Discover "The Gladiator and the Guard"...and Discover a Dangerous New World!

Today I have the privilege of interviewing prolific author and world adventurer Annie Douglass Lima! Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I’ve enjoyed connecting with Annie from across the globe. Annie has a long list of books to her credit and also hosts a weekly Speculative Fiction interview on her blog called Realm Explorers. She was kind enough to host me during The Tethered World blog hop and I’m thrilled to return the favor and learn more about her exciting new book, The Gladiator and the Guard.

Make sure you enter the Rafflecoptor giveaway at the bottom of this post (Amazon gift card and a free book up for grabs!). And sign up for Annie’s newsletter to receive a free Fantasy ebook!

Could you start by telling us a bit about your current series and the world the books are set in?

The Gladiator and the Guard is the second book in the Krillonian Chronicles, the first one being The Collar and the Cavvarach. The stories take place in a world almost exactly like our own. Although most aspects of the culture are just about what they are currently on Earth, a few sports are different, such as the martial art known as cavvara shil. The main difference, however, is that slavery is legal there.

The Krillonian Empire rules much of the world. An emperor, who is never named, governs from the capital city, Krillonia, on the continent known as Imperia. Eight separate provinces (originally independent nations before they were conquered) can be found on nearby continents. Each province, plus Imperia, is allowed to elect its own legislature and decide on many of its own laws, but the emperor reserves the right to veto any of them and make changes as he sees fit. This seldom happens, however, and to most people the emperor is merely a vague and distant ceremonial figure.

The prevalence of slavery is probably what would stand out the most to visitors from Earth. There are nearly as many slaves in the city of Jarreon, where both books take place, as free people. Many families own one or more slaves who do their housework and yardwork. Businesses often own a large number of slaves, usually for manual labor, though some are trained for more complex tasks. Those who don’t own their own slaves may “hire in” one belonging to someone else. The accepted rate for an hourly wage is two-thirds the amount that a free person would earn for equivalent labor (the money goes to the slave’s owner, of course).

The Collar and the Cavvarach

Here’s the back-cover blurb for The Collar and the Cavvarach :

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire’s most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie’s escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?

The Gladiator and the Guard

The Gladiator and the Guard, with another awesome cover by the talented Jack Lin!

And the blurb for The Gladiator and the Guard :

Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is just one victory away from freedom. But after he is accused of a crime he didn’t commit, he is condemned to the violent life and early death of a gladiator. While his loved ones seek desperately for a way to rescue him, Bensin struggles to stay alive and forge an identity in an environment designed to strip it from him. When he infuriates the authorities with his choices, he knows he is running out of time. Can he stand against the cruelty of the arena system and seize his freedom before that system crushes him?

Are there different races represented in the Krillonian Empire?

People there do come in different races, closely coinciding with races found on Earth, though their cultures don’t necessarily match. Bensin, a Tarnestran, has “light skin, short blond hair, and green eyes” (though hair and eye color can vary). Nelirians, like Bensin’s friend Ricky, have “narrowed eyes and high cheekbones”. Skeyvians, like City Watch Officer (basically a police officer) Kalgan Shigo, have “dark skin, kinky black hair”, and in his case, “the stereotypical deep voice”. Imperians such as Steene Mayvins, Bensin’s coach, are described with “medium brown skin and straight black hair”.

I should add that race is really not much of an issue to most people in Jarreon. As you might expect in the largest port city on the continent, it is a cultural melting pot, and people from all over the empire can be found there. One character does recall someone making racist remarks to him in the past, but most don’t see others any differently based on their skin color or appearance.

Slavery is not based on race, either. People from any race can be enslaved as punishment for certain crimes. For example, Ricky and his family were sold into slavery after his dad, who worked as an accountant for a government agency, was caught embezzling money. It’s true that more Tarnestrans are slaves than anyone else, but that’s because the nation of Tarnestra refused to submit peacefully to imperial annexation. After the Krillonian Empire eventually conquered it, tens of thousands of Tarnestrans were ripped from their homes and sold into slavery as a warning to anyone else who might be tempted to resist imperial progress.

Much of the action in The Gladiator and the Guard takes place in the martial arts stadium known as Red Arena. If we were to visit Red Arena as tourists, what would you recommend that we see or do there?

First of all, arrive early. Red Arena’s weekend games are very popular, and while there are enough seats that they don’t often sell out completely, you’d better arrive at least an hour ahead of time if you want a spot at the front.

There’s only one thing for tourists to do at Red Arena. Watch the gladiators fight! Usually they duel against warriors from another arena, one pair of combatants at a time. Other times they are involved in “wars”, in which two “armies” of ten or twelve gladiators each fight each other. Sometimes the arena managers plan other special events; for example, there’s a time in the story when a number of gladiators stand ready to compete with a number of different weapons. Random members of the audience get to pick numbers from a hat (a new one every five minutes), and this determines the order in which the “glads” are sent out to fight each other with their weapon of choice.

Every new and then, Red Arena rents out its facility for other popular events, such as the annual Grand Imperial Cavvara Shil Tourney (open to male and female competitors in a range of age groups). Before he becomes a gladiator, Bensin competes in the Grand Imperial in the book’s opening scene, as well as in The Collar and the Cavvarach.

How and why do gladiators come to fight at the arena?

Few people come voluntarily. Red Arena’s manager sometimes purchases slaves from their owners, if they are especially skilled in martial arts. In the city of Jarreon, enslavement (usually involving sale by auction) is a common punishment for certain crimes. So if the manager hears that a talented athlete, soldier, or someone else with the right skill set has been convicted of a crime and enslaved, he places a bid in an attempt to secure the person for the arena. He will occasionally offer a contract to a free martial artist, but this is rare, and it’s even rarer for anyone to accept it. Becoming a gladiator means being paid a generous sum in advance and then committing to a lifetime in the arena — and gladiators’ lives are notoriously short. As you can imagine, not many people would choose such an option, even though few outsiders have any idea of the strict training conditions and cruel treatment gladiators face on a daily basis.

So, what is daily life at Red Arena like for Bensin and other gladiators?

Up to a hundred gladiators at a time undergo rigorous training there during the week and compete on weekends against other arenas. (Sometimes the number is lower, because it can take time to replace glads when they are killed.) Guards and trainers at Red Arena always carry shockwhips: long, stiff whips with an adjustable strap that fastens around the user’s wrist. The whips deliver a painful blow that leaves a welt for several days. Pressing a button on the handle sends an electrical charge through the whip, and anyone struck with it then receives a painful electric shock. Gladiators are regularly lashed with shockwhips as a penalty for fighting or other rule breaking, or as a consequence for failing to meet the fitness goals their trainers set during workouts.

Red Arena guards also use dartblowers, which are little gray tubes about the length of a finger, worn on a cord around the neck. They contain tiny darts which, when they pierce the skin, cause a person to go limp and lose control of most muscles for several minutes. This is useful if glads are fighting each other, threatening arena staff, or otherwise engaging in potentially dangerous activities. A prick from a blown dart will leave them slumped motionless on the floor long enough for anyone in danger to get away or for guards to call for reinforcements. The glad is conscious and can still hear what’s happening around him, he just can’t move or open his eyes. The dart wears off gradually, and after that, he’ll have a headache for several hours.

As you can imagine, gladiators’ lives are dangerous. Although the weekend games are usually not intended to result in death (that would be a waste), accidents can and do happen. Gladiators fight with razor-sharp weapons, after all, and injuries are common. In addition, glads tend to be violent by nature, and in the course of daily life in the arena, they are constantly looking for opportunities to prove that they’re tougher than those around them. Newcomers, especially, tend to be victimized until they learn to stand up for themselves. Fighting (except during official combat practice times with a trainer supervising) is strictly against the rules due to the danger of “damaging valuable arena property”. There are always multiple guards standing ready to put a stop to any altercations. However, any gladiator would say that proving yourself is always worth the cost. If they’re quick, they can usually get in a few blows before the guards step in.

What types of weaponry or fighting styles are featured in Red Arena?

The arena features a number of different martial arts, some of which are familiar in our world. Boxing, wrestling, mu tokk, Skeyvian scimitar dueling, spear fighting, Nelirian double daggers (fought with a dagger in each hand), and cavvara shil are the main ones mentioned. Most gladiators who have been at the arena long enough are trained in multiple martial arts, though they may have one particular area of expertise.

Cavvara shil is Bensin’s area of expertise. It involves a combination of kickfighting, which is similar to our kickboxing, and cavvara dueling, in which fighters strike at each other with a sword-like weapon called a cavvarach that has a hook about halfway along the top edge of the blade. You win a duel either by disarming your opponent (hooking, kicking or knocking the cavvarach out of his hand) or by pinning his shoulders to the ground for five seconds. Fighters wear a narrow shield-like guard, called a shil, on one forearm, and use it to block an opponent’s blows or kicks.

How can gladiators leave the arena?

Permanently? There’s only one way: in a bodybag. But Steene is determined to somehow get Bensin out alive, no matter the cost….

Yikes! Sounds like a difficult life.

Where can readers buy these books, and can they connect with you online?

Click here to sign up for my mailing list to be alerted when I release new books (and receive a free fantasy ebook when you sign up!).

Click here to order The Collar and the Cavvarach in Kindle format from Amazon for $2.99!

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard in Kindle format from Amazon for a discounted price of just 99 cents through May 30th!

Click here to order The Gladiator and the Guard from Smashwords (for Nook or inother digital formats) for a discounted price of just 99 cents through May 30th!

Annie Douglass Lima spent most of her childhood in Kenya and later graduated from Biola University in Southern California. She and her husband Floyd currently live in Taiwan, where she teaches fifth grade at Morrison Academy. She has been writing poetry, short stories, and novels since her childhood, and to date has published twelve books (two YA action and adventure novels, four fantasies, a puppet script, and five anthologies of her students’ poetry). Besides writing, her hobbies include reading (especially fantasy and science fiction), scrapbooking, and international travel.

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