Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Tours virtual book tour for Michael Sliters’s Epic Fantasy novel Solace Lost! Today, I am excited to help kickoff the tour by sharing an interview with one of the main character of the book, Fenrir de Trenton!
You can find the excerpt below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, links to purchase a copy of Solace Lost for yourself, and a chance to win a copy in our giveaway! Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule here or at the bottom of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
Solace Lost by Michael Sliter
Series: Pandemonium Rising #1
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 568
Published: 2018
Publisher: Dragyn Press (Self Published)
Blurb
Fenrir de Trenton, a disgraced guardsman-turned-ineffective-criminal, is accustomed to taking orders. So much so that, despite the danger, he finds himself neck-deep in the politicking of his current superiors as well as the rulers of the country. The fact that Fenrir’s father would rather see him dead doesn’t help matters.
Emma Dram, a handmaiden of the great Lady Escamilla, hates Fenrir with a fiery passion and with good reason: he lopped off most of her hand. Nonetheless, she finds herself in close proximity to her former lover as she seeks to serve her lady liege in fomenting her own rebellion.
Hafgan Iwan is a Wasmer, a race reviled by humans, who serves the same masters as Fenrir. His efforts to assimilate with human culture only earn him the derision of his own race, and he seeks to find belonging amidst the escalating conflict.
Meanwhile, Merigold Hinter, a serving girl with an unusual power, lives a simple existence, hoping for love, adventure, and to see the world. Her life should be untouched by political maneuvering and war. However, her world becomes a crucible—how much can one woman bear before breaking?
A story of love lost and family destroyed, of bigotry and belonging, of suffering and strength, and of religion and magic, SOLACE LOST grows from a character-driven tale to something grand in scale, perhaps even involving the gods, themselves.
See Also:
Daddy Issues • “That’s me in the spotlight, losing my religion.” • #HappyEndings
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Solace-Lost-Michael-Sliter-ebook/dp/B07BGW6BDP
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39326498-solace-lost
Character Q&A
What music do you listen to?
Fenrir de Trenton: I like whatever I can belt out along with a crowd and create some comradery. The Three Whores. Yislo’s Misfortune. That kind of stuff.
What are 3 items you can’t live without?
FT: My flask, a sack full of yets, and my heptogram for protection. I’m not exactly saving for retirement, here.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you’d like to have with you?
FT: That would mean I went on a ship, and I’m never going on a fucking ship again, not since that night, with my brothers.,.
Oh, you don’t want a diatribe? Fine. Let’s just say Emma, only before I did that whole thing to her.
What is your biggest pet peeve?
FT: What really pisses me off is hypocrisy. I might not be the best of people, but I don’t pretend I’m more than I am.
What do you do in your free time?
FT: Nothing beats a good drink, a good fuck, and embarrassing my father.
What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?
FT: Morning? If I can help it, I’m not up until early-afternoon.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
FT: Let’s see, maybe from my father Darian. “You’re an abject failure…” No, not that. I haven’t had a strong mentor. My buddy Silas did tell ms “there’s no dirty fighting.” It helps when you are a kid and outnumbered. I’ve definitely popped a testicle or two to even the odds.”
What do you carry in your bag?
FT: I don’t want to say it’s someone’s ring finger, but *checks bag *…
What’s your favorite animal?
FT: Whatever they grill up for me. But, if I had to choose, nothing beats a big shaggy dog.
What do you think about [other MC(s)]?
FT: Merigold… she’s sweet. I’ll beat the shit out of anyone who gives her the side eye.
Emma… well, she hates me, and I deserve it, wish she wouldn’t mock my cock so much.
Hafgan… big fucking hairy guy. Seems kinda funny, actually.
Do you have favorite saying?
FT: Grudges are like whores. You hold them too tightly, you get an elbow in the face. Not that I’ve ever had to pay for it.
What is your favorite holiday?
FT: The Ascension Festival. Yetra’s milky tits, the food!
If you could go anywhere in [the book’s world], where would you go and why?
FT: I don’t care for travel, but I guess I’d go to Jecusta. I don’t know why. I like their dialect, I guess. They sound smart.
What do you do to relax?
FT: As little as possible.
What is your favorite food?
FT: I’d kill for some of those duck eggs, from that little inn where the keeper brained me…
What is your favorite season?
FT: I’m usually warm, so winter’s not bad. Though fewer skirts, that time of year.
How would you define happiness?
FT: I’d rather not think too deeply about this one. Let’s just say my current life is fine. I definitely don’t have significant regrets.
What are you passionate about?
FT: I should probably have an answer for this, huh? But I don’t think a man needs haves passion for a life well lived. Half of all passion is fake, anyway.
How do you feel about your government?
FT: Fucking bureaucrats. There’s a handful of good ones, but the Little Duke is a shitbrain with a swollen ego.
If you could change one thing about [the book’s world], what would it be?
FT: I’d make sure I had a bunch more money, and maybe my father’s work for me…
What’s your biggest secret?
FT: *breaks fourth wall* That’s in Book 2. And Book 3. So… buy them?
What do you hate?
FT: It’s a list. My brothers. My father. Sigmund de Fitra. Assholes. Hypocrites. Horses.
What’s your biggest fear?
FT: Tennyson—the head of The House—does very bad things to you if you fail too often. Like, piles of appendages bad. And I’m attached to most of those.
What do you think your best quality is?
FT: I think I’m pretty funny and charming, I mean, a host of folks disagree, but probably because I just slept with their wives.
How would you describe the world you live in?
FT: It’s a shithole, but it’s home.
About the Author
Michael Sliter was born in the deep wilds of Cleveland, Ohio, where he fought off at least two siblings for scraps of pizza. His bedroom, growing up, was a monument to fantasy, containing a stack of worn and well-read books, a medieval Lego civilization spanning half the room, and a very real sword circa World War II.
Though always fascinated with the written word, Michael ended up with only a minor in writing, instead majoring in Psychology (Hiram College, OH). He later went on to complete his M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology (Bowling Green State University, OH)—overall spending a larger portion of his life than strictly necessary in school. Following, Michael was a psych professor for a time, and then moved into the real world to help organizations hire the right people.
He attempted to write some childish fantasy novels in the past, all abandoned as derivative refuse. It wasn’t until his daughter was born that Michael decided to begin writing in earnest, and he published Solace Lost, the first book in the Pandemonium Rising series. Since, Wisdom Lost (Book 2) and Valley of the Free (novella in the same world) have been published.
Today, you can find Michael back in the Cleveland area, where he lives with his wife, daughter, and two dogs. They are quite tolerant of his writing, reading, video game, and racquetball habits.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSliter
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormichaelsliter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17838702.Michael_Sliter
Giveaway
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