Month: June 2015

OUT TODAY!! Roman Mask by Thomas M D Brooke

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What do we expect of our heroes? Self-sacrifice? Bravery? Strength of character? Maybe a hint of self-deprecation? Well, Cassius doesn’t have any of those traits. Cynicism – certainly. Cowardice – possibly. Prepared to live a lie in order to further his own ends – absolutely! Rome AD 9 Augustus Caesar rules Imperial Rome at the height of its power, as the Roman Empire stretches across the known world. Cassius, son of one of her most powerful families, is the personification of Rome’s imperial strength: wealthy, popular, a war hero with a decorated military career – none of Rome’s fashionable parties are complete without him – except, he hides a secret. After his nerve is broken in Germany, the thought of genuine armed combat is enough to send him into a cold sweat of fear and shame. But this doesn’t dissuade him from living off a false reputation so he can continue a life of casual affairs, wine, and parties, as he is seduced by the many vices of Rome. However his scandalous life is soon …

Apologies if I drive you all crazy tomorrow…

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Ok, I better apologise in advance, because tomorrow I think I might drive everyone mad telling them about my book which comes out tomorrow!! It’s so exciting having my novel go live, so grant me this day of  blatant self-promotion! My blog will return to normal soon, where we can discuss other novels in the Historical or Fantasy genre…but tomorrow is MY DAY! Roman Mask: A fast paced action packed novel that begins in Rome AD 9, but leads to the events that will resound down in history, in the dark forests of the Teutoburg…. It’s been a long journey getting to this point, so it is wonderful to finally see it all come together.  I have loved the Historical-novel genre my entire life, so I am delighted to finally be able to contribute something to it.  It truly is a lifetime’s ambition just to get to this point, regardless of anything else that might come of this in the future. I plan to be doing lots of promotional work over the summer for Roman Mask, and …

Anthony Ryan – Blood Song. Fantasy Novel

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Some schools are tough…really tough.  Those who claim that school days are the happiest of your life have forgotten the playground bully – not to mention the coterie of sycophants who normally accompany the bully on their regular round of intimidation.  However, no matter how difficult and challenging some schools are, I’m pretty sure none go quite to the extremes depicted in Anthony Ryan’s novel Blood Song, the first of the Raven Shadows series. In the Unified Realm, power is shared between the King and seven religious orders.  The Sixth of these orders, takes young boys – from every echelon of society – and teaches them to be the ultimate warrior, skilled with sword, bow, knife, or any other device designed for cutting bits off, or poking into people.  The methods they employ are so extreme that many don’t make it through their school years – a sort of Darwinian survival of the fittest played out to wheedle out those not strong enough to represent the shady ideals of the military order. The story is based …

So you want to write a novel? Historical or fantasy, the PROs and CONs

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As I’ve stated in earlier posts, I think both the historical and fantasy novel have more in common than separates them.  Both appeal to readers who want to escape the modern world with all its safe structured uniformity, and be transported to another time or place where the actions the characters can make a difference and life can be exciting and have real meaning.  However there are obvious differences, and when I decided to write a novel I had to decide which way I wanted to go – historical or fantasy.  In both cases I chose historical, but don’t let that make you think it is my preference, as I genuinely love both genres (I WILL write a fantasy novel at some stage). This week I will go through the PROs and CONs of the Historical Novel, and I will follow this up next week with the PROs and CONs of the fantasy equivalent. Pro: Researching a subject to base your novel around can actually be fun.  If you’re like me, and you love history, …

Ten types of evil henchmen!

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The Assassin.  This silent killer is cold and dispassionate.  Prefers to stand in the shadows until called upon by their master to despatch an unfortunate victim.  The first time you see their face may also be the last thing you ever see. The bodyguard.  Forever trailing their master, whose personal safety is their only concern.  Their loyalty is unquestionable and so they can be relied upon to partake in any evil deed their master demands. The street tough.  Handy with their fists and unafraid of any brawl, they are often found in the seediest of bars.  Not renowned for their intelligence, they are still a useful resource if hired muscle is all you need to put some pressure on a competitor or rival. The Torturer.  Sometimes information is more valuable than gold.  If you need to extract anything from a victim before bumping them off, a reliable torturer is essential.  No other henchmen can instil as much fear as someone who specialises in giving pain.  The best torturers will also be adapt at keeping a victim …

Roman Mask Sunday Update

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Okay! Almost there now!  The map is now done- Hooray! I wasn’t sure at first whether I wanted a map for my novel or not, after all we’re all familiar with the general geography of Europe.  However, the names of the countries have obviously changed and I decided I needed to at least display the locations portrayed in the narrative of the book.  It is not an all-encompassing version of the Roman world, I could have gone into a lot more detail, but I thought that might make it difficult to locate the important destinations discussed in the novel. I thought long and hard about whether to add the mountains or not – the map is just a reference point for the reader, so was this necessary?  I decided that as one section of the Alps plays a not-insignificant role in the novel, I had better put them in.  However, I thought drawing small little trees to represent the Teutoburg forest was a step too far, and instead just marked it on the map. There …

Brian Staveley ‘The Emperor’s Blades’

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Brian Staveley’s new series ‘The Unhewn Throne’, which starts with the novel ‘The Emperor’s Blades’ follows three completely different storylines. The plot centres on three young adults, the offspring of the ruler of the mythical Annurian Empire, and how their lives are effected by his untimely death. Each sibling is separated from the other by thousands of miles, so each story is completely independent of one another.

10 Types of Bad guys!

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The Lord of the Manor – “What shall we do with the scullery maid we found reading a book, Lord Dastardly?” “Have her dismissed, force her parents off my land, and send her brothers and sisters to the local poor-house.  That should stop her getting ideas above her station…” You can’t beat the arrogance and sense of entitlement of the English Lord and Lady, unless….. The mean King – Unless he is the king of course! The English normally supply most these bad guys as well, and you have plenty to choose between.  From Edward 1st ‘Hammer of the Scots’, Richard III locking his nephews in the Tower (then murdering them), to Henry VIII and his severance package for estranged wives. The decadent Emperor – Ancient Rome with all its wealth and power needs a good insane Emperor to keep things ticking along.  Making a horse a senator (Caligula), killing his mother (Nero), or being deluded into thinking he was Hercules (Commodus), you have plenty to choose from, and that’s just Rome… Ancient China, The British …