Release Date: June 5, 2014Genres: Sci-fi, Urban fantasy, Action Adventure, Ancient MythologiesAmazon Price: $6.99
Blurb:
“Your enemies will outnumber you. Your armor will define you.”
A second war in heaven is sparked by the actions of Azrael: the Arch-Angel of death. After his banishment, Angels all over existence flee to earth, masquerading as gods. Hints of their genetic code-and the unlocked powers therein-live on through the millennia, hidden in the bloodlines of their descendants.
Best friends, army Rangers Jarrod and Austin, are invited by a secret agency to participate in a program that would make them the ultimate weapons. The “Double-Helix,” which unlocks hidden abilities in the Angels’ human-born descendants, is not without its consequences. Participants will no longer be themselves, that is, until a familiar face returns in human form.
Excerpt:
Hershiser’s head dangled from side to side – his sweat drenched hair covered his battered face – as he was dragged through the halls of the torch lit fortress. His feet slid along the stone floor behind him, while his one un-swollen eye counted the cracks in the numerous rocks. The slow, but steady, clicking of chains demanded his attention. He lifted his head in time to see the large, wooden, double doors swing towards him.
Once the doors were completely opened, he was carried into a grand circular chamber. The repeated noise of hundreds of collective feet, stomping on the ground, caused his heart beat to quicken. As he was carried to the center of the room, he looked up to the see the full moon, perched on the black backdrop, shining furiously through a dome window. His eyes ran down the cylindrical room, scanning the three levels of onlookers who waived their fists in the air, and landed on Kirk – whose armor had receded completely.
“Kirk,” Hershiser hacked, unable to move his jaw. He attempted to crawl towards his comrade, but a large foot stepped in-between them. He looked up and the towering Cyclops snarled at him. A pink light washed over the room, encouraging the hundreds of stomping feet to lift their voices with loud cheers.
Hershiser looked forward. The man from the boat stood at the steps of a throne. Seated in the massive, gold and stone, chair was a woman. Her crimson hair draped down the side of her face, covering her eye and cheek on the right, and behind her left ear on the other the other side. Her dress, inordinately long, draped all the way down the five steps, to the ground, away from her seat. It was slit along the right leg, exposing her olive skin. Her eyes were dark, but as she looked at Hershiser he could see they had a slight orange glow around the pupil.
She stood, grabbing the sides of her form fitting dress, and flapped it, creating the cracking sound of a whip, and as such those who cheered before fell silent. A muscular gladiator, dressed only in a loin cloth, knelt down on the steps before her, and raised his hand to help her down the steps. She reached the cobbled floor. Her black spiked-boots made a distinct clacking noise as she approached Hershiser.
“What have you done with our Lord?” she asked, with a firm, yet alluring, voice. He wanted to respond to her question, to give her a pleasing answer, but he didn’t know what she was talking about. She knelt beside him, exposing her smooth thigh, and grabbed him by the face. “Answer me.”
“I’ll help you find him,” he tried to grab her dress and pull her close, just hoping to smell her hair, but she pushed him away. He didn’t know why she spurned him, nor did he know why he cared. He just wanted her attention. The song in her voice aroused him. “Please, I’ll do anything.”
“I find your begging to be pathetic,” she walked over to Kirk. She moved her fingers along his face, making Hershiser’s blood boil.
She pressed her lips into Kirk’s and stuck her tongue down his throat. His body convulsed as his genetically altered, sandy blonde, hair turned into a jet black mess. His eyes changed colors, and his cheek bones and squared jaw morphed into a fat round face. She stood, pushing off of Kirk’s aching chest, and walked towards the throne. The half naked gladiator once again bowed.
“Another imposter, posing in our great Lord’s armor,” she said, sliding her long, lacy, gloves onto her hands. She spun around and sat on her throne. “Kill them both.”
“No, I can be of service,” Hershiser stood, using all his strength, and ran towards the steps of the throne. He flung himself to the floor, his face down, and held his hands together. As if betrayed by a friend, his heart split in half. He pleaded with her. “I will do as you say.”
“Will you?” she grinned, leaning forward and rubbing her chin. She crossed her legs and the chamber let out a collective gasp of enlightenment. Hershiser looked up at her, nodding. She spoke. “Bring me the imposter’s head, prove your allegiance, and I will let you be one of us.”
Hershiser nodded, limping over to the half naked gladiator, taking a sword. He slowly meandered over towards Kirk, who was awakening from the transformation back to his normal self. Kirk slowly rose up and drove his elbow into Hershiser’s arm, attempting to stop him from swinging the sword. The two men locked up, but Hershiser quickly gained the upper hand by wrapping his arm around Kirk’s neck – squeezing. He then flung Kirk to the ground and knelt over him, dealing fist after to fist into the face.
The woman laughed and Hershiser looked up, allowing Kirk to roll backwards and drive a heel into Hershiser’s sternum. Kirk lunged for the sword, but Hershiser kicked it out of the way. He grabbed Kirk by the ankle, and twisted it quickly, snapping it.
Kirk screamed, raking his fingernails across the ground, breaking several off. Hershiser dealt three quick blows to the kidney, and then slammed Kirk into the base of one of the large columns that climbed through each floor of the massive chamber. He grabbed Kirk by the hair and repeatedly slammed his head into the large stone beam. Once his enemy was passed out, Hershiser walked over to the sword and picked it up. He plodded back towards Kirk and gave several hacks at Kirk’s neck, slamming the blade into the face, chest, and finally jaw, as his errant swipes failed to sever the head.
Building up the anger to try one last time, his sixth swipe went clean through Kirk’s jaw, severing the head, lodging the blade into the stone column. Hershiser grabbed the head by the hair and lifted it, much to the applause and delight of those who looked on.
“Are you ready to share your secrets?” she asked, leaning forward.
Hershiser nodded, unable to deny her.
About Nathan Wall:
I’m 28 Years old. Live in Dallas, Texas. Married with a 4 year old girl.
I was nominated for an Emmy.
I’ve written a series of books on Fantasy baseball strategy.
I lived in Europe for a long time while growing up.
I was Batman at Six Flags.
1. Introduce who referred me to this blog post idea.
Wow, another blog willing to take on my long-winded self. First, a shout out to the person who introduced me to this blog topic.
I would like to thank Sarah Roberts for including me in this Writing Process Blog Hop post. You can find out more about her by checking out her profile on Goodreads, or reading her novel “Rokula,” which is garnering all sorts of buzz.Also, another thanks to Sarit Yahalomi for allowing me to be a part of her blog “Coffee, Books & Art.”
2.
A. What am I working on?
Well, right now I am currently working on several different books (that indeed is multiple), including one I just dreamt up last Friday.
The big thing right now is continuing with my “Evolution of Angels” series. I launched the first book in the Universe on June 5th, and plan on releasing a novella titled “The Descendants” on Thanksgiving day this year. The events in that novella will take place at the same time as the first novel, and introduce you to some new characters, as well as bring back a character from “E.o.A” who has already proven to be quite popular. I am just doing my best to make sure all the scenes are in the right place, and then I’ll ship it off to my newly found proofreader for errors.
The other project I am working on is a stand-alone novel. It’s a science fiction/thriller/romance novel. I know, those seem like they hardly go with each other, but as you’ll soon find out, I hate genre labels. This novel will chronicle0 three parallel stories that happen in different time periods, but are ultimately related through one soul. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think it’s definitely something that will transcend audiences and time. At least, I hope so.
I can write about 3,000 words a day. For those of you wondering how that’s possible, I wake up between 430 am and 5 am, and then go to bed around 930-10 pm. You can find lots of peace and quiet when you write while your family is asleep.
B. How does my work differ from others in its genre?As I stated before, I don’t like genre labels. I acknowledge them as a necessary evil, and I even drew a rolling-of-the-eyes from someone in my local writers group who is a sworn “genre defender.” Whatever. This is creative writing, and as such we have the free ability to dabble in many genres at once. Our sole obligation is to entertain the reader.
My current book, “Evolution of Angels,” is several genres: Science Fiction, Urban Fantasy and Action-Adventure. They each suit the novel just fine, but I had someone tell me they were almost turned off at the notion of my novel because images of warp speed, klingons and light sabers burst into her head when they think of sci-fi. That certainly isn’t the case at all.
The novella “The Descendants” will add mystery and detective fiction to the genre labels of “E.o.A” when it comes out. That story revolves around a pair of London detectives who are looking to solve a three-year old murder at the hands of a mysterious creature. There’s lots of sci-fi, fantasy and action to go along with the detective work.
The 2nd shared world novella in my “E.o.A” universe will be a horror book. The new novel I am writing (the one I just dreamt up) will be a complete stand alone, but as I said earlier I am including three very different genres within its pages.
So, I could tell you what genre I am working in, but it would be all over the place. I like it that way. It keeps me sharp and on edge.
C. Why do I write?
This answer is both vain and selfless.
I like to entertain, and I often read books, or watch movies/tv shows and think to myself “I could do it better.”
I’m always telling stories. I would say that if I didn’t have a creative outlet, I would be a pretty good, and compelling, compulsive liar. After all, that’s pretty much what writing fiction is all about-lying. We’re trying to weave a compelling lie for the reader so they can set aside disbelief and drench themselves in the “truth” in the pages of our stories.
Every night, my 4-year old daughter begs me to “tell her stories from my head.” I think to myself that I could tell her some pretty good ones, and often times I get her involved. The action gets so out of hand that my wife has to remind me that I am supposed to be helping her wind down.
Sometimes I use her stuffed animals, and one of them always stabs the others in the back, and mass hysteria ensues. Or I give her a detailed journey about a Princess and her friends the ‘magical butterfly,’ ‘Stephen the Giant,’ and many others. Most of the time, they’re walking through a forest on the way to a grocery store and have to fight off zombies, ghost pirates, a big bad wolf, or a witch. Sometimes, I’ll throw her a curve ball and say Bane or the Killer Crock shows up to fight them, but the Princess and her friends always win, and then eat purple ice cream and go for a swim. Every time. Without fail. No matter the time of year...they eat ice cream and go for a swim.
D. How does my writing process work?
Short answer: incredibly fast, and all over the place.
Long answer: My brain is like a computer that won’t shut off. I’ll have to write multiple books at one time, just because new stories and characters are begging to get out. This results in my wife reading halfway through about 5 or 6 books, and then jumping back and forth to other ones. I always finish them, though.
I can have multiple projects going at one time, and never lose track of where I am in each story. It’s insane. If there were a drug that I could take, like in “Limitless,” that would allow me to belt-out everything in my head in regards to one story, in one sitting, I would take it. It’s got to be better than driving down the highway, or taking a shower, and constantly having new scenes emerge in your head that play out in front of you.
Often times, I spot write. Most people start their story with Chapter one, or the prologue. Not me. I start with what I see, and I put it down exactly as it comes to me in my head. Sometimes it’s like a spotlight is shining with purpose on just one character, and the world around them is a dark mesh, left for the readers imagination. Other times, it is a massive search light that illuminates just enough of everything around it in order for the reader to know what’s going on.
I never stop and re-read what I do, when I’m in a groove. I plow through. I don’t understand how some writers can stop what they’re doing and go back and read the page they just finished. It’s such a momentum killer. Save that crap for the end.
By plowing through, I’m allowed to let the story and characters dictate themselves. I’ll start a story with a terminus in mind, but sometimes the stations I stop at, or the details of the final destination, changes just a bit because the characters want to do something else.
At one point or another, I flirted very hard with killing EVERY character in my “E.o.A” novel. I would write a scene and be like “Hey, what if I killed her off? That would be a huge twist, and the story would take a whole new meaning.” How would the characters react? The readers? How would it change the landscape of my story?
Characters will find a way to impact other characters, and based on how those characters react, they’ll either deserve to live or die. It really is up to them. I never swoop in and save the day for them.
In the end, I ended up killing one character I had no intention of killing, and saving another. Looking back, I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.
I also have big plot points written out, and the end game for each novel. Just in case I die, someone else can finish it. Maybe that’s kind of morbid, but if there is one wish I have for after my death, other than my family being taken care of, is that my work be completed, and people see the end I have in mind for all my projects.
Than you too Nathan It is nice to have you on my blog!
Giveaway:Enter to win one of two print copies of this book on Goodreads by clicking here.
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