Books and Banter: Keith Edward English ~ a character interview and his novel ~ Thoughts of Steel

TITLE: Thoughts of Steel (The Ruination Gods) Book 1

RELEASE DATE: February 10, 2016

AUTHOR: Keith Edward English

KEYWORDS: epic, fantasy, medieval, steel, demons, gods, creatures

CATEGORIES: Epic Fantasy/Action & Adventure

PAGE COUNT: 405

ISBN: 978-0692625071

IMPRINT: Chimera

BOOK PAGE: http://ravenswoodpublishing.com/bookpages/thoughtsofsteel.html

SYNOPSIS:
The world turns cold as steel when it begins to die, and the divine will answer for the plight of man...

Life, as the inhabitants of Zepzier know it, ends as things of myth become a harsh and terrifying reality. Everything that Phalax, a battle-hardened defender of the kingdom of Cavia, has cared for begins to slip through his grasp as nightmares begin to plague his world. When he loses everything, he is left with nothing but a need for revenge, and the road to vengeance will be paved by the blood of both friend and foe.

Phalax once upheld justice. Now, right and wrong have no meaning to him, and morality has no bearing on his actions. He worships no gods, not even those who imbue him with incredible power. He will murder the enemy of his homeland and leave no threat standing. Nothing will stop him--no mortal, no demon, no god.

ONE LINER: Demons fight tooth and nail to destroy humanity for a twisted god, pitting five heroes against certain doom in a fight for their world’s survival.

Character Interview:

This is my (the author’s) interview with Chaetor, the knife-slinging, arrow-shooting, smartass stage actor turned hero.

Me: “What was it like being created and all?”

Chaetor: “Just fantastic. I mean, before Thoughts of Steel, I was nothing. Literally. I didn’t even exist. It’s nice to at least be some crazy bastard’s idea. Although you could have given me more muscle…”

Me: “You really think that would have helped you fire an arrow?”

Chaetor: “No. But maybe with a few situations that could have involved more than one other participant. That’s the stuff that really matters.”

Me: “What’s the deal with you and Arlukent? It seems like you two don’t like each other all that much.”

Chaetor: “Bullshit! I love that old madman. Phalax is too withdrawn. Can’t blame the guy though. Micale hit me in the first thirty seconds of us meeting. So I’m a little ticked off at him, but mostly scared. Daria is cold. Like an icicle. Without Arlukent and me, our group would have been one boring bunch of people. Just because I rail the guy doesn’t mean I don’t like him. Hell I’m probably going to do the same to you. Although in your case I don’t really like you all that much.”

Me: “You speak of agreeing to go along with Arlukent’s plan because being a hero will be one hell of a notch on your belt. Did it go any further than that for you?”

Chaetor: “Notch!? It would have been a whole new belt made of gold and crafted by the sexiest women on Zepzier. That was a huge part of it. Like almost all of it. But I’m not totally consumed by shallow things, just mostly. Some little, tiny piece of me was all for the whole preservation of the human race and whatnot. You could have gotten some other sap to take my place though.”

Me: “When Arlukent showed you your mother’s past, did you react in a way that you didn’t think yourself capable of doing?”

Chaetor: “… To a point. It’s just … I didn’t know about her at all. Well, I did. But not like that. I thought she was nothing more than a whore. Someone who used me to take my father’s money … I didn’t think she had done that for us … For him. I won’t say I expected my reaction. It’s not like I’m unable to feel that way about stuff. I have deep emotions too. But that was just something that destroyed everything I had believed my whole life then told me something new. And there was no guessing. I knew it was right. I loved her. I still do.”

Me: “We won’t give away the book but what is one thing you wish you could have done before the end?”

Chaetor: “That’s a real tough one. Everything changes at the end. And I won’t give it away, as much as I want to. This is one of those times where I’m supposed to feel all deep and think hard, huh? Okay, give me a minute. There’s a lot that comes to my mind. But the most important. The last thing I would have done before we went at that demon lord son of a bitch … Honestly, if I’m being just completely truthful to myself and to everyone, it’d be to watch Arlukent try to pick up a girl. That would have been gold. Like rolling on the floor, slapping my knee, throw my head back and lose it kind of funny. ‘Would you like to see a magic trick? Now let’s see if this confounded thing still works.’ Then he’d start casting spells at his junk, dancing around, mumbling little magic words. It’d be great. And the others would all have to be there too to see it.’

AUTHOR BIO:

Keith lives in Stockton, CA, teaching Krav Maga at American Martial Arts Academy. He enjoys a nice cigar on rare occasions but cannot exist long without good beer. He absolutely loves metal and rock, In Flames and Lamb of God his musical bread and butter. Besides teaching Krav and headbanging to metal, Keith also enjoys the outdoors, its furry and feathery inhabitants, drawing, and spending time with his loved ones.

EMAIL: kedwardenglish@gmail.com

AUTHOR LINKS: http://dargonzine.org/author/kenglish/, http://www.twitter.com/kedwardenglish, https://www.facebook.com/keith.english.359, http://keithedwardenglishauthor.com/

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