Here we go, have you seen this? Of course not. Not yet anyway. I turn my back for a few minutes and author Mark Iles leaps in with a section of his blog tour. You see he’s written a new novel and up-and-coming UK publisher Elsewhen have published it. Really, Mark Iles is a friend and a splendid author of science fiction some of which borders on science fantasy. His talent was spotted by Solstice in earlier days. Elsewhen Press of the UK wanted his Voice in the Darkness as his latest and second in the Sundering Chronicles series. I asked him some tricky questions.
Mark Iles
Questions:
If you were able to change at a full moon, or any other kind of moon to a non-human animal, what kind would it be and why?
It would definitively be a wolf. I’ve always had a fondness for werewolves, and find that there is something incredibly romantic about it. No doubt I’m wrong, but that’s just my opinion.
I wrote such fiction years back but stopped when a member of a writing group criticised my work, saying that how could a human transfer into a wolf – given the difference in weight. A wolf, typically, could way 25kg-45kg, while an average human is around the 62.1kg.
I could see his point; however, and stopped. Then the genre came back with ‘Wolf’, ‘Dog Soldiers’, ‘Underworld’ and so forth. Such is life.
Pick a character from A Voice in the Darkness. If they were to describe you, what would they say?
It would be Rose, the female android in my tale and lover of the key character, Seethan Bodell. She’d perhaps say that I was a tall, slim(ish) military man with a bizarre and dark sense of human. Someone who deeply cherishes his friends and family, and always happy to help anyone if at all possible.
That said, he also has a terrible desire to play tricks on people and has a tendency to waffle.
It seems to me that as the author you kind of admired the new, retro version of Earth. Is this the case and why?
Most certainly, and the reason is that we have lost so much of our planet. I subscribe to the belief that mankind is like a virus, destroying much of its host as it grows. I long for the days when you could romp around the countryside and not come across other people, and for the lost days of my youth holidaying in Cornwall – when there weren’t that many holiday makers.
I do feel for the residents, it must be hellish now come the holiday season. But then, if there were a werewolf or two around, I’m sure the numbers of visitors would drop.
Hah, I can imagine the harum scarum if a few werewolves were on the loose in Cornwall! I enjoy spending a week or two at a writers’ retreat in Greece to make progress and focus on my writing. If you had a free ticket, where would you like to spend a couple of weeks on a retreat?
Like you, it would be Greece. I absolutely adore the place – the food, the people, wonderful beaches, and so much history. I’m very much a lover of ancient Greece, Rome, and tales of the Vikings.
Describe three things about Mark Iles that isn’t generally known.
Divorced twice I totally envy the people who have been happily married for many years.
My two sisters and I – like many – had a father who was extremely strict and, to be frank, more than a bit of a bully. I will say though that he shaped my life, toughened me up, so to speak – which was needed in Royal Navy career.
While in the tropics, we occasionally stopped the ships and leapt over the side into the ocean. All the while someone with a rifle was looking out for sharks. Kinda character building.
Thank you Mark.
Gardens of Earth bk 1 in the Sundering Chronicles
Bio
Born and raised in Slough, Mark Iles began studying the martial arts when he was 14 and joined the Royal Navy at the age of 17. A voracious reader he used to devour up to three paperbacks a day – primarily science fiction, fantasy, and horror – by the likes of John Wyndham, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clark, Ray Bradbury, Brian Lumley, Frank Herbert, CJ Cherryh, Stephen King, and a plethora of others. After The Falklands War Mark was drafted to Hong Kong, where he began writing features for a variety of martial arts magazines, and short stories for a wide range of markets.
In 2012 he decided to challenge himself and undertook an MA in Professional Writing, followed by Diplomas in Copywriting and Proofreading. With over 200 short stories and articles under his belt the book he wrote for his MA Project, A Pride of Lions was published by Solstice – followed by two other novels, a short story collection, and four novellas. His novel Gardens of Earth, Book I of The Sundering Chronicles, was published by Elsewhen Press in 2021. A Voice in the Darkness is the second in the series.
Now a 9th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo, Mark is still involved in martial arts and has also written both a book and an app on the subject.
Blurb for A Voice in the Darkness
When children on the colony of Semillion go missing they return changed, the parents even claim they are not their offspring. Sherrif Andrews soon finds himself investigating the bizarre situation. What he discovers leads to him being recalled by the military and sent back to Earth, a place now quarantined and where colonial humans are forbidden to venture. The intention is to recruit ex-commando Seethan Bodell, who’s living with the survivors of The Sundering and the mythological creatures that now inhabit the world.
Earth is still ruled with an iron fist by the alien Spooks, but there is something else going on behind the scenes, a new and deadly threat. To succeed, Andrews and Bodell need to call on that grand tapestry of inhabitants: the shapeshifters, elves, the ravening pack of werewolves that Seethan now belongs to, and even the dead; in the hope that it will be enough to prevent an escalating situation that could so easily lead to war.
Excerpt from A Voice in the Darkness
“I’m surprised to find you out here in this wilderness,” the woman began. “Most people don’t come out this far into the woods, apart from the loggers. They say this place is haunted.”
“Are they? If many say so, perhaps that’s the case. If such things exist.”
She looked at him, the whites of her eyes stood out amidst the black eyeliner and black irises. Those eyes, were they full of… menace, or warning? Something. But she ignored his question and said, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“For me?” He snorted. “How could you even know we were coming? It’s pure chance that we’re here. We just followed your tracks: kind of hard to miss them really.”
“The cards told me that you’d come, and they never lie. They also said that you’d be seeking them.”
“Cards…them? What do you mean?”
“I use the Tzigane Tarot, the traditional cards of our people.”
Andrews hid a smile; he was used to bullshit. But her next words chilled him.
“You’ve seen them before, somewhere else.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who do you mean, them? And are they responsible for Melanie’s disappearance?”
“The Fey,” her voice was a mere whisper but those words curled around his ears.
“Who the fuck are the Fey?”
“Not who, what. But you know, don’t you, Sherrif Andrews. You saw something similar to them once, far from here. And you know what they can do.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about. What do these Fey want?” Andrews stuttered, suddenly having an idea what she meant. “They can’t possibly be here. There’s no way. It’s not like they have star ships or anything.”
“Not every race needs star ships. There are legends from the old days of the Fey using changelings to replace humans, but what if these aren’t simply tales to scare children in the night?”
The old woman picked up a set of cards, shuffled them and set them out on a small table before Andrews. “Touch one.”
Andrews reached forward, begrudgingly, and complied. The hand-painted masterpieces were rough against his hesitant finger.
Lloyd looked closely; never having seen any cards like these before.
Pulling back the cards she shuffled them and lay several faces up, one-by-one in front of Andrews.
“It says here that you must go on a long and dangerous journey to see something you’re afraid of, that which haunts you, in the hope they can help.” She said in a sandpaper voice.
“I hope not. All I’m after is the missing girl,” Andrews replied, looking away.
“That’s what you seek now. What torments you is something quite different but the two – that and the missing – are all interlinked. I know these plague your dreams, it makes you wake screaming in the night. And it should.”
Lloyd watched him wordlessly as Andrews tensed.
It was as if a great weight had settled onto the sherrif’s chest. He struggled to speak but finally blurted, “You’re talking about the Spooks.”
“Yes. Like I said, it’s all connected. You must go and talk to them.”
It was if a pail of icy water had been poured over him. “They won’t talk to me. They’ve told us never to return.”
Just then Andrews’ smart arm lit up, making him jump. It was the office, a male voice saying, “Hey sherrif, Mrs Robinson’s just contacted us to say that her daughter’s returned. But there’s a problem.”
“And what might that be?” Andrews rasped.
“She says that the girl looks like Mel and talks like her, but it isn’t her. She’s doing her crust and keeps saying she wants her real daughter back.”
“Okay, we’ll be back as soon as we can.” He cut the call.
“What makes you think she’s so wrong, sherrif?” The Romany woman said. “Mothers know their children, and if she’s right there’s a voice calling in the darkness somewhere, hoping and praying for help. You’ve no choice, sherrif. I know from the cards that echoes of the past plague you. They’ll continue to do so and will ruin your life unless you face them. To do that, and to save these children, you must return to Earth and face your fears.”
Links:
Elsewhen Press: Mark Iles – Elsewhen Press
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.eu/d/00OIgfj6
Amazon Hard Copy: https://amzn.eu/d/0iYlD7sS
Website: www.markiles.co.uk
X (formerly Twitter): @welcometoearth
