Assassins in Disguise

Most famous assassins haven’t bothered with disguises, but the ones who did are perhaps the most interesting to learn about.

For instance, in 2013, a group of Mexicans dressed as clowns assassinated Francisco Rafael Arellano Felix, a member of the Arellano Felix drug cartel family. While he was attending a children’s birthday party, the ‘clowns’ shot him, once in the thorax and once in the head.

Often called a terrorist rather than an assassin, Carlos the Jackal, born Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, was a killer for hire. Trained in guerrilla warfare, weapons and sabotage, Carlos also gathered information on people he felt were worth kidnapping or assassinating. He was a bold, merciless killer, often walking into a place, shooting or throwing a grenade, then calmly walking out again. It might be surprising that it took so long for authorities to catch him, but then, he was known as a master of disguise and used fake documentation to authenticate each disguise. It’s thought that, due to this, many murders he didn’t commit were blamed on him. In 1985, he was so famous that no one would hire him, and was finally apprehended in 1994. Responsible for the deaths of more than 80 people, in 1997 he was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.

In 1973, ETA – Euskadi Ta Askatasuna, or Basque Homeland and Freedom – operators posed as sculpture students and rented an apartment along Prime Minister Luis Carrero Blanco’s driving route. From the apartment, they dug a tunnel across the road that Blanco travelled weekly. That done, they filled the tunnel with explosives and, on the day, disguised themselves as electricians, waited for Blanco’s car to pass by, and detonated the explosives, killing Blanco. It just goes to show that disguises don’t need to be complicated – as long as you don’t look out of place or suspicious, any old uniform will do, and people tend to not notice the face behind the uniform.

Perhaps the easiest – and most devious – disguise was that of Bolivian painter Benjamin Mendoza Flores. In 1970, Flores disguised himself as a priest and stabbed Pope Paul VI at the airport. Though the pope was badly hurt, he survived the attack.

Potential victims, too, can effectively use disguises, as President Lincoln has shown. In 1860, on his way to be inaugurated, a close friend uncovered an assassination plot against Lincoln, so he disguised himself as a frail old woman, complete with a dress, shawl and walking cane, thus foiling the assassination plot.

Assassinations Gone Wrong

Just like with some of Blade’s assassinations in my fantasy series, The Queen’s Blade, not all real-life assassination attempts have gone according to plan – keeping in mind that a big part of any assassination plan includes not being caught – and not starting a World War!

I think it fitting to start with the assassination that unintentionally started World War I. Danilo Ilić hired six young men to assassinate Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The would-be assassins waited for the archduke’s vehicle, but, when it arrived, the first two assassins chickened out. Another of the six youngsters threw a bomb at the convertible, but it bounced off the cover and blew up the wrong car, travelling behind the archduke. The assassin tried to commit suicide, but the cyanide pill he took failed to kill him, as did the river he jumped into to drown himself, as it was only a few inches deep. A crowd pulled him out and beat him badly. Later that day, the archduke went to the hospital to visit those the bomb had wounded. Gavrilo Princip, one of the would-be assassins, who was only nineteen at the time, saw the archduke’s car outside and shot him and his wife.

Jacob Johan Anckarström, Adolf Ribbing and Claes Fredrik Horn planned the assassination of Sweden’s King Gustav III. King Gustav was warned of the assassination attempt, but still attended a masked ball as planned, thinking that his costume would hide his identity. Unfortunately for him, his royal cape made his identity obvious, and he was shot by the three masked assassins – whose masks didn’t hide their identity any better than King Gustav’s had… the next morning, they were caught and decapitated.

ventually e ly when others shot him and threw him into the river.least five men. this,ate Abraham Lincoln, Secre one so far. i

In one of history’s more famous assassinations, John Wilkes Booth and co-conspirators planned to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln, Vice President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward. Johnson’s would-be assassinator chickened out, and Seward’s assassin inflicted multiple stab wounds, but failed to kill him. Booth shot Lincoln in the middle of a play, then, instead of trying to blend into the crowd, he leapt onto the stage and shouted, “Sic semper tyrannis!” (Thus always to tyrants.)

One of the weirdest assassinations in history – another surrounded by much rumour – was that of Grigori Rasputin aka the Mad Monk. First, someone stabbed him in the stomach so badly his entrails came out, but, amazingly, this didn’t kill the Russian mystic. Then Prince Felix Yusupov and co-conspirators poisoned him, using enough cyanide to kill at least five men. This, too, failed to kill Rasputin, so Yusupov shot him – three times. Still not dead, Rasputin grabbed the man who had shot him and, trying to strangle him, said, “You bad boy.” He eventually died when others at the scene shot him and threw him into the river.

Last, but not least, in January 2013, Oktai Enimehmedov pulled a gun on Ahmed Dogan, the Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader – on live television. Before the gun went off, Enimehmedov was tackled to the ground and arrested. It seems this wasn’t an actual assassination attempt, however, and the twenty-five-year-old claims he merely wanted to show Enimehmedov he wasn’t untouchable. Police said afterwards that the gun he had pulled on Dogan was only a gas pistol loaded with pepper spray and suspected the party had staged the whole thing for publicity, but not everyone agrees with this suspicion. Watch the video if you want to be gobsmacked!

What to read after The Queen’s Blade

If you’ve read The Queen’s Blade and you want something else to sink your teeth into, I recommend my sci-fi fantasy series, The Cyber Chronicles.

The protagonist, Sabre, is as broken as Blade, yet in a rather unique way… for he is a cyber – part human, part machine – who has finally tasted a hint of freedom.

As with all my series, Book 1 is free!

When Queen Tassin is forced to flee her kingdom on the backwater planet of Omega V, she has no idea that the strange warrior who helps her is a cyborg; the deadliest hi-tech killing machine ever created. Her world has forgotten the technology that almost destroyed it, but then a freak accident damages the micro-supercomputer that controls Sabre, and he is free to take charge of his destiny…

Ludicrous Assassinations

Assassination is nothing to laugh about, but some are just so ludicrous that you can’t help yourself.

No one was surprised when Jorg Jenatsch, a Swiss preacher involved in politics, was assassinated – to sum it up, he was a ruthless, horrible person. During a carnival for which everyone wore masks, and many were drunk, strangers approached Jenatsch and his cohorts. Many of the strangers had weapons, and one man wore a full bear suit and carried an axe. The strangers asked to join Jenatsch’s group and, despite the weapons, the much-hated preacher decided they weren’t a threat and invited them into the private room. The ‘bear’ went to shake Jenatsch’s hand, and shot him in the gut as they grasped hands. The other strangers attacked too, and Jenatsch grabbed a big candlestick with which to defend himself. It wasn’t long before Jenatsch fell at the hands of the axe-swinging assassin.

Then there’s the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, one of the main instigators of the Holocaust – another man whom myriad people wished dead. In 1942, the Czech resistance and British Intelligence ordered Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis to assassinate Heydrich. The two soldiers readied their machinegun and waited at a bend in a road that Heydrich travelled regularly. What happened next is like something from a slapstick comedy skit. When the car came into view, Gabcik fired the weapon… but nothing happened – because, on the way, he had collected plants for his pet rabbits, and the machinegun had become clogged with them while disassembled in his pocket. How it slipped his notice when he assembled the gun is beyond me.

Heydrich looked right at them and, instead of being clever and getting the heck out of there, he ordered his driver to stop, then drew his pistol and shot at the would-be assassins. Again, nothing happened – because there were no bullets in his gun. Kubis then threw a bomb at the car, but mistimed the throw, causing only injury to Heydrich and his driver – and himself. Badly injured, Heydrich jumped from the car and chased Kubis, who got onto a bicycle and rode away. Heydrich then ordered his driver to chase Gabcik, who was attempting to clear his weapon of plants.

Gabcik remembered that he, too, had a pistol, and pulled it out and shot the driver in the leg, then ran from the scene. It’s not clear why he didn’t shoot Heydrich too at that point. I suspect too many things had gone wrong and he just wasn’t thinking straight. Heydrich might have survived this attempt if not for the fact that policemen battled to find a passing motorist who would take him to the hospital – in his bloodied Secret Service uniform in Nazi Germany. He eventually got there, but not in time to be saved.

If you’ve heard of any equally ludicrous assassinations, please share them with us.

Female Assassins – Watch Out! She Bites!

Most famous assassins are men, but there are also quite a few famous female assassins, of which Charlotte Corday is probably one of the best known. Corday, nicknamed the Angel of Assassination, assassinated the French Revolution’s Jean-Paul Marat in 1793, effectively turning him into a martyr and saint of sorts. At first, Corday was generally loathed for the murder, but, during the Second Empire, many French citizens began to see her as a heroine.

Marat had a skin disease that could only be alleviated by cold baths, causing him to conduct most business from his bath tub in the last few years of his life, so it wasn’t considered at all odd for Corday to request an audience while her victim-to-be was bathing. In the privacy of his bathroom, she stabbed him to death, but was caught and executed by guillotine.

The best-known female would-be assassin is possibly Sara Jane Moore, who attempted to kill future President Gerald Ford in 1975. Luckily for him, she missed the shot thanks to a bystander who saw her aiming and yanked her arm. She received a thirty-two year ‘life sentence’, and the then-72-year-old was released in 2007.

Other famous female assassins include Shi Jianqiao, who killed the warlord Sun Chuanfang to avenge her father’s death, and Marcia Aurelia Ceionia Demetrias, who poisoned Roman Emperor Commodus after discovering that he planned to execute her. A few other would-be female assassins are Fanni Kaplan, who failed to kill Vladimir Lenin despite shooting him three times, Violet Gibson, who shot Mussolini twice in the nose, and Izola Curry, who stabbed Martin Luther King Jr with a letter opener at a book signing in 1958.

If Curry had succeeded, the Civil Rights Movement would probably have turned out very differently. True to his nature, King forgave her and held no grudge for the attempted murder, and, because the court judged her unfit to stand trial, she was committed to the Matteawan State Hospital for the criminally insane. Her current whereabouts are unknown as far as I can see, and it’s unclear if she’s even still alive.

Then there are the Kunoichi – ancient Japanese female ninjas who were trained to seduce and poison their victims, sometimes gaining easy access by disguising themselves as prostitutes – much like the assassin Blade sometimes does in The Queen’s Blade, although the Kunoichi had it easier than Blade, since they already had all the right body parts necessary for the disguise.

More recently, Maria Jimenez aka La Tosca was dubbed Mexico’s ‘deadliest female assassin’ after confessing to killing twenty people – amongst other things, like kidnapping, car theft and drug dealing. Unlike most assassins, Jimenez is an assassin in the truest sense of the word – the Los Zetas drug cartel allegedly paid her $1700 a month for her services, which included killing whoever she was asked to kill. Jimenez, a 26-year-old widow, was arrested in 2012 when she gunned down a police officer and rival drug traffickers.

The History of Assassins

Although the ‘art’ of assassination only got its name in the Middle Ages, assassinations have been performed from the beginning of recorded history. Even the Christian Bible’s Old Testament speaks of assassinations, in the story of Judith, who freed the Israelites by assassinating the Assyrian warlord, Holofernes. Assyria’s King Sennacherib’s sons assassinated him, King David’s son was assassinated by Joab, and there’s also the biblical story of Judah’s King Joash, who was supposedly assassinated by his servants.

Politics isn’t always the reason for assassinations, but it had always been one of the main reasons. Some famous ancient assassination victims include Julius Caesar (44 BC) and Phillip II of Macedon, Alexander the Great’s father (336 BC). Historical kings assassinated include the Netherlands’ King William the Silent (1584), France’s King Henry III (1589) and King Henry IV (1610), and Poland’s King Przemysł II (1296).

In Western Europe in the Middle Ages, the assassination of a ruler was rare, but it happened frequently in parts of the Roman Empire. During the Renaissance, political assassinations in Western Europe became more common, however.

As already mentioned, the name ‘assassin’ was coined in the Middle Ages, based on a rumour started by Marco Polo two centuries after the Order of Assassins was founded in 1090 by Ismaili Hassan-i-Sabah. (You can read about the Order of Assassins in more detail here.) According to Marco Polo, the Order of Assassins’ leaders ensured their assassins’ loyalty by drugging them, then taking them to a garden in which they were given all sorts of pleasures – the same pleasures that supposedly waited for them in the afterlife if they died in battle. The drug used was called hashish, and ‘hashishin’ meant ‘user of hashish’ in Arabic. Thus came about the name ‘assassin’, according to many. However, modern Islamic sources make no mention of this garden. In all probability, the word’s true origins had something to do with it being used as an insult to the Nizari Ismailis when they separated from the Mustali Ismailis.

In modern history, the assassination of VIPs became more than just a power struggle between rulers, and began to be used to make political statements. Many US Presidents have been assassinated, and there have been at least 20 known attempts on US Presidents’ lives.

It seems assassination as a tool has been around for as long as humans have, and it’s doubtful the ‘art’ will die any time soon.

Order of Assassins

In my fantasy series, The Queen’s Blade, the assassin Blade is a member of an assassins’ guild. It’s the stuff of fiction, right? Wrong.

Between 1090 and 1273, the Order of Assassins was a very real entity in the Middle East. The order’s few members were Shiite Muslims who were considered heretics by not only the Sunni Muslims, but also other Shiites. Due to the efforts of the leader, Hasan-i Sabbah, by the end of the 11^th century the order had become one of the deadliest terrorist groups in today’s recorded history.

The Order of Assassins’ members often spent months or years following or infiltrating the targets, who they considered political or religious enemies. The killings were up close and personal, mostly in public places such as mosques. One ‘infiltrated’ assassination was that of Conrad of Montferrat, who was to be the Kingdom of Acre’s next ruler. In 1192, two assassins who were posing as Christian Arab monks killed him.

The assassins never killed innocents like today’s terrorists, only targeting prominent figures. They never tried to flee the scene either, apparently not fearing death.

By the middle of the 12^th century, Sunni leaders left the Order of Assassins alone, realising it wasn’t good for their longevity.

Ultimately, the invading Mongols, under the rule of Genghis Khan, destroyed the Order of Assassins to guarantee their own safety after hearing of the order’s reputation.

The above illustration depicts an Order of Assassins member (left) stabbing Nizam al-Mulk, a Seljuk vizier. (Source: wikimedia.org; originally from a 14^th century manuscript)

Defining Assassins

Since we’ll be discussing assassins and The Queen’s Blade, I thought it fitting to talk about what an assassin is, exactly. Let’s first take a look at the dictionary definitions:

Oxford Dictionaries: “A person who murders an important person for political or religious reasons.”

Merriam-Webster: “A person who commits murder; especially:  one who murders a politically important person either for hire or from fanatical motives.”

As far as I’m concerned, the word ‘assassin’ refers to anyone who is paid to kill another person. However, most of history’s famous assassins were not, in fact, paid to kill, but committed murder for personal reasons, be they political or otherwise. This confuses me – surely if you are not paid to kill, you are nothing but a common murderer? Yet these people go down in history, romanticised as assassins. For example, why is JW Booth an assassin just because he killed a president rather than Joe Soap on the street? It makes no sense to me.

In my opinion, someone who is paid to kill someone else is an assassin. If you are not paid to kill, you’re a murderer. Real assassins don’t have a personal agenda or anything to gain from the kill either, other than the payment. Blade, the master assassin in my fantasy series, The Queen’s Blade, would certainly agree with my definition. In fact, assassins in the series undergo intensive training and have strict rules to adhere to.

What do you think the dictionary and accepted definition of an assassin should be?

Virtual Book Tour – Day 7: Guest Post on Creating Original Fantasy Creatures

 

Today’s tour host is fellow fantasy author Michelle Louring, who will be hosting a guest post by me on creating original fantasy creatures.

Originality is something every author should strive for. Using the hackneyed, stereotypical creatures that have been around for centuries – unicorns, vampires, fairies, elves, dragons and ogres, etc. – detracts from a good fantasy tale, in my opinion. Sure, it’s easier to write about something everyone knows, so you don’t have to describe it in detail, but for readers, discovering new and exciting fantasy creatures enhances a story. While the tried and trusted has a fan following all of its own, it’s so much better to make the effort to be original, not only in your storyline, but also the creatures that populate your world.

Visit Michelle’s blog to read the rest of this post, and don’t forget to leave a comment if you have anything to add on the topic.

Don’t forget The Queen’s Blade II, Sacrifice is now free on a 3-day promotion, ending tomorrow.

Coupon Code: EN88H

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour – Day 4: The Queen’s Blade Fantasy Series

 

Today’s tour host is Chris Graham, otherwise known as The Story Reading Ape. Chris will be sharing a guest post from me about The Queen’s Blade fantasy series and whether or not readers can expect more books in the series:

The Queen’s Blade is about a master assassin who changes the fate of three kingdoms with his lethal skills. When his young queen swears to end a centuries-old war, he offers his services for the rewards of lands, title and riches she’s offered to her soldiers, and succeeds where they failed. Blade tries his best to be obnoxious, to prevent attachments that might turn tragic should he ever be hired to kill those people. In spite of this… Read more on Chris’ blog.

For those who have just joined us, Demon Lord II, Dark God, is currently only 99c for 5 days, 1 – 5 August.

Promotional price: $0.99
Coupon Code: XX57H

To make sure you don’t miss a tour post, download the TC Southwell Virtual Book Tour Itinerary.

Virtual Book Tour Itinerary

1 – 14 August 2013

For all of you who would like to visit the various blogs partaking in my virtual book tour and read the interviews and articles being posted, below is a complete list of the dates and blogs taking part. I hope you all enjoy the tour!

Thursday, 1 August
Tour kick-off: author showcase, hosted by Glynis Smy and Fireblade Publishers

Friday, 2 August
How to Create Good Characters, hosted by Rebekah Grow

Saturday, 3 August
Author & character interview, hosted by Nicole Hill

Sunday, 4 August
Showcasing The Queen’s Blade fantasy series, hosted by Chris Graham

Monday, 5 August
World Building, hosted by Pippa Jay, and showcasing The Queen’s Blade on Glynis Smy’s Virtual Bookcase

Tuesday, 6 August
Familiar’s Relationships with Humans in The Queen’s Blade, hosted by James L. Wilber, and author showcases, hosted by Mathew Reuther and Louise Blankenship

Wednesday, 7 August
Creating Original Fantasy Creatures, hosted by Michelle Louring

Thursday, 8 August
How to Write a Good Fight Scene, hosted by Fireblade Publishers

Friday, 9 August
Why Reading is Important, hosted by Cinta Garcia de la Rosa

Saturday, 10 August
Inside the Mind of an Author, hosted by Tracy Falbe

Sunday, 11 August
How to Deal with Book Pirates & author interview, hosted by the Indie Author Network

Monday, 12 August
Literary Characters TC Southwell would Date, Dump or Marry, hosted by Nicole Hill

Tuesday, 13 August
Tips for New Writers, hosted by The Independent Bookworm

Wednesday, 14 August
Extract from The Broken World fantasy series, hosted by the Indie Author Network, and The Magic Systems in Southwell’s Books, hosted by Marsha A. Moore

For daily tour updates and a tour overview on Thursday, 15 August, visit this blog.

Character Interview with Blade by Vanessa Finaughty

The Queen’s Blade is the story of an assassin who changes the fate of three kingdoms with his lethal skills. He is deeply embittered by his horrific past, when Cotti, an enemy kingdom, slaughtered his family and familiar, and enslaved and castrated him as a child. He escaped, but was forced to become an assassin in order to survive. His hatred extends to just about everyone, save for a few people who have helped him along the way, although he is reluctant to admit to liking or owing anyone anything.

When Queen Minna-Satu vows to end the Endless War between her kingdom, Jashimari, and Cotti, she tries to kill King Shandor and capture the heir to the throne, Prince Kerrion, in order to fulfil the Idol of the Beasts’ prophecy. Her soldiers fail, and Blade offers to do the deed, since it may involve killing some Cotti. Minna-Satu appoints him as her personal assassin, and thus he becomes The Queen’s Blade, destined to bring an empire to its knees. His name will live forever in legend for the time of strife and suffering he ushered in and the changes he brought about: the time of The Queen’s Blade.

Before the interview, Southwell admits, “I’m somewhat surprised that Blade agreed to an interview, but I should warn you, his answers are likely to be curt. If you get too personal, he’ll probably lie. I hope he’s in a reasonably good mood. You won’t see Rivan (Blade’s familiar); he’ll be on the roof, as the lookout.”

Knowing Blade’s reputation, I, too, was surprised. At the interview, my first question is: “You have a far-reaching reputation as a loner and being not much of a ‘people person’. I’m curious: what made you agree to this interview?” Blade shrugs and replies, “Boredom? Retirement is dull, although Chiana does her best to either entertain me or keep me occupied, whilst also carping about my health. I thought this might be a little entertaining, but I will answer only twenty questions. Do you have wine?”

Although he prefers sweet white wine, Blade reluctantly accepts the red wine available. While he wrinkles his nose as he sips the wine, I ask what his initial thoughts were when he first heard that the newly crowned Queen Minna-Satu had vowed to end the Endless War. He says, “I thought nothing. I didn’t care what she vowed to end as long as it didn’t affect me.”

Blade met Queen Minna-Satu for the first time when he offered her his services as an assassin. At first, she refused his offer, which annoyed him, though her refusal wasn’t unexpected. He adds, “Fortunately, the failure of her soldiers made her reconsider.”

When asked what thoughts went through his mind the first time he laid eyes on Queen Minna-Satu, Blade says, “She was young, and, therefore, probably foolish. A spoilt high-born who was accustomed to being obeyed, but her being cat kin made her a little less irritating than most.” If he had never seen the queen again after that, the one thing he’d have always remembered about her would have been Shista, her sand cat familiar, which he describes as a noble beast.

As an assassin, Blade puts his life in danger frequently. I asked how much of a risk it is for most assassins, and how much of a risk for an assassin like him, who has such superior skills. He says, “If an assassination is well planned, as mine were, the risk is minimal, although the possibility of peril does get the heart pumping and warm the blood. For most assassins, it depends on how well-guarded their target is and how skilled the assassin is. Poisoners and crossbowmen take the least risks, but dagger men must get close to their targets. Of course, the risk is greatly reduced when the target is asleep. Garrotters enjoy their victim’s struggles, but they always attack from behind when they are alone. No assassin worth his mark takes unnecessary risks, but there are dolts, who soon end up dead. A good assassin certainly wouldn’t take on a Cotti prince like he was just another well-guarded target, or he would pay the price.”

Since we were on the topic of potential death, I asked how Blade would choose to die if he had a choice in the matter when the time comes. He snorts. “I would choose a quick and painless end, obviously.”

Next, I was curious about who his greatest enemy is and how that person became an enemy. Blade ponders this question with a slight frown and sips his wine. “I think all the people I’ve met who were my enemies are dead. Cotti princes, mostly, and they became my enemies by being born Cotti, although they were also plotting, murderous little bastards. Kerrion is one such, but no one would hire me to kill him. I’d have done it for a copper.”

The qualities Blade dislikes most in other people are nosiness, stupidity, bravado, boastfulness and cruelty. It was obvious he could have gone on listing qualities he loathes, but, when asked what three qualities he likes the most in other people, he smiles and asks, “There are three likable qualities?” I tell him there are a lot more than three, and his smile fades. “Not in my experience, but if you insist upon an answer to that question, I will say perhaps loyalty. Bravery is laudable too, I suppose. Helpfulness can also be a good quality.”

I have inside information about one thing that makes Blade incredibly queasy, and, when I ask what it was, feigning ignorance, he says, “No, nothing.” His eyes narrow. “If anyone told you different, they are lying.” To protect the integrity of this interview, you’ll have to read the series if you want to discover what it is that turns this man of steel’s stomach.

Blade’s skills as an assassin are second to none, but I wondered if there’s another skill he wishes he’d learnt instead. “I should have been a goatherd, like my father. Goats are better company than people, so I think I would have enjoyed that. It requires little skill, and consists mainly of lying in the grass while the beasts graze. An excellent profession.”

If Blade could shape shift into any animal, it would be a wood cat, so he could run and hunt with Rivan, and his favourite sound is Rivan’s purr.

When asked where he goes when he’s angry, Blade’s eyebrows rise. “There’s a place I should go? No one told me of this. I’m often angry, at my life and the people in it, so I prefer to be alone. Anywhere away from people will suffice, but if it is well-stocked with wine and ale that’s a bonus. Unfortunately, those places are usually also well-stocked with people, but that’s bearable as long as they leave me alone. Chiana has tried to cure me of my anger, but so far she has had only moderate success.”

To end, I asked Blade what three words best describe him. His answer is immediate and straightforward: “Cold, lying killer.”

Those who find Blade as intriguing as I do can read his story in The Queen’s Blade – Book 1 is free, so don’t miss out!

 

A word from Blade’s creator, fantasy author TC Southwell

 

Well, that went better than I expected. I think he was in a fairly good mood, although on his guard, as always. He must be really bored to agree to an interview, and some of his answers were truthful. Seeing him here, sitting on your sofa, was quite a thrill for me. He looked out of place in his black leather and gold-trimmed velvet cloak. He still hasn’t aged a day, although I haven’t spent time with him since I finished Lord Protector. He wouldn’t have been happy as a goatherd; he just hasn’t ever thought of what else he’d have wanted to be. I think he likes being Lord Protector; it gives him the power to bully the nobles, and he’s never liked them. Of course, he’s very fond of Minna-Satu.

I’m delighted with the positive reaction readers have had to The Queen’s Blade series. The wonderful emails people send me always lift my spirits, especially when they tell me they’ve added me to their list of favourite authors. Some readers have said they enjoyed the books so much they’ve read them five or six times, while others finished all eight books in less than a week! They must have suffered from serious sleep deprivation, and some said their spouses felt rather neglected.

 

New Promotion On Apple iBookstore

More fantastic news! Apple Australia and New Zealand iBookstores have done it again. I love Apple! It is presently featuring three of my free series-starter books in a campaign for free bestsellers and series starters, and the titles are The Queen’s Blade, The Broken World Book One: Children of Another God, and The Cyber Chronicles Book One: Queen of Arlin. They could even be featured in both segments.

The campaign started two days ago, and was advertised today in a huge email blast by Apple to all of its customers in Australia and New Zealand. The promotion will probably continue through June 11. I’m over the moon! Australia is Apple's second largest store after the US! Thank you, Apple iBookstore, for promoting the books to such an extent – far beyond my wildest hopes and dreams!

Also, thank you so much to Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords.com, for recommending my books to Apple for its promotions, and to all my fans who gave them great reviews and wonderful comments! You made this happen. Apple iBookstore is, in my humble opinion, the greatest promoter of indie authors in the world, along with Smashwords.com, and its help in spreading the word about indie books is greatly appreciated! The free books can be downloaded on the following links:

Some Questions Answered

I received some interesting questions via email this week, one of which was about the time period that The Queen’s Blade is set in, and what countries the kingdoms there resemble. The time period doesn't really conform to any Earth norms, but it's similar to a feudal era, with a slightly more modern language amongst the commoners. Jashimari is similar to feudal France or Britain, with a bit of an exotic Eastern influence. Cotti resembles Arabia at that time period, I would say, except for the people, who are more like tanned Teutons, and Contara is a mixture of the two. I hadn't really considered what Earth-type cultural or historical similarities they might have, but those are the best parallels I can draw.

Another reader asked about my inspiration… That's a tough question! There isn't any one thing that inspires me. Mostly, I think it's my characters, whom I love to write about and share in their adventures, and sometimes it's what's happening in the world around me. Often, it's a way to escape my own dull life and explore strange worlds, too. I've always been a dreamer, and channelling adventures in other worlds is even better than going on holiday.

I also had a question about producing a signed edition of The Queen’s Blade. I would love to offer a signed edition, only the postage, if they're sent to me and then I post them to the readers, is exorbitant from South Africa, where the post office charges according to weight. I could print the books with a signature in them, but it wouldn't be a genuine signed copy, as the signature would be printed. I'm not sure if that would be as good.

Final Edit Of All The Series

Editing seems to be a never-ending task, but it has to end sometime, or I'll never write anything new. When The Queen’s Blade was selected as ‘Book of the Week’ by Apple iBookstore at the end of March, I decided to go through it again and try to improve it further, since its popularity has grown so much. Of course, I found plenty to fix, and tried to make it more concise, editing out some overly flowery prose that bugged me, and some repetition, too. My trusty editor also went through the books, and found plenty of typos and mistakes. So, those are all re-edited and uploaded again, and then I had to do the other series. I’m currently working on Demon Lord, and still have the last two books of The Broken World to do. Then I’m finished at last, and this is definitely the final edit, which is why it’s also the most thorough and, I hope, will eliminate 99% of the errors.

After this, I’m going to write some new books. I almost continued Slave Empire, but then I edited Demon Lord and got sucked into that, so I’ll probably continue that one next instead. I find that whichever series I read gains me a ‘hook’ into that particular channel. To all those readers who ask whether or not I’ll be continuing a series, the answer is a resounding yes, most definitely; all of them. It’s so encouraging that readers want more of all the series, and the emails I receive are amazing! Thank you to everyone who’s written to me, and keep them coming! I always reply.

Many people have expressed a wish for The Queen’s Blade to be made into a series of films or a TV series, and I echo it. If there are any producers or directors out there who are looking for a fantasy series to make into a series of films, I hope they contact me. I would love to see the story brought to life, and solve the riddle of who would play the role of Blade, which will be hard to do well; a challenge for any actor.

The Queen’s Blade is Apple Australia’s Book of the Week

I’m delighted to announce that The Queen’s Blade has been chosen as Apple Australia’s Book of the Week from March 21^st to March 29^th! The book is available as a free download on the site’s iBookstore page. Words cannot express how grateful I am to all my fans who wrote fantastic reviews, which are responsible for making this series so popular.

 

Its success, and the wonderful comments it has received, still have me reeling in amazement and joy. It’s hard for me to believe; I honestly never expect this level of success. Thank you so much for making all my dreams come true! Thank you to Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, for recommending the book and to Apple Australia for choosing it. With this promotion, it is quite possible the first book of the series will become one of the most downloaded free e-books in the world.

I hope everyone who downloads The Queen’s Blade at Apple’s iBookstore enjoys it and, if they do, that they also enjoy the other five books in the series, and the two prequels, as much as, if not more than, the first free book. I look forward to receiving many more lovely emails like the ones I already have from fans around the world. I love the emails, guys, and I always reply, so keep them coming!

Free Series Starter Books

Like a lot of indie authors, I use the 'first book free' marketing strategy. They are all the first books in a series, however, so please, if you’re only looking for free e-books, don’t download mine that are free. I really don't want to disappoint people. Recently a reader emailed me to tell me how angry and frustrated she was after reading The Queen’s Blade, only to be unable to continue the series because she couldn’t afford the rest of the books. This made me feel really awful. I’m not trying to trick people. It clearly states on the books that they're the first of a series, and now I have added a disclaimer, stating that the rest of the series is not free.

I see the free books as a 'try before you buy' marketing strategy, so people don't buy books they may not enjoy and then feel cheated. Then I'm sure I'd have got plenty of emails from people complaining that they paid for a rubbish book. If you enjoy the first books, chances are, you'll enjoy the rest of the series. It's not intended to be sneaky or unsavoury; it's a way to boost my readership so I can make the books I do sell reasonably priced.

Without the backing of a publisher and the publicity it would provide, I must try to market the books myself. There would have been no point in publishing 31 books for free, from my point of view. I would be throwing away 20 years of writing, years of editing and weeks of cover design and creation, and had I charged for the first books, my sales would have been abysmal as an unknown indie author. I always recommend to up and coming indie authors who ask for advice to make their first books free to get their name 'out there' if they want to be successful. Many, who had been struggling for years making next to no sales suddenly found their sales skyrocketing once people had a chance to read their work and realised it was good. Then readers were happy to pay for more.

Many retailers encourage authors to make the first few pages or chapters of a book free as a sample, which amounts to the same thing; if you enjoy it, you'll want to keep reading. It's also like a movie trailer, which gets you all excited by how great the film looks, but you have to go to a cinema to watch it. Even a book's blurb and cover are intended to entice people to buy it. Look at it as you’re getting a free e-book, and if you enjoy it, the rest of the series is easily available and reasonably priced, too. The free e-books are: The Queen’s Blade, Demon Lord, The Cyber Chronicles - Queen of Arlin, The Broken World – Children of Another God, and Slave Empire – Prophecy. All of them are available on Smashwords.com.

Amazon Best of Genre: Current Epics

You may have seen this on my Demon Lord blog, but if not, I’m happy to tell everyone that two of my books are now listed on Amazon’s Best of Genre: Current Epics list. The Queen’s Blade is #23 on the list, with The Broken World sitting at #33.

This is all thanks to the dedication of my fans, the great reviews and many positive comments you've all made on the various retailers that market the books. Thank you so much! None of this would have been possible without you; you've made all my hopes and dreams come true, and I appreciate that more than I can ever say.

I’m also pleased to add that all my books are now available from Lulu.com. I’ll be listing my books with other new distributors during the course of the next few weeks, so if you have a favourite distributor I’m not already listed with, please feel free to send me your requests and I’ll see what I can do.

The Queen's Blade and other series have gained popularity in leaps and bounds, and I hope that by making them available at more retailers, more people will be able to download and enjoy them. I've made the books as affordable as possible, and the first book of each series is free, but please note, for those of you who only download free books, the rest of the series is not free. Sorry!

The Queen's Blade series

So, still no news from the UK publishers - about a month to go, apparently, until I can expect a response. Right now I'm editing the Broken World series, which I haven't looked at for a couple of years, and boy, does it need a lot of editing. Every time I look at one of my books, it needs more editing. It's never ending. Demon Lord, which was published in 2006, needs a stack of editing, and, since I want to publish it as an ebook soon, along with the sequel, Dark God, I have to get it right. A writer's work is never done - no rest for the wicked and all that.

So, The Queen's Blade is about an assassin, whose tragic past has moulded him into, essentially, a drunken, lying, hard-nosed sociopath - well, I expect most killers have to be sociopaths, I think it comes with the territory. Blade, however, is a loveable sociopath, not only because he's kind of handsome, but he has this way about him... hard to describe, but he's an interesting person, and, while he tries very hard to be obnoxious, somehow it never works for him. He's also inclined to help people, although he'll never admit to doing it. He's also a eunuch, sadly for him, which is part of the reason for his bitterness.

When I started The Queen's Blade, it was supposed to be about Queen Minna-Satu of Jashimari, and her tragic story of sacrifice to save her people from the cruel and savage King Shandor of the Cotti. In the second chapter, however, guess who made his entrance? I was intrigued. Blade certainly didn't fit my idea of a hero, but he was fascinating, and, as it turned out, the key to the whole series, to say nothing of the fact that his actions - killing people - affected how everything turned out. So I followed his story, and learnt all the details of his life. Amazing stuff. He's now my favourite hero, although I love all my heroes and heroines, Blade takes first prize. Strange for someone like him to be so endearing, but there it is.

To quote Blade in a comment he made to his wife Chiana in Lord Protector, the last book of the series: "How proud you must be, to have a lying, drunken killer for a husband." Well, that about sums him up, and yet, there's so much more to him. There are currently 6 books in the series, including the prequel God Touched. The first book is The Queen's Blade, followed by The Invisible Assassin, then Knight of the Veil, Master of the Dance, and Lord Protector. There may be more, too. So, that's The Queen's Blade series.