Interview with Paul Vanderloos

 

Welcome to an Interview with…  Paul Vanderloos

  

Author of   The Wizard’s Sword

 

 

A brief synopsis. The simple life of the erfin people is turned upside down when one curious erfin, Mirrortac, finds an old warrior’s sword in the woods. The sword leads to a meeting with an otherworldly stranger and a mission to save all the worlds from an encroaching evil. 

 

 

What made you decide to write this book? I actually wrote the first draft many years ago when I was living with a psychic medium, would you believe! It was something to do with people’s attitude towards the possibility of another dimension that made me make the comparison of a race of people who lived in a little valley and thought that the mountain nearby was the end of the world, and anyone who ventured over it would fall into the Netherworld. I wrote a short story that suddenly dominoed into a story of a curious erfin who was set on a mission to enter not just a world beyond the mountain, but through many ‘worlds’ to an ultimate destination and confrontation with a sorcerer and sorceress of evil intent. Since then, the original concept has evolved through a number of drafts to become the first book in a series of three. Book two is being written now.

 

Where did the title come from? The original title was The Nine Worlds of Mirrortac which is now the title of the series. The Wizard’s Sword eludes to this first book’s focus on the main character, Mirrortac’s specific mission upon finding a sword that belonged to a wizard who sent the sword to him so as to assist him in his mission

 

 

Do you always write in this genre? Since reading Tolkien’s works and that of other fantasy authors, I have come to love fantasy in particular, as it gives you the opportunity to create worlds and beings, creatures of alien and beautiful magnificence. I have previously written a mystery crime fiction but fantasy provided more fuel for my imagination. 

 

What was your destination to publishing?  The original first draft was considered by a traditional publisher to be the first fantasy imprint for them in Australia, but they decided to go with another author instead. I tried some other traditional publishers before deciding to go with POD publishers, first in Australia then in America. It has been a huge learning curve, and I am still learning, but now that my book is also available as an ebook, I have embraced the exciting though challenging realm of self-publishing.

 

 

Do you have a website to share? My main blog site for the book is http://wizardsword.wordpress.com/

 

 

Any links to the book/books The main links to buy my book are http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66762 and 

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Paul+Vander+Loos  

for ebook and print versions 

 

Please feel free to share an exerpt. 

The long form of the serpent blended in so well with the surrounding vegetation that it was almost impossible to pick it out. But there it was, laying motionless and twisting in and out of the foliage over many erfin-lengths. Mirrortac’s carrier shifted out of the air stream and circled down, diving rapidly towards the trees. In moments, the forest once more engulfed them and they were standing on a high bough, a safe distance from the serpent. The monster was supported across the forks of three trees, as well as many branches. The other beings landed in succession, then swiftly moved out into a semi-circle among the branches above the monster. Each took up a clear vantage point, moving as silently as they could.

Mirrortac winced at the merest rustle of a leaf, half expecting the monster to be roused at any moment. The bat-beings settled into their positions and watched the erfin with expectation. Wheeling his paw in the air, he gave the signal to move forward. His carrier launched them into the air and glided to a branch directly above the serpent’s head. Mirrortac flicked his head from side to side, waiting for the others to follow but nobody moved. His guide allowed him to slide off his back then withdrew, quickly joining the others in the branches above.

Realisation turned instantly to shock. Mirrortac swung his eyes over the waiting gallery of watchers and swallowed hard. The bat people had been unarmed because they had no intention of taking part in the killing of the serpent. Just a few erfin-lengths away, the great monster slept, its eyes glazed over with a semi-transparent skin. Even in sleep, it seemed to watch every move that was made around it.