Blog Tour: Prophecy Revealed by Ron Hartman

Title: Prophecy Revealed

Author: Ron Hartman

Series: The Prophecy Chronicles #2

Pages: N/A

Date Published: June 13th, 2014

Publisher: Smashwords

Format: eBook

Genre: Fantasy

Source: Goddess Fish Blog Tours

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Synopsis:

Daniel Marten crossed the Burning Sea and convinced himself that he is the Prophesied One. But what does that mean? In this second installment of the Prophecy Chronicles trilogy, Daniel forges new alliances in his bid to save Naphthali from the Emperor. He meets the Tene’breon, a magical race that has evolved to use the Weave as effortlessly as he breathes air. The leaders of this race recognize him for what he is…but they also see something more.

Naphthali has been dramatically altered by the rule of a new governor, a man whose power is tied to Daniel in a horrifying way. How far will Daniel go to save Naphthali? And what is the secret that binds his destiny with his new allies? Only time will tell in The Prophecy Chronicles: Prophecy Revealed.

Today, we have a special treat for you here on Unabridged Andra's! Ron Hartman is HERE and telling us all about what goes into the recipe to make the perfect fantasy series! 

~Guest Post!~

The Recipe for a Perfect Fantasy Series

By Ron Hartman 

            There is a word that was used to describe fantasy back in the ‘70s that they don’t seem to use much anymore: epic.  It’s a shame, really, because that is the word I’d use to describe the most important element necessary if you’re going to write a fantasy series.  It needs to be an epic tale.  I’ve ready plenty of great fantasy novels.  One of the best of all time, in my opinion, is The Talisman by Peter Straub and Stephen King.  It has a grand, sweeping story line and great traditional fantasy elements, but I wouldn’t consider it to be an epic fantasy.  Nor do I think it would necessarily lend itself to the longer format of a series.  Regardless of how excellent that tale is, I don’t think it would work if it were fleshed out to be a series.  Some things are just better as stand-alones.

            So there is the first ingredient you’d need in your recipe: an epic story arc.  It can’t just be one long journey, either.  You need more than one climactic ending.  If you don’t have that, then you’re not really writing a series, you’re just writing one really long-winded story.  You need an obvious place to break the story off, and at that point you either need some real punch, or some resolution.  I got some flack in the first installment of The Prophecy Chronicles, which is called Prophecy Foretold.  If you haven’t read that, I don’t want to spoil it for you, but (spoiler alert) it ends in quite a cliff hanger.  More than one person wanted to wring my neck for how that one ended, but that was the perfect breaking point for the story, and it was a great climactic peak as well.  That’s ingredient number two, more than one climactic breaking point.

            The third ingredient would be transformation.  If you’re going to follow a character, or group of characters, through an entire series, you need to see something change for them.  Whether its personal growth, horrible realization, utter failure…  It doesn’t matter too much what that change is, but there has to be something.  If they are the same characters they were at the beginning, again, it’s not really a series that you’re writing.

            The fourth ingredient is actually kind of a no-brainer:  you need something fantastical that happens.  I mean, come on!  You’re writing a fantasy novel.  It has to have magic, dragons, vampires, zombies, something.  If you aren’t going to add the fantastical, you might still have a series, but it’s not really in the fantasy genre.

            Lastly, add a dash of good characters that your readers can emotionally invest in.  I say just a dash here, because really you need that for any novel, not just a fantasy series.  This kind of falls in the same category as ingredient number four, because it seems to be a no-brainer.  Unless you’ve spent the time fully investigating your characters before you start, you aren’t ready to start writing.

            So there you have it:  the perfect recipe for a fantasy series.  Stir all of those together, bake in the slightly mad mind of a fantasy writer for a year or two, arrange neatly on a computer screen, and serve with relish to your rabid fans! 

~Try an Excerpt!~

"Hello Wes." Daniel just managed to choke out past his grief.

Those burning blue eyes studied Daniel for a moment before Westragen, the healer, spoke in a dry whisper. "Daniel, you've returned." Daniel's chin dropped to his chest as tears spilled between his eyelids. He couldn't even bring himself to look at the old man when next he spoke. "My boy?" Was there a note of reproach in that whisper? Yes, Daniel thought there was. "Greggor?" The tears continued to roll as he managed to shake his head once. "Ah!" Daniel wouldn't have thought so much pain could be emoted in one whispered word.

He looked up at the man through vision made blurry by tears. It looked as though Westragen shrank somehow. It was as if his last reason to keep fighting for breath was gone. Tears swam in the healer's eyes as he laid his head back, his jaw slack, staring off into nothing. "I'm so sorry, Wes," Daniel blubbered, barely understandable.

When he spoke Westragen's eyes darted to his own. He blinked back tears and glared hot hate at Daniel. "Sorry? You're sorry? You killed my boy. I'll not listen to your apologies." Westragen's frail body shook, spittle and blood flecking his lips in his effort to roar, though only a dry whisper came out. Daniel's chin sank to his chest once more and his shoulders slumped. In his mind he saw the bloody wreckage that was Greggor, pulled from the Swordgrass. Another sacrifice to the Prophecy, one of many in an unending line. The weight of those sacrifices bowed Daniel's back, crushed his spirit.

~Meet Ron!~ 

Author Bio:  Ron Hartman has had a life-long passion for the written word and is an avid reader.  The Prophecy Chronicles are his first written works.  The first in the series, Prophecy Foretold, was released in October of 2012.  Prophecy Revealed is the second in the trilogy.  Ron graduated from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy in 2000 and lives in Ottumwa, Iowa with his wife and three children.

You can find Ron on the inter-web...

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Ron will be awarding a $25 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn commenter and a $50 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn host during this tour and the Review Tour.

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