The Phoenix Project is available to buy for just $0.99 / £0.99 from July 11th – July 17th. After that, the price returns to $4.99 – so why not grab a copy of this psychological dystopian thriller now!
How can you fight to the death, when you’ve given up on life?
A thought provoking and compelling dystopian world that will change the way you view justice.
Britain has descended into chaos, as violence and terrorist attacks seethe across the once-peaceful country. Outraged by the steady stream of lawlessness, citizens demand a harsher penal system, and the Phoenix Project is born.
In prisons across the country, inmates fight to the death in a weekly bloodbath while the nation cheers them on.
Raven Kennedy, a prisoner who has never forgiven himself for his unspeakable crime, struggles against his own guilt and self-loathing. But even as the real war rages on within himself, Raven is forced to battle some of the prison’s most ruthless killing machines.
Fighting for his life and a chance for redemption, can Raven survive long enough to unravel the anger and regret that shackle him – and find the forgiveness he seeks?
“A superbly written debut, soaked in tension and intrigue.” Jack Croxall, author of the ‘Tethers’ trilogy.
Today is #IndiePrideDay – a day when independent artists come together and celebrate their success and creativity. Indies don’t have teams of marketing agents behind them, and if they don’t get their own work out there, nobody else will. Each and every Indie has worked so hard to get themselves to where they are today.
So today I am standing beside my fellow Indies and feeling proud of our achievements!
To celebrate this day, my children’s book ‘Soren’ is FREE on Amazon for the next few days! Grab a copy here:
The cover for my newest novelA Chronicle of Chaosfeatures a shield with eight symbols carved upon it. Each of the symbols represents a different army, faction or group of people within the series. Over the next eight days, to complement the release countdown, I will be posting about each of the symbols to give some background on the armies you can expect to learn about in Chaos and the upcoming novels in the series.
The first symbol I will be talking about can be seen on the right of the shield:
This is the sigil of the Children of Light-one of the two main warring armies in the series. The Children of Light are led by immortal warrior queen Callista Nienna. Callista is the matriarch of her family, leader of her armies and the ruler of the entire nation of Alcherys (the country where the Children of Light are based).
Their symbol, known as ‘the four daggers of eternity’ was designed by Callista in her early years, when she was first rallying support for her army. She saw the symbol in an ancient text of unknown origin called the Book of Alcherys and decided to take the symbol as her own.
The four daggers represent strength and honour, pointed inwards to stress the importance of looking upon your inner self, and maintaining relations with family. In the centre is the swirl of infinity. This represents the eternal war, brought about by the elixir of youth, the reason why Callista and her army will never age.
Characters from this army that you can expect to see in A Chronicle of Chaos include:
Callista Nienna – Warrior queen and matriarch of the Children of Light.
Hayden Lennox – One of Callista’s husbands, and father of many of her children.
Ryan Thialdor – One of Callista’s sons and a powerful, high-ranking officer in the army.
Jordan Thialdor – Another of Callista’s sons. As a child genius, Jordan became the head of the tactical division in the Children of Light and now masterminds many of Callista’s military operations.
Mikhail Bavelize – A young man who joined the Children of Light after defecting from the Brotherhood. Mikhail has an incredible power, but is reluctant to use it.
The Phoenix Project is a story that is very close to my heart. I had the original idea in 2002 and it has slowly grown with the input of a variety of influences and inspirations.
Raven Kennedy: Raven began as the villain, Vincent, in my first novel “Dead End” (an idea which never came to fruition). The plot didn’t work, but I adored his character so I kept him and developed him more as an antagonist in the fantasy world of ‘The Light and Shadow Chronicles’ (You may have met him in the first of the series, ‘A Chronicle of Chaos’).
I loved the character so much that I took the idea of him and developed it in another direction—into the dark and depressed Raven in my next novel, ‘The Phoenix Project.’
Having worked with Raven for so long, I am very emotionally attached to him. Even though he is fictional, I feel that he is a part of my heart and soul. Hence this tattoo:
Raven also features as a major character in ‘The Light and Shadow Chronicles.’ I don’t think I will ever write a book that doesn’t have Raven in it in some way. He is my muse and my access to my creativity.
The decline of religion: Religion plays an important role in my life, which is unusual, as I am agnostic. I feel that faith is beautiful and special. I, sadly, am not lucky enough to have it myself, but I don’t understand why people blame religion for the world’s problems. I wanted to portray a world which was clearly worse for the decline of religion in an attempt to show the benefits of faith.
Salverford prison: I travelled a lot whilst I was writing ‘The Phoenix Project’ and many of the places that I visited helped to fuel my imagination and give depth to my work. On a trip to Rome, I visited the Colosseum and was inspired by the ancient building. The exhibits on gladiators gave me a deeper understanding of the life of a person forced to fight to the death. I was able to pick out certain details and use them in ‘The Phoenix Project’ – such as the type of food gladiators were given to eat.
I also spent some time in Krakow, Poland, and visited Aushwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. I’ll never forget the horror of the place, particularly Block 11, the torture and incarceration block. The long, thin cell which Raven passes in the Ruby Tower dungeons comes directly from a cell I saw at Auschwitz-Birkenau. The descriptions of smoke billowing from small chimneys also come from things I saw at Auschwitz.
The place which gave me the most inspiration for Salverford, especially the underground cellars of Ruby Tower and the dark room, was the Terror Haza Museum in Budapest. This museum is the old offices of the Soviet Union Stasi and, later, The Nazi party’s Gestapo. Underneath the building, in the cold, dark cellars, is a grim and depressing dungeon of tiny, damp cells and a crushing sense of futility. I crept inside one of the waist-high cells and sat in pitch darkness and felt despair crowding in on me. This is where the ‘dark room’ was born.
For more information on the Terror Haza Museum, visit:
I love the city of Rome. I’ve visited three times and have loved it more every time! Setting the finale in Rome fitted in well with the religion theme and gave the novel a focus, but I also enjoyed writing about a place I loved so dearly. The Colosseum was a great place for Raven to end up as an ironic safe place.
As I was coming close to finishing ‘The Phoenix Project’, I was preparing myself to write the epilogue about Rome. My incredibly thoughtful husband surprised and delighted me by treating me to a holiday in Rome for Valentine’s day in 2010. It meant that I was able to write that final chapter in Rome itself.
This remarkable three volume collection encompasses numerous and varied stories of acts and deeds of crime and violence. Paul White has once again woven his masterly spell of intrigue into each stories plot. Secrecy, scheming, plotting and conspiracy live hand-in-hand with outrageous and shocking violence, viciousness and brutality.
All three volumes of Tales of Crime & Violence are packed with carnage and bloodshed and mayhem, while an ominous sense of sinister, physiological apprehension lingers in the dark shadows.
Tales of Crime & Violence contains graphic acts of violence, profanities and sexual reference. It is not recommended for reading for those under adult age.
Tales of Crime & Violence is available in a paperback collection of three volumes, or on Kindle as a complete ‘box-set’.
EXCERPT.
……….The Sheriff stopped, as did the two deputies in the following cruisers. Together we walked to the car. I handed one of the deputies the keys. You could feel the heat reflecting from the steel of the bodywork.
It was one hell of a hot day.
When the deputy opened the driver’s door a blast of superheated air escaped. It was so extreme it forced us to take a step backwards and twist our heads away from its intensity. But it was the smell which was most overpowering. I saw, but did not comprehend the glance between the law men. However, I knew that my day was going to get worse when they handcuffed me.
My day certainly became a living nightmare when they opened the trunk. Bobby lay inside. His throat had been sliced from ear to ear and his eyes gouged out. The heat had caused his body to swell and the blood to cook.
I only recognised him by his jeans and boots.
After that it was all a bit of a blur. I was bundled into the sheriff’s car and we raced the few miles to the motel. It looked as deserted as when I left a few hours ago.
From room fourteen all the way to room twenty the doors were open. They were the doors I kicked open during my frantic search for the others.
I explained this to the Officers.
The thing that interested the Sherriff was the sign hanging from the doorknob of room thirteen.
I had not noticed that sign in my earlier panicky state. It said ‘Do not disturb’. What was interesting the lawmen most was the smudged bloody handprint on that sign.
The Deputies drew their guns and crashed the door.
It flew open. The intense odour of putrid dead flesh flooded my nostrils.
Inside the room, laid out across the bed were Kathy and Taylor. They were tethered to the bedstead with strands of rusting wire cable, spread-eagled and naked. Their stomachs had been slit open and their entrails extended across the floor.
Those black flies and an army of brown rats were busily feasting on their remains………
My 4Wills blog tour for The Phoenix Project will take place over the next few weeks, stopping at the blogs of lots of wonderful writers. To see where I’ll be on each day, check out the tour schedule here:
I am giving away two free book bundles, where you can win a signed paperback of The Phoenix Project, plus a paperback of my children’s book, Soren.
Soren – middle-grade adventure fantasy
To be eligible to win one of these sets, merely leave a comment on any stop along the tour, including this one and you could be one of our two lucky winners!!!
The first stop on our tour starts today at the blog of the wonderful John Fioravanti, where you can learn about the changes from the first to the second edition of The Phoenix Project:
To celebrate the release of the second instalment in the Rise of the Elohim chronicles, the Eye of Mares is going to blog hopping like a headlining rockstar, multiple showings for over the course of two weeks, with a new page shared with each appearance, continuing from where the last one went off and today I get to host the latest page:
The Eye of Mares – Part 22
…“What news?” Mako probed.
An illness of an unknown origin, has taken hold of Retina. Already half of its inhabitants have fallen seriously ill and the island’s doctor is struggling to identify the cause.
“That is most serious, but we are warriors, not doctors. Just what is it you expect us to do about it?”
Well, for starters, I believe the illness may well be the work of the Shanzi.
“Shanzi? I can see how you would make such a conclusion. We both know of a Shanzi who fits the bill.”
You refer to Shaymon, bringer of diseases?
“I do, and furthermore, if Shaymon is the cause, than it only stands to reason that Mongra and Stavros are too.” Dark thoughts filled Mako’s mind. If all three were roaming Mares, true danger lay in wait. Together, the combined powers of Darkari’s sons and trusted Generals overwhelmed that of the Shanzi King’s. “If they are indeed the freed Shanzi, we must find all three at once.”
I am of the same mind and I believe I may have already found all three of them. Izal’s words sparked hope inside Mako.
“Let mind form words and make them heard,” Mako replied immediately, eager to know.
On Pupill, some mouths let slip a story of a phantom wolf. One that came to their little island in the dark of night before it was slain by Cooper, the resident Watcher.
“How long ago did such an incident occur? I never heard of this.”
If the accounts I have heard are true, it was the same night that you and Zach drew swords against Shimay.
“Stavros has been known to take the form of a great wolf and Pupill is just the kind of place he would strike.”
You could even let the adventure continue and check out its prequel, where the story began and the series was created: The Spirit of Iris – Out now!
****Book specifics****
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Author: Rocky Rochford
Illustrator: Ashleigh Longman
Title:The Eye of Mares
Series:Book 2 of the Rise of the Elohim Chronicles
Genre:Illustrated YA fantasy adventure
Book Content Rating: Suitable for ages 12 and up
Tag-line:“Darkness has many forms and Mares is its playground.”
Blurb:
Nearly four years have passed since Zach drew blade against the Shanzi Shimay and now the time has come for him to draw his sword once more. The Realm of Mares has fallen victim to invasion as three terrifying beasts of darkness, seek to destroy the world around them, as they await the inevitable arrival of their King.
With dark times ahead, the numbers of the Watchers on Iris has grown, as Zach is joined by seven fellow students, all too eager to prove their worth. It’s not long before the students are put to the test facing off against the Nein Navy and uncover a dark secret.
The stage is set and the Battle for Mares is under-way.
Rocky Rochford Biography
Rocky Rochford is your standard guy, if your standard guy scuba dives, partakes in underwater photographer and is a wake-boarding, adventure seeking, sword collecting, marine conservation supporter. After living life on the road and the places between, he finally settled down but not without benefiting from all the lessons life had to teach him.
Self-professed “Student of Everything, and Master of Nothing,” Rochford does not choose what he writes, but writes what chooses him, be it fantasy, crime, poetry, philosophy or even adventure. Life is a journey we all get to experience, just like a good book.
Every read into another of his typed works is another trip into the imagination of his mixed up, crazed and deranged mind and this year along those works include the likes of full novels and novellas such as:
Other works released by him, are a number of short stories pertaining to horror, paranormal and romance, as well as other works released as part of an anthology:
Awethology Dark (featuring Ghosts) – An Anthology by the #Awethors (Adult stories pertaining to a darker theme)
The December Awethology Dark Volume (featuring Seven Years Bad Luck) – An Anthology by the #Awethors (Adult stories pertaining to a darker theme, set around December)
Immersive fantasy fiction 