Book Tour Q&A: The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis
Today we're taking part in the book tour organized by Escapist Book Tours for The Return of the Knights by Gregory Kontaxis! Continue reading for the book blurb and a Q&A with the author.
About the book
The Palace of the Dawn will soon be stormed. The most ruthless man of all time is one step away from assailing on Iovbridge and dethroning Sophie Delamere. The Queen of Knightdorn is now alone, with neither allies nor an army capable of rebuffing the enemy which is approaching her city. Everything appears to be over, until a mysterious young man, Elliot, makes his appearance.
Entangled in a web of lies and politics, Elliot will try to draw Walter away from Iovbridge and face him in the stronghold of Wirskworth. He will attempt to rekindle relations and revive the old alliance between the Queen of Knightdorn and Syrella Endor, the Governor of Wirskworth. Elliot’s mission will take every fibre of his will and if he fails, so shall the kingdom.
Game Of Thrones meets Greek mythology in this explosive epic fantasy story, packed with war, medieval lore, magic, loyalty and bravery. The first book in the series, The Dance of Light, will take you on an epic journey to a fantasy world of men and mythical creatures which will keep you spellbound till the very end.
On to the interview...!
Thank you so much for joining us for this Q&A! We’ll start off with one of our standard podcast opening questions–tell us something great that’s happened recently.
Some reviewers who received an ARC of my book enjoyed my story. That was something great to hear!
What are you currently reading or what’s up next on your TBR? What made you pick up this book?
I am reading The Girl and the Moon by Mark Lawrence. The next book in my TBR is The Eleventh Cycle by Kian Ardalan. I love the ICE trilogy by Mark and the book I am reading is the last part of the series. Also, I have read great reviews on Eleventh Cycle and I want to read this grimdark novel as soon as possible.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to start writing?
My name is Gregory Kontaxis. I am a Greek living in London and I studied computer science and financial mathematics. I always loved reading fantasy and crime novels. I also admired authors like Tolkien, GRRM and Sanderson and I wanted to create my own fantasy world. I had an idea about a boy saving a queen who is about to get murdered. That was my starting point to develop my world. There are dozens of stories that gave me inspiration for my story, from Harry Potter to Game of Thrones.
How do you spend your free time when you’re not reading or writing? Do you have any hobbies or interests that you can talk to us about?
I love travelling, exercising, and watching movies. Travelling is important to me and some of my greatest ideas came up while I was travelling somewhere.
If you could collaborate with any one author, who would it be and why?
Honestly, I can’t choose only one. I could collaborate with GRMM, Brandon Sanderson and many other authors that I think are great in worldbuilding.
How much do you plan when you write? What’s your writing process like?
I plan the main events of the book, beforehand. Like a skeleton of the story. However, most of the adventures of each book, the unique agendas of every character and the actions they take, are never planned. I think that some of my best ideas came up in the middle of my writing.
Is this your first book? If so, what lessons have you learned from writing it? If not, what lessons did you learn from writing earlier books that you brought into this one?
This is my first book and I learned dozens of lessons by writing it. Initially, I felt like the most important thing was to build a deep world, but then I realized that the most essential part of every story is its characters. Then, I spent more time developing my characters, making them interesting and unique.
How much of yourself do you write into your stories?
I think every one of my characters has some parts of myself. I believe this is common among authors. I don’t write often about personal experiences. However, emotions and thoughts that I have can exist in my character’s minds.
Can you give us an elevator pitch for your book?
A queen is in danger and a young boy is her only hope.
Describe your book in 3 adjectives.
Adventurous, fun, shocking.
How different is the final version of this book from the first draft?
Extremely different. Initially, I wrote in a different style, with many info dumps and descriptions. Then, I decided to change that and focus more on the characters and the main story.
Can you tell us a little bit about your characters? What are your favorite kinds of characters to write?
I have some characters that could be described as “good” or “bad”. However, many of my characters have their agendas and those agendas can change at any point of time. I am trying to write controversial and interesting characters that are not just “good” or “bad” all the time.
If you could choose one worldbuilding detail (a place, ability, or creature, for example) from your book to exist in the real world, what would it be and why?
I would love to see a pegasus in the real world. It’s a creature of Greek mythology that I always loved, and it would be great to see it in real life!
In your opinion, what kind of reader would like this book?
Readers that enjoy Greek mythology, medieval worlds, war stories, magic and sword fights will like this book.
Do you have a favorite quote from your book that you can share with us? What about this quote in particular makes it your favorite?
I think the below conversation is very real and that is why it’s my favorite.
“What should I be afraid of if not death?”
“A life without love.”
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer a few questions for us! Do you have any parting thoughts or comments you’d like to leave for our readers?
I hope readers will enjoy The Return of the Knights and the rest of the books in my series, The Dance of Light.
And finally, where can you be found on the internet if our readers want to hear more from you?
My website is https://www.gregorykontaxis.com/. My twitter is https://twitter.com/gregkontaxis, my facebook is https://www.facebook.com/gregory.kontaxis/ and my instagram is https://www.instagram.com/gregorykontaxis/.
Where to buy the book:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BWWQ46RY
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-return-of-the-knights-gregory-kontaxis/1143178107