Christine Presents ~ Betrayer by Leslie D. Soule

Posted: August 14, 2017/By: achristay@aol.com

Please welcome Leslie D. Soule author of Betrayer.

Leslie D. Soule will be awarding $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Betrayer

by Leslie D. Soule

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GENRE: Fantasy

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INTERVIEW:

What or who inspired you to start writing?

I’ve always written myself stories, since I was little. It wasn’t so much inspiration from an outside source, but practice over many, many years, just for the fun of it.

How did you come up with ideas for your books?

Well, I’ve read a lot of fantasy novels, and I picked the items that I liked best and wanted to see in my novels – a talking cat (that’s more from the movie Hocus Pocus, I think), a jester (I’ve always liked them, and I liked the character of Simkin in the Darksword novels), a sorcerer (because who doesn’t like a magic user?) and then there’s Ash, so I could insert myself in there, for perspective. I wanted to give my first Fallenwood book a very 80s sort of vibe, with the crystal (like The Dark Crystal), the unicorn (Legend), etc.

What expertise did you bring to your writing?

What would you want your readers to know about you that might not be in your bio?

Well, I’ve practiced martial arts for years. So I gave Ash a bit of a fighter’s background because of that. Also, I volunteered at the Effie Yeaw Nature Center here locally, and that shows up in the scenes where Ash is foraging in this most recent novel, Betrayer. I feel like I know a good amount about the natural world & local plants & wildlife.

As far as your writing goes, what are your future plans?

Well, I plan to finish writing the Fallenwood series. I’m working on the final book, which is called Retribution. I hope to get my rough draft of Retribution done by November so I can participate in NaNoWriMo again this year, with a fresh novel. I try to participate when I can. It’s a lot of fun – you challenge yourself to write a novel in a month!

When did you first decide to submit your work? Please tell us what or who encouraged you to take this big step?

Well, I’d heard about Decadent Publishing starting up as a company and they were looking for novels. So I decided to submit, and was pleasantly surprised when they accepted my work. I always wanted to be published, and worked at it for a long time before being accepted.

Do you outline your books or just start writing?

A little of both, really. I generally start out with a rough outline of what I’d like to do with the novel, but you know how these things go – sometimes the characters take over!

Do you have any hobbies and does the knowledge you’ve gained from these carry over into your characters or the plot of your books?

Yes, I feel like everything spills over eventually. I like to read about how the masters of fantasy did things – C.S. Lewis liked to combine things and see what happened – a tree and silver, for example, and you get a silver tree. I’ve used this approach with creating new things that are in Fallenwood – creating things that are not too alien, and mostly familiar – things like the frothy berry drink called rakeih, which I imagine to be kinda like a berry-based latte, essentially, or these things I came up with called Brambleberries – basically blackberries that grow in winter.

Have you started your next project? If so, can you share a little bit about your book?

Yes, I have started writing the final book of the Fallenwood series – called Retribution. It’s about Ash finally meeting up with the evil entity known as Malegaunt and saying, “What gives?!”

Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like to write a series.

Sure. Well, it has had its challenges. Sometimes, you have to go back and do research on your own books, so that things don’t get fumbled in the process, and to clear up plot holes and things. Also, I get bored with repeating myself, and when you’re writing a series, each book has to be able to stand alone, so you end up re-treading old roads a lot, which bores me – but you have to do it.

Anything else you might want to add?

Yes. I’d just like to add that writing is a difficult business – it’s hard to go through a professional editing session. It’s hard to keep on submitting your work and constantly getting rejections. It’s hard to see negative reviews and not know how to deal with them, initially. But it’s this fire that hones your skills, and as a writer, you just have to go through the fire. But it’s worth it, to see your work in print and to know that you created something that only you can create.

BLURB:

With five crystals to destroy, in order to rob the dark lord Malegaunt of his power, Ash Kensington’s path is set. She begins a quest with the talking cat, Greymalkin, and her wyvern, Slick. But when she meets up with the handsome dragon slayer, Draeon, her senses overwhelm her, and she becomes distracted. Will she be able to destroy the crystals in time to challenge Malegaunt?

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EXCERPT:

Ash wasn’t so sure, and her breath caught in her throat. I feel like this is some dreadful portent. Still, she dusted off her cloak, throwing it over her arm. I’ll have to find a spot for it to dry when we get back to the house. She fixed her chestnut hair up into a ponytail and followed Greymalkin over a carpet of snow, brushing snowflakes away from her pale face as she continued on. Things had been tense lately at the house in the deep woods and, though neither Will nor Terces had said anything directly, Ash recognized the strange signs: the knowing glances they gave each other, Will’s frantic writing sessions, and Terces’s new interest in the fighting arts. Terces had been a jester his whole life, so there was no reason on earth why he’d need to fight anyone. What in the world was going on? Ash knew that they were up to something. Why wouldn’t they tell her what it was? If they were planning something, she wanted to help. The sense of not knowing was killing her. Still, she wasn’t going to bring it up at dinner. Surely Will and Terces would tell her eventually…right?

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Leslie D. Soule is a fantasy/sci-fi author from Sacramento, CA. She has an M.A. in English from National University, and is currently working on the final book of her fantasy series, The Fallenwood Chronicles.

Links:

Buy Fallenwood –

Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/lesliedsoule/fallenwood.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Fallenwood-Leslie-D-Soule-ebook/dp/B00OJR1KEA/

Book 2 – Forgetting Fallenwood:

Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/lesliedsoule/ForgettingFallenwood.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Forgetting-Fallenwood-Leslie-D-Soule-ebook/dp/B00HOXV4OW/

Book 3 – Betrayer

Melange Books: http://www.melange-books.com/authors/lesliedsoule/index.html

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Betrayer-Fallenwood-Chronicles-Book-3-ebook/dp/B073RRKRGM/

Website link: www.lesliesoule.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Falcondraco