David Burrows Fantasy Author

  Do We Have Guardian Angels ? It is a question I have often returned to: if guardian angels truly existed, what would they be? A comforting presence? A warning voice in the dark? Or something older, stranger, and far less sentimental? That idea found its way into my books, first as a quiet hint in Legacy of the Eldric , then as a deeper and more dangerous thread in Dragon Rider and Shadow of the Demon . Across many cultures, people have imagined guardian spirits in one form or another. In some North American traditions, spirit guides or totems are often represented by animals, watching, warning, or lending strength. I borrowed something of that warmth: the human longing to believe that we are not entirely alone, that somewhere beyond sight, something knows us, remembers us, and may yet stand between us and the dark. What Is a Guardian Spirit in My Books? In my world, a guardian spirit—or shaol—is usually an ancestor bound in some mysterious way to the person it protec...

  A Few of the Rules in the Prophecy of the Kings In any fantasy tale, boundaries matter. Without them, magic becomes too convenient, danger loses its edge, and even the most powerful wizard can begin to feel limitless. One reviewer of The Prophecy of the Kings noticed that there was an easier way to end the story—an option I deliberately chose not to take. Instead, I followed a darker, more demanding path, one I hope makes the ending more interesting and more compelling. To keep that choice believable, I set clear limits on what certain characters, creatures, and powers could do. Here are some of the boundaries that shaped the world of the story. The difference between a sorcerer and a wizard In my books a sorcerer can be much more powerful than a wizard. Sorcerers access magic via the spirit world. At the lowest level this is summoning elementals such as air and fire. These are pretty harmless and are small sprites that can cast minor spells to cause fire, help to grow crops et...

I was daydreaming , staring deep into the dying embers of the coal fire, my eyes dry from the heat as I ignored the howl of the wind on a bitter January night. I jumped when a knock at the door interrupted my reverie. It was insistent , loud , and demanding ; a knock that shattered the calm and refused to be ignored. Sighing, I went to the door, angered by the loss of solitude and made more irritable by the frigid wind that greeted me. He was an old man with an old man's frailties. His face was long, and his flesh grey and wrinkled. Dark bags beneath his eyes suggested insomnia, the curse of the old. "Yes," I said, not hiding the anger that I felt. "I need to speak with you," he snapped, seemingly equally irritable. "Do I know you?" I asked, for his tone was that of a relative making demands. I did not like his look and was already pushing the door to when, remarkably swift for an old man, an arthritic claw grabbed the door and a boot...

  So, what attracts you to traditional fantasy I think traditional fantasy uses many familiar tropes that help create a great story: evil villains, believable magic, mythical creatures, dark forces, quests, and much more. Tolkien clearly encompassed all of this with a rich cast of fantasy characters, including elves, orcs, dwarves, dragons, and many others. One of the key elements that makes fantasy believable is the creation of a richly developed world, something Tolkien did amazingly well. He often revealed only parts of that world, which made it feel all the more mysterious. Since Tolkien, traditional fantasy has, in some respects, been succeeded by more modern classics, such as George R.R. Martin’s series of books, which present a fantasy world with a rich medieval atmosphere. So Why Legacy of the Eldric. When I first started reading fantasy, traditional fantasy was all there was. I loved reading Lord of the Rings , The Hobbit , and especially The Silmarillion . I a...

  How the Prophecy of the Kings began Writing a novel is rarely straightforward. I began with a single image: two stepbrothers deep within a vast cavern in the heart of a mountain. The cave is enormous, its darkness heavy and suffocating, as though unseen eyes are fixed upon them from every shadowed corner. With growing trepidation, the pair press on into the gloom. One of the brothers is a sorcerer, hungry for power, and betrayal lies at the very core of his nature. Together they discover a magical artefact suspended from the branch of a fossilised tree, an object that seems both ancient and unnaturally alive. The moment they seize it, bodiless voices erupt around them—shouting, screaming, and gibbering in a frenzy that fills the cavern. Terror-stricken, they turn to flee, but their limbs feel sluggish and unresponsive, as though they are trying to run through thick mud. The voices rise to a deafening crescendo, feeding their panic as they stumble through the darkness. At last, ...