Today I'm hosting Raymond Masters as he stops by on his Forging Truth blog tour. He tells us a little bit about himself, as well as about his book, aptly named Forging Truth.
Hello, everyone. My name is Raymond F. Masters; and like
many of you, I wouldn't be where I am today without the love and support of my
mother. We just celebrated Mother's Day over at my grandmother's house, and it
was wonderful to be around the family again. So, what did I get for the mothers
in my life? Well, books, of course. I gave my mom the newest Dark Tower novel,
The Wind Through the Keyhole. My son and I gave my wife the latest in the
Infernal Devices and Mortal Instruments series.
My mother has always been an ambassador to other worlds.
When I was in elementary, she and I would travel into various Hank the Cowdog
or Rats of NIMH books. In high school, these were shelved to make room for the
Star Trek: The Next Generation novels. She introduced me to the joy of not only
being read to, but also of reading aloud to others. Oftentimes, we would trade
off reading by alternating chapters.
Oh, and the voices…! She would do the most incredible
variety of characters. Though neither of us realized it, this was the biggie
that would forever shape my future writing. Thanks to mom's characterizations,
I developed a real ear for dialog. Of course, I'm biased here, but I feel the
beats between characters, and even the voice of my stories, come across much
better than they would have, otherwise.
I feel this has also shaped the type of story to which I am
drawn. I like action, drama, and comedy as much as the next reader, but if the
story is lacking character, then I find myself checking out sooner rather than
later. Moreover, I have carried that love of character over to my writing. I do
have the elements I listed, above, all throughout Forging Truth, but it's the
character interactions between Kade and Caduceus or Kade and Mao that truly
makes it real.
As a way of offering thanks, I dedicated my first novel,
Forging Truth, to my mother. As it says, she's been my lifelong friend and
grammar coach. Naturally, my novel has some grammatical errors, but as the song
says, "Momma tried."
I dedicate this
novel to Fonda Masters, the best mother a boy could ask for. Any love and power
that show through the character of Tabitha Truth comes directly from her. She’s
my lifelong friend and grammar coach.
Tabitha is, of course, Kade's mother. As the reader
discovers, there have been certain hardships in their relationship. As the
story begins, that relationship is pretty strained, in fact. The two haven't
spoken in far too long. It's revealed over time that Tabitha had a reason for
taking the actions, which caused the rift between mother and son.
Moms always have their reasons. Sons often forget this.
Tabitha is, indeed, a very strong and caring mother. She's
spiritual and deeply rooted in her beliefs. She has passed this along to her
son, as did my own mom. It is this compassion that has helped to wind Kade's
moral compass.
But will his compass always point to true north? Well,
you'll have to wait until Corrupting Truth for that answer. Until then, please, check the first book in
the series via the links below. Thanks for letting me play in your sandbox. Oh,
and please, drop me a line and let me know what you think of the book.
Well, there you go. Thanks Raymond, it was a pleasure to meet you and letting us get to know you a little. And if you'd like to find him or his book on the web, see the links below:
Kickstarter Fundraiser:
Thanks everyone for stopping by.
Cheers!
I love the thought of you and your mother alternating chapters as you read out loud to each other. What a great thing to share. Thanks for the post, Raymond, and all the best with your book.
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