Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Magic Forgotten by Jack Hillman @RunWildBooks @GoddessFish

Magic Forgotten

by Jack Hillman

GENRE:   Urban Fantasy

BLURB:

Magic Forgotten is an Adult Urban Fantasy set in Eastern PA. It is the story of a paraplegic, freelance writer who has withdrawn from the world only to be dragged back out by the appearance of two strangers in his back yard.  They are a Sidhe, the old elves of England, and a human wizardess, a captive of the elf, and they are here to take over the world. The writer and the wizardess have to stop the elf from achieving his plans.

Excerpt:

Dan gripped the rails of his chair with both hands, holding himself upright by what little strength remained in his body. The cold touch of the steel tubing seemed to give him energy and he looked up at Baraz.

“What is it you need?” he asked, weakly. The stones permitted this question, perhaps because it was a benefit to Dan’s master. “I can find anything here faster than any visitor. You need me alert and conscious. To get what you need.” Each phrase was a strain to speak, without direction from Baraz.

“We have found what we need, cripple,” Baraz answered. “By now, Thook has discovered the way into the place where they grow the gems we seek.” He stood, pointing to the computer as if the gems were there for display. “That place grows gemstones, an amazing skill I must learn for myself. Two stones of the proper design, placed together inside a spell Thook will prepare, will open a doorway from my world to thine. The light of the sun will rip through the veil and provide the path for my queen to come back to her power.”

         

“You want laser crystals,” Dan exclaimed, the logo now making sense to him. He had seen it before, in an ad in the employment section of the local paper. SolarTech grew laser crystals for industrial use and they were looking for good employees to work in the labs and clean rooms of their facility. “This has got to be the strangest quest I ever heard of,” he mumbled. “You look like a reject from a sword and sorcery movie. Playing with laser crystals, no less.”

“Enough,” Baraz shouted. “Thy place is to obey, nothing more.” He stepped forward and pointed the ax at Dan. “I could dispense with thee now, but that would require another tool in thy place. But soon, fool, thou wilt be as worthless as thou appear. Then I will deal with thy insolence.”

Dan snapped. Baraz was within arm’s reach. Uncaring of the pain caused by the stones on his wrists and forehead, Dan gripped the shaft of the ax. More due to Baraz’s surprise than any martial skill, Dan jerked the ax free, spun it in his hands and swung at Baraz’s stomach. The blade sheared through the tunic, grating on the mail beneath. Dan spun the shaft in his hands, tangling the tunic around the ax-heads and pulled, dragging Baraz to him.

Interview with Jack Hillman

What inspired you to write Magic Forgotten?

I was a voracious reader as a child.  I think it was a case of I had my own stories to tell so I started writing.  My first published piece was at age 17 in a school paper.


Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in Magic Forgotten- Magic series or what you have planned for the future?

The next book in the series is Magic Forbidden.  Dan and Thook have to find out who else knows about magic as they seem to be using it to hurt people and that is not permitted. As things move forward. Thook learns more and more about how things work in this world and she grows more confident in her own abilities and in her new life with Dan.


Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in Magic Forgotten?

Dan Braden was in investigative journalist until a car accident left him paralyzed from the waist down.  Most of his friends were unable to deal with his new situation and he pretty much withdrew from the outside world and worked exclusively online. Until Thook came into his life.

Thook is a human, a descendant of those taken to Albion with the Sidhe when they left England four hundred years ago. She has been enslaved to a Sidhe sorcerer since childhood and has a very low sense of self when she first meets Dan.

Ian Goodfellow is a Puck, a small winged humanoid creature of magic who befriends Dan after Dan saves him from a web-spinning creature in Albion. He helps Dan rescue Thook after she is kidnapped by the Sidhe after she and Dan get married. He is related to Robin Goodfellow of Shakespeare fame.

James Raymond is a police lieutenant and works with Dan.  They have developed a friendship over the years Dan has been cooped up at home and Raymond respects Dan’s opinions and his ability to find information online.

Annwynn is a queen of the Sidhe and has been working with her sorcerers to find a way back to Earth in the hopes she can create a larger realm for herself as well as getting more energy from the humans who still live there.


You know I think we all have a favorite author. Who is your favorite author and why?

Probably my most favorite author is Robert Heinlein.  His books were the ones that taught me I could do whatever I wanted to as a child, which is a good trick when you’re spending most of your time in a hospital.


If you could time-travel would you travel to the future or the past? Where would you like to go and why would you like to visit this particular time period?

Probably the future in hopes of getting some medical issues solved.  I have a lot of things to do and physical restraints make it hard to work some days. And with physical abilities repaired I know I could do even more, since I have knowledge about a lot of things but lack physical skills at this time. Meanwhile I’ll just keep plugging along.


Do you have any little fuzzy friends? Like a dog or a cat? Or any pets?

Yes I have three cats that serve as editors for my work.  The Hillman Version of Cat Editors: 1) Place manuscript on a flat surface.  Cat will come over to lay on manuscript (because they lay on any papers you put down.  2) If they fall asleep, you need to pump up the action in the piece. 3) If they move pages around, you need to reorganize the story. 4) If they crap on it, you need to start over. 5) if they sit alert and in the meatloaf position, you did good.

Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit with us today.

You’re welcome and thanks for having me over to your place.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

A lifelong Pennsylvania resident, Jack began a love of books sitting amid the mystery of hospitals and medical paraphernalia. Mythology of all cultures and a fascination with martial philosophies led to King Arthur, the knights of the round table and an array of science fiction and fantasy authors that had a strong impact on his life.

Real life got in the way of a writing career to start, but thirty years in the life and medical insurance field led Jack to a job as a stringer for local newspapers and writing for medical and insurance journals. In addition to years in the insurance field Jack also has fifteen years experience as a journalist and freelance writer, and has even won a Keystone Press Award (1998) for his journalistic efforts. Jack has written on a wide variety of subjects and keeps his hand in medical and insurance matters on a daily basis.

In addition to newspaper reporting and magazine articles, Jack has written articles for a variety websites--some under his own name and some as a behind-the-scenes contributor. Jack's first short fiction piece, a novella, was serialized in an old BBS site in 1992, with the first hard copy magazine story arriving in 1993. Four dinner theater plays written by Jack have been produced and performed for local theater in Eastern Pennsylvania. His novels are now coming to light with the release of There Are Giants In This Valley published by Archebooks Publishing.

With experience as a journalist, short story writer, playwright and novelist, Jack often speaks at writer's conferences, to writer's groups and to school gatherings. If you are looking for a speaker on esoteric subjects, Jack probably has something tucked away in a folder for the occasion.

He lives in eastern Pennsylvania with his supportive wife, a squad of feline editors, and an array of edged weapons to inspire his works.

Updated on December 22, 2015 by Jack Hillman

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Buy Link:

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