Into The Light: Lost in Translation

by Michael White

Over the hills and far away, a man suddenly finds after being struck by lightning that he is no longer walking in the Cumbrian Fells but is somewhere else entirely. Where that is, however, he does not know. The hills and mountains, lush green forests and the sea pounding at the shore are all unfamiliar and seem to beckon to him, drawing him from the paths and into the land itself. Yet he has little time to familiarise himself with these tantalising new sights and sounds that call to him before an unfortunate accident ends with him destroying a lighthouse and soon after a trading vessel that belongs to a mysterious ruler known only as, “The Keel”.
Soon he is abducted by the shipwrecked crew and they decide to take him to their master to stand trial for the wanton destruction of his property. There is, however, one problem. The journey overland through the countryside that is a mystery to him will take weeks to cover, and the journey grows hazardous as they walk further across the fertile green plains and mountains of a place he now knows to be called, “Felastia”.
It all started with the mysterious woman: the red-headed girl who would arrive at his place of work unannounced and ask to be fed. Yet she is more than she looks, for he cannot seem to either shake her from his thoughts, but neither can he find her. She seems to have vanished into thin air. Or has she?
But there are others in this land that are waiting for him: mysterious spheres of light that seem to follow his every move, spying on him. There are servants of darkness that seem to be showing an unhealthy interest in him too, for forces are abroad that are seeking him out for purposes known only to themselves, and soon he will find himself embroiled in a war, his part in which is to prove to be the adventure – and journey – of a lifetime.

207 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 29, 2016

About the author

Ex-drummer, Ex-software author and Ex-flares wearer Michael White was born and lives in the northwest of England. In a previous life he was the author of many text adventure games that were popular in the early 1980's. Realising that the creation of these games was in itself a form of writing he has since made the move into self-publishing, resulting in many short stories and novellas. Covering an eclectic range of subjects the stories fall increasingly into that "difficult to categorise" genre, causing on-going headaches for the marketing department of his one man publishing company, Eighth Day Publishing.

Having accidentally sacked his marketing director (himself) three times in the last two years, he has now retired to a nice comfortable room where, if he behaves himself, they leave him to write in peace.

In his spare time (!) Michael likes to listen to all kinds of music, and is a big fan of Steven Moffat, whether he likes it or not.

Michael is currently working on several new projects and can be contacted via email on mike.whiteauthor@gmail.com, or via my own website on http://mikewhiteauthor.wordpress.com, or via twitter on @mikewhiteauthor, or via facebook page https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?... .

Interview with Michael White

What are you working on next?

Wow... lot of things! In the past I have always concentrated on short stories, and the ideas for them come pretty thick and fast, and the lengths of the stories vary from just a few thousand words to 60,000 plus. So now I am working on fell length books and there are a few on the go at the moment.
First will be about 120,000 word book called "Anyone" which is a humorous take on technology of the current day and all of the things we don't know about it.. Following closely on the heels of this is "Overboard" which is a humorous wee pirate ditty.
My overall plan however is my fantasy trilogy, which if there were more than 24 hours in a day would be finished by now. These books are already fully formed up here in my head and go under the titles of "Into the Light", "Back to the Light", and "The Light Within." All I can say is watch this space, as there are a few more titles jostling for space in my head too... titles? How about "Good 'Evans" and A.N. Other I just can't think of a name for yet....

Who are your favorite authors?

Favourite authors are many - Donaldson, Pratchett, Gaiman, Rothfuss, and although this kind of gives a fantasy slant to my reading that is not necessarily the case. I would quite happily read more or less anything at a pinch, but there is no greater feeling than discovering a new author now, is there?

What inspires you to get out of bed each day?

The alarm clock. Oh, and the cat.

When you're not writing, how do you spend your time?

Thinking about writing. It's an obsession. I'd be lost without my Dictaphone. (Now there's a sentence I never thought I'd catch myself writing!)

Do you remember the first story you ever wrote?

God yes. I was 11 and it was about a flying wooden zeppelin my friends and I had made. Awful, awful, awful.

What motivated you to become an indie author?

Laziness. It seemed easy. If only I had known! In truth, it was (and still is) very difficult to pigeonhole anything I write. I don't fit any of the cosy little niches and that to me is not necessarily a bad thing! It seemed easier therefore to self publish. I am of course hoping to convince the world otherwise.

What is the greatest joy of writing for you?

Getting it right. No. Hang on. Being happy with what I have written. Erm, No. Being relatively okay with what's on the page to the extent that I can be forced to drag it out kicking and screaming into the world.

What do you read for pleasure?

I'd read a bus timetable if it made me happy. I frequently have.