THE PATH OF REDEMPTION
Tom Haward
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GENRE: Alternate History
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BLURB:
With Grand Protector Faust missing and Caesar dead, Senator Frigus is trying to hold the fraying threads of the Empire together by keeping this information secret. The Empire is already fragile, and if the truth spills onto the streets of Rome and beyond, the Empire could crumble.
Faust is prisoner of the giant Bjorn Askå and his cellmate is the rebel leader, Boatman King. Abducted by Askå, they’re now part of his grand plan to rule the entire world, with the Empire his next target. Can Faust and Boatman forge an alliance or are their own ambitions stronger than any desire for a truce?
A continent away, Bella, Maverick and the other rebels have escaped to the RIA where they lick their wounds from the disaster of Faust and Askå’s attack on their underground headquarters. They believe they have covered their tracks and hope the 35, leaders of the RIA, will equip them to take the fight to Rome again, this time with the advantage of surprise.
Olivia King, though, she is tired of the fight. Traumatised from being tortured at the hands of Maximus Nero and conflicted about her husband’s relentless desire to crush Rome, she is unsure whether she has the energy to keep fighting those who have caused her so much pain.
With the world and its people in turmoil, one thing is for certain: chaos remains in a world needing redemption.
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EXCERPT:
Southwark London 2030
Marcus flipped his eyepiece up and walked away from the vantage point he’d found for spying on what Maximus was doing. There were other crosses lining London Bridge, but in the cold January night, the bodies nailed to those crosses were quiet. If any were still alive, they were conserving energy, swapping between trying to breathe and trying to push themselves up on their nailed feet so their lungs were able to intake some life-saving oxygen. The orange glow of street lights showed the odd misty puff of breath feebly forming and then dispersing, like death swatting away the attempt at clinging on to life.
Indeed, the early morning, just before the arrival of dawn, was quiet. Quiet didn’t mean calm and he was feeling the pulse of adrenaline rushing through him. All the soldiers around him were because if they were guarding the son of Caesar then there was a good chance rebels would be appearing. It wasn’t guaranteed, but Maximus wanted to make a show of crucifying someone and he believed twenty-five soldiers as his protection was a necessary element to that.
When Marcus and his comrades were called up to be ready to go immediately, a few soldiers pulled out their phones and texted their loved ones saying they were going on a dangerous shift and to be prepared. Marcus scoffed at their fear and told them so. The response was that Marcus was new to this city and he should prepare himself for encountering Boatman King or The Beast, because that encounter would likely be his last on this earth.
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Author Interview
Tell me about yourself. Where are you from?
TH: I’m from a small island in Essex in the UK named Mersea. It’s the most easterly inhabited island in the UK and regularly gets cut off from the mainland when there’s a high tide. It’s a beautiful place to live.
What genre do you read? Who's an author you read? Name your top 5 authors.
TH: I tend to read thrillers books with a supernatural element. My favourite author is John Connolly and his Charlie Parker series is my favourite series of all time. I love his novels and much of my motivation as a writer comes from loving his stories for the past twenty five years.
What book are you reading right now, and what do you like about it?
TH: I’m reading the latest release by John Connolly, The Children of Eve. It’s book 22 in the Charlie Parker series and it’s as good as all his previous. Connolly’s writing is poetic and his prose has something mystical about it, which draws me in.
Favorite sports.
TH: My favourite sport is snooker. In the UK snooker is a big sport, which any people find confusing as it seems like a very boring sport! My wife and I love darts and cricket too and regularly go to with both these sports live.
Favorite thing about your state you live in.
TH: The county (or state!) I live in is dominated by beautiful coastline. Lots of marshland and gorgeous waterways. In the evening we are blessed with some of the best sunsets in the world because of the big skies we have.
How long have you been writing?
TH: I’ve been writing since I was at school. I always believed I would become a writer and publish stories for the world to read.
What is your writing process like? Are you more of a plotter or a pantser?
TH: I usually only roughly jot down my thoughts of where my stories are heading and then let the characters guide me on their journeys!
How did you come up with the ideas for your series?
TH: I was studying my Masters in Creative Writing when I formulated my idea for this series. Originally it was going to be part of a bigger series which had other alternate realities. There was going to be a golden thread to connect all the realities and I still think I might explore that concept.
How do you celebrate finishing a book?
TH: By vowing I won’t write another book and then starting to write another book within a few days.
What would you tell a writer who is just starting out? What program do you use for writing? What advice would you give to a writer working on their first book? What’s your writing software of choice?
TH: If you’re starting out as a writer, find a workshop. Creative writing workshops are amazing at helping you become a skilled writer. Doing workshops where other writers critique your work is brilliant at not only honing your skills but also helping you understand your weaknesses and how you can evolve as a writer. It also chips away any arrogance.
How do you organize everything and finding the time to sit down and write?
TH: It’s all about discipline in a day. I run a business of twenty staff and have huge commitments with that. For me, it’s about being very strict and consciously switching off the work mode of life and focusing solely on writing. And then being disciplined to hit a target that day. It doesn’t necessarily mean hitting a word count, it can be hitting a goal on where the story is heading, but always being strict about those goals.
As an author, what would you choose as your spirit animal?
TH: I would choose a lion. Lions are badass and are simply awesome.
Who has been the biggest supporter of your writing?
TH: My wife has been incredible with my writing. She doesn’t tend to read the genre I write, but she will read all my works and give me a truly honest review. I love how she doesn’t say what I want to hear; she’s always honest and that’s the best thing to have as a writer.
How do you name your characters?
My characters are sometimes named out of love letters to other characters so Maverick is in honour of Tom Cruise. Boatman is actually named after my great-great grandfather. Other names come from the understanding that names are powerful and connect to who we are, so their names are a reflection of their character and that makes more sense as their stories evolve.
Can you describe a typical day in your writing life?
TH: It usually will be an evening after we have put out little girl to bed. My wife is an incredible supporter of my writing life so once we have eaten dinner in the evening she will encourage me to take myself away to write. I don’t write well in silence so I tend to wander to my local pub and sit in the corner, with the bustle of normal life and write there. My best work has come out of writing in a busy pub. The noise and clatter helps me write.
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Tom was born in Essex and at 4 months old he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers. He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.
Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and has loved telling stories since he was a child, whether verbally or through prose.
The Path of Chaos was his debut novel. He is also working on a six episode comedy screenplay and tweets passionately about his family’s industry and the challenges it faces.
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE
Tom Hayward will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
6 comments:
Thank you for featuring Tom Haward and THE PATH OF REDEMPTION today.
I enjoyed the interview.
This sounds really good.
Im looking forward to checking this book out. Thanks for sharing.
Sounds like a great read.
Lovely cover
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