Keepers of the Stone
by Andrew
Anzur Clement
Today I have Andrew Anzur Clement as my guest. See his post about where he goes for inspiration.
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GENRE: Historical Young Adult
Fantasy
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BLURB:
Keepers
of the Stone. Book One: The Outcasts
In
a far corner of the British Empire, a mysterious girl gallops away on a horse,
fleeing for her life. Malka has
sacrificed everything to protect an all-powerful stone from falling into the
hands of the malevolent Urumi. The last in a Sect of thieves, the girl is a
trained killer. But will her lethal skills be enough to defeat the Shadow
Warriors and their superhuman abilities?
The
fate of the stone may depend on Stas, a courageous youth born into exile from a
country that is not on any map. Nell, his friend since childhood, has been
caught up in the Dark Order's evil designs. The young outcasts must confront
demons, real and imagined, with the help of mystical new allies. Their journey
will take them to distant lands and change their lives forever.
Keepers
of the Stone. Book Two: Exile
Stranded
on the American frontier, Malka must stop at nothing to safeguard the
all-powerful stone. She has come under the protection of a snarky felinoid – a
shape-shifting girl who traces her lineage back to the court of Vlad Dracula.
They must rescue with Henry, the American orphan whose thirst for knowledge
could help decipher the clues to the next
leg of their journey – if the Urumi
don’t kill them first.
Alone
in yet another strange land, Stas mourns the unthinkable loss of his friend,
Nell. Cryptic messages offer new hope. But the Dark Order has devised
another strategy to outwit the band of misfits. Plans are betrayed and
alliances are formed as history points to the final objective of their quest.
Keepers
of the Stone Book Three: Homecoming
Stas
and his companions have made their way to the partitioned homeland he has never
visited. He dares to hope that Nell may be alive. The doomed princess Bozhena
vows revenge on the Shadow Warriors, who have enlisted Malka’s most bitter
enemy in their latest plot to control the powerful stone.
With
the help of a streetwise gypsy girl, the unlikely travelers must outwit the
Urumi and deliver the stone to its final destination. All they have to do is
put aside the differences that threaten to tear them apart. The secrets of the
past hold the key to the history of the future.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt: (Book One: The
Outcasts)
"The firearms,”
Malka whispered. “We still have them from the bank.”
“Do you even know how
to fire a gun?”
The Thag shook her
head.
The felinoid
harrumphed. “Figures.” Then she began thinking out loud.
“So, we’re low on
ammunition. Only six shots per gun, assuming they’re completely loaded. Okay.
They’re in the open. We can use the wagon as cover. Target what shots we have.
I’m not very good at aiming, but maybe if Mister Bunny Burglar over there
takes….”
She stopped. Looking
behind her, to the empty space off to the right side of the wagon’s seating
area.
“Where is Henry?”
Malka and Liza looked
around. Both of them spotted their erstwhile captive at the same moment.
“Ugh! He’s in front
of the wagon running away with one of the cages,” Liza said, as if the
situation needed any clarification. “I told you we should have killed that
little….”
The gunfire ceased
abruptly, replaced in short order with the quick screams of men and horses.
Then silence. The escaping youth was forgotten for the moment. Liza quickly
poked her head just over the stack of cages.
“Oh, no! Oh,
please, no!” For the first time since Malka had known the felinoid, she
seemed more genuinely worried than annoyed at their situation; she knew what
Liza had seen.
“The Urumi,” she
confirmed in a quiet voice.
“All three of them. And they’re moving
towards us.”
Malka untied the sash
from around her waist and inserted the brass knob into one of its ends. She
listened for one of the dark forms, as it approached her side of the wagon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from reading fantasy and
traveling it’s this: It can be fun and interesting to dive deep into a world
that’s totally new, alien and fraught with its own set of conflicts. Those
worlds can also exist right here on our own planet. That’s why the fantasy
universe of my books is set amid real locations and historical events; I get
the inspiration for most of them while traveling to new places and learning
myths or histories connected with them. Here are the top five places that
helped to inspire the historical/fantasy world that I build in Keepers of the
Stone and the sequel I’m currently writing to it: Voyages of Fortune.
1.
Lahore & Karachi, Pakistan: Both times I’ve
traveled to Pakistan, it’s been like stepping onto a new universe. One with a
long history that’s intertwined with the region in general. This has lead to
many tense situations that often remind me of feuding sects or alien races. Ones
that are simply stranger than fiction and are somehow more compelling because
they actually exist.
In Keepers of the Stone, the
history of the Mughal emperors, who ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent
and kept their capital in Lahore, figures prominently in the story of the
powerful gem that my protagonists must protect. With the main part of the plot set
in the late 19th century, I was also inspired by the colonial rule
of the sub-continent and its eventual partition into two separate countries. The
conflict-fraught, modern day mega-city of Karachi serves as a prominent
location in Voyages of Fortune as well.
2.
Poland (and present-day Western Ukraine): It may not seem to be the most interesting of places now, but it’s
one of my favorite countries in the world. And what a history it’s had! The
‘chess board of Europe’, at various points in time, has spanned from the Baltic
to the Black Sea. or been completely wiped from the map by foreign powers --
with help of its own nobility. This background has a major role to play in
Keepers, where I set the acts of real Polish aristocratic families against the
machinations of the evil Order of the Urumi: a cult with mystical powers that
has existed to serve the devil since shortly after the dawn of time, and
partially takes its inspiration from Slavic and South Asian myths. Most of book
three of Keepers of the Stone takes place in partitioned 19th
century Poland. Without giving too much away, many locations, monuments and
buildings turn out to have hidden meanings that point to the final destination
and outcome of our heroes’ mystical quest.
3.
Târgoviște,
Romania: Before I sat down to write this post, I never would have thought
to include this north-eastern Wallachian town. Our characters never actually go
there in Keepers. But, a trip I took to Târgoviște while living in Romania
really did have an impact on one of the characters. (She’s from there -- sort
of. Also, she’s the daughter of deposed nobility and can turn into a cat.)
Târgoviște has two main claims to fame
connected with this: 1. It was
where Vlad the Impaler held court and 2. It was where communist Romania’s ruling
family was intercepted and executed as they tried to flee to the Soviet Union
during the collapse of their regime.
More generally, the time I spent in
Romania, which has a large population of Roma gypsies, influenced a major plot
development in book three of Keepers, and the back-story of the Roma troop we
meet at its beginning.
4.
Brussels,
Belgium: Ok. I’m cheating a bit on this one. I actually live in Belgium’s
federal capital, where everything is a complicated compromise between two
linguistic groups that don’t always get along so well. All the streets, train
stations etc. have two names, one in Dutch and one in French. I’d never have
thought to visit the EU’s main city for inspiration. But, the continent-wide
identity politicking that the city seems to embody inspired an entire Keepers’
plot line. Conflicts over the naming of cities and national self-determination
causes confusion among the main characters. Different place names are used as a
sort of code that mystical beings – the leaders of the mysterious Society --
use in an attempt to guide the main characters on their journey without the
knowledge of the Urumi’s Dark Order.
Celje, Slovenia: There’s not all that much (explicitly)
connected with Slovenia in Keepers of the Stone. But, it’s one of my main
sources of inspiration for Voyages of Fortune. I got the idea for most of the story
while on a visit to Celje’s castle last year. Voyages of Fortune is a time travel epic that spans over 120
years. Part of it sets the
adventures of a real-life writer, traveler and theosophist from Celje against
my own fantasy universe. She really did embark on a solo travel journey that
took her around the world during the 1920’s. But, what we never knew, it turns
out, was that she was also on a secret mission. One handed down to her by that
city’s medieval rulers. She’s the latest player in a mystical power struggle
that spans the centuries and could
AUTHOR Bio and
Links:
On social media:
Purchase Links to book one
(Books two and three already out):
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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION
Andrew Anzur Clement will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and
Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
Be sure to visit the other blogs on the tour:
September 4: Lisa Haselton's Reviews and Interviews
September 11: Rogue's Angels
September 18: Fabulous and Brunette
September 25: Kit 'N Kabookle
September 25: T's Stuff
October 2: Locks, Hooks and Books - review only
October 9: Straight From the Library
October 16: The Avid Reader
October 23: The Pen and Muse Book Reviews
October 30: Two Ends of the Pen
November 6: Thornton Berry Shire Press
November 6: Books in the Hall
November 13: Mixed Book Bag
November 20: Long and Short Reviews YA
5 comments:
congrats on the tour and thanks for the chance to win :)
Loved hearing about places you would go for inspiration. Great post.
Happy Monday! Thanks for sharing the great post, I enjoyed reading it :)
I liked the excerpt.
Thanks to Mixed Book Bag for hosting!
You can get a FREE copy of Keepers of the Stone Book one HERE!
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