Autumn newsletter - now you know what I did last summer!

It's been a busy summer!

Well summer is at a close, and despite the unseasonable heat here in the south west of England, the days are growing noticeably shorter and soon the land will be cloaked in autumn mists. I haven't sent out a newsletter for a while and when I do, they tend to just be announcing releases. So I thought this time I would give you a quick update of what I've been doing over the summer and what you can expect from me in the next few months. In other words, a proper newsletter!

During the summer, my first two books, The Serpent Sword and The Cross and the Curse, were published by Aria. They are both doing really well, and at the time of writing, they are at positions one and two respectively in the UK Amazon's Historical Thriller category. They are also both reduced to 99p at the moment in the UK, so snap them up if you haven't already bought them. It looks like they are cheap in other countries too, but it is hard to keep track, and the prices change all the time.

Book three of The Bernicia Chronicles, Blood and Blade, has now been edited and its cover is done. There are just a few last tweaks to things like the map inside and it will be ready to go. The few people who have read advance copies have raved about it, so I hope you'll like it too. You can pre-order it now.

I have also been working hard on book four, which I am tentatively calling, Killer of Kings. I set myself a schedule at the beginning of the year and I am well on track to finish the first draft ahead of my target. I wasn't able to write as much as usual over August, as I had some holiday time with my family and I promised myself (and them!) I would not work while we were away.

We went to Lake Garda in Italy and visited Venice and Verona too, as well as the small towns around the lake. I have visited Italy a few times before and I love it there. I have to admit to feeling the murmurings of the muse during this recent holiday as we walked, so perhaps there will be some novels set in Renaissance Italy in my future. Who knows?

 Shortly after coming back from holiday, I attended my first Historical Novel Society Conference. These conferences are held in the UK every two years and people travel from all over the world to attend. There are numerous panels, talks, speeches, pitch sessions with agents and generally two days jam packed with things of interest to historical fiction writers, readers and publishing professionals. This year it was held in Oxford at one of the colleges and it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. To make it even more exciting, I had been asked to speak on a couple of panels: "Battle Scenes - Guts, Gore and Glory" and "Working with an Agent v Going Solo".
 

Justin Hill, a smiling me, Harry Sidebottom, Douglas Jackson and Simon Scarrow. (Photo copyright: Christine Hancock) 

The Battle Scenes panel was the first time I was going to talk in public about my books or my writing, and as if that wasn't scary enough, the other panelists were true titans of historical fiction: Justin Hill, Simon Scarrow, Harry Sidebottom and Douglas Jackson, great writers all and responsible for the deaths of thousands of men in their novels. I was nervous beforehand, but I needn't have worried. They were all friendly, welcoming and very supportive.

It was a relaxed, fun session, with each of us giving our unique perspective and experiences on the art of writing battle scenes, but the conclusion from us all was that whether a battle scene is describing many thousand-strong legions in ancient Rome, mud-splattered Saxons and Vikings in a shieldwall, the cannons and cavalry charges of the Napoleonic wars, or the clattering roar of machine gun fire scything through young men as they stormed the beaches of Normandy in 1944, the most important element is the character who will provide the point of view for the novelist to tell the story. If the readers are engaged and invested in the characters, the battle scene will be exciting and worth reading.

The other panel about working with an agent was also great fun. I shared the stage with two agents, Lisa Eveleigh and Joanna Swainson, and another author, Hazel Gaynor. The conclusion from everyone involved seemed to be that whilst it was very possible to be successful without an agent, provided an author is prepared and equipped to publicise themselves and handle all of the work traditionally undertaken by a publisher, the right literary agent can provide so much more, and open doors that a self-published author will not even get to knock on.

The last piece of news I have is that the audio books for the first three novels in the Bernicia Chronicles have been confirmed and are planned to all be available by the release date of Blood and Blade in December. I'm really looking forward to finding out who will narrate the stories and to hearing my books brought to life by someone else. It should be exciting.

But for now, as things settle back down into the normal routine of work, writing and the kids back at school, I am focusing on completing the first draft of Killer of Kings and then moving on with the editing. I should be finished by Christmas or sooner, with the book due for release around Fathers' Day next year.

All the best and I hope you have a great autumn (that's fall to any Americans out there!).

Happy reading!

Matthew

Happy new year 2016!

This time last year I had yet to publish my debut novel, The Serpent Sword. In the end I released it in April and since then, I have been living the hectic life of an independently-published author. This means that I need to promote the book as well as write the next one(s), all while keeping the day job going and the family reasonably happy. It is not easy to balance everything, but it is rewarding.

Since the release of The Serpent Sword, it has sold thousands of copies and garnered over a hundred reviews on Amazon.co.uk and edging towards a hundred on Amazon.com. And with over a hundred ratings on Goodreads, it has been a great nine months. For this, I owe a huge thanks to all the readers who have taken the time to leave a review. It is great to get an email or a message telling me you've enjoyed my book, but it is even better for others to be able to see the comments too. It takes only minutes, but makes a huge difference to the success of books. Readers trust readers.

One of the best reviews came from the Historical Novel Society, a prestigious global organisation that awarded The Serpent Sword Editor's Choice and Long-listed it for the HNS Indie Award 2016! Sadly, it did not make the short list, but not bad going for my first book!

I have done lots of interviews with other authors, and also with book promoters and reviewers. The support has been amazing.

Whilst doing all the interviews and promotions, I've also managed to prepare the second book, The Cross and the Curse, for release on 22nd January. I worked on the cover myself (as I did for The Serpent Sword) and got help from a friend, Stephen Weatherly, who took the great cover photo, and Matt Bunker, a living history expert in the period from the group Wulfheodenas, who graciously agreed to pose for the image (it is his gear on the cover the The Serpent Sword too).

As well as all of that, I even found time to write the first draft of book three of the Bernicia Chronicles, By Blood and Blade. I hope to have that book ready for release this summer and I will be working on another book soon.

I am sure 2016 will prove to be just as busy, exciting and rewarding as 2015. As well as the plan of releasing two new novels, there are other things in the works that I will announce in time. I hope you will stick with me for the ride.

Once again, thanks for helping make 2015 such a good year for me and the Bernicia Chronicles and here's to an even better 2016!

THE SERPENT SWORD - Historical Novel Society Editor's Choice!

This writing lark is quite weird. I never know what each day will bring. Will I find the time to sit and write? Will the muse whisper to me, or remain stubbornly silent? Will I get a new review? Will it be a good one, or a stinker?

So, it was with a little trepidation that I opened the email from the Historical Novel Society (HNS). The email title was merely "The Serpent Sword", but there was no other indication of the contents.

But I needn't have worried. This was the kind of email you don't often get, but you secretly hope for. The HNS has reviewed my novel, which is pretty good in itself, as not all novels make it past the initial stage of the review process. Not only that, but they have named it Editor's Choice, which also means it is automatically long-listed for the HNS Indie Award 2016!

This is cause for celebration indeed! Every positive review means a huge amount to me and I would like to thank everyone who has taken the time to leave a few words and a rating on Amazon/Goodreads (I could do without the negative ones, but hey, I guess I learn from them too!). But to receive such high praise from a prestigious organisation that specializes in historical fiction is really amazing.

Here is what the HNS said about THE SERPENT SWORD:

Beobrand is a young man who travels from his home in Kent to join his older brother, Octa, in far off Bernicia. On arrival, he learns that his brother is dead, an apparent suicide, although he is told that it may have been murder. Beobrand is determined to find and kill his brother’s murderer. Whilst staying at a monastery, a small band of lord-less warriors threaten the sanctuary of the place but Beobrand stands up to them though, recognising a youth he had met at Bebbanburg  (Bamburgh), he decides to join them. This proves to be a bad choice as the men are violent killers with their leader, Hengist, the worst of them all. However, the experience does lead him to discover the identity of his brother’s murderer. Leaving them, Beobrand joins the army of King Eanfrith and faces the army of Cadwallon in the shield wall.

Matthew Harffy’s tale of England in the Dark Ages is nothing less than superb. The characters are lively and believable, true to their times and Beobrand is a likeable hero whose progress from farm boy to seasoned soldier is well traced. The tale is fast paced and violence lurks on every page, whether it be murder or war.

The cover is glossy, professional and eye-catching and leaves the casual browser with no illusions as to the content. The Serpent Sword is the first of a projected series and, having been fortunate enough to have read it, I look forward to its sequels. Highly recommended and a five star read from this reviewer.

https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/the-serpent-sword/