Book: A Change of Heart
Author: Mark Benjamin
Date of Publication: Sunday, 29 May, 2016
Genres: Urban fantasy, paranormal
Synopsis
Bullied his entire life,
orphaned university graduate, Gabriel Harper, is bitten by a Royal vampire
moments before sunrise, transforming him over the course of six terrible and
exhilarating nights into a hybrid—human by day, vampire by night.
Just as he learns to come to
grips with what he has become, the Silver Legion—a covert, vampire-hunting
organisation—kidnap him and his three friends, forcing them to join their
clandestine crusade; however, they remain unaware of Gabriel’s nature until it
is too late.
Each choice made sets in
motion a turn of devastating events—from love-triangles and fratricide, lust
and betrayal, broken dreams and the thirst for power, vengeance and the
spilling of blood defines victory.
A Change Of Heart is set primarily in the
fictional City of Penance; interweaving the lives of Legionnaires, humans and
vampires in the course of a year.
Mark Benjamin's
exclusive interview with Nadaness In Motion ahead of the release of A Change
of Heart.
About Mark Benjamin
Q: Tell us a bit about yourself and your writing
journey.
Mark
Benjamin: I’m the second born out of three other siblings (two girls, two boys)
where my parents worked hard to provide for us and raise us well. I take after
my father who is an avid reader as well as a creative writer, poet and play
director in his youthful days. I studied Law with Business in London, England;
and International Business and Marketing in Perth, Australia. I am also happily
married with a baby daughter.
My
writing journey began when I was very young, reading books from my earliest
memory. Writing seriously began in my early twenties, slumped for a bit due to
life, and then came back again in my late twenties.
Q: What countries would you like to visit?
MB: I would like to visit
the Caribbean, Egypt, Brazil, Italy, Greece and Spain; basically, include all
Seven Wonders of the World too. Now, I know you didn’t ask this (but as a
fiction writer I take pride in making things up as I go along) but fictional
places I’d love to go include; Hogsmeade, the only all-wizard village in
Britain (Harry Potter); South Park,
Colorado (Southpark); Atlantis;
Bikini Bottom (SpongeBob SquarePants);
and Springfield (The Simpsons). Now,
I know you may be wondering why I haven’t said Gotham City or Metropolis, but
there’s just too much danger in those kind of cities!
Q: Are you an indie author? Can you tell us more
about how your book came about and what inspired you?
MB: I am a proud indie
author and extremely grateful for the opportunities the Internet has given
us. My book, A Change of Heart, had
its first creative thought process in my early teens. I completely forgot about
it until one night when I awoke from a dream about it in my early twenties. I
put pen to paper and the story evolved to where we are now. Inspiration for
vampires came mostly from Anne Rice and through Dracula: The Series, the 90’s children’s show I watched as a kid.
Q: Are you a full-time author? If not, what else
do you do?
MB: I write part-time but
my dream, shared by many I’m sure, is to be a full-time author. My day job
consists of me being a banker.
Talking about A Change of
Heart
Q: Is A Change of
Heart the first in a series or is it a standalone?
MB: A
Change of Heart is the
first in The Royal Blood Chronicles series.
Q: What is the era used in your novel?
MB: The era within the
novel is present day, though in future books there shall be flashbacks delving
into the past.
Q: There have been lots of novels and movies
about Vampires. Are there any specific aspects about the Vampires in A
Change of Heart? (I couldn't help but feel a slight
similarity between Gabriel Harper and Blade in the half-and-half bit – but that
could just be me. I hope they don't glitter in the sun though :D)
MB: You are very right. There really have been
quite a lot when it comes to vampires, be it in books, movies, series, video games,
comics and graphic novels. In The Royal Blood Chronicles series however,
I’ve taken it back to how I found vampires; mortal weakness towards sunlight
and silver, while leaving out the garlic and inability to enter churches. What I have added, however, is
that there are a class of vampires, the Royals, who are born vampires and not
made (you can learn more about them in A
Change of Heart).
Hahaha! No, my vampires do not
glitter in the sun. Regarding Blade, there are some similarities between him
and Gabriel, though they have their own distinct differentiations. Gabriel relies solely on his self-control to defeat his blood thirst
unlike Blade (movie) who needs a serum; Gabriel’s superhuman abilities disappear
during the day unlike Blade’s (movie and comic) which are there throughout; and
Gabriel is only immune to sunlight whereas Blade (movie and comic) is immune is
to sunlight and silver. However, we find out more about Gabriel in the future
books.
More on the book
Q: Tell us about how the cover came to be and
how the sword relates to the events in the novel (without spoilers if possible)
(It gave me a sort of ancient feel, hence the next question)
MB: The idea of the sword
had always been the main theme for the book cover. It represents the common
weapon the Dark Knights, the nighttime vampire hunters of The Silver
Legionnaires, use to dispatch their sworn enemies. The red (bloody) heart emphasises
the title of the book. Both images were selected by my wife who played an
integral role in assisting with the book cover.
Q: What genres does the novel fall under? Is
there any adult content/what is the age range for its readers?
MB: The genre is first and
foremost urban fantasy, with a sprinkling of thriller and paranormal
elements. It does have some adult content in terms of violence, two sex scenes
(not graphic) and swear words. My age range for this would be mature, but it’s
hard to say as I read far worse as a teen. Would I let my daughter read it? Only
once she’s turned 17 or 18 though.
Q: You said that A
Change of Heart is set in a
fictional city, can you elaborate on the setting you've created in your novel?
MB: Penance City, the main
capital within the novel, is an urban metropolitan city like any other in the
world today; be it New York, London or Tokyo. The idea came from reading
Stephen King’s novels where the setting is mainly in his fictional cities in
Maine i.e. Derry and Castle Rock.
Q: What do you like and dislike about your main
character, Gabriel?
MB: I like Gabriel’s
loyalty to his friends and family, his unwavering stance to do what is right
and not take the easy way out. Now as to what I dislike about him, a truly difficult
question for me to answer if I’m to be honest, I would say I dislike that due
to his supernatural abilities and his sense of responsibility towards them,
leaves him too stoic, too serious, at times.
Q: A Change of Heart is a fantasy novel, did you have to do a lot of
research for it? Can you tell us about that?
MB: There really wasn’t
that much research done for A Change of Heart, but I did read a lot of
fantasy novels and vampire books, and watched anything that included vampires
whilst I was at it, a really fun way of researching.
Q: What are you upcoming projects?
MB: Upcoming project is to
get The Royal Blood Chronicles series finished, with the next instalment
to be out in 2017.
Q: Can you tell us about something you've learnt in the writing and/or
publishing process?
MB: Take
everything you hear about your work (novel, short story, poetry) with a grain
of salt, be it positive or negative. Not everyone can like what you’ve done,
but if you’ve worked at it to your very best of abilities, then the right
audience shall find it and like it. Also, have a tough skin as it can get rough
out there in the book publishing world.
Add A Change of Heart on Goodreads here.
A Change of Heart is available for
pre-order via the links below.
Purchase links:
Connect with Mark Benjamin
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