Gemenicia
The second part of Arthur and Jo’s strange adventures throughout the land of Discoucia, and a time when Archie the Water Goddess has made the ultimate sacrifice to rid the world of her nemesis, Cordelia Paradise, the Fire Goddess.
However, things rarely go to plan and Arthur finds himself at war with Archie’s hidden agenda rather than the insane task that he has to help Archie complete.
Hidden around Discoucia in its sixteen major cities are sixteen gems that Archie must collect before a year is up. If she wins then Cordelia will disappear to another dimension and not return until she agrees to stop causing forest fires, volcanic eruptions and droughts.
Team Archie has Arthur and Jo, who both have the understanding that by collecting these gems a natural order can be brought back and maybe Jo’s father will get well again. Team Cordelia has Alicia May, who has a talent for becoming anyone and a deep malicious streak; and Iren, who has a fanatical hatred for Archie, which Archie herself doesn’t like to talk about.
Along the way they meet old friends and old enemies, as well as Archie having to perform miracles without the use of divine power. From the murky ruins of Tanalos to the haunted corridors of Ashin Dance Academy, the frozen caverns of Icester and the verdant streets of Proceur, the adventure will take them around Discoucia and beyond, unless Cordelia and Alicia May can stop them first…
Q&A with Nicholas Lovelock
What is your favourite thing about being an Author?
My favourite thing is that I have an outlet for my imagination that before manifested itself as doodles in my school books. Now I have the opportunity to create an infinite multicoloured world that makes sense to me, not like a fair amount of the real world.
Who is your favourite character in your book and why?
My favourite character is Alicia May, who I like mainly because she is so much more complex than other characters give her credit for. She is torn between following her mother in the line of evil or doing what she truly wants to, however basic freedom is all that she really wants come the end of the novel.
What is your favourite drink to consume while writing?
Coffee or Pepsi Max mostly keep me going full blast when I’m writing notes, however when it comes to writing the final draft I stick to Sparkling Water. It has had the side effect of clicking my joints in my fingers more often, maybe there’s something magical in it.
Do you have any bad habits while writing?
I am unable to work unless something else is going on, so I usually have to watch some interesting film or a television series. If it’s new then I tend to get very distracted, my own method turning on me. My mind doesn’t tend to wander, it sprints.
How do you research your books?
It’s a very elongated process that can sometimes take weeks and months to finish, as all the notes become paragraphs, paragraphs become sequences, sequences become chapters and chapters in turn become the finished novel. However sometimes when I get a germ of an idea I write it down and look through books or the internet if there is any historical fact in it, or in case of the Steampunk inventions if there is a scientific was of truly making it work.
Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I am a plantser, I begin by flying to collect ideas and put them later into plots in the ‘hanger’. I’ll go off the beaten track if the idea doesn’t work and try to find a way for it to work later on, putting it in my Household Objects file with the rest of the ideas without a home. They will fit into plots somewhere down the line but until then they can stay in the ‘Idea Orphanage’.
If you could live in a fictional world, which would it be and why?
If I could live somewhere fictional I would choose to be Watson to Sherlock Holmes, but in a Steampunk imagining of the world as seen in creations like Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes of Miyazaki’s Sherlock Hound. To see the Victorian World in a time of great innovation is one thing, but to live in it and not be poor at the time would be amazing, as let’s be honest, it helps to be rich when being back in time. That would also answer the question of which character I would befriend, as I always thought that being the wingman to Sherlock Holmes would be awesome. It means less pressure as nobody really looks to Watson all the time to sole a case yet he was essential to the process and had amazing experiences working with the man.
