Wednesday 10 October 2012

Interview With T.C. Southwell



Q. If you weren’t writing, what would your perfect career choice be?

A. I don’t know, really, since I don’t like working. It would have to be something else I enjoy, like art, or perhaps a fighter pilot, since I’m a speed freak. Of course, I’d love to be a space explorer, but that will have to wait for another lifetime.

Q. Has your motivation for writing changed throughout your career, and if so, how?

A. No, not at all. I still write because I love the stories in my head and want to enjoy them again.

Q. What is the most rewarding experience you have had and what made it so?

A. It was probably when Demon Lord was first published in SA in 2006, although that turned into something of a nightmare. The first time I held an actual copy of the book, though, was truly special. Since then, receiving my first paperback copy of The Queen’s Blade has been even more rewarding. There’s something amazingly gratifying about seeing my book in print and showing it to my friends and family.

Q. Who are your top two favourite authors and why? Do you feel they have influenced your own writing in any way?

A. Steven R. Donaldson and C. S. Lewis are my all-time favourites, the former because his Thomas Covenant, Unbeliever series gripped me totally and transported me into his world, and the latter because he introduced me to fantasy when I was a child.

Q. When you were in school, did any of your teachers say anything negative (or positive) about your writing that stuck in your head, and how did that affect you?

A. A teacher accused me of plagiarism once because, apparently, she couldn’t believe I had written the essay she marked. I was never able to convince her otherwise, either; in those days, fifteen-year-olds didn’t argue with their teachers. So I got an ‘F’ for it, but I knew it was original, so it didn’t faze me too much. I also won a school prize for English that year, which made up for it somewhat.

Q. Do you sometimes get the impression that reviewers have written reviews on your books without actually reading the book first?

A. Yes, I’m convinced the one review I got for Demon Lord was based purely on the blurb on the back cover, since the reviewer only commented on what was in that. More often, I feel that some reviewers don’t understand the book, or see what they want in it.
 
Q. If you had to pick between all your characters, who would you rather have as a friend, and why?

A. I think that would have to be Sabre, because he’s got such a great personality with a fabulous sense of humour and fun-loving, helpful nature; a perfect friend. With his abilities, he’d also be mighty useful if I ever needed help! So would Bane, probably more so, but he’d be less inclined to be helpful.

Q. What’s your worst bad habit?

A. Probably smoking, but I also have oddball sleeping habits, which tend to be nocturnal.

Q. What advice would you give to any budding novelist?

A. Write books that you love to read over and over again, without getting bored with any part of them. Cut out any boring bits. Always write for your own enjoyment, and never allow anyone to influence you in a way that detracts from your stories, in your opinion. Polish your writing until it's as good as you can make it, and, of course, self-publish!

Q. What drives you/makes you tick? 

A. I honestly have no idea, although I’d guess the wish to enjoy my life makes me do the things I do in order to have fun, like writing books.

Q. When do you expect your next book, (the eighth book in the Demon Lord series), to be completed, and what adventures do you take the reader on in this book?

A. Demon Lord Book eight is coming along slowly, and I can’t say for sure when it will be finished. Bane is separated from the rest of his group when he goes to the Underworld to rescue an archangel and falls into a black trap. They end up in a strange realm where some of Bane’s powers don’t work, and all he has for backup is the crippled Majelin. Bane also discovers that archangels are even more irritating than angels.

Q. Do you foresee Mirra and Bane ever leading a normal life together?

A. Yes, although perhaps not totally normal, given his nature, but certainly a close approximation of normality, for a time, at least. Being what he is, he can make that happen quite easily, by opting out of his role as a god.

Q. Where can readers purchase your books?

A. All the e-books are available at Smashwords.com, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Sony, Kobo, Diesel, Scrollmotion, Amazon.com and Amazon.uk. They will also soon be converted into apps for cell phones. In addition, I’m in the process of converting the books to print-on-demand paperbacks, which will be available at Createspace.com.

Sunday 3 June 2012

Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain






I'm happy to announce that Demon Lord VII - Dark Domain, has been published at Smashwords and Amazon. It will become available at all the other retailers, such as Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo and Apple within a couple of weeks, when it is distributed by Smashwords.

I struggled with this book due to all the unfortunate distractions and accompanying emotional turmoil, but now that the worst is past I intend to continue with Book VIII, as yet untitled. I have scrapped the When Angels Fall title because it has been used rather a lot by other authors.

Thanks for your support, patience and well wishes, and I hope you all enjoy the book! Buy it here.

Dark Domain

The Demon Lord must face three dark gods, possibly four, in order to keep the child goddess Kayos has awakened safe. At the same time, he is beset by the people whose domain Sherinias now rules, who do not believe in gods. They know all about evil, and have been trying to fight it for centuries, with dire consequences. Their attempts hamper Bane, however, and place him in additional danger.

While most try to kill or capture him, others are persuaded that Bane is not a destroyer and take his side. Sherinias’ world is still in a great deal of trouble, falling into darkness as its people destroy it with their careless plunder, and not even Kayos can save it.

The city the people have built in the God Realm just outside the realm gate makes it difficult to close the portal, which they strive to keep open, but if it is not closed all manner of gods may enter and put this dark domain and its child goddess in even greater peril….

Extract:


Bane followed the path past the gazebo, heading for the gate hall. The soft, slow chimes continued, louder now that they approached the source. The gate hall came into view, its massive, diamond-encrusted pillars swallowed by mist high above. Bane stopped beside a bank of cloud bushes and studied the hall, within whose dimness glowing runes pulsed around the giant gateway. A flying vehicle hummed overhead, apparently oblivious to the gate’s alarm, but then, it remained open. A flicker caught his eye, and he stared at it. It moved, becoming discernible as a man-shaped figure with sweeping horns and a bull-like head. A second figure appeared beside it, as if stepping from another dimension, as angels did. Four shadows twisted and swirled beyond them. All six skirted on the edge of his vision, barely perceptible.

Mirra tugged at his hand. “What is it?”

“I do not know. Can you not see them?”

“No.”

 Bane blinked. The man-shaped creatures had no souls, and the four shadows had small dull red ones. “Go,” he whispered. “Now.”

Mirra released his hand and backed away. One of the entities vanished and reappeared right in front of Bane, becoming entirely visible. Curved horns swept from the brow of what appeared to be a muscular, seven-foot-tall man clad in polished, spiked steel armour over a tattered dark grey kilt, his face partially obscured by a bull-faced helm. The second creature appeared beside the first, this one wearing a spiked helm and scale mail over ragged brown trousers. He had a massive broadsword strapped across his back, and the first carried a spiked club. They peered at Bane with ink-black eyes, which flicked past him to Mirra.

“Ha! Sport!” the bull-helmed man shouted.

Two of the shadows beyond them shot towards Bane, becoming recognisable. Hellhounds. Bane flung himself at them as they streaked past, seizing one. He rolled with it in the clouds, the demon beast growling as his hands locked around its throat. It was impossible to strangle something that did not breathe, however, and he could not destroy a hound without his power. A scream from the clouds where Mirra had fled turned his heart to fire, and he gripped the Hellhound’s head and twisted, ripping it off. Leaping up, he sprang after the other beast, but something struck him from behind, sending him rolling into the mist. Mirra screamed again, and Bane raised his head, his skull ringing and lights dancing in his eyes. The hound circled her, its eyes aglow, teeth bared, savouring its kill for the benefit of its masters.

Kayos appeared beside Mirra, swept her up and vanished, leaving the Hellhound snapping at air. Bane slumped, clasping his pounding head, then became aware of the two beings who stood behind him, watching him. He turned, frowning. Drevarin appeared in the clouds off to his left, striding closer, but he stopped several yards away, looking uncertain. Bane studied the man-shaped creatures, but he had no idea what they were. The Hellhound whose head he had torn off grew a new one, stood up and returned to its masters, as did the other one.