Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a really big fantasy and science fiction reader. I mean BIG. I am six foot nine and bigger around than I really care to be.
I have only recently begun writing fantasy…but even then I can say I am a really big author, right? At least I can write about ogres and barbarians with a unique perspective. Seriously though, my writing stems from close to thirty years of fantasy role playing games (can you say D&D? I knew you could) and a lifetime of reading voraciously.
My first three books constitute a trilogy called The Gifts of Vorallon. The first book is called The Final Warden and it kicks off our hero’s journey and the world of magic called Vorallon.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is Lord of Vengeance (Gifts of Vorallon 3). This is the conclusion of the trilogy and it was heavily inspired by my need to know!
When I read fantasy I need to know the answers to questions that typically are never answered. Such as where is this magic all coming from anyhow? If there are gods, and I can talk to them, how does that change who I am? Who and what are the gods? If I stand on a fantasy world of magic, dragons, elves, and dwarves, looking up — what stars do I see and is there anything happening out there?
I wanted to create a world that answered these questions and more, at least answered them to my own satisfaction — what I ended up with was a multiverse, a system of universes, creators, and magic that worked for me. I sincerely hope it provides a fun and exciting reading experience for the everyone… even if they don’t need to know the answers as much as I did.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I can’t write a scene before my artist brain fully pictures it in my head. I may not describe EVERY detail in the scene but it’s all alive in my head while I am writing.
I then read every chapter I write out loud to my wife (she HATED my writing when I first began). When she likes it, I know I am on the right track. This also helps me spot my most common writing faux pas of leaving out words, the ghost typo.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
I love the fantasy novels of Dennis L. Mckiernan, either in Mithgar or Faerie. He was the first author I have read to make the fantasy tropes of elves and dwarves, and even dragons, fully fleshed beings with their own cultures and ways of thinking that make them so much more than just long eared tree huggers or short men that like to dig for gold and gems.
Another hugely influencial writer to me is Stephen R. Donaldson whose Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever changed everything for me. He made me care for a mess of a man. He made me fear for his very life — never ever promising me that the protagonist was going to still be alive on the next page. And I LOVED it!
Finally there is the man I grew up reading, the Master of Adventure, Edgar Rice Burroughs. The man defined what a hero was for me… without John Carter, the Warlord of Barsoom, would we have Superman?
What are you working on now?
I am working on a book set hundreds of generations in the future of the events that occurred in The Gifts of Vorallon trilogy — the working title right now is The Return of King Levant, or for those WOW fans out there “Hey, the King’s back!”
It is a hero’s journey in reverse… a journey through the underworld of Nefryt – this is where the spirits of the corrupt and foul go when their lives upon Vorallon (and other worlds in the same universe) have come to an end. There they are cleansed of their corruption that they may be reborn as purified soulds. The truly foul, the extremely wicked, are given another option–to be given the flesh of demons and join the ranks of the deadliest army in all existence. King Levant was a wicked man in life, a conqueror and a tyrant, but he holds a spark of something else burning deep within, the passion of a man who knows love. Love for a wife who has been missing for many years and love for a daughter who is in terrible danger.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I love Goodreads, both for the community of readers and writers and for the exposure I get to works I would never otherwise have discovered.
I gently promote my work in the groups where such promotion is encouraged, and I support my fellow authors with reviews and recommendations of their works to my growing circle of friends and readers.
My blog at Thomascardin.blogspot.com doesn’t get a lot of traffic yet, but I maintain it with artwork inspired by my story and essays I write about magic and worldbuilding. It’s one of the best places to find out what I am up to.
I also have a great circle of friends on Facebook who are among my first readers, some of whom are my beta readers and friends who are editors.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Sit. Write. Don’t stop. There has never been a better time to be an author. The tools are there, many of them are free. All you need is dedication and the ability to learn – learn something new every day.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Well I will repeat it here. My father told this to me when I was a much shorter human being:
“Learn something new every day. Start your day off by telling yourself you are going to explore someplace new, or learn a fact of science, or math, or art.”
It’s such a simple thing, but I have lived with that thought every day and I grew up big and strong!
What are you reading now?
Awesome! An opportunity to promote another author! I am reading Stage Five by Robert Brumm Jr. It is five short stories and I picked it up during a free promotion on the Kindle!
What’s next for you as a writer?
Growth! I know, I am big enough already… I want my stories read and I want to engage with more readers. Currently I write on the side. Though I really enjoy my job, I could see myself as a full time author.
What is your favorite book of all time?
No! You can’t do this to me… So many wonderful books out there, but there is one I have read more than any other… one book I have recommended to people more than any other. And the best part? It’s free. You can pick it up in ebook form from project gutenberg or directly from amazon or B&N:
A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs. It’s a short book, a little thing really, but to me it’s a masterpiece that is trashed as pulp by critics.
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