Interview with fellow author Blakely Benett

Please check out my interview with Blakely Bennett at http://bit.ly/1wiifzq
as we discuss The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy. Blakely and her husband Dana are both novelists who write sensual and historical romance, as well as suspense novels. Blakely regularly interviews fellow authors on her popular site, which is always an awesome thing to do! Please check out her books, as well.

Bhayatupa The Great is slowly coming to life

I'm now 12,000 words into "Bhayatupa The Great: The Dragon Wars," a prequel to The Death Wizard Chronicles that occurs 30,000 years in the past. It stars Bhayatupa, the most magnificent dragon who has ever lived but who is haunted (in a larger than life way ... get the symbolism? wink, wink) by the fear of death. It also will contain many of DW's most popular and long-lived characters: Vedana the demon, Izumo the dracool, Slag the Stone-Eater, Urbana the vampire, Chal the Warlish witch, etc. And even the snow giants and cave monkeys. But it will be written in a way that it will be able to be read as a standalone, so that you won't have to have read DW to read this book. I'm still uncertain whether this will be a single book or a series. If a single book, it will be quite long, because I have a lot of ideas and a lot of area to cover. I'm aiming to be finished before the end of the year.

The characters (part 12)

THE CAVE MONKEYS

(This is the twelfth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who are the cave monkeys and what is the worm monster?

Cave monkeys are small creatures (about two feet tall and weighing around twenty pounds) that more resemble lemurs than monkeys. But they were given the name cave monkeys by the Torg, the Death-Knower wizard, because he could think of no other. These clever and wondrous creatures live in caves and tunnels deep in the bowels of Mount Asubha, several leagues beneath the surface.

The colony of cave monkeys that Torg encountered numbered about fifty, though the wizard never knew their exact number. They were furry creatures, with pointy noses and mouths filled with flat teeth, and they had long, bushy tails. Their most striking physical feature was their bioluminescent eyes that glowed in the dark. They were supremely athletic and energetic, but also kind and gentle, and they communicated between themselves and with Torg using a very powerful yet noninvasive telepathy.

Also residing beneath Mount Asubha was a titanic creature called the worm monster, which was most likely the largest living being on Triken. Somewhere hidden far beyond finding was the monster’s core body, but extending from it were hundreds of thick tentacles, each more than a mile long and each containing a fang-filled mouth at its tip that was capable of devouring anything it found in the underworld, including cave monkeys. But the worm monster was not particularly intelligent, more an eating machine than anything else, while the cave monkeys were brilliant creatures by any standard. And in an ironic reversal of fortune, the cave monkeys were able—using stone daggers—to leap about just out of reach of the tentacles’ mouths and carve pieces of flesh from the tentacles. This flesh was quite tasty, and it was the cave monkey’s main source of sustenance, along with mushrooms. With these ingredients and a few others, they made delicious soups that Torg quickly grew to adore.

Cave monkeys also were wonderful artists, and they decorated the stone walls of their underground home with intricate drawings using mineral extracts and worm fats to create multicolored pigments.

Was the colony Torg encountered beneath Mount Asubha the only one in existence? And was there only one worm monster on Triken? Or did each large mountain on Triken have its own version of these creatures living deep beneath the surface? The answer to this was beyond Torg’s knowledge.

Photo by Dreamstime.

Up next: the final installment, which will be a list of other characters, both ordinary and magical, with short descriptions of each.

The characters (part 10)

THE STONE-EATERS

(This is the tenth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who are the Stone-Eaters and do they really eat stone?

Stone-Eaters are relatively small yet extremely dangerous creatures that inhabit the interiors of mountains but that often roam the lands, taking sides with whatever evil presence is most powerful at the time.

They rarely attain five feet in height, yet they are stout and physically strong, and their bodies literally burn with magic. A lone Stone-Eater is more than a match for a Warlish witch, making these creatures among the most deadly on Triken. Flames flare from their flat nostrils, smoke seeps from their ears, and their hides are the texture of an elephant halfway turned to stone. Their main sustenance is obsidian, which they eat as easily as a human might snack on an ear of corn. Yet the black volcanic glass fills them with fiery energy, and they are able to vomit foul liquids the thickness and temperature of magma.

Though they appear crude and ugly, Stone-Eaters are not unintelligent. But they crave power and are constantly scheming—both with and against their allies—to attain dominion over others. Like most of the magical creatures on Triken, Stone-Eaters are long-lived, though most do not survive more than ten millennia.

Stone-Eaters are not numerous. At the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there were fewer than two hundred Stone-Eaters in the world.

Photo by Dreamstime.


Up next: the Daasa.

The characters (part 9)

MALA AND THE SNOW GIANTS

(This is the ninth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who is Mala and why is he called a ruined snow giant?

There are beings called snow giants who live in the frozen peaks of Okkanti, a desolate mountain range located above the Salt Sea in northeastern Triken. (See map at www.jim-melvin.com.) At times in Triken’s history, there were as many as twenty snow giants, but at the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there fewer than a dozen.

Snow giants were extremely long-lived beings, rivaling the dracools and even the great dragons. Some, including their leader Yama-Deva, were more than 50,000 years old. Male snow giants stood 15 feet tall and weighed more than half a ton. Their physical strength was extraordinary, and they were capable of bashing boulders into dust with their bare hands. Their bodies burst with magic, which could heal or destroy, and they were beautiful creatures, with broad faces, pointed ears and long, white manes that ran down the length of their spines. Despite living in temperatures well below freezing, they wore only crude loin cloths. Cold had little effect on them; in fact, they rarely strayed from the mountaintops—it was heat that made them uncomfortable.

Yama-Deva was one of the few snow giants who ever dared to come down from peaks and explore the lowlands, and it was there that he was captured by one of the evil sorcerer Invictus’ slave-hunting parties. Being a benign and gentle creature. Deva did not resist his capture (though he most certainly could have) because he did not wish to harm those who would enslave him.

Deva was taken from Okkanti and brought before Invictus in the Golden City of Avici, and though the snow giant was the mightiest of his kind, even he was no match for the sorcerer. Even then, it took ten years of torture for Invictus to finally break Deva’s will and turn him into a monster, hence “ruining” the most magnificent snow giant to ever live.

Invictus named him Mala, which in the ancient tongue meant monster, but Mala was also known as the Chain Man, because Invictus—using dreadful sorcery—had encased Mala in a single chain that wrapped around his shoulders, crisscrossed at his waist and lower back, and rode down his hips before looping around his bulky thighs. The chain had six-inch-thick links of gold blended with magical alloys, making it supernaturally strong. It glowed incessantly with a golden fire that appeared as hot as magma, burning Mala’s thick hide and causing a stink that was reminiscent of rotten meat cooked over an open fire. This caused him incessant pain, which led to a cruel and ruthless madness. The only beauty Mala retained from his previous existence was his silky white mane. Everything else was hideous to behold. His eyes were now red and swollen; vile liquid oozed from their sockets. Two blood-stained fangs hung over his lower lip; venom dripped from their pointed tips. His tongue was long and black; it probed and fluttered like a snake’s.

Surpassed only by Invictus and Bhayatupa (the great dragon) in might and magic, Mala became one of the most feared beings on Triken, and he was named the leader of the sorcerer’s army of monsters and golden soldiers. Once one of the most wondrous beings on Triken, he had been transformed into one of the most vile and dangerous creatures to ever exist.

Illustration courtesy of fantasy artist Tracy Pittman.

Up next: the Stone-Eaters.

The characters (part 8)

THE DRUIDS

(This is the eighth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who are the druids and are they evil?

Druids are insect-like monsters that dwell in the dark forest called Dhutanga, which is the largest forest on Triken. Druids stand more than ten feet tall, and though they are thin and angular, they are deceptively strong. Their outer flesh looks more like bark than skin, and they have fiery eyes and large mouths, with black holes where there should be ears.

The druids are indeed evil, because they are the creation of the druid queen, a bulbous and hideous creature that resembles a maggot the size of a great dragon. Though the druid queen is filled with malice and dread, she has a terrifically powerful mind, and she uses her psychic sway to control the druids en masse, forcing them to do her bidding. They are her slaves, but they love her, nonetheless.

At the time of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there were more than 100,000 druids, given birth one at a time over the centuries by their queen. They are the caretakers of Dhutanga, and literally eat wood for their sustenance and magic. In addition to their physical strength, they are able to spew corrosive acids from their mouths that devour flesh and burn through armor.

Photo by Dreamstime.

Up next: Mala and the snow giants

The characters (part 7)

THE DRACOOLS

(This is the seventh in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

What are dracools and why are they called ‘baby dragons’?

The dracools are an ancient race of dragon-like beings that are much smaller than great dragons. A typical dracool stands about 10 feet tall and weighs about 600 pounds. They are called baby dragons because of their similarity in appearance yet great difference in size to their larger cousins, but they are terrifically strong and can fly almost as fast a great dragons.

Dracools are not numerous. During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there were fewer than 300 in the world.

Unlike full-sized dragons, dracools can walk on their hind legs. Their heavy muscles are covered with scales and they have enormous snouts overflowing with fangs.

Dracools claim to be the most learned beings alive, and they classify great dragons as crude bullies. Groups of dracools are sometimes able to kill great dragons in battle.

Some dracools have lived as long as fifty millennia, and these have had witnessed the rise and fall of many kingdoms. Like mercenaries, they tend to ally themselves with whoever appears most powerful at the time. They do not give much credence to the concepts of good and evil.

A gathering of dracools is called a flock, and they are psychically interconnected.

Photo by Dreamstime

The characters (part 6)

THE GREAT DRAGON

(This is the sixth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who is Bhayatupa and what is a great dragon?

Bhayatupa is, by all accounts, the single most powerful and feared dragon to ever exist on Triken. The great dragons differ from the lesser dragons and the dracools because of their immense size and fantastic magical powers.

At the time of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Bhayatupa was more than eighty thousand years old, second in age only to Vedana and a few other demons. He was almost 300 feet long from snout to tail and weighed close to 30,000 pounds. His scales were a bright crimson and impervious to injury, and he breathed fire and spewed liquid flame. His brain alone was the size of a boulder, though his extreme intelligence was dwarfed by his selfishness and deceit.

Until the appearance of Invictus, Bhayatupa had feared no being and was called Mahaasupanna, which meant “mightiest of all” in the ancient tongue—and for millennia beyond count he had ruled vast kingdoms and was revered by everyone, including the other great dragons. Even Vedana, the mother of all demons, feared Bhayatupa the Great, though she boasted that he was her creation, a claim that Bhayatupa treated with disdain.

Despite his immense size, Bhayatupa could fly higher, faster and more gracefully than any other being. This was due partially to his wide, strong wings, but more likely was made possible by magic, for surely no being of such girth could move quickly on the ground, much less fly. Bhayatupa also had very flexible jaws and a thick, red tongue, and he was able to speak in the same way that a human could speak, being fluent in hundreds of languages, many long forgotten. He also was wise in the ways of the demons and knew all their spells. His physical strength alone would have made him deadly, but when combined with his magic, he was powerful beyond ordinary comprehension.

Bhayatupa’s lone weakness was an insufferable fear of death. Because of his unbridled narcissism, Bhayatupa could not bear the thought of his existence ever coming to an end, and he obsessed over it every waking second.

Photo by Shutterstock.

Up next: the dracools.

The characters (part 5)

THE SORCERER

(This is the fifth in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.)

Who is Invictus and why is he so powerful?

Invictus is the grandson (knowingly) of Vedana, the mother of al demons. As mentioned before, Vedana has spent tens of thousands of years breeding with mortal men in an attempt to perfect the bloodline that would lead to the birth/creation of a Sun God. In Invictus, she finally succeeded.

Invictus derives his magic from the absorption of sunlight, which makes him the most powerful being in the world. He wields a yellow-gold, liquid fire that spurts from his fingers, hands and eyes and that also shields his body from physical harm. The golden fire disintegrates anything it touches, including solid granite. He is so powerful, not even a great dragon can stand against him. He also is a master of the dark arts, and knows things that even the demons do not. He has surpassed all beings on Triken—and perhaps any living being that has ever been.

Photo by Shutterstock

In fact, Invictus’ puissance threatens the universe itself, because he has the power to break the fabric between the three universal realms—Life, Death, and Undeath.

Invictus was taken from his parents (the father of whom was an unknowing offspring of Vedana’s machinations) by Vedana when he was just 2 years old, and she raised him herself, teaching him all kinds of evil spells and incantations. She did this in hopes of controlling him and using him to free her from the Realm of Undeath where she and the other demons reside, but when Invictus became a teenager he realizes the extent of his power, which exceeded even Vedana’s. And so he struck out on his own, determined to create his own kingdom and eventually rule the world.

Because of Vedana’s influence, Invictus has become depraved, perverted, and devilishly immature. He has a severe temper and will destroy anyone or anything that dares to thwart him, taking delight in torture and depravity.

During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Invictus is one hundred years old, but he appears as a boyishly handsome man of about 30. He has long blond hair and is average in height and build. But his stature is the only thing average about him. Otherwise, he is everyone’s worst nightmare and a threat to all beings.

Up next: Bhayatupa the Great

The characters (part 4)

THE WARLISH WITCHES

Photo by Dreamstime

What are Warlish witches and what makes them ‘special’?

Warlish witches are living beings created by the magic of Vedana, the mother of all demons. As mentioned earlier, Vedana conceitedly claims to have created all magical beings—and there is some truth to this and some stretching of the truth—but there is little doubt or debate that it is Vedana who gave birth to Warlish witches.

In the ancient tongue, Warlish means “transform.” And indeed, full-blooded Warlish witches are able to transform at will between being exquisitely beautiful and hideously ugly—in appearance, voice and odor. They are prideful and deceitful, and cannot be trusted. They also wield powerful magic and are able to blast crimson flames from their eyes, mouth and hands, while vomiting poisons that can devour flesh to the bone and bubble through the hardest armor. They are physically strong and can move with great speed and athleticism. One witch alone is formidable, but when they fight in groups, they rank among the most dangerous beings on Triken. They often carry tall wooden staffs that spew fire and ruin.

“Failed” Warlish witches—in other words, ones that cannot transform—are perpetually trapped in only one state, either beautiful or ugly. But neither is preferred over the other, because both beauty and ugliness carry their own brands of fright and power. Failed witches are called hags, and they are faithful servants of true witches and will fight to the death on their behalf.

Warlish witches and their hags are filled with demon blood and are therefore long-lived beings, with the most ancient of them surpassing fifty thousand years in age. At the time of The Death Wizard Chronicles, there were believed to be between two and three hundred witches in existence, though their exact numbers were known by only a few. Even Vedana lacked this knowledge.

Photo by Dreamstime.

The characters (part 3)

This is the third in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy. 

THE DEMON

Who is Vedana and why is she so evil?

Vedana is an ancient demon—more than one hundred thousand years old—who is known as the mother of all demons. Vedana takes the credit for the creation of all magical creatures on Triken, including the other demons, as well as dragons, dracools, witches, vampires and trolls, etc. The dragons and dracools dispute this, being far too proud to believe such a thing. But it is not debated, at least, that Vedana created the Warlish witches, who will be featured in the next vignette.

Vedana exists within the Realm of Undeath, the only one of the three realms that exists outside the rules of karma. In her realm of purgatory-like despair, she is the undisputed master—and she appears as a writhing black worm that is even darker than darkness. But Vedana, like all demons, is able to bleed a portion of her essence into the Realm of Life and exist among the living—in Vedana’s case, as a devilish woman with salt-and-pepper hair in her mid-50s. She is unkempt and wears scraggly robes, and her flesh is sometimes so transparent that you can see her heart and bones.

Vedana is a rascal of the highest order, always causing mischief and constantly attempting to manipulate living beings, which she views with disdain. But at the same time, she is utterly consumed with the desire to be freed from her realm and become a true living being in the Realm of Life. There, she believes she would become all-powerful and rule all realms—Life, Death, and Undeath.

However, the only being powerful enough to break the fabric between dimensions and release her from her prison is a Sun God, a sorcerer who derives his magic from the absorption of sunlight. But the karmic process of creating such a being is fantastically complicated, and Vedana has spent many millennia scheming to do so by mating—using drugs and seduction—with thousands of human males in an attempt to create the perfect bloodline that would give birth to a Sun God.

Up next: the Warlish witches.

The characters (part 2)

 THE SORCERESS

This is the second in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy.

Who is Laylah and what is the source of her magic?

Laylah is the grandchild (unknowingly) of Vedana, the most powerful and ancient of demons. Though the grandmother is selfish and evil, Laylah grows up as an ordinary child—beyond the demon’s influence—and becomes a force of good.

Laylah has one sibling, the evil sorcerer Invictus who is ten years her elder. Invictus derives his power from the absorption of sunlight, which makes him the mightiest of all beings. Laylah derives her power from moonlight, which is a reflection of sunlight, so she is the weaker of the two. But this is not to say that Laylah is not also powerful. It’s just that everyone is weaker than Invictus.

Laylah escapes from her brother’s clutches as a young girl and is raised by a tribe of people in a hidden valley deep within the mountains. But she is eventually recaptured by Invictus and held as his prisoner for many years.

Laylah wields a white magic that flares from her fingers, hands and eyes. Like Torg the Death Wizard, she can both heal and destroy with it. Night is her favorite time, and she often feels queasy and weak during mid-day.

Since Laylah is an offspring of Vedana, her body contains demon magic and therefore she is long-lived. During the time-frame of The Death Wizard Chronicles, Laylah is about ninety years old, but she appears as a woman in her physical prime. She has long, lush blond hair, pale skin and gray-blue eyes and is tall and voluptuous—considered by those who have seen her to be the most beautiful woman in the world.

Laylah eventually escapes from Invictus a second time, and much of the epic tale of The DW Chronicles involves her desperate flight from the insanity and perversion of her brother.

Up next: Vedana, the mother of all demons.

The characters (part 1)

(This is the first in a series of character descriptions from The Death Wizard Chronicles, my six-book epic fantasy. Over the coming days, this and many more vignettes will also appear on this site, as well as on my WEBSITE  my FACEBOOKPAGE and my FACEBOOKFANPAGE)

Who is Torg and what is a Death Wizard?

Torg is the main character in The Death Wizard Chronicles. He is king of the Tugars, the famed warriors who live deep within the desert Tējo. Torg has risen to the rank of Asēkha, highest among the Tugars, but he has taken yet another step of ascension. While deep in meditation, Buddhist monks have been known to achieve recorded heart rates of fewer than 10 beats per minute. Torg has taken this to the extreme, meditating so deeply that his heart literally stops, which results in a temporary death.

(Go HERE for a free short story that describes this in detail).

At this point, Torg is able to enter the Realm of Death, where he feeds on death energy. When he returns to life soon afterward, he is engorged with magical powers. Torg is one of the few Asēkhas in Tugarian history who has accomplished this feat and hence become a Death Wizard, or more accurately, a Death-Knower wizard.

Only a Death-Knower can die.

And live again.

Only a Death-Knower can return from death. 

And remember.

Only a Death-Knower can tell the world what he’s seen.

Not all care to listen.

During the time frame of my series, Torg is more than one thousand years old and has died and returned to life more than a thousand times. In addition to being a powerful wizard, he also is a supremely trained warrior with unprecedented physical prowess and strength. He is an imposing figure, standing 7 feet tall and weighing 300 pounds. He is deeply tanned with shoulder-length black hair and deep-blue eyes that glow when he becomes angry. He carries a white staff that he has named Obhasa, which was molded from the tusk of a desert elephant found dead of old age at the base of a desert basin. Obhasa, which Torg has imbued with his magic, is a formidable weapon in its own right and adored by the wizard.

With his powers, Torg is able to destroy but also to heal. He is the leader of the forces of good in the land of Triken—and though some are jealous of his stature, all respect him.

Torg and his Tugars believe in the concept of karma—that all actions result in reactions. Torg has seen this for himself during his daily meditations, which most often do not result in death. Only about once a year does the wizard dare to achieve what the Tugars call Sammasamaadhi, the supreme concentration of mind that results in temporary death.

Though Tugarian history extends into the distant past, Torg is considered by his people to be the greatest of all the Death-Knowers who have ever been—a king among kings. Ironically, death energy has given him the gift of long life, and he could conceivably live for several thousand more years, if the forces of evil don’t get to him first.

Up next: Laylah the sorceress.

Monsters, Incorporated

My series has many of the traditional monsters: dragons, vampires, trolls, zombies and witches, to name a few. But it also has creatures that are new (at least in terms of how I use and describe them) to the genre of epic fantasy. Over the next several days, I'm going to highlight some of them. So check back soon for the first of a monster-by-monster breakdown of The Death Wizard Chronicles, a six-book epic fantasy.

Newest novel will give you the creeps

My latest novel, a scary, sexy ghost story called Dream House, is now available as an e-book. It is being distributed by Out of Bounds Press. Order it here.

Here is an excerpt:


Greg collapsed to his knees, and he was squeezing his right wrist with his left hand. His right index finger was pointing skyward, as if blaming the heavens for his unexpected predicament. I felt bile rising in my throat. The finger had become nothing but bare bone, yet somehow it still wriggled.

Greg was screaming, a high-pitched female scream, and then he looked at me with pleading eyes, as if begging me to make it all stop, to take it all back. I took out my cell phone and dialed 911, but when I held the phone to my ear it squealed so sharply I cast it away, and it plunked into the now broiling water. A small geyser followed, as if I had tossed a live hand grenade into the green muck.

I staggered toward Greg with tears in my eyes, and my legs felt heavy as sodden wood. Now he was bent over, his face between his knees but his finger still pointed straight out. Only now even the bone was dissolving, and it smoked like the end of a lit cigarette.

“What’s happening?” I said, sounding as pathetic as a little boy. But I seemed to have nothing else to offer. Then I saw Greg’s cell phone in a case attached to his belt, and I took it out and dialed 911 again. The same squealing, as loud as a siren, caused me to cast the phone down. Only this time the phone hit a root and shattered like glass on terrazzo.

Suddenly I felt the urge to run. I could make it back to my house in just a few minutes, call the police from there, and then wait at the house while they went to Greg’s rescue. Or I could even lead them to the opening in the trees and wait there. After all, I would only get in the way if I tried to help further. Leave it to the pros, right? But Greg was in serious trouble. Now he was puking. As terrified as I was, I had to do something.

I leaned over, grabbed his left bicep, and in a fit of super-crazed strength yanked the man to his feet. His face was pale, his eyes swollen and bloodshot. I’ve never seen anyone look quite so terrified. Perhaps my face mirrored his.

“We’ve got to get out of here,” I said. But it was as if I was shouting into hurricane-force winds that muffled the words.

Still, he seemed to hear me. He nodded weakly and then leaned toward the opening where we had entered the now-nightmarish cove. But as soon as he did that, something occurred that was more frightening than anything I had yet encountered, even dwarfing the face in the bathroom window. All the strength left my limbs, and I fell back on my rump and began to whimper. A pink-skinned arm, tiny yet impossibly strong, sprang from the green gook, and a hand the size of a baby’s somehow seized enough of Greg’s skinny ankle to pull him into the water.

In just a few seconds, he was dragged beneath the surface.

He pleaded with me before he went under.

“Help me!” he squealed.

Then he was gone.

Another radio interview

I did another radio interview today, this one with Michele Paiva on her blogtalk radio show called Off The Mat. If you get a free moment, please check it our here.