Stormling Tour

Today I'm proud to be a part of the 'Stormling Tour', hosted by Dark World Books. To view other stops on this tour just click on the banner.

Stormling

(Stormling #1)

In an age when Stormlings have only known peacetime, one man’s desperate action threatens not only the stability of the mystical world of Mordana, but Earth as well.

Teenager Ophelia Drewe discovers a jewel that has been lost from its homeworld, and whilst she thinks she can keep it, demonic forces believe otherwise.

She’s not alone, but who can she trust? The head Stormling, Anadyr, hasn’t been to the Earth in 500 years, but go there he must – if the jewel is not returned, it will destroy both Ophelia’s world and his own…

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Author Interview

1. Where did you come up with the inspiration behind the book? 

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I thought it would be interesting to link the two worlds, but also have a reincarnation piece where the two pivotal characters met some time in their past, and a significant event would bring them together again. As for direct inspirations, it has to be any fantasy book I ever read, though Rebecca’s World by Terry Nation and Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien remain as dear to me now as they were when I first read them.

What inspired you to write your first book? 

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I have always kept a hand written diary, despite the modern move to make things go on-line, I suppose it was this daily practise that helped me write other things…which would ultimately arrive at a full length novel.

What books/authors have influenced your writing? 

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Take your pick from JRR Tokien, Terry Nation, Daphne du Maurier, Stephen King, even Jane Austen!

What was your favourite scene to write? 

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As far as Stormling is concerned, it was the early scenes with Anadyr, along with his later ones in the book. He’s such a fascinating character to me and I would love to meet him in real life, even though I cannot do that.

What was the hardest part of writing your book? 

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Because this is Book One, I needed a coherent, satisfying wrap up to the story. Part of me felt on occasion that I should borrow elements from Book Two for this….in the end I went with my original feeling, and believe the ending Book One has, is the right one.

How do you overcome writer's block? 

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I’ve never experienced this, and I hope I never do. I can only sympathise with those who get writer’s block, and hope they overcome it quickly. Perhaps it is the brain’s way of saying ‘take a break from this.’

What are your current projects? 

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I’m working on a novella which has a vampire storyline, and it is titled Murderous Little Darlings. In addition there is the follow up to the paranormal horror Dark Winter, called Dark Winter: Crescent Moon. The draft is done, I am just having a break before doing heavy edits.

What book are you reading now? 

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I’ve usually got more than one book on the go at any one time. Right now it’s Stephen King’s Mr Mercedes, Eloisa James Three Week’s With Lady X, and Anne Rice’s Lasher.

If you could have dinner with any fictional character who would it be and why? 

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Of my own, it’s either Anadyr from Stormling, or Toril from Dark Winter. From other author’s…maybe Mrs Danvers from Rebecca. I would want to know why she is just plain evil. I never get people who seem to have no redeeming qualities at all. I would not want to be like them, just know their reasons, if any – for why they act as they do.

Do you have any advice for other writers? 

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Sounds twee, but the only way books get done, is to do them. You can go on-line, join groups, get moral support, but writing has to be done on your own. It’s probably one of the hardest things in the world to do – to do well, I mean…but I think the advice can be a case of, head down, no phone, no internet, lock the doors, and get your book written.

 About the Author

John Hennessy

John Hennessy is a young adult / new adult novelist whose works to date have been Dark Winter (published 2013), a paranormal horror thriller, and Stormling, an epic swords and magic (and cookies) fantasy. The first short story he ever wrote brought together Fagan, Lizzie Bennet, Sherlock Holmes and Dracula, which despite impressing his long suffering English teacher, thankfully remains unpublished. For recreation he will visit paranormal hotspots, but prefers to write about ghosts rather than meet them. He also believes almost any problem can be overcome so long as there is an inexhaustible supply of tea and biscuits. He has also written the non-fiction title The Essence of Martial Arts (published 2011), and released The Essence of Martial Arts: Special Edition, in 2014.

Blog – Twitter – Facebook – Goodreads

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Something exciting brewing...

As I said last week, a lot of things have been happening lately. One thing that I'm really excited about is my near completion of my latest novel... Okay, so, I've written another novel. That is pretty exciting, but what makes this on-the-edge-of-my-seat, nail-biting, pulling-hair-out exciting is that I didn't do it alone.

GASP!!!

Yeah, you heard me right! I have been hard at work collaborating with my brother and sister to bring out a fantastic story, and soon you'll be able to read it.

Let me introduce you to Shinigami Eyes. A novel that I've co-written with my brother, Adam, taking all of his Japanese expertise (Yep, we're co-writing half-way around the world with me in Australia and him in Japan), and even being illustrated manga-style by my very talented sister, Kristy. I think I'm taking the phrase 'family business' to the next level... but I'm so excited for this story and I know that the more heads the better to put this little baby together.

And now, just for those wondering what this little precious is about, here is the blurb:

Most children hope to grow out of their imaginary friends, for 17-year-old Rin Waters, she only hopes hers doesn’t kill someone. Especially when her imaginary friend puts a boy in a coma. Now she finds herself shipped half-way around the world (to Japan of all places) to live with grandparents she hasn’t seen for ten years and a cousin she can’t remember.

Rin would rather just forget about that one night that ruined her life, and pretend that her imaginary friend doesn’t exist - if it was only that easy - but she finds that hard when manga-obsessed otaku, Matt won’t stop pestering her about manga that sees the future and the tragic accident she’ll be involved in if she doesn’t listen to him.

When mysterious accidents begin to happen to the students around her, Rin has to wonder what length Matt would go to prove his manga is real, or is there really something that wants to see Rin and her new friends dead?

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Don't believe it's coming: It's even got a page on Goodreads. Go on, I know you want to add it to your to-read list. And stay tuned for lots of things that are going to be happening as we prepare for the release.

Been doing plenty of self-reflection

As I said yesterday, I have been extremely busy, but I have also had a lot of time available to self-reflect and prioritize my objectives and goals. I know I need to allow more time to writing, and less time to procrastination (oh, sweet procrastination thy name is Facebook).

I have discovered that I can become very obsessed with my work... I always set out with a timeframe and schedule in mind, but once I start doing a project that I'm interested and involved in I sort of go from spending 1 hour to 10 hours working on it... and that's not an exaggeration. I have spent the entire day writing because I was so into the scenes, and sort of forgetting to eat along the way.

I know that in order to become more efficient I need to eliminate my crazy obsessed mind, well at least make sure I stick to limits so that I can ensure I get more done in the day.

But I bet I'm not alone with this habit... who else out there can become obsessed with a project that they're doing that they completely forget about everything else around them?

 Well, from here on, I'm going to promise to stick to schedules, and make sure I complete everything I need to before the deadline looms. At least I can try to... until the next time I get sucked in deep into one of my projects.

Life's not just full of fun and games

Yeah, I know... I've sort of been neglecting my responsibilities here a bit. All I can say is that life took over and soon week was passing week and I didn't know where my time was going (really, someone should petition to have more hours added to the day).

Now I'm going to promise to be around here more, but I'm going to take a more casual aspect with the blog. I'm still going to talk about my writing journey, but I'm also going to talk about life in general.

Sometimes life can become too hectic that one can forget to leave a little time to relax. Yeah, that's what I'm struggling with at the moment. Apart from working, I'm also tackling a graphics design course and photography course... and since I'm currently on holidays from uni, I've decided I need to also pick up a web development course (yeah, I just love studying). One thing that doing the photography course has taught me is that you need to love what you're doing... and I do love taking photos... and by loving that, I'm able to also relax by getting out with my camera.

Well, it's great to finally be back behind my keyboard. I can say that there are some interesting developments in the works that I've been working furiously on.

PS... Let me introduce you to my sister's little pup Riku... He'll probably be making a constant appearance on my blog as I strive to keep this blog alive with new and interesting content, both written and visual.

So, what has been happening with you?