This week, we're welcoming author E.M. Powell with her latest title, The Fifth Knight, a #1 Amazon Bestseller in Historical and Action & Adventure. The author will offer a free paperback copy of the book to a lucky blog visitor. Here's the blurb:
To escape a lifetime of poverty, mercenary Sir Benedict Palmer agrees to one final, lucrative job: help King Henry II’s knights seize the traitor Archbishop Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. But what begins as a clandestine arrest ends in cold-blooded murder. And when Fitzurse, the knights’ ringleader, kidnaps Theodosia, a beautiful young nun who witnessed the crime, Palmer can sit silently by no longer. For not only is Theodosia’s virtue at stake, so too is the secret she unknowingly carries—a secret he knows Fitzurse will torture out of her. Now Palmer and Theodosia are on the run, strangers from different worlds forced to rely only on each other as they race to uncover the hidden motive behind Becket’s grisly murder—and the shocking truth that could destroy a kingdom.
**Q&A with E.M. Powell**
Author Links:
**Q&A with E.M. Powell**
The Fifth Knight was
originally published as a Kindle Serial. What’s a Kindle Serial and how does it
differ from usual publication?
Kindle Serials were launched by Amazon in September 2012. A reader pays a one-off price and gets their chosen novel delivered automatically to their Kindle in two-week segments, called Episodes. There’s a discussion forum for each episode, where readers can chat to each other and to the author about how the story is unfolding. They can of course also post reviews. It was really exciting to do it in that way. The biggest challenge for me was keeping spoilers under control when responding to readers!
Kindle Serials were launched by Amazon in September 2012. A reader pays a one-off price and gets their chosen novel delivered automatically to their Kindle in two-week segments, called Episodes. There’s a discussion forum for each episode, where readers can chat to each other and to the author about how the story is unfolding. They can of course also post reviews. It was really exciting to do it in that way. The biggest challenge for me was keeping spoilers under control when responding to readers!
So you wrote the story as it was being serialised?
Not in my case. The
Fifth Knight was already a completed novel. Some of the other Kindle
Serials writers write an episode at a time. I’m afraid I’m far too much of a
control freak to do that! Once the serial was finished, the novel was released
in complete form.
What was it like for your debut novel to top not one, but
two Amazon.com charts: Historical and Action & Adventure?
Truth be told, I was completely shocked. When I saw the
Action & Adventure charts, with my book above Life of Pi and Dan Brown’s forthcoming Inferno, it was like a dream. A very nice one, but definitely not
real. Same with the historical charts. My bedside reading’s on that list, so to
top it was indescribable.
What do you think it is about The Fifth Knight that appeals to both audiences?
My agent, the wonderful and tireless Josh Getzler at HSG,
describes it as car chases with chain mail. That probably sums up what readers
can expect! But the phrases that crop up in 5* review after 5* review are ‘page
turner’ and ‘couldn’t put it down.’ That means so much to me. People love the
medieval setting but they also love the pace of the action.
There’s also a lot of love for the hero, Sir Benedict
Palmer, in the reviews. Why do you think readers connect with him?
I think it’s because he’s not a typical hero. He’s not been
born with a sliver spoon in his mouth, he’s had to work to get as far as he
has. And he’s very conflicted when we meet him first. He’s not rushing in to
rescue the young Sister Theodosia Bertrand- he just sees her as a means to
earning a whole lot of money. But when his values as a man are tested by the
knights’ leader, Sir Reginald Fitzurse, Palmer shows us what he’s really made
of. What’s also really nice is the positive reviews about him have come from
male reviewers as well as female reviewers. I think that shows I’ve made the
right call with him as a character.
Are we going to hear any more from Benedict and Theodosia?
I’m working on the sequel, The Blood of The Fifth Knight, as we speak. King Henry II will be
calling on Sir Benedict Palmer’s help once more.
Do you have anything you would like to say to your readers?
I’d love to be able to thank every single reader
individually for buying the book and for people who took the time to post
reviews. That includes the people who reviewed it and who didn’t like it! But
unfortunately I can’t because there are far too many readers of my book. But
just to say that readers are what make a writers’ career. To get a review or an
e-mail from a reader who has spent a few hours lost in your book and who has
loved being in the world you’ve created is the best feeling in the world. So
for those that do see this: thank you! And thank you too, Lisa- it’s been so
nice to guest here.
Website: www.empowell.com/
Twitter: @empowellauthor
Facebook: www.facebook.com/empowellauthor
