Wednesday 15 July 2020

The Big Nine-Oh oh oh oh


I've been doing this for a while now with posts to celebrate my first book, Prince of Thorns, turning 3040506070, 80 and now 90 ... as in 90,000 ratings on Goodreads.

This time the milestone has fallen just after the release of Road Brothers in paperback.



Here we see the hardback cover from the late, great Kim Kincaid, the ebook cover from Pen Astridge, and the paperback cover from Jason Chan.

And since the 80,000 post I've also had two new releases. Dispel Illusion closed the Impossible Times trilogy, and The Girl And The Stars opened a new trilogy set on Abeth, the world of the Book of the Ancestor trilogy. You should buy those!




So, what exciting topic shall I broach for the 90K milestone?



Let's talk about the future since inevitably our gaze is drawn to the 100,000 horizon and the 10th anniversary of Prince of Thorns next year.

I never had any ambition to be a fantasy author - I've said that before and it's true. It's taken me a long time to think of myself as a writer, even after being published. I didn't intend to be defined by it or to define myself by it, but slowly it's crept up on me, accelerating in 2015 after the advanced research department I worked in closed down.

I've always had a slight fascination with what happens to people "after". All those pop stars I watched in the 70s & 80s ... for every Rolling Stones and David Bowie there were hundreds of flash-in-the-pans, hundreds of 1 to 5 year careers. And then you're an ex pop star at 25 or 31 and ... what next?

When I wrote The Broken Empire I expected that I wouldn't be published again. That's the career path for most authors. A book deal, disappointing sales, goodbye. And I chose to end Jorg's story after 3 books - yes I had a 3-book deal but those books sold very well. My publishers would have snatched a sequel from my hands. But I've always been keen not to outstay my welcome.

At the end of Emperor of Thorns it says:

"I wanted you to part company with Jorg on a high. I would rather readers finish book 3 wanting more than wander away after book 6 feeling they have had more than enough."

I've written 16+ books in 9 years and I'm starting to feel, as Bilbo so eloquently put it, like butter scraped over too much bread. It's been a tumultuous year for all of us with blows coming from many directions. And it's set me wondering - when to quit - what to do instead - what would I be without writing? I don't like how writing has pushed my other interests and hobbies off the table. Nine years have been dominated by the singular thought that this won't last and that I should make the most of it while the spotlight lingers. But the spotlight has continued to linger and frankly I could use some shade.

So, the remaining instalments of the Book of the Ice, which are already written, will come out in 2021 and 2022 to complete the trilogy. But I'm thinking of slowing down, broadening my interests, trying new things. 

I've never been a planner. I don't plan my books. I don't plan my life. But this is how I'm feeling now. Maybe it's all nonsense and I'll keep hitting you with a book a year until I'm old(er) and grey(er). Or maybe I'll spend the next ten years doing other stuff while writing a literary fiction novel at night that will get turned down by every publisher in the land and ultimately be self-published to an audience of crickets.

That's the joy of life. You never can tell what's round the next corner.

Stay safe, everyone, and happy reading!

Mark out.









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Monday 13 July 2020

Road Brothers contest!

Contest Closed

So Road Brothers is out in paperback with a new cover by Jason Chan who did the covers for the Broken Empire trilogy!

Widely available in the UK. If you're not in the UK you can get the paperback (or hardcover) on Bookdepository.com, or the ebook on Amazon.

Or you can win a signed copy from me!

The Road Brothers are outlaws. And what do outlaws often wear?  ... MASKS!

So send me a selfie of you in a mask of some sort and you're in the draw for one of three signed copies. I wanted one that says "I'm wearing this for your protection not mine." But I had to settle for this one:



One of my most popular contests ever! It seems readers love sending in selfies when they get to hide behind a mask!

Many thanks for all the wonderful entries - some great masks - some funny masks - lots of you rocking the look.

And the randomly selected winners are...

... #42 Mark, #57 Treetop, & #68 Mai






Entries

#155 Adam



#154 Vinicius



#153 Florencia



#151 Richard



#150 Jenn



#149 Marta



#148 Pamela



#147 Scott



#146 Lee



#145 Reatta



#144 Oscar



#143 Penny



#142 Brittany



#141 Naomi



#140 Judit



#139 Josh



#138 Mark



#137 Mat



#136




#135 Regina



#134 Leila



#133 Milica



#132 Rob



#131 Johnathan



#130 Alex



#129 Kimberley



#128 Laura




#127 Sarah



#126 Jessica



#125 Chris



#124 Kurt


#123 Sara



#122 Kailee



#121 Curtis



#120 Phil



#119 Oscar



#118 Andy



#117 Dylan



#116 Marc



#115 Zoe



#114 Matthijs



#113 Matt



#112 James

#111 Louise



#110 Christina



#109 Momn



#108 James



#107 Joy


#106 Jerome



#105 Paul



#104 Jeff



#103 Adam



#102 Daniel



#101 Rhian



#100 Amanda



#99 Matt



#98 Kenneth



#97 Jake

#96 Darrell



#95 Sarah



#94 Niklas



#93 Tony



#92 Steve



#91 Val



#90 Bec



#89 Talitha


#88 Elizabeth



#87 Ziggy



#86 Allen


 #85 Jennifer


#84 Airalynn



#83 Gary



#82 Stuart


#81 Teliha



#80 Nicola



#79 Lezlie




#78 JW



#77 @proxyfish


#76 @requestken



#75 @ArctosElliott


#74 Robert



#73 Alexandra



#72 Cameron


#71 Raffael

#70 Lindsay



#69 Olly



#68 Mai



#67 Tom



#66 Mark



#65 Wayne



#64 Ricky



#63 Joshua



#62 Angi



#61 Natalie



#60 Andrew



#59 Jay



#58 Mike


#57 Treetop


#56 Craig



#55 Chris



#54 Drew


#53 Abdel



#52 As



#51 Michael



#50 Michelle



#49 Mark



#48 Aaron



#47 Steve



#46 Helen



#45 Matt



#44 Tom



#43 Jude



#42 Mark


#41 Fraser



#40 Stuart



#39 Marie



#38 Kyra



#37 Bitsy



#36 Christina



#35 Alison



#34 Sharrina


#33 @Holly_Christie


#32 Tammy


#31 Tom


#30 Matthew


#29 @CManorey



#28 Stefan



#27 Vincent



#26 @DragonHGifts



#25 @John_R_Abbott



#24 Michael



#23 Lucia


#22 Aurel



#21 Tracey


#20 Scott

#19 @barrobycindy



#18 Jerome


#17 Lucas


#16 Teliha


#15 Andi


#14 Marcia


#13 Chris


#12 Jeremy


#11 Henry


#10 Tyler


#9 Matt


#8 Dave


#7 Colleen


#6 Jeanette



#5 Angelika



#4 @AndyTangled



#3 Shaun



#2 Gilad



#1 Elaine