Last year was a quiet one for me, at least in terms of releases. This year is shaping up somewhat differently.
The past couple of years left me sitting on a pile of manuscripts that needed licking into shape. These included 4 Kormak novels and one longer epic fantasy about wizards and dragons set in Kormak’s world. Over the past few months, as things have settled down in the wake of writing Illidan, I’ve slowly gotten to grips with them.
The Kormak books form a long arc taking our monster-hunting hero from the court of the King-Emperor of Siderea to the strange colonies on the far side of the World Ocean. He’s searching for the source of the sarcophagus containing the resurrected Eldrim warlord Vorkhul that appeared in Born of Darkness. Shadow cults, shapeshifting assassins, tribes of feral lycanthropes and deserts full of demons block the way to the answers he seeks. Will they stop him? What do you think?
The epic is a more traditional style fantasy story. It concerns the apprenticeship of a boy wizard indentured into a Black Company style mercenary unit caught up in a brutal civil war. Along the way he encounters love and dragons and assassin cults as well as Old Ones and their servants. The book is set in the haunted land of Umbrea where a three way struggle between the Solari, the Lunars and the followers of Shadow has been going on for millennia. It explores magic in Kormak’s world in considerable depth. It’s written in the first person and the style is a lot different from that used in the Kormak stories. I’m very pleased by the way this one turned out. It’s the first of a planned trilogy.
These books are written. I’m just revising them and ironing out inconsistencies. The first of the Kormak books should see the light of day in April or May, and the rest should be released every two or three months thereafter. There’s a possibilty that if I get my act together they might be here sooner, but I would not hold my breath waiting for that, if I were you.
There’s a Kormak short story which (hopefully)I’ll be sending out free to the folks on my mailing list next month. This one features ocean-going giants and an ancient sunken temple rising from the deep. It hints at some things coming up in the novel cycle too.
There’s also a new short story set in the Northlands of Kormak’s world, featuring a viking-style superhero in the service of the Old Gods. As you can tell I have been busy exploring that particular setting. I don’t know when this one will be coming out but it will sooner or later.
I’ve also done some work on the next Kormak arc which features some nasty vampire warlords, the Russian steampunk novel and an urban fantasy set in Prague. I’m toying with a military Space Opera which is very much at the planning stage right now.
Of course, Illidan will be released in April, at least according to Amazon. It can be pre-ordered here. And that’s where I’m at right now as far as upcoming releases are concerned. I’ll make concrete announcements on the dates these things go live.
If you’re interested in finding out when my next book will be released as well as in getting discounts and free short stories, please sign up for my mailing list.
Can’t wait for more kormak novels and that russian steampunk novel seems very exciting. And military space opera is all you need you say im sold!
Thanks, Derek. It might be cyberpunk military Space Opera, depending on how my plans go.
Wonderful! I’ll clear my April reading schedule. 🙂
Thanks, Damon. It better get on with the writing and editing then!
Military Space Opera sounds right up my street, immediately thought of Battlestar both new/old, Star Wars, Space: Above and Beyond. Having devoured all of your 40k stuff I’m looking forward to the chance of reading your take on independent Sci-fi even if I might be waiting a while.
Also interested in the Steampunk novel, I liked what I read in the excerpt. Not normally a huge fantasy fan, but downloading the free Kormak Saga and will see how I get on with it,
Hey, Chris–The Kormak stories are surprisingly SF-like for something that is also hard core old school sword and sorcery. Blog post about this incoming at some point. What I’m toying with on the Space Opera front is a sort of cross between the Spartans from Halo and Star Wars style Imperial Stormtroopers in a Galactic Empire that has just collapsed into civil war. Lot of cyberpunk elements. Squad-based like most of my military SF stuff. Probably very dark. What a surprise, eh?
New Kormak stories? A fantasy epic? The Russian steampunk novel? And best of all, a military space opera? I hate to be Captain Obvious, but this sounds like an amazing year of releases.
Incidentally, will we be getting an extract of the space opera sometime? It sounds amazing – civil war SF stories are always tops.
I mean once the space opera’s written, of course.
Thanks George– The military Space Opera consists of a bunch of ideas floating around in my head and one 2500 word chapter I wrote just to see what it would feel like strapping on powered armour again. The answer is that it really entertained me so I think I will move to the outline stage. Once it’s polished a bit I might stick up a scene or two here.
Woo! I have been hoping for new Kormak stories, I’ve really missed the grumpy git! And the other stuff you mentioned… Blimey, I finally have stuff to look forward to this year.
Good to know he has been missed, mate.
Are you mostly going solo from now on then or have you much else planned for working with Blizzard or the Black Library or anyone else?
I’m mostly doing my own stuff. No current plans for anything else although that may change. I sometimes take interesting offers but indie publishing is generally much more profitable for me in the long term (and often in the short.)