Category Archives: Interviews

RAPID FIRE: Victoria Hayward Talks Deathworlder

It’s been a while since my last Rapid Fire interview with a Black Library author, but I’m back with my first of 2024 and it’s a doozy – please welcome the fantastic Victoria Hayward to talk about her debut novel, Deathworlder! After several great 40k short stories, I’m sure I’m not the only reader who’s been looking forward to Victoria’s first novel (which goes up for pre-order from BL/GW tomorrow), and joining the ever-growing and consistently impressive range of Astra Militarum novels, Deathworlder promises to be a Catachan novel like no other. If you’re keen to find out more about what to expect, we’ve definitely got you covered with this interview.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Sebastien de Castell Talks Play of Shadows

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where I’m delighted to welcome back Sebastien de Castell to talk about his new fantasy novel Play of Shadows, which is out now from Jo Fletcher Books! Set in the same world as his Greatcoats series, this kicks off a brand new arc – and you definitely don’t need to have read the other books already, as I can testify myself (more on this later). I had a blast reading Play of Shadows, and I’d recommend it to any fantasy reader whether you’re a fan of the Greatcoats or, like me, new to this world. So read on to find out more about what to expect from Play of Shadows, its cast of characters, and the power of theatre in a fantasy world!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jeff Noon Talks Gogmagog

Hello and welcome to Track of Words, where today I’m delighted to present an Author Interview with Jeff Noon, co-author (alongside Steve Beard) of Gogmagog, the first in a new fantasy duology from Angry Robot. Subtitled The First Chronicle of Ludwich, and featuring one of my favourite fantasy covers in a long time (from the incredible Ian McQue), Gogmagog is a bonkers but brilliant weird fantasy novel. I’ll leave it to Jeff to describe the book, but I recently read it myself and can confirm that it’s excellent, and I jumped at the chance to chat to Jeff for this interview.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Lorraine Wilson Talks The Last to Drown

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m talking to the fantastic Lorraine Wilson about her upcoming novella The Last to Drown, which is coming out in February 2024 as part of the 2024 Luna Novellas series from Luna Press Publishing! I’ve really enjoyed talking to all three of the 2024 novella authors, and this interview is no exception – it’s been fascinating to find out about what to expect from The Last to Drown, the themes explored in the novella, and what Lorraine’s experiences have been like working on this book! Read on to find out more about this intriguing novella…

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: CL Farley Talks The Invisible Girl

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m welcoming CL Farley to the site to talk about her upcoming novella The Invisible Girl, which is due out in February 2024 as part of Luna Press Publishing’s Luna Novella series. I’m really pleased to be able to interview the three authors from the 2024 series, and I’m looking forward to each of the novellas! If you like the sound of a story set in South Africa and populated with unreliable narrators and uncertain realities, then The Invisible Girl might just be the book for you – read on to find out more about it.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Knicky L. Abbott Talks Tanglewood

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m joined by Knicky L. Abbott to talk about her intriguing debut novella Tanglewood, coming in February 2024 as part of the next Luna Novella series from Luna Press Publishing! I love a good novella, and I’ve been eyeing up Luna’s range for a while, so when the opportunity arose to interview the authors of the 2024 novellas I jumped at the chance! In terms of Tanglewood, I was intrigued by the thought of exploring Barbadian folklore, so read on to find out more about this story, its characters, its folklore roots, its exploration of isolation and unbelonging, and much more.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Frances White Talks Voyage of the Damned

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview; today I’m absolutely delighted to be joined by author Frances White to talk about her debut novel Voyage of the Damned, which is out on the 18th January 2024 from Penguin Michael Joseph. I’m lucky enough to have read an advance copy of Voyage of the Damned, and I can confirm that it’s a joy to read – I loved everything about it! I’m really excited to talk about this book, so I couldn’t be happier to welcome Frances to the site to give us the lowdown and explore some of the characters, ideas and themes waiting within its pages. So read on, and I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed the book!

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Bradley P. Beaulieu Talks The Dragons of Deepwood Fen

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m delighted to welcome Bradley P. Beaulieu to the site to talk about his brand new fantasy novel The Dragons of Deepwood Fen (out on the 4th January from Head of Zeus). I’ve featured one of Bradley’s books on the site before (Absynthe, written under his alternative guise as Brendan P. Bellecourt) but where that was retrofuturistic science fiction this time we’re very much in the fantasy setting – dragons and all! If you like a good dragon story (and what fantasy fan doesn’t?) then this is going to be right up your street; so read on, and let’s get straight into the interview.

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PUBLISHER INTERVIEW: Brandon and Vincent Rospond Talk Winged Hussar Publishing

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!

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RAPID FIRE: Rob Young Talks Longshot

Hello and welcome to this Rapid Fire author interview, where today I’m chatting to Black Library author Rob Young about Longshot, his debut Warhammer 40,000 novel. Rob’s written a few 40k short stories already, and he’s previously featured on Track of Words as a guest reviewer (you can read his review here), but this is the first time we’ve chatted for an interview – and what better opportunity to talk than to celebrate the launch of his debut novel? Part of a growing range of new Imperial Guard Astra Militarum books, Longshot offers an unusual perspective on a Guard novel and promises to be an excellent read. Read on to find out what you can expect from Longshot, the challenges of writing about snipers, where Rob thinks he’d find himself if he was part of a Guard regiment, and loads more.

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