Tom Lloyd, Old Man’s Ghosts (Gollancz)
Life is perilous for Narin. His lover Kine is about to give birth, after which her husband will have her killed. She can take care of herself, but the child will need a protector – and Narin will die if he attempts to intervene.
Enchei thought he’d found a home at last – a life of quiet obscurity far removed from the horror of his military days. He once swore he’d take his own life rather than let his past catch up with him, but now there is more than his secrecy in the balance.
It is the worst possible time for a nightmare to be unleashed on the Imperial City. Demons, rogue mages and vengeful noblemen haunt the city and again Narin, Enchei and their friends find themselves thrown into the middle of a terrifyingly dangerous game.
And a man’s ghost are always watching and waiting …
Tom Lloyd was born in 1979 and showed almost no interest in writing until the age of eighteen. Nevertheless he did eventually find himself with a long summer to spare before university, and decided to start a novel when it was suggested he get a job to pass the time. It was swiftly apparent that this was not the quick route to fame and fortune that he’d hoped for.
Studying Politics and International Relations at Southampton University had very little appreciable effect on him, beyond giving him a couple of ideas for future novels. Upon leaving university he decided that doing “book stuff” sounded like a fun alternative to working out what sort of job he wanted to do. As a result of a little work experience at Simon and Schuster he got a job as an editorial assistant on the Scribner list, which allowed him to mistype letters to a whole host of talented writers. He decamped to the A M Heath Literary Agency by way of Random House, to work in foreign rights while also freelancing for writersservices.com and constantly revising what was slowly becoming The Stormcaller.
After four years as contracts manager at the Blake Friedmann Literary Agency he decided he didn’t like other authors that much so he swapped his dark corner of Camden for one at Atlantic Books, where it quickly became apparent that he preferredwinning arguments to scruples. Writing part-time, also known as watching loads more TV, he spends his spare time playing a little sport and drinking more than he can handle, with occasional bouts of writing. He lives in Oxford, is married, and is probably more talented than you believe.