Let’s visit Ambeth, on Lisa Burton Radio #RRBC

It’s time for another edition of Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl.

Today’s show is sponsored by the Ambeth Chronicles Series, by author Helen Jones. Make sure to thank our sponsors by visiting their sites and checking out their books.

My special guest today is Denoris, Dark Lord of Ambeth, and counsellor to the High King. Sounds like a pretty sweet job to me. Welcome to the show Denoris.

“Um, Denoris? Why are you staring at me like that?”

<Laughs> “I’m sorry, what do you mean, robot girl?”

“I was built in a concept lab, and am an electronic human being. Don’t you have those in Ambeth?”

“Fascinating. Well, that explains a lot. No, we don’t have any robots in Ambeth, but I can think of a few things I could use a girl like you for. I quite like strong women. Shame about your hair colour, though.”

“My hair is a tribute to my friend, she helped me learn to be human. Tell us what it’s like working for a King? There must be some decent perks to that job.”

“Ha! Working for him? Let me tell you something about our great High King, Lisa the Robot Girl. Ever he wishes to be seen as wise and good, a High King for the ages. Oh, he’s intelligent, I’ll give him that – after all, why else would he keep one such as I as part of his Inner Council? But he persists in enforcing this ban on crossing to the human world, even after it cost him everything he held dear. He will not see any other way! I tell you this, when change comes-”

“Change?”

“Never mind. Next question.”

“I appreciate the risk you’re taking to be on the show today. My bio says you get around a bit. You have a wife Aeres, and two children, but one of them isn’t hers. You also have a very powerful girlfriend, Gwenene. Since she has super strength, I’d imagine you work pretty hard to keep secrets. You wouldn’t want Gwenine going all, ‘Hulk smash,’ on you.

“And, as if that isn’t enough, you have your sights set on Alma. I mean, you’re a nice looking man, and it probably comes easy to you, but there’s a wife, a baby momma, a girlfriend, and now Alma? How much is enough?”

” ‘Hulk Smash?’ I have not heard this term before. No matter. Gwenene is mine, and I am hers – she would no more betray me than she would take her own life. No, I have no concerns there, and neither should you. As for my wife, she is no business of yours.”

“You’re staring at me again. What’s your problem?”

“<Laughs again> There is no problem. As for my children, they are but two of many – however, they are the only ones still living and so I have to make due with what they can offer. When you’re fighting for your rights, there are sacrifices that must be made, and I have been in this game for a thousand years or more. Humph! But all my son goes on about is Alma this and Alma that, mooning around and he thinks I do not notice! And the stupid girl won’t come around to him, not now. He was so close to having her! And then I, I mean the Dark, would have controlled the Sacred Objects, and the Balance would have been ours.”

“So it’s Deryck who wants Alma, not you? And what about your daughter?”

“Alma is the key to all of this! She is the one who found the Sword, who is fated to find the Cup and the Crown. He who controls her, controls Ambeth. And I know she loves the boy! If only he hadn’t been so stupid–”

“Um, the question was about your daughter?”

“Half-human, and too much like her dead mother. She needs a firm hand, which I suppose is up to me now.”

“Okay, so the end game is the Sacred objects, a Sword, a Crown, and a Cup. You can’t find them, but Alma can. What’s your beef with having balance between light and dark?”

“Once both Light and Dark ruled Ambeth, a balance of power when all were held equal. Now the Dark are just counsellors, advisors, nothing like we once were! The Balance is where we get our power, Light and Dark – deeds done in the human world feeding energy back to Ambeth. The more dark deeds done, the more energy comes to our kind and the more power we have. The great lines are dwindling, the Gifts dying out – chaos in your world is what we need to prevail. I need to control the Cup and the Crown, so that the Dark can rule once more.”

“Gifts?”

“Honestly, for an interviewer you don’t seem to have done much research. Yes, Gifts. I am an Opener, for example, able to open Gates between the worlds. King Thorion is another, and so is my son, though he does not know it yet. Plus I have mind control, though it doesn’t seem to be as effective as usual today.”

“Yeah, not gonna work on me, slick. And on that note, you can just open another gate and get your bad self back to Ambeth.

“Listeners, please check out the Ambeth Chronicles, but I’m rooting for Alma, Deryck, Gwenene, and Aeres.”

***

Helen Jones was born in the UK, then lived in both Canada and Australia before returning to England several years ago. The thought of finding magic in ordinary places is one that inspires her; when she was a child she did find a strange valley and hear a scream – the incident stayed with her and was the starting point of the Ambeth Chronicles.

Helen has worked as a freelance writer for the past ten years, runs her own blog at http://www.journeytoambeth.com and has contributed guest posts to others, including the Bloomsbury Writers & Artists site.

When she’s not writing, she likes to walk, paint and study karate (when housework and family life permit!) Ambeth is not the only world she plans to visit in her books, but it’s where she is now.

Keep up with Helen on the following social media:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/author/helenjones

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorHelenJ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorhelenjones/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13910923.Helen_Jones

Blog: https://journeytoambeth.com/

‘The end of everything? Great, no pressure then.’

Pushed between two trees at her local park, Alma never expected to find another world. But Ambeth, where a palace gleams in green gardens by a wild sea, has been expecting her.

Now she has to find a lost sword or the consequences for humanity will be dire. With no idea where to look, despite help from her new friend Caleb, things get even more complicated when a handsome prince of the Dark seems to be interested in her. Add in some time-twisting, concerned parents and a battle between Light and Dark for control of a lost sword, and it’s enough to make any fifteen-year-old want to give up. But then she wouldn’t see Caleb any more. Or Deryck… Oak and Mist: myBook.to/oakandmist

‘Alma, even I do not know what he is capable of…’

Things couldn’t be better for Alma. She’s returned the lost Sword to Ambeth and is finally with Deryck, Prince of the Dark. But what’s really going on? Deryck is struggling with his father, who wants to control Alma, while Alma is struggling with her best friend Caleb, who doesn’t trust Deryck one inch. Plus it’s getting harder and harder to keep up with her life in the human world. Falling in love shouldn’t be this difficult. But things are about to get much worse…

Quests and friendship all fall by the wayside when there’s romance to be had. Plus, spending time with handsome Deryck is much more appealing than with an increasingly angry Caleb. The Light are always on about making choices, so they shouldn’t have a problem with her choosing to be with Deryck. Besides, he’ll protect her from his father – won’t he? No Quarter: myBook.to/NoQuarter