characterinterviews – John Irvin, Author

October 16, 2021

Bringing my Characters to Life

The Dream Cast: Who would I love to see cast in the character roles for my Longevity series?

by John Irvin

I don’t plan to make a YouTube vlog for this article today. Nope, just going to relax and write a fun little fantasy-filled blog as I enjoy this crisp autumn weather—actually abnormal for this early in the season here in Florida.

Anyways, a dream cast. Yes, I usually dream up a cast for each one of my books, but with my Longevity series, there are so many characters, I could possibly turn this into a two-part series. I think I can shrink it down though.

This is going to be fun.

Okay, first off, Longevity is an eight-volume series, but only the first two books, Revelation and Independence, have been published in hardcover, paperback, and ebook. The third book, Wandering, is published in ebook only. The print versions were messed up in format, so please don’t order any “hardcover” or “paperback” versions you might see on the web.

So, we’ll start with Sir Ihon Iraes (pronounced Ian Eraze). He’s the main character and, yes, he’s actually based on me. But, I’d be fine with picking a far superior actor to play the role. Born in Scotland, Ihon is a knight and already a veteran of the Second Crusade by the time the story begins. So, he’s in his fifties, if I remember correctly. But, he’s aged well, being a Wolf-Born—though unbeknownst to him or his wife in the beginning.

I’m torn between two different fabulous Scottish actors. I fell into great admiration of Iain Glen’s role as Ser Jorah Mormont in the HBO series Game of Thrones. To see him dressed in a kilt and wielding the Iraes family claymore blade would be a sight to see. He wouldn’t make half a bad Wolf-Born either. And the tragic backstory fits perfectly with the Mormont-type character Sir Ihon Iraes relates to.

But, I’m going to have to admit, Mr. Glen turned sixty this past June 2021. So, he’s a few years older than Sir Ihon’s character at this time. Then again, with cameras and the magic of cinema these days, it could still work.

There is the second choice: Ewan McGregor. He turned fifty in March 2021. So, his age is perfect for the role. I could definitely see him dressed as a Crusader knight, waving around that Scottish claymore, and riding the black war steed Cassieus.

Now, for the first wife of my main character. You ask, how many wives does Sir Ihon have and why does he have more than one?

Well, remember I said “tragic backstory”? Yeah. Read the books.

Also, Wolf-Born live an average lifespan of 1,100 years. The reason this series is titled Longevity is it covers Sir Ihon Iraes’s life from when he’s fifty in the early twelfth century and runs through time with each book up to the present in Book 5 (still in the works) and beyond in the final three.

Now, here is a dilemma. Do I want to share any more about how many wives Ihon ends up having, if they’re human or not, and who would be cast in their roles?

I tell you what, I’m going to leave this blog open for comments as well as ask this question when I share the links on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Would you like to know the number of wives my character marries? Would you like to know if they’re human and where they’re from and who would be the dream actresses to star in their roles?

But, you already know he has “a first wife”, so I can at least give you that one.

Joanna Wallace Iraes, Lady of Iraes House. When I first imagined Joanna many years ago in the conception of this series, I pictured Keira Knightley as the star actress for this role. With her high-class charms, the woman is a lady in and of herself and I think Joanna couldn’t be more honoured to have such an actress cast in her role.

Even though Keira is English, I’m sure she would do a remarkable job as the Scottish wife of our Crusade veteran.

But, the scary thought, I do hope Knightley wouldn’t take offense at what happens to her character so early on in the story. *nervous chuckle*

I’ll end this blog today with one more character. This character plays a sort of brief mentor for Sir Ihon when he first comes aware of his “other side”.

Ranvir Caiton, his father fought alongside Ihon’s father in the Second Great War between the Wolf-Born and the Spawn—you’ll learn more about these later on, or if you buy the books. At the beginning of the series, Ranvir is a Lesser Officer of the Creed Army. You’ll learn more about them also if you buy the books.

Being Wolf-Born raised, Ranvir has known about his “other form” since he could read a sentence. He’s shocked someone could actually live fifty years without discovering their true origins. But, he takes Ihon under his wing and invites him to Sanguiatro, the capital of the Wolf-Born Race, hidden deep in the Highlands of Scotland somewhere.

I think Justin Theroux could be a good Ranvir Caiton. He has that dark look about him and could possibly be a bit prejudiced against the human race, even though he’s sworn to protect them from the Spawn.

So, this will turn into a two-part, maybe even three-part, blog series! Awesome. I’m excited.

We haven’t even covered half the characters who have roles in even the first two books! I might mention a couple from book three, even though I shy away from promoting that book because of the whole formatting issue that is still yet to be resolved.

But, here’s a list of character names I’ll be talking about in the next blog!

Zandra the Immortal

Noran Mars – Chief Councilman of the Supreme Council of the Wolf-Born Race

Merryn McKlean – Councilwoman of the Supreme Council

Angus McKlean – Brother of Merryn, Councilman of the Supreme Council

And maybe a few surprise characters, depending on your answers.

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

June 18, 2020June 15, 2020

New Publications, Book Readings, Character Interviews!

Check out this month’s YouTube vlog and read the Character Interview.

By John Irvin

Over last week’s weekend, I was able to publish Magic’s Time Split, Book 6: Mountains Are Living. I can’t believe I’m well past halfway through the series and things are really transpiring now. Ancient myths have become reality, forgotten secrets are being uncovered, and our four Immortal friends are finding out, their hoped-for-new-lives are not how they expected!

Check out the short book reading on my YouTube vlog:

In honour of this recent publication, I want to host another character interview from that actual book. His name is Benjamin Lykano, he’s the son of the Chief of Packs and Head of the Werewolf Clan in the former Alabama region.

John: Benjamin, thank you for joining us today! How’s the Beast Talks going?

Benjamin: *laughs* John, thanks for having me. I’m honoured to be here on your website today. The Beast Talks are going as any political summit goes, with a lot of negotiation, arguing, compromising, and blah blah blah. Thank God, I don’t have to deal with that.

John: Even though you’re head of the Werewolf Clan?

Benjamin: Correct, I get to choose a representative or delegate as you would call them.

John: Well, that works out well for you. So, tell us, have you recently heard from your Immortal friends.

Benjamin: You mean, Gael, Jenna, Jessica, and Levi?

John: Those are the ones.

Benjamin: Actually, I have recently. They’re over in Switzerland—or rather, the Alps, Switzerland doesn’t necessarily exist anymore. They’ve discovered a couple new races and an ancient feud has been reignited. I can’t go into detail for sake of spoilers.

John: Darn, I was hoping to catch you!

Benjamin: Nope, you may be typing this out, but I’m my own person.

John: So, what can you tell me that won’t spoil anything?

Benjamin: I can say this, what they’re cooking up over there is going to include all of us. And, I can also add that this new book has something none of the other books have had so far.

John: What’s that?

Benjamin: Maps! There’s a map of the new North America and the new Europe! I was excited when I saw that. I did not realise the Beast Clan Lands were that extensive. Makes me happy. Your readers need to check this out!

John: Thank you, Benjamin, thank you for all you’ve done and for answering the few questions I had for you. And yes, this is to my readers, if you haven’t checked out the Magic’s Time Split series yet, here’s the link to the series page in my library:

johnirvinauthor.com/book-series/magics-time-split/

And, to order Book 6, Mountains Are Living, here are the links to Kindle and Nook.

That’s all the time I have for today. I hope to see you back next week! In the meantime, my team and I are still raising the funds for our book tour. Join our supporters who have already donated to the cause and help us reach our goal!

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Until next week, y’all have a great life.

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

June 11, 2020June 10, 2020

Some Changes, Some Plans, Interview with Another Character.

All things Authorpreneur and Publishing This Month.

By John Irvin

So, one big change this month of June 2020, I’ve dropped my YouTube vlog down to an episode a month. With my Proofreading business starting to grow, I’ve been focusing more on expanding visibility via the Pinterest platforms and LinkedIn.

Yes, I know, YouTube helps with visibility, but I wasn’t seeing much growth for awhile and after so many episodes, it’s lost its priority. Do I plan to make it a priority again? Naturally.

Until then, y’all will have to suffer not seeing much of my face in real time. Yes, I know, that’s so hard for you.

Just kidding.

Now with the publishing venue, I’m still working on that for this month. Mountains Are Living is getting close. In fact, I believe, at the rate I’m going, it will be ready to publish over this weekend—if not Monday next week!

Wandering is still being reworked by my editor. I’ll be sending her an email soon if I don’t hear back before the end of this week. But I’m moving that publication due date to the end of this month.

Now, for my next character interview—I have a friend from my Shattered series showing up today. She’s not the main character, but she definitely has a role to play. This is former President Emily Morgan of the Southern Federation.

John: Thanks for joining us today, Miss President.

Emily: Please, John, call me Emily. Being President of the Southern Federation was just a job while I had it.

John: Thanks, Emily. So, tell me, where were you born?

Emily: I was born in a small town outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

John: And you were obviously raised by a Southern couple?

Emily: Yes, my Daddy and Mother were Southern-bred also and they raised me up proper, teaching me about Jesus Christ and standing for what was right.

John: And could you give us a brief summary of why you got into politics?

Emily: Certainly. In the beginning, I wanted nothing to do with politics. I hated all the agendas and propaganda. But when the Black Out hit North America, the nuclear chain reaction that sent Washington, D.C. and the northeast to kingdom come, my people were struggling.

John: Excuse me, forgive me for interrupting. But could you let us know what the Black Out was?

Emily: You’re the author, John, you couldn’t do that? *giggling* Anyhoo, back to the seriousness. The Black Out was a worldwide EMP caused by a solar flare, it sent the world wide grids into a black out, killing power everywhere. There was an accident in a nuclear facility because of this and the U.S. Capital along with its northeastern seaboard was blown up.

John: This must have left the States in complete chaos?

Emily: It definitely did. In fact, the gang wars and loss of command basically disintegrated true law and the governments became little dictatorships. But this did not stop freedom fighters all across North America starting new nations. The first spark was with the Locke Republic, this revolution was led by a Samuel Turnover and a small militia network in the former Montgomery, Alabama.

John: You say former?

Emily: Yes, once they won their revolution, they changed the whole territory from Birmingham down to Pensacola and west to the Mississippi to the Locke Republic. Montgomery’s name became Liberty City, the Capital of the new nation.

John: And how did this related to you and your country?

Emily: The Southern Federation came a little over a year later. With all the gang wars going on, mostly in Atlanta, a new revolution broke out across Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, and the rest of Florida. Men of honour stepped up to the plate and a plan was executed. After winning our revolution, I was found it my duty to join in the new politics and found myself climbing the ranks pretty quickly. My whole desire was to serve my country to the best of my ability and bring back order and freedom to our peoples. Before I knew it, I was elected president of the new country.

John: This helped you play a major role in the coming war?

Emily: I haven’t gotten there yet, John, hold your horses. Yes, revolutions raged across North America. Of course, you had the few remaining loyalists to the old regime who wanted to restore its imperialist boundaries. They called themselves the Washington Empire and the American Union.

John: You say, these were the villains in this…North American War?

Emily: Yes, the people had spoken, these tyrants only wanted to subvert the people’s will.

John: Spoken like a true patriot.

Emily: Thank you, John.

John: Well, I’m guessing you can’t give us the news about how the war is won or anything along those lines?

Emily: Where would the fun be in that? You’ll have to tell your readers to buy the books.

John: Thank you. Emily Morgan of the Southern Federation, folks.

Click through to Order your Copy today of **Shattered: The Complete Collection**!

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Until next week, y’all have a great life.

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

June 4, 2020June 3, 2020

My Favourite Sci-Fi Show and an Interview with a Character from My Own Sci-Fi Series.

Publishing my First and What about the Gates?

By John Irvin

If you’ve been following me, you know I have no greater entertainment love than reading books. But, I also have a secondary love and that’s called TV shows. I love all sorts of genres as with books.

There is one show I’ve seen all the way through more than twice…okay, more than thrice. Well, never mind, yeah, it’s been about six times through!

The show is called StarGate. There are actually three series in the StarGate universe.

The first, is StarGate SG-1, then branching off from that is StarGate: Atlantis. And after that came StarGate: Universe.

An US Air Force team is sent on exploration missions across the galaxy, discovering all kinds of life and also, most off world planets look like Canada.

And the show just grows from there with villains, monsters, false religions, etc. It’s astounding and I’d recommend it to any sci-fi lover!

Way back in college I was introduced to this spectacular show and it inspired me to return to an old sci-fi show I’d started the summer before my college career started. This series was known as StarQuest.

Eventually, years later, I finally published a novel in the series, merging several of the smaller episodic volumes into one 300 page novel. It was my first officially published novel. I’d had pamphlets and booklets printed previously, but this was my first novel.

Since then, I’ve added two prequel volumes in ebook format and there are plans in the works for a continuing anthology.

Today, I want to introduce a character from the StarQuest. Like I did a couple weeks back with Ihon from the Longevity world, I want to interview Hanna Collum. Though she takes a secondary role in the novel, her character is actually responsible for a lot of background keys that pushed the novel forward.

Here’s the interview transcript:

John: Thank you, Hanna, for joining us today, welcome to my Author Journey Blog.

Hanna: Thanks for having me, John. I’m honoured. Glad I could make it.

John: Yes, Eris is quite a ways away, isn’t it?

Hanna: It is. It’s still in this solar system, but is far past Pluto.

John: Why don’t you give a brief description of Eris, Hanna, to my readers?

Hanna: Sounds good. My homeworld is a dwarf planet at the edge of this solar system, like I said. We’re a descendant civilization of an Earth colony settled pre-Flood from Earth. We were actually one of the first to send reconnaissance ships back to the Mother world and found it completely covered in water. So we lost contact thousands of years back, thinking everyone on Earth had died. It wasn’t until Johan and his Liberators arrived on our planet that we discovered otherwise.

John: And Johan Eryn, the commanding officer of these Liberators, enlisted you on his team when they left Eris?

Hanna: Well, after taking control of our enemy’s ship, they gathered new data revealing half the colonized worlds in this galaxy.

John: Who are your enemies?

Hanna: Well, Eris actually has more than one nations—just like Earth—and we were at war with each other. One side allied themselves with an alien race known as the Clongoth. This race enslaves the planets they conquer. It was a Clongoth cruiser that Johan captured and deciphered the data from. When they helped us win our war, I volunteered to join his team. I will never regret that decision.

John: In brief, because we’re almost out of time already, what was the goal of your Liberators?

Hanna: Originally, Johan and his Earth team were looking for a new planet where they could set up a new country built on the principles of freedom they lost back on Earth. After several different encounters on various planets, we gathered quite a few non-Earthers and the goal evolved into united the Milky Way Galaxy into a confederation of planets to resist against the Clongoths.

John: And did it work?

Hanna: You’ll have to read the books to find out, right?

John: *chuckles* I almost had you.

Hanna: *pulls cellular device out of pocket* Excuse me, I’m going to have to return home, my sister’s calling me back.

John: Well, thank you again so much for interviewing with me and hope it’s nothing serious back home.

Hanna: She’s probably just wanting me to distract a diplomat from one of our neighbouring nations. Chow!

And there you have it, folks. Hanna Collum. What I didn’t get to ask her was about her status back home and the name of her native country. I do have that info here. Hanna Collum is actually a Princess, with her sister, Becki, governing the nation of Asgron. She’s also a higher officer in their military and was given the rank of General both in that force and in Johan’s Liberators.

I hope you enjoyed the short little interview and come back next time, we’ll see what we have for you then.

Before you go, please share your love of books by donating to the cause for a book tour! Our team is dying to take these books and many more to visit new places, meet new people, and discover our reading tribe.

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Until next week, y’all have a great life.

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

May 21, 2020May 21, 2020

My Favourite TV Show and an Author’s Interview with His Character.

Talking about Castle and having an interview with Ihon Iraes, a 910 year old Wolf-Born…

You’ll understand this photo in a second…

By John Irvin

I have an book reading for you from your favourite author haha. Here’s the Vlog for this morning’s post…

It is strange that my favourite tv show ended up being a murder mystery cop drama…seeing as I don’t write or read in that genre…like, at all.

The Favourite Show…

But, already being a fan of Nathan Fillion thanks to Firefly—and yes, I, like all fans, believe it should have been continued for a few more seasons—I fell in love with his portrayal of the character, Rick Castle.

I playboy, millionaire, bestselling novelist at the start, falls madly in love with a cop and she becomes his muse.

Every writer knows, we must have our muses to write great fictions.

To every story there is a muse, otherwise, it’s all made up…*snickering in the corner.*

The humour and playful banter, the dynamic relationships, the suspense and adventure, are all weaved together in a mind-blowing eight season series about a writer and his muse.

Every episode has me chuckling and I’ve got to be honest…I’ve been through the whole show, at least, eight times. I haven’t watched it through this year, so I’ll be starting that soon.

I love one of Castle’s quotes and have to share it now.

The Interview…

Speaking of being a writer with a muse…I want to now turn to a character. He’s a beloved individual by me—his creator. We met quire a few years ago. It’s been a long and intense and crazy ride and we’ve still got years to go, hopefully.

He’s sitting here with me and I’ll be writing our interview down as we go.

Author: Welcome to my blog, Ihon, how are you today?

Ihon: I’m doing well, John, thanks for having me today. I must say, after that first edition of my story then this new series, I’m glad to finally be getting our first interview together.

Author: So am I, my friend, so am I. I should have thought of it earlier.

Ihon: You learn as you go, right?

Author: Right—

Ihon: By the way, to John’s readers out there, I want to interrupt real quick and promote his upcoming newest edition to our Longevity series. It is the third book in the series, entitled Wandering. And, if you’ve read the first two installments before, you’ll know my character has been travelling down through history. Well, this book brings me up to Jamestown. Isn’t that right, John?

Author: That’s correct, Jamestown and a few years beyond that.

Ihon: So yes, I want to congratulate my creator and friend and let you people know it’s about to be published within a couple weeks. Make sure you get a copy!

Author: Thanks, Ihon. Now a little about you. First off, how do you pronounce your name?

Ihon: It’s pronounced like Ian and the last name is Iraes, pronounced like Eraze.

Author: Almost like Erase? *Chuckling*

Ihon: *Chuckles* Yes, only no. You’re the author, you named me this.

Author: Yes, I wanted a Scottish name, but to be Latinised.

Ihon: Because of my Roman roots, right?

Author: Yes, speaking of which, tell me a little about your roots.

Ihon: Well, I was born in the Highlands, during the Second Great War. That’s a war my Race—the Wolf-Born—fought with an evil species called the Spawn. They’re basically like vampires in the suck out the blood and their spirits take possession of the empty bodies.

Author: Sounds disturbing.

Ihon: It definitely is. My father, Justin, was born in Rome, but met and fell in love with a pilgrim from Scotland by the name of Ariel McFaye. They wed and I was conceived shortly before my father’s death in one of the last battles of the Great War.

Author: I’m sorry for that. But you’ve told me before that your mother actually never let you in that you were Wolf-Born. You were actually led to believe you were human all the way up until your fifties?

Ihon: This is true. Mother never told me up until her death. If I remember correctly, she was planning to reveal it to me on my eighteenth birthday, but died before that.

Author: My condolences again.

Ihon: My wife was murdered shortly after I returned from the First Crusade. That was the night the Beast came out.

Author: Who murdered your wife? What was her name.

Ihon: She was actually my first wife, her name was Joanna, she was from the Wallace clan. An Elite Rogue murdered her, he was hired by a Spawn Commander.

Author: Whoops, we’re probably giving away some spoilers for our readers. Let’s back track, you say, Joanna was your first wife?

Ihon: Yes.

Author: Meaning, you’ve been married more than once. Let’s be careful not to give away any spoilers.

Ihon: *Snickers* Yes, I’ve been married more than once.

Author: When were you born? Let’s give that date for our readers to fully comprehend how old you are.

Ihon: I was born December 15^th, in the year of our Lord, 1109. I am 910 years old this year.

Author: Quite a long lifespan. No wonder you’ve been married more than once.

Ihon: It can get quite lonely after so many centuries.

Author: Is that a normal lifespan for a Wolf-Born? What’s the average length of age for your Race?

Ihon: The average life span of a Wolf-Born is 1,100 years.

Author: Wow.

Ihon: Aye.

Author: Wow. Okay, yeah. I don’t think anyone could judge you for marrying more than once. Welp, that’s all the time we have for today, Ihon. Thank you again for taking this interview with me. I look forward to following along in your adventures in the near future. What’s Book 4 hold, I wonder.

Ihon: I guess you’re going to have to just write the first draft and found out.

That was the first interview with one of my favourite characters, folks. Thanks for spending the time to read today’s blog.

Also, if you love reading and would like to see Ihon’s series out in libraries and bookstores across the country, please click the link below and donate to the book tour fundraiser.

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Until next week, y’all have a great life.

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