Ariel Paiement and The Bane of Ashkarith – An Interview with Joanna White

Hey everyone, sorry this is so behind on updates for the blog tour! The last few days have been chaotic for me. So I’ll be posting up the blog posts done in the last few days tonight so you can all see where I’ve been hosted and what’s been going on.

This one was for yesterday, and Joanna White, a good author friend of mine, hosted me for an interview. She had some really great (and challenging) questions for me, and I loved working through them. Go check it out and take a look at her books. She’s a fantasy author, and her book Hunter released about a month ago while her second book, Shifter, released at the beginning of this month.

Read it here.

Bane of Ashkarith Blog Tour – The System of Deities

I know this has been a subject of particular interest for several Christian authors who are friends of mine. The biggest question has been, how do you handle God and deities in your books since you’re a Christian? That’s then followed up with where I draw lines with it since I am a Christian. So, we’re going to talk about the system of deities for Bane of Ashkarith as well as a little about how I usually handle the idea of other gods in my writing.

Deities in Alcardia and Bane of Ashkarith

To begin with, Bane of Ashkarith is not a Christian fantasy novel. It is written with Christian values embedded into it in many ways because no writer ever separates their beliefs entirely from their writing. My Christian worldview definitely shapes and constrains my writing differently than other worldviews would have.

But because it isn’t a Christian fantasy novel, I ran into a decision. What did I do with the idea of deities and gods in the world. After all, fantasy often involves some sort of pantheon or belief system. I could’ve left it out, but this would’ve made the world of Alcardia seem less realistic because what people group doesn’t have beliefs?

So, I chose to create religions and gods for them to worship. However, Alcardia is a bit different from the norm when it comes to its gods. Many of them never existed. People created them to explain natural phenomena, much like people have in Earth’s past when they worshiped the god of the Nile or the sun god. It allowed them a way to explain what they otherwise couldn’t.

For those that did exist, they weren’t actually gods in the first place. The lore surrounding them got started because these other beings were far more powerful than anyone could conceive of, so it was assumed they were gods. In that way, then, Alcardia really doesn’t have any gods at all. Not ones that exist or still live, anyway.

That’s how I’ve chosen to handle the situation of other gods in the various Alcardia novels. There is a One God that some of the people on Alcardia do worship, but since the planet was populated by a woman who believed she was a god, the information the people have on that god is minimal at best. This God is meant to represent the God of the Bible but isn’t referred to often because so few believe in Him or even know about Him.

General Rules of Thumb for Fantasy

But what about other novels and answering the question of dealing with pantheons when I’m a Christian? For me, I usually follow a few simple rules.

First, if the planet is entirely unconnected to Earth with Earth not even being an existing thing for the universe, I’m okay with the creation of deities. There’s no reason that this other universe wouldn’t have its own beliefs and even a creator because things don’t just start from nothing.

The second rule I follow is for those worlds that connect with Earth. If that’s the case, again, creation of a pantheon is okay, but here I don’t ever show interference or confirmation of those pantheon members’ existence. Basically, they’re just religious fabrications or people who were given more status than they should’ve been.

If there is a deity that actually interferes, then there will only be one, and that deity is meant to represent God. He may go by a different name in the world if it isn’t Earth, but it will be clear that it’s the Christian God being represented.

Usually, though, I just choose to go with bringing deities in as little as possible. They’re there to give a sense of realism and life to the world and to provide interesting cultural references or curses if needed. They may also be woven into the culture, but I never give reason to believe they’re real, as I mentioned earlier.

The final rule is for stories that take place solely on Earth. For these, I don’t create deities. First of all, there’s not much reason to because we have plenty of them to choose from already. Second, if it’s based on Earth mainly and that’s where the people are from, the only deity I’m going to show as being truly a god is the Christian God. That’s just how I do things because I’m a Christian.

Honestly, though, I haven’t really run into this one much because I rarely write fantasy that takes place on Earth. Earth may be a feature, but it usually isn’t the main setting, so the books all fall into either the first or second category.

Conclusion

So, that’s how I deal with the creation of gods and goddesses both in general and in the Alcardian universe. I’m happy to discuss this with people further if anyone has more specific questions. This is, as I mentioned earlier, just how I do things. I read a lot of fantasy that doesn’t adhere to these rules, but I prefer to keep things black and white morally and religiously in these ways so that no one can get confused about my worldview or what I believe.

I feel it’s the fairest representation of myself and the fairest way to be honest with readers. The goal is that no one has to wonder what the worldview or message is of the book.

I’m not trying to shove any of my beliefs down a reader’s throat, and I’m also not going to try to hide it in the story so that people swallow it without realizing they did. It is what it is, and my hope is that it’s clear and un-hidden while still allowing for the reader to enjoy the story.

At the end of the day, my goal is to write something that can be enjoyed by lovers of fantasy everywhere regardless of their beliefs. I know I can’t be all things to everyone, but I want to craft something that many people can enjoy, not just a narrow band of people.

Author Interview with Katie Jenkins

For the second day of the blog tour for Bane of Ashkarith, Katie Jenkins hosted me on her blog authorkmjenkins.com. She was lots of fun to work with, and she had some great questions for me. Hopefully you all will enjoy seeing the answers as much as I enjoyed working on them!

You can find the interview at the link above. Enjoy!

Have a question for me that I didn’t answer? Leave it in the comments below, and I’ll answer it as soon as I can!

Blog Tour Schedule for Bane of Ashkarith

July 15th – The Fantasy Nook: Blog Tour Kickoff

July 16th – K.M. Jenkins’ Blog: Author Interview

July 17th – The Fantasy Nook: Bane of Ashkarith’s System of Deities

July 18th – Anna Morrigan’s Blog: Villain Interview/Interrogation

July 19th – Erin Howard’s Blog: Guest Post on Bane of Ashkarith’s Worldbuilding

July 20th – Joanna White’s Blog: Author Interview

July 21st – Cassandra Penticoff’s Personal Blog and Out of Your Write Mind: Character Interview and Guest Post on

July 22nd – Allen Steadham’s Blog: Author and Book Q&A

July 23rd – The Fantasy Nook: An Inside Look at My Writing Process

July 24th – Alyssa’s Blog: Guest Post about the mythology in Bane of Ashkarith

July 25th –

July 26th – Stephanie Ayer’s Blog: Author and Character Interviews

July 27th –

July 28th – Rachel Pudsey’s Blog: Guest post about my writing journey

July 29th – Eileen Troemel’s Blog: Author Interview

July 30th – The Fantasy Nook: Ending the Blog Tour

Bane of Ashkarith Blog Tour Kickoff

This is a bit of a special post, but I wanted to let all of you know more about the launch for Bane of Ashkarith. As the title of this post indicates, I’m doing a blog tour! I’ve got lots of great authors who have graciously allowed me to do author and character interviews, Q&A’s, and other guest posts. The tour starts today and will go through to the 30th, the day right before the book launches.

I’ll be sharing the guest posts throughout the tour via my Facebook author’s page. Additionally, beginning the 29th and running through the 31st, I have a launch party going on through Facebook. There’s a great line up of authors on the schedule to share about themselves and their books, and we’re going to be having fun games with prizes at the end. So if you like reading, particularly fantasy, then head over to the event and check it out!

There will be more information about Bane of Ashkarith and the characters in upcoming posts, so keep an eye out for those during the blog tour. With that said, tomorrow I’ll be interviewing with Katie Jenkins. Be on the look out for that link and the info about it on my Facebook page and on my other writing sites. I’ll also post the link and information up here on the Fantasy Nook.

Bane of Ashkarith – July 31, 2019 Release

Bane of Ashkarith released on July 31st, and lots of people have been asking me about the book. Most of the time, people are curious about the blurb and what genre the book is. So, for everyone wondering what the book is all about and where to find it, this post is for you!

Blurb

Kaidan Tadegan is working on a new site trying to prove the myth that two armies of the gods clashed there. While on the dig site, he discovers the evidence he’s looking for, but he gets more than he bargained for when he discovers a woman’s bones in a section of the dig site where no other remains have been found.

As he digs the bones out, he discovers a journal with the woman’s body, which tells a story that, if true, will turn the myths of the old world and the established concepts of good and evil on their heads. Startled by the find, Kaidan sets out to discover whether the diary’s claims have any validity.

But when the diary leads to a city that’s supposedly long gone, Kaidan’s journey becomes more difficult than expected. Things become even more tangled when he discovers that the city isn’t gone, but it’s no place for the living.

Unable to give up on his quest, he forges ahead. What lies ahead is uncertain, and even more uncertain is whether Kaidan will survive this quest. He has only two questions in his mind. Will he find the truth in this city of the dead? And will the world accept the truth?

Excerpt

Chapter One: Dubarin Hill

KAIDAN Tadegan straightened for a moment, pausing in his work. He wiped the sweat from his brow and craned his neck to see over the hill’s rise. The rest of the dig crew was still working on the opposite side of the hill. Stretching, he picked his shovel back up and returned to digging into the side of Dubarin Hill.

He worked with fervor but also with care, not wanting to damage anything. The sun glared down on him, roasting him alive, and he wiped the back of his neck with a cloth. Nothing had rewarded him for his labor yet, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t. Perhaps he might find something on this side of the hill to answer the questions they’d come here to answer.

He took a deep breath, the musty scent of freshly turned soil filling his senses. Well, even if they never determined whether those who had clashed here were the old gods, they’d at least proven that there had been a battle. That was something. They could hold their heads high when they spoke to the king of Argos about the dig, and when they returned to the Society of the Learned, they’d have something to report.

The hole he was digging had turned into an open-roofed tunnel that sloped gradually downward as he went. Perhaps he’d gone a bit overboard. But he had a good feeling about this area. He could just sense it in his bones. There was something here. He just had to find it.

At around seven feet down into the side of the hill, his shovel struck something with a dull thud. He tested the soil with the tip of the shovel, trying to determine what it was. When he shifted some more dirt, he saw a flash of white under the sun. More bones?

Kaidan knelt in the hole and brushed the loose layer of dirt away. The yellow-white bones of a corpse glared up at him in the harsh rays of the sun, dirt still packed around the majority of the remains. He hadn’t found any bones on this side of the hill, and he’d begun to think the battle hadn’t raged this far. Perhaps they just hadn’t dug in the right places. It seemed they’d given up too soon.

 Kneeling, he brushed the dirt away and grabbed a trowel, gently clearing packed clods of dirt and loose soil away from the corpse. When he had, he backed further up the slope and sat on his heels, staring down at it.

Inside the tunnel, the bones rested. Time and worms had rotted through the clothing of the deceased individual. The slender facial structure of the skull and the tiny stature indicated it was a woman. He frowned. Who is this? They hadn’t found any women’s corpses in the battlefield. What was this one doing all by herself out here?

A book lay locked against the corpse’s chest, her skeletal hands clutching it to her even in the rigor of death. He leaned down, seeking to pry it from the hands of the skeleton. The hands wouldn’t budge. Strange. The tendons were long gone. Nothing should be stopping him from moving the bones. Kaidan put his hands on his hips. Well, destroying the corpse wouldn’t do. Too disrespectful to the dead. He’d have to try a different angle. Jumping down into the hole again, he tried to slide the book out of the corpse’s grasp.

This time, the hands relinquished their prize, and he stared down at the book’s unmarked leather cover, which was worn with age and crusted in dirt. A quiver ran through him, and he grinned. What treasures of knowledge did this find contain? He took a closer look at it, rubbing at the dirt on the corners before pausing in his attempts to clean the item. The leather binding was in remarkable condition for the age of the corpse.

He glanced back at the bones. Far too old for the condition of the book. So how had the skeleton come to be clutching the book in the tight grip of death? He clambered back up to the mouth of his open-roofed tunnel and sat down, dropping the book beside him. What secrets did the skeleton hold that she would never share now? His mind whirred through the possibilities, and he glanced down at the book. Perhaps it held the answers.

With his pulse racing, he flipped open the cover and began fingering through the book, which seemed to be a diary of some sort. The book’s pages were stuck together with time and a dark brown substance, though they yielded with some gentle prying. Upon closer examination, he realized it looked much like dried blood. What had he stumbled across? Hopefully, nothing accompanied by a curse. He never knew with old artifacts, and he’d run into some strange things before.

“Kaidan? Kaidan, what are you doing over here?”

Kaidan looked up to find Zerua strolling down the hill toward him. Unable to contain the excitement, he jumped to his feet and waved to his wife, a grin spreading across his face. “Zer, look what I found!” He pointed to the grave site and waved the book.

She rushed to see, a smile lighting up her gray eyes. “What is it?”

“I think it’s some sort of burial site.” He crouched down on the edge of the pit he’d ended at and set the book down between them. “It’s the first woman we’ve found buried here.”

“Any clues as to why she was buried here?” She knelt beside him and stared at the bones.

He shook his head and sat back on his heels. His attention returned to the book. “Not yet. Let’s take a look at this book though. She was holding it.”

Zerua reached out to touch the book lying on the grassy hillside, brushing her fingers over the ancient leather. “This is in awfully fair condition for being buried thousands of years ago.”

“Outside maybe. I opened it briefly a moment ago, and it looks like there’s dried blood caked to it. It’ll be a wonder if we can get pages apart to read any of it.” He settled cross-legged on the ground beside his wife and pulled the book into his lap. “Let’s see what we have here…”

He eased the cover open, minding the brittle crackling of the paper as he did. The scent of iron still lingered on the pages, and he frowned, flipping past the first empty page to look at the next. “There’s writing on this one.”

His wife leaned over his shoulder, pointing to the flaking black-brown substance. “Seems strange that this substance on the pages didn’t render it illegible.”

“It’s strange that the book is still intact at all.” He stared at the first words on the page. “These are in an old form of Wyrdhan.”

“Can you read it?” She rested her chin on his shoulder.

He bit his lip and stared at the words for a moment longer before reading what he felt was the best translation. “Sedra cannot be trusted. She has lied to them all, but they do not know the extent to which she has deceived them.” His gaze lifted to meet his wife’s wide-eyed stare. “What have we found?”

Pre-order the e-book at Kobo

Order the Kindle version on Amazon. The paperback will release on July 31st.