Ask the Author: Davis Ashura
Answered Questions (14)
Davis Ashura
Hi,
The plan has always been 7 books.
Davis
The plan has always been 7 books.
Davis
Davis Ashura
Hi,
Depending on how the editing goes, it should be out towards the end of the year.
Davis
Depending on how the editing goes, it should be out towards the end of the year.
Davis
Davis Ashura
Hi,
I can tell you that A Testament of Steel is a sequel of sorts to William Wilde, just like William Wilde is a sequel of sorts to the Castes and the OutCastes. However, it's not necessary to have read either of those other series to enjoy the new one. It's written to be entirely independent of my other books.
In terms of the audiobook, Nick Podehl is scheduled to narrate it during the first week of August. After that Audible has to approve the production, which can take 3-6 weeks. So, I'd look for the audiobook version in about September.
I can tell you that A Testament of Steel is a sequel of sorts to William Wilde, just like William Wilde is a sequel of sorts to the Castes and the OutCastes. However, it's not necessary to have read either of those other series to enjoy the new one. It's written to be entirely independent of my other books.
In terms of the audiobook, Nick Podehl is scheduled to narrate it during the first week of August. After that Audible has to approve the production, which can take 3-6 weeks. So, I'd look for the audiobook version in about September.
Davis Ashura
Hi Abby,
There are a few references to nudity/sex in the Castes and the OutCastes, but nothing explicit. It's pretty much fade to black. In William Wilde, there isn't even that. It's more about the love between two characters. They kiss, but those moments are about their emotions.
There are a few references to nudity/sex in the Castes and the OutCastes, but nothing explicit. It's pretty much fade to black. In William Wilde, there isn't even that. It's more about the love between two characters. They kiss, but those moments are about their emotions.
Davis Ashura
Hi Bryce,
Glad you liked the Castes! As for William Wilde, it's YA and different. It takes place on Earth in the 1980s. I think of it as Percy Jackson meets Stranger Things. The first book is intentionally simple since I wrote it for my teenage sons, but each book increases in complexity and raises the stakes. And yes, it's connected to the Castes, even though that series takes place on another world. Somehow the main characters of Castes cross over to Earth and do what warriors do best. BTW I leave a big clue for how that happens at the end of Castes.
Regards,
Davis
Glad you liked the Castes! As for William Wilde, it's YA and different. It takes place on Earth in the 1980s. I think of it as Percy Jackson meets Stranger Things. The first book is intentionally simple since I wrote it for my teenage sons, but each book increases in complexity and raises the stakes. And yes, it's connected to the Castes, even though that series takes place on another world. Somehow the main characters of Castes cross over to Earth and do what warriors do best. BTW I leave a big clue for how that happens at the end of Castes.
Regards,
Davis
Davis Ashura
Hi Ken,
Thank you for getting in touch with me, and I'm absolutely thrilled that you loved my series. I'm like everyone else: I like it when people tell me I did good.
I'm currently working on a new series set in Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1986. It starts out as an urban fantasy before becoming portal fantasy and then finally an epic fantasy. The books will be shorter than the novels of The Castes and the OutCastes, and I'll definitely release one book a year and hopefully 2. That depends on how quickly I can write, and this series has been a challenge, but it's coming along.
The first book is done but undergoing extensive revisions followed by another edit from a well-known fantasy author/editor. Then I'll shop it around or publish it myself. I'm hoping to have two book finished by late summer next year.
It's interesting that you mention Kaladin Storm Blessed and Brandon Sanderson. He's someone I've loved all along, ever since reading Elantris, and he touches on many of the same themes that I want to highlight in my own books. So it's an immense compliment when my books are compared in way to his--he seems to be the person to whom my books are most often compared, which I think is fabulous.
I also like Sanderson's Cosmere idea even though it's actually an old idea used by many authors in the past. However, Sanderson has brought renewed knowledge and interest in it, and writing about a series of interconnected worlds is something I've always wanted to do.
To that end, if you remember the man riding the rainbow seen at the end of The Castes and the OutCastes, well that's the main character from the new series. See where I'm going here? My own Cosmere, although I'll have to call it something different.
Sincerely,
Davis
Thank you for getting in touch with me, and I'm absolutely thrilled that you loved my series. I'm like everyone else: I like it when people tell me I did good.
I'm currently working on a new series set in Cincinnati, Ohio circa 1986. It starts out as an urban fantasy before becoming portal fantasy and then finally an epic fantasy. The books will be shorter than the novels of The Castes and the OutCastes, and I'll definitely release one book a year and hopefully 2. That depends on how quickly I can write, and this series has been a challenge, but it's coming along.
The first book is done but undergoing extensive revisions followed by another edit from a well-known fantasy author/editor. Then I'll shop it around or publish it myself. I'm hoping to have two book finished by late summer next year.
It's interesting that you mention Kaladin Storm Blessed and Brandon Sanderson. He's someone I've loved all along, ever since reading Elantris, and he touches on many of the same themes that I want to highlight in my own books. So it's an immense compliment when my books are compared in way to his--he seems to be the person to whom my books are most often compared, which I think is fabulous.
I also like Sanderson's Cosmere idea even though it's actually an old idea used by many authors in the past. However, Sanderson has brought renewed knowledge and interest in it, and writing about a series of interconnected worlds is something I've always wanted to do.
To that end, if you remember the man riding the rainbow seen at the end of The Castes and the OutCastes, well that's the main character from the new series. See where I'm going here? My own Cosmere, although I'll have to call it something different.
Sincerely,
Davis
Davis Ashura
Hi Anirudh,
The book is done. I'm going through a final revision, then it's off to the proofreader and interior designer. So...it probably should be out in late April with the audiobook available a few months later.
The book is done. I'm going through a final revision, then it's off to the proofreader and interior designer. So...it probably should be out in late April with the audiobook available a few months later.
Davis Ashura
Hi Kelley,
There are six main POV characters in the series, and of those three are women. And all three were meant to be likable and awesome in their own way. They interact with one another, and in fact, two are best friends. One is politically brilliant and loves her family before anything else. The other is hard-working and bulldog in her determination, and the third is a scout and a warrior who is absolutely fearless without being stupid. And none of them are Mary Sues.
There are six main POV characters in the series, and of those three are women. And all three were meant to be likable and awesome in their own way. They interact with one another, and in fact, two are best friends. One is politically brilliant and loves her family before anything else. The other is hard-working and bulldog in her determination, and the third is a scout and a warrior who is absolutely fearless without being stupid. And none of them are Mary Sues.
Davis Ashura
I haven't felt it yet, so I don't know how to answer. I will say that there have been times when I've been stuck or didn't want to write. In those moments, the only thing to do is force yourself to write something. Make a goal. One sentence. A paragraph.
It's amazing how just pushing the words out gets the imagination going.
It's amazing how just pushing the words out gets the imagination going.
Davis Ashura
There are so many stories I want to tell. This way I can get them out and hope they resonate with others. That's also rather frightening.
Davis Ashura
This won't be a mystery. It boils down to reading, reading, and reading. After that, it is writing, writing, and writing. Most important, though, is the REWRITE. Editing and forcing yourself to listen to criticism, absorbing it, and learning from it-there really is no substitute.
And if you're like me and aren't gifted enough to write wonderful manuscripts from the get go -I'm on a million words of practice - don't let that hold you back. Keep writing. Keep rewriting and the words you push on to that computer screen will eventually come close to the vision you always had.
And if you're like me and aren't gifted enough to write wonderful manuscripts from the get go -I'm on a million words of practice - don't let that hold you back. Keep writing. Keep rewriting and the words you push on to that computer screen will eventually come close to the vision you always had.
Davis Ashura
I'm writing a series of short stories set in Arisa, the world of A Warrior's Path. I want to release them in mid August, but really it's just a break from A Warrior's Knowledge, volume 2 of The Castes and the OutCastes.
Davis Ashura
For me, it's all about sitting down and making something happen.
Sometimes I have to get my mind distracted from whatever's going on in my life or the world, and for that, nothing beats music. And the music is all dependent on whatever mood I need to get across.
Sometimes I have to get my mind distracted from whatever's going on in my life or the world, and for that, nothing beats music. And the music is all dependent on whatever mood I need to get across.
Davis Ashura
The genesis for A Warrior's Path began in 1999-yes that long ago-but the story sat dormant for about 13 of those years as I worked on other ideas. I finally had a breakthrough in what I wanted for the main villain of the story in 2012. I was visiting family in India, driving from Chennai to Tiripati and my sister described a paranoid schizophrenic. Thus was born Suwraith, or as She prefers it, Mother Lienna. It helps having a sister who is a psychiatrist.
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