The Order of Time Series
by Scott P. Southall
GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy (Mythology/Ancient History)
BLURB:
Picture two twelve-year-old fraternal twins who are like night and day. She is a smart and highly organised MMA fighter. He’s not a fighter, he’s a lover of history, art and Star Wars. Despite their differences they are one formidable team. Together Anastasia and Edward Upston travel through time and navigate ancient civilisations, angry gods and mythical monsters in their quest to protect the integrity of human history.
About The Order of Time
Anastasia and Edward Upston are eleven year old twins who are different in almost every way. Despite this they are inseparable and he best of friends. They tackle the highs and lows of sixth grade together whether they are fending off bullies at the elite Blake Academy or examining rare antiquities at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Then: life gets complicated.
They discover that their friend and mentor, Dr. Gregorian, is part of a secret society called the Order of Time. It turns out that time is not fixed, it’s a fluid continuum where changes to the past can create ripples all the way through to the present. It unwittingly falls to the twins to travel back through time to ancient Egypt where they must overcome deadly assassins, evil high priests and vengeful gods in order to prevent disaster. Together Anastasia and Edward must navigate all obstacles to preserve the past and find their way back home.
The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.
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Excerpt:
From The Order of Time
“Oh my god!” Anastasia exclaimed as she quickly unclicked the belt bag and let the blood-soaked bag fall to the ground.
She watched in terrified fascination as something writhed inside it. Anastasia kicked the bag away and tried to step backward but ran into the soldier who had pulled her clear of Ammit’s jaws. There was nowhere to go. The canvas bag ripped open and the golden dragon’s head with glowing, green eyes and red pupils emerged. The statue was alive.
The miniature Quetzalcoatl rapidly expanded in front of her eyes until his head engulfed half of the passageway. The god’s golden, serpent body was as thick as an oak tree and coiled behind him. His feathered wings were folded back as they scraped the ceiling. Quetzalcoatl was motionless as he stared directly at Anastasia with glowing, green orbs that were now the size of volleyballs.
She could vaguely hear the shouts from the soldiers directly behind her. Anastasia was completely frozen with fear.
“What in Aten’s name is that?” the general said with a mixture of fear and awe as he slowly reached for his sword.
“It has been many centuries since I have been to this world,” a deep and ancient voice rumbled inside her head.
Quetzalcoatl is inside my head. He’s talking to me directly inside my head.
“You have paid the blood price and summoned me, child. What is your need?” the voice inside her head continued.
She had no idea how to talk to an ancient Aztec god. That kind of thing was much more up Edward’s alley. Anastasia stammered before finding her voice. “Mighty Quetzalcoatl, it is I who have summoned you. There is a demon blocking our way.”
The general stopped drawing his sword halfway when he realized that Anastasia was communicating with the beast.
Quetzalcoatl remained motionless. “What is your need? Ask quickly, child, before I grow weary of this, as I am forever hungry,” the voice echoed with impatience.
About The Order of Time and Odin’s Door
The orange light bathed the snow-covered fields as the fiery globe began to dip below the horizon. It was strange that something so beautiful could signal the arrival of something so evil. One thing twelve-year-old twins Anastasia and Edward Upston knew for sure was that when mortals were caught between two bickering gods nothing good would come of it. Surviving the Viking Age may be the hardest thing they ever do, if they can…
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Interview with Scott P. Southall
What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
This is an easy one – chocolate. The richer the better. Belgian Chocolate, Double Chocolate, Death by Chocolate are all right up my alley when it comes to ice cream. I respect everyone’s personal choice when it comes to ice cream but I do feel sorry for the strawberry and butterscotch people. As Edward says in the second book, “You’re only cheating yourself if it’s not chocolate!”
Which mythological creature are you most like?
I have loved mythology and mythological creatures from the time I was a very young boy. Greek myths were really the first ones I was exposed to as child. I was captivated by minotaurs, gorgons, titans, pegasus, chimeras, centaurs and hydras. My imagination ran wild with all the fantastic creatures. It’s a feeling that repeated itself every time I learned a new set of myths be it Celtic, Hindu, or Native American.
In terms of Norse mythology I have included one of my favorites, the Draugr, in The Order of Time and Odin’s Door. The Draugr is essentially the Norse version of a zombie. These undead monsters smelled bad, were incredibly strong, and almost impossible to kill (being dead already). To make matters worse they could shape shift as well. Much more deadly than your typical run of the mill zombie. A lot of people believe the Draugr was what George Martin based the white walkers on in The Game of Thrones.
First book you remember making an indelible impression on you.
I can remember begin ten or eleven yers old and reading Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight after borrowing it from our local library. I was hooked, I could not put that book down. I was completely immersed in her world of dragons and threads. Within a few weeks I head read all three of the books and had started on the Harper Hall Trilogy. I went from being a reluctant reader to a voracious reader which was a gift that Anne gave me. I’m so thankful because reading ignited my imagination, peaked my curiosity and expanded my world of possibilities.
How do you develop your plot and characters?
I generally start with a premise and the key characters. In the case of The Order of Time series, it started with Anastasia, Edward and Dr. Gregorian. The two fraternal twins who discover that their friend, the curator of the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History, is part of a secret society of time travelers. Together they have adventures across different times or eras in history. With the first book I knew that era was going to be the reign of the pharaoh Akhenaten. The period when the religion of ancient Egypt changed from being polytheistic to monotheistic. The question I had to figure out was why such a thing would happen to an empire and religion that was already 1,500 years old.
From there I start to flesh out the characters and key elements of their personas. How do they look? What do they like or dislike? What are they good at? What are there flaws? Once I have the basic set of characters I start outlining the plot. No more than a paragraph per key event until I have a high-level story line that I am excited about. The magic of the writing process happens for me when I start to connect these dots. The twists and turns and characters that appear in order for me to get from the A to B to C on my story line.
Describe your writing space.
I am incredibly fortunate to live at one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever seen. From our house we have these incredibly dramatic views of the beach and the forrest. I never get tired of them. With my iPad Pro I can write by the pool, on our front deck, on the lounge, or at the kitchen table. There is no one place I have to sit. Most of my writing takes place after 9 p.m. when the kids are asleep and the house is quiet (at least momentarily). While I can’t see the ocean at that time I can still hear the waves crashing on the beach and that is all I need.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Scott is an American author and banking executive who lives in Sydney, Australia. He grew up in the suburbs of Washington D.C. and attended Georgetown University. While he loves his job as a global banker, his true passion is making up stories with his children. His debut novel, The Order of Time, reached #1 in its category on Amazon and was the 2021 Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal Winner in the Children’s – Mythology/Fairy Tale genre.
Website ~ LinkedIn ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Twitter
Book Awards:
Book Awards ~ Reader’s Favorite
5 comments:
Thanks to the Avid Reader for having me. I will be around to answer questions if anyone has any or just wants to have a chat.
Great excerpt and cover.
I really liked the excerpt.
Thanks everyone for you kind words. I appreciate the support and hope you enjoy The Order of Time Series.
I enjoyed the interview and the excerpt, Scott, and The Order of Time sounds like an exciting book for the kids and I love the cover! Thanks for sharing it with me and have a happy & successful New Year!
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