Andrew Q. Gordon | Champion of the Gods Series | #Giveaway #LGBT #Freebies #Sale

We are VERY excited to welcome our featured author Andrew Q. Gordon on Rainbow Gold Reviews. It is my great pleasure to introduce you to his epic fantasy series Champion of the Gods, because not only do I love the fantasy genre and know that you guys will enjoy the M/M aspect of the series, but the author hasn’t come empty-handed.  

Andrew hasn’t just written a wonderful guestpost about his DSP Publications series, but EVERYONE of you will get a FREE eBook copy of The Last Grand Master (Champion of the Gods 1) AND a FREE eBook copy of the prequel First Love. On top of that, The Eye and the Arm (Champion of the Gods 2) has been put on SALE for $.99. Pretty awesome, right? Well, that’s still not all!

Andrew and his publisher DSP Publications (the genre fiction imprint of Dreamspinner Press) have agreed to add a GIVEAWAY with 4 winners to this spotlight. One winner will get an e-copy of Champion of the Gods 2 AND 3 and three winners will get a free e-copy of Champion of the Gods 2. And again – that’s on top of the free e-copies of Champion of the Gods 0.5 and Champion of the Gods 1 that all of you get.

Comment on this post to enter the giveaway. Any additional comment you make anywhere on Rainbow Gold Review after that until April 30th, 2016 at 11:59 PM CDT will give you an additional entry. More giveaway details below. GOOD LUCK!

*****

Champion of the Gods:

It took the Seven to make the world. Each to rule Their own domain. Until One wanted to control them all.

In the Great War of ancient times, Neldin, the God of Death, sought to rule the world. He almost succeeded, but Kel, the Champion of the Six, destroyed Neldin’s bridge into the world and closed the Eight Gates of Neblor. Some thought forever.

But Neldin returned. His servant, Meglar, surprised his enemies and all the great wizards who opposed him. So the Six chose a new Champion to save the world. Young and untested, Farrell struggles to unite those who oppose Neldin. With each confrontation, however, his task seems ever more impossible.

*****

Authors often say, ‘the story came to me.’ That sounds a lot like Smeagle saying “the Precious, it came me,” in LOTR, but then fiction often reflects the real world. As an author, I can say that some stories do come to me like Athena to Zeus. They are fully formed when they emerge. Others need some coaxing.

Champion of the Gods was a bit of both. I wanted to write something that was more like ‘me.’ No, I’m not a wizard, but I am gay. That’s the ‘me’ I wanted to see. The story itself took a bit of coaxing, but it has come to me as well.

One of the things I want most with this series is to break beyond the MM genre. Not leave the genre behind, but expand beyond. The MM world is a great place, filled with wonderful people, many of whom I now call friends. They supported me when I started, and support me now. The MM world has given me the foundation to stand upon as I shout to the world this is a good epic fantasy series that doesn’t need a qualifier. To be clear, the series is MM fantasy, but I think of the series as fantasy first with an MM element.

Some things about the series:

The Last Grand Master is the first book in the series. First Love is a prequel I wrote before the release of Book 2 that deals with an event ten years prior to the main story arc. First Love probably doesn’t have enough background to be a stand-alone. Reading The Last Grand Master first will help. And since both, First Love and The Last Grand Master are free, there’s no reason not to start with Book One first, and then read the prequel.

Originally this was going to be four books, but that was before I realized that publishing had a word limit. To one who read a lot of epic fantasy, if the books were less than four hundred pages, it was a lightweight. But the reality is, publisher wanted something more than fifty percentage shorter than I envisioned each book. So I reworked, plotted, moved, cut, changed and figured I’d be able to squeeze it into seven books. Now that DSP Publications is moving to market their LGBTQ fiction to the broader market, they allowed me to double my words. So my plan now is to get this done in five books. Book Four is finished, and Five is well underway.

The story has magic—one review called it, ‘seriously cool magic’—unicorns, giant raptors, other beings—‘beings’ is the term given to non-human creatures who have intelligence at least as great as humans—and gods. Despite all that, to me, the story is at its core, Farrell’s journey. If you’re worried you’ll get bogged down in the smoke and mirrors of magic and world building, let me allay that concern. There are those things in the story, but those are there to provide an interesting backdrop to the story. If I’ve done my job well—and I believe I have—this is a character driven story and not one that lurches between magic and fighting and more magic and then an epic battle or seven… you get the point.

Last, if you’d like to keep up with the series and find out what’s happening, sign up for my monthly newsletter. It really is a monthly thing so you won’t get hit with emails every week – promise. (Who has time for that?) Here’s the link if you’re interested.

Thanks again to Rainbow Gold for having me, and enjoy the journey.

—AQG

*****

On a visit to Yar-del with Grand Master Heminaltose to celebrate his age of majority birthday, Farrell catches the eye of Lieutenant Cameron, a handsome young officer in the Queen’s Guard. But having spent most of his life cooped up at Heminaltose’s school for wizards, Farrell is clueless as to palace intrigue. He is unaware that his access to the queen is something others would greatly prize. When the queen points out that his suitor is the son of a social climbing minor noble, Farrell must decide whether to heed the warning or meet with Cameron anyway.

Buy Links: DSP Publications [FREE] | Add to Goodreads

*****

*****

In a war that shook the earth, the six gods of Nendor defeated their brother Neldin, god of evil. For three thousand years, Nendor and the Seven Kingdoms have known peace and prosperity and Neldin’s evil was nearly forgotten.

But then Meglar, wizard king of Zargon, unleashes the dark magic of the underworld and creates an army of creatures to carry out his master’s will. One by one, the sovereign realms fall as a new war between the gods threatens to engulf Nendor.

Leading the opposition to Meglar is Grand Master Farrell. Young and untried, Farrell carries a secret that could hold the key to defeating Meglar—or it could destroy the world.

Farrell is joined by Nerti, queen of the unicorns and Miceral, an immortal muchari warrior the Six have chosen as Farrell’s mate. As Farrell and his new allies make plans to counter Neldin’s evil, Meglar forces their hand when he invades a neighboring kingdom. Rushing to help their ally, Farrell and Miceral find themselves in the middle of the battle. Cut off from help, Farrell attempts an untried spell that will either turn the tide or cost he and Miceral their lives.

Buy Links [FREE] | Add to Goodreads

*****

*****

After defeating Meglar at Belsport, Farrell returns to Haven to recover from his injuries, but Khron, the god of war, has other ideas. He gives Farrell a new mission: free the survivors of the ancient dwarf realm of Trellham from their three-thousand-year banishment. To fulfill Khron’s near impossible task, Farrell will need the help of his distance ancestor, the legendary wizard Kel. But Kel has been dead for a thousand years.

Farrell finds information hinting that Kel is alive, so he moves his search to Dumbarten, Kel’s birthplace. To reach Dumbarten unannounced, Farrell and Miceral disguise themselves as mercenaries on board a merchant vessel. Their journey is disrupted when pirates attack their ship. While attempting to subdue the attack, Farrell is struck down by one of Meglar’s minions.

Unconscious and trapped in his own mind, Farrell’s only chance for survival rests with Miceral and the peregrine king Rothdin entering his thoughts and helping him sort fact from illusion. To reach Farrell, they will need to rely on an untested spell from one of Kel’s spellbooks. If they succeed, Miceral can guide Farrell home safely. If not, Farrell will destroy not only himself, but Miceral, Rothdin, and everyone around him.

Buy Links [SALE] | Add to Goodreads

*****

*****

Dumbarten should have been the end of Farrell’s efforts to find his distant ancestor Kel, but the Six have other plans. Farrell is told to continue his search for answers in Agloth, the temple city to Seritia. Forced by the Goddess to ride across the vast continent of Lourdria, Farrell and his companion learn that Meglar’s reach extends well beyond the borders of Ardus. And Agloth, despite being dedicated to the Goddess of Love, is also home to a millennia-old curse that Farrell must end if he wants to complete his task.

Answers don’t come easily, and Farrell determines he must travel to the Dwarf Kingdom of Colograd to continue his quest. When an ally of Meglar’s threatens Agloth, Farrell cuts short his time in Colograd and rushes back to defend Seritia’s home. The attack seems doomed to fail, but the death of one of his companions distracts Farrell at a critical moment. Battling against his crushing grief, Farrell struggles to save Agloth, his friends, and himself. And even if he survives, he still hasn’t found Kel or his answers.

Buy Links | Add to Goodreads

*****

Comment on this post for the chance to win:

• [One Winner] an eBook bundle of ‘Champion of the Gods 2 & 3’ 
• [Three Winner] an e-copy of ‘Champion of the Gods 2’ 

Every comment you leave on any post on the blog after that until April 30th, 2016 at 11:59 PM CDT will give you an additional entry.

You need to be 18 years or older to participate in this giveaway. Void where prohibited. Etc.

List of readers who have entered this giveaway & number of entries [4/25/16]

• debby236: 4 Entries
• jenf27: 2 Entries
• susana: 3 Entries
• Lee Todd: 4 Entries
• Purple Reader: 1 Entry
• Jana Denardo: 1 Entry
• Helena Stone: 1 Entry

16 Entries for this giveaway. Here are the randomly drawn winners, determined through random.org:

Entries 16 (Helena Stone), 3 (debby236) and 7 (susana) win an e-copy of ‘Champion of the Gods 2’. 

Entry 13 (Lee Todd) wins an eBook bundle of ‘Champion of the Gods 2 & 3’

 

*****

Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write.

He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his husband of twenty-one years, their daughter and dog. In addition to dodging some very self-important D.C. ‘insiders’, Andrew uses his commute to catch up on his reading. When not working or writing, he enjoys soccer, high fantasy, baseball and seeing how much coffee he can drink in a day.

---

Follow Andrew:

Website: www.andrewqgordon.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/andrewqugordon

Twitter: @andrewqgordon

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+AndrewQGordon

Email: andrew@andrewqgordon.com