Earlier this week, I dusted this thing off to post on here with a guest blog from Timber Phillips, which if you missed don’t worry, you can always find a way.
Since this time, we have officially launched! And if you want a copy of this mighty tome, you may find our characters slinging various spells at a rate up there with any of your other shopping deals this weekend.
But once more, we have a guest post, in the form of long-time friend and fellow writing type D. A. Lascelles. You can catch his own posts on the Lurking Musings site, when he’s not round here for tea, virtually or otherwise. Anyway. *drumroll*…
Tell us about yourself!
Hi, I write as D.A Lascelles and I am a lapsed romance writer. I started out writing with the BBW Romance Writers group and had my first novella, Transitions, published in 2012. This was a paranormal Romance with an ancient ghost, a boy and a very clever and strong willed student called Helen who you will get to meet if you read this anthology. I’ve also published a collection of shorts (called Lurking Miscellany) which also feature characters from my story in this and a fantasy called ‘Gods of the Deep which has no relation to The Elementals. However, it does feature Rachel Drake and Lady Catherine who you may recognise from Out of this World Alphas.
I live in Manchester in the UK. I also dabble in photography and, on occasion, I have been known to indulge in some teaching.
This anthology is all about elements. Which element or elements are dominant in your story?
In this story no single element is particularly dominant. The elementalist is someone who talks to all four of them pretty much all the time and they like to help him out. Though, I guess in one critical scene his control over fire is very important, but you would have to read the story to find out how.
In the Elementalist character, I was exploring an idea I have been playing with for a while, particularly in Lurking Miscellany, about elemental magic and environmentalism and things that can taint the earth, water or air and what the manifestations of those elements might think about that.
Author! What’s YOUR element of choice?
The reason why I made my elementalist character a wielder of all four is because I actually cannot choose one over the others. I see any elemental theory of magic as being about balance and and control so to use one to overwhelm the others defeats that purpose. Though I am reminded of the XKCD cartoon which riffed off The Last Airbender and introduced Mendeleev – bender of all 118 elements.
How did you find your way to this anthology?
I got involved with one of the previous anthologies – Out of this World Alphas – and had such a great time with that I signed on for this one too. Though I struggled for a long time to get a story idea down that I was happy with. Then, one day on a train, I sat down and started to write and by the end of the journey I had the first scene where Ash visits Helen in her new office. And the way this story ended, there is room now for another sequel that I am currently pondering…
Author! You have just been imbued with the power of your choice of ONE of our anthology elements. Which do you go for and why? What might you enjoy do with your powers?
The two powers I would like from my story are not elemental based. I’d love Ash’s ability to change form and manipulate perceptions using glamour. It is also hinted (more in Transformations in Lurking Miscellany than here) that Helen has an incredible will power – she is very difficult to fool with mind control or illusions and can often think her way out of problems really easily.
However, if I had to choose an elemental power it would have to be the ability to control the weather, which I guess is mostly Air and Water. The recent bad weather in the UK has absolutely nothing to do with this decision nor does Manchester’s reputation as a very rainy city…
Finally, a question for one of your characters. What’s going on in this story?
Helen: *sighs*Look, do you know how difficult it is at the moment? I have a PhD viva in a couple of months I have to prep for, and we just had this awful time at the archaeological site where we were confronted with this…
Tina: Shhh, spoilers.
Helen: What do you mean, ‘spoilers’?
Tina: I mean, we can’t tell them big secrets about what happens in the book.
Helen: But, look, he asked. He sat there, with his note book, looking so journalistic, and outright asked us what goes on in this book. How am I supposed to do that without mentioning the…
Tina: Ah! Stop it. *waggles her fingers* No one likes spoilers. You wouldn’t like it if I told you how your favourite TV programme ends.
Helen: My favourite TV programme is that documentary about the death of Julius Caesar I watched last week. I think the whole world and anyone who has ever seen a Shakespeare play know how that one ends. Anyway, it can’t be spoilers, it has already happened. We lived through it.
Tina: Yes, but they haven’t read about it yet.
Helen: Who are ‘they’? And why are you waving your hands around at empty air like you are at a very slow rave?
Tina: *sighs* I’m doing a fourth wall break. You know, like Deadpool.
Helen: Who?
Tina: Never mind.
Interviewer: So, what can you tell my readers?
Helen: Well, there’s some fascinating archaeology, a bit of Latin, a really interesting library and an excellent example of a Roman fortress that demonstrates some fascinating principles of bronze age archi…
Tina: You aren’t selling it, Helen. You have to mention the magic, the weird mind stuff and the sex scenes otherwise they won’t bother to read. Oh, and Simon, you have to mention him.
Helen: I was hoping to avoid thinking about him for a while, actually. I’m in a weird place with him at the moment. And what do you mean ‘scenes’? There was only one sex scene.
Tina: *shrugs* At least your love interest doesn’t change appearance at will and have a really complicated family of creepy fae.
Helen: You met Ash’s family?
Tina: Not yet, I think that’s planned for the sequel. I caught a look at the author’s notes yesterday. They weren’t very well secured. Or neatly written. Or at all coherent, really.
Helen: The sequel? Is that where we deal with… well, you know… HIM… properly?
Ash: Can’t we have a rest before we do any more really dangerous stuff? I’m sick of running around woods chased by an insane Elementalist.
Simon: Oi, who you calling insane? And what’s this about love interests?
Interviewer: Excuse me, I’m fairly sure I only asked for one person to answer this question….
Helen: Yes, me. So, there’s Roman stuff, Archaeology, some Elemental magic…
Ash: Some faerie magic too…
Helen: Yes, that too… Something dark buried in the heart of Manchester we aren’t supposed to talk about because Tina says so, and probably a bunch of other things I’ve forgot to mention. Now, can I please just get back to my work? Did I mention I have a viva in a few months?
Links:
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B001K883WS
Website: https://dalascelles.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaLascelles/
The Order of Winter 