Meet Colin Sephton, author of SHADOWSLAYERS, as he describes the story, discusses the book's themes, and raises questions! @GoddessFish

SHADOWSLAYERS

Colin Sephton

Please welcome Colin Sephton to the blog today!

Shadowslayers is the second novel in a trilogy. It’s a blend of steampunk adventure, cosmic mythology, metaphysics, and mysticism. It’s about the discovery of the Book of Shadows which is difficult to find, without giving away too much plot. Early on doppelgangers start appearing in Oxford, England, and the two protagonists Ignatius and Indigo find themselves on a cosmic quest. Racing against other versions of themselves and visiting the Oracle they are given prophecies of terrible destruction that will engulf the cosmos in darkness. Opening the book is like a Pandora’s box, leading to dreadful consequences for themselves, the world and the whole of creation. In doing so, they must protect not only England and the Empire, but the world and the cosmos. I think it’s much darker than Timeslayers, the first novel in the trilogy.

The story plays out with a collection of beliefs that are very ancient but seem to be coming together as truth as modern day science develops. So, it deals with themes like consciousness, both individual, collective and cosmic consciousness, free will, the flow of time and the possibility we live in a multiverse.

It’s a deep psychological and spiritual inquiry and, therefore, at its heart it asks what is consciousness? Can we alter fate? And what does it mean to be whole in a fragmented universe? Ignatius and Indigo are struggling to come to terms with the events of the first novel when they are unwillingly thrust into another cosmic adventure. Their relationship with each other may be due to affection, but it may also be out of necessity because they are the only two humans who have shared this experience. They have different personalities, Ignatius often symbolizes reason, tradition, or structured inquiry, and Indigo represents intuition, inner knowing, and spiritual receptivity.

Genre: Steampunk Fantasy

 

About the Book:

When doppelgangers start appearing in Oxford, Union Jack agents Ignatius and Indigo find themselves on another cosmic quest, one they didn’t set out to investigate.

Drawn into the search for the elusive and dangerous Book of Shadows, they find themselves traveling across the cosmos once again, racing against other versions of themselves, and visiting the Oracle to be given prophecies of terrible destruction that will engulf the cosmos in darkness. Only these two heroes—or their doubles—can open the book, which would lead to dreadful consequences for themselves, the world and the whole of creation.

The agents must outwit their own mirror souls and invade the impregnable Administorium, which holds the answers they need but also fearsome enemies of both the Union Jacks and the entire cosmos. In this quest, Ignatius and Indigo must protect not only England and the Empire, but the world and the cosmos.


Read Excerpt One:

As the shadowy figure moved from shelf to shelf, ornate gilt decoration caught what dim light there was on his grey-turquoise armour. Carvings of ancient scribes and tomes written to record the passing of aeons on many worlds across many planes. The books he tended were part of the vast repository of information that he had collected through his long lifetime. Books here took the form of sacred texts carved in clay, or written on scrolls of vellum, or even human skin. Enormous tooled leather-bound volumes with gilt pages or with golden clasps, some were chained and bound, their knowledge too dangerous to be shared or accessed by mere mortals. The shelves had been arranged by subject and ordered in a timeline for each category. There wasn’t any index system. The Librarian worked using only his memory, knowing each and every volume, regardless of when it was written or when it was obtained. Nothing was forgotten, his memory was a storehouse of wisdom and knowledge from across the cosmos.

With his brother and sister, they had probably gathered the entire history of the cosmos. From time to time, they would travel the astral planes in search of new knowledge and rendezvous every millennium to discuss and compare notes to set quests for each of them to fulfil in the search of even more ancient texts. Legend had it the three siblings were born of the Goddess of Wisdom and their father was a High Priest of the Ti-Botta.

Meet the Author:



Colin was born in Coventry and worked in the automotive industry for over twenty years before becoming an Engineering teacher. Obtaining his first library card at the age of thirteen, he became an avid reader of Fantasy and the mysteries of the Universe. He has an inbuilt curiosity for lost knowledge and ancient texts that may help to unlock the secrets of consciousness and the universe. Living in Oxford for many years, he has now moved back to his home county of Warwickshire where he enjoys creating and working with his wife on their garden in which he writes and entertains their two grandsons. He has always been an artist and writer and is inspired by the worlds created by Robert E Howard and Michael Moorcock, with the artwork of Frank Frazetta.

Connect with Colin on Instagram at @timeslayers or @sephtonart

Find Colin’s website here: colinsephton.com

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Colin Sephton will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.



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