Fantasy literature comes in many varieties, but since its inception the genre often has held firmly to notions of the heroic. In truth, the oldest tales in history deal with heroes, from Gilgamesh to Achilles, from Hercules to Samson, and so on. We all have our own notions of what constitutes a hero, and of what makes a heroic act, but most likely we would find some commonalities in discussing the matter.
Today we continue to have heroes, often in our various forms of entertainment but also in the real world, yet our modern cultures have grown harsh towards our heroes. We often pick away at them, revealing what we consider their flaws, their weaknesses, their supposed sins. At the same time, it’s not rare for us to glorify the vile, the corrupt, the out-and-out evil. With few exceptions, we often have turned our backs on heroes, leaving them to stand alone in a dark world, damning them if they are bold enough to step up and try to set things right.
Rogue Blades Foundation will not allow those heroes to stand alone, whether those heroes are real or fictional. You might ask, what is Rogue Blades Foundation (RBF)? It is a non-profit publishing house of heroic fiction and heroic-related non-fiction working to promote heroic ideals.
Fantasy fans, especially those who enjoy tales of Sword and Sorcery, might recognize the name of RBF as the publish house is the non-profit sister to Rogue Blades Entertainment (RBE), which has existed more for than a decade as a for-profit publisher of fantasy anthologies and other works. RBF and RBE share much in common, but they also have slightly different goals and purposes. RBF will focus upon larger-impact projects that would potentially be beyond RBE’s scope.
Why should Rogue Blades Foundation exist in the first place? To promote heroes and heroic characteristics, to provide a positive impact to the present and future by giving readers positive examples of the heroic. RBF will work to publish hardy examples of heroic ideals with the goal of showing the world the importance of all things heroic, to build readership and to develop today’s readers into tomorrow’s leaders.
To those ends, RBF will endeavor to provide literature which stimulates readers emotionally as well as intellectually. Not only should the works from RBF be interesting, but they should also be fun, helping readers of all ages to fall in love with the written word. In other words, RBF looks to publish adventurous fiction and intellectual non-fiction with a focus on the heroic ideals.
Steering at the helm of RB is founder/executive director/president Jason M Waltz, who says, “Why are we determined on putting heroics into reading? We want to create books that aren’t forgotten, books that are not just set on a shelf – no matter how delightful the display – and never read. Our books should be enjoyed, should look read, should be read, and should inspire people to do and be more.”
What does this mean for the reader? Readers can expect interesting fiction and non-fiction in the upcoming future from RBF. Also, if you are interested in helping to spread heroic ideals, there are a couple of ways you can help RBF. You could join RBF’s Ring of Heroes, allowing you to directly donate to the cause, but you could also become an
Idealistic is almost a dirty word these days but Mr. Waltz has a dream and it’s a worthy one. Heroes should never die.