Secrets of the Alchemist
by J.L. Burger
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy Adventure
Length: 391 pages
Release Date: April 2014
ISBN-13: 978-0615984827
Imprint: Mythos Press
Synopsis:
What are Nora and Tomik to
do? They’ve been transported 400 years back in history, and have no clue how to
get back home. The members of the Royal Court refuse to let them leave –
everyone believes that the children are wizards, come to save their struggling
empire.
Well, not quite everyone. The wicked chamberlain
wants to toss the children into the castle’s deepest dungeon. The crazed,
witch-hunting duke is starting to look at them funny. But worst of all is the
emperor’s prized alchemist. He just wants them dead – and has a bag full of
sinister tricks to make it happen.
It looks like the only way out of this
predicament is to save the empire, after all. But how? Nora will have to come
up with some magic of her own, and fast – for his next trick, the scheming
alchemist is planning to make the children disappear… forever!
Buy Links:
Guest Post - Nothing's More Fun Than Writing Villains
According to Wikipedia, this is what a villain looks like (see picture on the left).
Let’s face it; few things are better than a
good villain. Readers need someone to hate,
to fear, but at the same time to admire – someone to create conflict.[1] For the
writer, the villain is an even better prize: first, you craft a character
with deliciously wicked qualities; then, you build him or her up until he seems
invincible, teetering on the brink of victory; and finally, BOOM! You get to decide what kind of an ending the
rascal deserves, and slap him in the face with it (or reward him with it, as
the case may be).
One of the main reasons why Secrets of the Alchemist was fun to
write was that it has not just one, but two delectably devious villains. Each is unique in his own way, yet each
equally villainous. Creating them and
chronicling their evil schemes was a lot of fun.
The
Alchemist: Edward
Kelley is a master of deception – he’ll mix a potion or summon a spirit that
will have you gaping in awe first, and then eating out of his hand. Eager to be the center of attention, he knows
how to find easy targets and exploit their gullibility and superstition. This, mixed with his mastery of chemistry and
sleight-of-hand, make him a force to be reckoned with.
The Chamberlain: Philip Lang prefers
to work behind the scenes. What he
suggests to the emperor before breakfast usually becomes the law of the
land. Although Lang seldom takes the
lead, his invisible hand is unavoidable as he manipulates the members of the
Royal Court to get him what he wants – most of all, money!
Of course, every villain has his or her own
personality. Here are a few of the common
themes that I’ve noticed make good villains fun:
1. We all need someone to
hate: The villain must spark some negative emotion
in the reader. He doesn’t have to
strangle a kitten on the first page (although it can’t hurt!), but the villain
must generally strive for goals that we find objectionable.
He is also generally
unscrupulous. There’s no time to waste
on morality in pursuing his goals. Not
to harp on the kitten analogy, but if there’s one in the villain’s way, it’s
probably going to get it! These two
attributes alone may be what distinguishes the villain from the hero, because...
2.
The villain must be in some way admirable, possibly even likeable: Just because the villain sparks negative emotion doesn’t mean that she
cannot also spark positive feelings. In
order to be an effective counterpart to the hero, the villain must at the very
least be capable, cunning and determined.
As both a reader and a writer, I often find myself rooting for the
villain at times. It’s not until the
villain has really shown her powers that one can see how daunting it will be to
defeat her.
3.
The villain must show humanity: Maybe not in a comic book, but in general we
need to see some of the villain’s weaknesses, some humanity to make him a
realistic character. There may be a sad
underlying reason why he has chosen his repulsive goals and methods. We might even find ourselves sympathizing with
him a bit… just not too much!
4. The villain’s triumphs
build suspense: During the course of the novel, the villain must employ his powers
to successfully achieve several objectives on the way to reaching his ultimate
goal. This builds up conflict and
suspense. At some point in the book,
things need to be looking very dire for our hero. That, perhaps, is the point at which we stop
rooting for the villain.
5. The villain’s end – handle
with care: Deciding how our villain gets his
comeuppance is a matter not to be taken lightly. First of all, things shouldn’t be too
easy. They don’t even need to wrap up
perfectly. It all depends on what kind
of a feeling you want your reader to end with.
With all of the above having
been said, it’s hard to believe just how many different types of villains there
are out there. I guess it’s a testament
to the ingenuity of all of us writers that we keep coming up with new stuff!
My favorite
villain of all time? Hands down – Nurse
Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s
Nest. She’s got the complete
package, in an incredibly understated but horrifying way! Who’s your favorite villain?
This is what a REAL villain looks like (see picture on the right).
[1] I should note here that I am referring to novels where the villain
is known. The commentary here does not
apply to mystery or suspense stories, where the villain may not be known until
the end. In such cases, the build-up of
villainous characteristics is quite different, remaining veiled in mystery.
About the Author
It was at an early age that J.L. Burger discovered the
secret to traveling in time. Since then, he has scoured the universe, searching
for the deepest mystical knowledge, sowing discord and trouble along the way.
He was most recently sighted in ancient Troy, making tasteless jokes about the
hole through which the Greeks exited the rear of the Trojan Horse. His most
horrific stunt of all, however, was grossly overcooking s’mores in his
microwave last summer. Unfortunately, there are some mysteries that are not
meant to be solved…
When not traveling in time and space, he resides in
New Jersey with his lovely wife, two mostly-charming daughters, and two
mostly-smelly dogs. He spends his summers in Europe, inspecting the most recent
advances in medieval torture devices.
Author Links:
***GIVEAWAY***
5 Kindle, ePub or PDF copies of Secrets of the Alchemist up for grabs.
Ends June 29th (midnight GMT).
International giveaway.
Contest is void where prohibited. Entrants must be 13 or else have parent or guardian’s permission to enter. Winners will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be selected. The winner will be posted on this page after the winner responds. Winning entries will be verified for authenticity.
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To many to list, but from the top of my head and because I love the books "Voldemort"
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