Hello and welcome to this Publisher Interview here on Track of Words, where I’m delighted to be joined by Brandon and Vincent Rospond to talk about their independent publishing company Winged Hussar Publishing. It’s always fascinating to hear about the realities of life for small publishers, and as I’m particularly interested in IP fiction I jumped at the chance to chat to Brandon and Vincent, and learn more about the range of books that they publish and the challenges (and opportunities) of working in this industry. Whether you’re a fan of IP fiction or historical fiction, or you’re just interested in publishing as a whole, this is well worth a read!
ToW: To start things off, for anyone not familiar with Winged Hussar Publishing could you tell us a bit about who you are and what you publish?
Brandon: I’m Brandon Rospond, and I’m the head editor for the sci-fi and fantasy side of our company. Winged Hussar Publishing is a small publishing company that contracts authors to write novels; we edit and layout in-house, and then our novels get distributed by Simon and Schuster. We produce novels and non-fiction books in a variety of genres – fantasy, science-fiction, historical, horror, and young adult.
In particular in the first two genres, we publish plenty of standalone series and one-off novels, but we also specialize in novels that exist in and expand the lore of tabletop gaming worlds. In our historical texts, we have books that range the genres, from ancient to modern, with a significant focus on Eastern Europe – and particular Polish – history.
Vincent: I’m Vincent Rospond, I’m the publisher and editor for history and anything Brandon doesn’t cover. I’ve worked in publishing for over thirty years – at Simon & Schuster, Black Library, and Aconyte Books as well; and of course with WHP – which is now over ten years old. I have a couple of advanced degrees in history and finance as well as being a gamer for over fifty years. I focus on different areas of history, especially on Eastern Europe.
ToW: Could you give us a quick rundown of your history? Why you started a publishing business, how it came about, what you wanted to achieve, that sort of thing…
V: I started by writing a book for Osprey, and in the course of that gathered a great deal of additional material, and thought I could transfer this into a line of hard to find books. That developed further into more books and SF&F books which I have always been interested in. Using my contacts in the industry and expanding that, we started to develop a core group of authors. I am interested in good stories and there are good stories in history and SF&F that need telling.
B: For me, I’ve always been interested in writing – and in particular, roleplaying games. As a teenager, I never got into D&D, but I was heavily into Final Fantasy – and actually, my first foray into roleplaying games was Super Mario RPG! It was my love of gaming that brought me accidentally into finding a D&D-based roleplaying community in AOL chat rooms, and I started my own long-running, drop-in drop-out roleplay called “The Dragoon Clan”. Growing into my adult years, I realized I wanted to do more with what I created – that I wanted to give it the proper finish it deserved, and so I committed my career into being a better writer, and with that, I owe a lot of what I learned through editing. I’m able to work with a variety of different authors, learn their styles, see what works and what doesn’t, and it’s all really helped me with my own writing endeavors.
ToW: In the time since you started the business, have your objectives changed at all, or the way you do things?
V: No. We want to tell good stories, work with people we like, and meet fun people
B: Our objectives have always been the same, but the way we do things has changed slightly – mostly to adapt to a post-COVID, more social media-centric market.
ToW: You work with lots of different IPs – what would you say are the core elements of your offering?
B: Our current core gaming IPs that we focus on are Kings of War and Infinity: The Game, and we are currently working on Blood and Plunder – so we have a flagship fantasy, sci-fi, and historical IP respectively. We believe strongly in the products that we’re supporting by producing novels – they’re fantastic games that have been around for a long time, and the novels only help to strengthen their product and reach beyond the borders of just tabletop gaming, and into the literary world. Our works aren’t just battle reports that gamers of the series enjoy – they’re good, solid stories for people who enjoy SF&F.
ToW: For readers new to you, where would you recommend they start and why?
B: If they’re into history books, we have a variety of different time periods that new customers can browse through – anything by Gabriele Esposito or from our Nafzinger collection are all very popular sellers. Gabriele Esposito’s books usually have detailed pictures in his works, armies from different eras, and his works are excellent for painting guides. The Nafzinger collection that we publish is some of the most detailed information on whatever specific topic the book is about.
For fantasy, I would recommend Steps to Deliverance or Broken Alliance from our Kings of War novels – they’re both standalone, but Steps is the first in a series by Mark Barber. If someone is interested in a single standalone then Crimson Sand, Crimson Snow by Craig Gallant is also excellent. Our Tales of Pannithor series, based in the world of Mantic Games’s Kings of War, are nearly all standalone works, set in a wider world where there are minor crossover details for eagle-eyed readers; anyone who enjoys fantasy within a rich world of detail, history, and lore – without being beaten over the head with said details – will enjoy these two immensely.
For sci-fi, I would recommend any of our three Infinity novels: Downfall, Team Zed, or Airaghardt; but again, if they’re interested in standalone sci-fi not tied to a game, The Great Martian War is more relatable. Infinity is a very rich and detailed world – for those not familiar with the source, there is a lot of lore to digest. But our novels break it down into specific topics, so readers don’t need to know all the ins and outs to understand and appreciate the novels – the authors make it very easy to understand the tech and terms – and take it from me. I try to familiarize myself with all the lore in a game before we dive in, but as I said, there is a lot; and I was able to learn the bulk of the universe through working with our authors.
As for The Great Martian War series, it’s a spin on H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, written by our veteran author, Scott Washburn. There are stories from the Eastern US, Texas, and the UK featuring characters such as Roosevelt and Churchill. I’ve not ever heard a negative report on the series, but don’t take my word for it!
ToW: Where can readers go to find out more, and keep track of upcoming releases?
B: All of our works are available through all major book retailers, as well as Amazon and our own website – whpsupplyroom.com. Our website has all of the books we publish, broken down into different categories.
To follow us on social media, our main form of communication is Facebook – for example the Winged Hussar and Zmok Books [a WHP imprint – ToW] pages. We also have a podcast coming out called WHPubcast. I will be joined by one of our authors, Mark Barber, and it will be a deep dive on novels, interviews with our authors, and general talk about writing and the publishing industry.
ToW: Running an independent publishing company must be a lot of work. What would you say are the main challenges you tend to face?
V: Time and space. With a small group of people we have to allocate priorities to make things work and cover all the projects. Space is getting front space for readers to find us.
B: The main challenge that we face, especially in a post-COVID world, is visibility. We are distributed by Simon and Schuster, and our books are available worldwide, but with the changing landscape of what sells and what doesn’t, we’re in a niche set of genres that doesn’t get the public facing that it deserves. In regard to Barnes and Noble, arguably one of the stores that receives the most visibility, they cut down on the sci-fi and fantasy they stock significantly, and I can’t even get our local store to stock our products. To combat this, we try to have an active social media presence and attend many conventions, but it is a constant struggle to make sure people are aware of our products.
ToW: Conversely, what are the most interesting or engaging opportunities that this business offers you?
V: I work with a lot of fun and interesting people. We throw around ideas – some of which will never get done, but can be fun to work through.I also enjoy the people we meet at shows and on-line for discussions.
B: For me, it’s the people. I’m not really a people-person; I’m an introvert. My perfect night is spending time with my wife and children, watching TV or playing a video game. But the authors that I’ve worked with over the years are truly a wonderful group of people, many of whom have transcended the professional barrier and I am very good friends with – thus, look at how I mentioned that Mark Barber and I are starting a podcast together. And the people in the gaming communities, for the most part, have been a real joy to meet and engage with. I really enjoy going to Adepticon and talking with people about what we’re doing and what we have planned – seeing the real interest and joy in what we do.
ToW: What are the recent releases that you’re particularly keen to tell readers about?
V: We have a book on Poland in World War II titled Survivng Genocide that is a family memoir; The Banners in the Battle of Grunwald, a lovely illustrated book on the heraldry and history of the battle in 1410; book one of a three-book original historical fiction saga set in the Viking era by Howard Whitehouse; and a book on early slavic warriors. We have some great books in the works that will cover Russian armies, the Ottomans, and the American Revolution.
We also publish rule sets; our latest – Playing with History – is a fast-play rule system set in the age of Pericles.
B: Rise of the Celestians isn’t necessarily a recent release, but I felt like it went under the radar. It was a novel in our Tales of Pannithor line that established the backstory of the world of Kings of War – the gods of the universe, their origins, and how they shaped the game today with its current factions. When the author, CL Werner, and the team at Mantic first started talking to me about it, it was very reminiscent of the trailer for Marvel’s The Eternals in my mind. I felt a sense of wonder and awe about this god-like race that transcended space and time to help mortals. The way the novel is written is interesting as well, as since the Celestians are eternal, there are long jumps in between chapters; people go from babies to adulthood in-between a chapter, but for the Celestians, it’s but the blink of an eye – a turn of a chapter, if you will.
Also in the world of Kings of War, we have a novel coming out called Pride of a King, written by Ben Stoddard. For players, it will be a lore-heavy, spy sort of novel that will unfold some lore and drama with heavy implications for the dwarfs; for fantasy enjoyers, they can look forward to a novel that is entirely about dwarfs and get a feel for how Mantic’s are different from, say, Tolkein’s dwarves.
Beyond that, I’m really excited about Airaghardt in our Infinity line of novels. I’ve really enjoyed working in that universe – Mark Barber and Craig Gallant who wrote the first two novels were very passionate in their research and writing, and I can’t say enough good about either of them – but John Leibee is a long-term player of Infinity, and he brings that knowledge to the table. All of the universe’s terminology and concept are seamlessly written in without beating the readers over the head, while telling an action-packed story within a faction that’s more relatable than the ones in the other two – the characters that he writes about don’t have the advanced tech that the cast in the other Infinity novels do, so I think it’s a great jumping on point for new readers. But be warned, the language is a bit harsh in these novels, as it is in the game 🙂
ToW: What can you tell us about what you’re working on at the moment?
B: I have a million projects that I’m juggling at any given time. As of writing, I just finished the edits on our second DreadBall novel by Robert E. Waters, called The Final Rush! I’m currently working through my first round of edits on Airaghardt by John Leibee, which I cannot say enough good about. Then when I’m done this, I shift back into Kings of War to work on Honor’s Price by Mike Rossi.
All the while, I’m working on my own writing, when I get a chance to breathe. We’re reprinting my novel, which was the first fantasy work we published under WHP so we took it off the market and re-edited it, scheduled to release in March, entitled Rebirth of Courage. So I’m excited to keep working in that world, when I get a free moment.
V: A book on the Ottoman Empire in the 18th century, the Russian Army of Catherine the Great, and The Book of Unknown Soldiers about Polish army units from the 1600’s to 20th century. Finally, my own book on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth 1500-1700.
ToW: To finish off, if you could spend time in any one of the settings (historical or fictional) that you publish stories in, which one would you choose and why?
V: 19th century history. It is the birth of nations and great ideas as well as bad ideas. There is a pathos of people and ideas. It is really the first time when we hear about men, women, and minorities.
B: I’m a bit partial to my own writing, so I’d instantly say the world of The Dragoon Clan, in Rebirth of Courage… but I’d also like to live in the Infinity universe. The tech that they have is really neat, and if I could live my life impervious to the war all around me, I’d enjoy being able to access things through tech in my eye or have a personal AI assistant do the minor work for me!
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Thanks so much to Brandon and Vince for taking the time to chat to me! I hope this has whetted your appetite and given you lots of ideas for great new books to get hold of. If you’d like to find out more about Winged Hussar Publishing, here’s a quick breakdown of how their various imprints are organised, along with some links to follow:
Imprints
Winged Hussar: History
Zmok Books: SF&F and Horror
Xander Books: Children’s fiction and YA
Wrong Way Books: Mysteries etc.
Nafziger Collection: re-edited books from the Nafziger Collection of Military History
Tryglav Books: English translations of Polish Books on medieval Slavic history
Links
WHP website
WHP on Facebook
Zmok Books on Facebook
On Military Matters on Facebook (an online store)
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