Book One of the Vanquish Trilogy
YA Fantasy, Fantasy
Date Published: March 31, 2022
Publisher: Kingsbrook Publishing
Two strangers in the wrong place at the worst possible time…
….a lone assassin prepared to do the dirtiest of jobs…
…and a guard sentry determined to stop him.
A dark enemy is about to rise in Illmoor, something even more chaotic and twisted than the citizens themselves. Step forward Enoch Dwellings, master sleuth, who boasts a reputation built entirely on an intricate web of carefully calculated lies. Together with his hapless but increasingly inept assistant, Doctor Wheredad (no medical training whatsoever), he will do anything it takes to solve a crime that might actually end up costing him more than his own life.
Interview with David Lee Stone
How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?
I was encouraged to write at a very young age by the late, great Sir Terry Pratchett. Sometime around 2002, I was taken on by both Disney Publishing Worldwide and Hodder in the UK…but the series I loved was never handled in the way I would have liked: this has been my chance to launch The Illmoor Chronicles in the way I always imagined it being released!
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
By the time I came to write this book originally, I had covered all the major themes of comic fantasy but I very much wanted to do Sherlock Holmes set in a medieval fantasy city – and I really feel like I did that with Shadow of the Shapeshifter. At least, I hope I did!
What was the hardest part of writing this book?
The environment! I was sent to Bulgaria by the British Council so I actually wrote Shadow of the Shapeshifter in a hotel in Sofia next to a casino owned by the mafia! If parts of the book are terrifying, then it’s because I was terrified when I was writing it! Every time I heard a gunshot, I would end up typing the following chapter UNDERNEATH the desk.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
Finishing it – because I then got to come back home. I also loved (and I do mean loved) writing the prologue and the first chapter: I’m hugely proud of those two sections, particularly!
Where there alternate endings you considered?
The book is the first of a trilogy….so that question will probably be answered more accurately after The Venom of Vanquish and The Might of Moltenoak!
Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?
This is a tough one because I really didn’t get out much while I was writing the book. I’m a huge introvert (and have recently discovered that I’m autistic into the bargain) so I tend to spend my life huddled in the corner of coffee shops, writing while people watching. I DID meet one of my heroes shortly after I’d finished writing it, though: Matthew Fox who played Jack on LOST – there’s a truly awful photograph of us both standing awkwardly outside a restaurant in London!
What genre of books do you enjoy reading?
I love everything: I’m currently reading books by Bret Hart (the wrestler), Cary Elwes (from Princess Bride), Anthony Horowitz, Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. I also adore the Fighting Fantasy books by Steve Jackson and Ian Livingstone – and am going to the official launch dinner this year for their new book, Dice Men!
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