GUEST POST + Giveaway: Krymzyn by BC Powell

Krymzyn 
by BC Powell 
Publication date: October 4th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, New Adult, Science Fiction

Synopsis:
Chase was twelve the first time he arrived in a strange land where dark, ominous clouds never move, ancient trees violently spring to life during Darkness, and people seem to live without emotion. Doctors tell him they’re hallucinations, but he knows his visits are real. She’s there-Sash-and she’s more real than anyone he’s ever known.

His visits stop but, as years pass, the memories haunt Chase. Without warning, the young man suddenly finds himself again in a world called Krymzyn. Arriving during Darkness, he’s rescued from death by the extraordinary, beautiful but terrifying young woman he first met when he was twelve.

When Chase is thrust into the war of balance against vile creatures who threaten all who live there, Sash helps him understand his purpose in Krymzyn. A dark secret from the beginning of time reveals he might be able to stay there forever. To prove he belongs in Krymzyn and be with the only woman he can ever love, Chase will have to risk his own life in the ultimate battle.

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TITLE: The Difficulty of Being Chase

Chase, the male protagonist in Krymzyn, went through many evolutions before his character finally came together in the way I hoped he would. In early drafts, I tried to build three phases to his personality: a frightened twelve-year-old, a rebellious teen, and a wise-beyond-his-years, early-twenties adult. My reaction to his character, and the reactions of early beta readers of the book, were all the same. Why would a woman as extraordinary as Sash is ever fall in love with him? That was a big problem and a real challenge for me.

I think many authors, and probably readers, would be shocked to know how many drafts of the book I went through before I finally found Chase’s tone. The majority of the book is written from his first-person perspective. The four sequences that are written from the third person, views of Sash in Krymzyn without Chase, flowed out of my fingertips and required virtually no rewriting and very little editorial. Finding the proper voice for Chase wasn’t nearly as smooth.

For inspiration, I looked at quatlities I admire in my own three sons, ranging in age from sixteen to twenty-three. They all take anything that comes their way in stride, they never complain, and they’re all attentive to other people’s feelings. They’re each curious, artistic, and compassionate in their own ways. By incorporating those qualities into Chase, it became much more natural to develop the connection between Sash and Chase, and obvious to see what Sash sees in him.

The most challenging aspect of Chase’s character, however, and the element to his personality that I’m most proud of, is when he faces a very difficult decision at the end of the book (I’ll keep it vague and won’t spoil). He weighs all the events of his life, his emotional experiences and those of the people he cares about, before making that decision.  An ongoing theme in the series is that, sometimes in life, each of us will have to make a choice that, no matter which path we choose, may cause suffering in people we care about. Chase has to work his way through many struggles, both on Earth and in Krymzyn, to reach the decision he does. His final decision will be an ongoing internal conflict throughout the series.

In the end, I’m proud of how Chase turned out. The challenges I faced while finding his voice make the end result even more rewarding. He’s like another son to me, probably because he embodies so many of the qualities I love in the three I already have.

AUTHOR BIO:

BC Powell is a fantasy author from Los Angeles, CA. "Krymzyn" is his debut science fiction fantasy novel, the first book in a series titled "The Journals of Krymzyn."
Powell has a diverse background, having held several creative positions in the entertainment industry, including executive roles at ABC-TV and Technicolor. In recent years, he's authored several non-fiction works, primarily educational books and training programs for trading the financial markets. He dual majored in journalism and philosophy at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Writing fiction has been his lifelong passion and goal. "Krymzyn" is his first published novel and represents, in his words, "finally finding the story I want to tell with characters that are able to bring that story to life." He's an avid reader and lists Ernest Hemingway, Frank L. Herbert, Stephen King, Jane Austen, and Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. as his favorite authors.

Brad, as he prefers to go by in personal communication, lives with his longtime girlfriend, three sons from a previous marriage, and their rescue dog and cat. He enjoys hiking, ocean kayaking, spending time at Southern California beaches, movies, and reading.

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