Authors are allowed to ‘review’ their own books in Goodreads. Below is the review for my latest fantasy novel, The Jinn and the Two Kingdoms (Amazon link: https://amzn.to/3tbn5UU ).
“Thiago doesn’t think of himself as a demon, but he is. He’s a thief too, and therein lies this story.”
The blurb for The Jinn and the Two Kingdom tells you what I wrote. You can decide how well I wrote it when you read the story. Here, I’ll tell you why I wrote it.
First, I wanted to write a fantasy that was true to the genre’s spirit, but add my own voice to make the story original, fun and fast-moving.
Second, I wanted to create interesting, ‘non-standard’ fantasy characters and drop them into a complex, violent supernatural setting and see what happened. The main character is Thiago, a jinn who’s a misfit among demons and proud of it. Potentially, he has a friend in Lubna who is steeped in books and learning, but wants to see the world beyond her library. And then there’s Lila, a malevolent spirit who was once Thiago’s lover and is his current nemesis. They collide and compete with each other and encounter an assortment of natural and unnatural beings including bandits who can morph into fire and a fleet of Vikings intent on recovering a treasure beyond counting. Thiago is after the treasure too.
Further, I wanted to build a world for my characters in ‘untypical’ fantasy locations. Instead of the quasi-European, never-never land found in a lot of high fantasy, The Jinn and the Two Kingdoms occurs in several intriguing locations including medieval Arabia and Islamic Spain. I also invented a magical world of mystical beings living in mile-high castles who use rapacious creatures to eat their rivals. The human and magical worlds are connected by a portal which Thiago exploits for his adventures and thievery. This portal also enables demons from the magical world to invade human realms; the portal may enable a war between the human and demon worlds unless Thiago can stop it.
And then, there are the ideas/themes that I wanted to integrate into the story. Among these themes are how knowledge is threatened by violent, unsettled times and how an outlaw/rebel (Thiago) realizes he can’t take on the world alone.
I write modern fantasy novels that are hopefully both exciting and literate. These novels include an on-going series about a near-immortal magician who grew up in Camelot and grew famous in San Francisco's 'Summer of Love'. He's still having adventures to this day described in The Lords of the Summer Season, The Lords of Powder, and The Lords of Oblivion. The books can be read in any order.
As author S Alessandro Martinez has stated about the series:
"Lords of Oblivion
A 1500-year-old wizard. A pair of savage druids raised from the dead. Modern day San Francisco. A wolf that takes no gruff. Blaisdell creates a fascinating world in this magical realism novel with smart writing, complex characters, and clever use of history and mythology. I was sucked in from the very beginning. I look forward to more of Bradan and Tintagel's mystical adventures.
Lords of Powder
Merlin's former apprentice, Bradan, is back! The 1500-year-old wizard, who is sometimes too smart for his own good, returns for another exciting adventure, this time in 70s Miami as he takes on the criminal world of drug trafficking. Blaisdell's smart, fast-paced writing and use of fascinating history and mythology keeps you on the edge of your seat as Bradan uses his wits, charm, and illusions to navigate the modern era and get himself into plenty of trouble.
Lords of the Summer Season
Being Merlin's former apprentice and living for 1500 years is bound to make you a few enemies. Travel back to the 60s with Bradan the wizard and his otherworldly wolf Tintagel. As Bradan juggles careers as a professor and musician, he must defend himself from his greatest threat yet: a literal god. Blaisdell continues with his clever, skillful, and imaginative writing that will keep readers eagerly turning the next page. My favorite of the Bradan books, Blaisdell dives deeper into the Arthur mythology, and brings the reader even more elements of magic and folklore, all the while weaving an entertaining tale of gods, wizards, ghosts, and 60s acid rock. Thoroughly enjoyable!"
Besides the literary side of my life, my background includes membership on a scientific advisory board for a non-profit professional organization promoting the biomedical and digital health business community in the greater Los Angeles area.
I’ve authored both basic research publications and business management articles focusing on the bio/pharma industry. My Ph.D. is in Biochemistry from the University of Minnesota where I also conducted post-doctoral research in microbiology. And my BS is from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) with a double major in chemistry and cell biology.
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Blaisdell Literary Enterprises 