David Burrows's Blog, page 79
May 15, 2011
New fantasy novel - Drachar's Demons
Hurray. Just finished first draft of a new novel, Drachar's Demons.
Feels great. Took 5 months compared to Prophecy of the Kings trilogy which took
4 years!
Drachar's Demons is a prequel to Prophecy of the Kings and it tells about Drachar's rise to power and how the prophecy comes about. I have a long slog now editing it.
April 12, 2011
Free books
March 27, 2011
Free books
I am running a competition from May to July offering free copies of my trilogy each month. The competition is as follows.
Let me know why you want a copy of the trilogy. I bags, because I just do, dude so that doesn't count. At the end of May I will announce the winner on this blog page. Entries should be posted on my blog under the comment box. If this is difficult to do then email me your answer to prophecyofthekings@blueyonder.co.uk.
Email me three names of the main heroes. Hint - have a look at my website and the free sample chapters. In the event of a tie I will draw names from a hat. Email to the same address above. I will announce the winner at the end of June.
Send me a fantasy related joke. I will post these on my blog. Feel free to decide which is your favourite, but my decision is final. For example jokes check some initial jokes out at http://davidsfantasyjokes.blogspot.com/ You can convert most the jokes you know to fantasy ones; give it a try. I will announce the winner at teh end of July.
Good luck and best wishes
David
March 4, 2011
February 20, 2011
Sorcerers vs wizards
Just assume that a sorcerer's power is through the spirit world, a wizard's via a capacity within himself; a well for magic to precise. Which would be the more powerful? The spirit world, with its elementals, air, fire, earth and water, or the power from within? But elementals are not the only spirits. Elementals exist on our plane, but their cousins the demons live in another world from ours.
Demons of immense power.
Demons that spread ill within the world, plague and disease.
But what of a kara stone. A stone that can contain magic. A well to enhance a wizard's power.
Who now is the more powerful?
February 10, 2011
Vastra's tale
I was day dreaming, staring deep into the dying embers of the coal fire, my eyeballs dry from the heat as I ignored the howl of the wind on a bitter January night. I jumped when a knock at the door interrupted my reverie. This was an insistent knock, a loud demanding knock; one that shattered the calm, refusing to be ignored. Sighing, I went to the door, angered by the loss of solitude made worse by the frigid wind that greeted me.
He was an old man with an old man's frailties. His face was long, and his flesh grey and wrinkled. Dark bags beneath his eyes suggested insomnia, the curse of the old.
"Yes," I said, not hiding the anger that I felt.
"I need to speak with you," he snapped, seemingly equally irritable.
"Do I know you?" I asked, for his tone was one of a relative, making demands.
I did not like his look and was already pushing the door to when, remarkably swift for an old man, an arthritic claw grabbed the door and a boot thudded against the base.
I was scared now. He had shocked me. Feral eyes locked on mine, deep dark and accusing. "I need to talk," he insisted.
My first thoughts were to call for help. Phone the police perhaps, but that would be too late. He was wild – a mad man standing halfway in my house. The simplest course seemed to be to let him in and listen to his ramblings, after all he was an old man and what harm could he do?
As he swept inside, I noticed for the first time his attire. It was outlandish to say the least, a long flowing tunic, grimed with dirt, and the cuffs frayed. At one time it had probably been blue, a deep rich colour, but under the dirt it was now hard to say. He smelt old, and a scent lingered that I found hard to place, but an image of a dragon swept to mind and I shivered, even though the door was now shut.
With a thud he dropped a sizeable doorstep of papers on the coffee table. The paper was sun-bleached and aged as much as he was. I shook my head; it was going to be a long night.
As I sat, a hand shot out and with strength belittling his years seemed to seek to crush my bones as though talking was insufficient to hold my attention. Well that did it; he had my attention now as dread coursed through my veins.
"I am Vastra," he announced as though it was of some importance. "Vastra," he repeated, his mouth agape. .
"My arm," I wheedled for I did not relish the pain.
He looked at me, before releasing his grasp. My wrist was red and burned still from his grip. The wind rattled the window, deepening the mood.
"I have done much wrong and I need to atone," he said, looking at me fiercely. I nodded and he sat back. His eyes swept around the room, glancing at the TV and the hi-fi, but somehow unseeing.
"I did them all wrong. I betrayed them, but I tried … in the end. Oh, yes, I tried. It is in the manuscript, I have written it all down. A labour of love some would say, but to me it is a curse, for my part in it was real, too real and the impact had repercussions across the world, ours and theirs."
"Theirs?" I asked.
He nodded. "Demons. Dragons," he said in a hushed voice
I believed him. Why shouldn't I?
"Go on," I said, enthralled.
"I was an ambitious fool. I thought that I controlled the imp, but I didn't."
When he said the word imp, something appeared, hovering by his side. A small demon-like creature, hairless, a green glow emanating from deep within its flesh. I jumped and could not hide my fear.
"Do not worry," he sneered, glancing at the creature. "It is a memory, a shaol, a guardian spirit. That is all…
"Some guardian though! I can see yours, faint across the expanse of time. He will protect you as best he can; a sixth sense in the darkest hour. But why did I trust an imp? I was warned, by my friends … but I knew better, and the very people who would have helped me, I ignored, and worse, betrayed."
His gaze dropped and the final word was barely a whisper. A tear slid down his cheek and fell upon the manuscript.
"No one is alone," I said. "You must have friends, talk to them."
He sniffed wiping the tears with his cuff, shaking his head. "I cannot, for I am banished from that world. Shastlan understood. The ghost of a dead emperor, exiled from his own world for deeds as bad as mine. What a pair we made, arrogant and foolish, engrossed in our own self-importance.
"And what of the people I betrayed. Kaplyn. As good a friend as any, but so far beneath my ambitious scheming. Of all the people, I hurt him the worst. I would make amends but I cannot.
"Because of me, his family and friends all died. I was responsible for Shastlan becoming his shaol. Mad whispering in the dark of the night. And dragons! An evil curse to blight the world. Demons and dragons, the choice was unfair. How could anyone choose and remain sane?"
"Surely it cannot be that bad," I said when he fell silent, his gaze riveted to the manuscript.
"Read it," he said through clenched teeth. "Judge me then, not before. I must atone."
"How is this atoning?" I said. "You chastise yourself with a stick of your own making. How can I be your judge? Surely your friends have judged and forgiven you. Everyone has a spark of good deep within. They must have seen yours."
"Read it!" he insisted.
I picked it up. Reverently. It was heavy as though weighted by the souls of the damned. When I looked up, he was gone. Yet the tearstain on the cover was as real as anything I had ever seen.
The Prophecy of the Kings, the title said. Flicking to the back cover it was signed Vastra.
Having now read the manuscript I wonder at our meeting. Was he a shoal, or a restless spirit wandering the worlds seeking redemption? Of one thing I am certain, if his world was real then the tale must be told. By doing so, it honours the dead, and forgives those who need to be forgiven.
Excuse me then for claiming to be the author. It is a wondrous story and it will move you. As you read, think then upon Vastra, and Shastlan. Perhaps we can find it in our hearts to forgive, for now I know why so many people in their worlds would not. But then, that was Vastra's intent, and if he knocks on your door in the dead of night, listen to his tale. It will move you, as it has moved me.
February 6, 2011
Dragons, are they good or evil?
Read the Prophecy of the Kings to see what that author thinks, sentient beings or a dumb brute, lazy and a hoarder, or ravagers of nations? Undoubtedly powerful, what is their nemesis? How to destroy a dragon? That was uppermost in Ariome's mind during the second battle of DrummonCall. A witch of great beauty: a mind of twisted evil. How could she please her Lord? Destroy a dragon! How would you do it! Moments have passed and a dragons wrath is vengeful. Time is running out.
Kill the dragon or die. Check out the website http://davidburrows.org.uk
January 28, 2011
Guardian Angels - do you believe?
Apparently 40% of people believe in guardian angels. What do you believe? Read the Prophecy of the Kings and see how the author deals with this subject.
For most people the link with their guardian angel is tenuous, a warning in the dark of the night, a feeling on entering a room for the first time, ghostly eyes and not being alone …
Imagine then a guardian angel being your twin: a twin who died in the womb and was never born. How much closer would your link be with your guardian? How would that affect your life, being closer to the spirit world? Would you use that power for good, or for ill?
Imagine your guardian spirit being the shade of a dead emperor from another world: a world not much different to yours; a world at war, a war at the behest of the emperor who is now your guardian. How would this affect your dreams? Could you sleep?
Imagine your guardian being a demon. Now the link to the spirit world is complete. At night your dreams are no longer your own. Look into the demon world and see the horror they create. Live with that … and rejoice. What would that make you?
These are the characters in the books. Read the novels and see who you are most like. How would you cope?
January 22, 2011
Amazon's ABNA 2011 - the Prophecy of the Kings
Time
For anyone else this is the tick of a clock, a rabbit running along a hedgerow, the cry of a new born babe.
For Kaplyn, time is enduring agony.
Limbs being turned to stone in crushing slowness.
Regret.
Betrayal … and horror.
Vastra, his betrayer, looks on. Emotionless.
An imp hovers by his side.
A harbinger of doom.
Carrion spawn.
Evil.
A cry escapes parched lips. Kaplyn's feral eyes roll back, revealing their whiteness. His friends are by his side; already the light has gone from their eyes. Lars, solid and dependable, and Lomar, a prince of the Alvalah. Sad mockeries of the men they once were, stalwart companions undeserving of their fate: a fate that has already set in motion events to rock the very foundations of worlds.
This is Vastra's hour. The crystal in his hand promises such greatness. Its glow softly illuminates the tableau that was his friends. A smile touches his lips. He has won.
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This is the Prophecy of the Kings, a tale that sweeps across three worlds, those of men, dragons and demons.
Unknowingly, Kaplyn and his companion's actions have triggered a prophecy that future generations will live to rue. The enemy has not been idle; krell, grakyn and men of both Trosgarth and Aldrace are gathering. Priests's of Ryoch, omnipotent warriors whose shaol enable them to communicate across the field of battle, seek to undermine the power of the Old Ones.
The sun is setting on <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Thrace. Its golden battlements dimmed by the growing gloom of war.
The pages of this epic tale will mesmerise as the plot takes you on a roller coaster journey from the tallest mountains to the very pits of Hell.
Dare you turn the pages?
January 4, 2011
The Prophecy of the Kings - cost savings
Check out Amazon's offer of free postage
US http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B002CWX0OC
UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/David-Burrows/e/B002CWX0OC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
Also - the Prophecy of the Kings is currently discounted by 25% on http://stores.lulu.com/jdavidburrows Check it out while the reductions hold.
Check out the latest reviews on http://davidburrows.org.uk/reviews.html
David :)
