Inside the Book:
Title: Enter Knight
Author: K.A. Keith
Publisher: iUniverse
Genre: Fiction
Format: Ebook/Paperback
Two infants, born simultaneously, are infused with otherworldly energies as the most ancient evil stirs. The Knight Apieron Farsinger, and Adestes Malgrim represent the heights of their opposing martial traditions in classic East versus West confrontation. In this medieval action adventure, Apieron's country Ilycrium is conquered, while more sinister assaults transpire from beyond the lands of light. The Knight Apieron Farsinger, father to three small children and husband to a gentle wife, must leave hearth and home in quest to confront the Dragon Queen in her Hellish lair. Treacherous allies, unexpected friendships, love, and the conflicts of honor all color Apieron's journey to save his land and family. The other recipient of the Starburn, Adestes Malgrim, is a peerless warrior and assassin of the cult of the Dragon. In this sweeping work of fantasy, adventure and war draw both champions into deadly strife time and again as preternatural forces vie for mastery. Their fated enmity will change the world.
EXCERPT:
Book
Excerpt
In this scene, the young
troubadour, Rudolph Mellor (nickname Jamello), confronts the paladin Xephard on
the eve before the party’s descent into the Hel plain:
Jamello regarded the holy warrior. “Xephard the Fearless. How does one
accomplish this?
The paladin’s deep voice was slow and serene.
“I have thought on your question. It is one I have answered before, but never well.
I will make amends now.
“Simply this …it is easier to be brave than
not. The ugly part of fear is that it immobilizes one to action.” The paladin
paused, gathering his thoughts. “The rabbit runs, not because he is afraid, but because that is his nature. If fear covers him, he freezes in the face of danger and is taken. The secret of courage is then to do a positive action despite one’s fear.”
“And you?”
asked
Jamello softly.
“I have no mantle of courage to slip on, having no need of such virtue. From my northern fathers, I know that the thread length of my life was wound by the Norns at the time of my birth. When it plays out, I will die. This knowledge is a mighty gift.”
“Is that
all?”
Xephard smiled warmly. “No. Long ago, I gave our goddess of wisdom and war, the soldier’s friend, every breath and shout and fiber of my being. I have no hidden self to fear or hurt. I have been shriven.”
“Nothing left to
lose?” said Jamello
wryly.
“Exactly!” beamed Xephard. He lapsed into silence. Jamello
thought him done, until the temple peer lifted his head once more.
“The holy mistress of Lampus says that how one lives out his
days is what is important. If one’s deeds in this life are found
worthy, Spear Goddess will gather you to Her circle of champions to live again as a chosen of her court, to be a hero most excellent.
Do you this thing, Rudolph Mellor.” The paladin’s cloud-blue eyes gleamed in
the
dark as
he spoke.
That said, Xephard lay back and fell apparently into untroubled sleep. Jamello groaned inwardly. He always knew that Cynthia would lure him into an inescapable fix. At last he reclined, troubled by shivering nightmares and dire, waking images such that he was surprised to find Henlee’s booted toe nudging him awake after the others had apparently risen with the dawn, such as it was in this bleak and blasted place.
He sat up and blinked.
THE INTERVIEW
Do you listen to music while writing? If so, what do you listen to?
Indeed, Led Zeppelin’s Kashmir is a true fantasy masterpiece. I duped a Way of the Warrior cd/playlist of inspirational classic pieces such as Holst’s Mars, God of War, and several from Basil Poledouris’s Conan soundtrak. If one wishes to go deep into the Melancholy, nothing is perhaps more heart wrenching and tragically beautiful than Henryk Gorecki’s Symphony No. 3. I swear Dawn Upshaw would break glass if I turned the volume up a shade!
Do you have any suggestions for upcoming writers?
Experience life. One can usually detect if a writer is depicting from experience/deep knowledge vs. just ‘fudging the facts’ so to speak. Love a woman/man, sail a boat, travel to faraway lands, live amongst folks not of your sort, fight for honor, become an expert in several things, challenge yourself against others directly-win and lose.
What is it you like to do when you are not reading/writing?
We all have our quirky habits. One of mine is to not sleep well unless I’ve accomplished a few things each day from Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits’ list of Important, Non Urgent. These can be as simple as quality time with a child, working on a novel, exercising, spiritual time…basically anything that doesn’t need to be done that day, but looking back 5 years from now, should have been.
Is there an author/authors that have inspired you?
Robert E. Howard from Cross Plains Texas basically invented the fantasy genre, and to this day no one equals his gritty, passionate style. Decades later, the travel-master JRR Tolkien brought it into the light. More recently, Gene Wolfe’s genius took it on strange and wonderful paths. The Muse sang for these great ones.
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Growing up at a time when as elementary kids, we assembled to watch live the Apollo space walks and lunar landing was out-of-this-world. Literally. Who didn’t want to be America’s best? Jacques Cousteau was giving us undersea color for the first time, that’s tough competition. Tom Landry & Roger Staubach’s Dallas Cowboys? Astronaut, Marine Biologist, Pro Football Player.
How do you/would you react to a bad review of your book?
Hopefully I’d learn something to improve upon.
Meet the Author:
K. A. Keith was born in Oklahoma. He has studied in Rome, lived and worked with Arab peoples, and served with distinction as a flight surgeon in Just Cause and Desert Storm. Enter, Knight is book one of an epic fantasy duology. The whirlwind tale continues in Hel's Storm, iUniverse 2016.
