Necromancer VBT

Blurb:

A primeval fiend is loose in the ancient metropolis of Malkandrah, intent on burning it to a wasteland. The city's leaders stand idly by and the sorcerers that once protected the people are long gone.

Maldren, a young necromancer, is the only person brave enough to stand against the creature. Instead of help from the Masters of his Guild, he is given a new apprentice. Why now, and why a girl? As they unravel the clues to defeating the fiend, they discover a secret society holding the future of the city in its grip. After betrayals and attempts on his life, Maldren has reason to suspect everyone he thought a friend, even the girl.

His last hope lies in an alliance with a depraved and murderous ghost, but how can he trust it? Its sinister past is intertwined in the lives of everyone he holds dear.

Can only evil defeat evil?

Excerpt:

Bar Fight

“My brother was running Gold that night. Died of ’is burns. Yer come to ’elp ’is widow pay ’er bills?”

He swung the flagon at my head. I dodged and it smashed against my shoulder, drenching me. His fist was like a sledgehammer against my stomach and I doubled over, blowing out all my breath. I half turned before a stick cracked on the inside of my knee, knocking out my left leg. I crashed to the floor, sending a chair flying. You asked for this, Maldren, you fool.

The mob closed in. Their dirks remained in their scabbards, but I imagined their fists would do more damage. I made no attempt to go for my own knife or else they would kill me. There was a risk that they might in any case. I tried to roll away under the table but One-eye stamped on the same leg, and kicked me in the kidneys. Pain lanced through me.

“Oh, come on,” I cried, hand clutching my side. “I’ll pay for information. No need to break bones.”

One-eye reached down, grabbed the front of my robe, and dragged me to my feet. I groped desperately for something to hold on to.

“Should’ve brought yer skeleton army,” he said, causing his friends to guffaw.

He smashed his head into my nose. Blood spurted all over us. The metallic taste was disgusting. The room spun around me, and for a moment One-eye had two eyes. He released his grip on my robe as if flicking away a spider, and I crumpled onto the floor again.

“Aren’t you going to cast a curse on us?” someone shouted.

“He’s too craven to fight back.”

I moaned and blew blood from my nose.

“I told you, I’m trying to help. Just listen, will you?”

“I’ve heard about enough from you.” He kicked me in the side again.

I wouldn’t take any more. Lak curse them all!

I grabbed One-eye’s boot and yanked him off balance. He careened into the bargee beside him, and I twisted his ankle as they both went down. Then I slithered under the table and pushed up on it with my back, walking it forward until its edge smashed two of them in the face.

Can’t go down without a fight, but my odds were worse than a virgin in a bikka den.

Graeme, thanks so much for stopping by. So, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?

Hello. I'm a Brit who relocated to California 18 years ago, where I live with my wife and 6 crazy cats. By day I'm a software engineering manager, but that's boring and I much prefer to write in any spare moments I have. My passion is spec-fic, particularly fantasy, but I plan on writing sci-fi, cyberpunk, steampunk, urban fantasy and romance. It's all fun! If that isn't enough to keep my busy, I love to travel the world, stargaze and I'm an armchair mountaineer and explorer.

How did you get started writing?

I started writing in my early teens, typing on a manual typewriter. Yes, I'm that old :) I grew up on fantasy and sci-fi, and wanted to create my own worlds and characters. I wrote the odd story now and then but didn't really return to my dream of becoming an author until about 8 years ago. It took me more than 6 years to write my debut novel Ocean of Dust and about 2 years to write Necromancer. That's just the beginning: I have dozens of plot outlines whizzing around my head.

What was the inspiration for your book?

I'd always wanted to write about a Necromancer. Every similar book I'd read involved gnarly old men huddled over ancient tomes, plotting to summon evil demons to do their bidding. I'm stubborn enough that I wanted to tell a different story, one about a young and heroic necromancer desperate to protect his city from nasty creatures. Why can't necromancers be good? Even so, I intended the book to be dark and sinister, with ikky monsters, so I drew upon the mythology of the undead to bring in unusual creatures like wights and ghouls and wraiths, and then I invented some repulsive ones of my own, like my grak. The theme of the book is betrayal. I thought it would be fun if each character had a hidden agenda such that the reader begins to wonder who could be trusted.

Are there any genres you won’t read or write in? Why?

As a reader I indulge in all genres, yes even romance. Obviously I prefer spec-fic, but I've read historical romances, thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, pretty much everything. As a writer, it's very unlikely that I'll write anything completely contemporary. The real world is too restrictive for me. I find it hard to bring it to life in a new and unusual way, whereas with a fantasy world I can be as elaborate and bizarre as I like, inventing everything from scratch. I may have a political thriller in me but even that is likely to involve some futuristic tech or some form of alternative reality.

So, what are you working on right now? Got any releases planned, or still writing?

I've got a busy schedule! Right now I'm writing a fantasy romance trilogy of novellas, inspired loosely by Arabian Nights. I plan to release them back-to-back in mid 2015. It's pretty terrifying writing a romance from the female POV, but I'm really excited about it. I hope readers enjoy it. After that I have a time-travel thriller that involves dinosaurs. Then I plan to write the next two sequels to Ocean of Dust and probably a Necromancer sequel. That should keep me out of mischief for a bit.

Alright, now for some totally random, fun questions. Favorite color?

Blue

Favorite movie?

Blade Runner. That movie stands the test of time and is still as relevant as when it was made. I'm attracted to bleak, gritty futures.

Book that inspired you to become an author?

Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern series. I grew up on those books and regularly re-read the entire collection. She was an expert at characterization and drawing out real emotion from the reader.

Alright, you have one superpower. What is it?

A bullshit elimination ray. I think I'd wear it out though. Very few politicians would escape it for a start. I'd have to build a B.E.R. app too, so I can zap some of those idiots on Facebook. The world would be a better place without bullshit.

You can have dinner with any 3 people, dead, alive, fictitious, etc. Who are they?

Wow, great question. The Dalai Lama, Emperor Caligula and Mother Teresa. The conversation would be incredibly entertaining and I'm sure I would learn incredible truths from each of my guests.

Last question: Which of your characters are you most like and how/why?

My answer is a bit of a cop-out but none of my characters are based on me. That would be too boring. I'd like to think of myself as the dashing and heroic Maldren from Necromancer, but I'm probably more like the grumpy Guildmaster Fortak, heh, heh. I've probably put most of myself into Salim, one of the characters in my upcoming fantasy romance, but you'll have to read it to compare he and I. :)

That’s all from me, thanks so much for taking the time to stop by!

Thank you so much for having me here and for the fascinating questions. :)

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Author Bio and Links:

Graeme Ing engineers original fantasy worlds, both YA and adult, but hang around, and you’ll likely read tales of romance, sci-fi, paranormal, cyberpunk, steampunk or any blend of the above.

Born in England in 1965, Graeme moved to San Diego, California in 1996 and lives there still. His career as a software engineer and development manager spans 30 years, mostly in the computer games industry. He is also an armchair mountaineer, astronomer, mapmaker, pilot and general geek. He and his wife, Tamara, share their house with more cats than he can count.

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