Author of Hammer of Fate.
Today, I am pleased to welcome author Geoff Gudgion to talk to us about the Hammer of Fate, the first book in his new epic fantasy Rune Song trilogy which released on June 1st, 2023.
Helen: Welcome Geoff. I am so excited to chat about your new epic fantasy book today!! Congratulations on the release. I am currently reading Hammer of Fate, and I am loving it. Tell us a little about it.
Geoff: Hammer of Fate is the first in the Rune Song epic fantasy trilogy, which was released on 1 June. The publishers (Second Sky, an imprint of Bookouture/Hachette) are positioning the series alongside George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones and Robin Hobb’s Farseer series, but I’d like to add a nod to Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Lions of Al-Rassan.
The heroine, Adelais, was raised in the far north, learning stories of the old gods and the skill of weaving runes into magic. Now she’s locked in a convent far from home and forced to kneel to a foreign god. Adelais falls foul of the Inquisition, escapes dressed as a boy, and finds herself caught up in much larger conflict between faiths and nations. She must summon all her courage and her memories of the old gods’ magic as the noose tightens around her and a thunderous final reckoning approaches.
Some will adore her as an angel. Most will hunt her as a witch. She may be both.
You’ll find more details at https://geni.us/B0BT8BH85Dcover Two other titles in the series, Runes of Battle and Blood of Wolves, will be released in July and October respectively.
Helen: I love the nod to the Knights Templar and the renaissance feel of the world, reinforced by the naming. And I am so happy this is a trilogy, more books to enjoy! I am assuming that is Adelais on the cover?
Geoff: The fantastic cover art was commissioned from the talented Lance Buckley ( https://www.lancebuckley.com/ ) by Second Sky. I can see elements of my suggestions in the design, though I pictured Adelais as being a little more vulnerable and feminine in the first book; more like Daenarys Targarian in Season 1 of Game of Thrones than Brienne of Tarth in Season 2. By Book 3, Blood of Wolves, her character has evolved through adversity and this image would definitely fit.
Helen: I love the character of Adelais, you have written her so beautifully. She is still feminine under her disguise, so I do agree that the cover does portray her more as boy, which loses the sense of her vulnerability and naivete at the start. But the cover does still suggests an underdog against the powers that be.
Geoff: Adelais is all my agent’s fault. Ian encouraged me to focus on historical fiction ‘with a female protagonist’. I was researching the 14th century at the time, an era when the only empowered women were queens or nuns, but writing a ‘nun on the run’ seemed like a fun idea. ‘What about a kick-ass, cross-dressing nun?’ I asked, and was rewarded with a literary air-punch.
Sadly, publishers did not buy the manuscript as historical fiction, much to Ian’s frustration, so he suggested I keep the characters and the essence of the plot but rewrite it as fantasy. That worked.
I had reservations, at first, being a man writing a female protagonist, but Adelais became very real to me faster than any character before. Sometimes it feels as if we wrote her adventures together. Fortunately I had an excellent lady copy editor who could ensure that masculine thinking did not intrude into a feminine point of view, but she had to make very few changes in that regard.
Helen: You mentioned researching. How much research did you have to do for Hammer of Fate?
Geoff: Masses! Research for the Rune Song series has taken me into the Old Norse language, arcane aspects of Nordic rune lore, the trials of the Knights Templar, the mindset of chivalry, and medieval sword fighting techniques. I could add a few minor diversions such as medieval medicines. (Hot tip; wash wounds with wine and pack them with sphagnum moss; it contains a form of penicillin.)
Helen: Researching can be quite consuming, but these subjects sound really interesting. Let’s talk about your writing process. Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Geoff: A bit of both. I’ll always have a premise; the key characters, needs, jeopardies, and resolution. Then I’ll start crafting craft words but stray off track, and write the premise again because I’ve improved on the original idea. That could happen three or four times in the course of a novel.
Helen: How does your writing fit into your daily life?
Geoff: At the moment the difficulty is fitting everyday life around my writing! I’m a keen amateur horse rider but deadlines mean even my lovely mare is neglected. When Blood of Wolves is out & running I will heave a massive sigh of relief and book a holiday.
Helen: Hammer of Fate is a new genre for you. How easy was it to write in a different genre to your previous books?
Geoff: Remarkably easily. In fact it was liberating. In historical fiction the plot has to fit within the framework of known facts, but a fantasy author can let their imagination rip. Rune Song would only have run for two books as HF, but in fantasy I could give Adelais a character arc that would have put her into the history books. If I want dragons, ‘here be dragons’. There aren’t, by the way. Dragons, that is. Just a little magic that’s based on pre-Christian, Nordic rune lore.
Helen: It was good job you clarified that, otherwise we’d all be asking where are the dragons! Do you have a favorite tool or software that helps your writing?
Geoff: I’m a fan of Scrivener. It keeps all my research in one file, allows me to ‘cork board’ plots, and keep side notes to remind me what to change. I’d be lost without it.
Helen: I have Scrivener, I’ve just never had to time to figure it out! Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?
Geoff: Don’t give up, just learn to fail better.
Write for yourself, but if you want to reach a wider audience recognise the realities of the market, particularly genre structures. These days, you can have a brilliant manuscript but if you don’t fit into a neat Amazon tick-box, mainstream publishers don’t want to know because they can’t position the book into their primary means of distribution. There can be a huge gap between what people like to read and what the market is prepared to sell them.
Helen: It’s been a pleasure chatting with you, Geoff. I wish you all the best of luck with Hammer of Fate. Any last words you’d like to share?
Geoff: Fifteen years ago I left corporate life and went freelance to release time to write. My mother-in-law was not impressed. When, eventually, my wife rang her and said ‘wonderful news, Mummy – Geoff’s got a publishing deal! He’s going to be a published author,’ the response was ‘that’s nice, dear, but has he got work?’
Helen, thank you so much for inviting me onto your blog. It’s a privilege to be here and in such good company.
About the Author
G.N. Gudgion (‘Geoff’) grew up with his nose in a book, often one featuring knights in armour. These days he prefers tales where women don’t have to be either beautiful damsels or witches. He likes to craft stories with complex, conflicted characters that a reader can bleed with, cry for, and perhaps fall in love with. They live in worlds where you can smell the sweat and the sewers, as well as the roses.
Geoff lives in a leafy corner of England, where he’s a keen amateur equestrian and a very bad pianist. He spends much of his time crafting words in a shed, fifty yards and five hundred years from his house.
He is also the author, as Geoffrey Gudgion, of supernatural thrillers Saxon’s Bane (Solaris, 2020) and Draca (Unbound, 2020)
You can purchase Hammer of Fate here:
Link to book on Amazon UK: eBook | Paperback | Audio
Linkt ot book on Amazon US: eBook | Paperback | Audio
As an Amazon Associate I may benefit from purchases made using these links.
If you enjoy fantasy books with a touch of romance then you will love SoulBreather, or my epic fantasy Sentinal series. As a new threat against Remargaren is discovered, only one man can wake the ancient guards who can protect them, only he doesn’t know how. Start the adventure and stay for the journey. Sign up to my newsletter and download a free novella called Sentinals Stirring and get notified when my next books are published.
Helen Garraway 