Steven A. McKay's Blog, page 44
June 7, 2015
Mailing list
I’m going to set up a mailing list so I can let my readers know whenever I have anything big to announce, like the publication of a new book. I won’t spam you, it will only be for BIG things. I will also run giveaways exclusively for those on the mailing list. I won’t share your email address with anyone else because I’m not a dick.
If you want me to add you to the list, please send me a message on here (through the CONTACT page) or to my email address at stormwatch1977@hotmail.com
Anyone joining will be put in a hat to win a signed copy of any of my books, including the brand new one!
Cheers all! :-)
Eagles at War by Ben Kane
Ben Kane’s new book, I’ll get to it eventually!
Originally posted on For winter nights - A bookish blog:
Eagles at War | Ben Kane | 2015 (23 April) | Preface | 432p | Review copy | Buy the book
In AD 9 there was nothing routine about taking an army into the Teutoberg Forest but commander Varus could have had little idea what lay in wait for his three legions when he led them east of the Rhine. Varus’s orders were to consolidate Roman control in this dangerous Germanic border region, to show Rome’s might, assert its authority. But history tells us of the disaster that followed. Varus would be betrayed. His close adviser Arminius, a Romanised German, was friend in name only. He secretly united the Germanic tribes and together they turned the Teutoberg Forest into a place of ambush, terror, blood and slaughter. Varus’s legions lost their eagles, their sacred standards, swiftly followed by their lives in Rome’s most infamous defeat.
I have been fascinated by…
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June 4, 2015
Couldn’t resist…
…sharing this! Not directly about my writing but it is related since this is the table I sat at to write most of my books and I’m just about to sit here right now to add an extra little scene to Rise of the Wolf…
I commissioned a hugely talented artist to draw the picture here (of Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull) and just got it back from the framers today. I doubt the wife will let me keep it in the dining room, but I’ll find a place for it somewhere amongst all my guitars. I love it, just couldn’t resist sharing it with everyone!
While I’m on it, I did a couple of courses about art when I was doing my degree – I love certain kinds of paintings and pictures so, if you have anything a little bit different, let’s see it!
June 2, 2015
Self-Publishing: An Author’s Experiences
Great new interview with me, mainly on self publishing. Check it out!
Originally posted on Layered Pages:
I’d like to welcome back B.R.A.G. Medallion Honoree Steven A. McKay to talk with me today about his self-publishing experiences. Steven was born in 1977, near Glasgow in Scotland. He lives in Old Kilpatrick with his wife and two young children. His second book, The Wolf and the Raven was released on April 7th, at the London Book Fair where he was part of the Amazon stand. His début novel, Wolf’s Head , was also released the same day as an audiobook. Wolf’s Head is a Kindle top 20 best-seller and The Wolf and the Raven was the “War” chart number 1.
He plays lead guitar and sings in a heavy metal band when they can find the time to meet up.
Steven, when did you decide you were going to self-publish?
I really wanted to have my book picked up by an agent and then a publisher and see…
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May 29, 2015
Rise of the Wolf updated cover and an update on when it might be out
I had my cover designers slightly modify the Rise of the Wolf cover, you can see the finished article below (the bow is slimmer and his fingers are closed up). My editor will be going over the book around the start of June so, fingers crossed it will be published around end of June/July this year. Not long to go!
In the meantime I’ve been working on my Friar Tuck Christmas novella – about a third into it so far. If you enjoyed Knight of the Cross you should like this although this is more like the regular books without the Lovecraftian horror. Should be a fun read for Yuletide 2015.
Stay tuned for the RotW publication date and, if you haven’t already LIKED my Facebook page please do so – I plan on running some giveaways for the new book and Facebook is the easiest place to do it. I just gave away 6 signed paperbacks over there this week and have given out codes for FREE downloads of the audiobooks too recently. You can find my page here:
http://www.Facebook.com/RobinHoodNovel
May 22, 2015
Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord #1) By Steven A. McKay – Review
Really great new review of Wolf’s Head!
Originally posted on David's Book Blurg:
Title – Wolf’s Head (The Forest Lord #1)
Author – Steven A. McKay
Genre – Historical Fiction
Length – 329 Pages (Kindle)
Publication – 4th July 2013
My Rating – 5/5 Stars
Synopsis
When a frightened young outlaw joins a gang of violent criminals their names – against a backdrop of death, dishonour, brotherhood, and love – will become legend.
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…
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May 14, 2015
Rise of the Wolf Youtube trailer (short, honest!)
Check it out! The music wasn’t my first choice but the best I had available without recording something new. Hopefully it’s not too…loud. wink emoticon
Feel free to share with friends, colleagues, hated enemies and random strangers on the tube.
May 10, 2015
Rise of the Wolf COVER REVEAL! And an update…
After getting some feedback from a couple of early beta-readers, yesterday I emailed the first draft of the new book off to my editor. So, assuming she can look at it in the next few weeks I SHOULD be on track to publish it sometime in June. So, with that in mind, here is the cover! I’m really pleased with it, it’s the best one so far in my opinion and could even work as a poster or flyers (if anyone could make use of posters or flyers let me know and I’ll see about getting some printed).
The original sketch I sent to the designers bears little resemblance to the final art they created (if you want to see that hilarious first sketch keep an eye on my Facebook page, I’ll probably post it there sometime, just for a laugh). Huge thanks to Chris Verwijmeren for help and advice on making the archer look as realistic as possible)!
So, I’m waiting on a reply from the editor and, in the meantime I’m going to start work right now on another novella, similar to what I did last year with��Knight of the Cross although this will be more straight-up historical fiction without the Lovecraft elements. Friar Tuck will be the star this time around and it’ll be set around Christmas time. I’m really looking forward to writing it, should be a lot of fun!
Once that’s finished, and��Rise of the Wolf is published, I’ll probably begin work on the final novel in the Forest Lord series…I have some plans for a completely different series of histfic books though, set further back in time than the Robin Hood books and I might start the first of those next…Anyone have any thoughts on that? Would you prefer me to finish off the Hood story, or would you be happy for me to do something totally different before I round off The Forest Lord tetralogy?
Post your thoughts here, on my Facebook page or use the CONTACT button and be sure to tell your book-loving friends.
Thanks everyone, I hope you’re as excited about these future projects as I am!
May 6, 2015
What drives me to write?
Some people (like my wife) think writing is all fun. A nice relaxing hobby akin to playing the Xbox or going out to the pub with your friends. Well, it is enjoyable, of course it is, but it’s also really hard work. It’s NOTHING like playing video games or chilling out with your mates.
If you have a young family and a full-time job then it can really be tough��to a) find the TIME��to write a book and b) motivate yourself to DO it rather than just lying��on the couch watching Game of Thrones��after a ten-hour shift.
Today I downloaded a pedometer/step-counter app for my phone. It calculated that I walked 9 miles within ten hours during my working day. I was pounding the streets of Partick in Glasgow reading meters (I even checked Navid from Still Game‘s gas meter, he’s a nice guy!).
9 miles, in mostly pissing rain, and when it wasn’t raining it was warm but I still had on my waterproofs so was sweating like a pig. ��A couple of years ago I could make my target of 200 reads per day without too much trouble. It sounds a lot but it was possible in most areas, especially if you worked hard and put in the time/miles. But our bonus system became much harsher two years ago and now…well…I walked 9 miles yet only managed to read something like 75 meters. Not even close to my target of 200!
Don’t get me wrong – I like my job and I’m grateful to have it in this day and age when so many people are unemployed. But we all dream of doing something better with our lives, don’t we?
Well, I walked about for ten hours today, trying my best to read as many meters as possible but in my head I was planning my next two books; trying out plots, defining characters and ironing out problems. ��At the end of the shift my legs were killing me and I just wanted to get home to see my children. But I had some great ideas for my writing!
I like my job, but it’s hard work, just like yours I’m sure.
It’s hard getting up every morning and��leaving��your kids when they’re very young��and are just turning into their own little people.
It’s hard walking for so many miles without even making bonus as a reward. It’s f**king exhausting.Trust me, I can hardly write this coherently, I’m so tired!
But…People really seem to enjoy my writing! ��Since I first published my debut novel,��Wolf’s Head, people have been buying it, and the sequels, and telling me how much they enjoy them. I’m a meter reader from Glasgow, yet I’ve sold over 40,000 books in less than two years. I’ve had emails from foreign publishers enquiring about translations and a major Hollywood producer asking about film rights to my self-published books. I had a message today from a librarian in Utah, USA, telling me my books are a big hit there.
THAT is all what drives me to write! The fact that people are enjoying what I’m creating as much as I am.
YOU, dear readers, are what keep me going when my feet ache and some��ignorant bastard��tells me to f**k off when I ask to read their meter because all they see is some menial grunt they don’t need to respect.
THANK YOU to all my readers for buying, reading and reviewing my books. I hope you understand now why you mean so much to me!
Please –��be nice to your meter reader ��;-)
My next book Rise of the Wolf, part 3 in The Forest Lord series, will be published in June/July 2015 so look out for it and spread the word with your friends.
