Welcome to my stop on the Traitor Angel Tour. Brought to you by Seventh Star Press! Ever wonder why authors write short books? H. David Blalock discusses his reasons!
In Traitor Angel, the second book of the Angelkiller
Triad, the war between The Army of Light
and The Enemy continues behind the scenes. Unknown to the general population,
the battle for control of humanity is heating up.
Jonah Mason, called Angelkiller, faces more than one
decision. His Army resistance cell is wounded physically and emotionally, on
the brink of falling apart. The mysterious allies calling themselves Knights
are pressuring him to abandon his people. Meanwhile, the world outside draws
closer to Armageddon.
As Mason and his friends pursue their campaign against Dorian
Azrael's global megacorporation, Andlat Enterprises, the stakes get higher with
each desperate foray into the enemy's computers. They are fated to lose one of
their number and gain an unlikely ally, but any advantage they gain could be
fleeting at best.
If they fail, it could mean the end of The Army and all
resistance to the forces of Darkness.
Why Short Novels?
According to the guidelines given by the SFWA, both
Angelkiller and Traitor Angel just barely qualify as novels. Why so short, you
ask? Why not expand more on the characters, give us more detail about the
Conflict, more juice about The Enemy?
There are several factors at odds with the story I am trying
to convey in the Angelkiller Triad of books. Arguing against lengthy novels is
the nature of our short-attention span audience today. People read books
(actual books, not ebooks) in airplanes, buses, hotel lobbies, and more private
cubicles. Very few people anymore sit down in front of their fireplace and open
a good book for a leisurely read. Those days, frankly, are behind us. The
television is now our main source of entertainment in the developed countries
of the world. As a writer, I have decided to take that into consideration.
That, however, has subjected me and my work to some harsh
critique. Complaints are common about lack of character development, too short
novels, too short chapters, not enough of this or that. These complaints come
from people who are used to epic fantasy and long book series. Personally, I
find those tedious and there is always the chance the author of the series will
abandon it altogether for lack of audience or die before finishing it.
I appreciate the frustration of those who want more. In
fact, it is flattering that they enjoy the work so much they complain its
brevity, but didn't a very successful entertainer once say “Always leave them
wanting more”?
My writing style is very sparse. I deliberately write that
way, depending heavily on dialog and interaction rather than narrative, leaving
the reader to fill in the details. I believe this allows the reader the chance
to become more involved in the story. I might be wrong. I hope not. Time will
certainly tell.
H. David Blalock has been writing speculative fiction for nearly 40 years. His work has appeared in print and online in over three dozen publications, spanning every format from short stories to novels, non-fiction articles to screenplays. He is also editor of _parABnormal Digest_ for Sam's Dot Publishing. To find out more visit his website at www.thrankeep.com.
Traitor
Angel by H. David Blalock
Presented by Seventh Star Press
Tour Dates
October 29 - November 24th
10/29 Great Minds Think Aloud - Review
10/30 Splash of Our Worlds - Character Post
10/31 A Book Vacation - Guest Post
11/1 The Haunting of Orchid Forsythia - Excerpt
11/2 JeanzBookReadNReview - Interview
11/3 Vilutherial Reviews - Interview
11/4 Crossroads Reviews
- Review
11/5 The
Bunny’s Review - Character Interview
11/6 Ali’s Bookshelf - Review
11/7 Red Headed Bookworm
- Guest Post
11/8 Azure Dwarf Horde of SciFi &
Fantasy - Review
11/9 From the Bootheel Cotton Patch - Character Post
11/10 A Few Words - Review
11/11 The Independent Review - Review
11/12 The
Oaken Bookcase - Review
11/13 Beauty in Ruins - Interview
11/14 Ginger Nuts of Horror - Interview
11/15 Bookishly Me - Review
11/16 Full Moon Bites - Interview
11/17 A Daydreamer’s Thoughts - Guest Post
11/18 Stuck
in Books - Guest Post
11/19 Sheila Deeth - Review
11/20 Bee’s Knees Reviews - Review
11/21 The
Cabin Goddess - Review
11/22 Darlene’s Book Nook - Guest Post
11/23 Book and Movie Dimension - Review
11/24 Jess
Resides Here - Interview
Hey Heather! Thanks for hosting David, though remind me to take him to task for saying epic fantasy is "tedious", HAHA! ;)
ReplyDeleteThanks for letting me vent and giving me the chance to connect with your readers, Heather. As to "tedious", I was referring to the interminable "Wheel of Time" series. I know it's a popular favorite, but really... I recommend everyone who enjoys epic fantasy check out the Rising Dawn saga. I wouldn't recommend it if it was tedious. Also, see my review of the first book, The Exodus Gate here.
ReplyDeleteI like your argument, particularly about wanting to believe the author will complete the work. There are so many great series still on my to-read list because I don't want to invest the time without knowing there'll be an ending.
ReplyDeleteI like short novels too, something I can get my teeth into while the guys watch a soccer match, something I can finish and feel I've achieved something as well as enjoying something. And I like a sparse writing style. If I didn't want to fill in any details I'd watch TV.