I’m April, I live in Milton Keynes, UK, with my partner and, two nights a week, his cheeky boys. I write YA fantasy books with a fairytale edge, and in Steel Princess’s case, a futuristic twist.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
Steel Princess is my debut novel. It’s a YA fantasy novel very much inspired by fairytales but with an evil steel queen who hunts humankind for sport, or takes them to use as her prisoners when they run out of the resources used to build more bots. It goes off into two different adventures, following Silver, the stolen heir of the Steel City who didn’t realise she was a princess until the guards found her family and accused them of treason, and Eden, a tinker in the palace who goes off on his own adventure to find his parents, only to be kidnapped by pirates from the magical enemy kingdom. I’m currently writing its sequel, Songbird Heir, which focuses more on the magical side, and some of the world’s history on the other side.
My next release will be a dark retelling of Snow White called The Girl Behind The Glass, if Snow White had a stepsister and a coven of witches to back her up.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
I have been writing books since I was a teenager, and I haven’t stopped since. I wrote the original version of Steel Princess when I was fifteen, about a teenage android who wanted to be more like her human friends.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
I have a lot of books that I spent years querying that I want to get out there! Steel Princess is going to be the first in a series of four books, with a prequel as well. The Girl Behind The Glass is going to be a part of a duology, and there will also be other fairytale retellings set in the same world, with different characters popping up in different books. I want to show different sides of different characters and kingdoms through these books. So you might love one queen in one story, but they might be the villain in a different book. I also have a couple of Greek myth inspired stories as well. I just want to take the time to make them the best they can possibly be first.
What do you like to read?
YA fantasy, and some thrillers and contemporaries, too.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
Please introduce yourself (250 words or so): Being born and bred in Dublin, Ireland, I grew up with a healthy history of myths and legends in my blood. My grandfather instilled in me a love of reading from a very young age, pushing anything printed into my hands and then asking me about it when I was finished reading it. This led to my life long love of reading. I was probably one of the few people in my school year who asked for ten or twelve books at Christmas time, most of which I’d have finished reading before the holidays were over. The Kindle was probably the most amazing device ever invented, as my shelves buckled under the load and my floors wound up home to mounds of books going digital was just the best thing. All that reading over my formative years I guess getting into writing was bound to happen to some degree. Although the day job is one that involves working on computers, I never forget meeting my English teacher in the university canteen and telling him that I hadn’t gone into a writing degree. I didn’t think you could see a man’s heart break physically, but that day I saw what happens when somebody else’s dream for you is broken. With any luck I will keep the love of stories, both reading and telling, going in my two little ones. My wife and I have read to them since they came home from the hospital and even now I can hear one of them reading despite it being way past bedtime.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short) I mostly write about Filthy Henry, the fairy detective. He is Ireland’s first and foremost fairy detective, working cases that involve magical crimes which usually come about when the magical and mortal worlds collide. The series is a fantasy-comedy one, based in modern-day Ireland. Each book is self-contained so that a person can read them in any order and not really need to now what came before, or spoil what would come after. The cases then are based off the old Celtic myths and legends, with little tweaks so that they fit into a modern day setting. In the first book, for example, Filthy Henry has to work a case involving a leprechaun’s stolen crock of gold.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
I dabbled on and off during my teenage years, but never anything serious. Then in university I entered a short story contest and won it, which sparked an interest in writing again (after seeing my English teacher in the canteen) so I dabbled again. But it wasn’t until 2012 that I started writing properly. The idea for Fitlhy Henry popped into my head after I finished reading a Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett. I grabbed a notepad, wrote out the rules for his universe, and then started plotting the first novel. Before I knew it I had ten pages of an outline and I was off to the races. After shopping the first novel around a few places and sadly getting nowhere I went down the indie publishing path and the adventure has been a blast. Filthy Henry now has five novels, four short stories and a podcast to his name.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
Right now I am working on a crime novel that doesn’t have any magic or sci-fi in it. It is grounded and based in the real world. It’s actually been fun to write because it is a challenge for me to not revert to form and throw in some comedy. I’m hoping to get the first draft done before Easter and then get into re-write mode. After that I have three more Filthy Henry novels planned out, which will be fast to write since I know the characters so well.
What do you like to read?
Basically anything. I mainly read sci-fi and fantasy, but recently I’ve been getting into crime stories and murder mysteries. My Kindle is always fully loaded with about ten books to read and then I sacrifice sleep to get through them.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
Oh drafts are your friend. When I started writing first I spent so long trying to get the perfect line, craft the perfect chapter, and I never got past page one for weeks. The lesson being that you just need to get the story written first, then pass over it a few dozen times. Draft one just needs to be written, then draft two to infinity can be for refining, fixing, tweaking, adding, subtracting. All you have to do is get the first one finished.
Author bio and book synopsis Bio:
Derek Power is the mind behind Filthy Henry, the fairy detective. Born and bred in Dublin, he currently lives in Skerries with his family. He predominately focuses on comedy-fantasy works, but has dabbled in sci-fi noir with his novel ‘Duplex Tempus’.
When not writing he spends his days refreshing the inbox wondering when Hollywood is going to come knocking for the film rights to his books.
Filthy Henry: The Fairy Detective: Filthy Henry is Dublin’s first and foremost fairy detective. Something of a niche job since most people do not know that fairies are even real, let alone need a detective. But when The King of the Leprechauns has his crock of gold stolen by some humans he requires the services of a detective. Lucky for him Filthy Henry is just the man he needs. The only problem is nobody in the world can stand him. Which does not really bother Filthy Henry as he is not too fond of the world either…
I am a USA Today Bestselling and Literary Classics award-winning author, social anthropologist, and transformational life coach. I grew up in South Africa and currently live in Malmö, Sweden (after having lived in many exciting and interesting places). I live with my husband and our two children.
My South African-German heritage and the experiences of living and integrating into other societies have given me a great deal to think about and process.
The training in anthropology has given me the tools to think beyond simple stereotypes and ideological explanations of social interaction while the understanding I have of human potential underlying my certification as a transformational life coach allows me to see what is possible and to appreciate the human capacity to achieve success in the face of adversity.
My parents instilled in me a love for books, and the natural world that we inhabit. This love has led to a deep appreciation of the written word and the desire to contribute as much as I can towards improving the state of the world. I would like to use my expertise and passion for cultures to help us move forward.
I write transformation fiction: incorporating transformation principles in novels, rather than writing another self-help book. This is more than Up-lit. My books are intended to be uplifting, but also to provoke thought and help people question the situations they find themselves in, and to identify how they themselves can transcend their circumstances.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
So far, I have four novels in a series of fairytale retellings and my focus is on lesser-known fairytales, The Elisabeth and Edvard’s World series. I have published two novels in a futuristic fantasy quartet, The Wishmaster series, which follows an itinerant storyteller in her late forties and her young apprentice. Accompanying The Wishmaster series is a spin-off series of novellas recounting the tales that are mentioned in the course of the storyteller and her apprentice’s journey. I am also currently working on an urban fantasy series with a bear shifter clan set in modern-day Sweden.
Additionally, I have also contributed to several permanent charity anthologies raising funds for causes close to my heart. The most noteworthy are:
Children of War: an anthology to support the children of Ukraine
The Enchanted Anthologies series, thus far three books each raising monies for a different environmental cause
What’s in a Name series, thus far two books raising monies for global literacy
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
I’ve been writing since I was twelve and started publishing four years ago. I read Fingerprints of the Gods by Graham Hancock and had an idea. I was also acutely aware of the inherent Westernness of Fantasy and wanted to change that despite it being my favorite genre. Making fantasy more representative is definitely something that drives me to write.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
I have so many story ideas, I’ll just keep going until my time is up, because as the past twenty-four years have proven, there’s no lack of ideas in my head.
What do you like to read?
I read anything I can get my hands on. Although I’m not a particular fan of horror, if written well, I’ll even give that a try. Essentially, as long as the writing is good and the plot is solid, I’ll enjoy it.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
It’s okay to just go with what you love. I kept pushing writing away because I didn’t believe it was a sensible career option, instead of embracing what I love and trying to make it work.
Author bio and book synopsis
Author bio:
Award-winning and USA Today Bestselling Author, Astrid V.J. was born in South Africa. She is a trained social anthropologist and certified transformational life coach. She currently resides in Sweden with her husband and their two children. In early childhood, she showed an interest in reading and languages—interests which her family encouraged. Astrid started writing her first novel at age 12 and now writes fantasy in a variety of genres, exploring her passion for cultures and languages. When she isn’t writing, Astrid likes to read, take walks in nature, play silly games with her children, do embroidery, and play music.
Series synopses:
The Wordmage’s Tales:
In The Apprentice Storyteller, the boy learns and performs the tales Viola Alerion taught him. Immerse yourself in the tales of the Haldrian Empire and experience these folktales as they fit into The Apprentice Storyteller and Finding the Way. Each tale is a stand-alone and every one of them refers back to the moment it was mentioned in The Apprentice Storyteller or Finding the Way. The twists of life confront us with the worst within ourselves. At the same time, these moments provide us the opportunity to offer up that which brings out the best in us. Dreams are the seeds of our potential. They are the life-giving guides that unfold the path of our highest achievements. Our dreams require belief—in both the possibility of that intangible dream becoming a reality, and also in our capacity to make it happen. Love. Loss. Longing. Loyalty. The Wordmage’s Tales bring it all to life.
These tales are a continuation of Astrid V.J.’s exploration of human transformation and expand her journey as a writer of transformation fiction, literature exploring human potential and our capacity to achieve success in the face of adversity. Each one of The Wordmage’s Tales is dedicated to a key principle of transformation.
The Wishmaster series:
A master-storyteller and her apprentice share stories on their travels through the Haldrian empire, where things are not as blissful as the empress would like people to believe. Can they bring change to the galactic empire through their stories?
Elisabeth and Edvard’s World series:
This is a series of retellings of lesser-known fairy tales and folk tales by award-winning and USA Today bestselling author, Astrid V.J. These books can be read as standalones or enjoyed as a series with unexpected interconnections. Currently includes the following retellings:
The Siblings’ Tale duology – Brother and Sister (Grimm)
Gisela’s Passion – Giselle (original Slavic folktale on which the French ballet is based)
Naiya’s Wish – The Nixie of the Mill-pond (Grimm)
Johara’s Choice – The Tinderbox (Hans Christian Andersen)
I live in the Rebirth of the Fallen series. I’m summoned by Cinderhorn, in book 1, but you really don’t get to meet me until book 2.
Tell us about yourself:
I’m an over nine centuries old succubus, and I’m tired. I’ve been banished twice, and I don’t think I can endure another century of torture. This recent summoning is my last chance to make a life for myself, and I’ll let nothing stand in my way.
What are your greatest strengths and weaknesses?
I spent my second century of banishment mastering several magical schools, including healing. It is quite rare for demons. Being ancient, I know many lost rituals, and approach my illusions and charms with a patience and attention to detail all but lost to younger demons.
Name three important people/creatures/institutions in your world (such as lovers, pets, government institutions, leaders, gods etc).
First, I want to acknowledge my summoner, Cinderhorn. He is an honorable and powerful demon.
I have become quite involved with Derregain’s hospital, the House of Healing. Initially, the sprawling building seemed a perfect place to hide, with the side-benefit of readily available blood and sacrifices, but after essentially taking the place over, I take pride in it.
I have recently taken a lover. Achillion, the Governor of Derregain, and I became somewhat intertwined. He spared my life after I barely survived my battle with Bonewalker, an enormous demon looking to claim the bounty on my head. I saved his life from an angry mob of drugged-up, crazed psycho children. He helped me defeat the moist meat monster… what can I say… we make a good team… and I think his cross dressing is adorable!
What does ‘heroism’ mean to you?
It means not taking the easy way out. It means crawling through the dust, no matter how exhausted, until you somehow make it back to the surface.
What do you think of your ‘creator’?
I have no creator.
Give us your favourite piece of advice:
Never sell yourself short. I’m just a lowly fourth order demon, yet I’ve accomplished things demon lords have failed to do. Don’t ever let someone else define you. You are as weak or as powerful as you want to be.
Please introduce yourself (250 words or so): I love reading, especially fantasy, I’m a huge Harry Potter and Star Wars fans, but only episodes 1-6. My preferred hot drink is tea and I have a Siberian husky called Logan, named after my favourite X-man
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short) Awakening and Darkness are the first two books in the Mythics and mortals trilogy. They are urban fantasy novels based on Ancient Greek mythology and center around our heroine Christina Jones
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it? I started writing during the first 2020 lockdown, I always wanted to write a book so I just went for it. I had an idea and put my pen to paper
What writing plans do you have for the future? I have so many books planned, I’m currently working on an epic fantasy based on the popular role playing game dungeons and dragons, called Gameplay. After I plan on finishing the Mythics and mortals trilogy with the final book
What do you like to read? I like to read A song of fire and ice. George.R.R.Martin is truly a genius
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure? Don’t listen to the doubts, just go for it. The only time you will fail is if you never try
Author bio and book synopsis
Lover of books, tea and fantasy. I have a joint degree in English literature and history and a Siberian husky named Logan. Awakening and Darkness (first two books in the Mythics and mortals trilogy), are out on amazon.
Percy Jackson meets The Mortal Instruments
Christina Jones had always thought that she was normal, just your typical unlucky woman. But this all changes on her twenty-first birthday when she falls, quite literally, headfirst into a world that was thought only to exist in Ancient Greek mythology.
With her new friends, Sophie Romain and Lucas Teravin, by her side, Christina has to fight, not only to control her developing powers and remember who she is, but also to fight the demon that hunts her for a mysterious figure called The Master.
I am a mother of two girls and a new stepmother to two additional girls. I am a new wife and am learning to share again after many years of being single. I spent my career in corporate America writing for executives, and I finally made time to write and publish three children’s books and three young adult fantasy books.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
My young adult fantasy trilogy Sister Worlds is available now. Kingdom of Men, Kingdom of Machines, and Kingdom of Monsters.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
I had the idea in high school, fantasizing about a boy who moved away. I wrote the first draft in college, where my professor told me not to kill him in the end. Years later I married the boy who had inspired my story, and the daughters we had together ended up looking like and acting like the two girl characters in my first book. After my divorce, I took the time to heal and wrote my trilogy as part of that process.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
I want to write about girls discovering the magic within, and using that magic to save others. I have started on a new urban fantasy series.
What do you like to read?
I have actually read a lot of non-fiction over the years. Parenting books, books about being a new stepparent, relationship books, and spiritual guidance books.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
I just wish I would have known about self-publishing earlier, when I was younger, instead of years of rejection through traditional publishing.
Author bio and book synopsis
KaLeah’s adventure doesn’t begin when a phantom dragon shows her a mysterious object in the woods. It all begins when this news upsets her father. He takes off from their village and doesn’t return. She journeys out to find him, only to find danger and imprisonment instead. The mysteries she unravels is bigger than anything she could have imagined.
Tiffany Nicole Terry (TNT to her friends) is a corporate communications manager by day, a novelist by night, and a mother to two daughters, two stepdaughters, and two dogs every moment in between. A bit of a bohemian nomad, she has lived in every time zone in the continental United States but prefers to live where she can see mountains on the horizon. She is passionate about equality, diversity, and inclusion and believes that the world can be a kinder and more sustainable place. Her books are full of positive empowerment messaging for girls, especially those raised through trauma, neglect, and abuse.
Which book/world do you live in? I live within an alternate present-day world where The Cambion Journals are a part of your reality . . . albeit we’re hidden in plain sight
Tell us about yourself: (Name, race/species, etc.) My name is Augustus Thorne, and I am a Cambion. A human-demon hybrid plagued with a terrible craving to feed on the life-force of those around me. I was born during the November of 1760 to a wonderful human woman, Rosemary, whose patient guidance during my early years helped me to learn to resist the urge that would turn me into a fiend.
How do you see your world? As a foul light to be extinguished at the earliest opportunity.
What part do you play in this tale? I am the main protagonist. And you will follow the rollercoaster ride that is my everyday life as I hunt demons around the globe and deal with the fallout of my actions. Yet I couldn’t care less, I won’t rest until every last Succubus and Incubus is dead.
Do you consider yourself a good person/creature? Most certainly not. I’m a monster, cursed with a hunger I can barely control. Nobody in their right mind should come near me. But they do, to their cost.
Do you follow any religion? I worship on the altar of lives lost and dead scumbags. And I am unwavering in my devotions to sacrifice as many of the demondim as I can to the cause.
What is your favourite food? You and your most insidious, secret desires. The stronger the better.
Links to book etc
Amazon
Swift Six Set 3 – Character
Name: Augustus Thorne
Which book/world do you live in? I live within an alternate present-day world where The Cambion Journals are a part of your reality . . . albeit we’re hidden in plain sight
Tell us about yourself: (Name, race/species, etc.) My name is Augustus Thorne, and I am a Cambion. A human-demon hybrid plagued with a terrible craving to feed on the life-force of those around me. I was born during the November of 1760 to a wonderful human woman, Rosemary, whose patient guidance during my early years helped me to learn to resist the urge that would turn me into a fiend.
How do you see your world? As a foul light to be extinguished at the earliest opportunity.
What part do you play in this tale? I am the main protagonist. And you will follow the rollercoaster ride that is my everyday life as I hunt demons around the globe and deal with the fallout of my actions. Yet I couldn’t care less, I won’t rest until every last Succubus and Incubus is dead.
Do you consider yourself a good person/creature? Most certainly not. I’m a monster, cursed with a hunger I can barely control. Nobody in their right mind should come near me. But they do, to their cost.
Do you follow any religion? I worship on the altar of lives lost and dead scumbags. And I am unwavering in my devotions to sacrifice as many of the demondim as I can to the cause.
What is your favourite food? You and your most insidious, secret desires. The stronger the better.
My name is Deborah Jarvis. I am a high school and college English teacher, a writer of fantasy novels, and an advocate for greyhound adoption. My main interests in writing all have a basis in mythology, so many of the characters in my books stem from the different cultures that I read about.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
The Crystal Pawn and The Ivory Queen are the first two books in portal fantasy series, The Keyralithian Chronicles. Deirdre Hawes is brought into the land of Keyralithsmus by the father she had never known, a Shaper by the name of Ettar Nerfal. She is the last of his line, and as it is only the women of that line who can potentally call on the aid of their ancient ancestors, the dragons, he asks that she undertake the challenge to do so. As it becomes evident that there are forces aligned to stop her from succeeding, Deirdre secretlysets out to find the dragons
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
My mother was an English teacher and she encouraged me to read books of all kinds, including The Chronicles of Narnia and The Last Unicorn. I gravitated from there to reading any fantasy novel I could get my hands on! I also am fascinated by world mythology. Writing came pretty naturally to me, but it wasn’t until 2020 that I really made the effort to get my work out to others. Since then, I have been working on several other projects and continuing my writing.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
I’m working on the third book to The Keyralithian Chronicles and am going to release an unrelated urban fantasy called Wolves Running in September. I also have another project on the back burner, but that one is still simmering for now.
What do you like to read?
I tend to be primarily a fantasy reader, but if it is good, I’ll read anything. My dad loved Clive Cussler and the team of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, so I got into them. My favorite authors to read include Charles De Lint, Peter S. Beagle, Jim Butcher, and Patricia Briggs.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
Read everything you can about KDP, Kindle, and Ingramspark and get onto facebook pages like Wide for the Win and other writing pages. They are HUGELY helpful in getting where you want to be before you publish.
Author bio and book synopsis
Deborah Jarvis has been writing for a long while and has been an advocate for all things greyhound for slightly less time than that. She teaches high school and college literature and writing, and lives in New Hampshire with her husband Rob, her son Will, two greyhounds, and four cats. Her daughter Rosalynde lives nearby. The Crystal Pawn is the first book in The Keyralithian Chronicles to date, and The Ivory Queen is the second. Deborah is now working on another exciting project titled Wolves Running which will hopefully be out soon.
The Crystal Pawn
Deirdre Hawes had never thought of her life as extraordinary until one day she met the father she never knew and thus began the adventure of a lifetime. Armed only with the knowledge that she is heir to magical gifts that would allow her to call on the aid of the long-vanished dragons, she finds herself drawn into a web of intrigue and murder where the powers behind the throne are aligning to make sure she doesn’t succeed, no matter the cost. Deirdre soon finds her life in the hands of those she’s been told not to trust, but trust them she must if she is to have any hope of not only completing her quest but surviving to make the journey home.
Together with several loyal friends, she makes her way south. As they travel further, she discovers that not everyone is as they seem and that preconceived notions of what is good and what is evil are often mere simplifications of a much more complex truth. When forces long-aligned with the crown begin to show their true intentions, it is up to Deirdre and her companions to figure out a way to evade their traps and make their way below the Southern Mountains and across the desert to the jungle where the dragons are said to reside.
Please introduce yourself (250 words or so): I am a self-published author from Southeastern Wisconsin. I started writing my first novel in 2014, and since then have published 5 within the Ascent Archives. I love spending time outdoors hiking or canoeing. One of my favorite things to do in writing is experiencing as much as I can in real life to what I’m writing about. I picked up archery to better write about it. I have been an avid horse lover for years, using my experience working with horses in my books. I also spent some time sailing on a Schooner in college and used that when writing about different ships and crews. I find it’s the easiest to help readers connect to my writing when it comes from personal experience.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short): I have written five books in the Ascent Archives. Blood-Stained Heir, Dead King’s War, Primordial Judge, and Brother’s Promise are books 1-4 and comprise the main series. They follow a wide cast of charaters as two nations are at war with one another. Book 5, Lost Lore of Draxos, is a collection of short stories following charactesr from the main series. Many of them are backstories and histories that are hinted at. All the stories are Epic Fantasy as a broad genre, but specifically NobleDark. (Noblebright/GrimDark combined). There is darkness in the world as a whole, but they’re stories about heroes and good people fighting against evil.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it? I started writing this series in 2014. The inspiration actually came from my childhood. When I was young, my brother and I would play with toy figurines together and we would create these in depth stories and characters. It was during that time that I started creating some of these characters, the world, and the conflict.
What writing plans do you have for the future? I am currently writing a spinoff series. It follows some familiar characters on a new adventure. It is looking to be a trilogy, and I can’t give away too much yet but the plans are to release it in Spring 2023.
What do you like to read? I love reading epic fantasy, specifically grimdark and noblebright. I try to read books similar to mine, because that’s what I enjoy but also to see what other authors are writing. I love finding stories with unique magic systems and worlds that I haven’t seen before. The more unique, the better.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure? The biggest thing I wish I knew was that no two writing journeys are the same. I struggled right away in writing when I followed others authors who started at the same time, and they published books faster than I ever could. I tried to rush my publishing to keep up, but couldn’t sustain it. I had to take a pause, and look at what worked for me. I’ve come up with a plan that fits my author career, and I’ve stopped trying to compare my journey to those of other authors.
Author bio
T. Norman, self-published author of the Ascent Archives, grew up in small town Minnesota where his passion for reading and immersing himself in to the fantasy worlds of his childhood grew in to creating and writing his own stories. T. Norman’s series, the Ascent Archives, was first formed during his childhood playing toys with his brother, and now it is set to become a four part series. With experience in a variety of fields, writing has become his passion. T. Norman currently lives with his wife, two children, and dog in southeast Wisconsin.
and book synopsis
After the sudden death of his beloved wife, Rysh Trell struggles to keep his life together and devotes everything to raising their son. When the King of Ansaroth seeks vengeance for the murder of his father, Rysh is forced to defend his home and family again.
As an army pursues him across Ansaroth, Rysh fights to honor a promise he made to a dying friend. With little hope of survival, he searches deep inside to find the soldier he spent years burying away.
Will Rysh keep his promise, or will evil forces stop him from reaching his goal?
Hello, I’m Thomas Kast, and I write absurdist philosophical science fiction. I’m also the author and illustrator of Bablah’s Odyssey — an upcoming comic book series.
Tell us about your book(s) – title, genre etc (short)
The Great Convergence: science fiction and social satire. Two competing academics living ten million years in the future travel back in time to 2022, wrecking reality in the course of their investigation into a mysterious event — the Great Convergence.
When did you start your writing adventure? What was the inspiration for it?
Frankly, I don’t even remember how did it start. The Great Convergence took me about ten years to complete until I was happy enough with it to release it into the wild. It went through several editors and iterations.
I wanted to create a book that can be enjoyed, read and re-read and could give the reader a memorable experience. I’ve noticed that most contemporary sci-fi often ventures into the strictly commercial territory. Not entirely happy with this trend, I wanted to use science fiction as a vehicle to highlight many social and philosophical problems, but with a healthy dose of humour.
There are several recurring themes in my book, which result from observing and analysing the world around me. One of those inspirations would be stupidity. It’s a subject that has always fascinated me. All of my characters make inexplicably unwise and shortsighted decisions despite being exceptionally smart (some of them). Superheroes are great but, often being no more than mere archetypes, they often lack humanity. It’s the crazy ones who provide all the fun.
Another recurring theme in my book inspired by real-world observation is miscommunication. My characters are all stuck in uncomfortable situations. Constantly missing the point, they don’t understand each other’s motives, and they’re unable put themselves in someone else’s shoes. They oscillate between being inordinately overconfident or hopelessly insecure but can never think on two feet. Above and beyond, they’re blinded by their personal goals they consider of great consequence and which are insignificant and trivial. As irony would have it, they all have a profoundly important part to play on the universe’s stage — something they’re never to discover.
What writing plans do you have for the future?
Currently, I’m working on the humorous and philosophical comic book series Bablah’s Odyssey, which is scheduled for release in August 2022. Bablah’s Odyssey features a mad scientist, lord Bablah as he traverses the universe, mansplaining the ‘wonders of progress and civilisation’ to his unassertive yet perceptive mutant sidekick, the Pet-Thing. It’s colourful, psychedelic and contains a lot of irony and dark humour. I’m both a writer and illustrator.
I’m also working on another sci-fi mystery: Apoptosis. But this will take me another year to complete.
What piece of advice do you wish you’d had when you’d started your writing adventure?
Someone asked me once: ’Is there a market for what you write?’ To which, I replied: ‘I hope there isn’t’. I believe the writer should create demand rather than try to fit into an existing trend. This is what all successful writers do. The unsuccessful ones will advise you to ‘write for the market’. There’s a strong need for original content that breaks the rules instead of following them. Write a good book, get your tea-box out and yell about it.
Bio:
Thomas Kast is an award-winning independent photojournalist and illustrator based in Zurich, Switzerland and has published a number of photography art books. Thomas spent a big part of his life in Israel, where he taught design, photography and illustration at the Shenkar College of Engineering and Design and other Israeli colleges.
A long time in the making, his debut novel — a philosophical science fiction piece, the Great Convergence — evokes many of the author’s real-life experiences fused with his unhinged fantasies.
Synopsis:
10.000.002 A.D. A cantankerous scholar slipping into obscurity is out for revenge. He time-travels to the year 2022 to stop his nemesis, Scott — a successful scientist at a competing university — from thwarting his research into the origin of a mysterious phenomenon, the Great Convergence. Cunning and ruthless, Scott will stop at nothing to defend his tenure track. The feud quickly spins out of control, and the damage to reality grows unchecked.
Caught in the crosshairs are three characters responsible for triggering the Great Convergence: an art-hating professional art critic who, unbeknownst to him, spontaneously switches between universes wreaking havoc as he goes; a talentless artist whose sculptures act as trans-universal portals; and a schizophrenic astrophysicist trying to avert the invasion of alternate versions of himself from different realities. As their paths converge, the apocalyptic event takes place, and the inescapable tragedy of human existence unfolds.
Library of Erana 