Michael has written a great guest post about himself as a middle school and how it affects his writing.
About Heirs of Prophecy - Goodreads | Amazon | IndieBound | B&N
The Riverton family had been enjoying a simple summer vacation when, through a fluke of nature, they found themselves in a strange new land.
The Riverton brothers quickly realize that in this world, they have gained unusual powers. Powers that their parents fear will attract the attention of Azazel himself - the merciless wizard who brutally controls this world.
The two brothers soon learn that an ancient prophecy has finally been initiated by their arrival in Trimoria. As the heirs of this prophecy, they are destined to lead the armies of men, dwarves, elves, and even a misfit ogre against the prophesied demon horde.
Only one thing stands in their way.
The evil wizard who has learned of their presence, and has sent assassins to wipe them from existence.
Tools of Prophecy
Book II in the Prophecies series
The TOOLS OF PROPHECY is the second volume in an epic saga which describes a prophecy that has placed the Riverton brothers in the lead roles of a struggle to save their world from being overrun by unspeakable horrors. This destiny requires that they face off with the demons that nearly destroyed their world over five centuries ago.
In the first book, the population of wizards had been practically eradicated by the former tyrant. The Rivertons are now charged with creating an Academy of Magic, recruiting qualified students, and furthering their own training with secrets that have long been held by the reclusive elves.
Despite their youth, a mysterious spirit has engaged them in an epic struggle to gain mastery of their newfound skills, help raise and train two armies, and stay alive long enough for their final showdown with destiny.
The only things that stand in their way are the assassins hired to destroy them and the Demon Lord’s minion who holds a personal grudge and intends to witness the young boys’ deaths.
I am an Army brat and the first person in my family to be born in the United States. This heavily influenced my youth by instilling a love of reading and a burning curiosity about the world and all of the things within it. As an adult, my love of travel allowed me to explore many unimaginable locations. I participated in many adventures and documented them in what will be a series of books, the first of which you have just read.
Some might put these books in the Fantasy genre, and I never had issues with this label. After all, the adventures were, without any doubt in my mind, fantastic. I simply quibble with the label of "Fiction" that some might put on these tales. These tales should be viewed as historical records, more along the lines of a documentary.
I've learned one thing over the years. Magic is real. Keep exploring, and you too will find your magic.
- Mike Rothman
I'm very excited to welcome Mike Rothman to The O.W.L.!!!
I asked Mike: What
were you like in middle school (since I teach middle schoolers), and do you
bring any of it into your writing?
I
think I was generally the quiet type. I had always been the person who would
hide in the back of the classroom and pray to all that was holy that the
teacher never picked on me. It wasn’t because I didn’t do well in school, it
was because I was horribly shy and allowed it to take over my personality at
that age. One thing though – I was a huge reader. (Ironically, I didn’t care
for writing whatsoever back then)
I am
sure my teacher would have been shocked to find out that today (many years
later) I do a lot of public speaking to very large crowds and sometimes find
myself back in the classrooms or auditoriums talking to kids about writing and
the stories I have written.
As to
the writing that I do, I am very conscious of who my audience is, and I am a
big advocate for writing tales that do not “dumb down” the vocabulary that a
child is exposed to. As a reader first, I am convinced that my early exposure
to the written word was responsible for my better than average vocabulary, so
in my writing – I write without artificial constraints due to the lower age
group. I’ve found that my books are usually very well received by children as
early as fourth grade, and am pleased to report that I’ve had many gray-haired
gentlemen and ladies who have also enjoyed the stories. I introduce elements
that most age groups can relate to.
Since
the lower range of the age group I write for is young, I do limit certain
elements that might be popular in some of the teen age group material that has
become quite popular. I suppose one might call me old-fashioned, but I wanted
to write material that focused on relationships that were age appropriate, but
tone down the hormone induced material to the barest minimum. Where the
appropriate responses from a twelve year old might be some severe blushing or a
peck on the cheek, I could only have wished for such at that age. :)
I have
also fought the trend that seems to be popular in Fiction, and was in-fact some
of the advice I’d been given by some of my friends who are NYT bestselling
authors. “You need to make the main characters orphans” “You need their parents to die tragically”etc.
Let’s
be frank – the rule of thumb for most fiction today is that your young
protagonist(s) must have a hectic home life. Assume they are either an orphan,
have family issues of all varieties, or are otherwise stressed by their
day-to-day situation.
My
books are written in opposition to such norms, and headline protagonists which
are likable, fallible, but otherwise should be very relatable. Everyone knows a
brother who is a pain in the butt who you would protect with your own life, or
an over-protective mother, etc. I aim to prove that the action and strife need
not come from the family, but through the situations and adventures they are
put through.
Thank you Mike. I love your idea of having books from the middle show that most of the time it is our situations and adventures that create the action in the lives of the readers! It's a great change in what we see many times!
To learn more about Mike and the book check out the tour schedule:
Michael is giving away a Kindle during the Tour!
US/Canada only
a Rafflecopter giveaway
I can so relate to Michael's middle grade experience. That was so me. And I'm glad he resisted the urge to make his character the poor orphan. As an adoptive mom, I'm really tired of those characters and it doesn't reflect the true lives of kids who lost their birth parents but found their forever families.
ReplyDeletegreat blog!!! If you have a moment enter our Go Fish Owl Necklace Giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHi Natalie--I think the reason for the plethora of orphan stories is not to disparage adoptive families, but to get the adults "out of the way" so kids can have their own adventures/growth experiences. Of course, this is part of the reason fiction is so different than fact. In real life, many orphaned/adopted kids are doing great with their forever families.
ReplyDeleteWell now...I am excited to read these books. And to share them. I so agree with just telling the story and not changing the language--"dumbing" it down. Thanks so much for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteHi i have to agree with the rest of the viewers on orphan /adopted children and their forever families.I was raised by a single parent since i was a army brat and my father went missing in Vietnam in 63 never to be heard from again and i had 8 siblings. I still can't see how my mother kept us together really. Thanks for the giveaway joannie jscddmj[at]aol[dot]com
ReplyDeleteRefreshing take on the necessary element of orphanhood for this age group.
ReplyDelete