Hi loyal readers. Between technical issues and an overwhelming amount of writing to get done, I’ve neglected this blog completely. So sorry! I have been posting news on the Facebook Fan Page but I know not everyone chooses to use Facebook, so here is a catch-up for you.

Firstly, the anthology Aurum was published by Ticonderoga Publications recently. You can purchase via their website or the usual online retailers. Aurum contains my story Beautiful, which is based on the fairy tale East of the Sun and West of the Moon (the story about a young woman who marries a white bear prince and has to undertake a gruelling quest to save him from a curse.) Beautiful, along with six other excellent stories in the anthology, is novella length – longer than a short story but too short to be published on its own.

Now, exciting news on Beautiful. I’ve expanded my novella into a full length novel. My central character, Hulde, is not the heroic young woman of the fairy tale, but someone quite different – a character I felt was rather hard done by in the original story. This version of Beautiful will be published as an audio book by Audible some time in 2019; it will be going into production soon.

I’ve also had two short stories published this year: Army Men, in the anthology Of Gods and Globes, and Through the Diamond Window, in the children’s anthology A Miniature Christmas, from Christmas Press.

Of course the main focus of my writing this year has been The Harp of Kings, first book in the new Warrior Bards series. The Harp of Kings will be published by Penguin Random House in the US and by Pan Macmillan in Australia, in October 2019. Sorry it’s such a long wait! The book is finished and we are currently at the editing stage. I’ve seen some draft cover art which I really loved. Because this is such a major project I will give it a separate, more detailed update very soon. Warrior Bards has links to both the Sevenwaters series and the Blackthorn & Grim series.