Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 4
July 3, 2024
April 24, 2024
My new book with Matthew Harffy!
You might know I do a podcast with fellow historical fiction author Matthew Harffy called Rock, Paper, Swords! We interview guests about writing mostly, and have had some really big names on like Bernard Cornwell, Simon Scarrow, Griff Hosker and TV’s Dan Jones. We also do episodes with just the two of us discussing our own writing though, so we thought it would be a nice idea to put together a book with all the tips we’ve learned from publishing (and especially self-publishing) over the years.
From the initial spark of an idea to navigating the complex landscape of publishing, this easy-to-read guide provides a roadmap for aspiring and seasoned writers alike. Learn the ins and outs of both the traditional and self-publishing routes, with invaluable advice on finding your audience, getting reviews, and managing pre-orders, giveaways, and promotions.
You can pre-order the book HERE on Amazon (it’s out tomorrow, April 25th), or read it on Kindle Unlimited if you subscribe,
OR, you can get it FREE if you are one of our Patreon TOP FANS or PRODUCERS! So not only will you get the book, you get a bonus Rock, Paper, Swords episode each month along with other cool perks and help support us with our running costs (Zoom and audio editing software aren’t free unfortunately) which is hugely appreciated. Find out more HERE.
Don’t forget Sword of the Saxons is out on July 4th. I can’t wait to see it on the shelves and I hope you all enjoy it. Book 3 will be out early 2025 and I’m really hoping there will be a new Warrior Druid of Britain novel in between then as well…
April 1, 2024
Bear of Britain 99p, and my new podcast – Mysterious Events!
Book 4 in my Warrior Druid of Britain Chronicles is just 99p in the UK all this April! Grab it HERE now if you haven’t read it yet – there’s a lot of King Arthur in this one as Bellicus and Duro help him defeat the Saxons… Also, The Druid is in UK Prime Reading just now so you can read that for FREE if you have Prime!
In unrelated news, I’ve also started a new podcast called Mysterious Events with Steven A. McKay. I’ll be looking at all sorts of lesser-known unsolved mysteries from around the world – hauntings, poltergeists, weird true crime cases, unexplained deaths and disappearances – basically anything uncanny or Fortean! No AI narrators, I’m writing the scripts and reading them myself so please do check it out. Episode 1 is available now on the major podcast outlets like Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music & Audible, as well as there being an actual video (a basic one with still images, but a video!) on YouTube too if you like that format. Give it a listen, like and subscribe, leave a 5 star review if you can, all that good stuff. Find it at the links below! Episode 1 is actually about the case that inspired my novella Faces of Darkness – it’s a bizarre unsolved death which the authorities actually described as “death by unknown event” so please do give it a listen and follow the page on social media. Thanks all!
Listen link – https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/mysterious-events
YouTube channel – https://www.youtube.com/@MysteriousEvents1
Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/MysteriousEventsPodcast
Twitter/X page – https://twitter.com/MysteriousEvPod
February 13, 2024
Amazon KDP event in Musselburgh – pics!
Some more pics from the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing event I was part of last Thursday in Musselburgh. It was an interesting day! I wasn’t on until 11am so I left my house at about 9:30 and drove down, getting there just in time as I struggled to find the right door and a parking space. Eventually I found it but the gate was locked and no one was around to let me in. That’s when I started to panic but luckily for me a teacher at the adjoining school just happened to walk past and heard my panicked thumping on the gate! Didn’t help that I was bursting for the toilet but all was well in the end and I was setup with my headset mic in time for my panel to get underway.
It’s always great to do these, get up on a stage in front of an audience instead of sitting alone writing by myself all day! The others on the panel, Harriet Smart and JD Kirk were really easy to talk to, especially since I’ve done events with them in the past. Also huge thanks to ALLi and Margaret Skea, and the KDP staff who couldn’t be nicer and always make things relaxed. If you’d like to hear more chat about similar topics as we covered at the event, check out the RPS interview we did with UK KDP head Darren Hardy – https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/ITOQgpiD3Fb
You can also find links to the previous events I’ve done with Kindle Direct Publishing below:
London Book Fair 2014 (where I met the Queen Consort) , Amazon Academy Edinburgh , Amazon Academy Glasgow SEC
Next up for me is the Historical Novel Society HNS UK 2024 Conference where Rock, Paper, Swords will be covering the event. Bernard Cornwell, Diana Gabaldon, Elizabeth Chadwick, and one of my favourite RPS guests EVER, David Gilman, will all be there so it should be amazing!
Margaret Skea, Michaella from KDP, Me, JD Kirk, and Harriet Smart
Next up! See you there?
February 7, 2024
Sword of the Saxons COVER REVEAL & pre-order!
Book 2 in my Alfred the Great series is now available to pre-order and you can see the brand new cover art below! Sword of the Saxons will be published on July 4th but I would really appreciate it if you could pre-order as soon as possible, just to help it get more traction and hopefully boost sales of The Heathen Horde. It would also be amazing if you could share this post on Facebook, X etc. Thank you so much!
Another beautiful cover from Canelo!A war to shape the future of a nation.Betrayed by his kinsmen, his forces overrun by Danes, King Alfred of Wessex has retreated deep into the marshes of his homeland, lying in wait for his chance at redemption.
The scourge of the heathen horde that has ravaged the kingdom for decades is at its peak. Led by the fearsome Viking warlord Guthrum, the fate of the men, women, and children at their mercy appears all but sealed. But underestimate the great king at your peril…
Gathering allies and bannermen to his cause, and building a strategy that will hopefully ensure victory, Alfred sets out to undermine the strength of the complacent invaders, and establish Wessex as the greatest territory in the British Isles.
A final showdown awaits. Not only with Guthrum and his savage warriors, but with destiny. As the battle lines are drawn, the destiny of not just Wessex, but of every Anglo-Saxon in Britain, rests firmly on Alfred’s shoulders.
An utterly ferocious and gripping adventure, covering the fascinating middle years of Alfred the Great’s reign, one of Britain’s most influential monarchs.
February 2, 2024
Blood Roses by Douglas Jackson REVIEW
September 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalised by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?
Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.
When the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found terribly mutilated, Jan links the murder to other killings that are of less interest to his new overlords. Soon, he finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer known as The Artist. But, shunned as a Nazi collaborator, can he solve the case before another innocent girl is taken?
I’ve not posted a book review on here for AGES, mostly because I don’t get time to read fiction these days, what with all the research I have to do for my own novels. Douglas Jackson has been one of my favourite authors for years though, and we’re hoping to interview him on Rock, Paper, Swords so, when I noticed Blood Roses was his next release I thought I’d take a look, mostly based on how fantastic the cover art is. I’ve read plenty of non-fiction books about World War II, but never a novel (Victor and Commando comics don’t count, right?), and the premise for this sounded utterly compelling. A serial killer operating in a city that’s just been taken over by the Nazis? That’s all kinds of messed up, and should offer plenty of moments of excitement and fear! So I made the effort to find time to read this advance copy of the book, kindly sent to me by my own publisher, Canelo. I’m very glad I did, as it’s a great read!
We have a Polish soldier, Jan Kalisz, injured during a battle with the Germans and sent home to return to his previous job as a detective in Warsaw. The city has been occupied by the evil Nazi overlords though, and Jan, along with his fellow Poles is not treated well at all. The Jews are, as we all know, treated even worse, and throughout the book we really do get a sense of just how cruel the Nazis were and how they dehumanized their victims. None of the German characters are likable or pleasant. One or two are less nasty, but even those guys are bastards – I mean, Josef Mengele, the infamous butcher of Auschwitz and subject of Slayer’s classic thrash metal song “Angel of Death” is one of the nicer Nazis here!*
This is all good though – I know sometimes authors feel like they need to show characters as more rounded, more grey than simply black or white, but in this situation, where the Germans were part of an all-powerful occupying force, facing the constant hatred of Warsaw’s inhabitants, it’s easy to believe the characters on both sides are quite realistic and having extreme feelings all the time.
Soon we discover that one of these jackbooted stormtroopers is even MORE of a complete bastard than his comrades, as he goes on a killing spree, targeting teenage girls who he…Well, I won’t say too much. I’ll just say Douglas Jackson has a very disturbing way of writing these scenes, something I’ve noticed before in his writing. I found myself skipping certain paragraphs here as I found them unsettling. Trust me, you’ll be wanting this maniacal serial killer, dubbed ‘The Artist’ by the people of Warsaw, brought to justice just as much as Jan Kalisz does.
There are some great twists within the story, and the ending is satisfying while again leaving the reader somewhat unsettled. I won’t spoil it for you, but we are left with a moral question at the end and I’m a big fan of that sort of thing – force your reader to think, don’t just tell them what to feel.
Douglas is a master of historical fiction, giving the reader just enough of his research into the actual history without it ever becoming boring or overbearing, and he can certainly write a great action scene as well as a great main character. This is the first book in a planned quartet and I can heartily recommend it. It’s exciting, claustrophobic and disturbing at times, but ultimately it’s a hugely satisfying and thrilling read. Do yourself a favour and check out Blood Roses HERE, and then read Douglas’s other novels. You can find my reviews of some at the links below! Oh, and look out for our interview with Douglas on Rock, Paper, Swords sometime in the coming weeks.
* I’m not sure if he’s ever named as Josef, and I don’t think the real guy served in Poland as a Nazi in 1939 but I’m guessing that’s who it’s supposed to be, I mean, Dr Mengele, who else would it be…? Update: I asked Douglas about this and he said: “The events happen while Mengele was recovering from wounds received during the invasion of Poland, so he was definitely in a position to be on leave in Warsaw.” So there you go!
If you’re interested in my own news, look out for the cover reveal for the second book in my Alfred The Great series on February 7th. The design is another Canelo triumph, including a great endorsement from my old mucker Gordon Doherty! Sword of the Saxons, sequel to The Heathen Horde, comes out on July 4th.
Blood Roses by Douglas Jackson REVIEW and a confession…
September 1939. A city ruled by fear. A population brutalised by restrictions and reprisals. Amid the devastation, another hunter begins to prowl. What are a few more deaths amid scores of daily executions?
Former chief investigator Jan Kalisz lives a dangerous double life, forced to work with the occupiers as he gathers information for the fledgling Polish resistance. Even his family cannot be told his true allegiance.
When the niece of a Wehrmacht general is found terribly mutilated, Jan links the murder to other killings that are of less interest to his new overlords. Soon, he finds himself on the trail of a psychopathic killer known as The Artist. But, shunned as a Nazi collaborator, can he solve the case before another innocent girl is taken?
I’ve not posted a book review on here for AGES, mostly because I don’t get time to read fiction these days, what with all the research I have to do for my own novels. Douglas Jackson has been one of my favourite authors for years though, and we’re hoping to interview him on Rock, Paper, Swords so, when I noticed Blood Roses was his next release I thought I’d take a look, mostly based on how fantastic the cover art is. I’ve read plenty of non-fiction books about World War II, but never a novel, and the premise for this sounded utterly compelling. A serial killer operating in a city that’s just been taken over by the Nazis? That’s all kinds of messed up, and should offer plenty of moments of excitement and fear, right? So I made the effort to try and find time to read this advance copy of the book, kindly sent to me by my own publisher, Canelo. I’m very glad I did, as it’s a great read, but, first, I have a terrible admission to make.
I said earlier that it was mainly the cover of Blood Roses that drew me in and made me interested in reading it, and that’s true, but I couldn’t help but feel a little ashamed when I realised this book is actually a new edition of one Douglas had previously self-published. I can remember him mentioning it when it came out a few years ago, and I took a look, but never felt drawn to read it. Yet now, when I saw that striking new cover featuring the brutalist architecture, with the hinted swastika and the reds and greys, and the moody lighting, I felt very interested. That really does show the power of a great cover. The original cover art Douglas had used was okay, but nowhere near as eye-catching as what Canelo’s designers have come up with and it makes me kind of sad to realise I’m so shallow, only drawn by shiny baubles like fancy images and sexy colours! As an author who’s self-published most of my own books, and even knocked up my own cover for Have You Seen This, I hate that kind of snobbery but there you go – we’re all human.
The original cover.With that confession out of the way, let’s talk about the actual story.
We have a Polish soldier, Jan Kalisz, injured during a battle with the Germans and sent home to return to his previous job as a detective in Warsaw. The city has been occupied by the evil Nazi overlords though, and Jan, along with his fellow Poles is not treated well at all. The Jews are, as we all know, treated even worse, and throughout the book we really do get a sense of just how cruel the Nazis were and how they dehumanized their victims. None of the German characters are likable or pleasant. One or two are less nasty, but even those guys are bastards – I mean, Josef Mengele, the infamous butcher of Auschwitz and subject of Slayer’s classic thrash metal song “Angel of Death” is one of the nicer Nazis here!*
This is all good though – I know sometimes authors feel like they need to show characters as more rounded, more grey than simply black or white, but in this situation, where the Germans were part of an all-powerful occupying force, facing the constant hatred of Warsaw’s inhabitants, it’s easy to believe the characters on both sides are quite realistic.
Soon we discover that one of these jackbooted stormtroopers is even MORE of a complete bastard than his comrades, as he goes on a killing spree, targeting teenage girls who he…Well, I won’t say too much. I’ll just say Douglas Jackson has a very disturbing way of writing these scenes, something I’ve noticed before in his writing. I found myself skipping certain paragraphs here as I found them unsettling. Trust me, you’ll be wanting this maniacal serial killer, dubbed The Artist by the people of Warsaw, brought to justice just as much as Jan Kalisz does.
There are some great twists within the story, and the ending is satisfying while again leaving the reader somewhat unsettled. I won’t spoil it for you, but we are left with a moral question at the end and I’m a big fan of that sort of thing – force your reader to think, don’t just tell them what to feel.
Douglas is a master of historical fiction, giving the reader just enough of his research into the actual history without it ever becoming boring or overbearing, and he can certainly write a great action scene as well as a great main character. This is the first book in a planned trilogy and I can heartily recommend it. It’s exciting, claustrophobic and disturbing at times, but ultimately it’s a hugely satisfying and thrilling read. Do yourself a favour and check out Blood Roses HERE, and then read Douglas’s other novels. You can find my reviews of some at the links below! Oh, and look out for our interview with Douglas on Rock, Paper, Swords sometime in the coming weeks.
* I’m not sure if he’s ever named as Josef, and I don’t think the real guy served in Poland as a Nazi in 1939 but I’m guessing that’s who it’s supposed to be, I mean, Dr Mengele, who else would it be…? Update: I asked Douglas about this and he said: “The events happen while Mengele was recovering from wounds received during the invasion of Poland, so he was definitely in a position to be on leave in Warsaw.” So there you go!
If you’re interested in my own news, look out for the cover reveal for the second book in my Alfred The Great series on February 7th. The design is another Canelo triumph, including a great endorsement from my old mucker Gordon Doherty! Sword of the Saxons, sequel to The Heathen Horde, comes out on July 4th.
January 11, 2024
THE DRUID special offer in the USA!
Just 99c in the USA for a short time! “The Warrior Druid of Britain books are destined, I feel, to become classics of Historical Fiction.” – Speesh Reads
LINK – https://getbook.at/TheDruid
Get your copy now if you love historical fiction like Scarrow, Cornwell, Hosker and Harffy!
December 23, 2023
Bid on a signed copy of LUCIA to help a great cause!
One of my readers – Mike – made a post on Facebook the other day that caught my eye. His partner works in a school (Rhws Primary) and some vandals had wrecked the tipi (teepee!) that they use to give the kids a nice relaxing space to learn in. It looks like this tipi is really big and repairing it will cost a lot of money. They’re doing things to raise the funds and Mike’s partner managed to get some people from the TV and stuff to read a poem she’d written. It’s a brilliant poem, you can check it out here: https://www.facebook.com/100000164554886/videos/206983069149153/
Anyway, I said I would auction one of my books and donate any money raised to this brilliant cause. I decided to offer LUCIA – A Roman Slave’s Tale.
It’s the hardback edition and, to make it even more tempting, I’m going to include a few of the handwritten notes I made when I was planning and writing the novel. Obviously these are total one-offs, and they give an insight into how my mind works when I’m coming up with ideas for books!
If you’d like to bid on this, please put your bid in the comments on my Facebook post HERE.
The winner can donate to the Just Giving page and once the funds are through I’ll post the book.
I will pay for the postage if the winner is in the UK! If you’re outside the UK I would ask you to pay for the postage.
If you don’t want to bid on the book but fancy giving a pound or two to help repair the tipi you can find the Just Giving link here: https://localgiving.org/tipi
Thank you everyone, Merry Christmas and have a brilliant 2024!
LUCIA
“Lucia is a story that is at once desperate and uplifting, a story that touches you deep in your soul.” – Sharon Bennett Connolly, author of Silk and the Sword
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…makes the reader re-evaluate the way they think and feel – and takes them to a depth of their soul they probably have never visited before. Steven A. McKay has written a truly riveting depiction of the life of a slave. 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
“An incredibly moving story that’s written extremely well. I highly recommend this book” – Endo The Road Book Reviews
