Brain to Books Cyber Convention (FAIRGROUNDS) discussion

Ed Ireland



Fire At Dawn

A day will come when the fate of men
will rest in the hands of the beasts...
a Westlander Prophecy

When the evil Sage of Dagorath threatens the lands of Dagor, it seems that the time of the prophecy has arrived. To combat the evil of the Sage, the King must call upon a legend.
The Clans of the Free People have been aroused. They were born in a time when desperation shadowed the world. They lived through a lifetime of chaos and emerged victoriously. Their desire to be left alone was singular and their passion for peace unanimous.
Their savagery to obtain what they wanted was legendary.
If the lands were to survive the onslaught, they would have to become the immovable object that stood before the unstoppable force.
Their stories are filled with paralleling tales of love and hatred, truth and lies, honor and disgrace...
all cumulating in the final clash between good and evil.
But can either be fully defined and live by that definition?




Fire At Dawn is the first book in the The Trial of the Clans series.

Fire At Dawn has been a labor of love to me. Roughly 20 years ago I saw a picture drawn by an artist named Christy Grandjean. Goldenwolf as her fans call her. It was a magnificent white tiger, crouched and ready to fire his bow.
I suddenly saw a short story about this creature and felt a need to write about him. Unfortunately, I was no writer. Still, I had to try. Days turned to years and I wrote and re-wrote the story, trying to bring every detail to life. This book forced me to learn how to tell stories.
Here it is, twenty years later and I'm still learning. The short story I started so long ago has grown into a trilogy, one that I'm extremely proud of. Fire At Dawn is currently available to read for free at https://www.inkitt.com/stories/fantas...
I hope you'll visit it and start the incredible journey that it begins. If you do, please be kind and leave a review.

The first part of the trilogy, Fire At Dawn, introduces us to this amazing world of magic and mayhem. It also introduces the characters of Fire and Hellion and the Clans that they lead. This first tale is a simple, age-old story of good vs evil.
There is a twist of sorts though. Not all that is good is perfectly so. Even heroes have flaws and hidden pasts. The question is, how they allow those pasts to influence their futures.
Conversely, no evil comes into the world as such. Even the most hard-hearted villains started as innocents. The problem is, they allowed events in their past to influence their future. Their question is, can they let go of their past to build a better future.
Follow Hellion and Fire as they battle the evil Sage of Dagorath and see if their futures are anything other than what their destinies say they will be.

The Stormrider is book two in the Trilogy of the Clans. It begins just weeks after the final events of Fire At Dawn.
A new danger presents itself and the Clans are eager to see it ended before it begins. This time however, the Great Earth Mother, Gaia forbids them to interfere. She has grown weary of the Andarian states depleting her resources.
At the same time, Hellion learns of two "lost" Clans and is charged with bringing them into the Freelands. His problem is that the return route will bring him through the Battle of Andaria.
It is up to Fire and her new allies to keep the single bridge he must use open. While she waits, refugees from the battered state find they too must cross the bridge. With the words of her Goddess in her ears, the plaintive cries of the Andarians tug at her heart. She must choose between doing what she knows is right or doing what her Goddess commands.

A New Dawn is the final book of the trilogy. This story begins 20 years after the end of The Stormrider.
The Clans have enjoyed peace and prosperity over the years. their young are now poised to take the responsibility of leadership on. But the camp of Hellion has been watching and waiting for 20 years as well. A monster is close.
When the new threat is finally seen, the Clans once again have to mobilize. They face an army that has no equal in this world. As if this is not enough, an old enemy also rises to claim their world. On their western front, the specter of racism overtakes Dagor as a world-threatening plague overtakes the countryside. While the people clamor for Veron and Luna to vacate the throne, a silent blood disorder begins claiming lives at a rapid pace.
The true story of Alkashara comes to light in an ancient book that may tell how to defeat the plague. It becomes a race against time when she is taken a prisoner and the betrayer is unmasked.
Fire and Hellion, surrounded by their children and the Clans take on this three-pronged attack in their final war. When the sounds of the battle-horns have sounded their last bellows, will the world remember them at all?

The Last Ranger of Sarn

How much can one heart endure? When the undead enter Castia, its youth must put their dreams aside and fight. In the dark days that follow, destiny reveals her purpose...and what a humble girl must do to fulfill it.
Vespias Firstlight has been chosen to champion her world. This daughter of a simple hunter must place herself into the path of destruction that the Black Prince and his minions bring. For him, genocide is the only acceptable goal, but destiny has chosen Castia's young Vespias to endure every hardship to stop him.
The darkness of this land covers the unbridled passions of Vespias as we live through her triumphs and tragedies. It is this darkness that shapes the way our heroine turns from her joy- filled youth into a young woman with all the scars that a cruel world can inflict. You'll ask yourself again and again...how much can one heart endure?

The Last Ranger of Sarn began its life as a fan-fic of a popular game. When I tried to get permission from that game to publish it, I couldn't find an office to ask. The entire story was re-written as a full fiction piece.
This book was picked up by a publisher where it was given a once-over by a reputable editor. They showed me what I was doing wrong when I wrote and how to fix it. I applied this to all of my fantasy books so far as well as books in progress.
While that was a good thing, the publisher was too busy trying to expand and to release anthology books to worry about my work. They never tried to get reviews, never tried to market it beyond retweeting anything I posted, and just generally ignored it. As a result, it sat around for over a year and collected dust.
I now have it back and am in the process of re-releasing it as a self-pub once again. While it will be available soon, it is off the shelves for the moment. I could be persuaded to send PDF copies out for a promise of a review.

The Last Ranger of Sarn tells a story of a young girl who is not yet prepared for all the twists and turns life can bring to them. What starts as a normal, rambunctious youth turns slowly darker as events begin to shape who she is.
Just as her happiness returns in the form of love, from across the borders, the Black Prince begins his assault on the world. The first weapon he needs are the Gems of Creation. These mythical gems reside in the deepest vaults of the capital city of Tiran.
The Black Prince marches relentlessly on. His last obstacle is General Salaris Woodward and her Sarnian Rangers. When the General calls on Vespias' father to bring his militia from retirement, the girl knows where her duty lies. With her future husband, her siblings, and the youth of her homelands, she forms a new militia.
Add an old enemy that somehow believes she is the chosen one, another that she knows they will need to defeat the Prince, and a corrupt government that betrays them all and you have a story where the action never stops.
Keeping in line with the title of the series, The Journals of the Huntress, each chapter has a journal entry by Vespias when she could, or by another writing on her behalf. The entry will give an insight into what she is thinking or why she did something.

Book Two of the Journals of the Huntress series begins 3 years after The Last Ranger of Sarn ends.
Book two finds Vespias as a raging alcoholic. Her past preys on her constantly and in an attempt to drown the voices she has turned to drinking and bounty hunting.
When she returns to her home, she finds that her people are worse off than ever under the leadership of Tiran's new king. She also finds a plan to take their freedom back. A plan that she must become part of.
She reluctantly puts her need to find and kill the Black Prince behind her and begins recruiting her old friends. But the Black Prince has plans of his own. He has amassed a huge mercenary army to cause havoc and destroy the former General Woodward and her new subjects, the Neshume.
He also intends on destroying Vespias and the Black Knights that abandoned him. Vespias must now fight battles on three fronts while across the sea a strange cult rises. The Cult of the Blood Moon may unwittingly be the final cog that will make the Black Prince's plans work.
As before, each chapter carries a journal entry that gives an insight into what Vespias is thinking or feeling. Another action-packed tale of war, love, and betrayal may take you back into this world of unparalleled beauty and unfathomable danger.

Book Three of the series is underway with a title of "The Broken King". I can't give the plot away yet, but here is an excerpt from it;

Vespias was far beyond any part of the fortress she had ever seen before. The long hall was dark, damp and reeked of mold. An occasional rat scurried along the juncture of the warped flooring and decayed walls, no doubt looking to get away from the smell.
"Keep your wits about you," Vespias whispered. "Romero could be anywhere now. Him or another of his abominations sent to destroy us."
"Perhaps, Elizabeth would be so kind as to illuminate the way," added Salaris.
"I'll second that," chimed Arch. "I ain't got no recollections that says surprise keeps ya young. In this crap palace, me thinks its the other way round."
The sorceress obliged with a spell of light that allowed the orb she carried to glow with a soft amber hue.
In the ambient light, the horrors of their surrounding were profoundly worse.

~excerpt from The Broken King
Book Three in the Journals of the Huntress

Well now, I see you're interested. Why else would you have found your way down here?
OK then, your persistence is about to pay off. First of all, let me tell you about the guy you're talking to. I prefer to be called Ed. I'm 63 years old physically and maybe 11 mentally. I have my love and best friend for a wife and a beautiful 8 year old daughter. Yes, 8...pray for me.
I started writing when I was in my forties. No, I wasn't one of those precocious children who finished their first novel at age 2 using their Alpha-Bits cereal. I was, a normal kid who got beat up by nuns daily. Those nuns taught me well despite my aversion to learning.
One of the things they taught me was to use proper English when speaking and writing. I like to think that Sister Anthony is looking down at me satisfied that finally, after 63 years, she got through to me. She might be satisfied, but I can guarantee you she isn't smiling.
So, back to the tour. I'm a veteran and a traveler. I've seen some of the most beautiful places in America as well as some of the ugliest. The same goes for people. I've collected this beautiful tapestry of people and every one of them has found their way into my books. Some in part and others quite whole.
By now you're wondering what was the payoff I spoke of. Surely, not this boring story. No, the payoff is this; My books are good, at least I think they are. My biggest problem is that I don't have enough reviews. So then, if you promise...and I mean solemnly pinkie-swear to leave a review, I will send you a PDF copy of my book. Any one of them. All of them.
Just talk to me while I'm here or leave me a message if I'm not. Yes, it's that simple. Of course, if you take any books and don't leave a review, I'll have to put a curse on you...

I'm not sure I can believe this, but Vespias has agreed to take part in a Q&A session. I would have never believed it, but it has been confirmed. She'll be here at 10 AM EST on Saturday the 7th. Yes, it is pretty amazing. As much as I'm not sure I'd like it, the Ranger-General of The Sarnian Rangers is always eager to speak about our relationship. Feel free to fire away. If you can't make it, leave a question and I'll do my best to get her to answer it.
In a related event, the children of Fire and Hellion will be fielding questions about their family, the Clans and anything else you could ask. Ember and Firestorm will be here at 10 AM EST on Sunday the 8th. Be sure to get your questions answered in person or via message.

An update of sorts. General Firstlight has sent word that 10 AM is far too early for her to sit in on questions. In her own words, she said: "tell the scribe I'll be there at 8 PM on the 7th."
She also suggested I have a good sampling of spirits for her to keep a loose tongue with.
Since I'll have time to fill now, I'm putting up this map of the world of Vespias. This isn't as detailed, as it was just a map used by an explorers league searching for treasures. Their own maps were much more detailed but they refused to give them up.
Perhaps the General can answer any questions you may have about Sarn.

And while you wait, here is a map of the Northlands, home to Hellion, Fire, and the Clans.

Alright, CyCon is live and ready to go. I'm currently at work, but I'll be checking in off and on all day. If you have any questions, feel free to leave them and I'll get answers to them.
Also, I want to congratulate Tim for the outstanding job he did here despite his inability to post pictures. Good job Bud!

Be sure to ask how you can get a free copy of any of my books. It's so easy...

Ed wrote: "Well now, I see you're interested. Why else would you have found your way down here?
OK then, your persistence is about to pay off. First of all, let me tell you about the guy you're talking to. I ..."

Not a curse!!! 😱😱😱

Ed wrote: "An update of sorts. General Firstlight has sent word that 10 AM is far too early for her to sit in on questions. In her own words, she said: "tell the scribe I'll be there at 8 PM on the 7th."
She ..."

I agree with her. 10am is far too early!

Absolutely a curse. I've been practicing. I have a counter full of margaritas and none of them are alcoholic! MUUU HAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An update of sorts. General Firstlight has sent word that 10 AM is far too early for her to sit in on questions. In her own words, she said: "tell the scribe I'll be there at 8 PM on the..."

I love how she refers to me as "the scribe". Amazing! I bring her into this realm of reality and now I'm just her personal stenographer. Bah!
Ummmm...don't mention this if you run into her...

And I am home!!! So, if you pass by and see my light on, stop in and talk. Besides writing epic fantasy, I dabble in historic fiction. I also have a strange and strong addiction to the World of Warcraft and have been playing since the start.
Another thing I've followed from the start is The Walking Dead. Always up to talk about that. Oh yes...I'm from Philly, so if you want to tell me how great my Eagles were in the Super Bowl, let's do it!

Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mosey over and give her a bit of love, I would absolutely be appreciative.

just thought I'd hope over and check out your books. I saw one of your covers over in cover wars and it looked like my kind of book!

Just in case you wanted to know;


Why I create my characters like I do.
Even a superficial look at characters I’ve created will show on very glaring common ground. I’m sure to put flaws in them.
They aren’t perfect by any means.
They aren’t perfect because we aren’t perfect. My theory is that when writing a fantasy, the world can be much different than ours. Trees can be blue and rain can go from the ground up. The people in that world can have four arms and eight toes on each foot. The villains can be as mean and nasty as the perversions in your head will allow.
The heroes however, they have to be special. They can look like the God of Thunder, they can have the strength of ten men, and they can do things that others can’t. But they can’t be these omnipotent creatures with no flaws. Because we can’t relate to that. We can’t relate to perfection and therefore, we can’t really root for it.
Maybe in the beginning we can. I’m sure when everybody reads Superman for the first time, he’s the greatest hero of them all. But he has a weakness, kryptonite. One tiny flaw in a perfect design. And since there is only that one tiny flaw, it got boring after a while. Seriously, I would look to see what Lex Luthor fashioned kryptonite into to kill Superman with.
Oh, it’s a knife.
Oh, he made a bullet.
Oh, he’s just going to club him with it.
That’s why Doomsday came along, kicked Superman’s ass, and killed him. Omnipotent heroes get boring. Omnipotence is something we can’t accept for too long. We just won’t stand for it.
I want my characters to be relatable. I want people to look at them and think “oh I know what that feels like” or “yeah, I’ve seen people like that” because I want them to relate. The more you can relate to a character, the more vested you become in what happens to them. They should pull you into their lives until you can almost feel their pain or their triumphs.
My character Vespias is a perfect example. She has an incident scar her at an early age. It affects her through her life. She doesn’t shrug it off; she feels it and has to work through it. Having a maniacal warlord trying to kill you while you get through these things doesn’t help much either. If she were perfect, she would beat the warlord senseless while she psycho-analyzes herself and finds her own twelve-step program to happiness…in seven steps of course.
Who does that? I couldn’t, could you? When she stumbles into the wrong choices because of her past, normal people will relate in some way and look to see if she can fix it on her own or with help. When she can’t fix it readily, normal people will still hope it gets fixed. Because we all have problems and we need to get through them.
So stop supporting the un-killable, all-powerful, flaxen-haired Gods in literature and start looking at the flawed heroes who never wanted the job.
Do it before Lex Luthor shows up with a kryptonite suppository!

Sarah wrote: "just thought I'd hope over and check out your books. I saw one of your covers over in cover wars and it looked like my kind of book!"
Well I am more than happy you did Sarah. My books are my babies to me. Fire At Dawn took me more than 20 years to write...mostly because I didn't know how to write a book. The Last Ranger, the one in cover wars, started life as a fan fiction for a game. Had to re-write it because I wanted to publish it.
Surprisingly, when I stepped out of my comfort zone in fantasy, I wrote a historical fiction piece and that might just be the book that gets me a decent publisher.
Funny how life goes sometimes...

Ed wrote: "Absolutely a curse. I've been practicing. I have a counter full of margaritas and none of them are alcoholic! MUUU HAAA HAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!"

😱😱😱 The horror!!!

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An update of sorts. General Firstlight has sent word that 10 AM is far too early for her to sit in on questions. In her own words, she said: "tell the scribe I'll be there at..."

Let’s see... threats of a curse... a juicy tidbit she’d just love to know... to tell or not to tell...

Ed wrote: "Just in case you wanted to know;
Why I create my characters like I do.
Even a superficial look at characters I’ve created will show on very glaring common ground. I’m sure to put flaws in them.
The..."

I agree 100%!

An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her skin is tanned and carries the scars of the tumultuous life she has led so far.
Alongside her is a fairly large man, muscular and carrying what appears to be some hybrid hammer/ax weapon. Beside him, the great lion Kasi Ukomo walks, head high and oblivious to the sounds in the marketplace.
"Apparently, the Scribe has not arrived yet Jake," she says to the man.
"We don't need him Vessy," he replies. "You just sit here and be General Firstlight. That's what the people expect to see."
As Jake turns away, his first thoughts are of asking the Goddesses to help his love keep a civil tongue in her mouth.

Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mosey over and give her a bit of love, I would ab..."

Done!

Ed wrote: "An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her skin is tanned and carries the scars of the tu..."

A civil tongue? But where’s the fun in that?

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mosey over and give her a bit of love,..."

Love you Nix!!!!

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her skin is tanned and carries the scar..."
Vessy isn't what most would call a lady. She's been through too much and isn't sure how much more she has. She speaks her mind and isn't aware of things like feelings...

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mosey over and give her a ..."

‘Twas nothing. We readers must support our authors!

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mosey over and ..."

Means more to me than you can imagine :-)

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her skin is tanned and carr..."

Ya know, I hate to say it, but I totally get where she’s coming from.

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her skin is tann..."
I write my characters with flaws and then explain why they have them. When I read, I want to know the character like he or she is my next door neighbor. I want to know them as real people or I don't care what happens to them.
So when I create a character, I give them problems, I give them an attitude, and I give them real feelings. I need them to be as close to real as I can get.

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "An all too normal looking woman enters the booth. Her hair is at the stage where the blonde luster it had is beginning to fade into a light brown. Her ..."

The kind of characters I like to read about!

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If you can mos..."

:D

Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi-finals. If ..."

OK Nix, I need you to message me with your email. You'll get copies of everything. Can't afford paperbacks, but PDF copies are no problems

Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Nix wrote: "Ed wrote: "Saturday morning and all's well! I've just come from the character tournament where it seems Fire has made her way into the semi..."

Awesome! Thank you!