Join us today as we interview Kenneth W. Barber, author of our newest book: Knight of the Blood.
(Note: Knight of the Blood is no longer published with Authors 4 Authors Publishing. We encourage your continued support of Kenneth and you can find links to his work through his Twitter.)
First, tell us a little bit about yourself!
Sure. I’m a storyteller. My work has been awarded Notable Indie Book of the Year by Shelf Unbound Magazine, a BRAG Medallion from IndieBrag.com and a Pitch Perfect Pick by Underground Book Reviews. Beyond that, I’m a husband and father. I believe in reading whatever you enjoy. It doesn’t matter. Just read.
That’s really impressive! So, what inspired you to write A Knight of The Blood?
I was cutting the grass one day and an idea just popped into my head; what if there existed an entire group of people who not only protected humanity from evil, but made sure they were unaware of it? It was an idea about humility, honor, and integrity. Doing what’s right because it’s right, not for the pursuit of personal glory. That really resonated with me and I ran inside to tell my wife. She told me to write it down, so I did.
Thank goodness for her, then. Are there any themes, symbols, or motifs in your story?
Great question. There are themes woven throughout the story. A big one is the duality of our natures. No one is entirely good, or entirely evil. There’s some of both within us all and it’s what we choose to do that determines who we are. So that leads into another theme in the book; the possibility of redemption. Our pasts don’t define us, we can change who we are. Good and evil are, of course, represented in full measure. I can’t leave out an underlying theme that I tried to keep firmly in mind as I was writing: we need each other. No one should be alone. It’s often our connections to others, lovers, friends, or whatever, that keep us rooted and on course.
That’s a really great message for people to read. Let’s switch gears a little: Who is your favorite character?
That’s a tough one. I love all my characters. Surprisingly, Jeremiah is a great character with a deep backstory but, and this may shock some people, I have to go with Erika. She’s so deeply broken, dominated by forces beyond her control, yet still searching for meaning and struggling to do what’s right. I love her because of her imperfections, her humanity.
So I’ve got to ask, how did you come up with your monsters? They’re not quite like anything I’ve seen in fiction.
This one is kind of hard to explain, but I’ll try. When I write, scenes play out in my head. It’s kind of like watching an internal movie. I write down what I saw in my mind. The monsters are kind of like personifications of some of the worse angels of our nature, to take liberty with Mr. Lincoln’s great words. I describe them as best as I can.
You’ve got characters that have a special trait to them. What inspired the Bloodline?
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of people who were born to be protectors, to have fighting evil in their very blood. When the Order fleshed out in my writing, it just flowed naturally into the Bloodline. Of course, I wanted to be certain that they weren’t just fated to be good. Free will had to be represented, so those of the Blood are tempted and tested. Some pass. Some fail.
I’m a little bit of a history nerd, so I always get excited when I see hints that there’s going to be a history of the world dropped in the story. Will we see more history relating to the blood knights?
Absolutely. I have big plans for the Order and the Knights. I’m working on building the history of the Order and the stories of the individual knights are just begging to be told.
Who are your favorite authors?
I have several, actually. Stephen King has always been one of my favorites. I’ve loved Tolkien since I was ten. Jim Butcher was a big influence on my writing. And I have to mention the genius of Neil Gaiman. I’m a big fan.
What can we expect next from you?
I’m already working on the sequel to A Knight of the Blood, as well as several other works. I’m excited about them and can’t wait to get them ready for reading. I’m working on more urban fantasy, but also thriller and mystery works.
A Knight of The Blood
By Kenneth Barber
Griffin, an expert wiseass, has never experienced true horror until his father is killed by a foul beast that certainly seems like but is, apparently, not a werewolf—according to the knight who saves him from the same fate, anyway. He’s also never met a real knight before. Or had superhuman speed. Or strength. Or met his soul mate. Who knew the capacity for it all was in his blood all along?
Encountering the ancient Order of the Guardians and taking his place a defender against creatures of darkness awakens Griffin to a host of experiences, both human and supernatural—and often unnerving. Between monsters, psychotic enemies, and secretive knights, can Griffin and the rest of the Order hold back evil...or even survive?
Join us next week when we pick back up our world building series, talking about the history of your world.
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Can't wait? Check out our website for available books!
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