Guest Post & #Giveaway: The Path of Redemption by Tom Haward

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#AlternateHistory,

With Grand Protector Faust missing and Caesar dead, Senator Frigus is trying to hold the fraying threads of the Empire together by keeping this information secret. The Empire is already fragile, and if the truth spills onto the streets of Rome and beyond, the Empire could crumble.

Faust is prisoner of the giant Bjorn Askå and his cellmate is the rebel leader, Boatman King. Abducted by Askå, they're now part of his grand plan to rule the entire world, with the Empire his next target. Can Faust and Boatman forge an alliance or are their own ambitions stronger than any desire for a truce?

A continent away, Bella, Maverick and the other rebels have escaped to the RIA where they lick their wounds from the disaster of Faust and Askå's attack on their underground headquarters. They believe they have covered their tracks and hope the 35, leaders of the RIA, will equip them to take the fight to Rome again, this time with the advantage of surprise.

Olivia King, though, she is tired of the fight. Traumatised from being tortured at the hands of Maximus Nero and conflicted about her husband's relentless desire to crush Rome, she is unsure whether she has the energy to keep fighting those who have caused her so much pain.

With the world and its people in turmoil, one thing is for certain: chaos remains in a world needing redemption.

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Southwark London 2030

Marcus flipped his eyepiece up and walked away from the vantage point he’d found for spying on what Maximus was doing. There were other crosses lining London Bridge, but in the cold January night, the bodies nailed to those crosses were quiet. If any were still alive, they were conserving energy, swapping between trying to breathe and trying to push themselves up on their nailed feet so their lungs were able to intake some life-saving oxygen. The orange glow of street lights showed the odd misty puff of breath feebly forming and then dispersing, like death swatting away the attempt at clinging on to life.

Indeed, the early morning, just before the arrival of dawn, was quiet. Quiet didn’t mean calm and he was feeling the pulse of adrenaline rushing through him. All the soldiers around him were because if they were guarding the son of Caesar then there was a good chance rebels would be appearing. It wasn’t guaranteed, but Maximus wanted to make a show of crucifying someone and he believed twenty-five soldiers as his protection was a necessary element to that.

When Marcus and his comrades were called up to be ready to go immediately, a few soldiers pulled out their phones and texted their loved ones saying they were going on a dangerous shift and to be prepared. Marcus scoffed at their fear and told them so. The response was that Marcus was new to this city and he should prepare himself for encountering Boatman King or The Beast, because that encounter would likely be his last on this earth.

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What’s your favourite rainy day movie?

I think I have watched Casablanca more than one hundred times. Every time I watch I think that this will be the time I lose interest or think I’ve seen it enough and another watch might ruin my adoration. This times never come and I watch it again and again and marvel at how brilliant one film can be. And I know it’s not the most polished or accomplished film in the history of cinema, but it is certainly that most dynamic filming regards to dialogue. Brits will always say that Americans don’t know sarcasm: they need to watch Casablanca.

Casablanca is very much a film which encouraged me to be a writer, because it proved to me that there will always be an audience for genuine, funny human interaction. It might read strange how that is what I take from one of the most romantic films of all time, but Casablanca, is my favourite film because of the amazing comedic dialogue. Rik’s cutting dialogue inspired me from a young age about what great scriptwriting could be. I watch Casablanca now and still struggle to think of other films which compare in regards to the slick dialogue. Yes, we have Tarantino and Scorsese, which go without saying in their ability to make dialogue which is hypnotic, but it feels like they would only have that dialogue because of films like Casablanca.

Casablanca is a film which keeps me in my happy place but also reminds me of what skills I always need to hone to be a good writer. Best. Film. Ever. 

Tom was born in Essex and at 4 months old he and his identical twin were adopted into an oyster farming family. Tom now runs the business as generation eight of Haward oyster farmers.  He has a fiancée, baby daughter and a cockapoo.

Tom has an MA in Creative Writing and has loved telling stories since he was a child, whether verbally or through prose.

The Path of Chaos was his debut novel. He is also working on a six episode comedy screenplay and tweets passionately about his family’s industry and the challenges it faces.

Website: https://tomhaward.co.uk/

Twitter: https://x.com/HawardTom

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tomhawardauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hawardtom

Tour hosted by: Goddess Fish Promotions