Too Good To Be True

When trouble comes knocking, only one man is dumb enough to answer the door. When The Pan of Hamgee encounters some mudlarkers trying to land a box on the banks of the River Dang he is happy to help. Having accepted a share of the contents as a reward he cannot believe his luck. It contains one of the most expensive delicacies available in K'Barth; Goojan spiced sausage. If he can sell it, the sausage might spell the end of his troubles, but knowing his luck it could bring a whole load more. Written in British English with a dash of light swearing. Suitable for any reader of any age from 10 up - younger readers who have read all the Harry Potter books without any worries will be fine with the Hamgeean Misfit stories. Suggested cinema rating, PG. INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR Q - So, tell us about K'Barthan Extras. What made you write them? What makes this book special? A - If you want the honest answer I wrote it for me. As a reader, I love British satire and humor (or humour). I love wit; funny epic fantasy series like the Discworld novels and comedic sci fi like Douglas Adams, humorous science fiction reads, or fantasy stories. I like sff and speculative fiction but the best science fiction and fantasy stories, for me, are funny, I like adventure and action and a gripping tale that zips along quickly. And of course, I like genre fiction mashups; Douglas Adams meets StarTrek and James Bond - with a smidgeon of Dr Who and a dash of romance (but no squelchy bits). Think Father Ted meets Red Dwarf or then again ... maybe don't. I wanted a fast paced story, a gripping tale but at the same time a funny one. Comedy in the tradition of all the great humorous British authors, something light and witty and clever. I like to aim high. I wanted protagonists people could love and empathise with, mavericks, misfit characters, real people ... except they're not all people obviously, some of them are other alien (ish) species. The K'Barthan series about misfit heroes and heroines winning the day, it's about good versus evil even when the good guys are on different sides. It's a science fiction fantasy action adventure - it's planet based, so it's a bit of a blend. It's pure comedic portal fantasy, except it's comedy sci fi too. You'll find all sorts of quirky characters and interesting alien species: from 6ft Swamp Things with antennae to cute furry creatures like the Blurpons, with their fluffy ears, big button eyes and penchant for extreme violence. Oh ... and did I mention the flying car chases? Q - Do our readers have to read the K'Barthan Extras in order? A - Nope, you can read these in any order you like Q - Do you have a target reader? A - Officially it's young adults and teenagers. Now that it's complete the series is certainly proving popular with ya readers and I had my nephew in mind when I wrote them, who was a teenager at the time. However, I firmly believe that all the best books should hold a universal appeal, so I also wrote it for me. Thus far - if the people who contact me are anything to go by - it appeals to a certain type of person across the board. The oldest fan of the my books I know about was in his 90s and the youngest,10. The kind of readers who review my stuff often compare it to Terry Pratchett's Discworld, Douglas Adams, Harry Potter and Harry Harrison's Stainless Steel Rat series (but don't expect this to be as good as any of those). People who like my stuff also enjoy Barry Hutchieson's Space Team books but again, while mine are good science fiction fantasy books, don't expect them to as good as all this stuff I've mentioned whatever the reviews might say! This is just to give you a flavour of the kind of tone you might expect.