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Their Personal War
The Poetic Heroic is a story about two brothers that live very different lives. What was your process in creating their duality? Did you always know that the brothers would be set against one another?
Beathabane and Cruelthor, the two brothers focused on in The Poet Heroic, were from the beginning set up to be one good twin, one bad twin. I’ve always thought twins make for great characters because of all the different ways you can explore nature/nurture, personal choices, etc. With these brothers in particular, I wanted to write this story to show how their personal war started – they were at one time loving brothers. It’s the choices they make that diverge their paths so drastically.
There are many plot lines that you’re juggling in this story. I always liken multi-strand plot lines like Pulp Fiction for some reason. How hard was it for you to keep track of the plots and still complete a full story within 82 pages?
I guess I don’t really see it as multiple plots, for some reason. In my head, it’s all just one story being told in different chunks, different steps along Beathabane’s journey. In a short book like this, I find HOW the story is told to be almost as much fun as WHAT story is told. It somehow felt natural to tell it this way, but I especially liked book-ending the story with a quick scene from the future, which gives some hints as to how Beathabane’s later life turned out.
In my experience fantasy novels are long epic stories. The Poetic Heroic accomplishes so much in only 82 pages? Was the short length by design or did you have a different plan?
This short is very much a character prequel to The Kota, the first book in my main series (THAT is my epic). In the series, Beathabane is a minor character. He’s important, but he’s not there very much. So for The Poet Heroic, I wanted to flesh out his story just enough to explain how he became who he became in the main series. The length was very purposeful, because it’s a teaser to the main series. Some things that might seem unanswered in The Poet Heroic are purposefully left a bit mysterious because you learn more in the main books. For people who’ve read the series first, there are things in The Poet Heroic that are “Ah-Ha!” moments, but I think it works both ways.
When is the next book in the series coming out and what can your fans expect in the next story?
The Kota Series has 4 main novels, and in that way the series is complete. But I always wanted to flesh out some characters who didn’t get a lot of time in the main series. That’s where the Kota Shorts come in – they’re companion stories to the main series. The Poet Heroic is now my second Kota Short, and The Woman of the Void (about Beathabane and Cruelthor’s mother) is the first, but you can read them in any order. I have a LOT of Kota Shorts planned, and probably next up will be a story from one of the other planets in the Kota story-universe.
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Your loved ones lie to you; your enemies tell the truth. Who would you trust? Born a telepath, Vale Olander knows he is not his father’s favorite son. Living in the shadow of his charismatic twin brother, Vale must find his own place in his father’s Dominion empire. But when Vale encounters a team of rebels, his world flips upside down. He must make a choice. Will he remain loyal and serve his brother? Or will he stand on his own and risk everything?
The Poet Heroic
The Poet Heroic is a tale of two brothers (Vale and Cruelthor) who are destined to lead the world, known as the Dominion, but fall to very different outcomes because of their beliefs. Both brothers, sons of the Lord High Commander, are trained and raised to be leaders in the same household. Both brothers develop mutant abilities (Vale-telepathic and Cruelthor-superhuman strength), but only one becomes the world’s leader after their father dies. Vale doesn’t care about the power, but is worried about keeping Cruelthor in check. Vale’s fear are realized when Cruelthor assumes power. In no time at all, he banishes his nice, but potential threat to the throne, brother and begins hoarding all the power to himself.
Disheartened and with only a bag of possessions, Vale joins a group of rebels fighting the Dominion. With this group, Vale learns the dark secrets of his father deliberately blocked from his telepathic son. With this group, Vale turns from a book-loving student into a freedom fighter. Known as Beathabane, the Tyrant Twin.
The Poet Heroic is pretty entertaining for a fantasy book. It diverges from the well-trodden plot of good brother vs bad brother with an interesting assortment of plot lines that put the characters in conflicting situations. For example, the author introduces the lead character early as a fully-developed hero, Beathabane, but provides indirect clues that show more going on beneath the surface. The author then shows how and why Beathabane develops from a book-loving kid into freedom fighter, ultimately giving him two conflicting goals: find his family and save the world from his ruling family. Each chapter provides small insights into the characters past that impact their present. The drawback to all of this is the loss of depth. It took me a while to get invested in the story and characters because of the quick pace and interconnected plot. The book rather conveniently moves forward to the father’s death (ensuring the rise of the lead villain) and Cruelthor’s quick assumption of power. Readers don’t get to see enough of Cruelthor’s character to prevent him from being a flat character. The opposite is true of Vale. As the book continues, more of Vale’s character giving him a depth I’ve rarely seen in other novels.
The author does a great job at teasing the reader with hints of a back story in the introduction, but these hints don’t become concrete points of reference. For example, after the introduction the book shifts into the past without notice of how far back in time they have gone. Has the Lord High Commander been sick for a long time? Is Vale’s world a tyranny, monarchy, or something else? Why can’t Vale be a leader too? Does this take place in our world or a different time?
That being said, for a short story, The Poet Heroic is a fascinating read. It juggles multiple intersecting plot lines creating a lot of tension that is sure to pull in any fan of fantasy novels.
Pages: 82 | ISBN: 1522826424
LITERARY TITAN 