Welcome to Live Love Play! My name is Ross and this is For the Love of, a periodic interview blog about everything we geek out about. Joining me for this episode is EA Channon, author of the fantasy novel series Flesh of the Blood. EA has never used teamspeak before but he is happy to try something different as he speaks about his book. 
My first question for EA is about his background and experience up to now. EA did not start his career as a writer, he was a musician. For 40 years he played the bagpipes for various venues. and organizations. He recalls a family legacy full of musicians, Veterans, Politicians and Race Car Drivers. One ancestor in particular claims to be the inventor of the modern toilet. In all he comes from a lineage of people who have perfected the art of getting and keeping people’s attention. EA continued part of that legacy when he joined the British Army as a field medic and musician. His first book, Ballad of the Bagpiper,  is a biography about his experiences and adventures playing bagpipes, traveling the world, and wearing a kilt. One review says that it reads like a Monty Python sketch.
Next I ask about Flesh of the Blood. EA begins with a synopsis of the book as well as the overall theme of the series. The first book follows a band of adventurers on a quest to rescue a princess. But not everything, including the damsel princess, is what they seem. In all, the series will encompass six books. Books One and Two are published and the third book is scheduled for release in September 2016. When EA sat down to begin his story he enjoyed the experience, setting, and characters he was creating. So he went all in, seeing his story though to the final conclusion in a months long marathon of type. His wife  was very understanding.
EA takes a moment to relate his struggle with PTSD from his time in the British Army and how he has coped. What started as a joke from one of his doctors became his inspiration to become and author. Writing is not only therapeutic but also cathartic, an outlet for his fears and memories. He feels accomplished in the end with the novels receiving high praise by readers.
I ask about his Motivations and Inspirations for his story as well as writing in general. EA cites many classics including Robert Lewis Stevenson’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Kidnapped as well as Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein. Both books are staples of his childhood memories.
I ask about the Reception and Feedback his series has received. He says it is overwhelmingly positive with readers sending him messages via email and social media about how much they enjoy his books. One fan send him a photo of her reading his book on the beach. Another sent him a long message detailing how easily he followed the characters on their journey across the world. That feedback resonates with him as many epic fantasies can be intimidating in scope.
A friend of mine told me recently that everything in fantasy storytelling has already been done. What makes Flesh of the Blood different from any other fantasy series? Without spoiling the story EA says that his story evolves in a very different way, a way you may not expect. The world of Marn on only a facet of a larger epic and to really understand it you need to read the book for yourself.
Flesh of the Blood and its sequel Devastation are both available now with the third installment, Call to Arms, coming the first week of September 2016. With that in mind I ask about the release schedule for the remaining three books. EA says that the limiting factor is art work, namely cover art and world maps. The world expands as the story develops. As the characters explore new maps are created. By the end of the series there will be a total of 20 maps all created by EA himself. He works closely with his artist to recreate a specific scene from the book for each cover. The goal is to publish a new book every eight months. EA is firm about this and insists that not even an alien abduction will stop the series.
We take a short aside and talk about storytelling. EA met Stephen King on his first book tour. In conversation Mr King mentions that he is able to complete two to three new manuscripts in a year to which I comment that the esteemed author is not entirely human. EA brushes off my comment with a laugh and continues with his reflection of their conversation. If the story you want to tell is inside you then transcribing it to paper, or type, shouldn’t take too long.  He finishes his memory by saying that Mr King is indeed a very scary person.
Even if the series is complete EA is not idle. There are more books currently being written. Nor is he content to stay in the same genre. In fact he is branching out into two, one a sci fi series, the other a horror standalone loosely based on his family’s storied history. He promises that he will continue his pace of regular stories of all kinds for the next ten years and more. He jokes that his ability to cross so many streams is thanks to his ADHD, which seems common among creative people.
I thanks EA for taking time to speak to me about his writing and wish him the best of luck and success going forward.
For more information about EA Channon, Flesh of the Blood, and his other books visit:
EA Channon’s Site
EA’s Facebook
EA’s Twitter
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