Books and Other Spells: Book Tour: The Children of Lubrochius by Matthew D. Ryan Interview & Giveaway

BLURB:

The vampire, Lucian val Drasmyr, has been defeated, but not destroyed: Now he serves another evil: Korina Bolaris, a young and gifted sorceress bent on subverting the power structure of Drisdak. Only Coragan of Esperia can hope to stop them. But is even he prepared to face the dark cult who claims her as their own: the Children of Lubrochius?

INTERVIEW:

Where did you get the idea for the novel?

This novel is book I in a series of four books. There is a prequel to the series entitled “Drasmyr.” “Drasmyr” began as a short story that grew into a novel. That novel inspired the development of the series. As for “The Children of Lubrochius” itself, it picks up where “Drasmyr” left off. It follows the developing career of the evil sorceress from the prequel. As such, it delves into some dark subject matter, like demons and what-have-you. The various characters have inspirations of their own. The vampire in the novel was inspired by the original Dracula story by Bram Stoker. He has many of the same powers and limitations as the legendary Count. The bounty hunter and his world view were inspired by an old college friend. The other main characters were inspired by various archetypes I wanted to explore.

Your title. Who came up with it? Did you ever change your title?

I came up with the title, and yes, I did change it. Originally, the book was going to be entitled “Rise of a Dark Sorceress,” but that just seemed too commonplace. “The Children of Lubrochius,” in my opinion, is a much cooler, much more sinister sounding title, particularly if you know what it means (which you will, if you read the prequel). It refers to an ancient secret cult of demon worshipers.

Why did you pick this genre? What do you like about it?

I’ve been involved in the fantasy genre since I was a young boy. I’ve been playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons since I was about ten and I’ve read more fantasy books than I can remember. What I like about fantasy is the escapist factor. I’ve always dreamed of living in a world with magic. Fantasy provides that. It fills me with a sense of wonder and adventure and provides an outlet I would be hard-pressed to find anywhere else.

Since becoming a writer, what’s the most exciting thing to ever happen to you?

I enjoy the writing process, but I’ve been struggling with the marketing aspect of this career choice. However, I keep working at it and just a couple weeks ago I had a bit of success with the prequel, “Drasmyr,” (the ebook of which is free) on Amazon. For the longest time, I’ve been only getting a modest number of downloads with the occasional spike. The spikes might be as much as two hundred downloads over the course of several days which would then fall off precipitously as the book traveled down the ranks. However, I got a really big spike recently when some of my advertising kicked in: over 1000 downloads in a single day. I was ecstatic and very pleased.

What book are you currently reading or what was the last book you read?

I just started reading “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss. I read “The Name of the Wind” (book I in that series) a few months back and really found it quite enjoyable, though not as amazing as some people think it is. It’s a book that tells the tale of a real hero, Kvothe (pronounced Quothe), who is larger than life and skilled beyond belief. I kind of like that: a hero who is truly heroic in abilities. There is nothing wrong with having “normal person” heroes beset with flaws and commonplace weaknesses, but I just found it kind of refreshing to read about someone who seems to have the ability to accomplish anything at any time.

What is your writing process?

It changes. I’m still trying to figure out something that will work for me consistently. For a while, I was writing 1000 words or so every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. However, my schedule is being rearranged, so I will be limiting my fantasy writing to just Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. To compensate for the missing day, I will try to increase my word count. Of course, the true measure of the writing process is actually the time spent editing. That, although a little easier than writing the original draft, is far more critical to the final product. Unfortunately, I don’t have a set schedule for that aspect of my writing process yet. Then again, I might not need a set schedule for such.

At a book signing, do you just sign your name or do you write a note? How do you come up with stuff to say?

I prefer to sign my name and write a little note of some sort. As to what I say, I ask the owner of the book if they want me to say something, or, depending upon who it is and if I know them or not, I choose from a small collection of sayings that I have in my head. One of my favorites is: “Vampires weren’t meant to be sexy!” I’m fond of that because my vampire, Drasmyr, is based on the Dracula prototype and is definitely not intended to be a love interest. He is more the cold-hearted, cruel killer of yesteryear.

What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

I don’t know. I’m a big fan of philosophy, so I named my cat “Confucius.” He’s kind of big in China. Confucius isn’t my favorite philosopher—in fact, I’ve only read a little bit of his work, but he always struck me as a good guy. In any event, my cat is wise and wily like the Chinese philosopher of old. And he embodies the love of wisdom that is supposed to inspire all philosophers everywhere. :)

How do you react to a bad review?

They hurt, but my skin is thickening. I’m learning to ignore them, because I get more good reviews than I do bad reviews. And that is rewarding in itself. However, I do read through the bad reviews to see if they make valid points or have suggestions that I can use to improve my writing. Some are too vague, but others can be more informative. And constructive criticism is always a blessing.

How did you celebrate the sale of your first book?

I’m an indie author, so I have not sold any of my books to a publisher or anything like that yet. As for sales to readers, I’ve sold a number of copies of “Drasmyr,” and “The Children of Lubrochius.” I honestly don’t remember a particular celebration for my first sale of “Drasmyr.” As for “The Children of Lubrochius,” the celebration really just consisted of telling my family and close friends, and that’s about it. Nothing too spectacular. Oh, and I think I went to dinner with my dad.

EXCERPT:

The first, a muscular man named Gilliad, wore brown trousers and a studded leather shirt. He had a rugged face with freckles and curly brown hair. Nearly thirty years old, he served Auraria, Goddess of the Sun and Morning, a deity renowned for mercy, kindness, and an unwavering devotion to destroying undead.

The second priest, a priestess, rather, a brown-skinned woman named Agyrra Bloodfang, wore a cape, trousers, and a shirt of scale mail—all black. She was a high-ranking Sitharone: a priestess of the Snake Queen Khalia, one of the great powers of lofty Limbo. At her side, her free hand seemed ever-poised above the bone handle of one of the two daggers she wore on her belt.

“Your missive said you needed my church’s assistance,” Gilliad said, sliding toward the table and placing his drink down. He toyed with the head of the silver mace at his side.

“As well as mine,” Agyrra said, her voice like a whispered threat: low, but edged.

“Indeed, we do,” Regecon said. “I will let the Mistress of the Earth explain.” He motioned to Ambrisia. Then, regardless of the fact that all the others still stood, he pulled out a chair, gathered his red orange robes about himself, and sat. “I give you the floor, Earth Mistress.”

Agyrra and Gilliad turned to look at Ambrisia while Porthion followed Regecon’s example and sat. Ambrisia nodded to Regecon to acknowledge his introduction, then proceeded to launch into a short speech she had prepared welcoming their two guests, and praising the congenial relationship scholarly wizards and priests had enjoyed in ages past. Then, she got to the meat of the matter. “Perhaps you heard recently that our guild confronted and destroyed a very old, very powerful vampire?”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Matthew D. Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake Champlain. Mr. Ryan has a background in philosophy, mathematics, and computer science. He has a black belt in the martial arts and studies yoga. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He is the operator of the web-site matthewdryan.com which features his blog, “A Toast to Dragons,”a blog dedicated to fantasy literature, and, to a lesser extent, sci-fi. Mr. Ryan says he receives his inspiration from his many years as an avid role-player and fantasy book reader. He has spent many long hours devising adventures and story-lines for games, so it was a natural shift moving into fantasy writing.

Mr. Ryan is the author of the exciting dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr,, its sequel, The Children of Lubrochius, and a growing number of short stories. His first novel, Drasmyr, has consistently earned reviews in the four and five star range and serves as the prequel to his upcoming series: From the Ashes of Ruin. In addition to Drasmyr and The Children of Lubrochius, Mr. Ryan has published several short stories on-line, including: “Haladryn and the Minotaur,” “The River’s Eye,” and “Escape.”

Links to the Author on the Internet

Author’s website: http://matthewdryan.com

Author’s Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan

Author’s Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000038781652

Author’s Amazon Author Central Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/matthewdryan

Author’s Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/579148.Matthew_D_Ryan

Buy Links for The Children of Lubrochius:

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/415779

The prequel, Drasmyr, is currently available free as an ebook at Smashwords, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere.

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/131156

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Drasmyr&sprefix=Drasm%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3ADrasmyr

Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Drasmyr?store=allproducts&keyword=Drasmyr

Lulu (Hardcover Print Book—$24.99): http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?type=Print+Products&keyWords=Drasmyr&sitesearch=lulu.com&q=&x=0&y=0

GIVEAWAY:
There is a 50% off coupon for this book at Smashwords. You may click here: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/415779 and then use coupon code: LX23U to receive 50% off. Coupon expires June 28, 2014.
Matthew will be awarding a $20 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour, and a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn host.

The more you comment, the better your chances of winning. The tour dates can be found here:

http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/05/virtual-book-tour-children-of.html

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