MEET AN AUTHOR
OMAR KENNEDY
We sat down with Omar Kennedy and discussed his novel The Soltreian Chronicles: Ten Thousand Years Under Sol.
Pop Boom Entertainment: What is the full title of your book Mr Kennedy What is the genre of your book?
Omar Kennedy Ha! These questions are easy! My book! My first book is called The Soltreian Chronicles: Ten Thousand Years Under Sol. Soltreus is the planet they are living on. It is the third planet from “Sol” the sun. So “Sol” (sun) Tre (three) Us (because its all of we! No just kidding. (It’s just because that part sounds cool)) The book is the first instalment in my science-fantasy epic that I am creating with my co-publisher Wade Wilberforce, who too will shortly be bringing out his novels under The Soltreian Chronicles (TSC) banner..
Who is your intended audience? And why should they read your book?
My audience is for science-fantasy fans, pop-culture enthusiasts and Barbadians and Caribbean nationals everywhere. It is rare to find a local or regional protagonist embarking on a tale as epic as what we have in store for our fans. Joshua Creed, the main character is a Barbadian and loves all things Barbadian.
You see, he has woken up after the apocalypse and found out that not only is he alive, but is now immortal. The book chronicles his first ten thousand years. During this period, he uncovers a sinister conspiracy that not only will destroy every life on the planet, but all life everywhere. See that? Epic! And there’s a Barbadian at the centre of it all trying to save it all!
Why should they read it? From the reviews so far on Amazon, it seems to be a good book. LOL. I think we place a lot of import on foreign tales, characters and cultures, but we have such a rich history and lifestyle that it is almost a crime against humanity to let the stories go unpublished.
How did you come up with the title of your book?
It was a headache. We wanted to let everyone know subtly that no matter how outlandish our stories got, we were still telling a tale that was on earth. But it’s a very different earth to what we know. The physical form of the planet is traumatized by the apocalypse. There are still seven continents, but the world is unrecognizable. Case in point, the planet is no longer mostly covered in water. Land masses now make up just over 60% of it all.
Tell us a little bit about your cover art. Who designed it? Why did you go with that particular artwork?
On the cover, Creed is in the military garb of the Draconisi Warriors. The Draconisi are a race of human/Wyr-Draconis hybrids. They are built very differently from human beings so the uniform had to be tailored to fit Creed. He wears it from the third age onward as a sign of respect to the species. It is about this same time that Creed’s life has been spun upside down. And though he doesn’t know it yet, he’s already in the middle of the conspiracy. The cover shows Creed on a broken beach in the middle of an attack. We Bajans (Barbadians) have a kinship with our beaches. Whether we visit them or not, they are very much a part of us. So we see this warrior on a desolate, despoiled beach and we become thankful for what we have and know that this guy is going to kick some tail. No Bajan likes to see a ruined beach. LOL.
Who designed it? Shawn Alleyne! A fellow Bajan and artist extraordinaire. The colors and cover were also worked on by Ceci de la Cruz and Daniel Nicholas.
July 2014
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