The Story of Evil
Welcome to my stop on the tour for
The Story of evil
by Tony Johnson
Check out the novel and Tony’s guest post!
There also is an amazing giveaway run by Storytellers with this tour and you can
enter for a chance to win one of three physical copies up for grabs of A HERO’S DOWNFALL at the end of this post :)
The Story of Evil
A Hero’s Downfall by Tony Johnson
Published: March 4, 2020
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 483
During an entertaining jousting tournament, a mysterious villain attacks the capital with his army. Because of this disastrous event, Stephen Brightflame, a nineteen-year-old who aspires to become a knight, embarks on a quest to save the kingdom from further destruction. He joins up with a convicted felon, an arrogant warrior, and a Halfling woman, but quickly learns their pasts are just as dark and disturbing as his own. Experience the first book in an epic fantasy trilogy that’s been called, “fascinating and captivating” featuring “well-rounded, enjoyable characters, intense action scenes, and riveting twists” (The US Review of Books and Self-Publishing Review).
Available on Amazon
Guest Post
Inspirations Influences
Out of the many author interviews I’ve watched or read, there seems to be one question commonly asked by readers. The question is usually something to the effect of “Where did you get your inspiration from” or “How did you get the idea for your book?” When readers find stories they love, they often want to know the idea that sparked its creation. In the fantasy and science fiction genres the question of a book’s origination is especially prevalent, considering that through the world and magic, the reader is taken on a unique, never-before-seen experience. However, breaking down the book to its core themes, settings, and characters usually reveals it isn’t as other-worldly as it seems at face-value. Fantasy and sci-fi fiction typically have real-world influences and inspirations.
Take, for example, J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. His series was heavily influenced by his experiences in World War I. Similarly, George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series stemmed from his love for history and is based on the War of the Roses. Suzanne Collins got the idea for the Hunger Games while flipping through TV channels and seeing a reality tv show on one channel and coverage of a war on another. Each of these authors went from a blank page to having an entire book, where those once-blank pages were filled not only full of text, but told an entertaining story. Reading about their life experiences and the people who influenced them to write is pretty interesting.
Now, I don’t put myself anywhere near the league of these authors, but I would like to use this post to share some of my personal influences and inspirations for my epic fantasy book, A Hero’s Downfall, and the Story of Evil series it’s a part of. My experience from blank page to bound book wasn’t born out of fighting in a war or some other monumental world event. It was crafted in a small town in Western New York with one stoplight and more cows than people. As a fifteen year old, with little to do to keep myself occupied, I wrote. My love for writing was fostered by the amazing English teachers I had throughout elementary and high school. My second grade teachers gave me a note at the end of the year that encouraged me in my writing. (Thank you, mom, for keeping these!) My third grade teacher personally bought me blank books to write in.
These types of influences aren’t forgotten. Neither is the inspiration behind my series. As its development took place when I was a teenager, it draws inspiration from many of the things a typical ‘90s American kid was interested in. It’s hard to not write color-coded protagonists with elemental powers when you grew up watching Captain Planet, Power Rangers, Bionicle, Pokemon, and Digimon. Also in my teenage years, I stumbled across Dragonlance, The Lord of the Rings, and other fantasy books, as well as played video games like The Legend of Dragoon and Baldur’s Gate. I like to think that The Story of Evil is an amalgamation of all these works that I enjoyed in my youth, and I’m proud of it.
Every book in existence is unique because it is influenced and inspired by the one-of-a-kind life that each author has experienced. And what’s cool about that is even though I never fought in a war like Tolkien, I did read his books, and any story you digest becomes a part of you. In a way, his experience lives on through my writing, as it does in most fantasy novels. A Hero’s Downfall is what it is because of my inspirations and influences and I am forever thankful to everyone who has played a part. Whether or not I become famous like my second grade teachers thought, we’ll just have to wait and see!
thank you for the guest post, tony.
About the author
Tony Johnson is the author of the epic fantasy series, The Story of Evil. He is an avid reader who enjoys fantasy, classic novels, Shakespeare, and Christian literature. He is also a fan of movies, television, videogames, and Tennessee Titans football. He graduated with a Bachelors in English Literature from SUNY Brockport with a certification to teach 7th-12th grade English and Special Education. Tony lives in Batavia, NY and is currently finishing up his Masters Degree and working on the final book in the Story of Evil trilogy.
Enter for a chance to win one of three physical copies up for grabs of A HERO’S DOWNFALL . US only.
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