The Book Plank

Author interview Richard Ford Author bio: Richard Ford hails from Leeds but now resides in Wiltshire, in the first town on the Thames. His first novel, Kultus, was published in 2011. Herald of the Storm is his epic fantasy debut.  ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi Richard, welcome over at The Book Plank and for taking your time to answer these few questions. BP: First off, could you give us a short introduction as to who Richard Ford is? What are your hobbies, likes/dislikes? RF: Richard Ford is a late thirty-something, occasionally beardy, always baldy writer of edgy yet amusing fantasy fiction. When I’m not gently weeping over a steaming laptop I can be found watching rugby of either code (Bath and Leeds are my teams of choice) or throwing heavy things around in the gym when my sciatica prone back allows. BP: Kultus was your debut book and Steelhaven is your latest series, when and where did you decide that you wa...

The Shattered Crown by Richard Ford, Steelhaven #2 Heroes must rise... The King is dead. His daughter, untested and alone, now wears the Steel Crown. And a vast horde is steadily carving a bloody road south, hell-bent on razing Steelhaven to the ground... or the city will fall. Before the city faces the terror that approaches, it must crush the danger already lurking within its walls. But will the cost of victory be as devastating as that of defeat? A short while ago I read Richard Ford's first book in the Steelhaven series, Herald of the Storm , this strong character driven book won me over from the start and got me quite eager for the sequel. Richard Ford managed to create an interesting "grimdark" fantasy setting and just as the title of the book, Richard Ford heralded a storm, a storm so powerful that only leaves one question remaining, will Steelhaven survive? Just a not up front, The Shattered Crown is one of those books that makes a reader like me exc...

Herald of the Storm by Richard Ford, Steelhaven #1 Welcome to Steelhaven... Under the reign of King Cael the Uniter, this vast cityport on the southern coast has for years been a symbol of strength, maintaining an uneasy peace throughout the Free States.  But now a long shadow hangs over the city, in the form of the dread Elharim warlord, Amon Tugha. When his herald infiltrates the city, looking to exploit its dangerous criminal underworld, and a terrible dark magick that has long been buried once again begins to rise, it could be the beginning of the end.   In the last few years the grimdark genre has been steadily on the rise slowly transforming the existing epic fantasy. Via a few authors I have gotten nicely acquainted with grimdark fantasy and have thoroughly enjoyed reading those stories. Herald of the Storm is Richard Ford's second book, where his debut Kultus was a steam-powered story, Herald of the Storm is a dark fantasy story, I haven't read Kultus b...