BLURB
BLURB
The kingdom of Rellizbix has seen almost a thousand years of victory over the wrathful invaders from the Greimere Empire. King Helfrick Caelum, descendant of the first king of Rellizbix, has already seen victory over the invaders twice while wearing the crown and is poised to ensure another successful defense of his lands. Raegith Caelum is the first-born son no one knows of and spends his days locked inside a keep, away from the public and out of trouble. When he is approached by his royal father to finally leave the keep and embark on a small, safe adventure, the boy jumps at the opportunity. His small adventure: to travel with a group of soldiers beyond the Hell Cliffs, the dividing line between Rellizbix and Greimere, and initiate the next war. Simple, covert and a long-standing tradition, it was Raegith's chance to earn his freedom while serving the kingdom. When the mission goes awry, the half-blood prince finds himself alone in the heart of his people's greatest enemy. But as Raegith survives behind enemy lines and learns the horrible truth of the continual wars that plague his land, his journey becomes less about returning home and more about creating a new one.
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AUTHOR INTERVIEW
What
inspired you to write this book?
I
originally intended this story to satirize the idea of the “Chosen One” that I
kept seeing in other books and movies, as well as poke fun at RPG plots a
little. I found that I couldn’t keep it completely comedic while still giving
the characters realistic and moving motives and personalities. Terry Brooks has
been a huge influence on my interests in fantasy and sword-and-sorcery stories,
although my story is a little darker than anything in the Shannara Series, I
think.
Can
you give us an interesting fact about your book that isn't in the blurb?
For
the races in BTHC, it’s pretty easy to tell where my inspirations came from by
looking in traditional fantasy (The Sabans are like humans, Twileens are like
elves, Rathgar are like Orcs, etc.) except for the Faeir. I actually strayed
away from fantasy for their description and headed to a different genre. I
actually had the Kaminoans from Star Wars in mind when I detailed the physical
descriptions of the Faeir. My apologies to George Lucas.
How
did you choose your title?
Almost
as an after-thought. I had the entire first draft done and was waiting for my
editor to finish when I finally got around to titling it. I had it labelled as The Prophet of Onyx at one point and
then simply Raegith at another.
Neither of those really fit the final draft, though. I chose the final title
because the Hell Cliffs are kind of the balance point of the entire land and
going beyond them is what sets everything in motion for our protagonist.
Tell
us about the cover and how it came to be.
I’ve
always had a soft spot in my heart for the old fantasy novels from Goodkind,
Brooks, Lewis, etc. I guess in my mind, BTHC always had a kind of retro, 70’s
fantasy-type cover, but I didn’t want to put any of my characters on it because
I didn’t want to solidify their appearance for the readers. My friend does great
landscape paintings, among other things, and he agreed to paint the Hell Cliffs
for me. I snapped a picture of the finished canvas when he was done and
photoshopped in the title. I probably stared at it for half an hour afterwards,
I was so excited.
Did
you self-publish or publish traditionally and why?
Self-publish.
I had always planned to publish traditionally, but with the recent rise in
success of self-published authors and the higher royalty rates, I decided to
change tactics. I’ve been using the business model of a local author who has
experienced tremendous success self-publishing.
What
do you consider the most important part of a good story?
Realism.
I know this is an odd thing to say for a high fantasy fiction writer, but I
don’t mean realism in a “could this really happen” kind of way. You could have
a story about shark-headed robots street racing Tokyo Drift-style against
reanimated U.S. Presidents and still give your characters real motivations and
real problems that might resonate with the audience. I mean, if Hammerhead is
racing his Scion TC against Zombie Andrew Jackson’s Corvette for no other
reason than the plot demands it, I’m not interested. If he’s doing it because
his job on the Moon is driving him into alcoholism and the only way to escape
the constant stress of his mundane life is through underground street-racing,
well then…
What
is your writing process?
I’m
almost ashamed to admit this, but I don’t outline. I try to and then fifteen
minutes later I realize that I’m no longer outlining, but just writing the book
as is. It’s a horrible habit and the plot constantly flails out of control when
I do that, but I just can’t seem to write without detail. I have this same
problem when someone asks me what my book is about. I can’t just give them a
two-sentence synopsis, I have to immediately start reciting the story to them
word-for-word.
How
long have you been writing?
Since
high school. I’ve only been decent at it for the last few years.
How
did you get started writing?
I
had just finished up the last book in the Scions of Shannara Series and at the
time, that was the last book in the series that Terry Brooks had written. I had
no idea he was going to write more and I could not cope with the idea that
everything was completely over (I was a bit dramatic back then). I opened up a
blank notebook that I probably should have been using for my classes and
started this epic fantasy with magic and demons and tons of crude, teenage
innuendo… and then I let some kid read it and I never got it back. It’s okay,
though. This book is WAY better than what I was writing back in 1999.
Are
you a plotter or a pantser?
Is
it bad that I had to Google this? I guess I could have saved us some time a few
questions up if I knew there was an actual term for the way I write. Definitely
a pantser, I guess.
What
part of the writing process is the hardest for you?
Finishing.
I drive my wife crazy with unfinished projects. Gone are the days where I can
run up to her and say, “So, I thought of this great new idea…” without her
trying to hit me in the face. I have several dozen partially-finished stories
on my hard drive that I could probably complete if I was not such a pantser
(I’m going to start using this term all of the time now).
What
tips can you give on how to get through writers block?
Turn
on the Xbox! No, that’s probably not a good tip. I actually experienced the
greatest success with overcoming blocks when I realized that if I ever want to
quit my day job and just write, then I have to treat my writing as a job. I
have to “clock in” or log a set number of hours, but most of all, I have to
work at it. If I can’t get past a certain point in a story, I’ll write on
another. Writing on something is better than not writing at all and sometimes you
can figure something out while just writing the craziest, most nonsensical
things you can think of.
What
kind of music do you like to listen to while you write?
I
listen to Pandora internet radio while I write and I have a select few stations
I have really refined over the years. I’m a rocker to the core, so I like to
put on Chevelle or A Perfect Circle, but I’ve recently been shocked to realize
that I like dubstep. It just came on one time and I was like, “What is this?”
Also, the Tron soundtrack threw me off guard with its awesomeness.
Who
is your favorite author?
My
most read author is definitely Terry Brooks, but I’ve found that my tastes have
changed a little with age. I’ve started to appreciate stories with social
critique a lot more and Phillip K. Dick has just some mind-blowing stuff. The
man was ahead of his time with some of his observations.
Who
is your favorite character from a book?
David
Valentine from the Vampire Earth Series, by E. E. Knight. David is a badass,
but he’s not Superman. He gets hurt, he has scars and lingering injuries, he
screws up relationships beyond repair; he is human, with all the strengths and
weaknesses that entails. I love the fact that every time a new book comes out,
I cringe at the idea of him continuing the fight, because at some point I know
he’s going to get himself killed.
What
is your favorite book?
The
Stand, by Stephen King. That was the book that introduced me to the much-beloved
post-apocalyptic story. I spent the entirety of that book imagining what I
would be doing in a world where almost everyone was gone and only a handful of
us were left, scattered and plagued by visions of the Walking Man.
Read
anything good lately?
It’s
not a book in the traditional sense, but there is a manga called Ubel Blatt
that has rocked my world. It’s not concluded, but the artwork and the depth of
the characters is outstanding. Do comic books count?
What
do you like to do when you're not writing?
I
am a gamer at heart. I’m playing Neverwinter Online right now (no, I do not
have a character named Raegith, but I will be really excited if I ever see
one). I also have a 9-month-old son who I spend lots of time with. I’m training
him to be a ninja, because I feel like that’s going to be the hot career field
when he gets older. So far he’s only mastered the crawling around on the floor
technique and his awful hand/eye coordinatin makes the katana practice a
frightening experience for his mother and I, but he’s getting there.
What
advice would you give an author just starting out?
Finish.
I know that sounds obvious, but finishing is so important. You don’t want to be
the would-be author that hyped up your book online and in person and then
nothing ever came of it. Because hearing “Hey, whatever happened to that book
you were writing?” from everyone is really annoying.
Have
you had anything else published?
I
had an article published in the newletter at work, once. Other than that, no,
this is really it, so far.
What's
your next project?
I’ve
already begun work on my next novel, Blood Daughter. I’m breaking away from the
more, R-rated content of BTHC and trying my hand at YA. Blood Daughter is about
an outcast rock chick at a small town high school who finds out that she might
be a demon. I know that sounds really corny and maybe like a Twilight rip-off,
but I swear it’s going to be good. There’s racism, bullying and at the core of
it is the morality question: can one still be good if they were born evil?
BIO
Case C. Capehart lives in Oklahoma
with his wife, Kristy and son, Jackson. He is a graduate of Oklahoma State
University and served for six years in the 1/180th Battalion of the 45th
Infantry Division as a 50 caliber machine gun operator. During his service,
Case earned the Expert Infantry Badge and Air Assault wings and was a recipient
of the Army Commendation Medal.
Case is an avid online gamer and has
written well-received fan fiction for games such as Shaiya, Dekaron and Scarlet
Blade. He is also an enthusiast of American comic books and Japanese
Manga. His favorite American character
is Marvel's Deadpool and his favorite Japanese character is Yukito Kishiro's
Battle Angel Alita.
Case is politically moderate and his works of fiction often elude to the dangers of political extremism. He and his wife are members of the First United Methodist Church.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/author.capehart
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