Hi folks. A few bits and pieces to share with you on this extremely rainy April afternoon:
Empire of the Wolf 3 – Progress Update
I received my edit letter back on this a few weeks ago. Orbit are happy with the draft and their comments are relatively scant. I’m about halfway through now, and expect to complete the editorial process in the next 2 to 3 weeks. After that the book will be sent off for copy edits, so we really are on the very final stretch of the process.
Martina is confirmed for the cover art of book 3. We batted a few ideas around for which character should appear on it; we briefly considered having Vonvalt and Helena together, but Martina did a brief compositional sketch for this for book 2 and we all agreed it looked a bit weird. So instead it will be a solitary figure, standing in front of a spooky statue in keeping with the first two. As for the actual figure and statue, it will not be who you expect (it isn't Bressinger or Sir Radomir), but it’s going to be excellent. I’m expecting the first visuals on that next month.
What comes next? Hopefully a stand-alone flintlock fantasy trilogy set two hundred years after the events of the Empire of the Wolf Trilogy. That's a conversation to be had with Orbit in the coming weeks and months. I also have two other non-fantasy projects which I’m hoping to sell this year: a post-apocalyptic novel set in London (‘HE HAS LEFT US’), and a contemporary crime novel set in Sydney (‘UNTITLED SHARK ATTACK BOOK’). More news when I have news.
Interview in Grimdark Magazine
I spoke with Adrian, editor-in-chief of GDM, last week. He recently read, loved and reviewed my old indie military space opera trilogy, and I had the great pleasure of chatting to him about it. This interview will appear in the next issue of GDM; for now, the links to the reviews are here:
Reclamation on Sale
It’s wonderful to see these novels having their moment. I first published them in 2015, and although they were moderately successful for several years, they sold almost nothing between 2018 and 2021. With the publication of The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith, people have been going through my back catalogue and seeking out these old space operas, and now I am shifting a few hundred a month, which is just fantastic.
To celebrate, Reclamation is on sale this week on Amazon UK and Amazon US:
For Sale
I am in the process of having a new bookplate designed which will shortly be ready for sale. Please note this is not the final version, but it is close to the final version:
This is being designed by Hannah Elizabeth, and you can find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/HannalahB. These will be available as signed stickers, and will go for AUD 10 + shipping (worldwide. Experience tells me this is surprisingly cheap at around 4 bucks).
As well as and signed, stamped and personalised hardbacks of The Justice of Kings and The Tyranny of Faith hardbacks, I also have hardbacks of the Spanish version available for personalisation and sale (for more information navigate to the shop tab above). So for any Spanish speakers looking for a signed copy, get in touch!
That's all from me for now.
Best
Rich