Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: Timeslayers by Colin Sephton @GoddessFish

 

TIMESLAYERS

Colin Sephton

GENRE: Steampunk Adventure Mystery

BLURB:

In a Steampunk Oxford, Ignatius and Indigo are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidentally calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon.

Known as the Beautiful and the Damned, the Charon are the Infernal Dukes of Hell, created to carry out the will of the Omisoul. But they are tired of their immortality and want to end their existence. Elsewhere, the sorcerer Ragnar of Roc has conjured a hole in spacetime, allowing the draconic Elder God Calabi Ya to re-enter the cosmos from the Ghost Worlds. He is as old as the Omnisoul and wants the book to learn his destiny. The two Union Jacks leave Oxford and are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon’s plot to thwart the Omnisoul’s plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

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Excerpt:

Glancing around cautiously, Ignatius could see that nobody else in the library had moved, gestured or even looked. He looked back at the book he was reading. He had to concentrate on the unfamiliar text to translate with any accuracy. Its author, Enoch Slipnot, had an unsteady hand, and the inks was faded in places. As he read the next section, his right hand began to tingle, a slight burning sensation.

It came through the Land of the Duranki. Those trained in the art of Al Kimiya brought forth sentient life, the fiery whirlwind that passes like lightning through the fiery clouds, believing they could master this Unholy Great One.

I have read of the great horrors the Unholy One brought forth, seeking the emerald tablet thought to have been hidden in the library of the Mystorium by the Order of the Ti-Botta. If this great red shadow should discover the sword of great power, he will wreak destruction on a cosmic scale and the whole cosmos shall tremble at his feet. The great runesword has been forged with an edge keen enough that it may even cut through the aether. Only a being in harmony with the cosmos can make use of such a weapon and with the Great Book, Turiya and the power of the Charon, summoned by the High Priest, stop the Unholy One.

I am unswerving in my task as the last remaining warrior-priest of the Charon – the Dragon- slayers of the Ecclesiarchy…

Interview with Colin Sephton

Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction? Yes, the novels of Michael Moorcock. His books are difficult sometimes to categorise, which I like. He has created this character called the Eternal Champion, which means, if he chooses, he can relate any story set in any time and place to the idea of this character that has multiple personalities and versions of himself. When you think about it, it’s a brilliant idea. I think that is the single most thing that has made me think about fiction differently. It stops an author being pigeonholed.

How do you select the names of your characters?

The names for my characters come from a range of sources. Some are from Norse or Greek mythology. The main character is Isambard Ignatius. As I am an Engineer, he was named after my engineering hero Isambard Kingdom Brunel along with Ignatius Donnelly who wrote about Atlantis in 1882. Others are even from the titles of songs, for example, the Voice is named after the song The Voice from Ultravox in the 1980s. Other major characters such as Atman, Devi or Tara are from Hindu sources. Other times I will use a Sanskrit dictionary to find a word that is the meaning of an artefact in the story and use that for a name. It’s important for me to have names that mean something as I think it makes characters more believable.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?

No I don’t hide any secrets. The closest I have come to that is when the main character Ignatius is reading an ancient book by an author called Enoch Slipnot. That is an anagram of my name Colin Sephton! The only other secret I guess, is the heroines name, Indigo Gemstone. There is doubt that it is her real name and if so, where it came from. Readers may find out in the second novel.

What was your hardest scene to write?

The hardest scene to write is probably the first chapter. When you have an idea, it’s usually because you know where it is going to go, some notion of what the end may be. When you sit down to write, where do you begin? I usually just start writing, but that first set of paragraphs may not end up as the start, they may be a chapter of two further in. But I work on the basis that if you don’t start somewhere, you never will begin.

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

I think it’s important that each book can be read in isolation, but all my novels will be connected. Timeslayers is the first in a series that are all connected and as the story progresses, the main characters of Ignatius and Indigo develop along the way and their understanding of the cosmos, something much greater than just the universe, which they are a part of.

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

The goal of the book really was to start the reader thinking about the cosmos which we are all a part of. I very much believe we do not live in the universe; we live as part of the universe, we are linked. Although this is a steampunk novel, it is an adventure that leaves the Victorian steam world behind and takes place in the cosmos, in the realm of the gods.

What inspired you to write TIMESLAYERS?

The inspirtion to write Timeslayers was my own fantasy artwork. I am an artist and rather than draw and paint other people’s heroes, I created my own and eventually they found their way into a novel.

Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in TIMESLAYERS or what you have planned for the future?

The next book in the series is Shadowslayers. It takes place immediately after events from Timeslayers the first novel, and I am currently writing the third novel in the series which has a title, but that may change, I haven’t decided yet. This story will explore consciousness a little more and the readers will get to know a bit more about the beginnings of the cosmos.

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

The main characters in Timeslayers are Ignatius and Indigo who live in Oxford, England. They are both agents for the Union Jacks, a secret organisation. The role of the Union is to protect the British Empire, which is at the height of its powers, and help in its technological advances. They have discovered the existence of the mystical Book of Consciousness written by the creator of the cosmos, the genderless Omnisoul. The book is the history of everything that is, that has been and that will be. The agents are aided by Skye, who accidently calls forth seven merciless immortals called the Charon. This is where their cosmic adventure begins, leaving Oxford, they are taken on a journey across the cosmos in the great ship Taraka, which sails through space and time. Ignatius and Indigo are mere pawns in the cosmic ocean of fate, carried to fabled places, witness to bloody massacres, and half-willing conspirators in the Charon’s plot to thwart the Omnisoul’s plan and defeat the protectors of the Well at the Centre of Time.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

The parts I enjoyed most about writing the book was the descriptions of some of the fantasy landscapes and worlds in which the protagonists find themselves. Because it is a fantasy world, you have complete freedom to describe them, the colours, the atmosphere, the buildings. They are all pure imagination. I think a writer should never be constrained by what they know to be the norm. Why can’t the sky of another world be pink, or the grass blue?

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

Connect with Colin Sephton

Publisher Author Page ~ Website ~ Instagram

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