John Cunyus Earle was born in 1958 in Rome, Georgia and raised in a postcard-perfect older neighborhood. Steeped in classical music, old "Bookhouse" books, and lively family lore, he developed very early a love for all things imaginative and beautiful. Heavily affected in his young adult years by the literary-art forms of such diverse writers as Kurt Vonnegut, EB White, JRR Tolkien, and Victor Hugo, John nevertheless chose to pursue a career in medicine, all the while continuing to read heavily, absorbing and learning and (unbeknownst to him) preparing mentally for his own foray into the realm of fiction writing. Several years later, after the establishment of a successful career as a physician, Dr. Earle found himself sitting by the hearth one day with his young children discussing "Otherworlds". In the pleasure of the moment an idea was kindled in his heart to create his own fantasy tale. "It will be something we can always share and add to through the years," he said to them. He began with a rudimentary map of a far-away land, complete with roads, towns, rivers, paths and seas. Naming them, however, produced an unexpected result: he now felt an even stronger creative momentum, as if the places and things in his map desired (in their way) to have a story told about them. Dr. Earle thought a good deal about what sort of story he would like to write, and eventually settled on his favorite themes ... gleaned from the classics ... such as courage and sacrifice, foresight and renewal, fidelity and fate. After all, Dr. Earle says, the Greatest Stories have already been told. It is our job to reclaim and retell them for the future generations.
