Interview with fantasy author Bryan Cole

Today’s special guest is Bryan Cole to chat about his new epic fantasy, Beginning of Arrogance, Book 1 of a Paladin’s Journey.

During his virtual book tour, Bryan will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner. To be entered for your 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:
Bryan Cole is the author of the Paladin’s Journey series. New to the writing world, he spent years working in the enterprise software space, focused on quality assurance and delivery of software applications. Which is weird, because that has nothing to do with writing fiction.

For that, we need to go back – way back – to his first experience with Dungeons & Dragons. His friend Chris brought over the box set for Myth Drannor, eager to play. Together, they realized they had no idea what they were doing, because neither of them owned a copy of the Players Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, or the Monster Manual.

From those incredibly awkward beginnings, a lifelong passion for epic science fiction and high fantasy adventure was born. Everything from his grade 4 teacher letting him stay after school to play a video game where you were the wizard on a quest, defeating monsters by answering math problems, to some truly memorable movies like Willow that showed him a world bigger and more exciting than the real one.

Of course, Star Wars and Star Trek have had a major influence on him. Want to get in good with Bryan? Lead with a Star Wars meme. From one of the good movies. Otherwise, your plan will backfire.

Bryan is also an avid gamer, and enjoys video games, board games, and tabletop roleplaying games.

These days, he lives in Toronto with his wife and daughter, and his adorable cat.

Welcome, Bryan. Please tell us about your current release.

Beginning of Arrogance is a fantasy adventure in the sword-and-sorcery style. It centers around the protagonist, Krell, a recently called paladin in service to the erratic god of the seas and skies, ReckNor. Paladins in my setting are direct agents of their god, there to make their will manifest in the world, and to that end ReckNor communicates with Krell directly. Through following the vague and often unhelpful guidance he receives, Krell and his companions stumble across a larger threat, and are tasked with confronting it.

Beginning of Arrogance is set in a well-developed world, which contains unique gods, political structures, and intricate magic. Aesthetically dark, tastefully humorous, and unapologetically gripping, Beginning of Arrogance will completely capture your attention from cover to cover!

What inspired you to write this book?
Fundamentally, I wanted to read a story like this, and couldn’t find it! I am an avid reader, and love the fantasy genre. However, when I see settings where the gods are manifestly and provably real, too often the setting disregards the impact that would have on every aspect of every living creature’s lives. Even simple magic, to heal wounds or treat disease, would utterly transform society in ways I’ve so rarely read about.

Beginning of Arrogance is my view of how the influence of accessible magic and deities you can interact with would restructure society. The main setting is a small coastal village town, to minimize some of the impact as it is figuratively at the end of nowhere and utterly unimportant. As the stories progress and more of the world is revealed, the town of Watford will be shown for the undeveloped backwater that it really is.

Beyond the desire to read the story I want, there is an immense amount of joy in the actual process of writing itself. I hope that people enjoy Beginning of Arrogance enough that I am able to write the entire series I have plotted out!

 

Excerpt from Beginning of Innocence:
Krell shrugged and looked back at Gerrard. “Whatever else I am, Gerrard, I’m a survivor. Maybe that’s why ReckNor chose me to be a paladin. Maybe he wrecked the ship on purpose to see if I had what it took. Maybe he didn’t. Either way, I hear the call. My blade is in his service, my will is his will. His voice thunders in my head, making his will known to me.”

“Wow. You know, Kraven’s right, you are intense!” Gerrard walked along in silence for a few minutes next to him. Then he turned and said, “That sounds really hard, having another voice in your head all the time.”

Krell laughed. “Nah, it’s really easy. When he tells me something, I do it. When he doesn’t say anything, I do whatever I want.”

Gerrard frowned. “I thought paladins had all sorts of rules they had to follow.”

Krell grinned at him. “You’re thinking of followers of Hieron the Honorable, lord of justice. There’s a big temple of his in Heaford, just up the coast, where the duke holds court. I’ve never met one of his followers, but apparently he loves calling paladins, and they’re pretty common in that faith. Most paladin stories are about paladins of Hieron.”

“Not common in ReckNor’s faith, though?”

“Not remotely. Apparently, Olgar can’t remember the last time ReckNor called one. He’s… well, most people think he’s insane, and that if you don’t appease him, he’ll destroy you. A cult of sailors and the mad. That he’s temperamental enough that even if you appease him, he still might destroy you. Which is all… somewhat true, I’d say.”

Ahead, Tristan laughed. “You’re telling me you think your god is insane?”

Krell shook his head. “No, but temperamental? Absolutely. Appease him or else, which is how his faith works. Sailors and those who live and work on the sea pay homage, though for many, it is out of fear. He’s often thought of as a survival-of-the-fittest sort of god.”

Krell noticed they were all looking at him now. Orca looked unhappy, Kraven appeared to be controlling his laughter, and Tristan and Gerrard were looking at him like he was dangerous.

“So… what does ReckNor teach, then?” asked Gerrard.

Krell thought about it, and Tristan looked like he was dreading an explanation. Better to keep things simple for now, he thought.

“Basically two things. The first is that the seas and skies are his, so make offerings when you use them and he’s happy. The second is that he takes joy in the freedom of choice.” Krell went silent, and they walked on for a few moments before anyone said anything.

“I thought you were going to drone on incessantly about your god and how great he is all the time,” said Tristan. Krell looked at him and smiled.

“I’m a paladin. If you want that, go talk to Olgar. I’m here to show the faith of ReckNor through action, not through words.” Thunder rumbled in the distance as if on cue, adding ominous weight to his words.

Gerrard snorted. “Did ReckNor just add some thunder in the background to make you sound more intimidating or dramatic or something?”

Kraven laughed, and Krell joined him. Orca said, “That’s ridiculous!” at the same time Krell said, “Probably!”

 

What exciting story are you working on next?
Onward to book two! A Paladin’s journey continues as the surviving characters deal with the fallout of their actions from book one, and some of the deliberately loose threads left hanging at the end of book one are explored. Many new characters and threats will challenge our protagonists in ways they couldn’t imagine before.

When did you first consider yourself a writer?
Honestly, I’m not certain I think of myself as a writer even at this point. Beginning of Arrogance is published, and the critical reception is extremely positive so far. Holding the finished product in my hand was a moment of pure joy. Yet for me, I still don’t consider myself a writer. I’d probably change my mind if I sell enough copies of Beginning of Arrogance that I can retire and write full time!

Do you write full-time? If so, what’s your work day like? If not, what do you do other than write and how do you find time to write?
I write whenever I can, but my full-time job in the enterprise software space is very demanding. Enterprise software is the sort of technology that businesses purchase in order to run their major systems, the sort of things that make the internet or online banking work. It’s exciting and fulfilling, and I enjoy what I do, but it does make finding time to write very difficult.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
Probably that I talk to and argue with myself, putting myself in the roles of the various characters. I like to think that hearing the voice out loud is engaging other parts of my brain, and often I’ll talk through how a character would react to a particular scene. Sometimes that even leads me to rewrite whole sections of the book, to accommodate who they are. I would draw a parallel to acting, when an actor “finds the character”. I have a similar feeling, when all of the sudden it all comes together and I learn who they are. It also makes the characters much easier to write!

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
At first, astronaut. Then it moved onto more reasonable goals. Coming out of high-school when I needed to make serious life choices, the decision was between pilot, professional chef, or computer software. I chose computer software and haven’t looked back since!

Anything additional you want to share with the readers?
I’m very optimistic that you’re going to enjoy Beginning of Arrogance, and I would love to hear back from you. You can reach me on my website at www.fatpaladin.ca, or on my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fatpaladin.

The biggest, nicest thing you can do for any author – including myself! – is leave a review when you really enjoy a book. Likewise, if you don’t enjoy it, you should be honest about that as well. Reviews and ratings are super important for us to see and receive!

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon CA | Barnes and Noble | Indigo Chapters | Kobo | Book Depository | Kindle | Apple Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway