'Angel of Vengeance' Descends to Kindle

It's taken a while, but Fenriswulf Books have now just released the complete 'Angel of Vengeance' story for readers on the Amazon Kindle platform. Originally planned as a three-part illustrated series, this release features the complete text (the first part of which received some jolly good feedback on Authonomy.com), as well as a selection of artwork from the original two ebooks as a bonus feature.

UK readers can download it here.

US readers can find it here.

Oh, and the book will be available free to all between the dates of 25th - 29th September.

Please note: this one's definitely not for kids, even while some of the original content has been toned down for a general audience. At its heart, though, it remains an earthy parable of redemption and the will of the individual, and is not intended as a serious philosophical statement on the nature of divinity, or morality!

Early August News Round-Up

Well the first part of the 'Sword and the Ring' Kindle giveaway was a fine success, with a couple of hundred units shifted in three days (and a good few dozen in Germany, fittingly enough - the spiritual and mythical home of the 'Ring' Cycle!) We still have 2 days left of that promo to run so will keep you posted when we plan to run that. The artwork for this series continues to generate a good buzz on Deviantart, probably because there is already a well-defined audience for this kind of myth-based fantasy - albeit in a very idiosyncratic style.

Art and writing work on the Book 2 of this series is going well, although Book 1 will no doubt continue to be tweaked and revised as we gather more feedback. A review with Readers Favorite had been scheduled, then postponed, as I pondered whether to tone down some of the more mature content. That's still on the cards for sometime soon, though.

Morgen Bailey ran this interview with me last year, but she's now re-publishing all her author Q&As on a new blog to raise a little more awareness for folks. Be sure to check out her new pages and give her some support, won't you!

Angel of Vengeance - Episode 2 Now Available

After something of a hiatus, Chaz recently picked up the thread of the 'Angel of Vengeance' graphic fiction series and has just released episode 2 in downloadable e-book format - recent positive comments for episode 1 having been a main inspiration, and thanks to everyone on the Authonomy website who bothered to read the text and share their views.



"Episode 2 of 3 - the dark tale continues. Expelled from heaven for the sin of lechery, onetime angel Aldaraia finds herself alone in modern-day Hamburg, where she makes the acquaintance of an exiled demon named Bosch. Having rescued the bewildered fallen angel from a psychotic would-be rapist, Bosch's first mission is to find his new companion some suitable clothes. To this end they break into Max Overdrive's Leather Store on the Reeperbahn, only to run into the henchmen of Mr. Skinn - a being of diabolical evil, vomited from the foulest depths of Hell - who has his own abominable plans for Aldaraia. And they do not concern trendy motorcycle clothing, either. Can Bosch, against all the odds, hope to rescue his damsel in distress from Skinn's sick clutches? Graphic adult fantasy with a dark and twisted edge. Note: Strictly mature readers only (18+). Illustrated with over a dozen b/w drawings."

Episode 2 can be downloaded here.

'Angel of Vengeance': Issue 1 Gets Good Critique

The prose of Issue 1 of Chaz's dark and adult graphic adventure series recently got some remarkably good feedback at www.authonomy.com, despite it being only the first part of the story, and without any of the integral artwork and design. The text was included in an online anthology entitled 'Read With Mother' (Part 2). Chaz has since departed that site, having not enough time, sadly, to do justice to his fellow writers' works, but came away with some great comments for the first part of Bosch and Aldaraia's twisted adventures:

FrancesK wrote:

"Angel of Vengeance - loved it. Though I can't see how it will translate into a graphic novel - will you leave out the descriptions? I'd give this 5 stars for the wing removal scene alone. That really got to me, having been an angel in the school nativity play age 5 and being unaware of anything - the audience, the other actors, the story - because of the intoxicating rustling of my enormous wings. Cool stuff, Chaz!"

Iso Nuys said:

"I can easily see an audience for this kind of novel, Chaz. The very beginning feels a bit of a trek at times. I like the informal interjections, but at the same time they do take you out of the moment. I think it probably gives you a bit of leeway to streamline some of these (the more biblical) first passages and get things moving a little quicker. There’s no doubt it’s nicely written, but the formal tone can feel leaden.

The wry humour works. The introduction of Bosch is wonderfully played out. I would give some consideration to what he is able to narrate and what he clearly can’t have witnessed first-hand. ‘This is where I come in,’ comes after a passage of description, and so the reader thinks, well, how does he know what just happened then? This is a very promising and fun read."

Bunderful said:

"This read like a cross between Danielle Trussoni's "Angelology" - and Terry Pratchett/Neil Gaiman's "Good Omens" - but darker. A combination of graphic yet lyrical description, comedy and sex. I'd like to see where you are going to take this... "

JS Watts said:

"I like the shift from epic, biblical language into chatty everyday demon.. Although written as a graphic story, it worked well as just pure, un-illustrated, and very smooth prose. The story had my attention and the characterization of Bosch worked well and was amusing. Not surprisingly, it is a very visual piece of writing.

Apart from a few nits note below, my only gripe is that it is clearly an extract. I like my short stories to have a beginning, a middle and an end. This has a beginning and a middle but no proper ending. I was left wanting more, which is a good thing, but I missed the satisfaction of a good conclusion. It isn’t really a story in its own right, but it is good writing."

The 'RWM' discussion forum, for those curious enough, is here. You can also sign up to the site for free - Chaz thoroughly recommends the site for those who enjoy reading and critiquing others works, many of which are of an astoundingly high standard. (Be wary of the 'popularity contest' culture therein, however.)

Issue 1 is still avilable for download as a full PDF file right here.

'Angel of Vengeance' Descends to the Web

After juggling various client commissions over the past few weeks, Chaz finally made some time to pull together his previously-abandoned angels & demons/urban fantasy comic book project that was started about a year ago.

Knowing he no longer has the strength or the time to draw full-length comics anymore (at least, not within a reasonable timeframe), he's compromising these days and developing 'graphic fiction' - heavily illustrated prose - in this case, featuring cut-up panels from the old comics pages interspersed throughout the text. He's always loved the characters, the dark humour and the backstory to this tale, and felt it a shame it never saw the light of day after some great feedback from friends on the artwork on Deviantart. It also brings together a few of Chaz's favourite subjects - dualist cosmology, Enochian angel mythology, epic storylines and a cast of characters who are painted neither 'good' nor 'bad', but complex beings with deep virtues and flaws.

As such, "Angel of Vengeance - Episode 1: South of Heaven" has finally materialised.

We're still limited only to publishing these works as digital downloads via Lulu.com as Kindle still doesn't like big illustrations. Once that platform is up to speed we'll seek to expand, but in the meantime it's been fulfilling simply to bring this thing all together and come up with something that is interesting and a bit different. A lot of so-called "urban fantasy" these days seems to be aimed at teenagers or feature friendly werewolves or jolly goth vampires. No such kid gloves exist in AoV - this is adult-only material, both in image and word. Darkness and evil abounds, but at the core is a rather human, story, with extraordinary characters torn between opposing poles of love, pain and morality.

But don't take our word for it: Episode 1's out now, right here.


Art from Issue 1. All works (c) C. Wood 2011.