Sarwat Chadda's Blog, page 14

The Knights Templar- Mordred

For those who've read Devil's Kiss you will know that the Order's ranks were somewhat diminished by the end of the book. So, Dark Goddess brings in a few new faces and the first is the new squire, Mordred.
All my knights (with the exception of Billi) are named after the Knights of the Round Table. There is a reason for this which I may explain at some point but be warned, it's not particularly big and it's not particularly clever and certainly not going to change your life in even the smallest...

There is a WINNA!!

Following the competition back in January I was lucky to have a wide range of recommendations of 'books I should get into'. There were a lot of votes for Shiver, a few for Sookie Stackhouse, Terry Pratchett and some well off the radar like Einstien's Dreams.But I've picked this, The Changeover by Mahy, as recommended by Rose.Congrats, Rose!I'll be posting you the signed front cover of Dark Goddess in the next week or so, just drop me you address via the Contact Me bit on my website.Meanwhile,...

Werewolves and feminism

The Dark Goddess has taken about 17 years to write. I began it way, way back when I first read 'Women who run with the Wolves' and came across the nightmare character from my childhood, Baba Yaga. She who flies around in the pestle and mortar, lives in a hut that walks on giant chicken legs and eats naughty children. Back then, she was just an evil old witch. In 1993 I realised she was a goddess, if not THE Goddess.
No matter what the archeologists, historians and Darwinists say, and would li...

Did you ever wonder..?

REMEMBRANCE
Billi checked the address. Corner of Commercial and Fournier. The building in front of her was boarded up. Billi stickers covered the walls and windows and the roof had partially collapsed. Derelict but this was the place for the party.
They were knocking down, at last.
About bloody time, too.
She checked up the street but this time of night even the muggers were in bed. The area had never been posh, exactly, but over the last few years the East End of London had become trendy a...

...and then these two gods appeared out of NO-WHERE!

Here's a clip of the action in Delhi during my recent India trip. As you can see its the god Shiva and Kali out for a stroll down the high street. There was a festival going on but not exactly clear which festival, but hey, it's Shiva and Kali! Very cool. Which leads me onto the current Indian project.
I have only huge awe and respect for those who write historical fiction. I wouldn't know where to start, to be honest. At least with my tales I can go visit the places I've set it in and chec ou...

Mortlock by Jon Mayhew

Well, I've tried to avoid him for God knows how long but I've got to face it, Jon Mayhew's here to stay.
Born in the barbarians lands beyond Watford, it's fairly obvious to me that there is SOMETHING VERY WRONG about Jon, and it's not just his haircut. Being brought up by a den of badgers hasn't helped his social skills, or eating habits, but there's something spooky about him, and more than a little macabre about his writing.
MORTLOCK is a gothic, Victorian horror show, in all the best ways.
Gr...

India Part One

I'm back! I know, I know. Your days have felt rather lonely and empty without me, haven't they? Well, put down that e-book and listen, I will enthrall you with my adventures in the far and exotic lands of Hindustan.

It was great. Very great. Even though I was there for about nine days I did get to see a lot of the things on my list and hopefully it'll all give the next book an authentic 'Indian' flavour. Amongst the highlights were:

1. The sheer BEDLAM. Varanasi especially is a city where the c...

The Knights Templar

It's a game ALL authors play, 'who would you cast as X if your book got turned into a movie?'.Well, as some of you may know I have a, ahem, man-crush on two particularly fine British actors: Christian Bale and James Purefoy. This picture is James Purefoy as Templar Master, Arthur SanGreal.Okay, not really, BUT SERIOUSLY, IT SHOULD BE!Don't you think?We've got Wolfman due out next week, Percy Jackson, James Purefoy again as Solomon Kane, Clash of the Titans, Robin Hood and the Templar movie...

Competition Time!

Right, are you paying attention? The last time I tried to run a competition it all got rather confusing for some, so I'll try and make this a little clearer.
1. What is your favourite book? Why is it your favourite?
There are no restrictions on genre, age group (if your favourite is the Hungry Caterpillar like George W.Bush, that's fine!). It can even be non-fiction, it really doesn't matter. I've just got to the bit in The Count of Monte Cristo (which was recommended to me by a neighbour) whe...

Why oh why can't I write like that?

There are times when, and they're usually in the middle of a rewrite and you're wondering if it's too late to go back to the day job, when you come across a book that so blows you away that you either:
1. Feel so totally inspired you give up all thoughts of food, sleep and company and attack the keyboard with a mania that is both terrifying and electrifiying
2. Wonder why you ever bothered with this writing lark because you'll never ever write anything good enough to be compared to even a line...