Hello everyone,
I hope you are all keeping well.
June was an eventful month. So many wonderful things happened – which means there is lots to talk about.
The Children of Gods and Fighting Men
Firstly, my lovely special edition with The Broken Binding was available for preorder at the start of June… and then sold out within two days. I’m still in shock!
I hope everyone who wanted a copy was able to get one. However, if you missed the sale, don’t worry. The Broken Binding are stocking signed copies of the original hardback version.
And of course you can buy the hardback at many other bookstores too. I’ll hopefully be doing some book signings and conventions over the next year, so I can sign books then too.
I also had quite a few endorsements from other authors this month. It’s been incredible to receive these from writers I love – and their praise for my novel means the world.
A vividly written story that makes the ancient past feel contemporary.
Joseph O’Connor, author of Star of the Sea and Shadowplay
An atmospheric journey into a thrilling historical fantasy world that feels like it should be real
RJ Barker, author of the Tide Child Trilogy
Lawless plunges us into a brutal yet painfully human world of power-hungry kings and bloodthirsty warriors, and yet it is two women – two mothers – who lead the way. Both ambitious, bound by love and duty, they – not the men around them – are the linchpins that hold this ancient society together. The 10th century setting is enriched by Lawless’ seamless interweaving of Irish myth. What results is a novel that celebrates the extraordinary history and cultural traditions of Ireland while giving voice to the women who helped shape it. Highly recommended.
Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
Mark Lawrence also read and reviewed my book on goodreads. As many who follow me know, I’m a huge fan of Mark’s work and was delighted he enjoyed my story.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4552388242
I also had a TikTok review from Hannah Long, author of Hall of Smoke. The link for that is below 👇
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMNS6dJ3M/?k=1
Writing
Book 2 in the Gael Song series has now been handed into my publisher. Yay! The Words of Kings and Prophets is finished. I’m sure over the course of the next few months, I’ll be hard at work on edits, however it is lovely to have officially handed it in.
I’m probably going to take July off in terms of writing. I’ll stick to doing some research and planning – but the kids are off school and we are away on holidays for a couple of weeks. Perfect timing for a recharge.
Reading
As I worked so hard on finishing The Words of Kings and Prophets, it left little time for anything else. As a result, I only finished one book this month. This was The Martyr by Anthony Ryan. Read my full review by pressing the link below.
https://shaunalawless.com/2022/07/02/book-review-the-martyr-by-anthony-ryan/
It’s the second book in The Covenant of Steel series. I’m really enjoying the story and very excited to find out what happens next.
Now that I’ve more time, I’ve picked up my other reads from last month. They are both excellent and looking forward to having more time to read them!
I’m averaging two books a month, but as I’m over half way in both books (and I’m on holiday), I’m hoping to read these books as well.
That’s all for now.
It’s now just under two months until The Children of Gods and Fighting Men is released. So hoping there will be more fantastic news to share over the next couple of months!
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And if you are thinking of buying my book, there are links to plenty of bookstores in the ‘Book’ page of my website.