Shane PorteousNine Heroes: 9 Questions(Exploring Heroic Fantasy's Nine Heroes)   BUY
 Shane Porteous has me at a disadvantage as he has read three of my novels, and posted some very insightful reviews on my Ways of the Stygia universe.  I have only gotten the chance to read his story in Nine Heroes- Dozen, but I plan on reading his other work.  Here is an excerpt from my review: Dozen by Shane Porteous
"This action packed story stars Seutzingol, a participant in a tournament gone wrong. I really enjoyed this story, which had me imagining such heroes as Robin Hood, or Legolas from the Lord of the Rings. The author was truly attempting to make a genuine effort to this volume- and did so. His language works well, and I found myself able to see the story in my mind's eye- the mark of a powerful author."Describe your hero, or heroes. His name is Seutzingol, he is the game master and former champion of the tournament of Nyvemsarm.

Tell us about your characters in 9 heroes.
Download Well there a total of 14 characters, Suetzingol and a young girl who had seen things no one ever should. The other 12 characters are the reason why she has seen such things.
  What type of setting did you place your story in?
It takes  place in Noonsva, the largest continent in my fictional medieval like world. 

  What inspired your story?
When Walter was putting the anthology together, the guide line was to write a short story that was what each author considered to be the embodiment of a hero. This to me is someone that puts themselves in incredible danger and great personal risk to themselves for the benefit of someone else. I feel this embodiment is no better exemplified when an individual performs such actions to help/save a complete stranger.

 
Is your story a part of a broader work or series? The story takes place in the same world as my novel How Gods Bleed, a book that has been  praised for its originality by more than one reviewer. Forgive me if I am back tracking here, but I feel this is interesting. I actually was going to write a short story around Cada Varl, the main character of How Gods Bleed. But as I really thought about it, he isn’t the embodiment of a hero. He is capable of heroic things and ultimately what he is doing can be seen as a heroic act. But Cada Varl is doing such things because he is a rather quite selfish individual. So he is more of an anti-hero or at least a hero by default.  That is why I created Seutzingol for this specific story, because I wanted a truly selfless character, a true hero.

 In four lines, tell us about your story.
Darkness isn’t empty.
Beasts live in the black.
What good is it to escape one horror only to live with another?
Sometimes there are more important things than surviving.

Which, besides your own is your favorite story? Well I have two favorites, the Act of a Sleepless Night by Walter Rhein, because its ending really threw me and I love it when short stories do that. You’re pretty talented if you can have a viable plot twist in a short story and Walter Rhein easily accomplished it.
My other favorite was Through the Sting of Fairy Smoke by R.A McCandless, it is incredibly well written and the way the author was able to describe addiction was remarkable.
How many of the other authors in Nine Heroes have you read? I have read The Bone Sword and The Reader of Acheron by Walter Rhein. The Bone Sword is entertaining pulp fiction. Reader of Acheron, is an excellent story because it was both educating and entertaining, an extremely rare mix.

I have read a Song of Betrayal by Jesse Duckworth, and really like the world he has created, there is some great mythology and world building within the world of Harren and I look forward to reading more from him down the line.
I’ve read Tears of Heaven by R.A McCandless, his prose is sharp, the story flows really well and is a highly enjoyable action novel. Finally I have read the first book in the light through the storm chronicles by A L Butcher. To be honest I really don’t enjoy erotica, but I definitely have to give her a lot of praise because her book has to be the most well thought erotic fantasy I have ever read or heard of. Her world is well developed, the characters fleshed out. It didn’t read like half baked Lords of the Rings fetish porn unlike the other 99.99 percent of erotic fantasy that is out there, so she definitely has my praise.

Would you take part in another Heroic Fantasy Anthology? Only on the condition that Walter Rhein was in charge and had the final say on it. Walter Rhein has to be the easiest, nicest and more professional organizer/editor that I have had the pleasure to work with.

I have had the misfortune of working with some very petty, insecure people. The kind of people that make idiotic accusations and condescend to you like a dog, all because you had the audacity to give your opinion about the project. In other words they mistreated me simply because I was discussing the project IN A DISCUSSION GROUP. I really dislike egotistically people who demand you respect them but they do not respect you back.

Walter was none of these things, he wasn’t petty, he treated me with respect, he didn’t talk down to me, and he didn’t demand that I follow him down any rabbit holes. Most importantly he treated me like an equal and sadly that is a very rare trait in a lot of authors who organize anthologies.

I apologize if I got off on a bit of a tangent there, it is just very important to me that Walter Rhein gets the praise he so rightfully deserves.  



The Bitter Ends
Somewhere in the Bible Belt Gateway has gone insane.  Who knew what would come?Thrust into the end of times, Gateway’s citizens attempt to outrun the zombie outbreak… 

Discover 12 unique stories, and see how Gateway’s main cast fares against the deadheads.  See how they live.  Watch lives expire and people become heroes or villains.  The Bitter Ends is more than just a book about zombies.  It is about the characters, like Anna.  It is seeing what ordinary people might do in a zombie apocalypse and unordinary ones too.  
Will any of them survive?  Or Will They All Meet Their Bitter Ends? 
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