Introduction: Life Imitates Art – Lessons from Rogue Angel: The Mortality Principle by Alex Archer
Summary: Harlequin publishes Rogue Angel the science fantasy series by Alex Archer every other month.There is always something you can learn from each book in the series. In the latest book, Rogue Angel: The Mortality Principle
, we see how the main character, Annja Creed develops an idea in response to her superiors wanting the show, Chasing History’s Monsters, to become more dramatic and filled with more adventure. In the end, they do not air the episode because they got more than what they bargained for. The lesson is to be very clear about expectations.
I love the Rogue Angel series that Harlequin used to publish every other month. The books will never win any literary awards because the writing isn’t brilliant. The author is Alex Archer, which is a pen name for a number of authors who write the books in the series.
I like the series because the stories entertain me, and quite frankly, I often learn new things – historical events and people who helped to shape the world we are living in by their contributions. The books are fantasy mixed with facts, and the stories emerge when fact and fiction intersect.
In the Rogue Angel: The Mortality Principle
, the story starts off with Anja Creed, the main character, being called into a staff meeting. An archaeologist by training, Anja is the co-host of Chasing History’s Monsters. The higher-ups at the cable station are not happy with how the show is doing. The program is for a niche market, it has a steady viewership, but stagnant reviews and lack of growth of a new audience. The higher-ups indicate that they are in the business of entertaining and not educating, therefore, it cannot be business as usual. They want Chasing History’s Monsters to be more interactive and they want Annja to work the social media angle.
Change is not a bad thing – we have to find new ways of doing things. But it is important for companies to educate their customers and prospective customers, so senior managers at the cable station are not as enlightened as they need to be. If the show does not become profitable, the cable station is going to cut it. Annja finds herself in a very stressful situation.
The stories in the Rogue Angel series are set in a variety of countries, so the reader doesn’t just enjoy the inventiveness of the authors, but also learn about different places. In The Mortality Principle
, Annja is in Prague, and she is facing a creative block. She is in a dire situation, has to make history come alive, finding a way to develop a show episode that’s part adventure and part drama.
Annja Creed wants to do a show on the golem, but the topic has been done so many times that she is having a difficult time coming up with a unique angle. People associate the golem with Prague’s history. The golem is a creature made of clay that Rabbi Loew gives life to. Annja wants a way to tie myth to real life. This is not a book review nor am I going to write a lot about Rogue Angel: The Mortality Principle, but what I am more interested in is how Annja Creed comes up with an idea for the show. She conducts a lot of research to identify what’s already been done on her topic. Annja visits the Johannes Kepler Museum. The experience at the museum is underwhelming because the guide simply recites information, instead of bringing the German mathematician and astronomer to life.
Map of Prague
In Prague, someone is killing homeless people at night, and Annja hears the attack one evening, not realizing what is happening beyond her hotel window. She soon discovers how many homeless persons have been killed so far. In one article about the murders, a freelance journalist ties the murders to the golem. Since her Czek is rudimentary at best, she finds someone to translate the article for her. She also speaks to the journalist who made the connection between the killings and the golem.
The co-host hires a videographer who she has used in the past. The story is very interesting, in the way that Annja doggedly solves the mystery of the deaths. She delivers the episode of Chasing History’s Monsters that is filled with drama and adventure. The episode is too much drama and adventure for the higher-ups, and renders them speechless – in fact it is hair-raising and downright scary. They comment that they cannot air the episode because no one will believe what they are seeing.
Although Rogue Angel: The Mortality Principle is fantasy, there are some important lessons in the story. Yes, it is important to be on social media, but social networking is not appropriate in every situation. Annja Creed inherits Joan of Arc’s sword and all she has to do is visualize the sword and it appears.
She always finds herself in some very tricky situations, where she is literally fighting for her life, so a live, interactive show is definitely inappropriate. When the higher-ups at the cable station outlined their expectations of where they want the show to go, they should have been much clearer, so there is no room for misunderstandings. Additionally, Annja could have reinterpreted what they are asking of her, so that she is clear about the boundaries of drama and adventure.
It is important to reinvent yourself at work to remain relevant, so that you are not called into a meeting such as the one Annja had to endure. Make sure that you understand how your role contributes to the bigger organizational picture. At the cable station, they state that they want to entertain and not educate, but why not both?
The other important point is that although a topic has been talked about or written about to death, you can always find a unique angle, a fresh perspective if you dig deep enough. Look at the work you do, in what ways can you add life to it, do it in a new way, so that it becomes more relevant and engaging?
The Mortality Principle (Rogue Angel)
The Dragon's Mark (Rogue Angel)The Oracle's Message (Rogue Angel (Unnumbered))Serpent's Kiss (Rogue Angel)The Devil's Chord (Rogue Angel)Treasure of Lima (Rogue Angel)Sacred Ground (Rogue Angel)The Bone Conjurer (Rogue Angel)The Babel Codex (Rogue Angel)
