Tag Archives: Behind the Scene

Behind the Scene: The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post where today we’re looking at The Briar Book of the Dead by A.G. Slatter, which is out now from Titan Books. One of the reasons I enjoy these Behind the Scene posts so much is that every author approaches them differently. For this one, Angela has very kindly contributed an annotated excerpt in the shape of the full fourth chapter, with her commentary interspersed throughout, picking out various moments or ideas throughout the chapter and exploring what went into her decision-making for each one. It’s an intriguing insight into Angela’s writing process, and – I think – really sets up what looks like a fascinating story!

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Behind The Scene: Darkside by Michael Mammay

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post with author Michael Mammay, who’s here today to talk about his new novel Darkside – which is out on the 24th September from Harper Voyager. Book four in the Planetside series, albeit also readable as a standalone story, Darkside sounds ideal for anyone who enjoys both pacy, action-packed military SF and high-stakes, thrilling investigations. Michael has kindly contributed an excerpt from the novel alongside commentary on some of the challenges of writing this book!

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Behind the Scene: Exclusive Author Commentary on Fermi’s Progress by Chris Farnell

Hello and thanks for checking out this Behind the Scene post, where today I hope you’ll join me in welcoming author Chris Farnell – author of the Star Trek: Lower Decks Crew Handbook, among other things – who has kindly contributed an excerpt from his four-part science fiction novel Fermi’s Progress, along with an exclusive commentary discussing this scene. When Chris and I started talking about doing this post, it became clear pretty quickly that with a book about a spaceship that blows up every planet it visits, the only possible scene to choose would be the first time this happens! But fun as blowing up planets must be for a writer, there’s a lot that goes into making a scene like this work, and Chris digs into this really well in his commentary about the scene.

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Behind The Scene: Exclusive Author Commentary On The Last Phi Hunter by Salinee Goldenberg

I’m back with another Behind the Scene post here on Track of Words, where I hope you’ll join me in welcoming author Salinee Goldenberg, whose debut novel The Last Phi Hunter is coming out via Angry Robot on the 9th of April 2024! As always with these BTS posts, Salinee has kindly picked out an excerpt from her novel, and written an accompanying commentary, which this time focuses on the cinematic nature of The Last Phi Hunter. Salinee has chosen an excerpt from a couple of chapters into the book, so read on to find out more about this “mythic dark fantasy”, and in particular its central character pairing!

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Behind The Scene: Exclusive Author Commentary on Toxxic by Jane Hennigan

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post here on Track of Words – I’m joined today by Jane Hennigan, with an excerpt from her new science fiction novel Toxxic (out now via Angry Robot) alongside an exclusive commentary on the subject of sequels and narrators. The follow-up to 2023’s Moths – “a thrilling dystopia, in turns heart-breaking and heart-pounding”, Toxxic “extends the world and the story of Moths, exploring the nature of gender roles and feminism through warm characters in difficult circumstances.” It sounds fantastic, and Jane’s commentary offers a fascinating insight into the thought that goes into a book long before an author actually starts writing – really interesting stuff whether you’re a reader, writer or both!

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Behind The Scene: Exclusive Author Commentary on Simul by Andrew Caldecott

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post, in which I’m delighted to present an excerpt from Simul by Andrew Caldecott, accompanied by an exclusive commentary by Andrew himself. Out now from Jo Fletcher Books, Simul is the second volume of the Momenticon duology, following on from 2023’s Momenticon, which has been described as “a perplexing and brilliant story full of literary and artistic rabbit holes and quirky characters.” The idea behind my Behind the Scene series is to ask authors to talk a bit about a scene or a chapter from their book and give an insight into their thought processes as they wrote it. Here Andrew has more than fulfilled that brief, with a fascinating commentary exploring the concept and purpose of Simul’s opening chapter.

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Behind The Scene: Exclusive Excerpt From Do Or Die by Josh Reynolds

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post here on Track of Words, where today I’m joined by one of my absolute favourite authors – Josh Reynolds – with an excerpt from the first chapter of his third Zombicide novel Do Or Die. I’ve covered a lot of Josh’s work here on Track of Words, and Zombicide as an IP really feels like an ideal fit for his style – that’s certainly the impression I got from his first novel in this setting, Last Resort. If you’re keen to get a sense of what to expect from Josh’s Zombicide work, this excerpt is exactly what you’re been looking for!

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Behind The Scene: Exclusive Excerpt From Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty

Hello and welcome to this Behind the Scene post, in which I’m delighted to present an exclusive excerpt from Sons of Darkness by Gourav Mohanty – out now in the UK, and due out in the US on the 9th January 2024, both from Head of Zeus. If you like the idea of dark (dare I say grimdark) fantasy inspired by the Mahabharata, then this is probably going to be the book for you, and to give you a sense of just what to expect Gourav has very kindly contributed some additional comments to go alongside this excerpt!

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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!

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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.

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