Eye of the Wizard, a fantasy adventure

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Okay cool. Once my Groupon gets here for B&N I'll pick up Firefly Island, and try out Eye of the Wizard from Smashwords.

Thanks! I hope you enjoy them. When you've read them, let me know what you think.

[Kiwimick]

Picked up Eye of the Wizard on Smashwords today. Saw the review on Amazon and this book appeals to me. Is it a stand alone or the beginning of a series?

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by Kiwimick

Picked up Eye of the Wizard on Smashwords today. Saw the review on Amazon and this book appeals to me. Is it a stand alone or the beginning of a series?

Thank you, Kiwimick. I hope you enjoy the book!

Eye of the Wizard, like my previous three novels, is a standalone. However, if it becomes a wild success, I'd love to someday write a sequel.

My next project will be a fantasy series; I'm currently writing the first novel, and have two more planned. I'll be sure to let you guys know when it's ready.

[jhempel24]

Am about 80 pages into Firefly Island....enjoying this way too much! Great job, love this book, as it stands it's in my top 10 of Fantasy so far. The world is well described (maybe too much description at points) and the action and suspense is wonderfully drawn out!

And if this is any indication of the rest of your novels, I'll be buying them up!

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Am about 80 pages into Firefly Island....enjoying this way too much! Great job, love this book, as it stands it's in my top 10 of Fantasy so far. The world is well described (maybe too much description at points) and the action and suspense is wonderfully drawn out!

Thank you for your kind words. Great to hear you're enjoying it! When you finish reading the book, let me know what you think.

Originally Posted by jhempel24

And if this is any indication of the rest of your novels, I'll be buying them up!

Excellent. Proud as I am of Firefly Island (and I rather am--it's my first novel, and my only novel to nab a hardcover deal), I think I've even improved with the subsequent novels. If you do read more, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

[caleb72]

Originally Posted by DArenson

Excellent. Proud as I am of Firefly Island (and I rather am--it's my first novel, and my only novel to nab a hardcover deal), I think I've even improved with the subsequent novels. If you do read more, I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Oooh - I really have to put Firefly Island higher on my list. I now know that if I like that book I can just buy the rest.

Regards
Caleb

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by caleb72

Oooh - I really have to put Firefly Island higher on my list. I now know that if I like that book I can just buy the rest.

Regards
Caleb

Thanks, Caleb! I hope you enjoy the book.

[DArenson]

I just learned that two characters from Eye of the Wizard escaped my home, wandered over to the blog From the Shadows, and wreaked havoc. They're now safely locked up, but their silly interview remains.

Take a look here: http://www.fromtheshadows.info

Or read the transcript....

Today we welcome Neev, a young wizard, and Romy, a demon girl. Both
are characters from the fantasy novel Eye of the Wizard, by Daniel
Arenson. Neev will be interviewing Romy.

Neev: "Oh dear. They have me interviewing Romy now?"

Romy: "Hiya!"

Neev: "I thought now that Eye of the Wizard is written and done, I'd
be rid of you."

Romy: "You're never getting rid of me, Mommy."

Neev: "Will you stop calling me that?"

Romy: "Why? You're a wizard. You summoned me from Hell. So now
you're my mommy."

Neev: "Romy, how can I be your mommy? I'm a boy. Just because I
summoned you to Earth doesn't mean that--"

Romy: "Can I have a lollipop? Please please PLEASE?"

Neev: "For Heaven's sake, you're a grown demon. You've tortured
sinners for a living. What kind of demon goes around begging for
lollipops?"

Romy: "A HUNGRY demon. Me want foooooood."

Neev: "Romy, how old are you again?"

Romy: "207. I'm big!"

Neev: "And you still act like a baby."

Romy: "I'm not a baby. Don't call me a baby. Just because I like
lollipops, and just because I have a teddy bear named Floofie, and
just because I decorate my pitchfork with ribbons, and just because I
suck my thumb, and just because I sometimes wear a bonnet, and just
because--"

Neev: "Romy, I get it. Can we just get this interview over with?"

Romy: "All right! And after that, will you play marbles with me?"

Neev: "No, Romy. No more marbles."

Romy: "Tea party?"

Neev: "No."

Romy: "Hide and seek?"

Neev: "No more games, Romy!"

Romy: "Chess? I always beat you at chess."

Neev: "No more chess."

Romy: "Sour loser. You cried when I beat you last time."

Neev: "Romy, I told you already. I had something in my eyes. Look.
We have to do this interview already. I want to go back to my
spellbooks. First question: What do you feel the main themes of Eye
of the Wizard are, and how does the author illuminate them?"

Romy: "Howza what now?"

Neev: "The literary themes. The moral purpose of the narrative. How
does your character's story arch illustrate them?"

Romy: "Illu-whose-it? Neev, are you all right?"

Neev: "Tell us about your character development throughout the novel.
How does Romy grow and change as the plot unfolds?"

Romy: "Oh! I get it. There was this time in Chapter Twenty, when I
drank some growth potion, and I became a hundred feet tall! Do you
remember, Neev? You looked like a little ant to me. I could have
crushed you!"

Neev: "Not that kind of character growth, Romy. I mean: How did you
develop as a person?"

Romy: "I'm not a person. I'm a demon, remember? You summoned me
from Hell. You should know that, Mommy."

Neev: "Stop calling me Mommy! Are you going to answer these
questions intelligently, or not?"

Romy: "I'm smart!"

Neev: "Lovely. So tell us, Romy. Do you feel the climax of Eye of
the Wizard presents a moral dilemma, which can only be resolved by
making a personal sacrifice, and if so, how is this choice
foreshadowed, and how does it solve the conflict presented at the
plot's onset?"

Romy: "Uhm... yes?"

Neev: "Yes what, Romy?"

Romy: "I like turtles!"

Neev: "That is irrelevent."

Romy: "Can I have my lolli now?"

Neev: "sigh Here you go, Romy."

Romy: "Mmm, yum yum, strawberry. Thank you, Mommy Neev!"

Neev: "I'd like to apologize to our readers for this travesty of an--
Romy, Romy, you're not supposed to eat the stick too! Romy! Stop
putting the candy in my hair!"

[jhempel24]

HAHA, that's funny!

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

HAHA, that's funny!

Thanks, J.

Eye of the Wizard wasn't originally intended to be a comedy. I'm still not sure it is. But Romy invaded the book in Chapter Three, and well, some parts just became silly.

Somebody gave Eye of the Wizard a nice, long review on Amazon today. He gave the book five stars. Here's a quote from the end of the review: "Eye of the Wizard offers a delightful opportunty (sic) to get lost in an hilarious world where the reader's expectations of fantasy novels fade and are replaced with chuckles and giggles. Arenson displays consummate skills and timing from chapter to chapter, without fail. Five stars is a perfect rating for this work, and I was disappointed that my numerous clicks on the page failed to make a sixth star appear."



When I published Eye of the Wizard, I was worried about what people would make of it. It's not quite epic fantasy, not quite straightforward comedy, not quite anything I can put my finger on -- some scenes are dark and tragic, others are whimsical, and some (mostly those involving Romy) are downright goofy. In some ways, it's a bloody mess! But I had such fun writing it, I wanted to share it. It's great that so far people seem to enjoy it. One reader compared it to The Princess Bride, which I had never considered, but I think is apt. Damn -- I should have thought of that comparison myself. :P

[jaxx6166]

Always entertaining, Daniel. Thanks again for your great work. =)

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by jaxx6166

Always entertaining, Daniel. Thanks again for your great work. =)

Thanks for reading, Jaxx!

[DArenson]

New Eye of the Wizard interview! Read about how I live in the world's WEIRDEST neighborhood:

http://www.simon-royle.com/2011/02/2...-of-the-wizard

Thanks for reading!

Daniel

[jhempel24]

Since your other three are on B&N, do you think that this one might hit there sometime soon?

[DArenson]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Since your other three are on B&N, do you think that this one might hit there sometime soon?

Thanks for asking. I expect Eye of the Wizard to become available on B&N sometime this weekend or early next week. You can also buy it on Smashwords for the Nook. I hope you enjoy reading it!

In other news, Red Adept Reviews has reviewed Eye of the Wizard, calling it "...just a great, fun little romp."