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!

English Historical Fiction Authors: A sparrow's flight through King Edwin's great hall at Gefrin

Today I have a post on the English Historical Fiction Authors blog. In this blog post, I talk about Bede and his famous description of the sparrow's flight through a hall in winter, King Edwin's hall at Gefrin - that features in The Serpent Sword - and the inexorable passage of time.

Check it out here: A sparrow's flight through King Edwin's great hall at Gefrin

More interviews and award news!

A couple of interviews with me have been posted on other blogs recently, so if you want to read more about me, the writing, the history of the Bernicia Chronicles and what is coming up next for Beobrand, check out these interviews with other historical fiction authors:

With L.A. Smith:
https://lasmithwriter.wordpress.com/2015/12/18/interview-matthew-harffy-the-serpent-sword/

With Annie Whitehead:
http://anniewhitehead2.blogspot.co.uk/2015/12/the-story-bug-and-7th-century-author.html?spref=fb

In other news, the full long list for the Historical Novel Society 2016 Indie Award has been posted. The Serpent Sword is there amidst great novels. The short list will be posted on 1st January, so fingers crossed!

Another great review of The Cross and the Curse

As part of the build up to the release of The Cross and the Curse in January, I have been sending out advance review copies to bloggers and reviewers. One such review has gone up on David's Book Blurg, a great site for punchy reviews of mainly historical fiction and fantasy novels, with a few other genres thrown in for good measure.

David has rated it 5 out of 5 and says the following:

"This is by far the best sequel I’ve read to date"
"Harffy clearly knows what a reader wants and gives it to them"

Read the full review.

Pre-order The Cross and the Curse.

Being compared to the great Bernard Cornwell is not such a bad place to be!

In the last couple of days, I have featured on the websites of two talented historical fiction authors.

First, I wrote a guest post for Samantha Wilcoxson's blog on what it's like to be compared to the great author, Bernard Cornwell.

Second, Stephanie Churchill has written a great piece about THE SERPENT SWORD and THE CROSS AND THE CURSE  and my writing in general, where she also compares me (favourably!) to the historical fiction master himself!

Meanwhile, THE SERPENT SWORD is currently on special offer in the US and UK - only 0.99 for a limited time only!

Buy it here: getbook.at/TheSerpentSword

And THE CROSS AND THE CURSE is available for pre-order. (Release date 22nd January 2016)

Finally, if you're looking for a present for someone special, you can order a signed paperback of either book from www.matthewharffy.com.

THE CROSS AND THE CURSE - Pre-order NOW!

It is with great pleasure that I announce that the Kindle version of book 2 of the Bernicia Chronicles, THE CROSS AND THE CURSE, is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Pre-order here: getBook.at/CROSSandCURSE

Giles Kristian, bestselling author of God of Vengeance and the Raven series says the following about THE CROSS AND THE CURSE:

"A tale that rings like sword song in the reader's mind. Warriors, shield walls, the carnage of the war as it tears at a land that is not yet a nation. Beobrand is a hero to stand shoulder to shoulder with and his story is one to be told round the hearth fire on a dark night. Harffy knows his genre inside out and The Cross and the Curse proves it."

This sequel to The Serpent Sword throws you straight back into Beobrand's world. See what adventures await him in the maelstrom of early seventh century Britain. Beobrand makes new friends and confronts enemies old and new. There are more battles, treachery, twists, love and loss. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

THE CROSS AND THE CURSE will be released on 22nd January 2016. (I will try and get it out a bit sooner than this, but that is the absolute latest date when it can go live and the book will miraculously appear on your Kindle if you've pre-ordered it.)

THE CROSS AND THE CURSE will also be available in paperback, but that will not be on the website until the launch date.

THE CROSS AND THE CURSE - Amazing endorsements from great authors!

It's been a busy few weeks. I'm currently reading through the first complete draft of book 3 of the Bernicia Chronicles, BY BLOOD AND BLADE, and so far I'm enjoying what I'm reading, which is always a plus!

I've also been working on the formatting of book 2, THE CROSS AND THE CURSE. That's almost done now, and the paperback and Kindle version will both be available in January 2016.

I've also done a few interviews with different authors. The latest of these went live this weekend on Christoph Fischer's blog.

The week before last, I got together with Matt Bunker, from the group Wulfheodenas, and a talented photographer friend of mine, Stephen Weatherly, to take photos for the covers of books 2 and 3. Matt took the cover photo for The Serpent Sword, but this time round he is wearing his war gear, so taking the photos would prove a little difficult!

Stephen took nearly 300 photos in two hours and since then we have been going through them, selecting the best and then working on polishing them for publication. The cover for THE CROSS AND THE CURSE is nearly ready and is looking fabulous. I'll be revealing it soon, so watch this space.

In the meantime, I have started to receive some endorsements from great authors who have read advance copies. It is always scary when others read your work for the first time. Getting great reviews and comments from readers is wonderful. Having other authors enjoy it and being prepared to endorse a book, is an amazing feeling. I am over the moon with the quotes I've received so far, so I'll leave you with some of them here!

"A tale that rings like sword song in the reader's mind. Warriors, shield walls, the carnage of the war as it tears at a land that is not yet a nation. Beobrand is a hero to stand shoulder to shoulder with and his story is one to be told round the hearth fire on a dark night. Harffy knows his genre inside out and The Cross and the Curse proves it."
Giles Kristian, bestselling author of God of Vengeance and the Raven series

"The Cross and the Curse is a terrific novel that strikes just the right balance between fact and fiction, the plausible and the romantic, and it illuminates the Dark Ages like the bolt of lightning in its first few pages: in rare and unexpected ways. Top stuff."
Toby Clements, author of the Kingmaker trilogy

"The best historical fiction enables the reader to simultaneously live in the here and now and the then and there. Matthew Harffy has this skill in abundance. He peoples his work with everyman and everywoman, allowing a bridge across the centuries, a meeting place. Matthew Harffy’s first novel, The Serpent Sword, was superb. The second book, The Cross and the Curse, is every bit as good. He is one of the most accomplished and exciting voices in the field today. I love his novels."
Martin Lake, author of A Love Most Dangerous and The Lost King series
Read Martin's complete review here.

"Harffy’s debut novel, The Serpent Sword, was first rate and it’s often with trepidation that a reader will wait for Book Two in a series in the hope that it will pick up the banner and carry it forward. The Cross and the Curse does that eminently. I reviewed The Serpent Sword from the point of view of emotional reveal and I am pleased to see that Harffy continues to use this metier in order to give his characters real dimension. It  allows the reader to peel back the layers of Dark Age society beyond the implicit violence. His wordage is skilful and beautifully wrought, rather like a perfect damascened sword. Harffy is a writer to watch …"
Prue Batten, author of The Gisborne Saga and The Triptych Chronicle

“Like an oyster which grows a pearl through the irritation of a grain of sand, so Beobrand develops as a person through the horrors he witnesses and fights with, over, and against.  We see his humanity, we see pieces of ourselves, and we love him for it. Matthew Harffy has created a gritty, authentic world, home to a hero who shows us the complexity of what it means to be human – the darkness and the delight.  The Cross and the Curse is historical fiction at its finest.”
Stephanie Churchill, author of The Scribe's Daughter