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Miles Cameron Name Reveal!

Do you wanna know a secret?

It’s about a Tyrant Red Knight, who, using Poseidon’s Spear, joined with Washington and Ceasar to become King of the Bosporus and killed Alexander: God of War. In the years that followed, he earned many names — Destroyer of Cities, and Killer of Men to name a few. Thus did he become known as the Ill-Made Knight, and in the years that followed, his blade become hearkened as The Fell Sword…

Or, wait, no.. Scratch that. That’s definitely not the secret. What I meant to say is that, (if you haven’t already found out via his Facebook pages) I’m honoured with the opportunity to reveal Miles Cameron’s (author of Traitor Son Cycle) identity. Miles Cameron is the pen name for the critically acclaimed historical fiction author, Christian Cameron; author of the Tyrant series. (Not, in fact, his cousin, as he’s been telling fans over on Facebook for the past while.)

Christian Cameron is a Canadian novelist, who was educated and trained as both an historian and a former career officer in the US Navy. His The Traitor Son Cycle, published by Gollancz/Orbit, under the name of Miles Cameron was his first foray into an alternative fantastical setting. Christian is a dedicated reenactor, and historian — both of which he brings into his novels, writing realistic battles, and weaving in his in-depth knowledge of a variety of different historical periods. His latest novel, The Great King was released earlier this year.

His next book, The Fell Sword, which is the sequel to “Miles Cameron’s” The Red Knight is set to be released 30 January, 2014 in the UK, and March 11th in the US. Or, for the impatient reader, the Kindle edition was released January 16th.

The Fell Sword is available for pre-order on Amazon:
UK
US

Find him on Facebook:
Christian G. Cameron’s Author Page
The Red Knight’s Page

On the web:
Christian Cameron: http://www.hippeis.com/
Miles Cameron: http://www.traitorson.com/

Official Reveal from Gollancz

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Posted by A-D-Reviews on January 28, 2014 in Uncategorized

Tags: Christian Cameron, Miles Cameron, Name Reveal, The Fell Sword, The Red Knight

Writing “Flawed” Characters

10 Jan

Rule number one of writing a character: that character must have flaws. It’s probably the most basic fact of writing, and yet is very easy for a poor or inexperienced writer to get wrong.

A flaw is something that hinders the character in some way. A character whose flaw is their bad temper might burn bridges by raving at people, leaving them in the lurch later on; a character whose flaw is overconfidence might find themselves in hot water when they get in over their heads. That’s a flawed character, realistic and relatable. Then there are “flawed” characters.

A “flawed” character is a character with a “flaw” that either:

(1) Really isn’t a flaw. This covers “flaws” like not being able to sing, or not being/thinking they’re pretty, or being a bit of a loner. Unless your entire plot centres around an American Idol contest, not being able to sing is not, and will never be, a flaw; similarly, there’s nothing wrong with being a loner, especially with how it tends to be written in fiction: the character has no friends, prefers their own company, and yet always manages to make friends wherever they go with no problems. These are “safe” flaws: they allow you to write a character that is still essentially perfect, but make them “relatable” or “realistic” by giving them a flaw that doesn’t detract from how wonderful they are. Twilight‘s Bella is a perfect example of this: her “flaw” is that she’s “ordinary” and “clumsy”, both very common safe flaws that seem to emphasise how much of an audience stand-in she is rather than make her in any way realistic.

(2) Really doesn’t affect them in any way. This can be a genuine flaw – being rude, for example – but the character doesn’t suffer from it. Their rudeness is brushed aside, with people either forgetting about it, deciding they were really wrong all along and therefore deserved her rudeness, or apparently isn’t even considered rudeness at all. Anyone who genuinely sees this as a flaw is instantly demonised as bad or mean, and deserving of our hatred. Other times, this is a flaw that either doesn’t come up or has no bearing on what the character is doing. This covers many safe flaws as well; a character who can’t sing is never affected by this flaw, or it gets swept under the rug as the character merely believing they can’t sing when really they can, or really being beautiful and just not dressing properly to show that off. Once again, Bella suffers heavily from this: clumsiness never gets her in any real trouble, and the idea that she’s ordinary is contradicted at every point in the text as characters tell her how beautiful, smart, and mature she is.

(3) Can’t really be defined. This is a flaw that combines the first two by its very nature. By not being a definable flaw, it’s impossible to say if it really is a flaw or not, and usually has no effect on the storyline because no one can be sure what sort of effects a flaw like that would have in the first place. This can be an attempt to ignore the common safe flaws that serve as red flags about a character, or can come about because of a genuine attempt to give them a flaw that doesn’t work out because the author didn’t get it across very well. This is one of the main problems with September, the protagonist of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, and what ultimately makes her so flat as a character: her flaw is that she is “slightly heartless”, which is never explained or defined and never seems to affect her (this is, after all, the protagonist who saved a child when the child’s own mother stood to one side doing nothing, and volunteers for every heroic act in the book without a second thought).

“Flawed” characters are cop-outs, meant to be the character version of having your cake and eating it too. It’s as bad as having a character with no flaws at all. This is often the result of either inexperience or inability, and it can be easy enough to avoid if you ask yourself a couple simple questions: how does your character’s flaw affect them? Does it get them in trouble? Does it affect the plot? Is it really a problem for them at any point? Maybe you don’t want your character to be hated for their flaws, but remember: no one likes a perfect character, either. Find a good balance between having flaws and being likeable, and you will have written a good character.

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Posted by ARamone on January 10, 2014 in Review

Guest Post: Interview with a Vampire: About Vampires

06 Nov

An Interview with a Vampire about Vampires

A guest post by Lee and Gary Jordan, the author team Phoenix

On an early evening in October, we caught up with Victor Bainbridge, a vampire who

is very British but lives in a splendid home in Spain. It was obvious from his palatial home that

being a vampire was not hurting his earning capabilities.

As the authors of Leon’s Lair, in which he is a major character, we were shown into his

study by his majordomo. The study walls were lined from floor to ceiling with books, many

leather bound and obviously quite old. Victor sat in a leather high-backed chair with a small

crystal glass on a side table, a volumous report in his lap and his right leg crossed at the knee.

Dressed in soft chinos, Italian shoes (no sox) and a black cashmere pullover, he looked self-
assured and comfortable with our visit.

He rose to greet us with a smile and offered us a chair opposite him. After a few

pleasantries and an offer of a drink. we began. We were both little nervous about accepting a

drink as we surmised what he was drinking was a dark red, viscous drink that clung to the sides

of the crystal and wasn’t the kind of refreshment we wanted.

GARY: Well, Victor, I must say you have a beautiful home. It seems being a vampire

has been a rewarding way of life. Can you tell our readers a little about how you became a

vampire and where it all started?

VICTOR: Well, Gary, there are a lot of misconceptions about vampires, many old tales

that have survived down through the ages.

Vampires have been around since the dawn of time. We are a different but similar race

to Homo sapiens. Unfortunately, over the centuries there have been efforts by Homo sapiens to

eradicate us. I think you would call it genocide or ethnic cleansing. As a result, there are fewer of

us than you.

Vampirism was first recorded in Persia. According to an ancient Hebrew text Adam’s

first wife, Lilith was a vampire. She left Adam due to his lack of sexual prowess and became

queen of the underworld. She established the race.

There are recorded archives of vampires from China in the 6th century B.C., and more

legends throughout the world, including India, Malaysia, Polynesia, and the lands of the Aztecs

and Eskimos. However, it is in Europe where our main population flourished for many centuries.

The main beginnings occurred in ancient Greece and spread up through areas known today as the

Balkans, then west and into England.

I originated the old fashioned way, coitus, pregnancy, and birth.

LEE: That’s pretty astounding. The common story goes; you have to be normal and then

bitten by a vampire, and some say you must drink a vampire’s blood. Is this just legend?

VICTOR: Absolutely not. That is the way to become newly “born,” but I am a vampire

because my mother was a vampire. She was a really sexy women and was until she died –

always looked young. Vampires can be created from Homo sapiens as you described, though

normally it is not forced but assented. It is a secondary way to keep the race alive.

LEE: She died? I thought vampires live forever.

VICTOR: Absolutely not. Mother was almost 300 years old, but she finally went to a

vampire rest home and passed on. That is just another of the myths that scare Homo sapiens into

atrocities against vampires.

GARY: Okay, but you have to admit that vampires draining people of their blood is

pretty brutal.

VICTOR: That has happened, I admit, but it is no worse than Homo sapiens decapitating

a vampire, pounding stakes through the heart or burning us to death without a trial, just on the

ranting of some fear-deranged human. How would you react to a mob pounding down your door

with hate and fear?

Victor’s eyes had become red and his cool self-confidence melted as he gripped the

arms of his chair and leaned forward in a menacing pose. We felt more than concerned at his

apparent anger.

No, I think you need to reassess your race’s actions before you accuse us of brutality.

Victor seemed to regain his calm and sat back in his chair and his eyes suddenly returned

to the deep brown they had been.

Since, the year 400 A.D, we organized with other magical and supernatural races. The

International Association of Paranormal Beings made strict rules and one was never harm a

human in anyway. We drink the blood of animals.

Granted there have been vampires with a blood-lust for humans such as Count Dracula,

whose real name was Valad Tepes Dracula, Prince of Wallachia. His slaughter of many probably

incited much of the inaccurate views people have of vampires. Of course Bram Stoker’s fictional

tale of Dracula stereotyped vampires to this day. Dracula was a tyrant, but he also liberated his

country from the Ottoman invaders. You know, he was a national hero.

GARY: I see. that is very interesting. Tell me Victor, why should humans change their

view of vampires?

VICTOR: Without going into detail, vampires have actually saved the human race

from near extinction. The Dark Ages had set man upon a course of clear apocalyptic self -

extinguishment. International Association of Paranormal Beings literally sowed the seeds that

raised human’s interest in survival and interest in science and the arts to a level high enough to

pull them out of the apathy and degradation which had caused death and destruction throughout

the hitherto civilized world. Those acts alone saved millions upon millions of lives.

LEE: That’s quite a pronouncement Victor. Would you care to elaborate?

VICTOR: Well, your readers can read more about us in your book Leon’s Lair. Victor

elegantly rose from his chair as he finished his glass of red liquid. I have matters to attend

to now, and I hope I have given you enough to create an article that your readers will find

interesting and informative.

Victor’s majordomo appeared in the room as if by magic and held the door open for us to

leave.

GARY: Thank you, Victor, for your time and very enlightening information.

LEON’S LAIR IS AVAILABLE IN KINDLE AND PAPERBACK ON AMAZON

What would you do if your vacation cruise ship was being attacked and you were

certain you would to be killed?

Would you fight? Would you hide? Would you try to escape?

This international thriller/contemporary fantasy is a nail-biting ride that is grisly but

somewhat tongue-in-cheek, a brutal tale of horror and the occult that doesn’t take itself too

seriously. It includes romance, continental adventure, action, suspense, and dozens of vivid

characters from around the world.

The adventure starts with The Jakarta, an elegant cruise ship sailing the exotic seas

in Indonesia with a passenger list of ninety, unsuspecting people. Jane and her best friend,

Remy, are just getting know the rest of the small group of young twenty-somethings when the

ship is attacked by pirates. However, Leon and his band are not your usual pirates – they want

something else.

Jane and two male companions escape the horror, fleeing in a lifeboat. In their flight to

escape Leon and his men, they become lost at sea for weeks, are out of water, and have nearly

lost hope of ever finding rescue when they finally catch sight of land, a dangerous rain-forested

island that seems deserted. However, their fight for survival has only just begun.

They are not alone.

Fate is cruel.

They thought they had escaped, only to find they are caught in Leon’s Lair.

Rafflecopter and Giveaway info:

Vampires Need Love Too Raffle. Raffle dates – October 28 through November 10.

Here is the Rafflecopter link – sorry, WordPress doesn’t let us embed it:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/8266b41/

PRIZES:

One $50 Amazon Gift Certificate

One Healing Spa Bath And Body Products Therapy Gift Basket by Furniture

Creations Open this wicker treasure chest to discover a wealth of spa delights! Spoil

yourself with soothing skin-care enriched with the goodness of olive oil, avocado and

lemon.

One California Delicious Starbucks Sampler Coffee Gift Basket

by California Delicious Slow down for a cup of soul-soothing Starbucks coffee:

breakfast blend, house blend, caffe Verona or Sumatra, complimented with a

sweet bite of biscotti.

One T-Shirt with “Vampires Need Love, Too,” your choice of size and color

Five copies of Leon’s Lair 6 x 9 paperback – autographed specially to you.

Four Leon’s Lair Coffee Cup with the book cover on it and it says “Vampires Need

Love, Too.”

Twenty Two Leon’s Lair Special Bookmarks

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Hello. We are Lee and Gary Jordan and we are THE PHOENIX, a multi-genre author

team. As passionate readers, loving many different genres, we don’t intend to go with custom and

stick to one. We have several novels in the works.

We enjoy getting to know readers and other authors via the Internet, love movies, and

sitting outside to soak up the Southern California sun. We live in Hollywood with our crabby

tomcat, Snickers.

Lee wrote A Whisper from Eden, A Historical Fantasy. She loves research, but is not

always content with the way things are explained. She likes to turn it all inside out and wonder

what if? Gary is a third generation Californian, born and raised in Anaheim. He has always

had an insatiable curiosity about everything. As a writing team, they wrote Leon’s Lair, an

International Thriller/Contemporary Paranormal Fantasy.

LEON’S LAIR is available in Kindle and paperback versions on Amazon

US- http://amzn.to/163AcH8

UK-http://amzn.to/1fVdGGa

Leon’s Lair video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca0PqFNCzFoo

Like Leon’s Lair on Facebook- http://on.fb.me/HeVMQl

Leon’s Lair on Goodreads-http://bit.ly/1a7kii9

Follow Leon’s Lair on Twitter- https://twitter.com/PhoenixRead

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Posted by ARamone on November 6, 2013 in Guest Post

Tags: Giveaway, leon's lair, Vampire

The Worst Kind of Villain

21 Oct

In almost any work, a villain is necessary. They move in, cause the main problem, then get defeated by the heroes. They’re a basic staple of fiction, and as a result of being around so long there have emerged a few distinct types.

First, there’s the monster. This doesn’t have to be a literal ogre; it’s just as likely to be a human who kills women and children and kicks puppies doing it. They have a goal, and they will stop at nothing to achieve it. Maybe they acknowledge what they’re doing is bad, but think it’s necessary; maybe they think the end justifies the means. Whatever they think, they’re unrepentant for their evil deeds and don’t think they can go too far. Their defeat is meant to be a relief, and we’re supposed to be happy their evil is gone from the world.

Secondly, we have the sympathetic villain. We’re supposed to realise the villain is ultimately a good person gone astray, or driven to extremes in trying to protect someone, unintentionally crossing the line; maybe they’re being forced to do what they do, and nothing they’ve done is their fault. Their defeat is almost bittersweet; we’re sorry to see them go despite their evil deeds and despite the necessity, and wish things had been better for them.

There are villains that fall between these two: they had a sympathetic past, but have now gone too far; they use underhanded trickery to get their way instead of actually hurting anyone, and so they’re not technically a monster; they don’t actually hurt anyone, but they might in the future; they’re an oppressive leader. While we may have some sympathy for these villains depending on their origins, we’re still supposed to be happy that they’re defeated, though if the damage the hero does comes off as disproportionate compared to what the villain did, as can be the case if the villain hadn’t hurt anyone or done much real harm, then the villain doesn’t so much gain sympathy as the heroes lose it, and many people will feel the villain didn’t deserve all of what they got.

There’s one type of villain, however, who’s worse than all of these types. Not worse as in more evil; the monster is undoubtedly the most evil of them all. No, the worst type of villain is the most reprehensible because of how they go about their evil, not what they do. They are the only villain on this list who have no place in fiction, and who should never have to be endured.

The Card-Carrying Villain.

Most often the result of a bad writer and often a sure sign of inexperience or lack of skill at writing, the Card-Carrying Villain isn’t just evil; they announce it to the whole world while laughing maniacally with thunder and lightning booming behind them. They rename themselves Evil McMeanie and take to living in a dilapidated evil fortress, where the skies are always stormy and vultures, toads, and snakes abound. Unlike the monster, who kicks puppies to achieve their ultimate goal, the Card-Carrying villain kicks puppies while laughing maniacally just because they can, and will often declare how evil they are right after doing it, sometimes with multiple exclamation marks (a sure sign of a deranged mind). It’s not how much evil they do that makes them so abominable; it’s that they do it all while proclaiming their evilness, that they often have no motivation beyond being evil (and will often say that’s why they do what they do), and that they hate anything good for no reason beyond being evil.

The Card-Carrying Villain shows up more in children’s or young adult fiction, almost always for the same reason: the belief that the reader would be too stupid to understand who the villain is without being outright told. This is insulting to the reader because a well-written villain can always be clearly identified as such even without explicitly calling themselves evil. In adult fiction, the Card-Carrying Villain is sometimes an attempt at writing a monster that failed because of the author’s inability to do it properly. More generally, the Card-Carrying Villain comes about because of a failure to understand what makes a good villain, or out of the belief that the audience is too stupid to understand who the villain is otherwise. In the first instance, we can only feel sorry for the author and hope they improve in the future; in the second, we’re genuinely insulted that the author thinks so low of us. Card-Carrying Villains in adult fiction usually entirely fail to impress the audience and can actually end up backfiring; many of you will remember how I nearly laughed at the villain in my review of Smudge’s Mark, mostly because of how blatantly he showed off his villain card.

When played as a parody, as in The Simpsons with Mr. Burns, the Card-Carrying Villain isn’t so bad; at least now we know it’s being done deliberately and isn’t a reflection of how the author thinks of us. Too few cases, however, are parodies and too many are simply the result of bad writing. To tell the difference between the two, look for some key differences in how the writing portrays them: are they often made the butt of a joke, or should we apparently be genuinely afraid of them? Is their villainy either ultimately harmless or cartoonishly over-the-top, despite how evil they claim to be, or are they standard villain acts done while proclaiming how evil they are? These sorts of things mark the difference between parody and bad writing. (Somewhat ironically, a failed attempt at writing a parody Card-Carrying villain can end up turning them into a straight Card-Carrying Villain. In this case, any protests the author makes that it’s supposed to be a parody don’t make it any better.)

And how do you avoid writing a Card-Carrying Villain yourself? First, be very careful planning out your villain’s motivation. As mentioned above, they can acknowledge they’re doing bad things; the difference between a good villain and the Card-Carrying Villain is that the good villain will think the end justifies the means, or be driven by revenge, or some other such motivation, while the Card-Carrying Villain will do it because they’re evil. Secondly, be careful about how you write their tone; if they do acknowledge they’re being bad, they should regret that fact, or see it as a small matter, not revel in it. Finally, and most importantly, just think about your audience. Put yourself in their place: if you were reading your book, would you understand who the villain is without being told? You most likely will. If not, well, you may have to re-think how you’re writing your villain.

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Posted by ARamone on October 21, 2013 in ARamone, Thoughts

Tags: ARamone, bad writing, card carrying, villain

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

15 Oct

Saladin Ahmed’s Throne of the Crescent Moon is his debut novel and the first of the Crescent Moon Kingdoms trilogy. Its very title declares its departure from the usual Euro-centric fantasy.

We read fantasy because we like unique worlds and engaging characters. Throne of the Crescent Moon definitely gives us the former, and it’s worth reading for that alone; though the latter felt slightly lacking. But for all its major issues, it is still worth the read.

First, the good. Set largely in the sprawling Cairo-esque city of Dhamsawaat, Ahmed drops his readers right in the middle of the action. Very early on you get a good sense of Dhamsawaat, its atmosphere, its culture and its history. Ahmed also does an excellent job of filling in the world surrounding it. Presumably this sets the stage for the latter two books in the trilogy, and I can honestly say he does a great job of whetting our appetites.

Ahmed’s superb world building goes beyond just his geography. This world is full of a rich, unique culture that seems to borrow from many aspects of Middle Eastern culture, but isn’t bound to any one in particular. From the cardamom teas the characters drink, to their formal and informal interactions with one another, the reader gets a good sense that these characters belong to a well-established society. Though it may feel foreign, it is definitely familiar enough to make sense.

Now, the bad, or rather, the characters. They are frustratingly one-dimensional and any growth they go through is both glacial and shallow at best. These people are quite adept at slaying ghouls and other vile things, but they lack dimension or any desire to grow as human beings. Much of their character problems are self-imposed, and while that is a perfectly valid growth arc to have, they don’t progress along that arc very far.

I’m verging into spoiler territory so I will try to tread carefully. That said, one particular character spends the entire book wallowing in self-imposed pity. He continually commits acts that go against his nature, then whines and mopes about having done so until he performs a different transgression a chapter or two later. This constant self-loathing and wallowing grew particularly annoying early on, and continued throughout the rest of the book.

I should preface this by saying that despite my dislike of many characters, the book is still worth reading. As annoyingly one-dimension as some of the characters are, I still found myself particularly sympathetic to some in the party- though their arcs too are shallow and suffer from the same problems.

That I had such a strong reaction to these characters is less of a problem with the book and more a testament to Ahmed’s ability to write. I recommend this book, if only for the world building and visceral prose Ahmed is so good at.

Review by Jason Toliopoulos

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Posted by Jason Toliopoulos on October 15, 2013 in Guest Post, Review

Tags: characters, the Crescent Moon

The Arched Doorway

Miles Cameron Name Reveal!

Writing “Flawed” Characters

Guest Post: Interview with a Vampire: About Vampires

The Worst Kind of Villain

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

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Miles Cameron Name Reveal!

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Writing “Flawed” Characters

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Guest Post: Interview with a Vampire: About Vampires

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The Worst Kind of Villain

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Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed

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