I know it's been a while since I have had any fresh content here, but I have a good excuse...I've been writing! I've got three books going at once, the one that is taking the most time being Wake the Dead 2!
Now, that being said, I have met Wade Garret on social media and he was more than happy to share his information with the readers of Eye on Ashenclaw!
The True Test for Man, is if he can stand naked before himself without
blinking.
The same trail of existence for a God, however, even one created, is if when he blinks, will he change or the world?
Back Blurb: After a year of laborious solitude and a conflict brought to the doorstep of his father's house, Jak, a Southlander of meek circumstance, will come to accept the future isn't set. Through abilities unnerving to any Areht, against enemies rising in every corner of the planet, he’ll be forced to resolve his destiny as One of Five that can change the world. Such selfless transcendence isn’t easy, nor simply the heroic result of dark revelations shielded from him since childhood now exposed; rather, it's because of what’s undeniable, even to him. As all great forces collect at the spear’s tip, the truth of his purpose and the price of his existence has a cost and there's no getting around paying it.
Overall Blurb: Jak Hartlen, 19, the son of William and Mary, will face many thresholds of flesh and mind on his road to reaping the Whirl Wind; seeds of grief and guilt only now coming to fruition.
If only they’d know what they were doing...
The Gan and their Areht who shape the world behind the scenes will hate him, because he's a threat they're not sure can be chained.
The Pillars and their Faithful who spread the world's leading religion will fear him, because his existence, once known, will challenge Ages of dogma and accepted history.
The Crimson King and its Servants who seek to return to power, destroying all that remains of The White, will hunt him, because even in death, they're not sure he'll ever bow to the Dark.
—They All Should.
For as One of Five with the power to shake the world, they’ll hollow his heart and mind through countless sacrifice and vengeful selfishness.
Now, all that said, to simplify: Genesis and The Kingdom Come Series as a whole, is my take on the Hero/AntiHero's Journey. It's a work of Speculative Fiction: gritty Steam/Dieselpunk blended with realistic, sometimes brutal Dark Fantasy—splashes of Cyberpunk and the Strange here’n’there for flavor. If you’re not a F/SF aficionado, plz visit my blog where I elaborated on definitions and how/why they work together for me and my series http://wjgarret.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-sorta-fiction-is-this.html
When did you start writing? Sometime in Middle School. I did a little more in High School as I took my writing assignments more seriously. I really began to build my voice when I came back from college. I was Role Playing before and after this time, so I’d say I was also writing then, though I didn’t always consider torn jot-lists, flow-charts and streams of character details lost to binders I have no idea where, writing.
Why do you write? Because I have to. I know nothing else I want to do. Trust me, as a writer, I think you often wonder if it’d be easier or better to do something else; most writers are qualified to do other things. The pay’s a hundred times better with a “normal” career and there’s likely benefits, but that’s the not the point. You write because you have a story to tell. You tell it because it has to be told and your hope is people want to hear it.
The same trail of existence for a God, however, even one created, is if when he blinks, will he change or the world?
Back Blurb: After a year of laborious solitude and a conflict brought to the doorstep of his father's house, Jak, a Southlander of meek circumstance, will come to accept the future isn't set. Through abilities unnerving to any Areht, against enemies rising in every corner of the planet, he’ll be forced to resolve his destiny as One of Five that can change the world. Such selfless transcendence isn’t easy, nor simply the heroic result of dark revelations shielded from him since childhood now exposed; rather, it's because of what’s undeniable, even to him. As all great forces collect at the spear’s tip, the truth of his purpose and the price of his existence has a cost and there's no getting around paying it.
Overall Blurb: Jak Hartlen, 19, the son of William and Mary, will face many thresholds of flesh and mind on his road to reaping the Whirl Wind; seeds of grief and guilt only now coming to fruition.
If only they’d know what they were doing...
The Gan and their Areht who shape the world behind the scenes will hate him, because he's a threat they're not sure can be chained.
The Pillars and their Faithful who spread the world's leading religion will fear him, because his existence, once known, will challenge Ages of dogma and accepted history.
The Crimson King and its Servants who seek to return to power, destroying all that remains of The White, will hunt him, because even in death, they're not sure he'll ever bow to the Dark.
—They All Should.
For as One of Five with the power to shake the world, they’ll hollow his heart and mind through countless sacrifice and vengeful selfishness.
Now, all that said, to simplify: Genesis and The Kingdom Come Series as a whole, is my take on the Hero/AntiHero's Journey. It's a work of Speculative Fiction: gritty Steam/Dieselpunk blended with realistic, sometimes brutal Dark Fantasy—splashes of Cyberpunk and the Strange here’n’there for flavor. If you’re not a F/SF aficionado, plz visit my blog where I elaborated on definitions and how/why they work together for me and my series http://wjgarret.blogspot.com/2013/04/what-sorta-fiction-is-this.html
When did you start writing? Sometime in Middle School. I did a little more in High School as I took my writing assignments more seriously. I really began to build my voice when I came back from college. I was Role Playing before and after this time, so I’d say I was also writing then, though I didn’t always consider torn jot-lists, flow-charts and streams of character details lost to binders I have no idea where, writing.
Why do you write? Because I have to. I know nothing else I want to do. Trust me, as a writer, I think you often wonder if it’d be easier or better to do something else; most writers are qualified to do other things. The pay’s a hundred times better with a “normal” career and there’s likely benefits, but that’s the not the point. You write because you have a story to tell. You tell it because it has to be told and your hope is people want to hear it.
What would be your choice for a superpower?
It’s a tossup between immortality and to see Time/Space without limit, forward
and backward seamlessly. Who is your favorite author? This is a trick question to ask. I don’t have one, however, I do have a list of authors, besides the Classics—which Everyone Should Know and if you don’t, google Classic F/SF and get reading—and they are: Mark Hodder, Chris Wooding, Daniel Polansky, Mark Lawrence, Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert, Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore; not including a dozen or more movie and comic writers who I also admire.
What are you reading now? Comics: Manhattan Project, Saga and Original Sin, though I tend to not read many Superhero comics, because, sadly enough, I have neither the time or wallet to get caught up in them. Finally, anything Jae Lee is working on. His art is amazing.
Books: King of Thorns, Odd Men Out, Night Shall Overtake, The Return of The Discontinued Man...then some history and political books.
Who is your favorite character to write? I have to break this down into two parts: Villains and Heroes.
Heroes: The Main Character, but often when Jak’s dialogue is balanced with characters with greater presence. The best part of the first book for me was learning the world as Jak did, seeing it through the eyes of someone who doesn’t know.
Villains: Honestly, any of them and oddly enough it's because their words and motives come so easy. Is that wrong?
Do you have a writing process? Yes. It’s called Hack’n’Slash. I don’t recommend it to the tame of heart. “If not for the damn trees you’d see the forest,” or so the saying goes. At times the path is clear. Other times, not so much. You backtrack. Reread. Erase. But then there are stents of perfect clarity. No matter what though, I love every moment my fingers are touching keys.
What advice would you give to an aspiring author? As I’ve said before. DO YOU. I don’t want to read you trying to be like someone else and you shouldn’t want to write that way; it’s not interesting and it’s being done way too much.
What inspired you to pursue writing? It was never really an inspiration. It was a gradual progression of events that led me to the fact that this is the only thing I want to do. I’m a storyteller. Part of it started with jokes, old jokes, the ones that take forever and ever to get to the punchline. Later, it moved into mimicking the fantasies I knew and loved. Later still, when gaming, I was creating my own stories....Do that enough, you eventually have to put them on paper. Boom! You’ve become a writer. It also helps if you've always loved the smell of pencils. :)
What are your favorite TV shows/Movies to watch in between writing? Well, I’m a News junkie. But when I’m not watching the news, I devour almost anything on HBO. I watch a lot of Law and Order. I like Reality Cooking shows. Of course, I record a lot of great cartoons to watch late at night: Legend of Korra; Samurai Jak and others. Movies, I tend to be really picky about the movies I watch unless they’re just hands-down awesome: If it’s a Marvel Movie, I’m seeing it and likely the Midnight Showing.
What are your current projects? Book 2 of The Kingdom Come Series and several shorts which I’m trying to figure my way through.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to readers?
If you’re reading my book. Thank you. If you’re not, well, maybe you’ll check it out after reading this interview. To readers as a whole, just keep reading but also try something new. Don’t just read the names you know, at one time, the famous were nobodies.
Quick Fire: Cats or dogs? Dogs
Coffee or tea? Coffee, though I have a favorite energy drink that’s Tea flavored....
Favorite food? Steak and Potatoes *I can hear the onslaught of Irish Jokes coming*
Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream? Chocolate. Anyone who says Vanilla is lying or was brainwashed as a child.
What are 3 things you never leave home without? Wallet. Hat. Keys.
Laptop or desktop? Desktop. Last laptop fragged out on me after a few months. No thank you.
Who are 3 famous people you would to hang out with? 1) Any author previously mentioned 2) Neil deGrasse Tyson 3) J.J Abrams
TV or Movies? I refuse to answer. I have to have both.
Visit me on my AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE & my SMASHWORDS PAGE!
Best-selling author of Wake the Dead! On Amazon Kindle here!
All Artwork and covers of my works by William J. Kenney & Carlos Cara
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios 2014 unless otherwise noted.
