I first crossed paths with Joshua Palmatier, who would also go on to write under the name Benjamin Tate, at a con – where else does one make friends who are also writers like oneself, after all? In the years that have passed since that first meeting, he’s written a number of fabulous books – and he also graciously consented to be part of a project that was very dear to my own heart, the anthology, “River”, which I edited and to which he contributed a story rooted in one of his own fantastical worlds.
He has a new book out. Let him tell you a bit about that, and about himself.
(Bowing out with a gesture introducing my guest blogger for the day, Joshua Palmatier)
The LEY Series
First of all, thanks, Alma, for sharing your blog with me today! I really appreciate it.
Alma asked me to talk about the inspiration, reasoning, and process of writing the LEY series, so blame her. *grin*
Well the inspiration is easy. I was reading fantasy rather heavily back in the *coughcough* 80s and back then nearly every fantasy novel had ley lines in them. They were mentioned, but never used, basically just part of the background of the world. Maybe someone used a stone monument like Stonehenge or something like that, with ley lines connected to it, but the lines themselves … not much. It was such a cliché that I vowed … VOWED … I would never use ley lines in any of MY books.
Ha ha! Fast forward 20 years. After long thought, I realized that what bothered me about the mentions of the ley in all of those books back in the 80s was that the authors never really USED the ley. It was there, but it wasn’t significant, really.
So I started asking myself, how could the ley be used more effectively in a book? Instead of it being just background, what if it was the focus? What if the people in the fantasy world started to actively use it in their daily lives, tapping into it for things like light and heat and all of the things that we use electricity for? How would this change the society?
And then this idea combined with a few others, most notably the idea that fantasy doesn’t have to be set in a medieval setting. So, if we tapped into the ley, what kind of city could be built with it? And thus the city of Erenthrall was born, where everything is powered by the ley (for those that can afford it) and the ley is, of course, controlled by the Baron, his Wielders, and his Dogs. Because of course it can’t be a utopia.
After that, it just came down to sitting down and writing. I’m a very organic writer, meaning I don’t plot things out much ahead of time. I just write and see where everything takes me. For the first book in the ley series, SHATTERING THE LEY, it took me in the direction of how we abuse our natural resources and what the consequences of that might be. In the new book, THREADING THE NEEDLE, my characters are dealing with some of those rather nasty consequences.
That’s generally the process for how all of the ideas for my books are generated. I have something I think is cool (the ley) and it melds with some other idea (a fantasy with cities like New York) and then the book happens. There’s usually a third idea in there somewhere as well, but if I told you what it was for the LEY series, it would be spoilery. So you’ll just have to check the books out for yourself! *grin*
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Threading the Needle
The Nexus—the hub created by the Prime Wielders to harness the magical power of the ley lines for the city of Erenthrall, the Baronial Plains, and the world beyond—has Shattered, the resultant pulse cascading through the system and leaving Erenthrall decimated, partially encased in a massive distortion.
The world has fared no better: auroral storms plague the land, transforming people into creatures beyond nightmare; silver-white lights hover over all of the major cities, the harbinger of distortions that could quicken at any moment; and quakes brought on by the unstable ley network threaten to tear the earth apart. The survivors of this apocalypse have banded together in desperate groups, both in the remains of Erenthall and without, scrounging for food and resources in an ever more dangerous world.
Having survived the initial Shattering, Wielder Kara Tremain and ex-Dog Allan Garrett have led their small group of refugees to the Hollow, a safe haven in the hills on the edge of the plains. But the ley system is not healing itself. Their only option is to repair the distortion that engulfs Erenthrall and to fix the damaged ley lines themselves. To do that, they’ll have to enter a city controlled by vicious bands of humans and non-humans alike, intent on keeping what little they’ve managed to scavenge together.
But as soon as they enter the streets of Erenthrall, they find themselves caught up in the maelstrom of violence, deception, and betrayal that the city has descended into—including the emergence of a mysterious and powerful cult calling themselves the White Cloaks, whose leader is called Father . . .The same man who once led the terrorist group called the Kormanley and brought about the Shattering that destroyed the world.
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Author Bio:
Joshua Palmatier is an epic fantasy writer with a PhD in mathematics. He has had eight novels published by DAW Books, including “The Throne of Amenkor” trilogy, Shattering the Ley, and Threading the Needle. He is currently hard at work on the third novel in the “Ley” series, Reaping the Aurora. In addition, he’s published numerous short stories in various anthologies and has edited four SF&F themed anthologies with co-editor Patricia Bray. He is also the founder of the small press Zombies Need Brains LLC. Find out more about him at www.joshuapalmatier.com or on Facebook or Twitter (@bentateauthor).
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Additional Information:
Webpage: www.joshuapalmatier.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/joshua.b.palmatier
Twitter: @bentateauthor
ZNB Webpage: www.zombiesneedbrains.com
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Quote of the Day
‘Nuf said.
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