Welcome to the 2023 ARIA Author Showcase and Giveaway Event! 

  

  

How to enter – Comment on the daily showcases to enter the daily giveaway. Comments close one week after the initial Showcase post. GRAND PRIZE drawn on Dec 8th (1 -$250, 1 -$100, or a 1 -$50 Amazon gift card. One grand prize pp) – For every showcase you post on, you automatically gain one entry to the grand prize. 30 Authors = 30 entries.    

J.W. Elliot will be at the Rhode Island Author Expo   

On to the Showcase! 

 

What name do you like to write under?  J.W. Elliot 

Where do you call home? Middleboro, MA 

What genre(s) do you write? Fantasy, Science Fiction, Action Adventure, Historical 

What genre(s) were you drawn to when you were younger Was there a reason that genre(s) appealed to you the most? Fantasy and Science Fiction; I love history and exploring real and imagined worlds. 

What were some of your favorite books growing up? Why? Lord of the Rings, Katherine Kurtz's Deryni Series, Ursula K. Le Guin's Earth Sea Trilogy 

What are some of your favorite books today? Brandon Sanderson's Reckoners and Mistborn Series, Christopher Paul Curtis's Bud Not Buddy, Richard Peck's Long Way from Chicago 

What inspired you to become a writer?  The love of stories, real and fictional. 

 

Archer of the Heathland Series 

Brion of Wexford must become more than a simple archer if he is to survive the savage violence of the heathland and save the ones he loves. All the while, he is haunted by a past he had no part in making while being drawn into events he cannot control by forces he does not understand. Book 1: Deliverance: Brion never meant to start a war. But when the Salassani murdered his parents and enslaved his sister and his sweetheart, they left him no choice. Brion of Wexford is the son of a crippled trapper living a quiet life on the edge of the vast and unruly heathland. But when Salassani raiders destroy his world, he must venture into the heathland to attempt the impossible task of finding the girls, rescuing them, and conveying them safely home across hundreds of miles of enemy territory. Now Brion finds himself pursued by men bent on his destruction, deprived of his protectors, and haunted by the knowledge that his murdered father has hidden a dark secret that could reshape Brion’s entire identity. Brion must find a way to stay alive long enough to get the girls safely home. 

 

Tell us a little about how "Archer of the Heathland series” came to be. Did it start with an image, a voice, a concept, a dilemma or something else? I started writing Deliverance after reading, and being dissatisfied with, several adventure books with archery in them. I am an avid archer, bowyer, martial artist, and historian. I wanted to write a book that was true to the technology and history of archery. In many ways, this series is my romance with the bow and arrow. 

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book? The character, Emyr, changed the most. He started out being an antagonist, but as I wrote the first two books, he evolved to be a much more complicated, interesting, and important character. 

Which character was the most challenging to create. Why? The main character, Brion, proved to be a challenge because he needed to experience the most growth. I had to take him from being an inexperienced country boy to a competent warrior and leader of men. 

What do you like best about being a writer? The freedom to create stories that express the deeper truths of the human experience. 

If you could collaborate with any author past or present, who would it be? What would the title of the book be? (If possible) - Give us a one sentence blurb. Ursula K. LeGuinn, Beyond the Earth Sea. "To name is to control. Ged travels beyond the bounds of the Earth Sea seeking the name of the source of all things." 

You can follow J.W. Elliot here - 

www.jwelliot.com 

https://www.facebook.com/jw.elliot.3/ 

Instagram @jwelliotbooks 

J.W. is giving away a copy of “Archer of the Heathland: Deliverance”.  To enter comment below --> If you were given the opportunity to master a weapon, what would it be? 

(Comments are open for one week)