Featured Author: Hans Victor von Maltzahn
Today's featured author is Hans Victor von Maltzahn, the author of the
well received, THE BLACK SUN ASCENDANT: An Assassins Tale (2011). Hans was born in
Dublin, Ireland, and raised in North York, Ontario, Canada.
An
author of poetry and non-fiction, Hans became serious about fiction in 2006
when he started to write the Black Sun book series. He has just completed AN
EARTH ECLIPSED: An Assassin’s Revenge (2014), Book Two in the series,
and has begun the last book in the series, tentatively entitled, A
BRILLIANT DAWN: An Assassin’s Redemption.
He
currently lives in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada with his wife Joanne. I had a little chat with Hans and this is what he had to say :-)
Why do you write?
I write for fun and creativity. I also
enjoy seeing people pick up my books and become enthralled by their stories;
that for me is the most satisfying of feelings, that I can capture a reader’s
imagination with a story that I have produced - that’s what keeps me writing!
Which writers inspire you?
It was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s clear and
precise prose, especially in his Sherlock Holmes stories, that first drew my
attention to him; his style was very different from many of his Victorian
contemporaries. He will always be my number one favourite author in both
fiction and non-fiction work.
From
Conan Doyle I advanced to authors like Tolstoy, George Orwell, and Ernest
Hemingway, because all these men displayed the type of prose to which I would
eventually like to aspire.
What is your favorite book
and why?
My all-time favourite book has to be the
collection of Conan Doyle’s “Brigadier Gerard” stories. These stories
follow the exploits of one of Napoleon’s brigadiers during the Napoleonic Wars.
Gerard is a pompous, vain, irascible character with a big heart and much
energy, and a penchant for getting himself into trouble, all for a good cause –
either women, or his beloved emperor.
The
stories are in an easy to read style. A style that invites the readers along
for the adventure, and keeps their attention until the bitter end. Conan Doyle
also includes many historical details that, as a history lover, I drink in. He
always made sure to do extensive research before embarking on any of his books.
Two
non-fiction books are also my all-time favourites: A History of Reading by
Alberto Manguel (c. 1996) and Planet Word by J.P. Davidson (c.
2012, with forward by Stephen Fry, who was to go on to host the BBC documentary
series of the same name, and based on the book by Davidson). Both write about
the history of human language, both oral and written, and the importance that
it has had on our evolution. Well written and insightful, these are must-reads
for authors and anyone else who loves language in any of its forms.
What do you think is the
easiest thing about writing? What is the most difficult?
When ‘all the planets are aligned’, and I
sit down to write, that moment when I fall into ‘the groove’ and the words just
flow through my fingers and onto the page – that is the easiest thing I find
about writing.
I
have two difficulties: 1. beginning that first paragraph, of any chapter, in
order to get the word-tap flowing is always hard, and I’ll rewrite the same
paragraph maybe five or six times before it feels right; 2. EDITING – I hate
EDITING! However, editing is unavoidable – so I just grin and bare it.
From books that have already
been published by other authors, which book do you wish you had written?
I love George Orwell’s Animal Farm and its
message, and I wish that I had written this one, since its message is still
very relevant today. When I read the book in grade nine, for a class
assignment, its message did not fully dawn on me until I finished it, and
realized what a perfect metaphor it was for our modern, democratic society.
We
still see blatant examples of those individuals that consider themselves
(insert politicians, celebrities, business moguls, etc.) 'more equal' than the
rest of us, and therefore, not subject to the same restrictions as the rest of
us, or feel that they are ‘above the law’.
How do you market your books?
I mainly market my print books through
authors’ meet-and-greet forums, writing group gatherings, and talks that I may
give to the public. I should be doing more to sell my books, but I am just too
busy writing this three-book series (one book left to go).
Smashwords.com
and Amazon.com, and their respective affiliates, market my eBook very well, so I
have quite a web presence and sales have been moving along nicely.
Any new release? If yes, what
is it about?
My newest release (Dec. 2014) is a sequel
to my first book, THE BLACK SUN ASCENDANT: An Assassin’s Tale, c. 2011, and is
called: AN EARTH ECLIPSED: An Assassin’s Revenge, c. 2014. The Black
Sun Series of books follows the adventures of an assassin by the name of Victor
Colvin, and the female archaeologist, Dr. Ahu Eser, whose lives are
inextricably tied together in the first book.
Book blurb
Dr. Ahu Eser, archaeologist, is missing and
presumed kidnapped, while the charred remains of her colleague have been
discovered in a burned out SUV in London, England. Artifacts unearthed and
subsequently stolen from an excavation in which the deceased worked, prompts
the authorities and the archaeological community to wonder if these incidents
are related.
Follow
Victor Colvin, assassin and associate of Dr. Eser, as he searches for the
missing academic, battling to find her before her captors no longer require her
expertise.
At
the same time, diplomacy in the Middle East deteriorates as the tension between
Israel and her Muslim neighbours’ increases - pushing all involved closer to
war. When a maniacal business tycoon, with a penchant for archaeology, and her
associates position themselves to benefit from the coming confrontation, they
begin the process that will force America, Europe and their allies to choose
sides in the coming, day of reckoning.
A
missing archaeologist, an assassin with unfinished business, and a powerful
enemy with revenge on her mind - continue the adventure in AN EARTH ECLIPSED:
An Assassin’s Revenge, Book 2 of the Black Sun Series.
Book excerpt:
AN EARTH
ECLIPSED: An Assassin's Revenge
A
cache of cuneiform tablets disappears in 1999, from the Sagalassos excavation
in Western Anatolia, Turkey. Archaeologist Dr. Ahu Eser and assassin Victor
Colvin recovered the stolen artifacts from the bowels of Casa Loma in Toronto,
Canada. Two years later, the tablets disappeared again, this time from the
vaults of a museum in downtown Toronto. Who the perpetrators of these thefts
are, remains a mystery.
Dr. Eser, formerly the Chief
Archaeologist of the Sagalassos excavation, narrowly escaped dying from a
gunshot wound. Through her tenacity of will and against the advice of doctors
and friends, she forced herself back to work as professor of Middle Eastern
studies at Ankara University in Turkey. Her physical recovery from the damage
caused by the sniper’s bullet has been remarkable; her psychological recovery
however, has yet to be determined.
As for the assassin, Victor Colvin, who
was the target of that sniper’s bullet – there has been no sign. Last seen in a
café, in a small Turkish town on the Bosporus and surrounded by police, his
present whereabouts are unknown.
“In politics, nothing happens by
accident.
If it happens, you can bet it was
planned that way.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Western
Pomerania, Germany, 1991.
Victor Colvin, assassin, lay among heaps of twisted
metal, smoking chunks of debris and broken glass. He was dazed and bleeding,
prostrate and barely able to move, lying on the road near the obliterated remains
of a Mercedes sedan and near victim of his first assassination attempt. The air
surrounding him roiled, driven by the blaze that engulfed the vehicle and that
spewed out an acrid fiery stench.
He
struggled to clear the confusion that cluttered his thoughts and overpowered
his senses; testing his limbs, and found his movements were slow and ungainly.
The act of standing set off a shooting pain that raced through his spine,
blasted into his brain, and caused a dizziness that again sent him toppling to
the pavement.
As he
lay there face down, eyes burning and ears ringing, he unexpectedly felt a firm
hand take him under the arm and lift him into an environment much darker,
cooler, and quieter than the inferno outside. The assassin’s confused brain barely
recognized a voice drifting from somewhere within this sanctuary, saying, “You
should have taken greater care, Mr. Colvin…” However, the rest of the rebuke
remained a mystery as his head lolled sideways and he slipped into
unconsciousness.
*****
Baden-Wurttemberg,
southwestern Germany, late October 2005.
Foreign
Minister Hartmann had made this trip many times before. Karlsruhe’s federal
court buildings provided a convenient setting for the ‘private’ negotiations
that the German government had from time to time. Today’s meeting was to tie up
the finer details of an industrial investment-for-energy contract that Germany
wanted with her largest energy provider, Russia.
Prior meetings between he and his
Russian counterpart had gone well, yet some details remained worrying to him.
The Russians insisted on using Sonnenaufgangindustries GmbH (Sunrise Industries
Inc.) as their sole source, infrastructure contractor for their South Stream
natural gas pipeline - leaving Germany at the mercy of a single, industrial/energy
behemoth.
Another point of contention was the
Russian President’s demands that Germany’s official representative for all
energy deals in the future, had to be the young Baroness von Sonnenfinsternis.
Here was a clear conflict of interest for the German government since von
Sonnenfinsternis was the CEO and majority shareholder of Sunrise Industries.
However, to cement assurances that the Russians would supply a reliable stream
of natural gas and oil to his country well into the twenty-first century, he
had to accept the President's unpopular request.
The Baroness was the daughter and sole
heir of the late Siegfried Wolfram, Baron von Sonnenfinsternis. After his
death, she had inherited an industrial empire that made her one of the richest
women in Europe, even before reaching the age of 35.
However, with the meeting behind him
now, Hartmann put these disquieting thoughts out of his mind and shifted his
Audi from the A5 highway. He had entered the Black Forest on the B500 and the
car flew effortlessly along the well-maintained road with the Rhine Valley to
his right and the thick, evergreen forest on both sides. The sun was almost
below the horizon and the shadows of the giant firs lay long over the asphalt.
As he noted their pungent scent lingering in the crisp autumn air, his mood
lightened.
Now views of the Rhine Valley emerged
through breaks in the conifers spreading out along the western side of the
highway, while the land to his left abruptly rose, telling him that he had
reached the foot of the Hornisgrinde Mountain. The Audi continued swiftly along
the road, curving first west and then jogging back to the east as it hugged the
mountain’s base.
Accelerating around the final curve,
Hartmann’s reverie dissolved as his headlights illuminated a mature stag that
stood in the middle of the road. Awash in the lamps’ icy glow, the beast’s
silhouette contrasted sharply against the darkened forest. He pushed hard on
the brakes, forcing his car into a skid. Hearing the throaty roar of the Red
stag, he jerked his steering wheel to the right in an attempt to avoid hitting
the animal, but became resigned to the inevitable; Hartmann watched trance-like
as the distance disappeared between his car and the beast.
Its bellow over, this great stag turned
its shaggy head toward the minister, its eyes glowing a phosphorescent crimson.
Hartmann perceived a look of mockery crossing the animal’s face, which seared
its image into his mind. Surprisingly the stag evaporated, like a mirage, as
man and machine rocketed through where it had stood.
“Kristi…” the name involuntarily slipped
from the minister’s lips.
With the shock of what just happened, a
vice-like grip took hold of his heart. The man gasped for air, his body growing
numb and he passed out, his foot slipping from the brake. Now with its movement
unimpeded, the vehicle freely careened into the dense evergreens at the side of
the highway. The mangled Audi came to rest against a tree, its driver lying
dead, slumped over the steering wheel. As the chaos faded, the peaceful sounds
of night returned to take its place.
You can also connect with Hans:
Amazon Author Page:
Goodreads Page: (still very
new, as of Jan. 2015)
Book Links:
Lucid
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