Friends and neighbors, welcome Brad Parnell to the local author spotlight, would you?
Brad, tell us about your latest project.
My latest book is called Chaos’ Corner, the second installment of the Legend of Gwerinatha trilogy. The first book, Branwen’s Garden, found 2 teenage boys investigating a mystery of a key to another dimension. One goes in and the other waits behind. The first book tells of Robert’s journey to Gwerinatha and the strange creatures he meets there. At the end of that book he returns home and his friend Cameron takes the key and goes in himself. The second book tells Cameron’s story and how is life is dramatically changed as he becomes the catalyst for an alien’s genocidal plot. Just your typical young adult fantasy.
Yes, the typical alien genocide thing. I hear ya! Where do Louisville/Southern Indiana readers know you from, outside of your books?
I have worked as an illustrator from time to time, mainly in the RPG industry as well as a graphic designer. For the former I have created a lot of drawings and a couple of covers for Digital Hero magazine as well as all the illustrations in the recent Blackwyrm game King of the Mountain.
Who are your favorite writers from the local area?
Ian ‘Lizard’ Harac is definitely one of my favorites. His ‘Rainbow Connection’ is a very good read. I have also become fond of Bill Levy and Michael Williams. Gotta support the team.
I just write in front of the computer. I have a few of my books and reference books around but I’m hardly surrounded, and I prefer herbal teas to coffee. A good vanilla chai tea on a brisk autumn morning–the best time to write for me. The bad thing about sitting at the computer is the always present distraction of the internet which is only a little less distracting than college basketball. Now that summer is here though I have far fewer distractions and can get back into my writing groove.
What’s next on the writing slate, for you?
I am just getting back into the swing of things after a long hiatus. Although the outline had been finished for the third and (possibly) final book in the Gwerinatha series I hadn’t quite got into getting the first draft started. One of the things that got in the way is another book that demanded to be written which is set to be a fantasy/comedy. With all the seriousness of the Gwerinatha books a little silliness is the perfect counterbalance so in between chapters of one I hope to write the other. So next on tap is The Legend of Gwerinatha – Mountain’s Secret (title subject to change) which puts the lid on Robert Moore’s saga of the other dimensional world inhabited by strange creatures and pilgrim descendants. Then an irate ruler is blamed for the disappearance of a prince and a ragtag group of rescuers set out to save the day in what I hope to be something like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy meets The Princess Bride. The former should definitely be out sometime next year and the latter… who knows?
Brad, thanks for being in the spotlight today, and I would like to add that it was a true pleasure to meet you in the midst of the chaos that was FandomFest at the Galt House! Best of luck with that third book in the series and all your projects.
Readers, if you know an author who deserves to shine in the Local Author Spotlight, please get in touch. Either side of the river is fine–we speak Southern Indianaese, too! Books about relevant local subject matter are encouraged, as well. Email RedTashBooks@gmail.com and please put “LouisvilleKY.com Author Spotlight” in your email subject. Thanks!
Leslea Tash is a Southern Indiana freelance journalist-turned-novelist. Formerly a freelancer, she now writes dark fantasy, horror, fairy tales, and other fun stuff including the 5 star, Amazon “Hot New Release” Troll Or Derby under the pen name Red Tash. She always welcomes your feedback on this column on the LouisvilleKY.com site, on Facebook, on her websites or twitter. Just about anywhere works. Get in touch!
