THE PATH OF REVENGE
Tom Haward
GENRE: Historical Fiction/ Alternative History
BLURB:
The rebellion is in hiding. It has been a year since Boatman King attempted to overthrow the Empire, but instead had to escape London with his wife and their closest allies.
Not all of Boatman King’s allies are in hiding. Maverick “The Beast” Kirabo is on a mission to finish what he started on the streets of London. The former gladiator has a score to settle and revenge to unleash: Rome will fear him as they once adored him.
Despite its failure, Boatman King’s rebellion has spread disquiet in Rome’s political circles. Grand Protector Faust dispatches a pair of hunters to search the country and bring Boatman and his followers back to London for reckoning. Although Faust is the official face of Rome’s leadership, Emperor Maximus is thirsty to stamp his mark on the world and step out from his dead father’s shadow.
Unbeknownst to Faust and Maximus, a terrifying presence is watching the unrest and relishing in the vulnerabilities it’s causing.
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Excerpt:
Maximus called for the nurse. Well, called was a rather generous word for the animalistic noise that his mouth emitted. Ever since his head had been caved in by a hammer, he wasn’t able to vocalise much that made any sense. In his head, though, in his head, everything made sense and the words that bounced around his brain were as clear as the hatred that bubbled in his gut. The hatred was centred on Maverick Kirabo, the man who had wielded the hammer that had left a permanent dent in Maximus’s skull.
It had been eleven months since Max had one minute been enjoying crucifying Olivia King, feeling the butterflies in his belly as he smashed nails through her wrists, and the next minute waking up in this gods-forsaken room, fluorescent lights causing splinters of pain in his skull and tubes sprouting from his body like a plastic porcupine.
Maximus made a guttural noise again to try and get the nurse’s attention. Eventually she appeared; she tried to conceal a look of disgust, but she was either a poor actor or disinterested in trying. Maximus had assumed his face was a picture of horror from his injuries, which it was, but the nurse’s disgust didn’t come from the patient’s wounds but from the patient’s personality.
Maximus Nero was infamous for his sadism. He made no secret of the pleasure he derived from other people’s pain. It was that pleasure that had motivated him to travel to Britannia to track down Olivia King.
Interview with Tom Haward
Have you read anything that made you think differently about fiction?
Hannibal by Thomas Harris is my favourite novel of all time and made me think very differently about the moral ambiguity of humanity. It also then made me think about the way fiction can make you feel much more empathy for a villain than you’re necessarily comfortable with.
How do you select the names of your characters?
I try to select names which are relevant to the heritage of the characters and also have some connection back through literature. So Faust, for instance, is of Germanic descent and I wanted to connect to Goethe’s character of Faust.
Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
No. Although as it’s an alternate history I like making references to our own real lives and seeing what people enjoy reading about now the world has been altered.
What was your hardest scene to write?
Writing action is difficult. Writing gladiator fights are really tricky as it’s important to write something people can visualise, so how people are fighting isn’t easy to do so that it makes sense and doesn’t become a jumble of words.
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’m building a body of work. The Path of Revenge is Book 2 in The Path of Chaos series, so The Path of Revenge is part of a world I have created and want people to follow.
What were your goals and intentions in this book, and how well do you feel you achieved them?
To write a great story that is a page turner. I like to think that was accomplished!
What inspired you to write The Path of Revenge?
I had an idea for an alternate history where the Roman Empire still rules the world and wrote my debut novel, The Path of Chaos, which was released in 2023. The Path of Revenge is the sequel which is building on the world I created.
Can you tell us a little bit about the next books in The Path of Chaos series or what you have planned for the future?
I’m currently working on the third book in this series which will bring the events of The Path of Revenge to a close. I’m also working on a family drama novel, which explores the complexities of narcissism in family structures.
Can you tell us a little bit about the characters in The Path of Revenge?
Bjorn Askå is the main villain and is a true sociopath. He was an exciting character to write as I have always wanted to write a truly convincing villain who terrifies.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I love writing dialogue as I love writing interplay between characters and being British, not many conversations go by without sarcasm coming into play. And there’s plenty of sarcasm in this novel!
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Tom was born in Essex and, at 4 months old, he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers. He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.
Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and The Path of Chaos (Cinnabar Moth Publishing) is his debut novel, which was released August 2023. The Path of Revenge is the sequel in The Path of Chaos series and will be released August 6th 2024.
Connect with Tom Haward
Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram
5 comments:
We appreciate you featuring Tom Haward and THE PATH OF REVENGE today.
This sounds like a really interesting story. Thanks for sharing.
This looks outstanding! Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour.
This sounds like a good book and I really like the cover.
Excellent author interview!! It was fun reading more about this author and his new book series!! Thanks for sharing!!
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