Guest Post: Tools of Prophecy by Michael A. Rothman

The TOOLS OF PROPHECY is the second volume in an epic saga which describes a prophecy that has placed the Riverton brothers in the lead roles of a struggle to save their world from being overrun by unspeakable horrors. This destiny requires that they face off with the demons that nearly destroyed their world over five centuries ago.

In the first book, the population of wizards had been practically eradicated by the former tyrant. The Rivertons are now charged with creating an Academy of Magic, recruiting qualified students, and furthering their own training with secrets that have long been held by the reclusive elves.

 

Despite their youth, a mysterious spirit has engaged them in an epic struggle to gain mastery of their newfound skills, help raise and train two armies, and stay alive long enough for their final showdown with destiny.

The only things that stand in their way are the assassins hired to destroy them and the Demon Lord’s minion who holds a personal grudge and intends to witness the young boys’ deaths.

I would like to welome Michael back to my Blog.

 Michael this is Book 2 in The Prophecies Series. When you wrote the first one did you know going in it would be a series?  How many books are planned?

Before I wrote my first word on the first book, I had outlined my story.

 

I knew the beginning and I knew the end, and as I started to fill in the outline, I organically learned how the story would evolve.  I quickly realized that I had more than was typically going to be sustained by the single novel most publishers were willing to release to a YA audience.  Let's face it, if I was going to write it, I also wanted to make it sellable. The marketing folks lose their minds when you write 1000+ pages in a single book and gear it to an audience of kids who are used to reading 150-200 page books.

With that in mind, I found natural places where the story transitioned, and this ended up with my outline for a novel that was too big, turning into an outline which created a roadmap for three books.

The one thing that was a surprise for me, was that when I put the finishing touched on TOOLS OF PROPHECY (the second book), I decided to embark on a prequel novel before attacking the third book.

The prequel is called PRINCESS INTERRUPTED, and provides a very unique backstory for some of the events that led up to the scenes that occur in the first book HEIRS OF PROPHECY.  The Princess in question will be very familiar to readers, and I hope folks enjoy it.

 

The final book, currently titled Lords of Prophecy, will be an epic conclusion  to the initial story.  The natural questions would be, "Are there plans for stuff beyond that series?"  Well, of course - but I can't let the secrets out before their time.  Let's race through the story that is before us before I unfold a much wider view of the world of Trimoria.  ;-)

Excerpt:

In this region of the Abyss, the temperatures always bordered on freezing. Even so, the air was thick with wet mist. Malphas stared up at his master, who sat high atop his throne of blackest stone. Singeing waves of heat seemed to emanate from the Demon Lord’s skin. The repentant demon would call out to him, but he did not wish to provoke more of his master’s ire. For the time, Lord Sammael simply stared into the distance, refusing to acknowledge his general’s presence.

Finally, after what seemed like a long wait, Sammael directed his attention to Malphas. “I have learned that a new wizard has entered Trimoria,” he said without speaking. His voice, inky and coarse, erupted as if from within Malphas’s head. “You will find out how such a thing was possible.”

 Malphas strode to the throne and knelt at his lord’s feet. The black scales of his knees rasped against the stone floor. At twenty feet tall, the general usually towered over his minions, but kneeling before the immense black throne made him feel utterly insignificant. Where he would normally cause all who looked upon him to cower, General Malphas found himself cowering at the feet of his master.

“But, my lord,” Malphas said in his gravelly voice, “how can that be? I thought you arranged for the purging of those who followed Seder.”

The temperature in the cold, dank chamber climbed rapidly as the Demon Lord’s rage bubbled to the surface. Lesser demons in the vicinity burst into flame, disappearing into greasy puffs of acrid smoke.

“Don’t ever mention my brother’s name again,” Sammael commanded. “I will not hear it spoken by the likes of you.”

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 I am an Army brat and the first person in my family to be born in the United States. This heavily influenced my youth by instilling a love of reading and a burning curiosity about the world and all of the things within it. As an adult, my love of travel allowed me to explore many unimaginable locations. I participated in many adventures and documented them in what will be a series of books, the first of which you have just read.

Some might put these books in the Fantasy genre, and I never had issues with this label. After all, the adventures were, without any doubt in my mind, fantastic. I simply quibble with the label of “Fiction” that some might put on these tales. These tales should be viewed as historical records, more along the lines of a documentary.

I’ve learned one thing over the years. Magic is real. Keep exploring, and you too will find your magic.

Michael’s Website:  http://michaelarothman.com/

Michael on Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5778499.Michael_A_Rothman

Follow Michael on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/MichaelARothman

Michael on Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/MichaelARothman

 ~ Giveaway~

Michael will be awarding a $50 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during his tour.To enter just leave a commet with your email address. For more chances to win follow his tour.

The Tools of Prophecy Goddess Fish Tour