Interview with fantasy author Hildebrand Hermannson

Today’s special guest is fantasy author Hildebrand Hermannson and we’re chatting about his new novel, The Fate of Our Union.

During his virtual book tour, Hildebrand will be giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn participant. 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:
Hildebrand Hengest Hermannson’s deep-rooted fire for Indo-European culture and Western Philosophy ignites his first novel, The Fate of Our Union, the inaugural piece in a planned series. His work draws inspiration from the national epics The Saga of the Volsungs (Norse), Mahabharata (Indian), Aenid (Roman), Odyssey (Greek), Táin Bó Cúailnge (Celtic), and Shahnameh (Iranian), weaving these rich cultures into original stories featuring fantasy world-building, dynamic characters, and intricate plots and themes. His Wild Hunt of thought breathes life into his spiritual, ethical, and cultural interests, inspiring us all to strive for imperishable virtue.

Welcome, Hildebrand. Please tell us a bit about your new release.
A mountainous thundering bull breaks up battling tribesmen, summoning three struggling youths, as an insidious unseen enemy turns tribes against tribes—pitting rich against poor, sons against fathers, and men against gods. Its insatiable hunger for division threatens to plunge mankind into a dystopian realm ruled by man-eating wolves.

A miraculous seven-headed horse, a symbol of unity, assembles the struggling youths of extraordinary origin into a journey of self-discovery. There Sunu the Saxon Poet, Rufus the Roman Stoic, and Keresaspa the Sarmatian Priestess must overcome pride, aversion, and unforgiveness; there they must learn from historical heroes, philosophers, and amazingly similar gods to battle the unseen monster and its rising wolfmen.

Fated to part ways to face the demons at home, Sunu, Rufus, and Keresaspa must reunite as they bring divided peoples together to fight the source tearing everyone apart. They must heed the divine wisdom of the seven-headed horse and justly wield the seven magic weapons they’ve mysteriously been given to overcome the unseen enemy and understand the higher purpose of the mountainous thundering bull.

Excerpt from The Fate of Our Union:
Sunu the Saxon and Rufus the Roman meet Keresaspa the Sarmatian (CH 7 of The Fate of Our Union).

Sunu and Rufus leaned in, beholding her sapphire blues—then she punched them in the face.

The woman sprang forward from the mountain while they fell backward onto brown pasture. As they stood up, she kicked back like a mad bull, hitting their chests.

Fallen back to the pasture, Sunu and Rufus rolled on the damp grass to face each other, then looked up at the woman to see her aiming an arrow, a cloud above her brooding face.

“Scavengers!”

They rolled away from her rapid-fire, bronze heads nipping at their skin. Sunu pulled a crimson arrow from his blood bull cloak and shot up to his feet. He extended his right arm, catching a whizzing red shaft with the Gauntlet of Truth and snapping it while whipping the Fetter of Awe with his left hand, lassoing the woman by her waist.

She held out her bow as he yanked her his way.

Sunu grabbed his mace while she nocked an arrow. As her skidding shins stopped near his bare feet, he batted the bow and arrow out of her hands. Rufus confiscated her archery while Sunu seized her sword and aimed it at her head.

She jerked back, nostrils flaring red, arcing her shoulders to slide out of the Fetter only to feel it tightening further. “I’ll be no man’s forced bride—not for the conqueror of hundreds or thousands or hundreds of thousands!”

“Bride?” Sunu winced, glancing at Rufus as he ran to his side. “I thought you had beauty, but I said no word of you being my bride.”

What part of the writing process do you dread?
Editing. The Thirteenth Labor of Hercules. After a round of editing, where improvements have been made, I am tempted to edit again to see if I can make the work even better. This is not necessarily bad because it can result in an incredible story, but the editing cannot go on forever and aye. Then there is the situation where I find something I want to change in an epub I just purchased. Not fun. Editing is also when I wish I had power over time because there is never enough of it when I’m making great edits.

Do you ever wish you were someone else? Who?
I have often thought about being a time traveler. It’s interesting to think about where you would be if you had made different choices or if you could see the result of choices made and how they will affect the future. This is not done with hope or regret but to play with the imagination.

What did you do on your last birthday?
My wife, always thinking of new ways to surprise us, took me from the movie After Death to Dave and Buster’s with our son and daughter. Our little girl was too young to do much more than look adorable and amazed, but my son and I were fully engaged, especially when we sat together in simulated thrill rides! It was a memorable family outing, my first time playing a 3D video game, Star Wars. The lightsaber and the immersive atmosphere were mind-blowing, and I would have defeated more enemies if I could have kept my visor on.

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