Brain to Books Cyber Convention (FAIRGROUNDS) discussion

Here's a little showcase about all things Togas, Daggers, and Magic, which are contained in the historical fiction/fantasy novel, "Murder in Absentia."

Hello fellow fans of Historical Fiction!

Allow me to first introduce my stories and then myself :-)
If you stick with me, there's a little something for you later on...

Murder In Absentia is a story of Togas, Daggers, and Magic. It draws on my three main loves in fiction: ancient Rome, detectives, and Fantasy. It is the story I always wanted to read.

The debut novel tells the story of Felix, a small-time detective specialising in occult cases. In his own words: “Purloined jewellery, missing persons, cheating spouses were what paid for my bread and fish sauce. The occasional debunking of charlatans, confirmation of ancient scrolls, and even, rarely, a real magical ring were what would one day fill my memoirs.”

This time he gets called in on a case that needs to be kept hushed from the authorities – a case that seems well over his head…

Since publishing Murder In Absentia, I have published a few short stories with Felix. These are small cases, his regular fare, which serve both as introduction to his world and as a diversion for me when I am working on the editing / publication phase of novels. You can find them free on my blog here.



As for me, I has been a bibliophile since he learnt to read at the age of five, and a Romanophile ever since I first got his hands on Asterix. I've had my nose in a book as far as I can remember.

After years of reading classic Sci Fi and Fantasy, detective stories and mysteries, and - recently - a lot of historical detectives set in Rome, such as those by Lindsey Davis, Steven Saylor and Ruth Downie, I sat down one night and started to write. I haven't stopped since.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from Felix.

This one is from the opening chapter of Murder In Absentia:



This one Felix said to me once, and I loved it so much I wrote TWO unrelated short stories opening with it :-)



The first story is an homage to two of my favourite authors, called New Directions.
The second is a tiny flash, unrelated fiction called Lessons Learnt.

The next two quotes show Felix's usual cynical and dead-pan humour...





The last quote I will leave you with is out of the current work-in-progress, titled In Numina. Yet again Felix finds himself embroiled in some truly bizarre circumstances...

If you made it down so far... I would like to mention a few awards that Murder In Absentia has received.

First, it received an unprecedented FIVE awards at Virtual FantasyCon 2016! That was back in October, and made it the best "first birthday" present to the book. I was as chuffed as any father would be :-)



The second honour, is that it was voted as the #1 Indie Book Worth The Read, right here on Listopia!

Seeing how you made it this far, you deserve something :-)
There's a giveaway for Murder In Absentia on Goodreads right now! And if you can't wait, the novel is also on a $0.99 special on Amazon up through April 10th (better hurry ;-)

If there if any question you would like to ask me, whether it is about the research I do for the books (lots and lots), talk about writing and book marketing, or even if you would like to speak directly to Felix himself - just feel free to contact me!

Post here, or just ping me on any of the major social networks:
Website, with blogs and free short stories: egretia.com
Twitter: @assaphmehr
Facebook: Assaph Mehr, author

However you chose, I'd love to hear from you!

Dear Assaph:

You definitely need to pay Felix already. He has repriced the book away from the 99¢ special to $2.99, and I can't find the giveaway, either.

Seriously, where's the link to the giveaway? Why is the price $2.99, not $0.99?

Wordwizard wrote: "Seriously, where's the link to the giveaway? Why is the price $2.99, not $0.99?"

The giveaway will open in a few hours. It's listed here:
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...

The price drop is scheduled to April 6th, a day before the convention opens, and will last till April 10th, a day after it closes.

Fantastic Read!

Hi, Assaph! Just here to say your book rocks, and you are a demented, but awesome author. ;)

A book so good I gave my son-in-law in the Navy the e-book to read when he is under way. I need much more from Felix

I keep seeing this book around the convention and I am so glad I found your page! This book looks so interesting I really want to read it. Can I ask how you came up with your character's names?

Thanks guys! Just came off a couple of long flights to these wonderful comments ☺️

Maddy, the name means "lucky" in Latin, which is appropriate for him.
Of course, it sometimes look more like he's the butt of Fortuna's practical jokes, but that's still a kind of luck...

Assaph wrote: "Maddy, the name means "lucky" in Latin, which is appropriate for him.
Of course, it sometimes look more like he's the butt of Fortuna's practical jokes, but that's still a kind of luck... "

Haha alright thanks.

Hi, India!! *waves like someone who had too much coffee*