In the following email interview, author Cameron Johnston says his new novel The Last Shield (paperback, Kindle, audiobook) is a “gender-flipped Die Hard.”
But while that might conjure images of Zendaya or Sydney Sweeny or some other actress of the moment crawling through a skyscraper’s air vents, Johnston says Shield actually takes place in a “mysterious castle” and is a “heroic fantasy [story], with shadings of grimdark thrown in.”
In his epic grimdark fantasy novel The Grey Bastards, writer Jonathan French introduced us to a fantasy realm some described as being like if the orcs from The Lord Of The Rings movies formed a Sons Of Anarchy-like biker gang, albeit with mounts instead of motorcycles. With the second book in this series, The True Bastards (hardcover, Kindle) now out, I spoke to French via email about what inspired and influenced the second book in what will hopefully be a trilogy.
With God Of Broken Things (paperback, Kindle), writer Cameron Johnston completes the Age Of Tyranny fantasy duology he began with last year’s The Traitor God.
In the following email interview, Johnston explains how the two novels fit together, what inspired them individually and collectively, and how he’d like to see this saga adapted into another medium.
Given its name and that it’s a dark fantasy novel — grimdark, even — it’s not surprising that Anna Stephens has been asked if her novel Darksoul (paperback, Kindle) is connected to the Dark Souls video games. In the following email interview, Stephens not only explains that no, it’s not — it’s the second book in her Godblind trilogy — but also how games, movies, and movie soundtracks inspired this fantasy tale.
With Fallen Gods (paperback, Kindle), writer James A Moore is continuing the grimdark fantasy trilogy The Tides Of War he started last year with The Last Sacrifice. But in talking to him about this second book of three, he not only mentioned the influence of fellow fantasy writers, but some sci-fi shows as well.