Books and Banter: Keith Edward English ~ 2nd guest post and his novel Game of Gods (The Ruination Gods Series)

TITLE: Game of Gods (The Ruination Gods Series)

RELEASE DATE: June 5, 2017

AUTHOR: Keith Edward English

PAGE COUNT: 342

ISBN: 978-1546361718

IMPRINT: Chimera

CATEGORIES: Fantasy/Action & Adventure

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

KEYWORDS: fantasy saga, epic fantasy, sword & sorcery, ruination gods, magic, demons, invasion

ONE LINER:

The universe trembles as the gods that preside over it begin bending it to their will, destroying those unfortunate souls caught in their wake.

SYNOPSIS:

Phalax has become a puppet of a god and is forced to obey his demented will, laying waste to the very people he once protected. As Baronfall struggles to recover from the demonic invasion, another threat appears from the mountains, Phalax acting as its spearhead. Stuck inside his steel prison, Phalax watches, helpless and withering, as he demolishes everything in his path. The gods think themselves untouchable, but they are not the only ones who hunt. If the cosmos is going to burn, so too will the gods that pull its strings.

Guest Post:

Two of the characters from the first thing I wrote became the protagonist and the antagonist for my book, Thoughts of Steel. I finished the book as a freshman in college and sent it out to publishers in all its horrible glory. I felt goddamn good for completing the book, but overlooked the whole part where it was supposed to be good.

Rejection after rejection led me to think that maybe something was wrong. I gave up on the book and moved on to other things. In the meantime, I discovered a project called Dargonzine.org. I joined and have published a handful of stories with them thus far. One day, something possessed me to go back to Thoughts of Steel. I found that I liked the story, despite it being poorly written and without much character depth. I must have had a soft spot for it. I sent it to my mentor for Dargonzine.org and he tore it to pieces like he does with everything I write. And it did both the book and me a whole hell of a lot of good.

I spent weeks revising the book, filling my cardboard characters with flesh and bone, restructuring the plot so that it actually worked. Eventually, I had something that I not only liked, but respected as a cohesive work.

I do know that I came up with Phalax and Zeraskyr first, then just needed some kind of conflict, so I found one. It all started with those two, then it morphed into Thoughts of Steel.

I did have a real defining moment for the story though. I was working at Panera, a freshman in college. Dishes, hundreds of them, came back to my sinks dirty then went up to the servers clean… okay, just somewhat clean. I had gotten stuck in a way. I still had more to write, but I didn’t know where I was going. Suddenly, as I was rinsing a bowl, it hit me. I understood why I was writing the book in the direction it was going and what was supposed to happen next. The series was born after that, paving the way for two more books following Thoughts of Steel.

I write in revelations, having that “ah-ha” moment well before I really need it, allowing me to never really get stuck. I think I’m gifted that way, and am sure that gift has paid off in Thoughts of Steel.

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.

AUTHOR LINKS: