Welcome to my weekly Author Spotlight. I’ve asked a bunch of my author friends to answer a set of interview questions, and to share their latest work.
Today: An avid peruser of general historical periods that he has often found most interesting, John Malone enjoys looking into how life could have been in times the modern world often imagines about, via many media and entertainment sources.
He enjoys watching many movies and shows of various genres and quality, from Gladiator (classic) to Cowboy Bebop (another classic). Also playing many real-time strategy games (often failing), and narrative intense roleplaying video games such as Pillars of Eternity, Baldur’s Gate 3, and Spellforce 3 and expansions (Underrated, seriously!)
He enjoys reading from time to time, despite having most of his time consumed by life nowadays. Chronicles of the Black Companyseries by Glen Cook, The Brimstone Angels series by Erin M. Evans, and any Warhammer 40,000 Aeldari related audio books are excellent suggestions.
John lives a quiet I.T. life in Nashville when he is not writing/reading in his spare time.
Thanks so much, John, for joining me!
J. Scott Coatsworth: If you could tell your younger writing self anything, what would it be?
John Malone: I would tell my younger self to be more patient. I feel like it’s very easy to get excited about the grand scope of an idea as an indie author, but there will always be some unforeseen and foreseen challenges that we meet along the way.
Some of those challenges I would have handled differently in hindsight, and others I would have known more about to avoid or overcome them.
JSC: Do you ever base your characters on real people? If so, what are the pitfalls you’ve run into doing so?
JDM: To be honest, I never based any of my characters on real people. I just feel that if I did that, I am under a lot of pressure to reflect that character in a way that they or people that familiar with that person if they are famous, in a way that everyone believes is accurate.
I would much rather create fictionalized characters whom stories and backgrounds I can create, flesh out in as much depth as I want, and inter-connect with other characters and their respective fantasy world in a number of ways.
JSC: How long do you write each day?
JDM: I try to write a chapter a day as often as I can, and take frequent breaks when needed. This can vary from one or two hours to three to four hours on any one night I am writing.
JSC: Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?
JDM: Yes, I read my book reviews! I read both the good and the bad. Honestly, I just try to take feedback from an objective perspective if the review has criticisms or negative feedback. I enjoy the positive reviews and feel good about myself when I get those.
Not everyone is going to like the same thing, and being a writer means that not everyone will like what I want to write about. Accepting that helps a lot with the negative feedback, you can’t change, just try to improve where you can.
JSC: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
JDM: I think the average book takes me about half a year, and maybe a little more depending on how much in the way of revisions is required.
JSC: Why did you choose to write in your particular field or genre? If you write more than one, how do you balance them?
JDM: I choose to write fantasy because it’s one thing I’ve grown up with reading, and I feel like it combines well with my fascination with certain historical periods when I use a good deal of creativity.
I’ve never been too interested in historical non-fiction or even historical fiction, but there is something about fantasy that really captivates the mind and challenges me as a writer, too, and a reader when reading about the cool ideas of others.
JSC: Are you a full-time or part-time writer? How does that affect your writing?
JDM: I am definitely a part-time writer. I still write a lot, but I choose to pursue a different profession alongside that. It honestly helps me create more content as it fuels my ability to produce more content.
JSC: Do your books spring to life from a character first or an idea?
JDM: I think the answer can be one of those or vice versa, whichever I think of first. Some ideas I will build around a certain character I’ve thought up, but I’m more inclined to say it’s the idea and world-building that everything else about my books springs from, especially the characters.
JSC: How long does it take you to write the first draft?
JDM: I think 4-5 months if I truly concentrate on one manuscript sounds right.
JSC: What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?
JDM:
- Stern, but polite responses to negativity
- An encyclopedia of names based on cultures with definitions for each name
- A web-browser thesaurus
- Google for research
- A writing software you can trust (Word, Google Docs, etc)
- Editing services
- Cover Art Illustrator
- Self-Belief (An Insurmountable amount of this)
- Compassion, respect, and kindness for others
And now for John’s new book: An Ascendant of Kings:
A kingdom under siege. A war far from over. A destiny that could remake the world.
After twenty years of enslavement, Adofo has returned to Akopia at last, only to find his homeland under relentless threat from the Children of the Sun. To claim the throne that should have been his, he must face a brutal war, a fractured past, and the terrible cost of freedom won too late.
At his side, Nishan has spent two decades defying impossible odds as the feared commander of the Lantern Hawks. Now, with his long-lost brother restored to him, hope flickers for the first time in years, but war leaves little room for mercy.
Far beyond the battlefield, Siham Sar Amun walks a far more perilous path. As assassination, revelation, and spiritual fate converge, she is drawn toward a legacy that may determine whether the darkness gathering over Thearus can ever be cast down.
As crowns, kingdoms, and bloodlines are tested, who will endure the coming storm, and what will remain when it breaks?
Amazon | Kobo
Excerpt
Chapter 1: Nishan Excerpt
~Battle at the Leviathan’s Crossing Bridge~
Year 785, in the era of A Sanctum of Swords
Third day of Verdant Blessing — second month of spring
The Leviathan’s Crossing Bridge
A hail of arrows fell from a crystal-blue sky on Nishan and his Lavender Companions, riding hard across the Leviathan’s Crossing Bridge into the midst of battle. He shouted at his men to keep their heads down. He did likewise. Feathered hafts flew overhead, and their Ulkiran coursers glided across the pallid stone bridgeway. Their mounts proved too quick for the Carth Dominion’s Zar’qin—slave warriors—to catch with their composite bows. A howling wind scattered the storm of arrows wide of their mark, away from Nishan and his retinue.
Gazing out across the banks of the Sewai River filled Nishan with both a sense of contentment at its beauty, and dread of the chaotic battle raging across its fertile banks.
The Golden Sun arose in the east, casting the mountains of the Carth Dominion in radiance. The arid grasslands of Khopeshi, within sight of the Sewai, shimmered in a golden haze of light.
Thousands of warriors lay fallen in the fields of emerald papyrus and overgrown river reeds. The furious fighting had left their bodies scattered on the Sewai River’s banks. Cannon fire and flaming arrows scarred the land with constant bombardment.
Holding the line in a loose formation across the lesser hills rolling away from the Leviathan’s Crossing, arquebus-wielding Lantern Hawks answered the enemy with thundering salvos. They were the backbone of Akopia Kingdom’s light infantry. Utility was their specialty in matters of close combat and ranged warfare. The Lantern Hawks had long been known for their use of black powder weapons to punish their enemies from afar, in addition to their versatility when engaging troops up close on the battlefield.
Hundreds of rifles ignited from Radeha Citadel’s curtain wall in timed salvos. Even from the opposite side of the Sewai whence Nishan and his companions had come, the sound deafened him. Every volley scythed through the charging ranks of the Zar Legion, advancing on the thinned-out Akopian front line.
The Lantern Hawks traded plate steel and heavy armor for lighter variants, crafted from ebony leather and garments of dark silk. Others wore tunics and scarves of bright colors on their armor. An arsenal of utility items and high-quality weapons compensated for what the Lantern Hawks lacked in defense. In contrast, the formation of hundreds of Zar’qin legionnaires organized on the other side of the battlefield presented itself in the traditional formation of neat, disciplined ranks.
The Zar’qin, or “slave guard” in the Carthite dialect, were a corps of volunteers from the Carth Dominion’s Zar, the slave caste. Potters, miners, scholars, and individuals from various walks of life were trained through rigorous trials, transforming them from ordinary servants into unflinching warriors. In exchange for their unwavering loyalty and years of service, the Zar’qin stood elevated above others in their caste. An accelerated path to freedom was the highest reward a Zar legionnaire could gain in the final years of their career.
In their thousands, the Zar Legion charged beneath elaborate battle standards snapping in the dust and wind. Clad in garments of cream and crimson layered over with chain mail, their ranks gleamed under the Golden Sun’s scouring glare. The Zar’qin’s aesthetic stood out from both the Akopian forces and the shining masters, the Children of the Sun.
Nishan registered a second bombardment thundering from Radeha Citadel. Their cannons and marksmen had adjusted their aim, using the Zar Legion banners as markers for their artillery crews. Entire Zar’qin formations vanished amid the devastation. The wet soil of the riverbank heaved in explosions of dust, blood, and dismemberment.
Slowly, survivors emerged from the blackened smoke, dazed and staggered. Debris rained down on their fractured ranks as the Lantern Hawks cut down those who remained. The enemy advance fell apart, and the Zar legionnaires were routed.
Riding alongside him, Sabir, Nishan’s most loyal companion, cried out.
“Draw steel and charge!”
A scimitar slid out from the scabbard fastened on Nishan’s belt. He whipped the blade in a flourish until the weapon felt comfortable in his gauntlet. His companions drew steel around him and raised their swords overhead, shouting war cries as they rode onto the battlefield. Together, Nishan and his retinue galloped away from the bridgeway behind them, storming across the arid plains of Khopeshi.