Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 37

USA readers, WH on special offer

Discount starts tomorrow Feb 27th! Usual price is $2.99 so 99c is a pretty nice saving!

LINK –http://www.amazon.com/Wolfs-Head-Forest-Lord-ebook/dp/B00DSCDZFY/

My cover art vs the finished article…

As an indie writer I have to sort out my own cover art. Thankfully I have some great professionals who can take my rough ideas and ridiculous sketches and turn them into the great images you see on the final product.

Below is my original idea for the Friar Tuck and the Christmas Devil cover. It was sketched in my diary when I was out at work and, as you can see, I hadn’t even decided on the final title at the time. To be fair, since this novella is part of the Kindle Singles Programme, Amazon offered to have a cover sorted for me, but I’d already commissioned this, and I wanted the continuity with the other books so… we went with this.

I asked for the blood stains and the holly berries to be a very striking red, while the holly leaves had to be very green. The colours symbolise the novella’s overall theme of death (winter, and the Christmas Devil) versus life (the new green of Spring, and Tuck himself).

I really, really like the cover my designers came up with, and so many people have told me this is my best artwork so far. All the previous books had a figure on the front – Robin Hood for the Forest Lord novels and Sir Richard-at-Lee for Knight of the Cross. With this one I decided to go for something different. It worked well!

The designers have my ideas for the next, final Forest Lord novel, Blood of the Wolf, and I’ll share it with you as soon as they complete it. Hopefully it’ll be as striking as all the rest and, perhaps, symbolic too…

 

Mine is the one on the left…

My cover designers, More Visual, have created fantastic artwork for people like David Pilling, Anna Belfrage, Gordon Doherty and Patricia Cornwell. If you need a cover, get in touch with them!

Some audiobook reviews – Terry Pratchett, Bernard Cornwell, Graham Hancock, Dr Penny Sartori, and Donnie Eichar

I listen to quite a lot of audiobooks nowadays, through the Audible app on my phone or tablet. I got into it when I had to proof-listen my own audio versions (read, of course, by the fantastic Nick Ellsworth) and it’s a great way to enjoy books you might not have time to physically read.

Here’s some short reviews of my most recent listens. Ben Kane’s Eagles At War is next up…

If you’ve read (or listened to) any of these let me know what you thought of them in the comments section, or email me via the CONTACT page!

Bernard Cornwell – Warriors of the Storm narrated by Matt Bates

Graham Hancock – Magicians of the Gods narrated by Graham Hancock

Donnie Eichar – Dead Mountain narrated by Donnie Eichar

Dr Penny Sartori – The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences narrated by Penny Sartori

Terry Pratchett – The Colour Of Magic narrated by Nigel Planer

Dead Mountain

I’d been quite interested in this whole myth, legend, whatever you want to call it, for a while now. For those

that don’t know, basically a group of pretty experienced and competent hikers went out climbing near Siberia

and didn’t return. They were found in various states of undress, all dead, having left their tent in a hurry.

But why?

Well, this book aims to explain it.

The narrator is quite good, although his voice can be a bit droning and ultimately it’s a short book. That

said, the main revelation, the reason why we’re listening to this, could fit in half an hour so the other 6

hours is basically the author’s tale of his journey retracing the hikers’ steps.

And it’s an interesting one, well told, really taking you along on the snowy ride with him.

His theory for what happened to the group makes perfect sense to me – better than UFO’s or Yetis or KGB agents

in my opinion. When you put yourself in their position and listen to what he thinks happened it really does

seem like he’s figured it out.

I managed to listen to this whole thing in one day, so that tells you two things: 1) it’s short and 2) it’s

compelling listening.

Recommended!

Warriors of the Storm 

I personally believe this series has gone on for too long. It should have been tied up, with Uhtred retaking

Bebbanburg at least four books ago.

However, Cornwell is such a great writer that, although I feel the story overall isn’t as powerful as it could

have been in a shorter series, I still read or listen (as here) to each new book as soon as they come out!

The previous novel (Pagan Lord if I recall correctly) I felt was a bit meandering, and this one starts much

the same, with not a lot happening – certainly no blood or thunder – for a while, and I was starting to worry.

But it soon picks up and Uhtred heads off to Ireland and returns again, killing and mutilating lots of enemies

and even setting up a new king along the way.

The supporting characters, like his daughter and her husband, are great – just as blood-thirsty as Uhtred

himself, yet, like him, still likable!

It’s good stuff and the end suggests Bebbanburg may, finally, be the focus next time around.

I hope so.

The narrator isn’t as good as the guy that did Cornwell’s King Arthur series. I don’t know how old this fellow

is, but his VOICE makes him sound like he’s in his early-mid twenties. Since this story is told from Uhtred’s

point of view, and Uhtred is an older man, the whole thing just seems off. To his credit though, he reads well

and has a good range of accents, even if some of them don’t quite come off every time!

Overall, if you have enjoyed this series so far, you will like this one just as much, possibly even more than

some of them.

Bernard Cornwell really is a master of his trade!

Magicians of the Gods 

I, of course, read Hancock’s earlier book, Fingerprints of the Gods, years ago and it led me onto his other

work and more by the likes of Robert Bauval, Graham Phillips, Christopher Dunn etc so I was interested to read

this one. Since I don’t have much time to read books these days I decided to try the audio version.

I’m glad I did, BUT, it must be said, audio for a book like this has its downside.

First of all, Graham has an entertaining, engaging voice. Yes, he has a slight accent, but who doesn’t? It

never once annoyed me and, overall, he reads excellently, with a passion and knowledge of the writing that

only the author could bring.

However, with a book like this I really like to a) see photos of the things being described and b) research

some of the places and themes that are covered.

With a physical book both of these are not a problem, but with audio there are no pictures and on more than

one occasion I had no idea how to research something Graham was talking about. These places are in foreign

lands, so the spelling isn’t always obvious and there’s stuff I’d like to have found out more about but I’ve

forgotten what they were now since listening to this while driving around at work made it impossible to take

notes!

Still, I got the overall gist of what the book was about and much of it was utterly captivating (that seed

bank hidden somewhere underground really captured my attention – I just wish I knew how to spell its name!).

In terms of value for money, this is a really long book so well worth your monthly credit.

These books sell millions, yet they’re still viewed by the mainstream as somehow crackpot, which probably puts

many people off them.

If you find yourself even remotely interested in the ideas in the book’s synopsis I recommend you give this a

listen. Maybe try and borrow a copy of the hardback from your local library though, so you can dig deeper

yourself!

Recommended.

The Wisdom of Near-Death Experiences

I had really high hopes for this when I started listening to it and I should stress I did enjoy listening to

it. But I felt there wasn’t enough science in it – it’s mostly anecdotal evidence and a lot of it is from

people who claim to be “psychic”.

I’d have liked to hear some hard facts about what the doctor’s research found but from what I can gather her

experiments didn’t really prove anything. The symbols she set up high so anyone in her ward experiencing an

NDE could see them were never seen. So you can take that as evidence of the NDE not being as real as its

claimed, can’t you…?

I expected to be convinced by this book but ultimately it just raised a lot of unanswered questions. If it’s a

REAL thing, why do cultural expectations play any part?

It IS worth a listen, and the narrator is quite good just don’t expect to embrace death after listening to it!

The Colour of Magic

Nigel Planer’s reading here is perfect, it literally had me laughing out loud on numerous occasions. His Hrun

(or whatever he’s called) is so funny I looked forward to that character appearing every time. Pratchett

really got off to an amazing start with this book, his writing really shines. I’ve read the paperback before,

of course, at least twice since I first discovered it back when I was a lad and this version brings it all to

life.

The one issue is the horrendous sound quality. I can only assume this was recorded back when the book first

came out, in the 80’s, and the production team used TDK D90’s to capture Planer’s voice. When transferring the

audio to digital for this version they must have played back that old cassette, recorded it on a potato and

uploaded it to Audible. It is really that bad.

HOWEVER, it does NOT ruin the overall experience that much and I still really recommend you buy this. It’s a

fantastic piece of escapism and I couldn’t wait to download the Light Fantastic and now, Sourcery, to enjoy

Rincewind’s adventures for as long as possible.

RIP Terry Pratchett, a true literary master.

 

I hope you give some of these books a try, and if you haven’t already dipped your toes in the world of audio, the Audible app is FREE and you also get to choose one (might even be two now) FREE audiobooks as a trial so there’s no reason not to give it a go.

All of my own books are also available from Audible and (I believe) on iTunes. If you’d like to know more about them please comment below or use the CONTACT button!

 

Short “Blood of the Wolf” extract

Rock and Roll!

It was my birthday yesterday and I have some nice presents to entertain me this cold Friday night in Scotland!  Don’t worry though, I managed TWO writing sessions today on the new book, Blood of the Wolf, so I thought I’d share a short extract from the first chapter with you. 

As suggested at the end of Rise of the Wolf, Robin and Little John are now both employed as lawmen by the Sheriff of Nottingham and Yorkshire. Here we find them in a village, just after repossessing a property from a tenant who was a little late with his rent. The sheriff’s man, Thomas, brings news of an event I wanted to fit into a book right from the very start. I read about this actually happening in a medieval English village when I was researching Wolf’s Head but there was never a chance to get it in until now! 

None of this is edited – I tend to leave that job right until the very end when the whole book is written, so hopefully it’s all simple enough to understand…

Enjoy, and please let me know what you think in the comments section below or via the CONTACT button!

Suddenly the sound of thundering hooves split the air and the lawmen instinctively grasped their sword hilts, eyes searching along the road in the direction of the noise, wondering if it was someone come to help the landlord fight them off.

Piers apparently hoped it was, but he slumped back against the wall as the rider came in sight. A man in the familiar blue livery of the sheriff’s guards.

“Well met, Thomas,” John boomed, as the rider spotted them and brought his mount to a noisy halt.

“God give you good day, big man,” the soldier grinned in return before turning his attention to Robin. “Sir Henry requests your presence.”

“What, now? We were just on our way back to Wakefield. It’ll take days to get to Nottingham!” Robin’s tone sounded almost petulant. Even after two years in the sheriff’s service the former outlaw found it hard to take orders. Especially unpleasant ones.

“Now, aye,” Thomas confirmed. “Well, I say now, but I’m sure we have time for a drink or two, and for my horse to have a rest before we set off.”

John grinned. “I’ll leave you to it. See you when you return, Robin –”

“Sheriff wants you too,” the rider broke in, a smile creasing his own face. “There’s trouble in Holmfirth and de Faucumberg wants the pair of you to deal with it.”

John scowled. He didn’t enjoy riding; he was terrible at it. He could already feel the blisters he’d have on his arse by the time they reached the city.

“What sort of trouble?” Robin demanded, oblivious to the landlord who barged past, still outraged, his blanket of belongings draped heavily over his shoulder as he disappeared off into the village, presumably to find his wife.

“Whole place has been bewitched!” Thomas replied, eyes wide. He made the sign of the cross and nodded emphatically. “It’s true. Satan himself’s taken control of the village.”

Robin turned to meet John’s gaze but the giant simply frowned in puzzlement. Stranger things had happened – there was no reason to doubt the story. At least it would be a change from evicting poor people…

“All right then,” Robin growled decisively. “Your horse looks rested enough to me Thomas. Come on, John – mount up. We’re going to Wakefield.”

“Wakefield? Hold on –” the guardsman tried to break in, his face flushing red, obviously angry at missing out on a well-earned mug of ale or ten in Dewsbury’s tavern.

“If Holmfirth has been taken over by the Devil we’re going to need someone qualified to fight him off, aren’t we? That means we go to Wakefield before making our way to Nottingham for Sir Henry’s orders.”

Robin helped John into the saddle and untied both their horses before mounting his own palfrey nimbly and kicking it into a canter eastwards, to his home town.

“Wait!” Thomas shouted, following at their back. “Why Wakefield though? Who’s going to help you fight the forces of evil there?”

They left the narrow streets and joined the main road, urging their mounts into a canter, the dust forming a cloud in the air behind them, and Robin grinned back over his shoulder at the man.

“Friar Tuck of course!”

Don’t forget to sign up for my Email List HERE if you haven’t already, and email me at stormwatch1977@hotmail.com to let me know you’ve done it so you can be in with a chance of winning a signed copy of my Hospitaller Knights novella, Knight of the Cross.

You also get a free short story that’s ONLY available to people on my email list!

 

 

Finally, for those that care, in the main pic is the Jimmy Page book Light & Shade by Brad Tolinski, the RUSH bluray on the making of the albums 2112 & Moving Pictures, and my present to me, an early 1990’s Jackson Concert EX bass guitar with Seymour Duncan pickups.

Rock on, and have a great weekend all!

 

 

Anyone fancy a FREE signed copy of KNIGHT OF THE CROSS?

 

I’ve got some spare copies of my novella Knight of the Cross here, just hanging around smoking and drinking cider and acting like unruly teenagers so I thought I’d try and find them a good home.

Cigarettes and Scrumpy just out of shot

If you fancy a chance of winning a signed copy all you have to do is sign up for my Email List HERE, and send me an email at

stormwatch1977@hotmail.com

to let me know you’ve done it. I’ll pop your name in the hat and I’ll post worldwide so get on it!

I even have some copies left with the original cover art which is no longer available, so the winners can choose whichever one they prefer.

Please, if you’ve read and enjoyed any of my books, take a moment to leave a review on Amazon and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter etc, it really helps and is very much appreciated!

 

US Amazon Giveaway

If you have a US postal address and fancy winning a free copy of the Wolf’s Head  paperback, check out this link:

https://giveaway.amazon.com/p/1f8c55fef61f9a2a

 

 

 

Good luck!

Blood of the Wolf

Just wanted to post a little update since I haven’t said anything here for a while, so…

The fourth and final Forest Lord book is coming along nicely (if a little slower than I’d like) – I read through it the other day and rather enjoyed it, which is always a relief!

Look out for it this summer. I believe it will be called BLOOD OF THE WOLF but that may change.I feel like I need to wrap the series up with something of a bang so expect fireworks…

In the meantime I’m really happy to see Wolf’s Head still doing so well, even managing to reach number one again today in one of Amazon’s charts.

Wahey!

If you haven’t read it yet you can get it here, worldwide: getBook.at/Wolfs-Head-Kindle

Neil Gaiman, “Stardust” and Salman Rushdie, “Satanic Verses” for company!

 

Review of The Voyage of Odysseus

I was very lucky to receive an advance copy of Glyn Iliffe’s brand new novel in his Adventures of Odysseus chronicles, The Voyage of Odysseus. Was it as good as the previous books? Read on to find out!

 

“From one adventure to another the pace never lets up. Like Homer’s original, Glyn Iliffe’s series is destined to become a classic!”

That’s the strapline I gave to Glyn for the cover of this book and I think it about sums it up. The Trojan War is over and it’s time – at last! – for Odysseus and his men to go home. Back to the wife and child he hasn’t seen for a decade. But it’s not going to be that easy is it?

Anyone who’s ever read the Odyssey will know there’s still a lot of story to be told and Glyn uses this book to do so. Gone are the schemes and plots to get inside Troy and, in their place are fantastic islands populated by bizarre monsters like the Cyclops. Truly this is a tale of magic and adventure!

And yet, the characters Glyn has created are – here more than ever before – portrayed as REAL people, with real flaws and emotions. They attack an innocent village, for example, purely so Odysseus can gather some more plunder (wealth and slaves) to take back from the long war. This is how it was back then and the author doesn’t shy away from it – it’s just a part of life, but it really shows us the type of hard men we’re dealing with and it’s a great counterpoint to all the fantasy that permeates the story.

The battle scenes are excellent – vivid, exciting and brutal, while the pacing of the tale is just about perfect, drawing the reader in from the very start and not letting go until the end. And it’s a long book so you’re really getting your money’s worth here, as Odysseus and his side-kick Eperitus lurch from one horrible situation to another, even visiting Hades along the way.

Glyn Iliffe has been lucky in a way with this series because much of the tale has been written for him, so he “just” has to flesh it out in his own style. BUT that can also be a curse and I think the end of this particular book shows that. If you know the story of Odysseus from Homer’s original you will know his voyage home is not an easy one – far from it. And as a result this novel is very dark, with a lot of death and sadness and I did feel it started to become rather oppressive just as it neared the end.

But things finish on a hopeful note and the next book is set up perfectly!

Glyn is now self-published and I think this new novel really proves his mettle as a writer. Given his original books had the benefit of major in-house editors, cover designers etc I can say this, and his previous self-published book The Oracles of Troy, stand alongside them and, in fact, are probably BETTER.

 

The Voyage of Odysseus  should be out NOW – I hope you pick up a copy, but DO start at the beginning if you haven’t read the previous books. They’re ALL excellent.

MY RATING – 5/5

Click HERE to read a Q&A I did with Glyn on the Historical Novel Society website when his previous book came out.

Glyn Iliffe, author of the excellent Adventures of Odysseus series.

 

Review: Wolf’s Head by Steven A. McKay

My review of Glyn Iliffe’s new book will be up soon but, in the meantime, this guy enjoyed Wolf’s Head. A lot! :-)

Speesh Reads

An earthy: 5  out of 5 stars

My version:
Paperback
Historical Fiction, Medieval England.
Self published
2013
Bought from The Book Depository

England 1321 AD

After viciously assaulting a corrupt but powerful clergyman, Robin Hood flees the only home he has ever known in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Becoming a member of a notorious band of outlaws, Hood and his new companions – including John Little and Will Scaflock – hide out in the great forests of Barnsdale, fighting for their very existence as the law hunts them down like animals.

When they are betrayed and their harsh lives become even more unbearable, the band of friends seeks bloody vengeance.

Meanwhile, the country is in turmoil, as many of the powerful lords strive to undermine King Edward II’s rule until, inevitably, rebellion becomes a reality and the increasingly deadly yeoman outlaw from Wakefield finds his fate bound up with that…

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Book Corner: Steven A. McKay’s ‘The Forest Lord’ Series

Brilliant new review of my books, check it out!

History... the interesting bits!

Steven A. McKay‘sThe Forest Lord series of books is a wonderful, refreshing new take in the Robin Hood Legend. All the usual heroes are there, including Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet and Maid Marian, battling against their old enemies, the Sheriff of Nottingham and the despicable Sir Guy of Gisbourne.

However, what has changed is the time and location. Instead of the wilds of Sherwood Forest, The Forest Lord books are set in Barnsdale Forest in what is now West Yorkshire, while young Robin’s family lives in the nearby village of Wakefield. Gone also is the vile Prince John – and you won’t see King Richard the Lionheart either. The story is set in the time of Edward II, the rebellion of his cousin, Thomas of Lancaster providing the back-story to the first book; while the aftermath of Thomas’s defeat at the Battle of Boroughbridge is still…

View original post 593 more words