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Visions of Zarua MY COVER

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.

Available to pre-order at amazon  kobo  itunes nook You can download the reading apps for any of these suppliers, on any device. Click on the link for details.

Or to find out more, please visit my website, twitter page, facebook or goodreads

Your pre-order will be delivered to you on the release date of 16th November 2015.

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Pre-order details for Visions of Zarua

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save the realm of Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.

RELEASE DATE 16th NOVEMBER 2015

Visions of Zarua MY COVER

An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria.

Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master Kalesh dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate.

Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer.

The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions in time to save the Paltrian people from the dark menace of Zarua’s past?

Pre-order Visions of Zarua now from amazon  kobo  itunes nook

To find out more, pleae visit my website, twitter page, facebook or goodreads

Length of #fantasy fiction

A recent blog on fantasy-faction.com got me thinking about the length of fantasy books.

They are usually weighty tomes, which I don’t have a problem with until you start building those into trilogies and series and clocking up thousands of pages.

I believe there should be more standalone novels in fantasy. It’s always sad when a book you’ve loved comes to an end, but isn’t it good to have closure? To know that the next book you pick up will be the start a new adventure with the author. To discover new worlds and find new characters to fall in love with.

I’ve even been put off starting series because the scale of them is just too daunting (Game of Thrones as an example, though I’ve loved the TV series). As an author I’m in awe of the skills involved in holding it all together, but as a reader I just don’t have the time to invest in them.

I intend to challenge the trend by publishing my first novel, Visions of Zarua, as a standalone. At 153k it’s not exactly small, but it’ll be interesting to see what reviewers have to say.

After that, my next project is a duology. And as I begin to tackle the task of editing it, ideas for book three keep surfacing.

What is it with us fantasy authors?

What I love about writing… #writing

Characters have always been the most important factor in fiction for me. It’s good to read a blog post that focuses on this and expresses my views.

thomasmdbrooke's avatarHistorical Novels and Epic Fantasy

writingpicture from en.wikipedia.org

What do I love about writing most? Well, it’s the same things that made me such an avid reader in the first place.  Books have the ability to transport us to new worlds, or periods of time that are otherwise completely locked away from us.  The immersion can be so deep from a novel that we can imagine every step that any given character makes, and it is bringing those same characters to life that is the greatest joy for me as a writer.

A book needs to be well written and full of descriptive passages, as they play an essential part in setting a scene and giving the writer’s world depth.  But it is the characters within that world, their hopes, wishes, loves, and desires that will make the story come to life.  When constructing a character for a novel, you want to be able to…

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Novel Extract

I’ve just added a novel extract of my fantasy novel, Visions of Zarua, to my website. I hope to self publish this later in the year and blog about the experience.

Book blurb for Visions of Zarua

I am working on a pre-press release for my upcoming novel and would appreciate any feedback you have to offer.

Coming soon…

Two wizards, 350 years apart. Together they must save Paltria from Zarua’s dark past.

An ancient darkness haunts the realm of Paltria. Apprentice wizard Paddren is plagued by visions of a city on the brink of annihilation. When his master Kalesh dies in mysterious circumstances, the Royal Order of Wizards refuses to investigate. Helped by his childhood friend, the skilled tracker Varnia, and her lover Leyoch, Paddren vows to find the killer. The investigation leads Paddren down a sinister path of assassins, secret sects and creatures conjured by blood magic. But he is guided by a connection with a wizard from centuries ago – a wizard whose history holds the key to the horror at the heart of the abandoned city of Zarua. Can Paddren decipher his visions in time to save the Paltrian people from the dark menace of Zarua’s past?