Category Archives: Guest Post

Eight Books I Rate – Eliza Chan Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post where today I’m joined by the brilliant Eliza Chan, author of the upcoming Fathomfolk (coming early 2024 from Orbit), who’s here to share her excitement about a whole host of great fantasy books! I’m delighted to have Eliza on the site – I’ve been a fan ever since reading her short story Knowing Your Type (creepy teddy bears…really creepy teddy bears) in 2019, and I’m really looking forward to her debut novel. If you’re on the lookout for some new additions to your TBR, whether recent releases or upcoming titles, you’ve come to the right place. I know I’m going to be picking some of these up based on Eliza’s recommendations!

Continue reading →

Behind The Scene: Exclusive Excerpt from Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post, where today I’m delighted to present an exclusive excerpt from Play of Shadows by Sebastien de Castell – the first novel in a new series set in the world of the Greatcoats! I’ve included the publisher’s synopsis at the end of the post, but before then there’s loads to enjoy – first a quick note from Sebastien setting the scene for the start of the novel, and then the excerpt from the (brilliant) first chapter of the book. Play of Shadows is due out from Jo Fletcher Books on the 28th March 2024, so read on to get a taste of what to expect, then get your pre-orders in!

Continue reading →

Exclusive Excerpt: The Darkness Before Them by Matthew Ward

Matthew Ward’s The Darkness Before Them comes out from Orbit on the 7th November, kicking off a brand new fantasy series – the Soulfire Saga. I’m really looking forward to this new series, and very happy to support the release of this new book. I’ve already chatted to Matthew for a teaser interview about it, and as part of the blog tour for the book’s release Matthew wrote a fascinating guest post exploring the concept of surprises in fiction (something The Darkness Before Them promises to contain plenty of), and why they’re so effective. That’s not all, however. As the SECOND instalment in my contribution to the blog tour, I’m delighted to present an exclusive excerpt from The Darkness Before Them, to give you a taste of what to expect.

Continue reading →

Surprise! (or I Bet You Did See that Coming) – Matthew Ward Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where today I’m joined by the fantastic Matthew Ward, author of The Darkness Before Them – book one in the Soulfire Saga, coming out from Orbit on the 7th November. With this, his fourth novel with Orbit (after the fantastic Legacy Trilogy), coming so soon, Matthew has very kindly contributed a fantastic post on the topic of surprises in fiction, something that as readers I think we’re always hoping for, and very happy to see. Whether you’re a reader interested in understanding why literary surprises work, or a writer keen for insight into how to make them work, there’s loads to enjoy here – so read on to find out more!

Continue reading →

Does Low-Stakes Mean No Stakes? – Keith W. Dickinson Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where today I’m delighted to welcome author Keith W. Dickinson to talk about low-stakes fantasy stories – or, to be specific, whether these stories are actually as low-stakes as they seem! Keith’s own low-stakes fantasy novella, Glunda The Veg Witch, is coming out very soon, described as “a tale of heroism and hotpots”, so what better time to talk about this subject than now? Keep reading after the end of Keith’s post to check out the synopsis for Glunda, to find out more about it!

Continue reading →

Behind the Scene: Excerpt from Storming Heaven by Miles Cameron

Book two in The Age of Bronze series, and the sequel to 2022’s fantastic Against All Gods, Miles Cameron’s Storming Heaven is out now – and I’m delighted to present an excerpt from this brand new novel for your enjoyment. Not only that, but Miles has very kindly contributed some additional commentary on this excerpt, first setting the scene and then discussing the historical inspiration behind some of the featured characters. Storming Heaven is out now from Gollancz, so read on to get a taste of what to expect, then you can go ahead and order your copy once this has whetted your appetite.

Continue reading →

Spotlight on James Swallow’s Original Fiction

Hello and welcome to this Original Fiction Spotlight, where today I’m welcoming the brilliant James Swallow to the site. If you’re a fan of sci-fi worlds from Warhammer 40,000 to Star Trek then chances are you’ll have come across James’ excellent IP fiction – I’ve certainly read and reviewed my fair share of his 40k stories! In the spirit of these spotlight articles though, today we’re looking at James’ original fiction. If you weren’t already aware, outside of IP fiction James has a fantastic catalogue of thrillers to his name, with a six-book series from Bonnier Zaffre and two standalone novels from Welbeck Publishing. As part of my ongoing ‘Spotlight On…’ series, I’ve invited James to give us the lowdown on his original fiction, so warm up your TBR list and get ready to find out more about these great thrillers.

Continue reading →

Spotlight on J.S. Collyer’s Original Fiction

If you’re a regular Track of Words reader then you will probably be familiar with SF author J.S. Collyer from her excellent Black Library short stories, which are well worth reading. If you’ve enjoyed those stories though, she has a whole host of original fiction available too (including a short story right here on Track of Words), which you should definitely seek out as well! As part of my ongoing series of ‘Spotlight On…’ guest posts, today I’ve invited J.S. Collyer onto the site to tell us a little bit about her original fiction – including free short fiction available on her website, a fast-paced SF novel trilogy, and a range of short stories published in various anthologies. If you’re on the lookout for some new SF or speculative fiction, read on and fill your TBR list!

Continue reading →

Spotlight On Justin Hill’s Original Fiction

You might be familiar with Justin Hill for his Black Library fiction (written as Justin D. Hill), but outside of the worlds of Warhammer he has a considerable backlog of original work too, all exploring various aspects of contemporary and historical fiction. His seven books cover all manner of periods and locations from 11th century England to 20th century Eritrea, and characters from Viking kings to Chinese poets. As part of an ongoing series of guest posts in which I invite authors onto the site to tell us about their original fiction, Justin is here to talk a little bit about each of his novels, what inspired each of them, and what went into their writing. The stories behind these books are fascinating, featuring rapid evacuations, overseas volunteering, meeting the descendents of royalty and more, so settle in to add some books to your TBR list!

Continue reading →

Spotlight On Danie Ware’s Original Fiction

Regular Track of Words readers will probably be familiar with SFF author Danie Ware from her excellent IP fiction, but like many writers Danie also has a rich catalogue of original fiction with novels published by Titan Books and Fox Spirit Books, and short stories in all sorts of anthologies (there’s even a short story of Danie’s available to read for free right here on Track of Words!). As part of an ongoing series of ‘Spotlight On…’ author guest posts, I’ve invited Danie onto the site to tell us more about her original fiction, and in particular which books she recommends as starting points. So settle in, and get ready for some new books to hit your TBR list!

Continue reading →