Today on the blog, author Azalea Ellis asks what kind of ruler would you be and offers that being a writer is a better occupation in her guest post. She also shares info about her fantasy novel A Conjuring of Ravens—what a great title, BTW.
Also, there's a giveaway, so read on!
What kind of world ruler would you be?
Man, ruling the world would be such an arduous, thankless job.
People not only put their own interests first, but they also have different core values (think Safety vs. Freedom vs. Duty) that make it impossible to satisfy everyone with one set of rules. I think it's pretty much impossible to have perfection with autocratic rule, but...
If I had to do it, I would hire teams of experts to do studies and put forth proposals. When I implemented policies and projects meant to improve the life of my worldwide subjects, I would require follow-up studies to determine whether my efforts were successful, and if not, why not.
Social and class issues are more complex than most people realize, with a lot of different facets and base factors that lead to any particular situation. Sometimes, a simple measure to fix an issue will completely miss the true cause of the problem, or will cause ripple effects that are worse than the original problem and lead to a negative spiral.
If you do the follow-up, you'll see this everywhere, from workplace incentive plans to charities to government programs. Negative outcomes from poorly considered initiatives based on good intention.
For example, doing mass charity runs to provide free clothes to the poor might end up putting the cheap clothing makers out of business, leading to a need to continue providing free clothes because now no one can afford to make them any more.
The other most important element to success would be oversight to stop corruption, disallowing favor and money based lobbying and profiteering, and requiring basic workers' rights.
Idealistic political structures and social movements often fail to take into account how widespread and insidious corruption and greed can be. In reality, individuals are incentivized to work against the good of the whole.
If you can fix both of those problems, you're halfway to utopia.
Could I succeed? Well, probably not. And I'd rather just spend my time writing...
The Deets: A Conjuring of Ravens
A Conjuring of Ravens: A Practical Guide to Sorcery Book 1
In a world where magic is a science, Siobhan is a genius.
But even geniuses need schooling.
When Siobhan stumbled into the theft of a priceless magical book, she thought her dreams of becoming the world's most powerful sorcerer were destroyed.
But then a mysterious spell changed her life forever...
Siobhan is now wearing the body of a strange man and has a new identity—Sebastien. With a new chance for a new start, she allies herself with a local gang—secretly a revolutionary party funding itself through crime. Now, she is bound by vow to repay them in magic and favors.
But as Sebastien's reputation begins to bloom, and Siobhan's old enemies still lurk in the shadows, she quickly realizes that the secrets of this world are deeper and darker than she ever could have imagined.
Forced to juggle the two sides of her double life, Siobhan is determined to uncover the truth and take control of the name they gave her—The Raven Queen.
A Conjuring of Ravens is the first book in a hard fantasy series that includes: an intelligent protagonist, a rules-based magic system, and some hilarious misunderstandings.
Get it now.
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Google * Kobo * Smashwords * AzaleaEllis.com * Bookbub * Goodreads
Excerpt
"As for clearing your name, you may be slightly underestimating how seriously the University and the Crowns are taking this offense. The young woman who I helped out of the alley, the one with the dark hair, those cheekbones, and those eyes? She will never attend the University.”
He looked her up and down. “This blonde young man with the aristocratic features, though? He is a different matter.”
Siobhan narrowed her eyes. “And you can secure a sponsorship for this…young man?”
He shook his head again. “I believe my acquaintances can provide you something to make a sponsorship unnecessary, if your intelligence can earn you a spot deservedly. They can provide you with the money to pay your own way.”
She nodded thoughtfully, acknowledging and then ignoring the alarm bells in the back of her mind.
Even if this transmutation was not permanent, if it held up for a reasonable amount of time and could be repeated, the man’s idea could work.
The realization made her feel as if the world had shifted around her, bringing with it a ray of light, shining through a new opening into the cage that had been confining her.
Knowledge, magic, was at her fingertips, almost within reach.
Suddenly the artifact didn’t feel so frightening against her chest, and when she spoke, the idea that this voice, this body, might allow her to learn magic gave it a certain charm. “A loan, I assume? What do the attached strings look like, Mr….” She trailed off pointedly. ‘I know there will be strings attached. I only hope the strings aren’t barbed.’
He grinned like a fox, the edges of his lips curling up a little too far in a way that made her think of skinjackers and the cautionary tales mothers recited for children before bed. “You can call me Mr. Dryden. Let me take you to my associates. We can speak more there, out of the dark and the damp.”
Giveaway
$20 Amazon
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!
Author Bio
I’m the type of person that often has a wacky, shocking, or silly–but totally true–story to tell about my life.
(Like the time my brother and I were chased through a secluded strip of woods in the middle of the city, for over a mile, by a naked man with an erection.)
(Or the time a trucker threw an open bottle of pee out his passenger side window without looking right as I was walking by. You can guess what I got splashed with.)
(Or the time a man hit me with his pickup truck on purpose while I was riding my bike to school, and then insisted I get into the vehicle with him so he could drive me the rest of the way as an apology. Needless to say, I resisted.)
The early part of my childhood was spent on a small farmstead, and I’ve got an active imagination that tends toward the outrageous and the macabre, which led to me being voted “most likely to borrow someone else’s car to transport a dead body.”