Fantasy author Justin Newland joins me today and we’re chatting about his mythological novel The Genes of Isis.
During his virtual book tour, Justin will be awarding one signed copy of the paperback (US or International) to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for a chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit his other tour stops and enter there, too!
Bio:
Justin Newland is an author of historical fantasy and secret history thrillers – that’s history with a supernatural twist. His stories feature known events and real people from history which are re-told and examined through the lens of the supernatural. He gives author talks and is a regular contributor to BBC Radio Bristol’s Thought for the Day. He lives with his partner in plain sight of the Mendip Hills in Somerset, England.
Justin, welcome back to Reviews and Interviews. Please tell us about your book.
The plot of The Genes of Isis is taken from the Book of Genesis. It re-tells the Biblical story of the Flood but in a modern way. The main character is Akasha, who is an apprentice priestess. She has a vision that the flood is coming, and the story unfolds from there, culminating in the surge.
What inspired you to write this book?
I’ve always been fascinated by the origins of our world. So, the first civilization seemed a natural place to start. I wanted to explore the fantastical realms of pyramids, glowing pectorals, mind travel, instant clairvoyance, Egyptian concepts of justice, and of Fallen Angels aka the Nephilim.
Excerpt from The Genes of Isis:
Prologue
Sometimes when I sit alone and the night draws in like a curtain of fine black soot, my skin becomes ultra-sensitive. I can feel the slight vibrations of a shadow, or detect a passing wraith vainly seeking its way home. Each nerve fibre develops its own echo, so as the feeling travels from my fingertips, through the palm, along the forearm, then flashes through the scapula, it culminates in a resounding crescendo in the caverns of my soul.
Stillness ushers in this state, a strange quiescence that comes from afar. It is as if I were afloat in the midst of a great galaxy, where the sound of the millions of years hums in the inner chambers of my mind like a gentle but mysterious symphony.
When I touch its panorama, I see with my own eyes, but in a way subtly different to normal vision. I watch with other eyes. Other eyes – how is that possible? There is only me, isn’t there? But there is something else – an entity – that sees through my eyes, that sees what I see. How can this be? That I can see? That the other can be? Yet I tell you it is so.
They are the Eyes of the Watchers.
When they attend me, I feel their primeval power and authority. Without prejudice or bias, they watch. From the gentle awakening of my body in my mother’s womb when the fiery spirit entered therein, to the time when one day I will exhale my last sigh, they are vigilant.
When they are far away, I long for them to return and grace my existence. When they are near, the Watchers are both a passion and a comfort, for I know that they convey what they witness through me back up the great ray of creation. They tell me I am not alone and simply never will be.
Their duty and dedication is to write, as well as to watch. They are both silent witnesses and faithful recorders. Etched for eternity in the planet’s living archive, they have recorded, though not in hieroglyphs, nor on papyrus or carved on stone, her secret, invisible vault – the astral light.
As I write this testament, they watch and record. One day, the Source will turn the celestial pages of what I’ve written and weigh it in the balance. Life is a continuous exercise of spiritual due diligence, and my actions here will determine my place in the next life.
My name is Akasha
I am mother of you all.
You are the children of angels.
And this is our story.
What’s the next writing project?
I am working on a two-book historical fiction/supernatural thriller series, The Shoes That Don’t Wear Out.
In the 1500s, Spain is the most powerful Catholic country in Europe. It’s King Philip leads the fight against the Protestant Reformation.
Nelan is a young man of Flemish-Dutch descent who flees Spanish persecution of the Protestants in the Netherlands and comes to England. Seeking revenge on the Spanish, he ends up sailing around the world with Francis Drake. During the voyage, he grows up and becomes a man and also learns the art of conjuring the elements, particularly fire. Hence the title of the first novel in the series is The Mark of the Salamander.
In the second novel, entitled the Midnight of Eights, Nelan works to repulse the Spanish Armada, a massive fleet of warships sent by King Philip to invade England – the legendary Land of Angels – and burn all its heretical Protestants at the stake.
Thank you for coming back to Reviews and Interviews!
Lisa, thanks for having me along.
Links:
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Thanks for hosting!