with Ken Kemp – Posted: June 22, 2020
RECORDED June 17, 2020
Ken and Mike talk about the inception and creation of the mythical world of The Sand Sea. Mike has been a reader of historical fiction and fantasy since his earliest memories of childhood. His experience on the football field in the O.C. through an Ivy League degree in history and four years on the gridiron on to law school in Washington DC, all fueled his dream of creating his own Tolkien-type alternate world. Ken and Mike also discuss the disciplines required to turn that dream into a published work, recognizing the influence of Steven Pressfield - author and writer’s coach. This conversation could well have taken place in the home of the Inklings - Oxford Pub, the Eagle and Childs, over a frosty brew. SEE SHOW NOTES https://thebeachedwhitemale.com/mike_mcclellan/
Become a Patron - Click on the link to learn how you can become a Patron of the show. Thank you!
The Podcast Official Site: TheBeachedWhiteMale.com
The Sand Sea takes place on an alternative Earth roiled by war and conquest that mirrors our own Gilded Age. The treasure that ignites greed and folly in this parallel world is not petroleum, but beserite—a mineral of immeasurable value.
Captivated by an ancient prophecy and the call of adventure, inexperienced nobleman and scholar Peter Harmon (think of a young Winston Churchill-like naif) joins an expedition to stake his nation’s claim to a global empire.
Partner, Newmeyer Dillion
“An astounding epic novel of J.R.R. Tolkien proportions!”
— Steven Pressfield, Bestselling author of Gates of Fire and The War of Art
Full disclosure: Mike is a close, personal friend. I’ve watched him give birth to this epic novel from close range. Now that I’ve completed my reading of the final version, I am awestruck.
It’s a monumental achievement. You may be tempted to think stereotype – East vs. West, Christianity vs. Islam, Haves vs Have-nots. Aristocrats vs. Nomads. Gunpowder vs. Bow and Arrow. But it’s much more. Think Archetype. From Anglia to the Hahst, to the Secrets of Hom Hommuram, the House of Harmon, the Caldwells, the Huntingtons, Abu Akhsa, Jemojeen, and the failing Grand Viser of the Qhaliffa. From Parliament to desert tents.
The Sand Sea has it all: money, sex, and power. Mike’s meticulous attention to detail: battle strategy, intrigue, clashing egos (many of them oversized), the fierce competition for a place in the tribal hierarchies, loves gained and lost, heart-stopping stories of survival, epic victories, and shattering defeats. Then politics and religion, superstition and magic, heretics and rebels. Loyalty and mutiny. All a product of Mike’s, boundless, oceanic imagination.
I’m already counting the days until the sequel will be released.
See review on Amazon: PURCHASE THE SAND SEA
Here’s Ken’s Mind-Map record of characters from his reading of the Sand Sea. Click to explore.
More Pending
