Donika Mishineva
May 10, 20214 min
Updated: Jan 30, 2022
Today's guest blog is Simon Elson, and his debut novel 'Hades Forrest' has just hit the market. The cover was a challenge for me because I had to do something gloomy and sinister. Fortunately, Simon had a good idea of precisely what he wanted, and I followed his instructions as we worked out the last detail.
Only 19 years old - yes, there is no mistake in the numbers! And I was impressed too! - Simon Elson is already an author of a published novel. A dream come true! And how many people can boast of such an achievement at this young age!
The idea for Hades Forest was born in March, 2019. When taking a break from my exam studies, I wrote several poems over a short space of time. I then reviewed all of my writing, and decided that if I combined some of the ideas in the poems together, I would have a fantastic novel. So that’s what I did!
I enjoy exploring dark subject matter, because it enables me to explore aspects of human behaviour that I rarely encounter in daily life. People act differently when they are scared, in danger, or upset - and I love exploring how perilous circumstances can unite, or divide, people.
Yes, that's correct. The novel is set in the future, when the entire world is governed by a totalitarian regime. Perry, out of hatred for the government, escapes from the mainland and travels to a distant forest - yet he is not the only one living between the trees. He must fight for his live against five murderous tribes, while trying to unravel the government's secrets.
You can read an excerpt from the book directly on Amazon, where you can also get your copy of the book.
They were all painted by my girlfriend, Tabitha, while the novel was still being written! Over the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020, Tabitha was home from University and had a lot of free time. So, I offered to pay her to paint the seven main characters from my book... and as you can see, she did an incredible job!
It took me 18 months to write Hades Forest, in total - but future books will only take half as long. This was my debut novel, so I did a lot of learning along the way. The main thing I learned is that once you have finished the first draft, you are only 20% of the way towards completing your book. Then, once you have edited it completely, you are only 50% done... because the constant marketing and sales efforts post-publication takes up more time than anything else!
Read the excerpts on Amazon
My next book will be the sequel of Hades Forest! The response to the first book has been sensational, so I am keen to write a second. Furthermore, I already planned out the entire trilogy before I started writing the first book... so I know exactly where the story is going.
My grandma has the world's largest collection of royal family memorabilia. If you look her up on Google ('Margaret Tyler') you will see what I mean!
Dear readers, I believe that the meeting with Simon Elson in this virtual space was interesting for you. You can meet the characters from Hades Forest, as well as to read excerpts from the book on the author's personal website www.simonelsonauthor.com or on Amazon. Enjoy!