Blogging about writing – John Irvin, Author

November 6, 2021

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 4.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this fourth and final list from my Longevity series?

by John Irvin

Today marks the 280^th blog post on my website. Wow, that’s a lot of writing. It’s also the final part in this Dream Cast series as you can read above. This little sub-series has been so much fun. Today, we’ll actually have a couple more than the usual number of characters.

Longevity, Book 3: Wandering was quite a piece of work. I enjoyed every second of my main character’s journey through his life and the vast array of historical and fictional characters he met along the way.

But, again, a forewarning: if you see any printed copies (hardcover or paperback) on sale for this book, do not order. It is ONLY supposed to be out in ebook for now thanks to the formatting issue in the printing process.

Back to the tale and my dream cast. In this book, Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) returns home after a long time in the Haven with Zandra the Immortal. He finds a new structure built into the place where his old house used to be. Castle Iraes is managed by Lady Celia Stuart.

She is the daughter of Desi Wallace, Sir William Wallace’s daughter and Ihon’s ward. While Ihon had gone away, Desi had married an upstanding Scotsman and they’d had the funds to build the Castle Iraes and leave it in charge of their daughter who now runs it with her own daughter Lady Molly Stuart.

These two women play a decent-sized role in the beginning of the book. I’m combing lists of actresses I think worthy of their parts and have decided Helena Bonham Carter would give Lady Celia the proper air I envision her having as ward of Castle Iraes and its valley tenants. From her roles as Bellatrix from the Harry Potter saga to Queen Elizabeth in The King’s Speech, I tell you what, she would be a superb fit.

Lady Molly is young and slightly naïve, but extremely curious about this strange Laird of the Iraes estates. She wants to know the mystery behind his long life and journey. I believe Haley Pullos could play an excellent Molly Stuart. She’s from General Hospital. I’ve never heard her make a Scottish accent, but you never know!

This next one is one of the few men who play a major role in Ihon’s journey through this third installation. John Knox, the Scottish Reformer, is one of the few humans to actually stumble upon Sanguiatro, the Capital of the Wolf-Born Race. Tucked away into the Highlands, it’s supposed to be well-hidden from human or Spawn eyes. I wonder how James McAvoy would feel about playing this eccentric role. Something to ponder, Mr. McAvoy? I mean, you are a Scotsman.

On his wanderings, Ihon finds a solitary life in the forests of medieval France. There he meets a young girl by the name of Joan d’ Arc and sort of becomes a mentor. She, believing him to be a spiritual apparition of one of the saints, claims he is one of three. I’d like to see Mia Talerico being cast in the role of Joan.

She’s the baby star from Good Luck, Charlie. Such a cutie!

The other two supposed “saints” to give Joan her tutelage in the ways of religion and warfare are two sisters Ihon actually meets. The three of them have a short tryst together you might say. I’m not going to spoil any more. But their names are Guinevere and Margot—they are French Wolf-Born who actually choose him as the alpha of their little pack.

I’d love to see Alexandra Daddario as Margot and Scarlett Johansson as her older sister Guinevere. Perfect match. I fell in love with Alexandra as Annabeth Chase from Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Scarlett was why I fell in love with Black Widow from her very first scene in Iron Man 2.

But good things come to an end and Ihon must move on after a dilemma that has to do with the Supreme Council and other officers of the Creed Army.

And now, the final character I want to dream cast an actor for—or rather an actress—is the Princess of the Chitimacha tribe. Ihon actually makes his way to the New World and ends up continuing his wanderings into the vast wilderness there. He stumbles across a native tribe that sees him as a fulfillment of a prophecy. The chief’s daughter, Fawn, is supposed to wed a white stranger, according to this prophecy, and they would bring great prosperity to the tribe.

Fawn, is played by Emma Watson. Made famous by her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter saga, and every nineties baby’s crush, I’d love to have her cast in this romantic role.

Well, there you have it, my dream cast for the first three books in my Longevity series. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist—the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

October 30, 2021

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 3.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this third list from my Longevity series?

by John Irvin

It’s already that time again. Yes, the time I post part three in a Dream-cast blog series for my world of Longevity, if it were ever made into movies. Because, why not? I’m sure all writers dream of the perfect cast for their books.

Now, in parts one and two, I covered the main characters and a few others from Book 1: Revelation. Today’s blog will cover a few characters from Book 2: Independence.

A quick back story again, Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) has returned from his first haunt in the Haven where he met the Immortal, Zandra. Now he returns to find his human homeland in the middle of a war for independence.

His best friend is the renowned Guardian of Scotland, Sir William Wallace. Naturally, being of Scottish descent, I had to bring this hero into the story. And also, because I’m a fan of Braveheart, no one should be surprised that when I imagined this character, I saw Mel Gibson.

Hence the blue eyes.

But, Mel Gibson has grown a bit older thanks to time. I’m so torn with this cast role to be honest. William Wallace will always look like Mel Gibson to me in my mind. I just don’t know who could play the part. I don’t care if his accent was off, he still did a darn-good job.

I wonder how his son, Louie Gibson, would do in the role.

Next character is another historical player known as King Robert the Bruce. According to history—and Braveheart—he took up the mantel to lead Scotland to victory and finally win what they had never had before: a country of their own.

Angus Macfadyen played this role in Braveheart and its sequel, which I have yet to see sadly, and he did the perfect job. He’s also actually Scottish. But, again, he’s up there in age like Mel. Although, the Bruce was about forty when he fought the Battle of Bannockburn, which was the decisive battle that led to Scotland’s independence.

Angus is fifty-eight now, so he could play the part. But, I mean, he’s already played Bruce twice now. Would it really be fair for Mel Gibson?

How does Henry Cavill or Jamie Dornan sound? Cavill starred as Superman in the Man of Steel and I find he did a good job. Jamie Dornan was the sheriff in Once Upon A Time—at least, that’s where I know him from. That is a favourite of mine. I wonder how their Scottish accents are. Dornan is Irish and Cavill is British.

Then there is King Philip of France, who, in this series, is actually not human. He’s a Wolf-Born Higher Officer of the Ancient Creed. He tasks Ihon with a mission to Constantinople. I’ll also give a hint, he may or may not play a role later on in the series.

I think the best actor to play this mysterious character would be Raphaёl Personnaz from Anna Karenina. He’s French and he did a superb job.

And the final role we’ll talk about today is that of Sir William Wallace’s daughter, Lady Desi Wallace. Yes, the real hero actually had a daughter—this is not shown in the Gibson film. And in the Longevity series, she becomes my main character’s ward for a short time. Her lineage actually plays a role throughout the series.

I won’t go into it any further. You’ll simply have to read the books. Although, I’m going to pause again right here to remind you, Book 3: Wandering is ONLY in ebook form for now. If you see any print copies for sale, those are errors. There was a format problem that I haven’t been able to get around to fixing yet.

With Amazon’s new “hardcover” option, that may be just around the corner though, so hang on.

Back to Desi, what an interesting lass this character was. I immediately fell in love with her when writing her in and wish I could have had more time with her. But that’s how it goes sometimes. Who knows, maybe I’ll write a short story for her about her time at House Iraes, I don’t know.

The best actress I could see fitting in this role would be Maya Hawke from the recent Little Women. We’ll have to call her up and ask for her example of a Scottish lass. Perhaps. 😉

Next up will be Book 3: Wandering and its cast of characters. I won’t give any names out this time around. Make sure to stop by next Saturday for Part 4!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

October 23, 2021

Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 2.

The Dream Cast: Who would I want to see be cast in the roles of this second list from my Longevity series?

By John Irvin

If you haven’t read last week’s blog, please hop down and check it out. I’ve already talked about several different characters from the first book in my Longevity series, Revelation, and which movie stars I’d love to see star in their roles.

Now, I’m continuing on with the theme and going to mention four more characters in the book!

This will probably continue on with a Part 3 next week because there are so many characters in the three books that are already published. Oh, and there will be five more books before the main series from the Longevity world is complete.

I do want to restate, Book 3, Wandering, is only available in ebook format. There was an issue in the printing, so if you see any hardcover or paperback versions, those are not correct and they are mistakes.

So, the first character for today that plays a minor role—yet he is responsible for my main character’s enrollment into the Creed Army because he happens to be the Chief Councilman of the Supreme Council.

The Supreme Council is the governing body of the Wolf-Born Race. There have always been eight seats on the Council since its founding—which is mentioned in Book 1, Revelation and will be expounded upon in the upcoming ebook novella The First of All.

Noran Mars is the Chief Councilman when Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze) arrives on the scene. He is a firm, yet understanding character. Though he’s often presented as a serious individual, he can have a sense of humour.

This one was a hard one to come up with. But, after much consideration, I believe Gerard Butler or Russell Crowe would make great candidates for this position. Russell has that serious leadership aura about him and played a great role in Gladiator and Robin Hood.

Gerard Butler has done a number of characters from Machine Gun Preacher to 300 to The Phantom of the Opera—he’s also Scottish.

Then there are two other characters who are also on the Supreme Council. They are the “Chroniclers” for the Council. They’re also brother and sister. Angus and Merryn McKlean. Both carrying full heads of Scottish red hair, they’re a couple of the younger council members and very accepting of Sir Ihon.

Merryn plays a role that pops up at random times throughout the series, I will not give any spoilers away. But, I believe there is no one who would fit her part better than the Scottish redhead Rose Eleanor Arbuthnot-Leslie. She was my favourite woman in Game of Thrones.

The best man to portray Merryn’s brother Angus is a tougher decision. I’m going to be open here with you. When I birthed this character, there was a reason his name was Angus. It’s because the person I saw when he stepped onto my pages was Angus from Braveheart, Sir William Wallace’s redheaded best friend.

But, Brendan Gleeson is a wee bit too old now and it would be a bit redundant if he were to play another Angus who is similar to his Braveheart persona. Wouldn’t you think?

David Wenham is a redheaded actor who played the role of Faramir in the Lord of the Rings movie saga. He’s an Australian native, but perhaps he’d be superb pretending with a Scottish Accent?

Now the final character I’m going to write about and dream about in this blog today, she arrives at the very end and we don’t know much about her in Book 1, but she plays a bigger part in Book 2. What I do want you to know is, she’s an Immortal who has been a friend of the Wolf-Born Race for millennia.

Her name is Zandra. I’m going to let you in on a secret, she’s going to get her own book trilogy one of these days.

Now, there has been only one person in all the world whom I’ve envisioned could play this goddess-like character. And that would be Jennifer Garner. There’s no one else who could even come close to being considered perfect for Zandra in my eyes.

I can see her walking the peaceful Haven she created inside a parallel dimension in a mountain near the Capitol, Sanguiatro, of the Wolf-Born Race.

Now, we’ve got this far into this little mini-series of my blog and you may be wondering why I haven’t shared ANY photos of each of these actors and actresses. I’m going to be open again, it’s for copyright purposes. I’m sorry, but I would prefer to not insult these amazing people ahead of casting them in my books’ future movies.

Yes, I know, that sounded hilarious. But it’s true.

This is another reason why I haven’t done a vlog on my YouTube channel to correspond with these blogs for the past two weeks now. I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that channel for now. I’m leaving it open though!

Next week, I’ll bring up more characters from Book 2, Independence, as I continue with Bringing my Characters to Life, Part 3!

Some of the characters I’ll mention will be:

Sir William Wallace – Hero and Guardian of Scotland, best friend of Sir Ihon

King Robert the Bruce – King of Scotland and later friend of Sir Ihon

King Philip of France – Wolf-Born Higher Officer of the Creed Army

Desi Wallace – Daughter of Sir William Wallace, Sir Ihon’s ward

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

March 27, 2021March 27, 2021

Should I Return to the Galaxy?

I was thinking of this saga the other day, how I haven’t finished it and how there are more adventures awaiting, what do you think of them?

By John Irvin

I’m sitting here this morning, my mind flying to the old story of a group of friends, comrades-at-arms, who stood as freedom fighters against a worldwide tyranny.

They realized the cause of freedom needed something new.

How about a whole new world? Like, I mean, an actual different planet! Yes, this is what these Liberators are on mission for in the two prequels and the majority of the first novel.

I’m talking about my StarQuest saga. Check out its page on my website: page

The novel was the first official book I published. It’s gone through an edition or two. But since then, I published two ebooks that are set as prequels to the novel.

The idea is to write and published another ebook that will be set after the novel. But then, there are plenty of other adventures the team goes on. I’m wondering if maybe I could get a few more ebook novellas out of them.

There is also a plan for a sequel novel that will be set several years after the first.

Oh, did I mention the novel is actually being sold at my local bookstore here in Pensacola, Florida. Yes, that’s right, the wonderful Bodacious Bookstore & Café has been hosting my book on its shelves for the past several months.

If you’re ever in town, check them out!

By the way, here’s the video for today’s episode:

Johan Eryn is a commanding officer in the Liberator movement. This is one of those “ragtag” militia movements that seek freedom by overthrowing a tyrannical government. But, they discovered this was a doomed cause unless they could find a totally new place to rebuild their nation.

So, their scientists set about to build a spaceship that would take a team on a mission into the rest of the Milky Way Galaxy to find a habitable planet. Once they laid claim to one, they would return for the rest of their people and disappear from the Earth forever.

Unbeknownst to these freedom-fighters-turned-space-explorers there are dozens and dozens of habitable worlds being civilized.

Apparently, thousands of years ago, space exploration was in vogue. Then a worldwide catastrophe cut off all connections with Mother Earth and those extraterrestrial human colonies went on alone.

Most have made their own histories, cultures, and languages—surprisingly they are very similar to Earth’s, okay, maybe not so surprising.

Check it out:

So why not do that? Click the affiliate link above and order your copy today! And once you read it, I want you to tell me if you want me to continue this saga.

Just a note, I have an author team helping me prepare for my debut Spring 2021 Toward the Pacific Book Tour. We greatly desire your support to help us take books out of that good ole comfort zone and find more readers.

The more you are able to donate, the more possible it is for me to take my books on a trip across the continent and grow our reading tribe while promoting books for the public!

So click through:

And if you know any authors, please, have them shoot me an email at john@johnirvinauthor.com. I have plenty of spots open for the episodes!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’m also a Patreon artist–the cool thing about Patreon is it allows people to support artists by monthly pledges which allow the artists to have more time to work on their own passions. Here is my account: PATREON.COM. If you’d like to support me, I would be eternally grateful!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Another note, I have to make sure to let you know, all links I use for my fellow authors’ works are affiliate links because why not?

March 20, 2021March 20, 2021

Why Wouldn’t You Grab a Free Book?

Yes, this Ebook is Permanently Free, so, I’m not sure why you wouldn’t snatch it up. Doesn’t matter if you can’t read it now, you’d always have it downloaded and ready whenever you can make time.

By John Irvin

I’ve come to find there are two main series that I like to talk about when focused on my own published books.

Longevity is one series—though it is not yet complete. I’ve recently finished the fourth book’s first draft. After that, there are still four more books to go before that wonderful dark fantasy serial is finished.

The second series—the one in today’s limelight—is the Magic’s Time Split series. This serial is only in ebook format, unlike the previous series which is and will be in Hardcover, Paperback, and Ebook. But that doesn’t take away any of my second main serial’s illustriousness.

I enjoyed writing this ten-book collection as much as I’m enjoying writing the other one. You could say it has hints of dark fantasy, but it’s also an alternate timeline type of fiction and even starts with a good little time travel jump.

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog and YouTube vlog, you would probably know that this serial is about a group of settlers who head back in time to the year 1815 and the place known as Hidden Lake in the Montana territory (which wasn’t even under US governance at the time and thus was not called by that name).

By the way, speaking of YouTube, here’s the video for today’s episode:

Anyways, back to the story, these travellers discover there’s an ulterior motive in the minds of two of the five leaders. This secret plot costs greatly, but also unleashes Magic on the world. This supernatural act kills Technology and starts a whole new timeline.

A timeline where Magic rules and Technology never advances.

But why would anyone want to do that? What would their ultimate reason be for such a gross act? Is it simply the powers they are endowed with by the shattered Egyptian idol of Thoth, the god of Magic and writing? Or is there something else?

The only way you’d be able to discover the why is to read the books.

But, guess what, this serial is special. How? I’ve set the first book to be Permanently FREE! Yes, you read that right. I know I’ve brought this up before, but I want to tell you again.

I published these ten books on Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. Nook allowed me to set it at $0.00 without my having to contact them. I then wrote Amazon and informed them they better match the price. They did. And now you can simply download your copy and try it out for free. You get to meet a gang of friends I made along the way and find out more goodies inside!

So why not do that? Click the affiliate link above and download your FREE copy today!

The more you are able to donate, the more possible it is for me to take my books on a trip across the continent and grow our reading tribe while promoting books for the public!

So click through:

And if you know any authors, please, have them shoot me an email at john@johnirvinauthor.com. I have plenty of spots open for the episodes!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Another note, I have to make sure to let you know, all links I use for my fellow authors’ works are affiliate links because why not?

March 13, 2021March 13, 2021

Returning after a Week of Randomness

Another book I’m reading for this month has a mystifying tale of fantastic intrigue you don’t want to miss out on

By John Irvin

Yes, I know, I missed last Saturday. Several things came out of nowhere and I was unable to produce the blog and YouTube episode. Now, today, I’m going to talk a little bit about Teardrop.

I’m only a few chapters into the book by Lauren Kate and already I’m caught up in a suspenseful tale. Why on earth are these sea people or whatever they are trying to kill Eureka?

I don’t want to hurt Lauren’s possible sales so I’m not going to give away any spoilers.

All I want to say, if you’re into Young Adult Fantasy with some great mystery, you’ll want to collect this book.

Eureka’s mother instilled a rule so deeply in her, it’s impossible to break it: never cry.

Why?

Isn’t crying good for you? Letting all those pent-up emotions out?

And why is this tall and pale boy always wherever she goes? His name is Ander, by the way.

To stay safe from giving spoilers, you’ll want to read the partial description I’ve added below from Amazon’s page! Or, if you’d like, here’s the cover photo with the affiliate link to go ahead and buy it!

Here’s the description from Amazon:

“Everywhere Eureka goes he is there: Ander, a mysterious blond boy who tells her she’s in danger. Ander knows things about Eureka she doesn’t yet know herself, but not her darkest secret: ever since her mother drowned in a freak accident, Eureka wishes she were dead, too. She has little left that she cares about, just her friend Brooks and some heirlooms—a locket, a letter, a mysterious stone, and an ancient book about a girl who got her heart broken and cried an entire continent into the sea.

“But Ander has some secrets of his own. The haunting tale is more than a story. It’s real.
And Eureka’s life has far more evil undercurrents than she ever imagined.”

Just a note, I have an author team helping me prepare for my debut in Spring 2021 Toward the Pacific Book Tour. We greatly desire your support to help us take books out of that good ole comfort zone and find more readers.

The more you are able to donate, the more possible it is for me to take my books on a trip across the continent and grow our reading tribe while promoting books for the public!

So click through:

And if you know any authors, please, have them shoot me an email at john@johnirvinauthor.com. I have plenty of spots open for the episodes!

If you enjoyed this post, you should sign up for my newsletter! I don’t spam and you can unsuscribe at any time. I only send out emails on Fridays. Sign up here: SIGN UP!

I’ve now been hosting a YouTube channel called John Irvin, Author Journey Series. Check it out at YOUTUBE.COM/AUTHORJOURNEY

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Or email me at john@johnirvinauthor.com

Another note, I have to make sure to let you know, all links I use for my fellow authors’ works are affiliate links because why not?