He rides in like a phoenix from the fire, black coat fanned
out behind him. He’s a good man with a
dark past, perhaps a penchant for violence, but it stems from passion not
cruelty. He’s a lover standing in the
rain, bleeding and victorious, come to find the one who makes him whole.
A hero.
The archetypical lover of women and role-model of men. We all know who he is, the outline of his
shape branded on our psyche. From Achilles
to Clark Kent,
from James Bond to John McClane, he is a flawed and deeply driven man.
What is it about the larger-than-life icon of “Hero” that
draws readers in? Is it the
psychological need to believe in someone who can do exceptional things? I think maybe it has something to do with the
idea that one person can make a real and concrete change in the world. Heroes are often imbued with supernatural
abilities or extraordinary qualities, but it’s not necessary for the hero to be
from Krypton to pull us in to their plight.
In fact, it’s not the supernatural of Superman that makes him a hero,
but the goodness of Clark Kent.
The idea of the “everyman” rising above the rest of us and
accomplishing the impossible is seductive.
The mild mannered alter-ego reflects our lives back to us. Work, bills, family and all the things that
sometimes feel so average. Our internal
conflicts of who we are, what do we believe, what do we stand for, are all pushed
to the side in the interest of paying the mortgage and getting to work on
time.
It’s so easy amidst the sea of chaos in which we find
ourselves to feel that nothing we do has any real impact. Apathy reigns supreme and in our busy lives
the important things like life, liberty and justice have to wait until after
our taxes are done. But a hero, someone
with a single-minded focus, acting for good, can make a real difference.
The hero character inspires us, makes us want to take up Jujitsu
and hunt down our nemesis, thereby freeing the city. Real life isn’t so easy,
not so black and white, and it makes these iconic stories so enticing.
Standing atop a high building or speeding off to the next
emergency, the superhero has a clarity of purpose which I find desperately
appealing. In Shadow on the Wall
Recai Osman is a man adrift. He is
removed from his culture, his religion, and his legacy. But when faced with the existence of real
evil he is compelled to act.
In Shadow Recai
must grapple with his own insecurities and complicated past. He is burdened by the same questions of
substance as the rest of us. This is the story of him coming to terms with who
he is and what he believes so he can heed Allah’s call to become The SandStorm.
Shadow on the Wallby Pavarti K. Tyler
Recai Osman: Muslim, philosopher, billionaire and Superhero?
Controversial and daring, Shadow on the Wall details the transformation of Recai Osman from complicated man to Superhero. Forced to witness the cruelty of the Morality Police in his home city of Elih, Turkey, Recai is called upon by the power of the desert to be the vehicle of change. Does he have the strength to answer Allah's call or will his dark past and self doubt stand in his way?
About the author:
Pavarti K Tyler is an artist, wife, mother and number
cruncher. She graduated Smith
College in 1999 with a
degree in Theatre. After graduation, she moved to New York, where she worked as a Dramaturge,
Assistant Director and Production Manager on productions both on and off
Broadway.
Later, Pavarti went to work in the finance industry as a
freelance accountant for several international law firms. She now operates her
own accounting firm in the Washington
DC area, where she lives with her
husband, two daughters and two terrible dogs. When not preparing taxes, she is
busy working at Novel Publicity and penning her next novel.
You can find out more about Pavarti on her website.
Pavarti's Blog Tour celebrating the release of Shadow will last the entire month of May. Check out her Blog Tour Page for a list of all the stops, including giveaways, interviews, reviews, guest posts and other exciting events!
