Hello everyone.

The weekend starts here, so put on your party gear!

For today’s scintillating segment in the Author Interviews Series, may I present to you all the extremely talented author A.L. Butcher, as she delves deeper with us into her fantasy books, exquisite poetry and short story collections.

Come with us both on a magical journey that I am sure you will all enjoy and have a fantastic weekend, thank you for reading.

 

Hi there Alex, it is with the greatest of pleasure to have you here as our guest today.

Let’s begin with your Light Beyond The Storm Chronicles series. Tell us more about the genre, characters and world that this series inhabits, along with the challenges that our heroes face.

The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles is a fantasy series laced with steamy romance. One reviewer labelled it sex and sorcery 🙂 The land of Erana is a dark fantasy realm where magic is illegal and half the population enslaved. Peopled by humans, elves, trolls and a few other very rare races the land is ruled by the iron fist of the Order of Witch-Hunters who attempt to eridacate magic wherever they find it. They fail, magic is everywhere but most who have magical blood, such as the mages and adepts must hide it, lest they fall to the Order. Elves and half-elves form the majority of the enslaved people – elves have no rights, are often treated as property or worse and their once proud culture is nothing but whispers in the dark.

Elves are blamed for bringing the dreaded Plague to the world, caused during the Elven Wars, in which the elves fought the fae, the humans, and one another. This pandemic and the resulting chaos almost destroyed the elves before spreading to the humans, trolls and other creatures. Directly leading to the fall of the last human King Gregor and his family, and the rise of the Order of Witch-Hunters who imposes martial law the Plague was responsible for more than the death of individuals.

Cultures fell, cities fell, liberty fell. Believed by some that the Plague fed on magic, and the elves as generally magical beings it didn’t take long for suspicion fingers to be pointed. They still are. Fear of the Plague is one of the tools of oppression used by the Order – although it hasn’t been seen for a while many mysterious diseases are often labelled such by ignorant people, many without a healer.

Book I begins with Dii – an elven sorceress and Kept (basically a concubine) fleeing for her life from her Keeper’s clutches. She’s alone in a world where her very existence is illegal and she must find sanctuary. She’s pretty naïve – she’s never been allowed out alone, she has no papers and she stands out so her situation is precarious.

Then we meet Lord Archos. He’s an enigma – appearing simply a rich human nobleman from a remote valley (Tremellic) but soon we learn he’s a great deal more. Of course the paths of the elven girl and the nobleman meet and soon after some elves are stolen from a small village under the protection of Archos and his equally mysterious servant Olek. Now the race is on to find these elves, avoid the gaze of the Witch-Hunters, and the men hunting Dii. You understand that few people stand up to the Order and survive long, and their word and whim is law. Slavery is the norm, so interfering with the slavers brings its own risks.

The Shining Citadel – Also features Dii, Archos and their companions. An elven historian and her human protector appear in Tremellic seeking help to find a lost elven artefact, and Archos cannot refuse such an adventure. But not all is as it seems, for others seek what they seek and so a game of cat and mouse begins; ending with dangerous revelations, the encounters will change everything.

The Stolen Tower – follows some of the characters from book II namely M’alia the elf and Talfor, lord of the trolls, and his sister Mirandra who must endure her Proving to succeed to her mother’s rule. (Trolls are matrilineal). Called to the distant ruined tower of Khar’atuk by magic, both old and powerful they discover that a long lost and hidden danger threatens all.

You also have another series called Tales of Erana. Are the any similarities or crossover to your Light Beyond The Storm Chronicles series or is this an entirely different universe? Please tell us more and elaborate further.

Tales of Erana is the companion series of short stories set in the same world of the novels – the world of Erana. The first collection Tales of Erana: Myths and Legends tells the tales of the old magic in the times before the Plague which ravaged the lands, one of the early myths of the Trollkind, a tale of a lonely nymph cursed by a thwarted elven lady and a mage who learns that sometimes getting what you think you most desire is not always wise. The stories are very mythic in form.

Then I have Tales of Erana: The Warrior’s Curse – this is a tale of past history, and the influence magic can have even when it lingers on. Essentially it’s a story of greed, betrayal and wicked magic.

Currently I’m working on an expanded version of Just One Mistake – which originally featured in Nine Heroes.

You even have a Short Story Collection (The Kitchen Imps and Other Dark Tales: A Fire-Side Tales Collection) and a book of poetry (Shattered Mirror: A Poetry Collection). Are these creative vehicles where you play with your ideas that do not fit into the Light Beyond or Tales of Erana series?

Kitchen Imps grew out of a couple of short stories I wrote for a friend – about an enchanted kitchen, and what happens to your socks when you wash them. There are a few more, the naughty imps reappear to wreak mayhem, a rather confused god managing a rather familiar world and a cunning thief who outwits a king. That last one is a retelling of an ancient Egyptian tale. They are far more like stories my father used to tell me.

The poetry – that comes from somewhere else, you might say. I’ve written poetry for as long as I remember and for me it’s a way of dealing with emotions, world events and life in general.

What do you find the most difficult thing about writing? And what do you find the easiest?

Difficult – staying focused and marketing.
Easiest – coming up with ideas.

Who are some of the authors in general that inspire you?

Many!

Let me see…In no particular order:-

Janet Morris
Gaston Leroux
JRR Tolkien
Diana L. Wicker
HG Wells
The Brontes
Victor Hugo
Alexandre Dumas
J D Hallowell
Terry Pratchett
Ellis Peters
William Shakespeare
Homer
John Van Der Kiste
Colin Wilson

What sort of research do you do to write your books?

So far – flora and fauna of various terrains; herblore; medieval weaponry and battle; the aerodynamics of flying dragons and griffins, a bit of geology, oh and whether salamander meat is edible…

I love to research, but I get distracted easily, so it usually takes far longer than it should.

Why do you write? What inspired you to become a writer?

I’ve always written stories and poetry. I just have. It’s a way of coping, a way of exploring and discovering new worlds. I tend to find inspiration everywhere.

What keeps you motivated during creative slumps? How do you deal with Writers Block?

I read, I go into the garden I write something else. Sometimes the words don’t come. Sometimes they do. Overall I try not to stress about it.

How do you spend your free time when you are not writing?

Reading, walking my doggy, gaming. And I’m just about to learn how to crochet.

Tell us more about your upcoming projects. Are you working on anything specific or have plans in the pipeline?

I’m working on two Tales of Erana novellas, Book IV of the Chronicles, and a couple of other short stories. Oh and adding to the poetry for the second volume of Shattered Mirror.

Finally, are there any nuggets of wisdom that you can impart to other aspiring writers?

Write what you want to write (and read), and what makes you happy. Don’t force it to be something it isn’t – it’ll lead to an unhappy story and an unhappy writer.

And that’s a wrap! Thank you for spending time with us and introducing us to your magical worlds, you’ve been a fabulous guest.

Bio:-

A. L. Butcher is the British author of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles fantasy series, and several short stories in the fantasy and fantasy romance genres. She is an avid reader and creator of worlds, a poet and a dreamer. When she is grounded in the real world she likes science, natural history, history and monkeys. Her work has been described as ‘dark and gritty’ and her poetry as evocative.

You connect with Alex on the following Social Media channels:-

Amazon Author Page:- A.L. Butcher Amazon Author Page
Blog/Website:- Library of Erana – The blog and website of Author A.L. Butcher
Facebook:- Dark Fantasy-Beyond the Storm (FB)
Goodreads:- A.L. Butcher – Goodreads Author
Twitter:- @libraryoferana (Twitter)

You can buy her books from Amazon here:-

Canada:- Buy A.L. Butcher’s books in Canada

UK/Europe:- Buy A.L. Butcher’s books in UK/Europe

US/Rest of the World:- Buy A.L. Butcher’s books in US/Rest of the World

Alex’s books are also available from the following outlets:-

Barnes & Noble:- A.L. Butcher’s books at Barnes & Noble
iTunes:- A.L. Butcher’s books at iBooks
Smashwords:- A.L. Butcher’s books at Smashwords

Still want more? Well, as it so happens there is a prompt over at The Daily Post that is very relevant for one of Alex’s series. For more articles relating to the theme of  ‘Storm’ then click on the links below:-

1. Saint P. Blogging – Prompt for the Day: “Storm”
2. Fence – Tourist
3. Storm and Silence: Book 1 – Luminous Feathers
4. Wanderlust – A new chapter – My Daily Post Challenges in Switzerland
5. My Mixed Blog – Typhoon Carmen
6. WHEN YOU’RE DOWN TO NOTHING, GOD IS UP TO SOMETHING – justmetamtam’s jabber
7. The Storm is Passing Over – Espiritu en Fuego/A Fiery Spirit
8. Kristen Ankiewicz – Storm rolling in over Death Valley
9. Walking Through The Storm – Eagle’s Wing Ministries
10. Lemurian Light Oracle – Magic Clouds
11. 3 Top Tips: How to Keep Writing Through the Storm? – DarkfictionComa
12. Aw Diddums – Feeling the Storm
13. shame – Monsoon salt
14. The Penny Dreadful Project – The Perfect Storm
15. Fluffy Pool – PPFT
16. the end of the game – Love it Now
17. Stormy Quality of Life – Meg’s Magical Musings
18. Hope – When the Door Closes
19. ativ schuberg – Paper soldiers
20. Storms – Pippakin Talks Cats, Dogs, Teeth and Claws
21. “Patience for the Storm” – A Pre-Published Indie Author
22. Storm – WORDS from SONOBE
23. kwesi – Storms
24. Storm-Catcher – StrangeLander2015
25. I merely existed – juwariahblog
26. When Truth Hits – The Chaos Within
27. The Storm Inside – CecesTravelingStars
28. Case notes: homeless, bipolar
29. Coming Clean Part I (A Story) – stephentotheplate
30. Hikmah Film Koala Kumal – Yoseph Leonardo Samodra
31. Summer storms – Sascha Darlington’s Microcosm Explored
32. Brendon Ward – Jesus by Chris Tomlin
33. Evidence of a Dreamer – Risk
34. Feeling Small in a Big World
35. Eye of the Storm (Nice, France) – writealineblog
36. From Romeo to Juliette – writealineblog
37. Daily Post One Word Post – Storm – A Writer’s Life
38. The Zen Hiker – Storm
39. “Storm” – YOLOcruz
40. A cute rain jacket – jessicasblog45
41. Discoveries on a rainy day – Hi India
42. Rainy day advice – Hi India
43. After the Storm – Wind Rush
44. tuckedintoacorner – On Fragility
45. Word Shamble – The Storm’s coming
46. Stormy Day in Jiading – My Crazy Graced Life
47. olivia in la la land – The Storm
48. Rob’s Surf Report – Dust storms and the desertification of the literary mind
49. Desert Storm – Steve Grundy Photography
50. Storm – calliemm
51. Cancer Healed by Jesus. Angela McCauley – Storm Clouds and the Rainbow.
52. The Storm – byindiablue
53. Creation After the Destruction – Close to You
54. Radically Distinctive – Storm
55. Hyde Park II – The Last Blog Available
56. haiku? – sandandelion
57. Plan B – Distance
58. a cooking pot and twistedtales – Peace Be Still
59. myfavouriite – Jupiter’s red spot
60. The Storm That Made Me Stronger – World Through My Eyes
61. another quiet muse – Penny Verses the Storm
62. The Storm Inside – Samsara
63. Indira’s Blog – Storm- The Daily Post
64. Too Late – Sisters in Grief
65. Storm Comin’ – Inside The Writer’s Closet
66. Siena Writes Things – Storm
67. Purposive Writer – What I Asked, He Gave
68. Rational Fear, Irrational Action – short story – Writing Beyond Ordinary
69. The Storm in the River – travelmusicweb
70. adarkenedhouse – storm
71. There Will Be Thunder Tonight – Karuchan
72. Daily Prompt – Storm – Short Story – Brandon’s Rambling Writing
73. Sacrificial Chain Breaker – STORM
74. Sometimes we run… – It Is Still Real
75. The Storm – Open Window in a Closed Space
76. recovery to wellness – Scattered Storm
77. Serendipitousbloom.com – Weather the Storm
78. Week 28. Ends at sunrise – writing blog
79. storm – guavarilla
80. Sound Mind Journey – a gathering of storm tears: a haiku
81. Storm of Emotions – newlifeduringmidlife
82. Storms: Be Heard – Writer in Progress
83. Art and Life – Storm
84. Holding me tight – I don’t think I’m looking for too much in a man
85. The storm in my head – Will She Be Back
86. An Assault on Spirituality – by emily
87. The Storm Inside Me – StuffHollySees
88. Hurtafew – Gloomy storm
89. Cage Dunn: Writer and Author – Another One of Those Storms
90. Water of Rain – If I Can Bear Through the Darkness
91. LINES of SHADEAU – Storm
92. Storm – z a y n e e a . n e t
93. Storms of Life – practicalideasfromahorsegirl
94. In The Storm|Daily Prompt – Catherine’s Blog
95. Life in a Few Words – The Storm Within
96. Barryjack’s Place – The Applause is Built Right In
97. Don’t Close the Window – Caillen James –Author
98. The things I want to know – Painted in words
99. Experiments in Poetry and Prose – Storm Surge
100. Jaded Psychodelicide – Dream Away on’a Rainy Day
101. April’s Perspective – We Ruined Christmas
102. coldhandswarmheartsblog – Nursery and Family Fun Song
103. Storm – wordsareallihavesite
104. Brendon Ward – Challenging the Lord of the Storm
105. Storm – Jennifer Nichole Wells
106. Writing Web – Daily Prompt – July 14, 2016
107. Storm ~ Punishment – Word Adventures
108. Darkness Nears – Fantasy Raconteur
109. The Storm of Life. – Know Your Folly
110. ship – images of heaven
111. Managing The Ego – Like A Stone In A Storm
112. Brendon Ward – God My Rock
113. Pushing Back – A lot from Lydia
114. Currency Wars – The Mono-Economy of the New Millennium
115. Calm before the house moving storm – Geek Ergo Sum
116. artifiswords – MORE THAN A STORM
117. Cagueno – Opal Reflections
118. The storm – Awordseeker
119. Through the Storm – The Nervous Yogi
120. Le Drake Noir – Blowing in the wind
121. Shall we survive the UPE machine? – snapshot of a muser
122. In the Eye of the Storm – Living Life
123. Pokemon Go: The Storm of Mischief – Sydney David
124. Miss Pelican’s Perch – Night Storms
125. Storm – Angela Montijo
126. Life with Jess – I Stand Defiant
127. Anton’s Ideas – BORIS AURORA ANUS
128. Giggles & Tales – Storm – The Daily Prompt!
129. Storm – The Inkwell
130. After The Storm – Specscladeyes
131. Turn That Radio Up – This Is The Time
132. Stormy Senses – Vivid Dreamer
133. Storm – Scott’s website
134. The Storm is Over Now – eddaz
135. Poem- Storms Power – jotabouts
136. The Power and the Beauty – Onto My Next 40 Years
137. The Storm – Some More Fiction
138. Storms? Here’s a Storm for You… – Where’s the Windmill?
139. lifelessons – a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown – By Storm S Cool Reunion)
140. Jibber Jabber with Sue – Ever Heard of, “Rainbow Bridge”?
141. my journey out of the storm – my sweetpainteddreams
142. JadeOutLoud – The storm inside.
143. Trying Canadian Candy! – ONE MORE SHOT PLEASE
144. The Storm – This Sub Rosa Life
145. Joes-Fotowelten – Die Ruhe vor dem Sturm
146. thelonerose – I’M HERE!
147. Full-Time – Scared
148. The Storm is You – Emotional Fitness Training
149. Storm – Daily Prompt – ladyleemanila
150. Like the Lamp – So You Found a Storm
151. Flowers and Breezes – Storm
152. Common Pursuit – Reset
153. Side of Random – Storm
154. Your Nibbled News (c) 2016 – Storms weaken wooden balconies
155. Martha L Shaw – REFRESHING REIGN
156. The Ball freshTECH HarvestPro Sauce Maker Giveaway (Ends 8/02) – Intense Mode
157. SERENDIPITY – LOOKS LIKE IT’S GONNA RAIN TODAY …
158. Warning before the Storm – In a Perfectly Imperfect World
159. Changing my Twitter Handle Today – Big Step for Me as Blogger – Damien at the Speed of Life WP
160. Storm and Silence – Luminous Feathers
161. I Am A Storm – l.e.ferens
162. E. Denise Billups – High-Tide
163. Diary of a Married Woman – Affect
164. Musings of a Random Mind – A Woman In Sorrow
165. somawrites – sighted…
166. Upheaval in her Heart – Girl With A Tripod
167. Storms Are Natural – Live Younique
168. 83 Unsung Heroes – Depressed About Anti-Depressants
169. The Storm – Rinnah’s Place
170. I’m Not Black. – Culture Eighteen.
171. Thunder Clouds – Who Narrated This?
172. Storms, Suffering, Surrender, and God – Lance Price Blog 2016
173. A matter of perspective – Oh, border!
174. Hidden storm – Ashquill
175. The Eye – speaking up for myself
176. Mainline_Matter – Brief Storm
177. Laidig’s Broadway – I Deserve Rejection
178. She Cries (a poem) – Think, Dream, & Believe
179. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – A Mind Storm
180. guyanascapes – I Stand Alone
181. Storm – transcribingmemory
182. Storm – Emotional Spaces
183. Success Inspirer’s World – Walk With Me…
184. Prompt for the Day: “Storm” – Saint P. Blogging
185. Do you know her? – Ms Skyfall
186. Storms In My Brain – Desertedroad
187. The Seas Scorn – bdwoodswrites
188. Buddha enlightened. – shecloudwalker
189. Stormy Days – rupalislale
190. The happy Quitter! – The Silent Storm inside me
191. Cautious Realism – One-word Prompt: Storm
192. Storm in January – Don’t Forget, It’s Huguet
193. Whimpering – mistspell
194. Michael J. Fite – Why Wait On The Storm When You Have Sunshine Now?
195. Kimberlee K. – Aran (Islands) Aran So Far Away (Ireland Day #4)
196. vertical combustion – of storms and valleys
197. The Morning Storm – iCarla Blogs
198. kristinakoti – Tempesta
199. Storm – The new-ness
200. Sara Ackerman, author – Why There are Mountains
201. Light & life – Pea Green & Still
202. After the Storm – My Second Act, Scene One
203. vertical combustion – prompt: storm
204. kStan(ly) kSays – a st0rm 0f w0rds
205. SazzPost – Storm – What If In Your Life?
206. Storm…Yet Still I Write – SUCCESS STRATEGIES
207. rhymeagination – REVERENCE TO THE BOUNDLESS
208. Awl and Scribe – Storm
209. My Running Blog – Skirting the Storm
210. To Live Again – farrahstyles
211. sixty, single and surviving – The Welcome Storm
212. devildollmusings
213. Surviving – Simply Complicated Yanina
214. Shelter from the storm – Explore Pets
215. Travel Much? – Admire Western Norway
216. Haiku: After The Storm – whippetwisdom.com
217. MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO – Storm
218. Anxiety storm – Sapphire Elisha
219. Storms – Inside Out – Ripples N Reflections
220. Storm: An ending to a perfect day – The Mistful Mind
221. Rumble – A Scintilla of Thoughts
222. Storms of Paper – Adarsha Kharel
223. Daily Prompt; Storm – tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice
224. Crashing Waves – Heaven’s Sunshine
225. Zombie Flamingos – And now…..Kitten Thursday!!
226. Here I am !! – Storm
227. Storm – Giselle Marie Art
228. Lost Property Repository – Storm
229. Storm: change is only constant – Aastha
230. THE STORM – ESCAPE INTO WORD
231. Storm Lightning, Charleston SC – Scattered Showers in a Clear Sky
232. Rain coming – Jane Dougherty Writes
233. ‘Reading Clouds’ – The Last Blog Available
234. Jacki Kellum Juxtapositions: Read My Mind – A Tip for Traveling in Stormy Weather – Another Lesson about Denial
235. Storm party – juanita394
236. Thoughts of a wannabe writer – Prompt: Storm
237. Katy Trail Creations – Storm of Separation
238. A snippet from Psalm 107 – Selah Ministries
239. HarlemATL Inner City Blues – Ice Pick Killah Part 2: The Making Of “Jack Frost Binder”
240. Poetry, Day Six: Screen – lovelyricism
241. A Vibrant Palette – Storming it out!
242. Winged biscuits – Meow Keela
243. Designer Sophisticate – The only funnels I like are cake.
244. Perfect day – zorazebic
245. Tony’s Texts – Summer Storms
246. If the Storm was a little Orderly – mySestina
247. multiplemyelomaandme – Early Morning
248. The Daily Post – Progressing into Solitude – Storm
249. Between The Lightening and The Thunder – atrangizindagieksafar
250. Frank Prem – identification from height
251. stormy weather ⋆ Obsolete Childhood
252. Growing Toward the Sun – #Throwback Thursday: Once Upon A Time, We Went To See Oprah
253. Passion through Poetry – Black Umbrella
254. Frank Prem – not I at all
255. B_ up to date – Storm of kisses
256. Walking Blind (or, The Storm) – Just Writing!
257. What you do when the storm is coming? – iamioana
258. ….on pets and prisoners….. – the daily prompt: storm
259. Wake Up! – Blog of Hammad Rais
260. The Wandering Poet – DP Prompt ~ Storm