David M. Brown - A Love-Hate Relationship + Contest

Enter to win Fezariu's Epiphany - 5 copies (print or ebook for US residents, depending on preference, ebook for other countries!

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"A love-hate relationship - why I despise Vincent Birchill but owe my book to him”

It’s official. I hate Vincent Birchill. He may be one of the key characters in Fezariu’s Epiphany but I utterly despise him and everything he stands for. Vincent owns the brothel, The White Oak, which is the source of Fezariu’s sad tale, the home of his mother Jessamine who is one of the most lucrative prostitutes that works there. Though women may turn to prostitution for many different reasons, often revolving around a need to survive, for Jessamine it is Vincent that is responsible.

The Birchill family have run the White Oak for centuries and Vincent is the latest in a long line of cruel owners. Fiercely misogynistic, Vincent is surrounded by women but their value to him comes only from how much money they have made at the end of each day. Vincent has no time for women that are not highly sought or desired by his patrons. Money is his primary concern and he rules the White Oak immersed in avarice and with a violent streak that extends to brutalising the women that line his pockets.

Sounds a nice guy doesn’t he? Vincent represents many of the traits I hate. I believe in equality between men and women and treat both sexes with equal respect. My values, of course, extend to people with a different skin colour, religion and sexuality. I respect who anyone is at heart and do not question their beliefs. Vincent was purposefully built to harbour the very values that I do not. Of all the characters in Fezariu’s Epiphany, Vincent is by far the most monstrous but others have similarities when it comes to the value of money over basic human lives.

So Vincent Birchill is pure evil but without him there is no novel. It’s true. This violent abuser of women is integral to the story. He may be in the background a lot of the time but throughout Fezariu’s life he is always there, influencing the lives of so many. Jessamine escapes from Vincent’s clutches at the start of the novel, flees overseas and gives birth to Fezariu. A new life beckons for mother and son but Jessamine changes and one day is gone. Fezariu is left broken and the mystery of Jessamine’s disappearance haunts him. Later revelations about his mother and the White Oak are the catalysts that drive Fezariu from his home and send him across the sea to Merelax Island where the life of a mercenary promises an escape route from his past.

Fezariu can never bury his past though despite the great potential he displays as a recruit in the mercenaries. Withdrawn and betraying little emotion, Fezariu seems the perfect mercenary, having the ability to control his emotions in battle but deep down the past is festering and over time it threatens to consume Fezariu. Facing the past is the only means of escape that Fezariu has. This past will lead him back to why his mother disappeared and in order to unearth the answers Fezariu must see the White Oak for himself and meet Vincent Birchill.

For all his cruelty, Vincent Birchill was one of the characters I had a lot of fun writing. It was a strange conflict of feelings writing his moments in the book and thinking, “You’re a great character, but I absolutely detest everything about you.” Whether Vincent gets his comeuppance for his ill deeds is not for me to say but I do hope you share in my hatred of him. I can’t stand you, Vincent, but thanks for helping make Fezariu’s Epiphany the novel it is today.

David M. Brown
Fezariu's Epiphany - available now at Amazon
Visit The Elencheran Chronicles
http://elenchera.com

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