Here is the interview I did on BBC Wiltshire back in May.
Showing posts with label Aria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Aria. Show all posts
Friday, 29 June 2018
Saturday, 31 March 2018
On the release of WARRIOR OF WODEN and writing a series of books
Seventh century Britain was a time of great conflict and turmoil. Peoples and religions clashed, vying for supremacy over the kingdoms and fertile lands of the island also known as Albion. This dark age is the time of the Bernicia Chronicles, a series of action-packed thrillers that centre on the character of Beobrand, a young man who is thrust into battle, discovers he is a natural warrior and eventually enters the service of the lords and kings of Britain’s distant past.
By the time we reach WARRIOR OF WODEN, book five and the latest novel in the series, Beobrand’s life has been filled with excitement, intrigue and more than its share of tragedy. At only twenty-six, he has long since transformed from a naive farm boy into a ruthless warlord. He has stood in shieldwalls, slaying the enemies of his king and been rewarded with land and riches. He has found love, and lost it all too quickly. He has travelled from the southern kingdom of his homeland of Cantware (Kent) all the way into the northern realm of Dál Riata to the isle of Hii (Iona). Beobrand has witnessed the resurgence of the religion of the Christ, and he has even stood against the dark power of the old gods, wielded at the hands of a cunning woman seeking revenge against him.
Beobrand’s world is one of violence and vengeance, but in WARRIOR OF WODEN, he is no longer free to pursue his own quests against those who have wronged him. Time has passed and after the resolution of many story lines in the fourth book, KILLER OF KINGS, Beobrand is now oath-sworn and bound by his words and promises more strongly than any ropes or chains ever could.
It has been six years since the action in the last book and eight years since Oswald took the throne, aided by Beobrand. Elevated by the king to thegn as reward for his fealty, Beobrand is now a wealthy warlord, with a sizable warband. But battle is once again brewing on the borders of Northumbria, Beobrand’s adopted kingdom. Penda of Mercia, the great killer of kings himself is planning to invade and Beobrand is called upon to stand in an epic battle where the blood of many will be shed in defence of the kingdom.
Writing a novel is a unique challenge. Writing a series of books comes with an extra set of difficulties. Readers expect a certain flavour they have come to recognise. They wish to revisit the same characters they have grown to love, or hate. They want some familiarity, but at the same time, they do not wish to be bored. Readers want to be thrilled and excited by new, fresh twists, not to have the same old stories repeated. And then there is the issue of new readers. It is always in my mind that a reader might come to the Bernicia Chronicles at any point and so each novel must stand on its own merit, providing a satisfying read as well as adding to the overall series.
In WARRIOR OF WODEN, Beobrand has grown as a leader of men and as a man. His friendships from previous stories have matured and he has less self-doubt. He has more wealth and is now secure in his position. But with that position comes greater responsibility and in this story Beobrand sees his prowess in battle tested more than ever and his oaths and loyalties stretched to the limit. He leads his friends into the bloodiest battle he has faced yet and, as with all warfare, not everyone returns alive and nobody escapes unscathed.
The passage of time since the action of the previous book has allowed me to start afresh, creating new backstory, adding new characters, both friend and foe, and providing even more depth to the world Beobrand inhabits.
Whether you have already enjoyed the other books, or choose WARRIOR OF WODEN as the first book in the series to read, follow Beobrand on a breakneck ride of an adventure as he stands in the climactic clash between the pagan Penda and the Christian Oswald. In this battle, which is one of the most important in the history of the island, there is much more at stake than sovereignty. This is a battle for the very souls of the people of Albion.
WARRIOR OF WODEN is published on 1st April.
The digital boxset of the first three novels of The Bernicia Chronicles is currently available at a reduced price. BUY IT HERE.
=========
This blog post originally appeared on the Aria Fiction blog.
By the time we reach WARRIOR OF WODEN, book five and the latest novel in the series, Beobrand’s life has been filled with excitement, intrigue and more than its share of tragedy. At only twenty-six, he has long since transformed from a naive farm boy into a ruthless warlord. He has stood in shieldwalls, slaying the enemies of his king and been rewarded with land and riches. He has found love, and lost it all too quickly. He has travelled from the southern kingdom of his homeland of Cantware (Kent) all the way into the northern realm of Dál Riata to the isle of Hii (Iona). Beobrand has witnessed the resurgence of the religion of the Christ, and he has even stood against the dark power of the old gods, wielded at the hands of a cunning woman seeking revenge against him.
Beobrand’s world is one of violence and vengeance, but in WARRIOR OF WODEN, he is no longer free to pursue his own quests against those who have wronged him. Time has passed and after the resolution of many story lines in the fourth book, KILLER OF KINGS, Beobrand is now oath-sworn and bound by his words and promises more strongly than any ropes or chains ever could.
Writing a novel is a unique challenge. Writing a series of books comes with an extra set of difficulties. Readers expect a certain flavour they have come to recognise. They wish to revisit the same characters they have grown to love, or hate. They want some familiarity, but at the same time, they do not wish to be bored. Readers want to be thrilled and excited by new, fresh twists, not to have the same old stories repeated. And then there is the issue of new readers. It is always in my mind that a reader might come to the Bernicia Chronicles at any point and so each novel must stand on its own merit, providing a satisfying read as well as adding to the overall series.
In WARRIOR OF WODEN, Beobrand has grown as a leader of men and as a man. His friendships from previous stories have matured and he has less self-doubt. He has more wealth and is now secure in his position. But with that position comes greater responsibility and in this story Beobrand sees his prowess in battle tested more than ever and his oaths and loyalties stretched to the limit. He leads his friends into the bloodiest battle he has faced yet and, as with all warfare, not everyone returns alive and nobody escapes unscathed.
The passage of time since the action of the previous book has allowed me to start afresh, creating new backstory, adding new characters, both friend and foe, and providing even more depth to the world Beobrand inhabits.
Whether you have already enjoyed the other books, or choose WARRIOR OF WODEN as the first book in the series to read, follow Beobrand on a breakneck ride of an adventure as he stands in the climactic clash between the pagan Penda and the Christian Oswald. In this battle, which is one of the most important in the history of the island, there is much more at stake than sovereignty. This is a battle for the very souls of the people of Albion.
WARRIOR OF WODEN is published on 1st April.
The digital boxset of the first three novels of The Bernicia Chronicles is currently available at a reduced price. BUY IT HERE.
=========
This blog post originally appeared on the Aria Fiction blog.
Wednesday, 30 August 2017
Inspiration from The Dark Ages: Why I Wrote The Serpent Sword
If you’d asked me to name some Anglo-Saxon kings before I started writing The Serpent Sword, I would probably have managed Alfred the Great, perhaps Ethelred the Unready and that last great Anglo-Saxon king, Harold, of the Battle of Hastings, 1066 and arrow-in-the-eye fame. I think most people would probably be in the same boat as I was. There are other periods that I knew a lot more about. School history lessons focussed more on the Tudors, the Norman Conquest, the medieval period of the Crusades and the Hundred Years War, and then of course, the Industrial Revolution, and the two World Wars of the twentieth century.
The Romans might have got a mention at school, and those ever-popular raping and pillaging Vikings. They were always a firm favourite with teachers and students alike. Especially young boys like me, who imagined themselves riding the waves on a dragon-prowed longship and relished the horrific tales of battle and the perhaps fictional blood-eagle. But the Vikings didn’t come to Britain until the end of the 8th century, long after the stories I write have finished.
So, if I knew next to nothing about the early seventh century, why did I choose to write my debut novel about a young man in Northumbria in 633 AD? After all, writing a novel is hard enough, without choosing a subject you haven’t got a clue about. The real answer is that I didn’t choose the period, it chose me. So what makes someone who has never written a novel decide to pick up a pen, or more likely nowadays, sit down at their computer?
Well, in my case, it was a television programme one evening back in 2001. It was about archaeological digs taking place in and around Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. I had lived near there as a child and always loved the area, so I watched with interest. I was alone at home that evening and something sparked inside me. I fired up the PC and started to type descriptions of the images that were thronging in my mind. I wrote a scene of a young man arriving on the beach at Bebbanburg (the old name for Bamburgh). I had never written anything of novel length before and I had a full-time job, a young family and I was halfway through studying for a degree, so progress was never going to be fast.
But something about the story just kept nagging at me. Who was this man I saw in my mind’s eye? Why had he arrived by ship? Where had he come from?
I started buying any books I could find on the period, and the more I learnt about the so-called Dark Ages in Britain, the more I became hooked. I discovered that Britain was made up of small kingdoms. The Romans had left a couple of centuries before, but war was still frequent between the different Anglo-Saxon rulers. And there were also regions ruled by native Britons. Welsh, Scots and Picts all vied against the Germanic peoples who had settled the land after the Romans had left these shores. I learnt the names of Anglo-Saxon kings that should be taught in all schools: Edwin, Oswald, Oswiu, Penda and many more. They were not kings of England, but kings of exotic sounding places like Bernicia, Deira, and Mercia. But these were men who helped to forge the land we know as England (the name itself comes from Angleland).
My research in the area brought back memories of my childhood in a village on the border of England and Scotland. The wildness of that land had always stayed with me. The rocky coastline of the North Sea, birds wheeling in a leaden sky, the snow-capped Cheviot Hills on the horizon. It was easy to imagine men and women living, fighting and dying in that land 1,400 years earlier. Men and women just like you and me, with loves, passions, fears, and yet so far removed from us that they could easily be thought of as truly alien.
They lived in a time of turmoil and uncertainty. Kings with retinues of warriors defended their people against attack, but such protection was often short-lived, with most kings meeting their ends in bloody battles. Religion too was in flux, with the resurgence of Christianity spreading over the land. However, in the early part of the seventh century, it was still very much the new religion, in competition with old gods we more commonly relate with the Vikings.
The term ‘Dark Ages’ has become outmoded in recent years, with academics now preferring ‘Early Medieval’. But I believe that despite the enlightenment of some during that time and the incredible skill of craftsmen who produced intricate and exquisite jewellery, weapons and armour, the period really is dark. It is lost to us in the gloomy distance of the past. Something about the men and women of the seventh century inspired me one night fifteen years ago, and they have been speaking ever since.
All I can do is listen and tell their tales as best I can.
The Romans might have got a mention at school, and those ever-popular raping and pillaging Vikings. They were always a firm favourite with teachers and students alike. Especially young boys like me, who imagined themselves riding the waves on a dragon-prowed longship and relished the horrific tales of battle and the perhaps fictional blood-eagle. But the Vikings didn’t come to Britain until the end of the 8th century, long after the stories I write have finished.
So, if I knew next to nothing about the early seventh century, why did I choose to write my debut novel about a young man in Northumbria in 633 AD? After all, writing a novel is hard enough, without choosing a subject you haven’t got a clue about. The real answer is that I didn’t choose the period, it chose me. So what makes someone who has never written a novel decide to pick up a pen, or more likely nowadays, sit down at their computer?
Well, in my case, it was a television programme one evening back in 2001. It was about archaeological digs taking place in and around Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland. I had lived near there as a child and always loved the area, so I watched with interest. I was alone at home that evening and something sparked inside me. I fired up the PC and started to type descriptions of the images that were thronging in my mind. I wrote a scene of a young man arriving on the beach at Bebbanburg (the old name for Bamburgh). I had never written anything of novel length before and I had a full-time job, a young family and I was halfway through studying for a degree, so progress was never going to be fast.
But something about the story just kept nagging at me. Who was this man I saw in my mind’s eye? Why had he arrived by ship? Where had he come from?
I started buying any books I could find on the period, and the more I learnt about the so-called Dark Ages in Britain, the more I became hooked. I discovered that Britain was made up of small kingdoms. The Romans had left a couple of centuries before, but war was still frequent between the different Anglo-Saxon rulers. And there were also regions ruled by native Britons. Welsh, Scots and Picts all vied against the Germanic peoples who had settled the land after the Romans had left these shores. I learnt the names of Anglo-Saxon kings that should be taught in all schools: Edwin, Oswald, Oswiu, Penda and many more. They were not kings of England, but kings of exotic sounding places like Bernicia, Deira, and Mercia. But these were men who helped to forge the land we know as England (the name itself comes from Angleland).
My research in the area brought back memories of my childhood in a village on the border of England and Scotland. The wildness of that land had always stayed with me. The rocky coastline of the North Sea, birds wheeling in a leaden sky, the snow-capped Cheviot Hills on the horizon. It was easy to imagine men and women living, fighting and dying in that land 1,400 years earlier. Men and women just like you and me, with loves, passions, fears, and yet so far removed from us that they could easily be thought of as truly alien.
They lived in a time of turmoil and uncertainty. Kings with retinues of warriors defended their people against attack, but such protection was often short-lived, with most kings meeting their ends in bloody battles. Religion too was in flux, with the resurgence of Christianity spreading over the land. However, in the early part of the seventh century, it was still very much the new religion, in competition with old gods we more commonly relate with the Vikings.
The term ‘Dark Ages’ has become outmoded in recent years, with academics now preferring ‘Early Medieval’. But I believe that despite the enlightenment of some during that time and the incredible skill of craftsmen who produced intricate and exquisite jewellery, weapons and armour, the period really is dark. It is lost to us in the gloomy distance of the past. Something about the men and women of the seventh century inspired me one night fifteen years ago, and they have been speaking ever since.
All I can do is listen and tell their tales as best I can.
Thursday, 23 March 2017
What the future holds for me and my writing
This post originally appeared as part of the KIN OF CAIN blog tour on David's Book Blurg blog.
So much has changed in the last four years. I finished The Serpent Sword and found an agent. I then wrote the sequel, The Cross and the Curse, while my newly-acquired agent tried to sell the first book, and, unfortunately, failed. This failure pushed me to self-publish both books, whilst pressing on with the writing that had somehow become part of my life by this point. Both books were doing well and garnered many positive reviews. This finally piqued the interest of a publisher, so I signed a contract with Aria, a new imprint of publisher, Head of Zeus. Aria re-published the first two books and then published book three of the Bernicia Chronicles, Blood and Blade. They also managed to sell the rights for the three novels to Audible, who have now released the audio books for them, narrated by a great actor called Barnaby Edwards.
I have also written a prequel novella, Kin of Cain, which is out now, and completed book four in the Bernicia Chronicles, Killer of Kings, which is due out in June.
I am now well into the first draft of book five in the series, which will also be published by Aria, who have plans to release all the books in hardcover and mass market paperback in the coming months and years. I am even hearing talk of possible translations of the books in the works!
The point of this rambling on about the past and all the great things that have happened in the last four years is that I had no idea what would happen then, and I don’t really know what the future will bring in the next four years. But what I do know is that there will be more novels in the Bernicia Chronicles. Beobrand’s tale marches on into the seventh century and he will see more kings come and go. He will face his foes in the clash of shieldwalls in battles throughout the island of Albion and, who knows, perhaps even beyond its shores.
And when I decide to move on from Beobrand? When I am done with the mead hall and the shieldwall? What then? Well, I would love to write a western, but I am told there is no money in them. If I am ever close to living in my dream where I have enough money to write what I want and not care about how many people will read it, I will probably turn my hand to the American West. I can almost smell the rotgut whiskey and the pungent stench of gunpowder in the air of a rowdy cattle town when the ranchers and their cowhands have rolled in from the dusty trail. If you look carefully, you will see much of the so-called Wild West in the Bernicia Chronicles, but I would relish the chance to write at least one book set on the Frontier of civilization in the 19th century.
If, as is much more likely, I will have to write books that might sell and which appeal to readers of my books, I have an idea for a Viking saga, which actually has elements of a western in it. But I can say no more now, as it is just a twinkle in this author’s eye! It’s either that or romance, which my wife assures me sells better than the violent books I write. I’m not sure I would do very well at that, but I might have to think of pen name if I want to find out!
I am sometimes tempted to write a fantasy. I am a huge fan of writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and David Gemmell, so I have a firm understanding of the genre. And the thing that I like most about it, is that I would not have to stick to historical facts! In many ways, the stories I tell could easily be transposed into a word of epic fantasy. But as I am writing historical fiction, I am constrained by what is known to have happened, the technology available, and when things occurred. Oh, and no dragons or magic!
I would love the chance to be able to just create a plot and write whatever I wanted because I would be in total control and nobody could tell me I had got something wrong, as it would be my creation!
So, what of the future? I think we’ll have to wait and see. But if people keep buying my books, I think I can safely say I’ll continue to write them.
Hopefully others will enjoy whatever directions in which the muse takes me.
What the future holds for me and my writing
If you’d asked me four years ago what the future held for me and my writing I would have said I hope to find an agent and then get published. In February 2013 I was close to finishing the first draft of my debut novel, The Serpent Sword. I’d never written anything longer than a few hundred words before and I could see no further than completing the book and somehow getting it out in front of readers who hopefully would like it. That was it. I really had no ambition beyond that, apart, of course, from the secret dream of selling millions of books and becoming rich enough to retire to a tropical island somewhere. But we won’t talk about that.
So much has changed in the last four years. I finished The Serpent Sword and found an agent. I then wrote the sequel, The Cross and the Curse, while my newly-acquired agent tried to sell the first book, and, unfortunately, failed. This failure pushed me to self-publish both books, whilst pressing on with the writing that had somehow become part of my life by this point. Both books were doing well and garnered many positive reviews. This finally piqued the interest of a publisher, so I signed a contract with Aria, a new imprint of publisher, Head of Zeus. Aria re-published the first two books and then published book three of the Bernicia Chronicles, Blood and Blade. They also managed to sell the rights for the three novels to Audible, who have now released the audio books for them, narrated by a great actor called Barnaby Edwards.
I have also written a prequel novella, Kin of Cain, which is out now, and completed book four in the Bernicia Chronicles, Killer of Kings, which is due out in June.
I am now well into the first draft of book five in the series, which will also be published by Aria, who have plans to release all the books in hardcover and mass market paperback in the coming months and years. I am even hearing talk of possible translations of the books in the works!
The point of this rambling on about the past and all the great things that have happened in the last four years is that I had no idea what would happen then, and I don’t really know what the future will bring in the next four years. But what I do know is that there will be more novels in the Bernicia Chronicles. Beobrand’s tale marches on into the seventh century and he will see more kings come and go. He will face his foes in the clash of shieldwalls in battles throughout the island of Albion and, who knows, perhaps even beyond its shores.
And when I decide to move on from Beobrand? When I am done with the mead hall and the shieldwall? What then? Well, I would love to write a western, but I am told there is no money in them. If I am ever close to living in my dream where I have enough money to write what I want and not care about how many people will read it, I will probably turn my hand to the American West. I can almost smell the rotgut whiskey and the pungent stench of gunpowder in the air of a rowdy cattle town when the ranchers and their cowhands have rolled in from the dusty trail. If you look carefully, you will see much of the so-called Wild West in the Bernicia Chronicles, but I would relish the chance to write at least one book set on the Frontier of civilization in the 19th century.
If, as is much more likely, I will have to write books that might sell and which appeal to readers of my books, I have an idea for a Viking saga, which actually has elements of a western in it. But I can say no more now, as it is just a twinkle in this author’s eye! It’s either that or romance, which my wife assures me sells better than the violent books I write. I’m not sure I would do very well at that, but I might have to think of pen name if I want to find out!
I am sometimes tempted to write a fantasy. I am a huge fan of writers like J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard and David Gemmell, so I have a firm understanding of the genre. And the thing that I like most about it, is that I would not have to stick to historical facts! In many ways, the stories I tell could easily be transposed into a word of epic fantasy. But as I am writing historical fiction, I am constrained by what is known to have happened, the technology available, and when things occurred. Oh, and no dragons or magic!
I would love the chance to be able to just create a plot and write whatever I wanted because I would be in total control and nobody could tell me I had got something wrong, as it would be my creation!
So, what of the future? I think we’ll have to wait and see. But if people keep buying my books, I think I can safely say I’ll continue to write them.
Hopefully others will enjoy whatever directions in which the muse takes me.
Wednesday, 1 June 2016
Publication day for THE SERPENT SWORD!
Today's the day!
THE SERPENT SWORD is published today by Aria, an imprint of Head of Zeus.
Thanks to everyone who's read the first edition of the book and left a review on Amazon, Goodreads or elsewhere online. If you haven't yet read it, now's your chance!
The paperback should be available very soon. The audio book will follow in a few weeks.
Saturday, 30 April 2016
Amazing news!
I've got some amazing news! After several months of work and planning behind the scenes, I am extremely pleased to be able to announce that the Bernicia Chronicles are to be published by Aria, the new imprint from the dynamic and award-winning independent publisher, Head of Zeus.
THE SERPENT SWORD will be re-published on 1st June 2016 (available now on pre-order). You can read a sample of it (and see the lovely new map) here.
THE CROSS AND THE CURSE will be re-published on 1st October 2016 (available now on pre-order).
BY BLOOD AND BLADE will be published in January 2017.
KIN OF CAIN (a novella) will be published in April 2017.
Book 4 of the Bernicia Chronicles (title TBD) will be published in June 2017.
All the books will be available as e-books, paperbacks and audio books (which I am particularly looking forward to). I am very excited to be working with such a wonderful team of talented professionals at Aria who are going to help lift the Bernicia Chronicles to greater heights and to get the books out to a wider audience.
If you've already read The Serpent Sword and The Cross and The Curse, thank you, and I'm sorry that you will have to wait a few more months than I'd originally expected for By Blood and Blade, but I'm sure the wait will be worth it and you'll be as happy as I am with the results.
Happy reading!
Matthew
THE SERPENT SWORD will be re-published on 1st June 2016 (available now on pre-order). You can read a sample of it (and see the lovely new map) here.
THE CROSS AND THE CURSE will be re-published on 1st October 2016 (available now on pre-order).
BY BLOOD AND BLADE will be published in January 2017.
KIN OF CAIN (a novella) will be published in April 2017.
Book 4 of the Bernicia Chronicles (title TBD) will be published in June 2017.
All the books will be available as e-books, paperbacks and audio books (which I am particularly looking forward to). I am very excited to be working with such a wonderful team of talented professionals at Aria who are going to help lift the Bernicia Chronicles to greater heights and to get the books out to a wider audience.
If you've already read The Serpent Sword and The Cross and The Curse, thank you, and I'm sorry that you will have to wait a few more months than I'd originally expected for By Blood and Blade, but I'm sure the wait will be worth it and you'll be as happy as I am with the results.
Happy reading!
Matthew
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