Hello and welcome to this Author Interview here on Track of Words, where today I’m welcoming the brilliant Mike Shackle back to the site to talk about his epic, dark fantasy trilogy The Last War. With the third volume – Until the Last – having been released in 2022 the trilogy is now complete, so it seems like a good opportunity to chat to Mike and look back at the whole thing now that it’s done and dusted. If you haven’t started this great trilogy then this is the perfect introduction as Mike starts off by giving an overview of what to expect, before talking about his experience of writing and publishing these books over the last few crazy years.
Continue readingTag Archives: Author Interview
AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Peter McLean Talks War for the Rose Throne
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words author interview, where today I’m thrilled to welcome Peter McLean back to the site to talk about his brilliant fantasy series The War for the Rose Throne. The fourth and final book in the series – Priest of Crowns – is now out, and it brings the series to a brilliant conclusion, so I thought it was a good moment to chat to Peter and look back at the series now that it’s finished. We talked a little bit about what readers can expect from this final book, but the main focus of the interview is on the series as a whole, from planning and writing to characters and themes. There’s nothing particularly spoilery here, so whether you’ve been following the War for the Rose Throne from the beginning or you’re just about to take the plunge, check this out for a fascinating insight into one of the absolute best fantasy series of recent times!
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: David Towsey Talks Equinox
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where I’m joined by the excellent David Towsey – we’ve spoken before about his role as one half of writing duo D.K. Fields and the brilliant Tales of Fenest trilogy, but today we’re chatting about his new solo novel Equinox, which is out now from Head of Zeus. An intriguing fantasy novel with some pretty dark moments and a genuinely fantastic central concept, Equinox is one of those books that really gives the reader a lot to think about – I’ve read it, and I loved it. I’m delighted to be able to talk to David about what readers can expect from the book, where that clever concept came from, and loads more!
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ren Hutchings Talks Under Fortunate Stars
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m delighted to be chatting to Ren Hutchings about her debut novel Under Fortunate Stars, which is out this week from Solaris. A brilliant space opera full of great characters, accidental time travel, corporate bureaucracy and unwilling heroes, this book is full of mystery and warmth and wonder, and I absolutely loved it. I couldn’t be happier to have the chance to talk to Ren about the story, the setting and some of the themes she’s explored within it, so read on to find out more about this fantastic new science fiction novel (and make sure you keep going right to the end, where you’ll find a link to an original song that Ren has collaborated on, to accompany the book’s release).
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: CL Werner Talks Three Swords
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview where today I’m welcoming back the fantastic CL Werner to talk about Three Swords, his latest novel in the Marvel: Legends of Asgard range from Aconyte Books. This is his second book in the series, after The Sword of Surtur, but it concentrates on a different set of characters from last time and broadens its horizons to take in much more of the Ten Realms…including one location that comes complete with dinosaurs! Three Swords is out right now in ebook, with the paperback editions coming soon, so read on to find out more about the latest adventures of the Warriors Three, then get your order placed and get ready for action and adventure!
Without further ado then, let’s get on with the interview.
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: Ron Walters Talks Deep Dive
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m chatting to Ron Walters about his debut novel Deep Dive, which is out now from Angry Robot! A science fiction thriller exploring virtual reality, video game development, the costs of creativity and the difficulties of juggling work and family, this promises to be a fascinating novel that I think will resonate with a lot of people. It’s out now from Angry Robot books, so read on to find out more about the inspiration and influences that went into writing it, Ron’s journey to being published, and the importance of featuring parental figures in SFF.
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: T.R. Napper Talks 36 Streets
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview where I’m delighted to welcome the fantastic T.R. Napper back to the site, to talk about his debut novel 36 Streets, which is out now (in ebook/audiobook – paperback coming soon) from Titan Books. We’ve talked before about his phenomenal short story anthology Neon Leviathan, and since reading that I’ve been hoping for more…so a full novel is very welcome indeed (and let me tell you – it’s so, so good!). Fans of science fiction – and cyberpunk in particular – will find an awful lot to enjoy in 36 Streets, and in this interview we cover what to expect from the novel and how it fits in with the short stories in Neon Leviathan, and delve into some of the characters and themes of the book.
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: Evan Dicken Talks To Chart the Clouds
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m chatting to Evan Dicken about his new Legend of the Five Rings novel To Chart the Clouds, which is out soon from Aconyte Books. Previous L5R novels from Aconyte have featured evil spirits, haunted castles, hired assassins and corrupt merchants, but this time it’s a tale of border tensions and a hidden valley, and it sounds great! If you’re a fan of L5R, or you’re just interested in a fantasy setting inspired by feudal Japan, then this is definitely worth checking out – so read on to find out more! First of all, let’s have a look at the book’s synopsis…
Continue readingAUTHOR INTERVIEW: Adrian Tchaikovsky Talks Day of Ascension
Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview where I’m delighted to welcome Adrian Tchaikovsky to the site for the first time, to talk primarily about his upcoming Warhammer 40,000 novel Day of Ascension, as well as two more books he’s publishing in 2022. As a well-established, award-winning and incredibly prolific science fiction and fantasy author, it’s great to see Adrian turning his hand to writing for Black Library as well, and with his amazing ability to write compelling non-human characters a novel featuring both the Genestealer Cults and the Adeptus Mechanicus sounds like a perfect fit! Day of Ascension is due out at some point in January, so ahead of its release you can find out a little more about it here – along with a few details of two more sci-fi books coming in 2022 from other publishers: Ogres and Eyes of the Void.
Continue readingEDITOR INTERVIEW: Gwendolyn Nix Talks School of X (plus sample chapters)
Hello and welcome to this Author Editor Interview, where today I’m welcoming editor Gwendolyn Nix to the site to talk about School of X, a new anthology from Aconyte Books that’s part of their Xavier’s Institute range of Marvel novels and anthologies. School of X includes stories from seven different authors and features all manner of mutant heroes, and as editor of the anthology Gwendolyn is perfectly placed to give us the lowdown on the sorts of characters, stories and themes that we can expect to find here. School of X is available now as a global ebook with the US paperback due later in December and the UK paperback coming in February 2022, so read on to find out more about this new anthology, check out some sample chapters of the book, then order yourself a copy!