David Finn
Author Name: David Finn
Series Name: The Asanti Series
What is your chosen genre, and why?
I call my books “epic sci-fi fantasy action!” The Asanti Series works well in that genre because I mix fast paced action sequences with some slower character beats and romantic or personal moments between characters. A lot of my influences such as Julian May’s excellent Saga of the Exiles or indeed many comic books use this blend of action and light sci-fi/fantasy to good effect. I find it gives me room to move as a writer and I can keep the story moving fast!
Name of your most current book, and if it’s a series, what is the series title and how many volumes are anticipated?
My series is titled The Asanti Series, and is planned to be a 7 book series.
The first two books are Demorn: Blade of Exile and Demorn: City of Innocents. The first two books in the Asanti Series were written together and always intended to be released close to each other or together at the publishers option. Demorn: Blade of Exile was released in December 2015 and Demorn: City of Innocents in mid January 2016. Demorn: Soul Fighter, Book 3 in the Asanti Series, is coming later in 2016.
Summary for your most current book.
Demorn. Blade of Exile. Wandering Sword. Dimensional Exiles. Demon Gods. Savage Assassins. Sexy, epic fantasy action!Demorn will go anywhere, sell her blade to the gods themselves, to resurrect her dead girlfriend’s soul!Reality is collapsing. Fracture Event aftershocks have destroyed the Mirror World of Asanti. Demorn, deadly sword for hire, has been the exile of a dead world since she was thirteen.Demorn seeks vengeance. Her girlfriend Kate lies dead in a fantasy dimension, her soul ensnared. Underneath a sassy attitude and an addiction to card games and equally dangerous blondes, Demorn cannot forget the Fracture Event that tore Asanti and herself apart – even though the rest of the universe has…
Demorn is haunted by dreams of a magical dimension. She belongs to the Innocents, a Clubhouse of mercenaries and assassins based deep inside the dazzling future city of Babelzon.
On a secret mission for the Innocents, Demorn uncovers a terrifying conspiracy cult of multi-dimensional demon gods hiding in plain sight. Betrayed and forced to flee into the Grave Dimension, Demorn must face the horror of a reality virus, an Ultimate Fate destroying dimensions and worlds just as it destroyed Asanti!
Demorn, the ultimate mercenary, must risk everything in a dark, desperate quest for something bigger than a bounty if Babelzon and everything she loves are to be saved…
Praise for the Asanti Series!
“A vivid lead character and a crazy-brilliant core premise make this more than just another action-wracked high concept thriller. But it’s ALL THAT too!” (Chuck Dixon, writer of Batman, Bad Times, Levon Cade series)
Who is your favorite character in the story?
Tough question, as I love them all in some way! However, Demorn, sword for hire, dimensional exile, is definitely my favourite and so she should be, as she carries much of the action and POV of the books so far! I try to write it so Demorn carries a fair chunk of my personality and feelings, as she blazes through the worlds of Firethorn and Babelzon, on her mission from the gods, with the blazing sword of Xalos bursting from her ruby heart!
There are also side characters such as Alex, her favourite frenemy, and chief rival at the Innocents, or Toxis, Demorn’s soul sister, and probably the best fighter in the book, who I am very fond of and they will all have a role to play as the Asanti Series continues!
Why?
I am attracted to intense characters and I try to play off that to make them and their POV relatable. I deliberately give Demorn a sarcastic sense of humour which I can write into, and I think it helps the reader acclimatise to a fast paced action story which features two connected but different worlds!
Are there any short stories or companion novella’s?
At this stage The Asanti Series is just the two books available, however I have notes and a rough outline for a mini series featuring Alex and Guard Dog, and this could take the form of a comic mini series or a self contained novel. Right now I’m nearing completion of Demorn 3, Demorn: Soul Fighter, which introduces a new character to the franchise, Iverson, who will play a big role in at least Book 3 and 4 and will likely have a series running concurrently with the Asanti Series as we progress.
What inspired you to write it?
I had written a couple of dry runs at the Asanti Series, not the exact same plot or pitch, but similar beats of bounty hunters or investigators aside a light sci-fi universe. I had just finished about a 100K word first draft of a piece that eventually ran out of steam but had plenty of potential. Then, as per my Amazon bio, I was watching late night Tv in the dead of night, and suddenly the character of Demorn came to me, unbidden, almost fully formed! I straight away knew that she was an assassin working out of the Innocents Clubhouse, and I knew she would be dragged from her future city into the fantasy world of Firethorn! My writing muscles were well honed as I had just written 100K over the previous 9 months or so, and basically with this new pitch screaming inside my head I was able to blast through the first part if Book One in a weekend! In the end the word count for both books total was around 190K and with my editor we got each down to the 90K range. Writing the books took some time, and with all the rewrites included, I would say the whole process took around or just over 18 months.
In terms of writers that inspire me the list is long and I feel bad for not including people so apologies universe! – Julian May, PD James, Chuck Dixon, Greg Rucka, Suzanne Collins, Grant Morrison, Ed Brubaker, Lee Goldberg, Robert E Howard. These people are all great writers and have taught me a lot. “These are a few of my favourite things”, to quote the old song! 
