In a shocking turn of events I have decided to start doing Author Interviews! I put out a call to arms for anyone who was brave enough to post an author interview on my blog.
A simple ten questions to help spread the word of another wonderful author.
My first ever author interview is for Hayden Linder, author of The Hand of Death. While Hayden does not write in the Elfrotica Genre, (because I am the only one thus far that actually does) let’s give him a big hand for being brave enough to be here anyways! 🙂 For appearing on my blog he has received a special gift! Fan Art! My original description of this book from Hayden was ‘Wizards & Ninjas’, so naturally I needed to draw the ‘Wizard Ninja’ whom I imagine is in this book at some point!
I have read the first few chapters so far and I quite like where it is going so far! This would be a book I would read if my time wasn’t currently taken up by sexy elf boys!
First some Book info.
The Hand of Death – by Hayden D. Linder
In the mythical land of Giapan, most young boys dream of becoming brave samurai or great masters of magic, the Onmyoji, who can heal as well as engulf cities in flame with but a gesture. But not Shotoku Hiro. Hiro only wanted to see the city outside the walls of the castle. To see what went on somewhere, anywhere other than the samurai district of Shiro Goemon. And once he worked up the courage to actually do that… no one could have guessed where it would take him.
The Hand of Death is a Fantasy novel set in a land not unlike feudal Japan. The story follows a young boy’s journey as the only son of a distinguished samurai who is pushed onto the path of Ninjutsu. A path that, in the golden land of Giapan, can lead to some very frightening places. And Giapan is nothing if not frightening.
Sounds good right?
Now, onward to some questions!
CB: What was the spark for you? What made you start to write?
Hayden: You know, I don’t think I’d call it a “spark.” It was so slow to manifest that “shambling sloth sleepwalking towards the fire” is probably a better description. I have always been a daydreamer. It’s how I decompress from the work day or any other stressful situation. At some point I realized I had been daydreaming about the same stuff for months and had bumbled across enough dialogue, settings, and action scenes that I could probably make a book out of them.
CB: What is the hardest part of the writing process for you?
Hayden: “Writing” is the hardest part of writing.:)
CB: How about the easiest? What part of being a writer do you excel at?
Hayden: Dreaming it up. That part is cake. But I excel at continuity. Part of being a dreamer is that I like to play the same scenes over and over again in my head. It’s part of why I am NOT a fast reader. If I come across a particularly good part of a book I have to go back and read it two or three times. I do the same thing with the scenes in my stories and one of the nice bonuses from this is that I pick up on storyline errors I missed earlier.
CB: What feelings do you have upon seeing your project published?
Hayden: Mostly a desire to rest. There was the feeling of accomplishment but only because I knew I had put in the work to make it a legitimate piece of literature.
CB: Tell us a little about your main character. What makes them unique?
Hayden: The main character, Hiro, is very dangerous though he is not as deep as the rest of the cast. He is just the window through which you view his world. And “The Cast” of the story is quite large. The setting is dark and so many of the cast have a dark sense of humor.
CB: I understand that there are both Wizards and Ninjas in The Hand of Death, but what I think everyone wants to know is this: Are there any Ninja Wizards in this novel, or alternately Wizard Ninjas?
Hayden: No. Sorry. It is a feudal setting and the lords of the great Houses decide who gets what for training. They would never allow a child with the ability to do magic, risk their lives in the Ninja school.
CB: What made you decide to write about feudal Japan?
Hayden: It was actually just the dreams that I had stuck in my head at the time. I grew up on ninja flicks back in the 80’s and so, me running around as the scary SUPERNINJA has always been one of my favorite daydreams. Nothing says “stress relief” like chocking your boss to death with a gusari chain.
CB: Is there a message you would like to convey with this story?
Hayden: Yes. Stand for something more than yourself.
CB: What authors do you feel inspire/inspired you to write?
Hayden: That’s always a tough question. There are so many. I very fond of Dostoyevsky. His character depth blows everyone else away. In “The Brothers Karamazov” he would have people do things that would make you say, “No one would do that!” and then a few pages later you would learn more about them and say, “Oh. Yeah. I guess I can see that.”
CB: What advice would you give aspiring authors?
Hayden: Be sure you write for yourself. Then any success you have is just gravy.
That is all the questions I have, I was a little upset to find out there where no hybrid Ninja/Wizards but I am still holding onto the dream of there being a super boss Ninja Wizard antagonist in this novel. (Spoilers after all)
You can find Hayden’s book over at his website:
https://bookseriesthehandofdeath.wordpress.com/
Hayden is holding a contest right now to go with his Blog Tour that might let you win The Hand of Death! Be sure to check it out!
Or at the Amazon Page listed below.
Also be sure to check out my answers to Hayden’s questions on his website in a few days! I will post the link when it is up!
Hayden D. Linder and children.
From left to right; Vivian, Hayden, Felix, Lee and my eldest, Chuy.
Annals Of Gentalia 