The Gatekeeper’s Son by C.R. Fladmark
(The Gatekeeper’s Son #1)
Publication date: October 1st 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Junya’s grandfather is a billionaire who keeps the secret to his success hidden in a heavily guarded safe.
His mother is a martial artist who wields a razor-sharp katana—and seems to read his mind.
And a mysterious girl in a Japanese school uniform can knock him over—literally—with just a look.
What do they know that he doesn’t?
Junya’s life takes a dangerous turn on his sixteenth birthday, when someone sets out to destroy not only the family’s business empire—the one that he’s set to inherit—but Junya himself. He’s fighting for his life, and doesn’t know who to trust.
What has his family been keeping from him?
Junya’s journey takes him from the narrow streets of San Francisco to Japan, and through hidden portals to the top of the ancient Japanese Izumo Shinto shrine, to places where death and violence are a way of life. And in a mystical world he’s never imagined, he finds his true destiny.
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As part of the blitz for this book, the author is offering one ebook copy of The Gatekeeper’s Son. Use the Rafflecopter widget and get a chance to get the book for FREE. (International giveaway, the winner will receive their copy after 5 June)
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Also, there is an international blitz-wide giveaway of a signed copy of The Gatekeeper’s Son. (Ends 14 May)
Q: Your book, The
Gatekeeper's Son, takes place in two very different worlds and cultures,
and you manage to slide from one into the other without any problem - even
gracefully. How do you do it?
CR:
Japan is so different from any other place I’ve visited; it was as if I was on
a different planet! On my first visit, I just walked around in awe. Huge glass
towers, bullet trains and so many people! But then, you’d round a corner and
find yourself in the quiet garden of an 800-year-old Buddhist temple. The
ultra-modern and the ancient co-exist everywhere so for me, it’s not hard to
describe an ancient world beside a modern San Francisco.
Q: Like most
writers, I noticed on your website that you also work a full-time job. (Yes, we
all need to eat and pay bills.) Do you have any secrets for juggling both at
once?
CR:
Finding time is a constant struggle. With a busy family and a job, writing
often ends up at the bottom of a long to-do list. I keep my laptop with me and
when I’m waiting for my kids at music class or sports practice, I write. Then,
of course, there is the late-night writing sessions that leave me bleary-eyed
at work the next day. That’s all I can do until this becomes a full-time
gig.
Q: What is your
favorite part about writing?
CR:
I love it when I lose myself in a scene and become so engrossed that my fingers
can’t keep up with the story. It’s also fascinating how my characters surprise
me by doing something unexpected. They take on a life of their own.
Q: And what would
you rather eat worms than do?
CR:
I would happily chomp worms to avoid anything involving heights. “Want to
bungee jump or go skydiving?” Chomp, chomp.
Q: What are you
reading right now?
CR:
The Shadow Of What Was Lost (The Licanius Trilogy, #1) by James Islington
Q: Where did the
ideas come from for The Gatekeeper's Son?
CR:
Any book has innumerable sources of inspiration but the event that first made
the idea 'click' was on one of my first trips to Japan. My father-in-law took
me to an archeological site where may un-before seen ancient artifacts were
discovered. The story was, a work-crew cutting a new road through a bamboo
forest noticed something bronze and shiny poking up through the soil. When
archaeologists began to dig, they discovered hundreds of bronze swords, laying
in rows. There was no doubt they were buried long ago but why? The
archaeologists couldn't find any obvious reason--it was the first finding of
such a thing. My first reaction when I saw them was, maybe they weren't buried
for use on This Side. Maybe they were left for others in another dimension -The
Other Side.
Q: What’s your
advice for aspiring writers?
CR:
I know it's a boring answer but you need to write, write, write. We get better
by doing. As we say in martial arts, 10,000 times to master something, a
lifetime to perfect it. You need to read a lot too; you can't write if you
don't. And read a broad range of genres, not just the type you want to write
about. Inspiration for a space fantasy story could come from a Jane Austin
novel.
Buy the book:
Award winning author, C.R. Fladmark lives in a small, historic
town in British Columbia and travels often to Japan, where he researches his
novels among the ancient sites in Shimane Prefecture. To learn more, and read a
way longer bio of his life and see FAQ, visit www.crfladmark.com
or find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/crfladmark.
Author links:
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