Newsletter: Three Two One
In which Karl is back in the room
The Portobello Book Blog
Yesterday I was featured on the Portobello Book Blog, as part of Joanne’s “ThreeTwoOne quick-fire questions” series. The questions I had to answer (regarding my latest book, Finding Solace, which brings the Lost Solace series to a conclusion) were:
Tell me THREE things about your latest book
Tell me about TWO of the characters in your book
Tell me ONE good reason why people should read your book!
Read the answers here! Or below.
Tell me THREE things about your latest book
1. The Lost Solace series are my most popular books, and Finding Solace – Book 5 – allowed me to end this much-loved series. I’d never written a series before – all my other books are standalones. It’s been an amazing and rewarding experience.
2. The question of how to end the story was something I wrestled with for years. I wanted to surprise and delight my readers, of course; but also to have the emotional punch that the end of a long and difficult journey requires.
3. If people continue to buy and adore the Lost Solace books, then I may write another. Never say never!
Tell me about TWO of the characters in your book
There are two main characters, both female.
Opal Imbiana is an ex-soldier on the run from the despotic UFS military government. Opal has dark skin, which automatically places her in a lower caste within the bigoted UFS. Her life’s purpose is to find and rescue her little sister, who was on a spaceship that disappeared mysteriously years ago; and then to find somewhere safe from the UFS, where she can live out her life with her sister and best friend, Athene.
Athene is the AI that runs Opal’s advanced spacecraft. Athene identifies as the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, but that doesn’t mean she can always understand human motivations. Despite not trusting each other at first, the relationship between Opal and Athene has grown over time, and moved through companionship to respect, and maybe even to love.
The interactions and conversations between Athene and Opal are the heart of the series.
Tell me ONE good reason why people should read your book!
I think it wins so many people over because it just does the basics really well. Characters you come to really care about during the course of their adventures. Stories that are unpredictable and exciting, with high stakes for the leads. And heart. Readers feel an emotional connection. I adore this quote from a review by Scintilla.info, as it sums that up so well:
“Opal is a memorable figure, both because of her indomitable will and her innate values. Author Karl Drinkwater has created a protagonist who is driven by love to do the impossible. In a literary world full of characters driven by ambition, greed, vengeance, or any number of other motivations, reading about someone compelled by a pure love for her little sister is refreshing in so many ways.”
Dumfries Details
As many of you know, I live in Dumfries, Scotland. It’s a creative town. I run a local writing group and like to support spoken word and live music events. But one of the things I first fell in love with was the architecture. If there’s a demand then I’ll write about our wonderful train station one time, and the impressive sandstone buildings that dominate the skyline. But today, I’d just like to share a photo of our recently restored town centre fountain:
There’s a wonderful article about the project here.
That’s enough from me. If you’re after a tense story then the link for 90% off my suspense books is still active for two days. Just click here, add any of those books to the cart, and when you view the cart or checkout it should have knocked 90% off the listed price. And yes, you can buy one as a present for someone else. :-)
Peace and love, my friends.
Karl
I'd love to hear about the architecture!