“Meet My Main Character” Blog Tour
I’ve been tagged by the very talented author Maria Savva to take part in a blog challenge.
Here are the rules:
I have to write a post answering seven questions about a main character from one of my novels, then I nominate five other authors to answer the same questions about their main characters.
Here’s a link to Maria’s blog where she introduces Nigel Price, the main character from her chilling story, Haunted.
The main character I’ve chosen is Rami, from my novel Touch of Darkness.
1. Tell us a little about this main character. Is he fictional or a historic person?
Rami (pronounced RAHmee) is a fictional Egyptian boy of fifteen. He serves as an acolyte in the temple of one of the old gods, Set. He was given to the temple by his parents when he was about five, in exchange for Set’s blessing. Driven by the memory of his parents abandoning him, he works hard and strives to please Master Ammon, the High Priest. Highly intelligent and studious, his best friend is Fer’al.
2. When and where is the story set?
The story is set about 4,000 years ago and begins in Sakkara, Egypt, and ends in the country of Ariaca, which is where India is today.
3. What should we know about him?
Rami is tormented by the events he witnessed in my other novel, Rise of the Shadow. Having been abandoned by his parents, the sense of loss consumes him. He is furious with those in his past who he believes have placed him in this position.
4. What is the main conflict? What messes up his life?
Everything he cared about has been taken from him by others. Having tasted the power of dark magic, he becomes desperate to learn more when he finds a scroll that he believes will lead him to the Libro Mortis, or Book of the Dead.
When he meets Amirah (ahMEERah), the beautiful and cunning daughter of a caravan leader, the two form an unlikely partnership and he finds himself falling in love with her. As they get to know each other, he is torn between his growing love for Amirah and the temptations of power whispered in his thoughts by the evil wraith trapped in the spirit stone he carries.
5. What is his personal goal?
Alone and on the run, Rami seeks revenge against those who have wronged him. He is determined to become a powerful magic user, no matter the cost. These plans become complicated, however, when he falls in love – an emotion he has not experienced since his parents sold him to the temple.
6. What are the titles of your novels, and where can we read more about them?
Touch of Darkness is my latest novel, and definitely the darkest. Although it is a stand-alone book, it draws on the events that took place in Rise of the Shadow, which was book three in my Beyond the Veil series.
The Beyond the Veil novels are:
The Guardian’s Apprentice (2010)
Bloodstone – The Guardian’s Curse (2011)
Rise of the Shadow (2013)
I have also written a number of short stories, which include:
Frostbite – The Dragon that Saved Christmas
You can read more about them on my website: http://www.michaelradcliffe.com or http://www.theguardiansapprentice.com. My website also includes a glossary of characters, creatures, places, and magic from the world I have created.
7. When can we expect your next book to be published?
Well, the next book is a collaboration with photographers and other writers. It is part of the Mind’s Eye Series started by Maria Savva and Darcia Helle – two exceptional authors who I am fortunate to call my friends. In this series, Darcia and Maria wrote short stories inspired by photographs taken by Martin David Porter, and published Perspectives in April.
They decided to make it into a series of books and invite other authors and photographers. Book 2 will be called Reflections and will hopefully be published by the end of the year. It features more stories from Maria and Darcia, as well as poems from Ben Ditmars and Helle Gade, and short stories from Jason McIntyre and me. The photos in Reflections are by Helle and Martin.
I am very excited to take part in this project, and have provided three stories for the collection, based on the three photographs I received.
As to the five authors I am tagging, I will have to upload that later, as I am waiting to hear back to see if they wish to participate.
