Inside The IX:An Interview With Andrew P. Weston Interview Conducted by Donny Swords  Buy

Soldiers from varying eras and vastly different backgrounds, including the IX Legion of Rome, are snatched away from Earth at the moment of their passing, and transported to the far side of the galaxy. Thinking they have been granted a reprieve, their relief turns to horror when they discover they face a stark ultimatum:
Fight or die. *** I have to say I'm quite impressed with Andrew P. Weston. Not authors nor men could deny his achievements as a man and author. I am honored to have had the fortune of conducting this interview. Prior to conducting this interview I knew more about editor Janet Morris for Andrew's new novel The IX than I did about the author or his book. I found myself getting inspired over his responses to my questions, and I hope you will too. -Donny *** Thanks for agreeing to this interview Andrew. Would you mind telling us a little about yourself?

 Andrew P. Weston
Web (link)
Blog (link)
Amazon Author Page
(link)I was born in the city of Birmingham, in the UK, and grew up in the towns of Bearwood and Edgbaston. (Places synonymous with the ancient Forest of Arden – which in turn – was the larger part of Nottingham Forest of Robin Hood fame.)
In my latter childhood years, I attended Holly Lodge Grammar School for Boy’s where I became School Captain. I was an active sportsperson at school, college, and county level, and also managed to compete at national level.
After graduating in physics and astronomy, I joined the Royal Marines and served in a number of specialized roles both in the UK and abroad.
Upon leaving the military, I served as a police officer in a variety of uniformed and plain clothed departments until an injury on duty forced my retirement in 2009.
Over those years, I wrote and illustrated a selection of private books for my children regarding the life of a tiny kitten, called, “The Adventures of Willy Whiskers”, gained further qualifications in Law, was an active member of Mensa, and supported various local community projects by providing sports lesson/training free of charge.
Although that unfortunate accident meant I had to retire early, I moved to the sunny Greek island of Kos to speed up my recuperation, and was at last able to devote time to the “Guardian Concept” I had developed over the preceding thirty years.
I now work in the security industry, and write in my spare time. I still enjoy teaching martial arts, and attend Greek dancing and language lessons. I also support a number of charities.
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THE SACRED BAND GOES NORTH – TO WAR!
Here is the new, revised and expanded Author’s Cut edition of BEYOND SANCTUARY, the first ever full-length novel to take you BEYOND the notorious Thieves World™ fantasy universe, where gods still stalk the land, warring with demons and human sorcerers and trampling unfortunate humanity underfoot.
If you like stories of bold brave knights employed in meritorious duty, or tales of ladies delicate and fair, be warned. Beyond Sanctuary, set at the foot of notorious Wizardwall, may be too much for your sensibilities. There wizards, bards, and maidens mingle with murderers and thieves, and the fight breaking out at the next table may be the one that ends your life.
The hero of BEYOND SANCTUARY is Tempus, leader of mercenaries and warrior-servant of Vashanka, god of storm and war. With Niko, Cime, and the Froth Daughter Jihan, Tempus faces the archmage Datan and his unholy followers – in a battle for the Rankan Empire’s survival and that of his very soul. BEYOND SANCTUARY is the first novel in Janet Morris’ BEYOND series, followed by BEYOND THE VEIL and BEYOND WIZARDWALL. Your novel, the IX, was edited by Janet Morris. How long did that process take?

It’s been an ongoing process over the past four or five months or so. The team is very professional. Even after the ‘official’ editing process had ended, we continued pouring through the manuscript, weeding out little slips, here and there, that had crept in. Excellence is the key.
  What was it like to work with such an established force in fiction as Janet Morris?

In one word? Awesome. In more? It’s a great privilege to get to work with such a renowned writer/editor and her team, and I’ve certainly benefitted from the process. I hope that now reflects in the work I produce.
 When did the inspiration for the IX pop into your brain?

I undertook the writing of The IX following an animated discussion during a Royal Marines veterans reunion dinner in the early part of 2013. Military history has always been a hobby of mine, and several ex-colleagues started a debate as to the true fate of the legendary lost 9th Legion of Rome. Five thousand men marched into the mists of Northern Caledonia (Scotland) around AD100 – 120 and were never seen again.
That conversation stayed with me for several months until I happened to catch an old movie on TV, Millennium. In that film, time travelers visit the present day and steal passengers from doomed aircraft with the intention of repopulating a barren world of the future.
I am an avid science fiction buff, and the conversation from the reunion dinner immediately sprang to mind. Obviously, I began to imagine what if?
What if they were taken? Not into our future...but somewhere and some-when else entirely. And what might it be like if their antagonists were also snatched away with them?
I started to let that though roll, and came up with a nice twist. Would it be a good idea to include other groups of refugees from varying time periods, and throw them together into a nightmare scenario where they had to face the very real prospect of death all over again?
It took a great deal of research and preparation, but I was very pleased with the resulting outline, as it provided a fresh approach to an exciting genre.
The rest–as they say–is history
 How long did the IX take from word one to release?

It’s a large piece of work. Despite the fact I’m not a fulltime writer, it only took about five months to complete. After that, it went through the initial approval stage – acceptance – editing – and final polishing. In all, about eighteen months.
 Is it easy being an author?

No. As I mentioned, I have to write in my spare time, so I have to be incredibly disciplined to ensure I spend enough time writing every day. It takes a great deal of sacrifice, especially on my wife’s part, but I hope that one day soon, it’ll all be worth it. (And I’ll get to spoil her rotten” J)
  Why do you write?

Because my inner demons wouldn’t let me rest if I didn’t. I have imaginary worlds & characters demanding to have their stories told. They have to be let out.
  The IX must have required a lot of research, is this the case?

Hell yes. I had to do a massive amount of research for the IX. Remember, the inspiration was based on the 9th Legion of Rome. But, how were they structured? Who did what? How did they march, set up camp, and operate? What did they wear, and what weapons did they use. The Caledonian tribes of that time were vicious savages, and experts in ‘jungle, warfare. However, where did they come from? How did they fight? How far would they travel to engage in combat, and what made them capable enough to defeat entire legions?
Many, many facets like this had to be considered, and that was before I’d even started work on the composition and function of the many U.S. Cavalry companies and the Native American tribes of the eighteenth century. (Thankfully, I had a friend to assist me on that aspect – she’s of Cree descent, and proved to be a goldmine of information) J
The easiest part related to the Special Forces unit. For that, I drew on firsthand military knowledge and experience of sticking itto the bad guys!
 Once that was done, I then had to make certain the futuristic/scientific Tec referred to within the story had a basis in fact. I called on my educational background in astronomy and physics for that. Even so, I still had to research the very latest developments, trends, and breakthroughs to ensure the ‘theoretical’ aspects had that ring of truth. Even though this is a science fiction novel, I wanted it to be believable. There’s no doubt in my mind that if you make things too farfetched and super-convenient, it turns readers off.

 Despite the work involved, I really enjoy the research aspect, as it adds a depth of authority to your work that improves quality and reading enjoyment.

 There are several battle scenes, or so I am told. I do have a copy of the book, but I haven’t gotten to read it yet. (This actually makes you my first interview of an author whose work I am at disadvantage of having not read.) Anyways, back to battles, would you say your military background helped you with those fight scenes?

Certainly. It always helps when you can bring what you’re writing about up out of the written page and into the mind of the reader. The word-picture you create need to be expressive. Vibrant. Alive. What does that kind of experience actually feel like? What do you see? Hear? Taste? Smell? What weird things stick in your mind? I know exactly what it’s like to be involved in a variety of ‘blood-n-guts’ stress situations. Hand to hand, firefight, stealth, full-on aggression, jungle, water, urban, etc. There’s an odd sort of detachment that takes over as your training kicks in...how can I describe this...? A slow motion hyper speed, where certain sights, sounds and perceptions become heightened, while other senses – especially pain – sink into obscurity. When you can bring that kind of realism into a story, it shows.
As a writer, how do you prepare for battle?
I put myself in the moment and imagine how I would fight given the tools my characters possess. Then I live/relive the experience as if my life depended on it.
Tell us a bit about the IX’s plot.
Arden, home to a culture that has existed for thousands of years and which spans dozens of worlds. Regardless, their cultural and technical sophistication cannot prevent calamity at the hands of an unstoppable nemesis. Known only as the Horde, this enemy has proven relentless. They have not only stripped the outer colonies bare, but now threaten the existence of the entire Ardenese way of life.
Realizing there is nothing they can do to prevent the inevitable march toward extinction, the Ardenese governing body comes to a drastic decision. They gather together at their capital city, Rhomane, and place their remaining genetic heritage in a vast underground ark, in the care of an advanced AI construct called the Architect. Its mission? To use Rhomane’s dwindling reserves and safeguard their race by reaching out across time and space toward those who might be in a position to help reseed a devastated world at some time in the future.
That’s where we turn to the soldiers – and their antagonists - from varying eras and vastly different backgrounds. Although separated by more than a thousand years, each group finds themselves snatched away from Earth at the moment of their passing and transposed into the same moment and location on the far side of the galaxy. Initially, they think they have been granted a reprieve, but their relief turns to horror when they discover they face a stark ultimatum:
Fight or die!
The story highlights the seemingly insurmountable obstacles they face as they not only face a relentless foe, but the residual animosity of their former lives that clouds their views and impedes their judgment.
How does it all turn out?
You’ll see... J
A gripping excerpt from the IX
Too late, others rushed forward to assist.
Allowing his momentum to take him, Tiberius rolled forward and came up onto one knee in a battle ready posture. He drew his gladius and fought to regain his equilibrium, which for some reason, still seemed caught in a whirlwind of vertigo inducing motion.
An asperity hung in the air before him. A rent in the very fabric of space that confounded the eye, set his teeth on edge, and made him want to spill the contents of his stomach onto the floor.
A portal! Inside our defenses. I must warn the others…And Rhomane. If they can do this here, they might–
Without warning, the gyre flared and solidified into a more defined form. A pulse of light, carrying the force of an earthquake, radiated outward and bowled him over. Tiberius hit the ground hard, and his blade was knocked from his grasp. Clattering loudly across the floor, it came to rest against the legs of an adjacent computer station. He scrabbled forward, intent on recovering the only thing that might make a difference between life and death.
Suddenly, it felt to Tiberius as if one of the gods of Rome had reached into his chest and squeezed the air from his lungs.
Gagging for breath, he watched, helplessly, as a huge bulk manifested from out of the gateway. Wreathed in a scarlet and purple nimbus, its crown blazed brightly under the glory of the violet and blue flames that circled like dancing fangs about its head.
I’m done for. And there’s nothing I can do about it except die like a man.
Struggling to his feet, Tiberius charged the monster before him. A stifled gasp from behind, alerted him to the fact that he had an audience. He didn’t have time to wonder about who had been foolish enough to follow him inside.
The Horde Master anticipated his move. Reacting faster than he thought would be possible, the Boss swatted him aside like a bothersome insect. A moment’s agony, where every nerve seemed set ablaze in a sea of acid, ate its way into his soul. Tiberius collided with the opposite wall, bounced, and then fell, drained and exhausted at the ogre’s feet.
Finish what you came to do! His mind screamed.
The monster did exactly that, only not in the way Tiberius expected.
Tell us about your other books.
This is my first book with Perseid Press. As my readers will be aware, I am also the creator of the Guardian Series, (a science fiction saga dealing with the introduction to society of a mysterious group of benefactors who have been watching and guiding mankind from behind the scenes for thousands of years. They ‘out’ themselves, as it were, and the series takes a look at the implications of that bold decision...For the Guardians, for mankind, and for the future) – I also devised the Cambion Journals series, (a dark fantasy adventure following the life of Augustus Thorne, a human/demon hybrid and his fight to control his nature as he battles against those who would turn the human race into cattle. He also ties to find love along the way, which adds a bittersweet flavor to the story).
There are other works in the pipeline with Perseid Press, but you’ll have to wait and see what they involve.
Do you work a day job? If so, how do you balance writing with the rest of your life?
As I mentioned, I work in the security and personal protection industry, so life can be rather exhausting and intense. It takes a great deal of discipline and focus to ensure I get what’s in my head, down in writing, so I schedule things meticulously...(and end up hating it when distractions keep interrupting what I’ve planned). So, it’s a question of...keep plugging away.
But one day, I’ll be doing this full time. When I do? Watch out...THEN you’ll see something amazing.
  The IX is off to a pretty nice start so far… It’s gotten a lot of support right out of the gate (rare for most authors) how does that feel?

Incredible! It’s like I have my own guardian angels watching over me who are illuminating my work so its stands out. I keep pinching myself to see if it’s all real. (And I don’t want it to stop). It’s also a great incentive to keep pushing myself to be the best I can become.
 If you could say anything to your readers to get them to crack open the IX and give it a go, what would it be?

This book is special. It’s about strength of will and the tenacity of the human spirit...the will to survive in the face of overwhelming odds. Never give up, even when you think you’ve met your end. Remember, death might only be the beginning of the adventure.
  Thanks for the Interview Andrew.

You’re very welcome.Thank you for inviting me.  Buy

In Purgatory, there is one law. It is damnation.
The abyss plots as the gods use its powers to suit themselves. Born of the void, to the hostile landscapes of Purgatory, not as a child, and not as a man, Banner must overcome his roots. The realm of Purgatory does not forgive so easily, suffering is ceaseless. It is a realm where death grants rebirth so suffering can begin anew. Those of his race are bred killers, evil, and cold to their marrows.
Banner, a night stalker set apart from his peers in extremity faces an uncertain future as he attempts to leave Purgatory and the nightmares behind.
He cannot do it alone…