually fails to kill Timothy, Ren alters the plan. With single mother Jenna out of the way, Timothy will become easy prey. Ren frames Jenna for murder.

Although Ren occasionally morphs into a frightful demon, he prefers to blend with society. When surrounded by children and soccer moms in a park, he’ll wear Under Armour jogging attire. Other times he’s clad in his favorite attire: black leather. He indulges in the many earthly pleasures, including cigarettes, booze and motorcycles.

Although no one can like an antagonist whose goal is to kill a child, Ren, at times, is difficult to hate. Whereas Mr. O, the lord of light is traditional and serious, Ren can be witty, charming, and fun-loving.

 

3. Title(s)

1. The Boy With Fire On His Chest
2. Timothy
3. The One

 

 

4. Genre and Comparables

Suspense.

Comparable: Any of the Pendergast novels by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child—murder, suspense and intrigue laced with the supernatural and metaphysical.

 

5. Conflict

 

 

Jenna Hatcher’s future couldn’t look brighter. After performing a complex placenta previa-percreta surgery, saving both mother and child, she is recognized nationally as a rising star in obstetrics and gynecology. It’s a dream beyond her wildest imagination when offered an assistant chief-of-staff position at the prestigious Saint Philomena’s Hospital for Women and Children.    

 

The twenty-nine-year-old single mother views life as a tapestry of absolutes. She refuses to recognize that her four-year-old son, Timothy is bestowed with special powers and talents, abilities that science cannot explain. Nor is her mind equipped to comprehend what O, the lord of light and Ren, the lord of darkness already know—Earth is facing cataclysmic changes, and Timothy is designated as The One, the future savior who will lead humanity in restoring civilization.

 

The cocoon that Jenna has constructed around Timothy and her begins to unravel when they narrowly escape a car bombing. In the following four weeks, Timothy, under the tutelage of O, works to strengthen his defenses against Ren, while Jenna mourns her recently deceased father, receives death threats, is framed for murder, and falls in love with investigative journalist, Nick Giarelli. By the time she accepts that Timothy is no ordinary child, and that the danger targeting them stems from forces too dark to fathom, the atheistic Jenna makes a pact with God—give back her son, and she will dedicate her life solely to Timothy. But it appears that her revelation comes too late. It will take sheer determination, as well as a miracle of Red Sea-parting magnitude to save her son and the future of humanity.

 

From the above, we see that Jenna Hatcher, has two inner conflicts to resolve. The first is that of motherhood. As a single mother, she has double the responsibilities, and she had no good role models for relationships/parenting from her parents. The second inner conflict is that of opening up her mind beyond what science can explain.

 

Jenna has plenty of opportunities to test both of these inner conflicts, culminating in the decision of a lifetime. Does she forego everything she has always believed and step out on faith? Can she really abandon all personal and career goals, as well as the only man she’s ever loved in order to seek out an unconventional and assuredly lonely life that is devoted to her son?

 

 

 

 

6. Setting

 

The story begins (and ends) in the sacred Halawa Valley on the island of Molokai. It is a region lush with vegetation and adorned by waterfalls coursing down buttressed ridges. This side of the island is devoid of electricity, stores and houses. Its only resident is an old kahuna who prophesies about the boy who will one day wear fire on his chest.

The next few scenes are set in Colorado Springs, CO. Ren (antagonist) discovers four-year-old Timothy Hatcher and realizes he is The One. At the same moment that Ren is declaring Timothy must die, Timothy’s mother, Dr. Jenna Hatcher, recognized nationally as a rising star in obstetrics and gynecology, is offered the position of assistant chief-of-staff at the prestigious Saint Philomena’s Hospital for Women and Children in Colorado Springs.

Three scenes are set among the red rocks of Arizona, where Timothy is infused with an exorbitant amount of power after a lightening strike, as well as a permanent Lichtenberg imprint of red flames on his chest.

Because of a vacation that goes haywire, the bulk of the story takes place in Mobile, Alabama, where we see the full gamut of life in the deep South—from the river and ocean front beaches, to the old magnolia aristocracy with their mansions and country clubs, to the shabbiest of trailer parks. Mobile is a city that designates the haves from the have-nots. Things are slow to change in this region of the country, social attitudes and prejudices notwithstanding. Below is a passage in which when Ren, Lord of Darkness is describing it to one of his agents.

“I always feel at home here in Dixie. Southern hospitality and all those high-flown manners. Cotillions and debutante balls. What a delicious reminder of class inequality. Speaking of delicious, the down-home cooking, yeah that’s another plus. Grease, grease, and more grease. Enough to send the arteries squealing for mercy. And I simply adore how those crosses light up a front yard, hell, an entire neighborhood. Saves on street lights and electricity. Living green at its finest. What’s not to like?”