Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Witchslayer's Scion by L.T. Getty @GoddessFish

Witchslayer's Scion

by L.T. Getty

GENRE: Sword and Sorcery/Fantasy

BLURB:

Koth’s life was decided for him since before he was born, for his ability to heal wounds by touch is rare even among his people. When an attempted kidnapping turns to sacrificial murder, he embraces vengeance and the sword. As he journeys far from his small isolated village in the north, he learns the truth as to why his bloodline is targeted by strange magic, in a world still rebuilding from a time when dark sorcerers didn’t bother with secrecy.

Koth thinks his quest is straightforward enough--find the men responsible, and kill them--and any who aid them. He will soon learn that those who have both privilege and power, there are few things they lack--and in the pursuit of godhood, their allies can prove even more sinister as mere mortals seek to advent empires and dynasties.

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Excerpt:

“Something’s wrong,” Una said. “Koth, wait here.”

“Why?” If there was a problem, she should be waiting outside for him.

He sensed inside, his aunt’s thoughts remained hidden from him. Una shouted, and he ran inside the building. He thought there were lights on inside, but he saw no candles.

The tea house was very dark, and he felt a sudden dread—he wanted to leave. Baro barked from the outside. ~Una!~ he thought, before something hit his neck.

He knew at once it was a poison dart, and ripping it out he tried to smell what it was. Seeing metal reflect moonlight and he moved his hand, his skin cut. Moving instinctively out of the way, his next reaction was to purge the toxin that coursed through his body and tried to understand the wound. It was mostly his forearm, deep but he could still use it, the bone unaffected. He’d do a better healing later. He focused on something not unlike a burn before going for the knife at his hip. Striking 85 in the next liquid motion, Koth realized he was attacking his aunt.

She grabbed onto his injured flesh and seared it, destroying, weakening the sinew and the cartilage and causing it to age and die, following up the bloodstream, to find the heart and kill. Koth tried to brace; he couldn’t heal and keep her at bay. He was physically stronger and much heavier, but she was weakening his muscles. He tried to wrench the knife from her.

He knocked the blade to the ground then tried to lock minds with her to find nothing short of blinding pain take him over, wrestling him to the ground and making him drop his knife. She took the dagger and when he tried to force himself up, a familiar sense washed over him. Magic, but not coming from Una.

“Do not kill him yet,” Yeshbel said, “we will bleed him first.”

Interview with L.T. Getty

How did you become involved with the subject or theme of your book?

I developed my first fantasy series when I was in Junior High/High School. This is a spin off of the original series, set a little over thirty years before what I’ll call The Main Series.

What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?

I wanted to flesh out and really delve into the history and character of places we didn’t have time to really spend in the other series.

I also felt like when I was working on the main series that I was leaving a lot of questions to be answered. I’m thinking this series will raise some questions and answer others, so if someone wants to get a better picture they’ll have to read multiple books in different timelines and piece the information together.

What was the hardest part of writing this book?

Finding the time. When I was writing the first draft, I had a full time job, went back to school part-time, and was volunteering. To say I was busy was an understatement, but when I got laid off I quickly finished it and started work on a project I really wanted to work on because I always have more ideas than time to do them.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I almost always enjoy writing fight sequences. I really enjoyed trying to make the villains reasonable, almost relatable characters who weren’t evil and scheming for the sake of being evil. It’s not so much that everyone’s morally grey, so much as how characters can have noble ideals and become corrupted.

Were there alternate endings you considered?

I wasn’t sure I wanted Koth to find his target at all in book 1. He sets out from his village to avenge his brother’s murder, and originally I wasn’t going to have him find anyone responsible for a book or two. I thought that him spending a books trying to elusively find one of the mage responsible and to build him up as something bigger wasn’t a great idea; so I suppose you could say I considered making Koth level up for a book or two, but I thought that would be frustrating for the reader. I did make Koth train with a poison master and imply it took some time for Koth to find Radij, but there’s a time jump and if you’d like, you can imagine that Koth and Una encountered other supernatural threats on the road. It would have been more realistic that Koth could have spent decades looking for Radij and fighting people based on what they were, but because Koth was emotionally invested in killing Radij, he made stupid mistakes, so it felt more realistic than him coldly finding a coven, taking out a member, then retreating until the next opportunity presented itself, learning from his mistakes and taking notes on what was/wasn’t effective. That was something a more level-headed character would have done.

Naturally, as the author I would have found a way to make it more interesting than I am currently implying, but I thought the drama would have come from Koth being really close to his target, and having it slip through his fingers.

Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book?

I already knew the author/editor I hired to help me edit it prior to sending the title to Champagne Books. I honestly felt a little burnt with the editorial process from Tower of Obsidian, so I figured I could develop a novel for publication and get some more experience working with an editor. I hired her for Garnet and Silver and I wanted more practice, so I hired her to work on this one with me. She’s actually the one who mentioned the title to Ellen when we were at When Words Collide, a literary festival that takes place in Calgary, and I agreed to send Witchslayer’s Scion in when I got back home.

I knew about sod houses and drew inspiration from Rome and British Empires when I made the Tenageen Imperium. I did research bath houses, and the history of bathing. Writing and researching is kind of isolating; if I run into someone I know at the coffee shop or library if I don’t have a test to study for I’ll tend to put off the research and visit.

What genre of books do you enjoy reading?

I like books about adventure in this world and imagined ones. Hard science fiction or fantasy that feels like the world is really well thought out and developed is really a plus for me.

I typically like reading books that aren’t overly profane or gory and make me think or engage me in different ways.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

L.T. Getty is a rural paramedic from Manitoba. She enjoys writing science fiction and fantasy and generally being creative.

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Giveaway:

$25 Amazon/BN GC

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