I’m pleased to announce that WHEN THE VILLAIN COMES HOME is now available in print on amazon.com! The ebook, and distribution to other online retail venues, will be following shortly.
To celebrate the book’s release, I’m going to be spotlighting some of the authors in the anthology here on the blog. First up is Clint Talbert, because Clint has other exciting news to share, too: his first novel, Last Stand of Darwonyhas been signed by Barking Rain Press.
- Twin Hills is a dying forest in an abandoned Texas oil field, now skirted by a residential neighborhood. Its protector is an ancient oak tree called Darwony, who has turned the forest’s pain into a dark magic that it hopes can keep the remaining trees safe from further harm. The spell was working, too—until a young boy from the nearby neighborhood, Jeremy Trahan, is drawn to the woods in search of the magic he senses instinctively. By finding the magic, Jeremy hopes it will help him escape the boredom and bullies that plague his life—just like in all the books he’s read. But as he gets closer to discovering the gateway to the other world that the spell hides, land developers descend on the fragile forest with bulldozers and chainsaws. Will Jeremy seize the chance to leave his mundane world behind, or will he stand and fight for his haven?
You can sign up with Barking Rain here to preview the first few chapters!
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Name: Clint Talbert
Location: Pacifica, CA
twitter: @clinttalbert
website: www.cmtalbert.com or www.clinttalbert.com
Villain story title: Birthright
What inspired your story? / What’s the background behind your story?
- I’ve been writing fantasy for some time, and the idea of how really evil villains get to be really evil has always intrigued me. So, I used this prompt as an excuse to think up the darkest individual I could create and understand how he might have become that. This story really surprised me when I first wrote it. So much in fact, that I took a shower after writing the first draft because it just felt so vile.
Cons/signings/events this year?
- I’ll be at World Fantasy in Toronto in October/November. See you there!
What are you working on now?
- The last round of edits for my forthcoming YA novel, and a new cyberpunk novel.
Excerpt your favorite line/passage from your story:
- To me, this passage really says all I need to say about how much Khrandor has chosen to let his hatred and egotism rule his life. I like that it sounds absolutely slimy:
Khrandor swallowed his revulsion, not letting it disrupt his interrogator’s smile. He was close now, he just had to nudge Brennan over the edge. Khrandor dropped his voice to a rotten, insinuating whisper. “I will take whatever I want. Kassandra. The mines. All of it. I will take what-so-ever I want.”
Any acknowledgements you’d like to mention for your story?
- I’d acknowledge all the authors in Hero because I read that first while preparing to write my story, and I knew how high the bar was set. So, in a big way, they all helped.
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Don’t forget to sign up for our WHEN THE HERO COMES HOME giveaway on Goodreads, now through August 10, 2012.
