George Beighey Bio
Feel free to share a little about yourself in your own words.
I’m 52 years old, a father of 2 sons, (Robbie and Jake). I have 3 grandkids, (Isaiah, Isabella and Sophia). My wife, (Kelly) recently passed away after a four-year battle with cancer. We were married 31 years and she was the inspiration for all of my books.
I’ve spent a good part of my life working with kids through coaching football, baseball and basketball for almost 20 years before retiring due to my own health issues.
Now, I live with my sons and I’m retired.
How did you get into writing?
When I was in fourth grade, one of my classmates said that I couldn’t write a better story than he did for an assignment. I’d never written before, but it seemed easy enough, so I accepted the challenge. I remember the story involved Charles Manson and was a murder mystery and our teacher loved it and said that I had a “great deal of raw talent”.
After that, I wrote for fun, but never took it seriously until I got married. My first book was absolutely horrible, and I never let anyone read it. Then, I got distracted by life and didn’t write at all, other than a few poems and short stories which I never showed to anyone either.
When Kelly was diagnosed with cancer, I started writing God Slayer about an immortal who is cursed to live on after all the people he’d loved had died.
What can you tell us about your daily routines that help you focus and your creative habits? So, for example how do you come up with some of your ideas and inspiration for your book?
Well, the books in Songs of Immortality are all basically inspired by my wife and her battles against cancer. I’ve always loved fantasy novels and was a huge fan of Michael Moorcock, so I wanted to merge my life with the genre. I get inspiration from lots of little things, like the way a person pronounces a word might suggest an entire race in my writing. My main inspiration is hope. Hope is one thing you can’t allow to be taken from you, because without it life is meaningless.
God Slayer
Well, I knew that the main character was going to be immortal, because that curse is the crux of who Lord Thog is, so I wanted to think of an explanation. So originally, Thog became immortal because he killed a god, (Lord Armius), but it’s discovered later to not be the case.
Plot and Synopsis
Can you describe what the book plot and give a detailed synopsis of the book, of course without any spoilers.
Lord Thog of the Grey Marshes is more than seven hundred years old. In all that time, he’s lived the life of a soldier, always becoming involved in the wars of mortals who he fears and mistrusts. He avoids mortals, because he fears attachment because he knows that inevitably, they’ll die, and the pain grows more unbearable with each passing day.
He meets a pretty maid and finds himself strangely drawn to her. As time passes, they fall in love, but Lord Thog always keeps her at arms-length, because of his fears. Eventually, he discovers that she is the reincarnation of his wife, Myrian who died when he was very young.
During this time, Thog is asked to protect the Princess of Essensia, who was attacked by a rival nation. This causes a war and Lord Thog finds himself in the middle of two warring countries, as he discovers the dark truth about himself and his immortality.
Is there any movie, book, or television series that you can somewhat liken your story to? So for example, some books you can say are like Game of Thrones or Star Wars, what mainstream and popular movie do you think your book somewhat “feels” like? Did you want this to be the case?
Well, there are some similarities to Game of Thrones, but God Slayer is more character driven than GOT. It centers on one man, rather than an ensemble. Probably due to my love for Michael Moorcock, I see similarities to Elric of Melnibone, as far as being a tortured soul who wants to do the right thing, but his perspective is so different from mortal man, that he often fails.
Themes or Messages
What themes and deeper meanings or messages can we expect to find in this book if any? Is there any deep meanings or philosophical questions being explored in the book?
The underlying theme in God Slayer is hope. No matter how bad his life gets, Lord Thog always hopes for a better tomorrow and to one day be reunited with his beloved.
Off the wall question, but would some of the issues being explored in the book relate to us here in the real world?
Definitely. Having hope means that you never give up. You never give in to inevitability and you rage against the dying of the light. My wife fought every day, no matter what the doctors said. Even when she had a stroke and was on hospice, her focus was recovering the use of her left side and walking again. Although she lost her battle, she still inspires everyone who knew her.
Setting
What can you tell us about the setting that we will be seeing in this book?
God Slayer takes place mainly in two cities, Essensia and Beloria. Essensia is the jewel of the kingdom; decked out in ivory that’s taken in the barbaric “pachyderm plantations”. It’s outwardly beautiful, but corrupt and decadent.
Beloria is a city with many gardens and trees. The buildings are strong and functional, and the killing of animals is outlawed.
What cultures or societies can we expect to see and can you tell us about how you came up with creating these societies? Was it difficult to get deep into how the societies function?
The cultures are developed over time, as God Slayer is written with Lord Thog as the root, branching out from him. They worship various gods, but chief among them are Lord Armius (God of the Dead) and Lord Xixis (God of the Living). Ironically, it’s Xixis who is the more evil of the two.
Tell us about the history of the land or world or worlds that we will be exploring throughout the book?
Lord Thog is from a land called the Grey Marshes, named because of the overcast skies that remain year-round. He was a Warlord in the Great Militia, which was an enormous army that was at the disposal of the Essensian king. They were called a “peace-keeping” force that was sent to deal with enemies of the king.
The High Kings of Essensia ruled all the lands in Essensia until the original royal line died out. After this, other countries broke with Essensia and became independent countries. The Great Militia was eventually disbanded and the Grey Marshes deteriorated into a vast wasteland after hundreds of years of war.
Characters
What can you tell us about some of the main characters and villains in this book?
Lord Thog is a tortured and flawed hero. He has panic attacks and guilt over his past sins. As part of his condition, all the horrors of his life are etched in his eyes and they cause anyone gazing at them to collapse in terror.
Sienna is a maid who loves both Lord Thog and the Belorian Prince J’ohan. She’s the reincarnation of Thog’s wife, Myrian. She’s headstrong and tough, but extremely loving and fiercely protective.
Prince J’ohan is the ruler of Beloria. A noble and honorable man, he becomes friends with Lord Thog, who aids him in the war against Essensia.
General Mayven is a power hungry general and leader of the Essensian armies. He uses his position to usurp the throne by marrying the Essensian princess.
Lord Xixis is God of the Living. A jealous but powerful being who possesses General Mayven and uses this to wage war in an effort to destroy Lord Thog.
Promotional Links
Web: https://www.inkitt.com/georgebeighey
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/songsofimmortality
How to buy
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/George-Beighey/e/B078XRC92Z
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