Brunswick Blog Tour

Brunswick by Ann Haines

When Jonathan wakes up beside a lake bruised and bleeding, he has no idea how he got there or where “there” really is. He must try to remember how he ended up in this place and why.


When he meets Grace and a group of people that seem to want to help him, he is thrown in to a world that he doesn’t know. Haunted by visions and voices in his head, Jonathan soon realises that this world isn’t as safe as he’d hoped.


Taken from his life and asked to save a land he knows nothing about, from a menacing hooded figure, Jonathan must learn quickly to survive. As he struggles to stay alive long enough to get home he is faced with a deadly choice, Join It or Die. And when it becomes clear that so many would do anything to kill him he must stay close to those who would kill for him.


To stay alive and get home he must face the one thing he never wanted to, the figure in black. And when the hood comes down Jonathan is faced with a revelation that could break him and destroy everything he has fought for.




Author Ann Haines has stopped by today with a guest post for you lovelies and an excerpt from her new book, Brunswick. Enjoy!


It’s great to be asked to post on Paranormal Book Fan as I really enjoy this blog, so thanks for having me. For anyone reading this post, I hope it wets your appetite!!!


I so enjoyed writing the characters in Brunswick, over the two and a half years of developing and writing them all, I really fell in love with them. But before those individual characters were born I had to lay the land, set the scene and create the people from which the characters formed. There are different clans and species in Brunswick and that is what made the characters for me. So here’s a little layout as to where those characters sprang from.


The Talamh:- (From the Irish/Gaelic word used for ‘Land’)
The Talamh people are land dwellers. Brunswick is ruled by the Steward from their chief village of Torin. There are two other villages of the Talamh people, Hadley is the rural farm land and Crofton is the village where clothes, shoes etc are manufactured. The Talamh are excellent fighters choosing swords and knives as their preferred weapons. They run fast on land and have a lot of strength, they are excellent trackers.


Crann:- (From the Irish/Gaelic word used for ‘Tree’)
The Crann people are tree dwellers. Their chief village, that is second in command to Torin, is called Haven. There are two other villages where the Crann live. Tomer is where most of the medicines are made and the Dr’s are taught. Alon is very arty and is where a lot of the teachers, musicians and artist’s live. The Crann have chameleon like skills and can blend very well in to most environments, they are strongest among the trees. Their preferred weapon is a bow and arrow as they are excellent marksmen. Their senses are very heightened and they move with excellent stealth.


Draiocht:- (From the Irish/Gaelic word used for ‘magic or witchcraft’)
These are people born of a recessive magical gene. They can be Crann or Talamh and from any village within those clans. Each Draiocht that is born will possess a power of some sort that aids the people of Brunswick. There could be healers, elementals or see-ers, to name a few. A Draiocht will always be at the Stewards or Captains side as an advisor, when that Draiocht dies or becomes unable to fulfil their duties, the most powerful Draiocht alive at that time is chosen to take their place.


Nathair:- (From the Irish/Gaelic word used for ‘Snake’)
The Nathair are evolved snake people. Although from afar they look very human and have a lot of human attributes they are also beholden to their snake roots. They will normally only attack if they are threatened, they are extremely quick and agile. They are very strong and can have a vice like grip once they get hold of you. They have a snake’s tongue which they can use to stun opponents in battle. They are a very private community where they live among the deep forest. Their community is large and half underground.


Lycanthropes:-
An oldie but goldie that everyone knows. My lycanthropes are a little older in origin, they do not change their form or cause another to become a lycanthrope by infecting them. They are simply animals that can be in any form, from wolves to rabbits and bears to birds. They are able to speak and think like humans but always remain very animal in their instincts. They are much larger versions than their pure animal ancestors.


Volker:- (From the German word used for ‘Group or Rabble’)
These are the destroyer’s army. They are made purely for battle, they have no emotion or empathy and follow orders blindly. Dressed in black armour they wreak havoc through the land of Brunswick. Their origins are cause for much concern among the clans of Brunswick. I won’t spoil that for you though!!!


Once I had these in place I was able to develop a few from each and really make them come to life. I loved writing each and every one of them and I really hope that you enjoy reading them.


Happy Reading

Ann xx

Excerpt

Coldness kept sweeping over him, his left arm was freezing. As he opened his eyes brightness sunk in that stung, his head was pounding and he was suddenly aware of how much his body hurt. As he started to come around a little more he could see trees and felt grass underneath him. He sat up slowly and realised the coldness on his left side was water. He was at the edge of a huge lake surrounded by trees, it was beautiful. As he looked around he could see nothing more than trees and water, he looked down at himself and saw that his legs and arms were cut and grazed. His head hurt and as he held his hands up to his face he felt pain over his right eye and the fatness in his lower lip, he could taste the blood. He rolled to his knees and splashed some water on his face, he winced as it stung. Struggling to his feet he looked over the place, he could see thick trees all around but up ahead they seemed to thin a little. He headed in that direction limping slowly, his right knee was very swollen and the pain was getting worse. As he carried himself through the trees he started to feel afraid, he had no idea where he was or how he got here. He remembered the feeling of falling and the brightest light, what he couldn’t figure out is how that would have brought him here. Then a wave of fear fell over him, what if he was dead? What if this is where you end up? He started to feel dizzy but pushed himself to carry on, he could hear noises. A cracking behind him made him spin around.


“Hello” he called “who’s there”.


There was no answer but he knew he wasn’t alone. As he searched with his eyes to find what or who had made the noise he started to move forward again. He saw movement in the corner of his eyes but everywhere he looked he saw nothing. He was feeling more and more scared now. The pain in his body, the fear of not knowing where he was and that he wasn’t alone was just too much. Overcome with dizziness he fell to his knees, he started to feel nauseous and as he collapsed on to his side he could see black shapes emerging from the trees. A tear ran down his cheek as he thought of his home and his family. With that he passed out.

About the author:

Ann Haines is a debut writer from the South East of England. She is a married mother of two, a horror movie buff, Tweeter, Blogger and a self-confessed geek............................ and GLEEK (much to her sons annoyance).She has been writing from an early age and even took to illustrations as she went through her teenage years. Although she still sketches as a hobby she now prefers to focus on her writing. At nineteen she became a mother and had to put her writing on hold for a more lucrative job to support her and her son, as it was just the two of them. She never gave up the idea of becoming a writer though and when her son was four he gave her the idea for what is now her first book 'Brunswick'.


After two and half years of writing her book and researching the self-publishing industry, Ann's book 'Brunswick' was published on Amazon. She became part of the Indie Publishing community that she loves and is widely involved in. Over the years she has had many ideas for her work and so we can expect to see much more of this new Indie Author.

Author's Links:

Website/Twitter

Buy the book: Smashwords/Amazon