Hello everyone,
I hope you are all keeping well!
My book, The Children of Gods and Fighting Men, has been out for two months in eBook and Hardback in the UK, Ireland & Commonwealth.
However, there are a few key dates in November.
- The first is the hardback edition release in America and Canada on the 1st November.
- The second is the hardback edition release in Australia and New Zealand on the 29th November.
- And finally – the audiobook release is on the 3rd November!
Now – if I’m being honest, I delayed sending this update until the audiobook dropped, so I could put in some links for you.
Aoife McMahon is an amazing narrator and if audiobooks are something you listen to, you will be very impressed. She has such a beautiful voice.
Here is the audible link – which gives the option of listening to a free sample.https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0BL44WQQQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1667849641&sr=8-1
If you have an iphone/ipad – Applebooks also has the audiobook. And if you are a Barnes & Nobel audiobook subscriber, you can also get a copy with them.
Social media
This month I took part in a livestream with YouTuber Steve Talks Books. This is part of his ‘Friday Conversations’ which is lots of fun. It’s just Steve and his friends talking about SFF books, TV shows, what books/media are coming up. It’s really a great set up – and even better to watch live where you can ask questions and give your own input. It’s really just a fantastic way to have a conversation with the SFF community and I had a great time.
The week I took part, I joined Steve, Chris Mohan, and JordReadsBooks. We spoke a little bit about Game of Thrones/House of the Dragon, writing, historical fantasy, and the inspiration I took from an AITA post. There was lots of laughter – so if you want to watch it, hit the link.
I had a few more interviews on social media too.
The first was an interview by The Brothers Gwynne – who had previously reviewed my book. They are fans of both historical fiction and fantasy and had lots of great questions.
One of them being – Do I see myself as an elf or dwarf? You’ll have to listen to find out the answer!
I also took part in an interview with the Oasis Discord group – as part of their best SFF reads of 2022 awards. I am very lucky to be a finalist alongside Sunyi Dean, R.R. Virdi, Thiago Abdalla, A.R Witham (who is also the interviewer) and Robert Jackson Bennett.
Giveaways
There is a giveaway at the minute with Goodreads USA.
I’ve put the Goodreads link below – unfortunately this is only available to readers in America. There are 50 copies being given away, so you have a good chance of winning. Good luck!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/355028-the-children-of-gods-and-fighting-men
(The giveaway closes on the 8th November.)
Writing
So, I have finished a secret project – more details to be revealed when I am allowed. I can confirm, however, that it is set in the Gael Songworld.
Now that the secret project is finished, I’m working on book 3 of the series. I’m about thirty thousand words in and am hoping for a productive November and December. If I get to eighty thousand words before Christmas, I’ll be happy.
Are any of you writing? Maybe taking part in NaNoWriNo? If so, make sure to post about it on twitter or chat to me on Twitter when I talk about it. I don’t think I’ll make the fifty-thousand-word target in one month (which is how much you need to write to win at NaNoWriMo), but I’ll be happy with that amount between now at the Christmas holidays.
Reading
Well, I have been reading… but not the books I said I would.
In October, however, I did finish a beta read for a friend (which hopefully will be in the bookshops before long), as well as The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, which I really liked.
I did read another book – which I didn’t enjoy. I don’t want to name the author, but it’s a best-selling romantic fantasy and I was curious to see what all the hype was about. I’ve read A Court of Thorns and Roses, which was fine, but this other book just wasn’t for me at all.
I am also halfway through Blood-Eye by Giles Kristian. If you like The Last Kingdom series, you will like this. Sort of the opposite of Uhtred, the lead character is a Dane, but found abandoned as a child, and brought up by Saxons. Entertaining so far.
During the month of October, I’ve also been working my way through an anthology called Unbound II, edited by Shawn Speakman. There are lots of fantastic short stories here. My favourite so far is the one by Mark Lawrence, which is a Broken Empire story. Fans of Jorg will love it.
The next books on my radar are:
- Hall of Smoke by H.M. Long (which is 100% my next read. It’s already on my bedside table and I expect to start tomorrow.)
- Of Blood and Fire by Ryan Cahill
- Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
- In The Shadow of Lightning by Brian McClellan
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Shauna Lawless is writing 