Arcturus is just an orphaned stableboy, when he discovers he has the ability to summon demons from another world. As the first commoner to have this skill, he is sent to Vocans Military Academy, where the lost arts of summoning, spellcraft and demon...
I am pleased to tell you that the cover for Book 3, The Battlemage, has been revealed! See below, and read on to find out about the FOURTH summoner book, a new prequel!
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INTERVIEW WITH TARAN MATHARU
Tell us a bit about what's to come in The Battlemage, and what we're seeing on this epic cover.
In the third book in the Summoner series, Fletcher and his friends will find themselves fighting for their very survival as they traverse the ether in search of a way back to their world. Hunted by Wyvern-riding orc shamans and the savage demons that inhabit the alien jungles, the four intrepid warriors race against time before their dwindling supply of antidote for the ether's poison runs out.
Between The Battlemage's pages you'll discover dozens of new demons, explore the world they inhabit and even learn how demons are captured. You'll see Fletcher fighting in battles on a grand scale never before seen in the Summoner series, that will see him (SPOILERS) fighting from the skies of the ether, to the jungle borders of Raleigshire, and even before the front gates of Vocans itself.
On the cover you see Fletcher standing in the deadlands, the inhospitable desert that borders the ether's rim. Doesn't he look fierce! As for Ignatius, he's no longer accompanying Fletcher on the cover as he usually does, for reasons you shall soon discover! Or is he...?
I've recently learned that you're extending the Summoner series to include FOUR books! Can you tell us a little bit about what's to come and why this change was made?
Before I became a published author, I had been serializing The Novice online, which helped me land my first book deal. I wanted to thank my online readers for all of their support, and with that in mind, I decided to write a short story for them.
I called it Summoner: Origins, telling the origin story of Arcturus, one of the teachers at Vocans Academy, and set it in a time before the events of The Novice. This prequel ended up being a short novella, which I gave away for free as eBook online. But the story always felt like it was just an introduction to Arcturus's journey, and there was a far deeper, more epic tale waiting just beyond the final line of the novella. The fourth book in the series will be released in May 2018. I can't wait for you all to read it.
How have you changed over your journey as a writer?
I like to think my writing has matured since I became published. Writing is now my career as well as my passion, and I am able to put all of my time and energy into honing my craft. I can spend more time plotting the story and shaping my characters, and can now live in the world of Summoner completely, rather than dipping in and out between working hours. The career aspect has also led to me taking my writing more seriously, and ultimately be more introspective and self-critical, which I think has improved both my story-telling and the writing itself.
I am also able to take a far more structured and nuanced approach to my writing, now that I have deadlines to work towards, with full novels in mind, rather than serialized fiction. For example, The Novice was written in a serialized fashion, with short chapters out of necessity rather than intent. I now have the flexibility to write longer chapters if the scene demands it.
Writing sequels has also been incredibly liberating for me, as a fantasy author. The Novice set up the magic system and world of Hominum perfectly and now I am able to explore the world more fully and take the story to places far beyond the hallowed halls of Vocans, or even Hominum's plane of existence itself. Speaking of which... I hope you enjoy The Battlemage.
The Battlemage by Taran Matharu will be released in the U.K. on May 4, and in the U.S. on May 9, 2017.
If you want to preorder (Please do, it helps me out SO much!), search online in your usual online stores, iBooks, Amazon, Kindle, Google Play, Kobo, Nook, Books-A-Million, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, Book Depository (to name but a few).
I hope you love the cover as much as I do! I can't wait for you all to read it :-).
I also want to take the opportunity to say, thank you SO much for all your support, it means the world to me.
