Blood Veins Book Tour (Goddess Fish Promotions)

Book blurb: A black wave has passed over the thriving kingdom of Larista. Mysterious invaders calling themselves the Dolus have swept over the land laying waste to everything in their paths and leaving ghost towns in their wake. No one knows where they came from and no one knows what their purpose is. Tasting nothing but defeat after defeat the light of hope is fading in the kingdom; but the guerrilla forces resisting the Dolus invasion have received new information. This news has provided a small glimmer that could possibly spark into something more. Captain Maximus Rex leads a daring rescue mission deep in the Laristan forests to save the lone surviving member of the royal family.

Once freed Prince Alexander Novelle along with his friends and comrades face a perilous journey deep behind enemy lines. Their destination is Castle Varanasi. The once proud Laristan capital, gateway to heaven and salvation, lies in ruins under Dolus occupation. Mysterious assassins, underworld savages and renegade Dolus survivors stand between them the answers they seek. What they find there will shatter their perceptions and lead to unknown perils none of them are ready to face.

Guest Post: What do you find easy/hard about worldbuilding in fantasy stories? Can you share how Larista came about?

When I started writing Blood Veins I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to create my own world or not. Eventually I decided making my own was more fun. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been angered at authors because of how a story ended or what happened to a certain character and told myself I would have done it that way. Of course as a writer you realize that not everybody can have a happy ending or the story would be predictable and unrealistic. A large part of my story is based on the fact that Larista has been cut off from the rest of the world and they in fact believe that there is nothing beyond the frozen sea and the Maker’s Mountain. This type of terrain just doesn’t fit anywhere in the real world so I had to create my own that would satisfy my plot points.

I think the easiest thing in creating your own world is that everything comes from your mind. I can make the terrain and people look and act however I want to meet my story telling needs. The idea of creating my own world was a bit daunting at first and naming everything is very difficult. There were so many times when I just wanted to through my hands up and call everybody Bob, but that really wouldn’t work.

The hardest part however is making sure you stay consistent and everything fits together. I ended up with a very long list of places and people, still growing, that I referred to constantly. Also, keeping control of the story is difficult. As I write I am always thinking of new places and people that I want to explore. At some point I realized the story was getting away from me and I had to break it up. I originally intended it to be a standalone novel but it just was too long. The story was originally intended to solely focus on Alexander but the lead female character, Briah, grew much more than I expected and really became almost as equally important. A few other characters became more important and I felt they were important enough to explore more in depth.

So the construction of Larista and the novel in general has been a very fluid process. I enjoy this much more than meticulously planning the novel. I am sure it will continue to grow as I write in the established world.

Excerpt from Blood Veins: "We will not survive this march. It will soon be freezing and we are not equipped for it," whined the prisoner walking besides Briah. "It is a sign from God. First, he releases these Conquerors from the foot of the mountain. Then, he brings the snow and ice while we are homeless without shelter and fire."

Briah looked at the man for the first time and immediately recognized him as a priest. His name was Brother Mable. Briah narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"You should not speak of such things. This is not of God's doing, and you will scare the other people here."

His tone transformed instantly from one of shrill despondency to authoritative strength.

"Don't talk to me that way, poor girl. You are misguided; it is of God's doing. He is upset at us for embracing technologies. It is forbidden! I recognize you. You are one of the sisters that dwell in the mountain. You think you have the right to live closer to God, and you think you have the right to dig under his mountain. It is placed there for a reason. We dug too deep. It is you and your kinds' fault for influencing the King and angering the Creator! The city has fallen to the soulless heathen invaders and our gateway to the afterlife has been taken!"

The priest was raising his voice and other prisoners were beginning to take interest in their conversation.

Briah glanced around at the other prisoners and realized she might need protection from the guards based on some of the looks she was receiving.

"Be quiet you fool." She snapped at the priest. "You will draw the attention of the guards and they do not care what your status is. Neither do I."

About the author: Brian is a graduate of the University of Oregon. He works as a banker and an editor for Rogue Phoenix Press. He currently resides in Oregon with his wife and daughter.

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