Friday Reads~The Gladiator and the Guard

 

A new book is definitely an exciting announcement! 

 

1. Tell our readers why they should choose your novel as their Friday Read.

TheGladiator and the Guard is a unique type of story that takes place in a unique setting. Allow me to tell you a little about both.

This is the second book in the Krillonian Chronicles, the first one being The Collar and the Cavvarach. The stories take place in a world almost exactly like our own. Although most aspects of the culture are just about what they are currently on Earth, a few sports are different, such as the martial art known as cavvara shil. The main difference, however, is that slavery is legal there.

The Krillonian Empire rules much of the world. An emperor, who is never named, governs from the capital city, Krillonia, on the continent known as Imperia. Eight separate provinces (independent nations before they were conquered) can be found on nearby continents. Each province, plus Imperia, is allowed to elect its own legislature and decide on many of its own laws, but the emperor reserves the right to veto any of them and make changes as he sees fit. This seldom happens, however, and to most people the emperor is merely a vague and distant ceremonial figure.

The prevalence of slavery is probably what would stand out the most to visitors from Earth. There are nearly as many slaves in the city of Jarreon, where both books take place, as free people, and they are easily identified by the steel collars they are required to wear locked around their necks. From each collar hangs a tag inscribed with the slave’s name, their owner’s name, and a copy of their owner’s signature. On the back of the tag is their owner’s phone number and a bar code that can be scanned to access additional information.

Many families own one or more slaves who do their housework and yard work. Businesses often own a large number of slaves, usually for manual labor, though some are trained for more complex tasks. Those who don’t own their own slaves may “hire in” one belonging to someone else. The accepted rate for an hourly wage is two-thirds the amount that a free person would earn for equivalent labor (the money goes to the slave’s owner, of course).

To read more about the culture of the Krillonian Empire, take a look at this post on my blog.

And the blurb for The Gladiator and the Guard :

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

2. What is the book’s back story, what inspired you?

 I’ve had the idea growing in my mind for the last few years. It started as just a picture of the setting and its culture: a world almost exactly like ours, but with legalized slavery. The main characters, Bensin (a 14-year-old slave at the time of the first book, and a martial artist) and Steene (his owner and coach) emerged gradually, along with the plot (Bensin’s struggle to protect and free his younger sister). It wasn’t until after the first book had been published that I thought of the ideas that eventually led to the second book.

3. Who were your favorite authors as a child and teen?

 As a child, I enjoyed C.S. Lewis, Laura Ingalls Wilder, Beverly Cleary, and Enid Blyton, among many others. As a teen, I grew to love Ray Bradbury, J.R.R. Tolkien, Stephen Lawhead, Fay Sampson, and Frank Peretti.

Imagine a big name author that you love is reading and raving about your book. Choose one of these reactions and explain why.

A. Freak out and shake all over.

B. Google everything you can find about your book and the author

C. Call everyone you know to share your excitement

D. Post immediately to Clean Indie Reads so your friends can freak out with you.

E. Begin to mentally compose a tweet to tell the world.

Definitely d. Probably a as well, but d for sure. Very few people I know in person would understand the true magnitude of such an event, but everyone in Clean Indie Reads see it as the momentous occasion it is and celebrate with me. That’s one of the many reasons I love that group!

It’s one of the reasons I love it too! 

The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences.  One is that slavery is legal there.  Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone.  Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover).  

Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil.  It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with “have a rack”), a weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge.  Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades.  You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.