A World Apart

Please welcome David Brown to the blog.  David is the author of A World Apart.

 

BLURB:  

Demetrius makes his first mistake when he lets his best friend Halcyon marry Eleyna, the love of his life, without saying a word. On the day of the wedding, he walks away from the Elencheran town of Dove's Meadow and joins the army.

He makes his second mistake when the pirate Black Iris tricks him into letting dozens of men, women and children die in a fire. Demetrius is imprisoned in grief and disgrace.

But he can atone. The Black Iris is dead. The Ivory Rose has risen to the top of the pirates and is leading brutal raids on the coast. If Demetrius can capture and kill her, he'll win his pardon.

And then Demetrius discovers the Ivory Rose is Eleyna. He must decide which will be his third mistake: losing his last chance at a pardon or destroying the one woman he's ever loved.

 

  From Chapter 6: Eleyna & Halcyon (29617)

 

Demetrius made no response, he was lost in a battle all of his own making now. The challenge of Halcyon was forgotten, he had overcome that, but he now had to succeed in a new struggle – to be a soldier. Demetrius had decided to turn his back on the shepherd life that his father desperately wanted for him in favour of following and emulating his grandfather. Deep down, Demetrius hoped that if he made his grandfather proud then Granicus would reveal the most sought after secret in all of Dove’s Meadow – why Granicus had chosen not to join the Order and bring untold fame to the town.

Demetrius heard another rumble of thunder and between the Green and Pirels Mountains he saw lightning strike briefly. His clothes were now sodden and his feet were uncomfortable in his shoes but Demetrius was beyond such constraints. Dove’s Meadow didn’t feel like it was just below him to the left. Instead, it was almost as if just the narrow walk along the perimeter wall existed and that losing his balance either way would see him fall into a void of nothingness. Everything hinged on Demetrius’ continued steps.  

Granicus had once told Demetrius of one of the rebellions he had fought when he was in the army. The rebels had lined up to take on the might of the Himordian army on a sodden battlefield with rain, thunder and lightning doing nothing to turn any man or woman from the conflict. Demetrius imagined he was in that moment now, facing the same dangers that his grandfather had faced.

 

AUTHOR INFORMATION:

David Brown could be considered a fantasy fanatic, especially since he has spent the last 10 years developing a 47,000-year history for his fictional world of Elenchera. When converting his obsession into literary form, David commits himself to a rigorous writing and editing process before his work can meet his approval. Combined with the critical eye of his wife and a BA Hons in History and English, David's dedication leads him to his goal of inspiring readers through heartfelt stories and characters.

Although David is inspired primarily by fantasy fiction, he also finds his muse in the form of anime, world cinema, history, and biographies. His own books, Fezariu's Epiphany and A World Apart, and the in-progress Ansel's Remorse and The Stars Beneath the Parapets combine aspects from worlds both old and new into compelling tales of a world not soon forgotten. David himself certainly does not lack a spirit of adventure; in fact, he left his job in 2007 in order to spend a month travelling. Second only to meeting and marrying his wife, David counts this as one of the most amazing experiences of his life.

 LINKS:

Website – http://elenchera.com

Blog – http://tweeding.com

Twitter - @elenchera

Facebook - davidmbrownauthor

Goodreads - http://bit.ly/Nhagx3

Amazon US - http://amzn.to/TT7Afh

Amazon UK - http://amzn.to/SbbQBD

Smashwords - http://bit.ly/R7VitO

Welcome David M. Brown

Welcome to the blog, David.  How long have you been writing? What inspired you to pick the pen up one day and create characters that capture the imagination?

I first started writing in 1999 while I was still at college. I’d done creative writing at school but didn’t show an interest in the craft as a hobby until I discovered the RPG series, Final Fantasy, on the Playstation. I fell in love with the games, stories and characters immediately and they led me to Norse mythology which I found more interesting than the Greek tales I was familiar with. Not long after I created the world of Elenchera and decided I wanted a rich history filled with colourful characters and exciting storylines.

I totally understand the lure.  How long did it take for your first book to get published?

I spent around two years writing Fezariu’s Epiphany, fitting it into the evenings after work or taking advantage of the full days the weekends provided. After six drafts the novel was ready and my wife and I decided to self-publish. She was integral to the book’s publication, designing a cover and formatting the book to printing standard. Since then she has also been instrumental in the continued publicity of the book which seems to be going from strength to strength.

So many authors choose this route now.  What does your writing day look like?

Weekdays are frustrating as I have to go out to work so in the evenings I’m forced to snatch an hour or two once chores and our six cats have been dealt with. Friday nights and weekends are better and it’s this point in the week where I’ll be at my most productive. It’s not just novel writing though. I’m continuing to work on the world history for Elenchera and have a regular blog, The World According to Dave, which features reviews and tales of our six chaotic cats.

We only have two cats, but they too are chaotic.  How do you handle family and your writing career? Is your family understanding of the time that you have to give your career? Is it sometimes difficult for you? How did they react to fact that you’re an author?

My wife, Donna, was a fan of my writing before we were even together so has been very supportive and if it wasn’t for her then Fezariu’s Epiphany would never have been published. I do wish there was more time in the day to do plenty of writing but then have quality time with Donna. We don’t have any children and our six cats are largely independent, the only times they seem to need us is when they’re hungry or want our laps to sleep on. I’ve kept my writing largely quiet from my family. They’ve known for years that I like to write but, Donna aside, I try to keep my projects to myself until they’re complete.

Do you feel each of your characters lives with you as you write? Do their lives sometimes take over a part of your life?

The characters in Fezariu’s Epiphany seemed to be with me daily until I finally completed the novel. Fezariu himself had been nagging at me for quite some time and when it came to selecting a plot for my debut novel there’s no way he would have allowed me to tell any other story. Throughout the planning and writing of the novel, the characters would be with me through images of their moments in the book, ones I could visualize as clearly as if I were watching the scenes on the big screen. When it came to the final edits I wanted to be certain I had conveyed those many images as best as I could. I feel very happy with the end result and Fezariu has since left me alone so I’m assuming he’s pretty chuffed as well. The only downside is the characters in my next novel, A World Apart, are now pestering me daily. The life of a writer is always fun!

Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Fezarius-Epiphany-David-M-Brown/dp/1456500597/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1312852018&sr=8-1
Follow David's blog tour and comment often for a chance to win a $25 Amazon gift certificate.  For tour locations go to http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2011/06/virtual-book-tour-fezarius-epiphany-by.html.

Author bio:

David M. Brown was born in Barnsley in 1982 and first conceived the idea of Elenchera in college. His love of history and English led him to read these subjects at Huddersfield University. David is inspired by medieval history, Norse mythology and Japanese role-playing video games and anime films. He lives in Huddersfield with his wife Donna and their six rescue cats.