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J.W. Webb

Goodreads Author

Born

in Bawtry, The United Kingdom

Website

https://www.jwwebbauthor.com

Twitter

@legendsofansu

Genre

Fantasy

Influences

JRR Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Guy Kay, Jack Vance, CS Lewis, Poul And ...more

Member Since

September 2013

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/jwwebb

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Lost In The Woods
I was born near Doncaster England in the early sixties but later moved south to Sussex, where I lived for many years. One of my (several schools) was at Battle, a small town named after that historic conflict in 1066. You know the one, it culminated with poor Harold getting that arrow in his eye and those rude Normans invading our green and pleasant land. Growing up so close to that scene of ancient carnage awarded me a fascination for all things Dark Age. I'd fallen victim to a weird and random imagination, resulting in a love of epic stories and epic story telling. This affliction prompted me to delve deep into the worlds of Tolkien, Peake, Eddison and Moorcock. Also about this time I commenced drawing imaginary maps and

Lost In The Woods
I was born near Doncaster England in the early sixties but later moved south to Sussex, where I lived for many years. One of my (several schools) was at Battle, a small town named after that historic conflict in 1066. You know the one, it culminated with poor Harold getting that arrow in his eye and those rude Normans invading our green and pleasant land. Growing up so close to that scene of ancient carnage awarded me a fascination for all things Dark Age. I'd fallen victim to a weird and random imagination, resulting in a love of epic stories and epic story telling. This affliction prompted me to delve deep into the worlds of Tolkien, Peake, Eddison and Moorcock. Also about this time I commenced drawing imaginary maps and inventing stories about wonderfully nasty folk, doing wonderfully nasty things, whilst pent up in gloomy unpleasant places.

Then at 18 years daft, I found myself thrust deep into the Queen's Household Cavalry. How I arrived there I cannot quite recall. The result was a sharp dose of reality. But not a cure – the affliction ran deep. I left the regiment, and for a time wandered hazy through life hitting nails with hammers, sailing brigantines through southern waters, drinking venomous concoctions with venomous companions, and yes, reading lots more ghastly fantasy books. At 27 years I became to a degree sensible. I married my beloved Rae, a watercolour artist and passionate Celt, and got a sensible career hauling trucks around the British countryside. The trouble with hauling trucks around the British countryside is that it lets the mind ramble willy nilly, when not being tortured by local radio. The result of that rambling was more stories flittering around inside this errant trucker's dizzy head.

Then, during one dark winter night back in 1993, whilst parked forlorn outside a dreary inn, something profound happened. I stumbled into Corin an Fol: a moody, rather difficult individual, mooching about in a deep tangled wood (my imagination). That wood grew into a world (not as hard as it sounds when you write fantasy stuff). The world became Ansu, home to all manner of mismatched mortals and grumpy gods. Late 2001 a plot appeared through the murky trees. It found Corin lost and wandering and introduced him to some other unruly types, resulting in The Shattered Crown. This epic debut was scrawled out with biro ink on paper and still lurks somewhere close. I'm too scared to read it. But The Shattered Crown couldn't contain its characters. These were (and still are) a very rough lot. They demanded a sequel. Instead (just to show who the boss was,) I focussed on a prequel, Fall of Gol being the result. But still the characters would not leave me alone. And so started The Legends of Ansu a forthcoming series of otherworldly tales, mostly involving Corin and his friends.

In late 2012 Rae lost her battle with cancer. I had always promised her a Cornish ghost story based on one of her evocative paintings. And so was born a novella called The Haven. A spooky yarn blending mystery and suspense with past and present. I hope that she likes it. We both loved Cornwall where we lived for many years. During our time there I met with Roger Garland the Tolkien Illustrator, who kindly consented to creating some fabulous images and illustrations for my work. And also designing this superb website! During 2013 I left the world of big wheels behind and focussed instead on writing full time. I moved to Georgia, married my gorgeous former shipmate Joanne, who I've known for 30 years. Since then I have rewritten Fall of Gol shortening it's title to Gol and finally (with substantial assistance from my erudite and excellent editor, Catherine Romano) re-shaped The Shattered Crown into a rivetingly nasty read. Now after twenty-one years in the woods, I am more than ready to unleash these first two offerings in the Ansu series along with The Haven. The third legend: The Lost Prince will be available later ...more

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J.W. Webb’s books

Average rating: 4.14 · 668 ratings · 182 reviews · 14 distinct works • Similar authors

	Gol (The Legends of Ansu, #1) by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author), Roger Garland (Illustrator) 4.02 avg rating — 265 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gray Wolf: A legends of Ansu fantasy by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author), Roger Garland (Illustrator), Susanne Lakin (Editor) 4.13 avg rating — 194 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Shattered Crown (Legends of Ansu). 4.11 avg rating — 56 ratings — published 2015 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Lost Prince (The Legends of Ansu, #3) 4.38 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Legends of the Longsword 4.21 avg rating — 28 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wolves and Assassins: A Legends of Ansu fantasy (Mercenary Trilogy #3) by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author), Roger Garland (Illustrator) 4.39 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Glass Throne 4.58 avg rating — 24 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Emerald Queen: A Legends of Ansu Fantasy by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author), Roger Garland (illustrator) 3.94 avg rating — 18 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Mercenary Trilogy: Gray Wolf / Legends of the Longsword / Wolves and Assassins by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author), Roger Garland (Illustrator) 4.55 avg rating — 11 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Haven (A Cornish Ghost Story). 4.46 avg rating — 13 ratings — published 2015 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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J.W. Webb's Blog

Tiger, Bear, and Dragon!

Do you believe in spirit animals?

Many ancient cultures did. And why not? More’s hidden than seen in this life. What if shapeshifters live amongst us still––individuals with the ability to change from person to beast, or bird, and then shift back again without detection? Useful, huh, if you could master without calamity or malfunction! Stressful, too, I would imagine. I’ve dabbled with this concept

Series by J.W. Webb

The Legends of Ansu (6 books)
by

J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author),

Roger Garland (Illustrator),

Susanne Lakin (Editor)

4.10 avg rating — 581 ratings

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J.W. Webb wrote a new blog post Tiger, Bear, and Dragon! Do you believe in spirit animals? Many ancient cultures did. And why not? More’s hidden than seen in this life. What if shapeshifters live amongst us s Read more of this blog post »
Jul 17, 2020 03:58AM · like
J.W. Webb is now following Ruth Snell and Hayley
Nov 30, 2016 07:58PM
J.W. Webb joined the group Official Book Club for Authors Looking directly for Readers
Apr 19, 2016 06:48AM · 1 like · like
J.W. Webb made a comment in the group Support for Indie Authors — Introductions - Retired topic " Hi GG, apologies, brief first words, I've been around but snowed under. I Like the comments and feedback you give. I write fantasy,mostly, people tell ...more "
Apr 13, 2016 08:45PM
J.W. Webb wants to read Reckless: My Life as a Pretender by Chrissie Hynde	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 16, 2016 05:18AM · 46 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reckless by Chrissie Hynde. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reckless by Chrissie Hynde <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
J.W. Webb made a comment on his profile " K.S. wrote: "Hello fellow Doncastrian. Thanks for the add!" Hi Kelly! Sorry just seen this! Sounds like you have a grand life, say hello to the old cou ...more "
Mar 10, 2016 06:18AM
J.W. Webb made a comment on his review of The Shattered Crown (Legends of Ansu). " Beth wrote: "Great review, just wondering why you gave yourself 1 star?" Hi Beth, I'm not sure what happened there :( I don't think I'd award anyone on ...more "
Feb 24, 2016 07:24PM · see review
J.W. Webb has read The Shattered Crown (Legends of Ansu). by J.W. Webb (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
The Shattered Crown is Book Two in The Legends of Ansu series. Not only is this a fabulous read but it also features many stunning sketches by former Tolkien artist, Roger Garland. The Shattered Crown opens a thousand years after the dramatic conclus ...more
Feb 23, 2016 01:54PM · like · see review

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Quotes by J.W. Webb

“You can never have enough sharp things in this world”
― J.W. Webb

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J.W.’s Quotes

“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.”
― Albert Einstein

tags: attributed-no-source, human-nature, humor, infinity, philosophy, science, stupidity, universe

133298 likes

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

97045 likes

“If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything.”
― Mark Twain

tags: lies, lying, memory, truth

84910 likes

“Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.”
― Oscar Wilde

tags: attributed-no-source, enemies, forgiveness, strategy

76163 likes

“All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

tags: frost, glitter, gold, lost, poetry, roots, strength, strong, wander, wither

53124 likes

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