Chains of a Dark Goddess: Now Available!
Chains of a Dark Goddess is a serious punch of unexpected dark fantasy. Buy it now at one of these fine retailers: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords.
Tales of Pawan Kor
Chains of a Dark Goddess
Betrayed by friends and abandoned by his goddess …
Back from the dead and hellbent on saving his beloved.
In life, Knight Champion Breskaro Varenni zealously served the bright goddess Seshalla. He was a hero and a legend, the greatest knight of the age. But his most trusted friends betrayed him to the swords of infidels, and his goddess abandoned him, denying him Paradise.
In death Breskaro refused to fade into Oblivion, like lesser lost souls.
Instead he wandered the Shadowland for seven years until the dark goddess Harmulkot offered him the one thing only she could give, the one thing that still mattered to him…
A chance to save his precious Orisala from a fate worse than his own.
Returned as a wreck of embalmed flesh animated by sorcery, with a host of the desperate and the undead under his command, Breskaro will do whatever it takes to save Orisala, no matter the odds and no matter the consequences.
David Alastair Hayden returns to the exotic land of Pawan Kor, first seen in Wrath of the White Tigress, with this seductive epic of swords and sorcery in the tradition of Brent Weeks, Robin Hobb, Michael Moorcock, and David Gemmell.
Reader Advisory: This book may not suitable for readers of young adult fiction.
The Haydenverse Beat Interviews Producer Louis Bay: Part 2
by Jackson Jones
Welcome to Story Weekly’s newest column, The Haydenverse Beat, where we interview the producers, directors, writers, and actors of your favorite novels. (Though it is not commonly known, books have writers, directors, producers, actors, set designers, and gaffers just like movies and television shows. True story. I promise.)
By the time you read this, Storm Phase Book 2: Lair of the Deadly Twelve will be out as an ebook in the following stores: Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo.
This is Part 2 of my interview with Louis Bay of Haydenverse Studios, who produced the top books Wrath of the White Tigress, The Storm Dragon’s Heart, and Lair of the Deadly Twelve. I asked him about the making of those, the upcoming Chains of a Dark Goddess, and the lost work titled The Shadowed Manse. He was tremendously forthcoming, and we’ve got nothing else to run, so the interview will be appearing in multiple parts over the next several weeks.
Jackson Jones: Before we talk about Deadly Twelve, let’s talk more about the making of Storm Dragon. I understand that some of Storm Dragon was shot on stage with green screen, some in Thailand, and some in Japan. Is this true?
Louis Bay (shifting uncomfortably): Well … not … not really. We did green screen quite a bit, like you do these days. But we did the outdoor shots in New Zealand, because it’s fantasy and that’s what you do, right? I mean, New Zealand is what I would agree to pay for and it looks like a fantasy land … apparently. Alastair Hayden (Haydenverse Studios Director) was against it, on account of New Zealand not looking like Japan, China, or Thailand. David Hayden (Haydenverse Studios Writer) couldn’t be bothered to care because he was off plotting the next story. You can always count on him to be too busy on the next project to put up much of a fight.
It certainly doesn’t look like New Zealand in the final product!
Yeah, well, that’s because we presented it to a focus group. They said they were getting an ancient Japan and China vibe from the story and characters, like they should, but the setting was clearly New Zealandy which means Europeany somehow or Middle Earthy and … Well, it just wouldn’t do. So Alastair got his way and the budget took a hit.
So you went back and shot it again on location?!
Gods no. Not enough budget. We took shots of Japan and Thailand and we superimposed those images on top of the New Zealand backgrounds with some computer wizardry hullabaloo. You’d have to interview the guys in IT to understand it.
Don’t you mean the folks in Special Effects?
IT … Effects … What’s the difference? Nerds on computers, right?
I don’t think it’s okay to say that.
I’m a producer. I get paid to be insensitive.
I don’t think that’s how it works.
Well, it must. I’ve still got a job.
Lair of the Deadly Twelve Now Available!!!
Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
STORM PHASE
A teenage wizard burdened with a mysterious destiny, a cat-girl ninja he can’t help but fall for, and a bat-winged daemon that doubles as a diary embark on a journey of self-discovery in a world teeming with monsters and magic. Perfect for fans of Percy Jackson and Avatar: the Last Airbender, this enchanting Asian-inspired fantasy series delivers fast-paced adventure for readers young and old.
Book 2: LAIR OF THE DEADLY TWELVE
If Turesobei thought becoming a hero would solve his problems, he was wrong, dead wrong.
When the young wizard joined his father on a quest for the Storm Dragon’s Heart all he wanted was a bit of adventure and freedom from the pressures of being heir to the High Wizard.
Now with war looming his clan sees him as a storm-powered super weapon, and expectations are higher than ever. But every time Turesobei uses his new powers, they threaten to overwhelm him. And the mysterious destiny hinted at by his bat-winged fetch draws closer every day.
Then he receives a bloodstained note from Iniru, the ninja cat-girl he couldn’t help but fall in love with, and life gets really complicated.
Turesobei must choose, love or duty. The wrong choice may doom the world. But saving everything he cares for might mean losing himself.
Amazon, Amazon UK, Barnes & Noble, Kobo
Print copies will be available in a month or so. iBooks hopefully in January.
The Haydenverse Beat Interviews Producer Louis Bay: Part 1
by Jackson Jones
Welcome to Story Weekly’s newest column, The Haydenverse Beat, where we interview the producers, directors, writers, and actors of your favorite novels. (Though it is not commonly known, books have writers, directors, producers, actors, set designers, and gaffers just like movies and television shows. True story. I promise.)
On our inaugural week, everyone at Haydenverse Studios turned me down except Louis Bay, producer of top books Wrath of the White Tigress and The Storm Dragon’s Heart.
I asked him about the making of those, the upcoming Chains of a Dark Goddess, the next installment in the Storm Phase saga, Lair of the Deadly Twelve, and the lost work The Shadowed Manse. I also asked him about what it’s like to work with the Hayden brothers, writer David and director Alastair.
He was tremendously forthcoming, and we’ve got nothing else to run, so the interview will be appearing in multiple parts over the next several weeks.
I caught up to Louis on the set of Lair of the Deadly Twelve, after a long day of shooting. Dressed in a green leisure suit and a matching bowler hat, he is most often seen stalking about the set, tugging at his lengthy beard while trying to keep everyone on schedule. He graciously took time to meet with me, though I could tell he wasn’t in the mood for it. Just before we sat down, he’d had a long row with two of the actors: Jimmy James and Charity Chaste.
Jimmy James portrays reader favorite Lu Bei, the bat-winged fetch who’s also a diary. Charity Chaste plays Enashoma, the sweet younger sister of the main character, Turesobei, who is played by Max Morris.
Jackson Jones: Louis, thanks for agreeing to an interview for a new column. I appreciate it.
Louis Bay: Someone’s gotta do promotion. Apparently the same someone who keeps this carnival of insanity on the road. But you know, whatever.
I have to ask. What was that argument about?
Oh, you know. Actors. Just as big a pain as writers and directors.
I take it not everything’s rosy on set?
Assassins in Fiction
Assassins are a strange phenomenon in fiction. Why should anyone care about a protagonist who’s a hired killer? Yet we readers (and viewers) seem to love them. Why the fascination? Sure, super-sweet abilities and nearly magical skills (or truly magical depending on the genre) are given to them by popular culture in books and movies and video games, but under the hype all you have is a killer. For a writer this makes them uniquely challenging characters. Readers need to identify with your protagonist. But how do you make a cold blooded killer sympathetic? Often assassin characters only kill in self defense, and only bad guys. A few years ago I read a fantasy novel about an assassin who is never shown killing a single person! But when they are done right they are golden. David Gemmell’s redeemable anti-hero makes Waylander one of my favorite books. Why do I love assassins? (more…)
Are You Being a Passive Voice Patsy?
Do you know passive voice when you see it? Can you pick up on it instantly? I wonder. Because if you’re an American and English is your first language, the answer is probably no.1 Though it’s not your fault if you don’t really know. Many times along the path between kindergarten and graduating high school, in college English and Creative Writing courses as well, I was taught that passive voice and to be verbs were essentially the same thing. A few books along the way may have defined it correctly, but if so, this was lost on students and teachers. (I had at least one teacher who certainly would have known the difference but it never came up.)
The preeminent American book of all things grammatical and fussy, the Strunk & White, doesn’t seem to fully grasp the passive voice either.2 And so many American English teachers worship this text, perpetuating the problem.
How To Help Your Favorite Authors
This post was originally composed by Lindsay Buroker.
As authors, we spend a lot of time trying to promote our books. Our biggest obstacle is obscurity because there are a lot of books out there. No, really. A lot.
We like to think that good stories are all it takes to make it (in author terms “make it” usually means “become well known enough and sell enough books that I can quit my day job and write for a living”), but you can doubtlessly think of mediocre books that are selling bazillions of copies and authors you love who never make it out of the “mid-list” category.
Sometimes it’s just the author (or publishing house) with the biggest marketing budget who wins, but you, as a reader, have amazing power. Don’t believe for a second that you don’t have anything to do with whether an author makes it, because you do. A lot. No, really. A lot.
Why does this matter to you? Well, authors who get to quit their day jobs can write faster and put more books out for you!
The following are some little things you can do that can make a big difference. Some of them only take a few seconds. Your favorite authors will appreciate the effort. Trust me.
The Season of Discontent
Alternate Title: The Season of Familial Obligation
Some of you may be wondering: Where are all the books David promised us in late 2011? I’ve read Wrath of the White Tigress and The Storm Dragon’s Heart and now I want more. More, damn it, more!
I am deeply sorry. Nothing would make me happier than having more books out for you to read.
I am working on the next book, but things are going slowly. And at this point I’m four months behind on my publishing schedule. It’s likely that I’ll be five months behind once December ends.
I’ve been stressed by intermittent familial obligations over the last 16 months. For most of that time I was able to keep pace with my work and so I thought I could get out a number of books late this year in spite of it all. In June, the stress of obligations ratcheted up but then cooled off again. I was a month behind pace then, but figured I could catch up.
Then came September.
Interview on Darkcargo
Here’s an excerpt of an interview I did for Darkcargo. Go check it out!
A common argument–complaint, maybe–that I overhear is that there’s nothing new to fantasy, everything is either a re-hash of Tolkein or paranormal romance. How would you contest that?
As far as basic story structure goes, nothing is new. I’ve studied a lot of mythology and storytelling and… I don’t want to bore your readers. Suffice to say: Everything is new; nothing is new. Originality is overrated. I think sci-fi and fantasy fans tend to worry about this a lot more than most readers. I mean, there’s nothing new in thrillers or mystery or romance either, so why should fantasy be any different?
On the other hand, the details and specifics of every story are different and frequently highly original. Every author mixes the basics differently and brings new things to the table because every writer is intrinsically different.
And I have yet to see as many Tolkien clones as some readers like to claim. I have only seen two or three close copies, and even those didn’t have the same texture as LotR.
And for the record, a reading of Northern European mythology will dull one’s view of Tolkien’s originality. Not saying he didn’t create a lot or original material, but he also borrowed a good bit himself.
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