What does it mean to be “battle born”?
The Urban Dictionary defines it as this, “When something is created or shaped into its current state due to conflict and/or hardship.”
To me it means just that, being forged into the man or woman you are by hardships and conflicts from your past. When said that way, we realize we’re all battle born to some degree. Now, I’ve loved this term ever since I first heard it and it’s stuck with me through the years. So, when I was thinking of what to call the second book in The Brother’s Creed series, it just came to me, Battleborn. It made perfect sense! Here you have these characters that are trying to survive the end of the world as it shapes them due to the conflicts and hardships they have to face. They’re already battle born but they’re in the process of becoming even more so! If they can make it to Alaska alive, then they’ll truly be the very definition of the term.
Now some of you may have noticed the term is battle born, so why have the book named Battleborn. Honestly? I’ve seen it both ways but in the end I just thought having it as one word looked way more badass—and it stuck.
Below is the song that inspired the title and theme of this book.
“After getting off the road from two years of touring I was physically and emotionally drained. It felt like I’d seen almost every inch of the globe and shook every hand there was to shake. I completely lost track of time, the flights, the travel, the shows all seemed to blur together. My family and friends became a distant memory.”
“Even though I was doing what I’d dreamed of doing, it took all the energy that I had,” Moody continued, “it was exhausting. That made me realize, everything worth fighting for you will actually HAVE TO fight for. Every wish, every dream, every idea comes to existence only through blood, sweat and sacrifice … we are all battle born.”
Ivan Moody, the lead singer of Five Finger Death Punch
This song has always spoke right to my heart and is a reminder: no matter how hard life gets you have to stand up and move forward. The tagline for my book, Battleborn, can be applied to us in our everyday life: We ALL face increasing hardships that will leave us with two choices: give up or become battle born!
Which will you choose?
