A.F.E. Smith
  • Home
  • Books
    • Marked series >
      • Dawn Rising
      • The Dark Knife
    • Darkhaven novels >
      • Darkhaven
      • Goldenfire
      • Windsinger
  • Shorts
  • Gallery
  • Contact

My Main Character: introducing Myrren Nightshade

9/11/2014

0 Comments

 
I've been tagged to take part in the My Main Character blog hop by John Ayliff, author of sci-fi novel Belt Three (coming from Harper Voyager next year). I'm really looking forward to this book being released – it sounds brilliant! If you missed John's behind-the-scenes introduction to his main character, Jonas, you can read it here.

The idea of this blog hop, as the name suggests, is to say a little bit about a book's main character. Yet I have a slight problem with this when it comes to Darkhaven. Because the truth is, Darkhaven doesn't have just one or two viewpoint characters. It has seven. And it's not even epic fantasy!*

I know, I know. I should have my author's membership card revoked.

Still, if I had to play favourites with my characters (which I don't like to do, because it makes them cranky) I guess Myrren Nightshade would be top of the list. So let's ignore the mutterings of the other six and focus on him.

Back when I was playing with a bunch of ideas that would eventually become Darkhaven, I had Myrren down as the villain. In that version of the story, he was a murderous schemer who'd killed his stepmother in an 'accident' and was planning to frame his half-sister Ayla for their father's murder. The story was going to be about Ayla fighting to clear her name and slowly coming to realise that the brother she trusted was in fact her worst enemy.

But Myrren wouldn't let me do it.

Myrren
Turns out, the real Myrren is much more interesting than that briefly considered moustache-twirling plotter. He's a man who has lived his whole life beneath the weight of parental expectation, but found himself unable to fulfil it – because he was born without the shapeshifter gift that is the defining feature of his bloodline and that gives the Nightshades the right to rule. 

That unbearable pressure, that crushing sense of failure, could have turned him into a bad guy. Instead, he has fought to be good at everything else he does, in an attempt to make up for that one fundamental flaw. Since he was a child, he has learned to hide what his father would consider weaknesses – such as his dislike of giving orders or his adverse reaction to the sight of blood – and focus on presenting himself as a true Nightshade. Yet no matter how proficient he becomes at swordplay and tactics and the many other skills required of him as the firstborn son, his feeling of inadequacy lingers.

This dynamic affects every area of Myrren's life. He is heir to the throne of Darkhaven, but his father's bullying has left him ill-suited to that role. While his sister Ayla is willing to stand up to their father, Myrren remains anxious to please him. He stays in the background, convinced (and rightly in some cases) that he's being judged by everyone around him. Aside from Ayla, he feels totally alone.

But then – as Darkhaven begins – Myrren's father is murdered, and Ayla is the only suspect. If he wants to prove his beloved sister's innocence, he'll have to overcome his habitual diffidence and find out who he really is outside his father's shadow.

So, that's Myrren. If you'd like to find out more about him and Darkhaven then you can sign up to my mailing list here (and maybe win a copy of the book!) In the meantime, two more brilliant authors are joining in the blog hop …

Christi Whitney
Christi J Whitney is the author of Grey, a young adult urban fantasy, coming soon from Harper Voyager and available to preorder now! Here's a little bit about the book:

Sebastian Grey thought he was a fairly normal teenager.

He has great friends, decent grades, and even a few hobbies to keep him busy. Not to mention the fact that he lives a pretty sweet existence in the small town of Sixes with his foster brother, tattoo artist Hugo Corsi. Though Sebastian can’t remember much of his past, he’s determined not to let it dictate his future.

But when the beautiful and inexplicably irresistible Josephine Romany comes into town with her traveling band of gypsies, Sebastian realizes his world is nothing at all like what he thought. After a brief encounter with Josephine, Sebastian can’t shake a weird, overwhelming urge to protect her – not from high school cliques or teenage drama, but from something far more dangerous.

The more Sebastian resists the bizarre compulsion, the more he’s drawn into a hidden world of outcast gypsies, ancient superstitions, and tales of gargoyles. His foster brother appears to have answers, but suddenly Hugo isn’t talking, and Sebastian decides to figure things out on his own. Shadowy figures pursue him, secrets elude him, and with each passing day, Sebastian discovers he’s changing – transforming into something he doesn’t fully understand. Afraid of losing himself, Sebastian confronts his destiny head on. But is he prepared to accept the consequences of his actions, especially when doing so may change him forever?

ISOGAH
Sammy H.K Smith is the author of In Search of Gods and Heroes, the first in a stunning new epic fantasy series from Kristell Ink. The book is available to buy now, and here's a bit more about it:

Buried in the scriptures of Ibea lies a story of rivalry, betrayal, stolen love, and the bitter division of the gods into two factions. This rift forced the lesser deities to pledge their divine loyalty either to the shining Eternal Kingdom or the darkness of the Underworld.

When a demon sneaks into the mortal world and murders an innocent girl to get to her sister Chaeli, all pretence of peace between the gods is shattered. For Chaeli is no ordinary mortal, she is a demi-goddess, in hiding for centuries, even from herself. But there are two divine brothers who may have fathered her, and the fate of Ibea rests on the source of her blood.

Chaeli embarks on a journey that tests her heart, her courage, and her humanity. Her only guides are a man who died a thousand years ago in the Dragon Wars, a former assassin for the Underworld, and a changeling who prefers the form of a cat.

The lives of many others - the hideously scarred Anya and her gaoler; the enigmatic and cruel Captain Kerne; the dissolute Prince Dal; and gentle seer Hana - all become entwined. The gods will once more walk the mortal plane spreading love, luck, disease, and despair as they prepare for the final, inevitable battle.

In Search of Gods and Heroes, Book One of Children of Nalowyn, is a true epic of sweeping proportions which becomes progressively darker as the baser side of human nature is explored, the failings and ambitions of the gods is revealed, and lines between sensuality and sadism, love and lust are blurred.




* Don't even ask how many viewpoint characters my epic fantasy has.


    Enter your email address here!
    Enter your email address here and click on Submit.
Submit
Or sign up to my mailing list!

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

      Enter your email address and click on Submit to receive notifications of new posts.
      Enter your email address here!
    Submit

    Archives

    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011

    Categories

    All
    About Me
    Artwork
    A To Z Challenge
    Barren Island Books
    Books
    Character Interviews
    Characterisation
    Darkhaven
    Editing
    Events
    Excerpts
    Fantasy
    Flash Fiction
    Giveaways
    Guest Posts
    Marketing
    Maths
    Pedantry
    Point Of View
    Prophecy
    Publishing
    Reading
    Recommended Reads
    Reviews
    Rules Of Fiction
    Science Fiction
    Serious Stuff
    Sunday Showcase
    Tentacles
    Ugh
    Worldbuilding
    Write Every Day
    Writing

    Or subscribe to my mailing list here!

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Books
    • Marked series >
      • Dawn Rising
      • The Dark Knife
    • Darkhaven novels >
      • Darkhaven
      • Goldenfire
      • Windsinger
  • Shorts
  • Gallery
  • Contact