Hello, lovelies!! It gives me great pleasure today to host Tom Haward and his new book, “The Path of Chaos,” here on FAB!! For other stops on his Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.
Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card!! Also, come back daily to interact with Tom and to increase your chances of winning!!
Thanks for stopping by!! Wishing you all lots of good luck in this fabulous giveaway!!
The Path of Chaos
by Tom Haward
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GENRE: Dystopian Alternate History
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BOOK BLURB:
It is the year 2030, and the Roman Empire never fell. Emperor Nero II rules half the world, but half the world is not enough for the unpredictable Emperor.
Britannia is a Roman outpost. London Bridge is lined with crucified bodies. The streets are patrolled by soldiers in high-speed, horseless chariots. Nero views Britannia as a vital but fractious asset for his planned invasion of the Republic of Indigenous America.
Boatman King was born out of rage. A rage that propels him to try and destroy the Empire. He’s not alone: he leads clandestine rebels fighting to drive the Empire from Britannia. These rebels are his weapon, which he hopes will obliterate Nero and the entire Empire.
Rebellion, though, comes at a steep price. Olivia, Boatman’s wife, is caught and crucified on London Bridge by Nero’s son, Maximus, who is intent on flushing Boatman from hiding.
Instead, Maximus draws Maverick ‘The Beast’ Kirabo, Boatman’s fearsome second-in-command, a champion gladiator who now fights for Rome’s dismay, not their entertainment.
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EXCERPT ONE:
“Soldier Gallus and Soldier Marius, I need you to accompany me to my home.” Both soldiers saluted and followed Faust to his chariot. Faust climbed on and sat down at the rear. Gallus remained standing whilst Marius fired the engine. The bulletproof glass roof closed over the soldiers’ heads and sealed the chariot. They sped off away from London Bridge going south to Augustus Park where Faust’s house was situated.
Within fifteen minutes Faust was striding through his front door, gun drawn and Gallus and Marius flanking. The town house had three floors, six bedrooms in total and an airy, open-plan ground floor. Each soldier took a floor and searched. They quickly cleared the rooms, finding no-one present and nothing out of the ordinary to report.
They convened in the kitchen, and Faust holstered his gun.
“Maybe we beat them to it?” said Marius.
Faust grunted and didn’t bother to respond. He knew something wasn’t right in the house but could quite place it. He needed to walk through and check it off. He’d only searched the ground floor but something didn’t make sense.
“I need you both to stand guard outside. Anyone so much as approaches the house suspiciously I want you to shoot them. If anyone is allowed access to the house without my permission, I will crucify you both upside down. Understand?”
Both men nodded and saluted and left the house to take sentry out the front.
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GUEST POST:
Dealing with Rejection as a Writer
I remember about fifteen years ago I had written half a novel and sent it to an agent. She phoned me one evening and said how she really enjoyed what she had read and wanted to talk as soon as possible about it. I thought, at that moment, my big break had come. After all, why phone me to tell me how much she enjoyed it and call an immediate meeting if she she wasn’t about to give me the opportunity of a lifetime?
When I did meet with her she gently pointed out why the book needed a lot more work and how her agency wasn’t able to sign it. She wanted to meet because she loved my writing and wanted to encourage me and hope that I was able to make some urgent edits and stylistic changes to make it some the saleable quickly, which she would be able to market. At the time though, I felt I didn’t have the skill or imagination to drastically change the book I had written so far and the negativity outweighed the positivity. I abandoned the book and abandoned writing a novel for a while. I wrote articles and short stories but almost felt afraid to write something longer.
I then wrote another novel when I felt brave enough and sent it to agents and publishers. I received some positive feedback, but they all culminated in rejections. Again, it somehow felt more of a kick to the teeth to receive positive comments about my skill as a writer when no-one was willing to take a chance on me. It made me want to give up completely as nice remarks didn’t feel particularly edifying.
I don’t think there’s a formula to deal with rejection, as a writer, but I learnt from those experiences that I’m a good writer. I stepped back form my writing for a time and then when I went back into it I stopped writing what I thought would ‘wow’ an agent or publisher, but wrote stuff I simply loved writing because it gave me a buzz. The Path of Chaos gave me such a thrill when writing it because it was different to anything I had written before and also because it ignited my imagination. Then it was loved my my publisher and I’m eternally grateful for that.
When writing, remember that you can’t pre-empt what an agent or publisher will like so write what feels good in your gut and, who knows?
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AUTHOR BIO:
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Tom was born in Essex and at 4 months old he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers. He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.
Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and has loved telling stories since he was a child, whether verbally or through prose.
The Path of Chaos is his debut novel. He is also working on a six episode comedy screenplay and tweets passionately about his family’s industry and the challenges it faces.
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CONNECT WITH TOM:
Website:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tomhawardauthor
Twitter:
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/hawardtom
Cinnabar Moth Literary Collections Author Page:
https://cinnabarmothliterarycollections.com/contributing_authors/tom-haward
Goodreads Author Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5350971.Tom_Haward
Goodreads Book Page:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123856591-the-path-of-chaos
Amazon Author Page:
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BOOK BUY LINKS:
Amazon US Kindle eBook:
Amazon US Paperback:
Amazon US Hardcover:
Amazon CA Kindle eBook:
https://www.amazon.ca/Path-Chaos-Tom-Haward-ebook/dp/B0BVG8H9MY
Amazon CA Paperback:
https://www.amazon.ca/Path-Chaos-Tom-Haward/dp/1953971822
Amazon CA Hardcover:
https://www.amazon.ca/Path-Chaos-Tom-Haward/dp/1953971830
Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-path-of-chaos-tom-haward/1143059685?ean=2940166014979
Barnes and Noble Paperback:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-path-of-chaos-tom-haward/1143059685?ean=9781953971821
Barnes and Noble Hardcover:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-path-of-chaos-tom-haward/1143059685?ean=9781953971838
Kobo US eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-path-of-chaos-1
Kobo CA eBook:
https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/the-path-of-chaos-1
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GIVEAWAY INFO:
Tom will be awarding
a $10 Amazon OR Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly
drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.
**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog. This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those fabulous community outreach projects and awesome giveaways on here**
This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions. Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteThis story sounds really interesting. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to reading The Path of Chaos
ReplyDeleteHow did you pick the book cover?
ReplyDelete