Author Guest Post with Colin Sephton: Timeslayers

In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation.

Welcome to the May 15th stop on the blog tour for Timeslayers by Colin Sephtonby Colin Sephton with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for more guest posts, reviews, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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Author Guest Post

All writers will have a different take on this, and we don’t all work in the same way, but here is my top 10 list for writing a fantasy novel:

1/ Why are you writing it. You need to consider this. Some will be writing because their creativity manifests itself in writing. Others, let’s be honest here, will be writing it to make some money. Personally, I think if you get this wrong, a reader can tell. I wrote Timeslayers because I wrote it for me. It didn’t natter if it never got published. I enjoyed the creative process.

2/ Know you story. What are you trying to say. Is there a hidden message?

3/ Know your audience. Does your novel fall into a particular category and therefore are what are your prospective readers going to be looking for? Are there particular themes they will expect, such as magic, action, romance, mystery?

4/ Before you create your characters, create your world. World building can be difficult, but if you apply enough detail, it will make your story telling easier and more believable. If you think about the huge output from Tolkien, he created a massive backstory and history which was made available until after the release of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings.

5/ You make the rules! This is your world, your story. This is a fantasy novel, so the rules of the real world don’t have to apply. If want characters to fly, breathe under water, they can. If that water isn’t blue, but pink and the sky yellow, it can be. Nobody can tell you different.

6/ Who are your protagonists? Describe them. Draw them if you need to so you understand what they wear and how they would react in certain circumstances.

7/ Consider the use of language. The more you write about the main characters, the easier it gets to understand them and have their dialogue running through your head as you write. You will begin to know what language they would say without having to think about it. It will be like they are telling you!

8/ When does the story begin? At what point in the events you are telling do you want to start the story. You will usually need something that is going to grab the readers attention. This may be an action scene, or some form of mystery that will keep the reader hooked and want to read more to see where this is going.

9/ Names! I think this is the most difficult. What are your characters called? Do the names you have chosen fit in with the era or world you are trying to portray. For Timeslayers I sometimes used a Sanskrit dictionary and chose words that were the equivalent to the meaning I wanted. For example, the Book of Consciousness that features in the novel is called Turiya. This is from Hindu philosophy where Turiya means pure consciousness.

10/ Where does the story end? Is it a happy ending, a surprise shocker or a bittersweet end? Is there a cliff hanger or do you wrap everything up neatly? Do you want the ending to be a natural lead into a sequel?

About the Book

Timeslayers
by Colin Sephton

Published 7 May 2024
Cinnabar Moth Publishing LLC

Genre: Steampunk Adventure Mystery
Page Count: 224
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In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidentally calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon.

Known as the Beautiful and the Damned, the Charon are the Infernal Dukes of Hell, created to carry out the will of the Omisoul. But they are tired of their immortality and want to end their existence. Elsewhere, the sorcerer Ragnar of Roc has conjured a hole in spacetime, allowing the draconic Elder God Calabi Ya to re-enter the cosmos from the Ghost Worlds. He is as old as the Omnisoul and wants the book to learn his destiny. The two Union Jacks leave Oxford and are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon’s plot to thwart the Omnisoul’s plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

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Excerpt

Glancing around cautiously, Ignatius could see that nobody else in the library had moved, gestured or even looked. He looked back at the book he was reading. He had to concentrate on the unfamiliar text to translate with any accuracy. Its author, Enoch Slipnot, had an unsteady hand, and the inks was faded in places. As he read the next section, his right hand began to tingle, a slight burning sensation.

It came through the Land of the Duranki. Those trained in the art of Al Kimiya brought forth sentient life, the fiery whirlwind that passes like lightning through the fiery clouds, believing they could master this Unholy Great One.

I have read of the great horrors the Unholy One brought forth, seeking the emerald tablet thought to have been hidden in the library of the Mystorium by the Order of the Ti-Botta. If this great red shadow should discover the sword of great power, he will wreak destruction on a cosmic scale and the whole cosmos shall tremble at his feet. The great runesword has been forged with an edge keen enough that it may even cut through the aether. Only a being in harmony with the cosmos can make use of such a weapon and with the Great Book, Turiya and the power of the Charon, summoned by the High Priest, stop the Unholy One.

I am unswerving in my task as the last remaining warrior-priest of the Charon – the Dragon- slayers of the Ecclesiarchy…

About the Author

Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

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