Writers on Wendnesday: A.L. Butcher

Welcome back to Writers On Wednesday. This week I put my questions to A.L. Butcher, author of the fabulous The Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles ...



Tell me a bit about yourself …

Thanks, I am a British author of fantasy/fantasy romance, with two novels, and five anthology pieces to date. I also like to read – fantasy, classics, historical fiction, history, mystery, true crime, all sorts really. I like animals, especially monkeys, the theatre and watching movies.

Tell us about your most recently published book?

The latest is an anthology called Nine Heroes, it is a collection of heroic fantasy stories. My story is Just One Mistake – which follows a bard, and rather reluctant hero in his quest to please a shadowy employer and thwart a slaver. These are all original stories by some of the best new and established fantasy authors around. I am really proud to be part of that collection.

The other authors include Janet and Chris Morris, Walter Rhein, R.A McCandless, Tom Barczak, Teel James Glenn, Shane Porteous, Jesse Duckworth and Douglas R. Brown.

If we are talking about novels I’ll mention Book II of my series. The Shining Citadel follows the characters from Book I and introduces a couple of others. The characters find evidence of a lost elven city, missing for centuries, and move to seek it out. The society in which they live treats elves as slaves and magic is forbidden and so the ruling Order of Witch-Hunters would not be pleased. Dii (Dii’Athella) and Archos are both users of magic, Dii is an elf so to travel around and seek such a place is very dangerous. They are not even sure it is real, but the knowledge it holds may help to free an oppressed people.  Essentially it is the story of a journey, but it is not as simple as a journey of people from one area to another. It is also a journey of souls, of morals, of knowledge and discovery.

As writer, what has been your proudest achievement so far?


I think that would have to be when my mother held the first edition of my first novel. She had cancer, and only had a couple of months left at that point but I will never forget the look of pride on her face. She even managed to tell everyone she knew, and I mean everyone.

What books or writing projects are you currently working on, if anything?

Book III of my series, plus several anthology pieces which should appear later this year.

Which do you prefer? eBooks or Paper Books? Why?

To read? I usually buy e-books now, mainly because of cost and space but I do sometimes buy paperbacks. There is something wonderful about a book you can hold, a book which has some weight to it. I find history books easier to manage as print books, especially ones with maps or a lot of tables.

Aside from your own books, of course, what is one book that you feel everybody should read?

Oh gosh, just one? Schindler’s List. Many people will have seen the film, of course, but the book is even better. It is such a moving book, so full of sorrow and hope.

Finally … is there anything you would like to say to your readers in Adelaide, Australia?

Hello from the UK! It is a really great feeling to think that people all over the world are reading my books. E-books especially have become truly international.

Awesome Links:


Blog: http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/
Twitter:@libraryoferana
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarkFantasyBeyondTheStorm

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