Entromancy by M.S. Farzan

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Why do you write in your genre? What draws you to it?

That’s a great question! I started reading fantasy at an early age, and I’ve always felt drawn to the genre. I think whenever you spend time with something, whether it be reading in a genre or learning a new hobby, it’s natural to want to start making your own mark in that discipline. I started writing my own stories many years ago, and the hobby turned into a profession. Now it just feels like home.

What world-building is required?

Quite a bit of world-building is required, at least for the genre of novels that I write! It’s very important to me that characters, locations, political systems, magic, and action all feel natural and internally cohesive. Before writing the original manuscript for Entromancy, I spent about four years making notes about character backgrounds, world history, and magic systems, to make sure that I had a strong base that could be conveyed throughout the narrative. I’m currently working on a roleplaying game based on the Entromancy world, and it’s helping me further develop these core concepts.

Name one thing you learned from your hero/heroine.

Eskander gets beat up a lot and is teaching me that no matter how many times you get knocked down, you must always get back up and try again.

Do you have any odd or interesting writing quirks, habits or superstitions?

Not really! When I first started writing, I definitely ritualized my writing process, but that’s been beaten out of me after years of working for fast-paced editorial websites and video game companies. They tend to have quick deadlines and intense turnaround times. I kind of miss having a steady writing location and schedule, but have become accustomed to writing anywhere, and in the in-between spaces of the day.

Are you a plotter or pantser?

Plotter for sure. I’m always thinking through character motivations and plot arcs, and usually draft a chapter outline before getting to the nitty-gritty of building a narrative.

Look to your right – what’s sitting there?

It may sound cliché, but I have a paperback copy of Entromancy sitting on the desk to my right. I try to keep one nearby at all times, in case I need it for reference or as a quick gift to someone.

Anything new coming up from you? What?

Quite a whole lot, in fact! I’m working on Technomancy, the second book in The Nightpath Trilogy, and have just completed the manuscript for a separate, standalone young adult novel.

Do you have a question for our readers?

I’d love to know what kinds of hobbies you have. Do you write as well? Let me know!

2076 is not a good year to be a special agent. A quarter of the world's power runs on ceridium, a newly discovered element that has had the unintended consequence of spawning a new race of people, and several forms of magic that were once thought to have been forgotten. Eskander Aradowsi is an agent of NIGHT, a paramilitary force created to contain and control this new perceived threat, but he soon learns that not all within his organization is as it seems. A botched mission turns out to be the least of his troubles, when he unearths a plot that threatens the uneasy truce between the aurics and humans of San Francisco, and centers on a form of magic that toys with the very fabric of the universe: Entromancy.

Read an excerpt:

I fought to stay calm. I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears, matching the drumming in my temple, and I kept forgetting to breathe. I hedged, knowing that I could leave, taking the auric with me for questioning, but I wouldn’t have time to evacuate the people upstairs. I wasn’t familiar with being unsure of my next course of action, and I didn’t care for the feeling.

I had neither the time to give the defuse protocol another try nor the skillset to hack into the device and do it the hard way. I synced the timer with my digitab and saw the countdown appear in my lenses. Pocketing the digitab, I released my knee from the auric’s throat and grabbed him by the collar.

“What’s the code?” I snarled at him.

“What?” he said thickly. I could see the blood staining his white teeth.

“Don’t play stupid with me,” I said, shaking him. “What’s the code?”

“The hell, man? What code?”

I could see that he had no idea what I was talking about. I glanced back at the bomb and up at the time display. 21:27:24, three minutes and thirty-six seconds.

The auric craned his neck to follow my gaze, then looked at me. I could see understanding register in his eyes.

“We’re dead?” he queried.

I nodded absently, reaching for another ceridium capsule. Prying off a glove with my teeth, I reached out towards the device.

The auric’s hand shot up and grabbed weakly at my wrist. “You’re going to kill us, man!” he protested.

“Probably!” I looked back towards a side entrance next to the counter. “Can you open that?”

He hesitated, then nodded slightly.

“Do it,” I said. He got up slowly and trotted over to the door.

About the Author:

M. S. Farzan was born in London, UK and grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has a B.A. in Integrative Biology, M.A. in Religious Leadership for Social Change, and Ph.D. in Cultural and Historical Studies of Religions. He has written and worked for high-profile video game companies and editorial websites such as Electronic Arts, Perfect World Entertainment, and MMORPG.com, and has trained in and taught Japanese martial arts for over ten years. He also enjoys soccer, baseball, and games of all kinds.

Buy the book at https://www.amazon.com/Entromancy-Nightpath-Trilogy-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0161VPC90/

Website: http://www.entromancy.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sominator

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