Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 12

Sworn to God out now – paperback & FREE on Kindle Unlimited

[image error]

Winter’s here, and that means another tale starring Friar Tuck! This time he’s joined by Little John and Will Scarlet as they look into some odd deaths involving a new religious sect, the Disciples of God. Based on real events, there’s mystery, fights, adventures and, of course, a Christmas feast that doesn’t go quite as expected! I hope you all enjoy it. You can order it at the links below:

UK Kindle and paperback

USA and worldwide

Now, I had a day off yesterday so I suppose I should start working on book 4 in my Warrior Druid of Britain Chronicles, eh?

Stay Safe all!

[image error] mybook.to/SwornToGod

Book Review: LUCIA: A Roman Slave’s Tale by Steven A. McKay

“an incredibly moving story” – 5 stars! Check out this new review of LUCIA on Endo The Road blog.

Sworn To God now available to pre-order on Kindle

[image error]

My brand new Forest Lord mystery/thriller novella/novel can now be pre-ordered for Kindle (paperback edition will follow soon). It will be published on November 27th and at almost double the length of Faces of Darkness it’ll make a great stocking filler for your family and friends!

Get it HERE.

And here’s the blurb:

Yorkshire, AD 1329
A new religious group moves into an abandoned church just north of the village of Altofts, but when men start dying under strange and suspicious circumstances the local bailiff decides to investigate.

Are the Disciples of God and their charismatic leader, Lady Alice de Staynton, truly holy, or is something deeply sinister going on within the walls of the newly refurbished St Joseph’s? Certainly, the bailiff, John Little has his suspicions about some of the warrior-like young male acolytes, but are his fears justified? Infiltrating the group seems to be the best course of action, although the volatile Will Scaflock is none too happy about being nominated for the task…

Following on from 2019’s Faces of Darkness, this standalone new novel sees three legendary heroes battling invisible, demonic, ‘Black Lords’, along with far more deadly earthly foes.

With twists and turns aplenty and based on real events, historical fiction fans are sure to enjoy this action packed thriller as much as they did the author’s previous bestsellers The Druid, Lucia and Wolf’s Head.

Pre-order it here —-> mybook.to/SwornToGod

Sworn to God cover reveal. My designers have done it again!

My new Friar Tuck/Little John/Will Scarlet novella/novel Sworn to God is almost finished. The editor has gone over it, and now I just have to sort things in line with her suggestions, so it should be published later this month (November 2020).

For now, check out the cover art! It was inspired by a photo of a cross I found on the internet, and the idea of a bloody sword forming a similar ‘cross’ in front of the main one seemed nice and symbolic. I even wrote a scene in the book to fit with it, as I liked the image so much. Surprisingly, that sword doesn’t even belong to one of our heroes…

[image error]

Sworn to God is not a ‘Christmas’ story as such, but there are sections set in winter, and one Xmas celebration in a church decorated with candles and holly etc, so it should be perfect for those of you who like to curl up with a book when it’s frosty outside and you’ve a glass of mulled wine in your hand! It can be read as a standalone tale, but it’s actually the third of these winter mysteries, following Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil and Faces of Darkness.

Let me know what you think of the cover art, and look out for the Kindle pre-order going live sometime this month.

[image error]

The Druid to be translated into Spanish!

[image error]

BIG NEWS! For me anyway…I’ve just signed a deal with a Spanish publisher for The Druid. [image error]

Forest Lord Kindle bargains – Wolf’s Head and The Wolf And The Raven on special offer!

[image error] https://amzn.to/3l0g0AB

Amazon UK have included books 1 and 2 of my Forest Lord series in their November Monthly Deal! You can pick up Wolf’s Head and The Wolf and the Raven for just 99p each, a saving of £4 on the usual price!

I expect most of you reading this have already read these, since they were my first two books, but if you’ve still to check them out now is the ideal time.

Get them HERE!

If you ARE new to that series, you can find my suggested reading order HERE. There’s quite a lot to dive into, with more to come, as today I’ll be sending the next one in the series, Sworn to God, to my editor. It’s a sequel of sorts to Faces of Darkness and sees Tuck and John teaming up again to look at a strange religious sect. Will Scarlet joins them this time too and there’s plenty to get your teeth into as, rather than being a 25,000 word novella like the previous ones, it’s currently at 55,000 words so it’s actually a short novel! Look out for the cover reveal soon.

Lucia – A Roman Slave’s Tale is out today! Check out this truly incredible review. Wow.

My novel Lucia-A Roman Slave’s Tale, which has only been available on Audible for the past 12 months, is out TODAY on Kindle (paperback edition should go live sometime today I hope, so keep checking if that’s the format you’re after). Links below:

UK link

USA link

Australia link

Canada link

[image error]

Also, here’s a link to a review which actually made me quite emotional. Sharon Bennett Connolly is a historian and author who reads a LOT of historical fiction so she knows her stuff. She said this morning on Facebook that Lucia is the best book she’s read this year and, well, just check out her review. I wrote the novel with the hope that it would touch people on an emotional level – not just the “Raaaarrrr! Fighting, drinking, shooting people with longbows!” stuff which I absolutely love, but with Lucia I hoped to reach people in a different way. Sharon’s review suggests I managed it, and I’m really pleased about it. See what she had to say at the link below:

Book Corner: Lucia by Steven A. McKay

Interview with me about the writing of LUCIA – A Roman Slave’s Tale

[image error]

Check out this brand new Q&A with me on author Tony Riches’ site!

“As if a lightning bolt came out of the sky and hit me, pretty much the entire idea for Lucia came to me right at that moment, in the middle of a wet street in Glasgow. I literally ran back to my car right then so I could jot it all down in my notebook.”

Read the rest HERE

Don’t forget Lucia – A Roman Slave’s Tale can be pre-ordered NOW on Kindle. It’s available to listen to right now on Audible though if you can’t wait!

Lucia – A Roman Slave’s Tale. Pre-order now on Kindle.

[image error]

My standalone novel, Lucia, which follows the life of a young girl taken into slavery by invading Romans, is now available for pre-order. Paperback edition will be out on the 23rd of October!

UK link

USA link

Australia link

Canada link

What makes life worth living for a slave of Rome? The promise of vengeance, no matter how long it takes!
At eight years old, Lucia is torn from the life she knew. Her village burned to the ground and parents murdered by Romans, she is kidnapped, sold and shipped abroad to the Villa Tempestatis in Britannia to serve the young Roman army officer Castus.
Faced with a bleak future of decades of servitude to her master, as well as sadistic brutality at the hands of his manageress, Paltucca, she finds herself fixated by one thought alone: vengeance.
Yet Villa Tempestatis, with its picturesque surroundings in Britannia’s green countryside, offers a life that’s a little easier than elsewhere in the Roman empire. The slaves form strong bonds of love and friendship, enjoy feasts and holiday celebrations together, and are even allowed, sometimes, to start a family. Many of them are happy enough with their lot.
Despite that, every moment of Lucia’s life is blighted by her hatred for Castus and Paltucca, and only seeing them both destroyed will bring her a measure of peace, even if it takes decades of work and planning…
This standalone novel from the bestselling author of The Druid tells the tale of one woman’s life against a richly woven backdrop of love and hate, revenge and redemption, and is quite unique in modern fiction.

PRAISE FOR LUCIA

“Lucia is a story that is at once desperate and uplifting, a story that touches you deep in your soul. If you only read one more book this year, it should be Lucia.” – Sharon Bennett Connolly, author of Silk and the Sword

“A compelling 5* story from McKay, an author who continues to amaze me with his writing.” – David’s Book Blurg

“McKay changes gear and slips easily into a different world and commands it from the start. This is the Shawshank Redemption of revenge stories.” – David N. Humphrey, author of Valguard – Knight of Coins

The Northern Throne (Warrior Druid of Britain Chronicles, #3)

“this series just keeps getting better” – Check out Hoover Book Reviews thoughts on The Northern Throne!

Historical Fiction reviews

bySteven A. McKay

BLURB

AD431, Spring
Bellicus the Druid and his friend Duro, a former Roman centurion, have suffered a great deal in recent years but, for them, things are about to get much worse.
Britain is changing. The Romans have gone and warriors from many different places seek to fill the void the legions left behind. In the south, the Saxons’ expansion seems unstoppable despite the efforts of the warlord Arthur, while north of Hadrian’s Wall various kings and chieftains are always looking to extend their borders.
In Dun Breatann, capital of Alt Clota, Bellicus believes the disparate tribes must put aside their differences, become allies, and face the Saxon threat together, under one High King. Or High Queen…
Small-minded men do not always look at the bigger picture though, and when Bellicus and Duro seek to form a pact with an old enemy events take a shocking…

View original post 195 more words