Hello everyone,
I hope you are all keeping well!
So my book has been out for a month now and I’ve had a great time with the book launch and going to FantasyCon in London.
I’m also looking forward to doing some promotion for the USA hardback release which is the 1st November and the Australian hardback release which is the 29th November.
Also – the audiobook release is scheduled for the 3rd November, so for those of you who like to listen to their stories, keep an eye out for that. The wonderful Aoife McMahon is narrating, so you won’t be disappointed.
For those of you who haven’t read my book yet, I made a playlist during the week on Spotify. There is a track for every chapter, and I’ve tried to set the right tone for each setting and character. It might be fun to have on in the background while you are reading!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/48sKmj6uTZOdltxbZzafhk
Events
So, in more detail – what have I been up to?
The first event in September was my book launch in Waterstones, Belfast – which was amazing. Lots of people came, and there was wine and cake too. The lovely Tim Hodkinson did a Q&A session with me, which was really great.
(If you like Viking historical fiction, make sure to check his books out.)
Then I went to FantasyCon in London. Fantasy book conventions are so much fun, and I met and spoke to a lot of other authors and bloggers there. There were a wide range of panels discussing Fantasy and Sci-Fi – and honestly, I can’t wait to go back next year.
Here are some photos of me with a few of my friends. You might recognise some of the other authors too.
Next was the Fantasy Fellowship Convention. This was a ticketed online convention and was a lot of fun too. A huge thanks to Max for the questions. Having an Irish interviewer was fantastic as he was familiar with the mythologies I had used in my story.
Social media and reviews
I had a few more interviews and reviews on social media.
The first was an interview by fantasy author, Stephen Aryan. He asked me a lot of questions about why I write, who my key influences are, and how I’ve found the publication process so far.
I also took part in a podcast with Page One – The Writer’s Podcast. If you like to listen to podcasts, this is a great one (honestly, check out their back catalogue – some truly inspring authors are there).
Here is the link to their website, however, you can find their podcast in all the usual podcast places.
The Brothers Gwynne YouTube channel also read and reviewed The Children of Gods and Fighting Men. If you want a spoiler free review, then this is a great one to watch!
In the month of September, I also wrote a few articles myself and had some lovely reviews and write ups from other blogs and magazines. I’ve attached the links to these below so you can read if any take your fancy.
https://www.grimdarkmagazine.com/review-the-children-of-gods-and-fighting-men-by-shauna-lawless/
https://www.scifinow.co.uk/books/five-books-that-use-irish-mythology-as-inspiration/
Giveaways
There is a giveaway at the minute with Storygraph.
I’ve put the twitter link below (posted by Ad Astra), so make sure you enter for a chance of winning a free hardback book.
Awards
Excitingly, I have reached the finals of the SFF Oasis discord group fantasy awards for best fantasy novel.
This is a wonderful discord group – set up for fans of fantasy and sci-fi to discuss what they are reading.
If you wish to join the discord – here is their twitter page where you can find the link to join – (1) The SFF Oasis Discord (@SFFOasis) / Twitter
Reading
Well, I have been reading… but not much.
In September, however, I did finish The Liar’s Keyby Mark Lawrence and Badon Hill by I. Anonymous, which is a self-published historical fantasy. Both were great reads and now that the kids are back to school, I think October will be much better.
I’ve actually joined a readathon with the Fantasy Fellowship discord group, so I’m hoping to get through more books than usual!
The four books I am absolutely wanting to read are:
- Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long
- Lancelot by Giles Kristian
- Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
- In The Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
Currently writing…
For those interesting in what I’m currently writing, it’s actually the third book in The Gael Song series.
Book two (The Words of Kings and Prophets)has already been handed into Head of Zeus. I do, however, have a secret writing project that I (hopefully) can tell you more about in the future.
That’s it for now! Lots of news coming next month – and if there are any promotions/giveaways, I’ll let you know!
And just as a little request before I let you go – if you’ve read my book, please remember to leave a review somewhere!
Shauna Lawless is writing 