OFFICIAL PANTHEONS SYNOPSIS: On the streets, they call fifteen year old orphan Isaiah Marshall the "Indestructible Diamond". Isaiah is the leader of the "Redrovers", a group of teenage misfits consisting of his friends Jeremy, Monty, and Pipsqueak, who one day find themselves in way over their heads when they trespass into Kaliber Academy to get even with the arrogant Jason Ollopa. Principal Webb enrolls them into the High School and Isaiah soon learns about the existence of the gods of the Ancient World. Because the gods have refused to fight the last War for fear of the Mysterious Dark, the Powers-that-Be have stripped them of their spiritual bodies and given them mortal, teenage forms.
Isaiah soon discovers he's not only a god, but that he's the child of the Greek goddess Metis and the son destined to overthrow his cruel and sadistic father Zeus, the Darkener of the Sky, and become the greatest god in all the Pantheons. Isaiah is then thrown into a world where the democratic Olympians, war-mongering Norse, Gothic Celts, firstborn Egyptians, the enlightened Hindu, the animal-like Aztecs, the martial artist Asians, the intelligent Babylonians, the great spirits of the Native American Indians, and the fierce Finnish will war against one another for the greatest of all prizes: the Dominion...
To help support the release of Pantheons—a self-published YA ebook with distribution through Sea Lion Books—Ernst J. Dabel has released an interview HERE discussing the new book as well as future projects, including another YA series called ALBINO. To help augment that original interview, Mr. Dabel graciously agreed to answer a few follow-up questions which can be found below:
Q: The decision to release Pantheons as an E-Book?
Ernst: The e-book market is still new and fresh and there is a need for good product. I think Pantheons will help fill that need. The book can go directly to the consumer without first going through a middleman, the retailer. By going directly to the consumer there is a greater chance for any e-book to be successful.
Q: The appeal of ancient mythology?
Ernst: I don't think mythology would have appealed to me as much if I hadn't read Tolkien's Silmarillion back when I was twelve years old. It was very shortly after I had finished reading every Tolkien book that I stumbled into Norse mythology. I learned of the dwarf Andvari and his golden ring, Andvaranaut, which was capable of producing gold and the part it played with the tragic fate of the hero Sigurd. I then sucked up all the information I could on the Norse. Not long after I found out about some of the other Pantheons and in every ancient myth I read, I tried to find some similarity between the gods and the Powers of Arda, I think for me that was the appeal of it. Are there similarities between Hercules and Tulkas? Are there similarities between Zeus and Manwe? Both of Zeus and Manwe lived on the tallest mountain and they both chose the eagle as their bird of choice. Those were some of the questions that went through my head when I first started reading mythology as a kid (grins).
Q: The difficulties of working ancient mythology into a modern setting?
Ernst: There are tons of difficulties working these mythologies into a modern setting, but this also offers the chance for creativity as well. For example, in ancient Celtic myths, Dagda, the Chief-god of the Celts possessed a Cauldron, which had an endless supply of food. There was no way I could have a teenaged Dagda walking around with a cauldron. So I changed the cauldron to a potato chip bag, not just any chips mind you but my own brand of Cranton potato chips :) From this small bag of chips, Dagda is able to pull out any food he wants, and that's a good thing, because he's always hungry.
Q: What kind of research was undertaken?
Ernst: The way I do my research works very well for me. I'd read about a certain god for instance, and there would be 50 other gods mentioned in that one reading, so once done, I would go back and thoroughly read about each of those 50 other gods, and each of those 50 would have a whole bunch of new deities mentioned in their story as well, and I would read about each and every one of them. This takes quite a bit of time and that is why I appreciate my wife very much, because when I get lost in these endless webs of stories, she reminds me that I have to eat, sleep, and yes, even breathe, lol :)
Additionally, Mr. Dabel talks a bit more about his other series ALBINO: "Albino does to woodland creatures what Lord of the Rings did for fantasy back in Tolkien's time. In other words Albino takes woodland creatures into a story that even adults would care to read ;) There will be black-and-white artwork scattered inside of the novel, and the target audience is 12-16, but the story can be read and enjoyed even by adults." Not only that, but the author has also provided an official synopsis of ALBINO:
OFFICIAL ALBINO SYNOPSIS: The white mouse Albino always believed that he would live with the old farmer William Springer forever, eating Cheddar cheese and enjoying life at the farm. But after he is kidnapped by the street urchin Darl and violently thrown into a raging river to drown, he wakes up in the middle of a strange and mysterious forest and his life is changed forever as he finds himself in a world unlike anything he could ever imagine.
Aided by an odd crow, he begins an adventure filled with action, danger, and ultimately a final confrontation against his worst nightmares.
The ancient and cruel rats called the Ma'aldee are on the move, while the Spiritual Guardians of the Land whisper in fear and dread of the coming of Emperor Loucura, Lord of the Ma'aldee.
Only Albino has the power to save the Land...
Going back to Pantheons, readers can enter a giveaway HERE to win one of five prizes, including copies of the e-book Pantheons and a Signed Glossy Print of the Pantheons cover! Giveaway ends on Monday, January 9, 2012.
ABOUT E.J. DABEL:
Ernst J. Dabel is the President and co-owner of Dabel Brothers Productions, a publishing company specializing in comics and graphic novels. Ernst's company has adapted novels by major authors such as Dean Koontz, Laurell K. Hamilton, Jim Butcher, George R.R. Martin, Robert Jordan, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Orson Scott Card, Raymond E. Feist, R.A. Salvatore, Patricia Briggs, Robert Silverberg, Tad Williams, and others. Pantheons is his first novel.
Fascinating. I immediately tried to find ALBINO with no luck. Is it in print?
E.J. Dabel said...
Thank you, Richard. ALBINO will be released digitally in March. There will be more information on my Goodreads page about it shortly, here is the link http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5388944.E_J_Dabeland The colors on the ALBINO cover should be almost done as well, and I will post it on there soon.
This is such a great interview, it was a great insight to the story and makes me even more excited to read it. I am starting Pantheons right after I finish the book I'm currently reading. So excited!
Richard, the Albino cover is now up:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13412277-albino
Thank you Natasha!