{What's On Your Kindle?} James Calbraith on The Flying Barons of Negriponte
They killed her father. They took her ship. But nothing will stop Ikaria's vengeance.
Forty years since Constantinople fell to the Venetian flying citadels, high-altitude Aether racing is the favoured pastime of bored, wealthy Latin nobles. Ikaria, proud daughter of a legendary Aether engineer and one of the best racing pilots in the Aegean, is determined to uncover the truth behind her father's mysterious disappearance at the end of the last Grande Regatta of Negriponte.
Driven by the thirst of vengeance and pursuit of engineering excellence in equal measures, Ikaria vows to win the next Regatta herself - and to find out what really happened to her father. But there's a catch: a new Imperial edict bars her, and anyone not of noble blood, from taking part in Aether races. To her rescue comes Sire Mikhael of Chiarenza - an enigmatic handsome young Greek turncoat in the service of new Latin masters. His motivations unclear, the source of his funds and supplies a secret, Ikaria nonetheless agrees to accept his help: together, they set out to challenge the supremacy of the six Hexarchs, the infamous Flying Barons of Negriponte.
Book Information
Release Date: September 20, 2023
Publisher: Flying Squid
Kindle eBook: 2784 KB; $4.49 (FREE ON KINDLE UNLIMITED)
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CJKXXQB1
Growing up in communist Poland on a diet of powdered milk, “Lord of the Rings” and soviet science-fiction, he had his first story published at the ripe age of eight. After years of bouncing around Polish universities, he moved to London in 2007 and started writing in English. Now lives in Edinburgh, hoping for an independent Scotland.
His debut historical fantasy novel, “The Shadow of Black Wings“, has reached Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award semi-finals in 2012. “The Year of the Dragon” saga sold over 30,000 copies worldwide.
His new historical fiction saga, “The Song of Ash” has been on top of Amazon’s Bestseller lists in UK for months.
Connect with James:
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Your book, The Flying Barons of Negriponte, sounds absolutely awesome. Can you tell us the story behind that intriguing title?
Negriponte is the name Venetian crusaders gave to the island of Euboea, near Athens in Greece. In the 13th century, the conquerors of the Fourth Crusade established there an unusual system of rule, a Hexarchy of six barons controlling six parts of the island.
Unusually (for me) the full title came to my mind as I was reading on this little know part of medieval history. To explain who the barons were, how were they flying, and why, I had to work backwards; in this fantasy retelling, the six barons use their alchemy-powered flying machines to decide among themselves who is the overlord of the island and the master of its main city and harbour.
Can you tell us a little about your main characters?
Young Ikaria is a brilliant alchemist, engineer and pilot of flying boats; she doesn't belong to the six families of Negriponte - she's a half-Greek, and considers herself part of the island's native population, oppressed by the Crusaders. Her dream is to win Negriponte's famous great race, the Grande Regatta - but as a commoner, she's banned from taking part. Her only hope of joining the race - and discovering the truth of the death of her father in the same race ten years ago - is allying herself with the mysterious Greek nobleman, Mikhael.
Where is your book set and why did you choose that particular location?
A candlepunk version of 13th century Aegean, just after the Fourth Crusade and the Fall of Constantinople, where secret Venetian alchemy allows ships to fly on the Aether, and create powerful weapons capable of bringing down entire cities.
I always tend to pick more obscure periods and locations for my books. In this case, as I mentioned, I worked from the title backwards - I simply had to write a book about the mysterious barons and their flying machines.
What part would you say was the most exciting to write about?
As a writer of historical and history-inspired fiction, the most exciting part for me is always the research. I will lose myself in reading and discovering the increasingly tiny and obscure details of the place and the period, and often have to force myself to go back to writing the story. A large part of editing the first draft is always cutting down on these details, otherwise I might as well be writing an encyclopedia, not a novel!
What's next for you?
Two more books in the Aether Empire trilogy, continuing Ikaria and Mikhael's story. The second one, The Sky Pirates of Morea, is half-way through, hoping to get this one out before the end of the year and move onto the final one.
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