Category Archives: Cover Reveal

Greater Evil is Released!

A lie made Drinith one of Gyre’s rulers. It secured the city state’s support against her enemy, the tyrant Magian the Infinite. Now it threatens to destroy her.

Drinith voyages to Gyre’s bitterest rival, Ophigee, to convince its rulers to join the fight against Magian. But her audience with her hosts turns into an ambush.

Quick thinking wins her a reprieve from the execution block, but the route to salvation may well prove more treacherous than anything she has faced before. Everyone who attempts the journey she must undertake vanishes without trace.  Can she succeed where they failed and uncover the secret that threatens not only Ophigee but her adopted homeland?

Greater Evil is the second book in the Champions of Fate, an epic fantasy series with fast-paced action, intriguing characters, and imaginative world-building. The ebook (Amazon only) and paperback are available HERE

The first book in the series, Fatal Shadow, free until 4th March, can be found HERE.

Cover Reveal – A Bright Power Rising & The Unconquered Sun

I feel like a pirate lowering my flag of convenience and hoisting the Jolly Roger! Below are the two new covers for A Bright Power Rising and The Unconquered Sun. They have a much more epic fantasy feel!

The ebooks are already available on Amazon and Kobo with the new versions appearing on the other stores in a couple of days. The paperbacks are to follow soon.

Fatal Shadow, Book 1 in the Champions of Fate Epic Fantasy Series

It is three years and seven months since I began work on this series. For all those years, on the rare occasions I posted about this series, I’ve spoken about it in code, not even referring to the books by name. (To be fair, many of those names changed multiple times.) There’s a long road ahead for me, mountains of story to climb. But the first milestone in this journey is very close and I’m more excited by this book than anything I’ve written in the past.

Finally, I’m in a postion to share with you some of the details. This book follows on almost nineteen years after the events of the short story No Escape. If you haven’t read it, I strongly suggest you do. You can download it for free at the moment.

Long ago, magic cracked apart the world and suspended great continents between two suns. But the ebb and flow of human history continues. Trade and war cross the void on dragon wings. Great empires rise and topple

As the rightful heir to one such fallen state, Drinith has known only exile, dashed hope, and constant threat. She has so far eluded the murderous intentions of the tyrant Magian the Infinite thanks to the prophetic visions of the oracle, Quiescat, but his power is failing. All he can glimpse in the future now is his own death.

An assassin’s blade forces her into a desperate gamble. She takes her one final chance to secure the ally she so desperately needs. But at the end of her journey, she’ll find deceit, betrayal, and murder. And she’ll learn Magian isn’t the only threat to her people.

Fatal Shadow is the first of six books in the Champions of Fate epic fantasy series for those readers who enjoy fast-paced action, intriguing characters, and imaginative world-building.

The ebook is available on Amazon for preorder HERE. It will be published on 22nd February 2021.

Introducing Alienity

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Here’s the blurb of my new collection of short stories.

H.G. Wells faces judgment by one of his creations. The Earth’s first tour guide for aliens encounters the planet’s worst ever tourist. The fate of Humanity lies in the hands of the most isolated man in its history. The Kefloins, having secured membership to the Galactic Congress for the Earth, now turn to the planet’s ambassador with their most terrible secret in the hope she can find a solution.

Four short stories about aliens ranging from humorous to deadly somber.

Currently available on Amazon.

And The Winner is…

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Behold the winning cover my new short story, No Escape. It’s by Ivan Cakic (Cakamura Art Studio). For me, he really captured the essence of the story. The face of the main figure is particularly mesmeric.

I can’t wait to hit to the publish button in mid-January. It’ll be available on Amazon, iBooks, B&N, etc. Here’s the blurb.

A desperate warrior carries a baby girl across a foreign desert. Although truth and honor are tattooed on his cheeks, Tharo has abandoned both virtues in his quest to protect his charge. But it’s only a matter of time before he fails her. Another man stalks them, a hunter no prey can escape, the dreaded Souldiviner.

Help Me Choose A Cover! No Escape

I need your help! I have a choice of three covers for my new fantasy short story, No Escape. Please help me choose the best one. Which one is your immediate favorite? Any comments are really welcome.

https://99designs.ie/contests/poll/8xum15

The poll is now closed! Thanks to everyone who participated. Anyone who left their names will be mentioned in the ebook’s acknowledgements.

The Fate Healer

THE FATE HEALER COMPLETE

I have published a new short story, The Fate Healer, on Amazon.

The genealogist Draston is charged with the impossible. His master, Hamvok the Merciful, craves a royal ancestor or two to legitimize his tyranny. But every avenue of Draston’s research comes to a dead end. Nobility has never sneezed on Hamvok’s ancestors, much less married into them. And now Draston’s time has run out.
To save himself from Hamvok’s violent displeasure, Draston promises to prove the tyrant is descended from a god. In doing so, he commits himself to a path of forgery and sacrilege. His enterprise will risk the wrath of gods. But, far worse, it will draw him to a shadowy figure more terrible than all the gods combined, the Fate Healer.

The cover was supplied by The Cover Collection. Here’s something that may interest those interested in typography. The H is a different font from the rest of the title as the original H looked too much like a small h. The change really suits the theme. 🙂

And the Winning Cover Is…

The following cover design by Paula Becattini.

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You can find more of her work at http://paulabecattini.com or http://www.liqueocomunico.it. (The latter is under construction at the moment.)

I am indebted to everyone who voted in the poll. As thanks I’ve included anyone who left their names in the Acknowledgements.

The mobi version of the Parting Gift will be published on Amazon on 6th November.

Cover Reveal: The Unconquered Sun

I just received a round of edits of The Unconquered Sun, resulting in the usual array of vowel sounds (ooh, eh? ah, aha, etc), followed by cracking knuckles and feverish typing. The release date will be confirmed when the book is more advanced through the editing process. In the meantime, to wet your appetites, below is the cover, again by Marek Purzychi. It matches pretty well with the cover for A Bright Power Rising. I was a bit queasy about moving my name further up the cover, Frankly, if the Golden Rule was a trilogy, I wouldn’t have agreed to it. But I think it captures the Sol Invictus motif spectacularly.  Hopefully, what will be behind the cover will be as good.

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In other news, the short story which will hopefully be released before The Unconquered Sun has also been submitted for editing. More details on it shortly.