Welcome to my interview series, In the Armchair.
Today, I’m delighted to welcome my author friend Daryl Rothman back to the blog. He gave us such a wonderful interview the first time, that I invited him back to share his newest release with us.
Our friendship goes back to our early days on Twitter, in those heady days when we both blogged more. Years later, we both signed to the same publishing house. It’s been wonderful to his creativity continue and to see his books take flight into the world.
Grab a cuppa and let’s take a peek at the world of Daryl Rothman and his hero, David Rose.
David Rose and the Forbidden Tournament, Book II in the David Rose series
Author: Daryl Rothman
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Editor and Interior Designer: Lane Diamond
Cover Artist: D. Robert Pease
Brian Rollins: Audiobook Narrator
Blurb
It’s been less than a year since his fateful 15th birthday, but for David Rose, everything has changed. He’s learned of his immortality, discovered a sinister plot centuries in the making, and survived an attempt on his life at a medieval castle in England. Through it all, he’s more convinced than ever that his mother is alive.
David has been awakened to a wondrous new world, yet one fraught with peril. His awakening has served as a beacon to other immortals, some of whom view him as a threat to be dispatched. Just as he’s learning how to channel the greatest powers of his past lives, he’s abducted by a rogue syndicate bent on exploiting immortals and pitting them against each other in battles to the death.
Teaser
‘He watched as the ancient sky descended, as stars and worlds tumbled past, as light and darkness flared and swam, until all converged in a kaleidoscope of time and place beyond all telling. He clenched his eyes so tightly shut that they hurt, and hoped his friend was doing likewise. The ground beneath them shifted, far more unsettling than had it merely shaken. It was no earthquake, and no storm; it was a world falling, transforming beneath their feet, until he could gain no purchase and pedaled there upon the nothingness, two wayward, wingless travelers upon the thoroughfare of the heavens, that only it would see them home.’
In the Armchair: Daryl Rothman
What draws you to the genre you write?
Well, that’s the thing. My natural bent is toward literary narrative. I embarked upon the D Rose journey because of the wonder and enjoyment my kids got out of the YA/fantasy genre, and my desire to craft something for them, accordingly. And their protective relationship became the heartbeat of the story, and I was off…I’ve come to so much appreciate good YA scribes, because they must write effusively for such a gamut of ages and demographics—I don’t know if I have pulled that off, but I hope so.
Could there have been any other ending to your story?
For the final book in the series(out hopefully in a year), I rather think not. For this one—Book II—sure…I’m pretty reconciled with the overall trajectory, but within that, I try to give some latitude to my characters and let them breathe. As such, things very possibly could have shaken out a touch differently at the end.
Are you working on a new manuscript?
I am working on two: the climactic Book III in the David Rose series, and a literary/gothic tale. My favorite nonfiction scribe Erik Larson once cautioned me against multiple projects at once, and reminded that the difference between amateurs and professionals, was completion, but I aim to get these both done in the next year.
What’s your favourite novel of all time, and why?
I think I’ll have to say Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian. Gritty, and raw, not always easy to swallow, but some the very finest prose that has ever been penned, for my money. Nothing inspires me to go write, like reading great writing, and McCarthy tops the list for me.
What advice would you give others starting their writing journey?
That it’s never too late. I’ve known from childhood I wanted to write, and it took me some three decades on to fulfill my dream of getting published. The greatest teacher I ever had—Mrs. Marjorie Stelmach—told me 40 years ago she expected to see my name on book covers one day. I vowed then that should that transpire, no matter how long it took, I would include her in my first book’s dedication, and I did. I am grateful that I can show my kids that if you have a dream, a passion, it’s never too late to pursue it, no matter whether you’re making a living at it or not. Sure, life happens, and most of us have to keep the proverbial day job, so things might get a little delayed(maybe not always decades, as in my case ), but all the more testament that the greatest glory is in the passion itself, in the love of it. As Cormac once wrote, Between the wish and the thing, the world lies waiting…
What is your biggest dream?
That my children will know love, and peace, and good health.
About Daryl Rothman
Daryl Rothman’s YA/Fantasy novel, The Awakening of David Rose, was released by Evolved Publishing, September 9th, 2019, and was a winner in the Best Young Adult Fiction category for Pinnacle Book Achievement Awards. First in a series of three, it was inspired by (and the protagonists named for) his children David and Rachel, and the protective relationship between them.
Daryl has written for a variety of esteemed publications, including Men With Pens, KM Weiland, CS Lain, Problogger and more, and recognitions include Flash Fiction winner for Cactus Moon Press, Flash Fiction second place winner for Amid the Imaginary, and Honorable Mention for Glimmer Train’s New Writer’s Short Story Award Contest.
When he’s writing, Daryl feels he is doing what he was meant to do, and recalls his earliest literary embers being kindled as a child by his father reading Poe, O’Henry and others to him and his brother.
Book II in the David Rose series releases September 26, 2022, and a literary-suspense manuscript will be out this year as well.
Daryl lives in St. Louis with his wife Linda, and their three children.
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