There and back again and again and...

First of all, an apology. It’s been over two months since my last confession, sorry, blog post. You know how it is—xmas, work (the one that pays the bills), some writing/editing/proof reading. And I’ve been a little unfaithful to this blog, seeing another blog or two on the side....

Anyhow, happy new year. And to kick off this year’s posts where better to start than The Hobbit. I saw it with the kids in the Xmas holidays at our brand new cinema in Halifax, in glorious 2D (as watching films in 3D when you already wear glasses is little better than watching a dodgy bit-torrent version with Arabic subtitles and little silhouettes walking across the bottom of the screen). Now I should declare that there was no way I was not going to like this film. Seriously it could have been just a 180 minute still of Bilbo with Sting and Gollum and a caption saying ‘Eggsies’ and I would have soiled my seat. I’d been awaiting this film since before LOTR, since I was 11 and read the book for the first time (not least because LOTR pre-Jackson had a great film version already in the shape of Ralph Bakshi’s cartoon).

Yet just before I went to see it, the powers of the Necromancer (Sauron for kiddies) had already worked their wicked way on the public. Little mutters of desecration, alteration, new material, ‘untrue to the book’ expanded into ‘milking the fantasy cash cow’ (and what a gargantuan cow it could be in a fantasy world... a 15HD AC2 monstrosity with udders that imitated a Beholder’s twiddly eye stalks). So I was a tiny bit nervous when I watched it—I felt almost protective of the film, like they were insulting my mother in some strange Scorsese type-way (‘Waddya say about my mudder? Huh? Huh?’). After all, Peter Jackson is the Creator in my eyes—he who has brought forth majestic films for all to see (and I include ‘Bad Taste’, ‘Meet the Feebles’ , ‘Heavenly Creatures’ and ‘Brain Dead’ in that statement too).

And I was content. Because he didn’t screw it up. And I know there’ll be dissenters who were probably the same ones who lamented the loss of Tom Bombadil, the barrow wights, and were irritated by that whole Osgiliath diversion in Two Towers, but I loved all the modifications. Well, I could have skipped Sylvester McCoy as Radagast with his Bunnies of Protection +2, but the rest was perfectly pitched. I thought back to the book, which is after all a kids’ book, and wondered how it could have been done differently. Part of the problem is that there are some great scenes in the book that would be a bit naff if directly translated to film—the Trolls, the scene with Golem, even the Spiders. They would be rather twee if left as they were, and I considered Jackson did a good job of making the first two feel far more dramatic and not so silly. The sub-plot with Thorin and Bilbo was perfect—the characters had to make a journey within a journey or the film has no drive: after all, what is a story if nothing evolves, nothing changes?

The extra material with the White Orc gave a great finale, which came just right after the escape from the Goblin caves. The alternate would have been bringing the goblins out onto the mountains, which wouldn’t have seemed as dramatic to me—less personal for Thorin, less opportunity for Bilbo’s bravery.

Similarly the meeting in Rivendell was well done, if a tiny bit slow. The Hobbit is a prequel to LOTR whichever way you look at it. The dialogue was engaging enough, and I also liked the more sympathetic treatment of Saruman before he becomes swayed by Sauron and the Palantir. You do kind of want to slap them and shout, “Duh! How can you not know who’d hiding in Mirkwood?”

So like many I’m eager for the next film, not least to try and predict where they’ll cut it. Will it culminate in Smaug’s death, or will they put that in film 3? Will they focus on the battle of the Five Armies in film 3 or what? Or more linking material?

And it’s that extra material that is really irking folk, as it did to a lesser extent with LOTR. But why? What is so sacred about Tolkien and his work beyond the devotion of fantasy fans? I adore the books, but I’m happy to see the alterations in the same way I was happy with the ‘modernisation’ of the CS Lewis books for film. They’re good films, after all. I see adaptations that are dire, especially of comics—the League of Extraordinary Gentleman is shocking, despite the brilliance of the comic; Wanted is an OK film, but bears a minuscule resemblance to the comic version. There’s a school of thought that considers all art to be adaptable, changeable. When we see the twentieth interpretation of Great Expectations, or Pride and Prejudice, we don’t kick back over the alterations, the omissions, when the key plot points and most memorable dialogue remain. And that’s all that has happened with The Hobbit at the moment—the plot is still the same, the idea of Bilbo Baggins making a journey both physically and meta-physically, with the great quotes and the great songs, a bunch of dwarves (undoubtedly cooler than any Elf softies) and a dude in a grey hat.

For me the thrill of seeing such works on film is second to none, and the same applies to the adaptation of comics such as Thor, Spiderman, Iron Man, X-men and Avengers. I adored the originals, but they could not be replicated panel by panel on the big screen. And the kids these days don’t know how lucky they are to be seeing such awesome stuff at the cinema!




So happy new year, and I promise it won’t be as long until I post again. And I’ll kill the time to Hobbit 2 by playing the fab Lego Lord of the Rings, which has Radagast and Tom Bombadil in it!!!

Questions

Hello everyone,

William here. Just touching base with all of you. Mostly I've come to ask a few questions:


Have you read books by the writers of Skulldust Circle?
Which ones have you tried and what are your thoughts?
Did reading one author's work lead you to another writer from our group?
Are you here because you are strictly a fantasy reader or are you interested in other genres as well?


Now, do you have any questions for any of us? Leave a comment and the respective writer will get back to you. Wondering about the next release from someone? Ask below.


Thanks for visiting,

William

Brand new Interview with William Kenney

Shortly after I took up Jeremy Laszlo's invite to join the Skulldust Circle I decided the read what my fellow authors were writing. Gary's Ashenclaw work and Jeremy's Blood and Brotherhood debut were featured on my book blog, The Roaring Mouse, and so now it's William Kenney's turn.

William is one of those astonishingly talented types that you meet very so often that thrives in his creativity. As well as his great writing he also excels at artwork and muisc. In fact it was through admiring his covers that I first connected with him on Twitter, well before the Skulldust Circle formed. His covers grace the books of Gary Vanucci, as well as his own work and they evoke the superb fantasy art of the sixties and seventies which adorned the fantasy and sci-fi novels most of us grew up with,

Dreams of Storms is the first book of the 'In the Shadow of the Black Sun' series. It's a high fantasy series with a distinctly dark edge to it, not perhaps to the degree of Martin or Abercrombie, but enough to tell you it ain't for the little ones. It tells the story of Hagan, a former hero, now trying to live a life of refuge away from the lands and city that made him famous. However crisis returns to the lands and an old comrade (the awesome stone troll, Gorin) is dispatched to convince him to return. The pair set off with Hagan's younger brother, D'Pharin, in tow. On the journey to the city of Harquinn, they meet Vasparian, an Elven veteran and Windenn, a Woodwarden (kind of like a ranger-druid). But things are not quite as they expect- the evil Malhain is at large and has dispatched his sinister Inquiti after the companions.

There are all the hallmarks of good heroic fantasy in here--the quest, the interplay between human and non-human races, excellent world-building. In many ways William draws on the traditions of Tolkien, Brooks and Eddings, with the multi-skilled group and their dialogue. But what made the book for me were the more original touches-- the hostile and decaying city of Overbrook; the mystery of the seer, the Wisp; the guilt and ruminations of the troubled hero, Hagan; and the Inquitis, probably the scariest opponents since the Nazgul got drowned by Elrond's daughter. The dark atmosphere is there but it never overpowers, rather it bolsters the authenticity of the work, and makes you nervier as you're never sure that all the comapnions are going to be all right or not.


I took the chance to throw a few questions at William the other day:

Me: I was (pleasantly) surprised by how much 'dark' fantasy mixed with your traditional high fantasy story. Are you a fan of the darker end of the genre?

WK: Absolutely. I've always felt that the evil element in the story should be as dark and nasty as possible. The reader should fear them, loathe them and want them defeated. The reader is walking in the characters shoes and should feel the ultimate desperation of facing the bad guys. The good guys will only truly shine in the presence of absolute darkness, right?

Me: There's a definite feel of DnD in your work. I know our friend Gary is a big gamer, is it something you've done/do and does it influence you?

WK: I played quite a bit when I was a teenager. We had a group of guys that would play all-day marathons, sometimes getting so involved that we would forget to eat. I'm sure my mother remembers us taking over the dining table with maps and hardcover rulebooks. Eventually, a friend and I built a custom DnD table to play on. It was divided into four sections with a built-in box at the center with a lid. We kept dice and figurines in there. DnD and role-playing games in general really spark the imagination. I use to be the DM (GM now) back then and really had to think quickly while taking the others through the adventures. The DM is essentially a storyteller after all.

Me: Your covers are simply astounding. If you had to choose which one you enjoyed more- writing or painting/design- what would it be and why?

WK: Thank you very much for the compliment, Ross. That would be a difficult decision. I've done both since I was a boy and both feel very much like a piece of the same thing. To me, they are both art. I'm also a musician and treat it in the same fashion. I start with a small idea and continue to add pieces until I have a cohesive finished product that hopefully creates some sort of emotional response in people. Of course, painting is more immediate than writing, but they are both rewarding to me.

Me: I'd just noticed you also write a YA series. Tell us a little about that.

WK: I created the Tales of Embremere series as a break from the In the Shadow of the Black Sun series.I was writing such a complex dark fantasy story, that I wanted to create something more relaxed for a change. I wanted shorter stories that could be read in one sitting and I plan to do more in the future. The characters in the story are teenagers living in the Under. Beneath the city of Embremere, which is constructed on an immense platform above the surface of a lake, the less fortunate have built their own city from the discarded refuse tossed away by the city-folk above. The main character, Grivvin is the last of the Wychan, the wizards of the world. During the opening of the first book, he is cast out and into the dark world of the Under.

Me: Fun question- who was your favourite author and why?

WK: I would have to say Tolkien. Reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings when I was young changed my life without a doubt. From there, I devoured as much fantasy as I could find. My literary diet consisted of Terry Brooks, Michael Moorcock, Stephen R. Donaldson, Robert E. Howard, etc. Fantasy created such a magical atmosphere for me that I immediately wanted to tell my own stories. I still have pieces of novels that I started when I was roughly 15 years of age. No one will ever see them, of course. Very crude, but still some interesting ideas.

Me: What are your feelings about the increasing popularity of the fantasy genre with the success of Game of Thrones and Peter Jackson's Tolkien adaptations?

WK: I love seeing so much fantasy on television and in the theaters. When I was young, it was so hard to find anything like that. Any new fantasy-related film or series was a godsend to my friends and I. I didn't care how cheesy or ridiculous it was, I would watch and re-watch it. The Sword and the Sorcerer, Krull, Hawk the Slayer, Dragonslayer, Conan the Barbarian. I loved them all. We can only hope that with the added exposure, people that have never been exposed to it, will give fantasy novels a try.

Me: How excited are you about the Hobbit?

WK: Well, I can't wait to see it. What Peter Jackson did with the trilogy was truly mind-blowing. Those are some of my favorite movies without a doubt. So much detail, it's insane. I'm hoping the magical feeling of The Hobbit, which definitely has a different atmosphere than the Lord of the Rings books, translates to the screen. I keep waiting for someone to bring a decent Elric movie to the screen or the Shannara stories.

Me: And, finally, what's the current work in progress?

WK: Currently I am writing the third book of my In the Shadow of the Black Sun series. I've just scratched the surface with it and am feeling a certain amount of pressure. I feel that the first two books in the series are great fantasy tales. I am my biggest critic and hold my stories up to a pretty high standard. I spend a lot of time thinking through different possibilities for the storyline. What if I took the story this way or that? So many ways for the tale to go. Which works best? I've got so many stories to tell, some fantasy and some not. There is simply not enough time to get them all written.

Check out William's amazing work and excerpts from stories at http://authorwilliamkenney.blogspot.co.uk/

If you wanted to check out A Dream of Storms then click here for Amazon UK and here for Amazon US

Next time on the Roaring Mouse we're going 'down under' for a date with True Blood devotee and Mistress of Mutants, Rachel Tsoumbakos.

The Infinity Bridge

Lest you think we at the SkullDust Circle have been asleep all summer, or worse resting on our laurels at the completion of our awesome anthology I shall quote the Mighty Thor...
"I say thee nay."

Which translated means 'No.' Whilst Emperor Vanucci, Sir William of Kenney and Lord Laszlo have all been scribing the next installments in their fantasy epics, for my own part I have completed my edit on DR3 and released a brand new book- The Infinity Bridge.

I wrote the book in response to complaints from my two eldest kids that everything I wrote was too grown up (i.e replete with long words and graphic fight scenes) for them. So I set to work in creating a MG/YA story with all the Dr Who-esque elements I knew they liked, set in a place they've visited with kids they could identify with (like Green Day and computers). I threw in a dash of Steampunk (clockwork androids and air-ships), some alternate worlds and even good old Merlin, re-imagined for the modern age.

If that tickles your curiosity buds, or if you've got kids age 10+ who like sci-fi/fantasy then click below and download a sample. The blurb for the book kinda says it all....

Sam: likes loud music, wears black eye-liner... and sees monsters.

Nick: wears Che Guevera knit-wear, big specs, loves sci-fi... and designs computer viruses.

Annie: dresses like a Sunday evening period drama, lives with her granddad... and fights like a ninja.

When Sam helps out the mysterious Annie, he and his cousin, Nick, are drawn into a world of excitement and danger. Terrifying androids roam the streets of York seeking the awesome power of the Infinity Bridge, a device that could signal the end of our world as we know it. All who stand in their way are being eliminated.

The three teenagers are propelled into an action-packed race against time, involving alternate realities, airships, clockwork killers.... and Merlin.

Sometimes the monsters are real....

To find on Amazon UK
And on Amazon US

On Carrot Noses and Holy Avengers

I came upon Poul Anderson quite late in the game compared my reading of other authors that were big influences on the DnD game. Anderson’s books Three Hearts and Three Lions and the Broken Sword both pop up in the reading list in the 1^st Ed DMG, but it was one of those books that never seemed to populate UK book stores.

Being a classic of its type (modern man transported into fantasy alternate world a la everything from Mark Twain to CS Lewis) it was re-published as part of the awesome Fantasy Masterworks series, some of which have now drifted onto Kindle.

The book tells the tale of Holger Carlson, a Danish agent in WW2 who is flipped into a fantasy world by an explosion. He finds he has taken the role of a holy knight, who is known in the world, and whose recollection slowly returns. Along his journey he meets dwarves, faeries, cannibals, witches and trolls. Ultimately he finds that he has been previously involved with Morgan Le Fey, and she plays a key part in the latter part and the conclusion to the book.

The book is a cracking read—although the plot is linear (and given it was a serialised novella, that’s not too surprising) and some of the dialogue grates (especially the pseudo-Glaswegian of Hugi the dwarf). It is a surprisingly energetic and contemporary feeling fantasy, which given it was released just prior to JRR Tolkein’s work, is surprising.

The influences on the DnD game are numerous, perhaps almost as many as Tolkien and Lieber’s work, considering it was only a single novel. The most significant, and this was further extended by Moorcock in Elric, was the alignment system: Anderson describes Law and Chaos in his book (which was later modified in AD&D to include the –good and –evil suffixes). Gygax cited Anderson and Moorcock in his creation of the system. By all accounts, and Gary Vanucci is the man to ask here, the 4^th Ed has merged them all together to create a sort of spectrum from lawful good, to good, to neutral (couldn’t give a monkeys) to evil, to chaotic evil (proper naughty).

Anderson’s book gave us two more icons of the DnD world—the Paladin and the Troll. The Paladin character class was majorly influenced by Holger and his knightly values, which in turn was a representation of classic virtuous knights from the Arthurian legends (Gawain, Lancelot, Galahad). For my own part I really liked the Paladin characters for all the awkward situations you could toss them into. And the fact they could walk amongst scrofula-ridden peasants with little fear of infection. And laugh at mummies.

And the troll. Oh, the troll. Not the bulky boulder headed ‘oh, they have a cave troll’ type-troll, but the authentic 100% genuine carrot-nose rubber flesh variety. The inspiration of the seminal Tunnels and Trolls (OK, I made that up) and the unbeatable basis of many a horror film-style trap in DnD. We all did it—troll fingers frozen in a chest, thaw out when opened, grow new troll. I think it was even in some of the modules! And the punk new wave haircut... genius

A perfect note to end on (as if I get going about AD&D artwork I’ll be here all night).

Next time, got to be Fritz Leiber, and the Grey Mouser.

A Gathering of Dust

The writers of Skulldust Circle have assembled a collection of short stories (some based on existing novels) for your reading pleasure. It is now available for the Kindle and is selling for $5.99 on the US site. 

 

Some of the stories are companion pieces to the writer's existing novels and expand upon their worlds. Others are stand-alone tales.

If you've read book 1 of my In the Shadow of the Black Sun series, you are aware of the character Trune. He is thought by most to be nothing more than the town drunk. Nothing could be further from the truth. Find out the secrets of his past and the true reason that he wound up in Lauden. All of this can be found in my short story entitled Shadewraiths over Pandaria as part of A Gathering of Dust. 

 

Click the link to have a look.



A Gathering of Dust

As always, I appreciate your support and look forward to your questions or comments.

Walk with the Wind

William

The Roaring Mouse Interview with Gary Vanucci

Gary was interviewed on The Roaring Mouse book blog by Ross last week. Here is the interview for the followers of SkullDust Circle.


In the endlessly running sitcom ‘Friends’ there was an episode where Joey was in Vegas and saw a croupier with the same hands as him. He dubbed him his 'hand twin.'
In a similar fashion, via the medium of Tweet I have located my author twin-Gary Vanucci.

Gary writes fantasy with an unashamedly DnD influence, focusing on detailed action and intricate world building. His Wothlandia books are set in the Realm of Ashenclaw, a land populated by adventurers, dwarves, elves, demons and dragons.Gary has developed a wealth of material to support his books- a DnD sourcebook, a great web-site, and a fantastic partnership with author-artist William Kenney. The covers are fantastic, bringing to mind the classic sixties and seventies styles that adorned sword & sorcery classics by Moorcock et al.

But a book is far more than its cover, and Gary's work doesn't fail to impress. My first exposure was one of his prequels (now collected in a single volume) and from that I went on to read Covenant of the Faceless Knights.

Covenant tells the tale of Garius, a rather dour Inquisitor, who assembles a group of disparate heroes to accompany him on a mission to rescue some priests. The heroes struggle to integrate initially - as you'd expect from a barbarian, a thief and an elf alchemist. However their journey brings out their extraordinary talents and they knit together as the story progresses. In the backstory we have a demonic warlord making alliances with succubi queens, evil dwarves and a lich. Yep, a lich! Only one down from a beholder for sheer classic DnD! The main purpose there seems to be to set up books 2+, which is something that I (as well as authors like Martin and Erikson) like to do.

The characters are great: lots of fun, interesting, with abilities verging on super powered. In fact I could pick up a big comic-book influence in Gary's style ( just like me :-D ... Truly we are author twins).

I felt genuinely curious about what happens next when the book finished, and look forward to reading the sequel. I interviewed Gary about being a self-pub author, so without further ado, over to my US 'twin.'

Me: Where did you draw the inspiration for the Wothlondia series from?

Gary: I wanted to do a series of prequel short stories that actually added not only history to my world, but character development. I am attempting to set the characters up in the mind of the reader to allow them greater depth, motivation and a sense of what makes them tick. The whole series came to me from decades of writing my own D&D adventures, campaigns, etc. Most of the story, background, maps, etc. came from those years with quite a bit of tweaks and changes to give them the feel of the Realm of Ashenclaw setting. All of the characters are my own creations. They are not old characters.

Me: You've assembled a great cast of characters. Who do you like writing the most out of them all?

I can’t choose that! It’s like asking “who is your favourite child?” I do enjoy writing them all. Orngoth to me is kind of like the Hulk. I picture this massive monster of a man and go from there. Garius is your typical leader-type with very little in the way of emotion or humor. He is slightly emotionally stunted I guess, though this is a kind of social impedance in that regard. He puts his work and his devotion above all else. Saeunn is a cold, heartless warrior with a chip on her shoulder. She has suffered great loss early on, especially if you have read Tears of Blood, and it continues in Covenant. She has become very callous and guarded emotionally, aside from her mother. Elec is a kind of young adult to me. He is very naïve and growing, kind of inexperienced and yet, extremely intelligent and full of potential. He is becoming more and more addicted to the adrenaline rush of combat as well as his elixirs. It should be a very relatable tale with him moving forward. And Rose is really developing on her own, moreso than any of the others. She started out with a rough childhood, got used to a certain lifestyle afforded her by Ganthorpe and the Thieves’ Guild and currently, she is realizing that she was missing out on the action. She has a hidden side that really enjoyed working hard and she misses the ‘thrill and excitement of her youth. And, above all else, I try to write my characters so that they seem real, with real emotion and motivations.

Me: How much has playing (and presumably DMing) role-playing games influenced your writing? Do you worry that such influences may pigeon-hole your work amongst fantasy readers?

Gary: Playing and DMing has given me more to draw on and opened my mind, as has everything else I have ever done with regards to creativity and exposing myself to other imaginary worlds. All of my past hobbies have influenced me greatly. I feel that I can place a spin on the typical good vs. bad and make it unique, fun and even engaging enough to make people want to read it. I don’t think that pigeon-holing is what I would worry about. I am telling high fantasy and a reader comes along with certain expectations in that genre, which I am fully capable of providing. However, I feel that I can place an exceptional stamp on my characters, my writing and my world that will make the experience very unique.

Me: What are your big literary influences?

Gary: R.A. Salvatore. He is amazing. I have never read an author that can put so much detail in the world, speak so uniquely, introduced so many awesome characters and still give you a fight scene that is incredibly written. I also enjoy Michael Moorcock, George Martin, Terry Brooks, Robert E. Howard, Frank Miller, Peter David, and Alan Moore. There are really too many to name. Also, I must say that there are seriously tons of good fantasy writers on the indie side that need to be read as well. Mind you, there is also a lot of garbage, which is the con about self-publishing, but there are quite a few gems out there as well. Visit Skulldust Circleand you very well may find some good ones there! *hint-hint* As a side note, I am currently reading your Darkness Rising novel and feel that I must say, your writing is brilliant and elegant, and more people really need to discover your prose as I believe they will greatly enjoy it. As a fan of epic fantasy, I would recommend it!

Me: The covers are amazing- tell us something more about them.

Gary: They developed from my mind and I give Mr. William Kenney (also another Skulldust Circleauthor and my artist!) the descriptions and he churns out something amazing for me. It is truly amazing to work with someone who shares your vision on what the quality of the covers should look like, what the characters need to look like and the overall feel and ambiance of the world I am trying to create. If you need some amazing, character-focused artwork, please look him up!

Me: Fun question: in the Hollywood blockbuster who would play your main characters?

Gary: I’ve been asked this before and still have no good answers. I’d really love Olivia Wilde to play Rose in my movie. I think she would be amazing as a smart-ass rogue-type. I think I’d like Karl Urban to play Garius. The dude is extremely intense and his scowl is unmatched. Imagine him shaved bald with a long beard…lol. The elf-like character that appeared in Hellboy 2 might make an awesome Elec. Aside from a few stars to carry the movie, I’d try to introduce some new actors in an attempt to give some fresh talent a chance to make it in the big town of Hollywood!

Me: With the advent of e-publishing, people have been predicting the end of print. I recall the same predictions with the boom of multi-player Internet based gaming that the same would happen with RPG. What are your thoughts on this?
Gary: My opinion, albeit a strong one, is: It will never happen. Never. Mark it down. There will always be a want and therefore a need for publishing houses to continue on in print. It may never be lower than it is now, but it certainly will never disappear completely. I think it would be foolish, irresponsible and short-sighted. What if something happened to the internet? All we would have left would be print.

Me: So what are your current projects?

Gary: I am currently writing Book 4 in my series, called Dance of Deceit, which continues the saga of my heroes and which I expect to be released by this Christmas…if all goes well. There will be quite a few reveals and (teaser) quite possibly a death of a character in there. (WHAT?!)

I also have a short story that will be out shortly with some of the guys from Skulldust Circle! You may have heard of them. My story is the Legend of Ashenclaw (the giant red-dragon queen whose namesake is the branding of my world!) IT should be epic for any fans of my world and there are several other amazing short stories in there that need to be perused as well. I think this cross-promotion anthology will be an awesome endeavour that introduces many readers to our work that otherwise may not have taken the chance.

Thanks for having me and I look forward to an interview with you as well!

Thanks, Gary, especially for the mention of my work!!! The Skulldust anthology will be out soon, and in the interim check out Gary’s excellent style at the links below and on his website.

Gary's Amazon page

Realm of Ashenclaw website

Covenant of the Faceless Knights