Hello everyone and welcome to my stop on the Escapist Book Co. virtual book tour for DB Rook’s Dark Fantasy/Weird Western novel Callus & Crow! Today, I am excited to help kickoff the tour by sharing an interview with Crow, the main character from the book!
You can find our Q&A below, along with all of the info about the book, the author, and links to purchase a copy of Callus & Crow for yourself! Also, be sure to take a look at the schedule here or at the top of the post and follow along to see the stops from our other awesome hosts!
Book Information:
Callus & Crow by DB Rook
Series: The Wayward World Chronicles
Genre: Dark Fantasy/Weird Western
Intended Age Group: Adult
Pages: 310
Published: July 17, 2022
Publisher: Seventh Realm Productions
Blurb
Can a path of blood lead to redemption?
Is redemption enough to amend a wayward world?
Morality and reality have shifted from their natural axis. Technology and ideology derive from the remnants of a world long dead and segregated by the monsters that now rule the seas.
Crow, a young ranch hand, is swept into an odyssey of redemption and revenge as he strives to hold back the ravages of fate and the urges born of a curse shared with his new mentor.
Callus, an exile struggling to find redemption whilst keeping his vampiric curse from tainting his new ward, pursues his prey across the sea.
The new world they discover reveals a tyrannical society fixated on their council’s ascension to godhood.
See Also:
New World Order • Blood Drunk • Not My Real Dad
Book Links:
Amazon US: https://amzn.eu/d/hcTAIuU
Amazon UK: https://a.co/d/b89dhXT
Waterstones: https://www.waterstones.com/book/callus-and-crow/d-b-rook/9780993356599
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61783472-callus-crow
Character Q&A
Could you please introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is, or was, Ben Hoby. Since meeting Callus and leaving my small world behind, I have adopted a new name. Inspired by the birds that circle my new partner, my new name is Crow.
What music do you listen to?
Music? My Ma used to like it when Pa played his guitar, but since she died, the strings are broken and curled, just like her hair in those final days. Pa doesn’t like to leave the ranch, I doubt he’ll ever get it fixed.
What are 3 items you can’t live without?
To be honest, I don’t own that many items! The Duster and Hatchet Cal got for me, and the sawn down shotgun Laz gave me are the only things I need from day to day. Oh and of course, there’s the blood, I need ample live blood.
If you were stranded on a deserted island, what is one thing you’d like to have with you?
Callus is the only true thing I need with me. Of course he would struggle to get on the island in the first place. He has an issue with water!
What is your biggest pet peeve?
I guess I don’t like being mistaken for a child. Ive been through a lot and I age…slowly.
What do you do in your free time?
Free time is not something I’m familiar with. Back with Pa on the ranch, I would work and work hard. Now I’m with Cal we still have constant work to do.
What makes you want to get out of bed in the morning?
I’ve taken to rising with Cal in the night. It seems to suit us both better.
What is the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Pa once said that what you’re doing right now is always most important, not what you’ve done in the past and not what you’re going to do in the future, but right now!
What do you carry in your bag?
As I say, I’m not one to carry many possessions. Although, thanks to a certain Captain Lazarus Badstock, I’ve found myself collecting random and obsolete items, bullet casings, empty packaging, broken materials. He would say that each still holds it’s residual power, but then he does say a lot of things.
What’s your favorite animal?
I grew up amongst stubborn and stoic cattle. There’s a lot to learn from them, but I’d have to say the Crows that seem to hound Cal make me smile. He hates them but there’s a majesty to when they settle around him, protective and watchful.
What do you think about [other MC(s)]?
At first Callus terrified me, and for good reason, but now my existence is entirely dependent on his. He is my father and brother, rolled into one. He is always there for me if I need him and sometimes when I don’t!
Do you have favorite saying?
Laz is the one with the sayings. Half of the time I don’t understand them, but then, half of the time, nobody understands the crazy old man.
What is your favorite holiday?
Can’t say I’ve ever experienced a holiday! Is it similar to a blessing? In Cthonica they call a blessing when it rains and by law everyone must hide in their homes. To be out during a blessing is an experience to behold and a good chance to explore without the crowds.
If you could go anywhere in [the book’s world], where would you go and why?
One day I do hope to go home. I’ve seen so much and rushed from one place to the next. I’d like to start again and have more time to take in the sights, enjoy the places I’ve been to rather than run from them or hide in them.
What do you do to relax?
Relaxing is not something I concern myself with, if you ask Laz, I have the fate of reality on my shoulders! My current endeavors don’t leave much time to consider the idea of relaxation.
What is your favorite food?
Strangely, my appetite has been slowly decreasing since Cal came into my life. I no longer crave food and often if I do eat it is more for the sake of keeping up appearances.
What is your favorite season?
Any season where the darkness is extended. Physically, I feel so much more alive out of the sun, but I do miss people when they’re all tucked up in bed.
How would you define happiness?
Any time before my Mother died. I appreciate my memories are probably skewed, but life was simple when I smiled at her and she returned the gesture.
What are you passionate about?
I want to change the world! I want to bring justice and fairness to those who have none, those who suffer when all they do is give.
How do you feel about your government?
The only Government I’ve known is the Cthonic Council. These people, if they are even people, must be stopped. They are tyrants nestled like tics, choking on the city’s power and riches.
If you could change one thing about [the book’s world], what would it be?
The Council. They are clearly as corrupt and as undeserved as anyone could be, yet they hoard power and use people’s lives without thought to fairness or morality. They are not gods and even if they were, I would still oppose them.
What’s your biggest secret?
What I must do to survive in this new world.
What do you hate?
I hate that fate took my mother and now it gives power to the greedy and the ambitious, those that will stop at nothing to fill their pockets.
What’s your biggest fear?
Being left alone in the new world I find myself in.
What do you think your best quality is?
I try to find balance and sense before I give in to emotion, though my new urges threaten to change me in ways that scare me.
How would you describe the world you live in?
My world is bigger than I ever would have imagined! I used to dream of seeing the city. Now I have crossed the sea and faced monsters, tyrants and the predatory urges that live inside me. I have crossed into a new world, a wayward world desperate to be amended.
About the Author
DB Rook lives in the North of England with his wife and two beautiful children. He is a drummer, a gamer, and a dreamer who loves to spend time in other worlds, as well as this one. He has spent recent years working in the charity sector whilst occasionally visiting the Wayward World to stretch his legs and feed his soul.
Website: https://DBRookBooks.com
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