G.R. Matthews's Blog
October 27, 2025
A Good Day to Die
I have new book coming out on 27th November - A Good Day to Die.
It is set in the same world as Seven Days of an Empire and I am pretty proud of it, though it is dark and bloody.
In the shadowed towns of Esadale, betrayal cuts deeper than any blade.
Rawlins — thief, murderer, outcast— has been left to die by the friends he once trusted and he is going to make them regret it.
But revenge is never that simple. Hounded through city slums and noble halls alike, Rawlins uncovers secrets of his Fenland heritage, a rising drug trade that threatens to enslave his people, and a guild of thieves whose power rivals kings. With every step, he is drawn deeper into a grim struggle of sorcery, corruption, and bloodshed.
Aided by Wilone, a herbalist with secrets of her own, and the hidden network of his despised kin, Rawlins must decide whether vengeance alone will satisfy him—or whether he will become something far darker. As civil war brews, nobles clash with the Church, and the streets burn with rebellion, Rawlins faces the ultimate question:
Will he rise as a weapon of justice… or be consumed by the very revenge he craves?
Perfect for readers of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, and The Witcher series, this dark fantasy revenge tale blends brutal action, and twisted magic.
A Good Day to Die: A Book of the Six Kingdoms
You can find out more, and even bag a Free Audible Code for some of my books at www.grmatthews.com
It is set in the same world as Seven Days of an Empire and I am pretty proud of it, though it is dark and bloody.
In the shadowed towns of Esadale, betrayal cuts deeper than any blade.
Rawlins — thief, murderer, outcast— has been left to die by the friends he once trusted and he is going to make them regret it.
But revenge is never that simple. Hounded through city slums and noble halls alike, Rawlins uncovers secrets of his Fenland heritage, a rising drug trade that threatens to enslave his people, and a guild of thieves whose power rivals kings. With every step, he is drawn deeper into a grim struggle of sorcery, corruption, and bloodshed.
Aided by Wilone, a herbalist with secrets of her own, and the hidden network of his despised kin, Rawlins must decide whether vengeance alone will satisfy him—or whether he will become something far darker. As civil war brews, nobles clash with the Church, and the streets burn with rebellion, Rawlins faces the ultimate question:
Will he rise as a weapon of justice… or be consumed by the very revenge he craves?
Perfect for readers of Joe Abercrombie, Mark Lawrence, and The Witcher series, this dark fantasy revenge tale blends brutal action, and twisted magic.
A Good Day to Die: A Book of the Six Kingdoms
You can find out more, and even bag a Free Audible Code for some of my books at www.grmatthews.com
June 19, 2022
New book, new map
A new blog post all about the new map for the new book... did I say "new" enough?
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/new-b...
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/new-b...
April 12, 2022
An interview with me - in my hometown magazine
There's something really heart-warming and affirming about having been featured in your hometown magazine/newspaper.
https://swindonlink.com/lifestyle/sev...
https://swindonlink.com/lifestyle/sev...
July 6, 2021
Collecting cover quotes (a bit vain, I know, but confidence building).
The big difference between my self-published books and my first traditionally-published book is the number of reviews it has picked up in magazines and blogs. And I'd like to thank each and everyone for taking the time to read, the chance on a new book, and for writing up their thoughts - it really does mean a lot to me!
And yes, I know this is quite a vanity post but releasing a book is terrifying and there's no way of know how well it will do for weeks and months... so, please, forgive me!
A quick trip to the Waterstones website provides these:
"The plot's surprising twists and turns will wow fantasy fans." -- Publishers Weekly
"Matthews delivers visceral descriptions of battle, the cut and thrust of gladius and pila, the shouldering of shields, the smell of blood and fear - and weaving through this, the delicate nets of magical constructs that can still snap, inflame or explode." -- The Fantasy Hive
"This is fantasy at its finest." -- Grimdark Magazine
"Refreshingly original" -- SFX Magazine
"Both bloody, and bloody well written." -- Fantasy-Faction
"Full of tension, intrigue, and action" -- Fantasy Book Nerd
And on Amazon it adds this one:
"Matthews has written an addictive page-turner full of magic and political intrigue" -- Adrian Selby, author of Brother Red
And having a quick peek on Goodreads, I can add:
"a book which gathers speed and past the half-way mark begins to thunder towards an exciting conclusion." -- Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns
Reviews I've found or been tagged into (and thank you!) - I've added the links to these so you can read the whole of the review (should you want to - go on, you know you do.):
"its mix of magic and military prowess creates an engagingly epic read." -- SFFworld.com
"It is full of death, ulterior motives, war, and betrayal." -- mindysbookjourney
"This is a story about politics, faith, betrayal and the loss of innocence" - Setthetape.com
"Matthews delivers on the bigger picture stakes" -- British Fantasy Society
"its exciting at every turn with a wonderfully spun plot that keeps you guessing the entire time" -- Fanfiaddict
"A well crafted, epic, swords and sorcery story" -- mugfullofbooks
" It’s an astounding work of epic fantasy, a genius use of secondary creation with cinematic battle scenes." -- The Swordsmith
"Seven Deaths is not a book that is easily pigeon-holed or dismissed. It neatly brings together the diverse threads of story and character and puts them together in ways we cannot anticipate." -- FeministQuill
"It'll take one hell of a book to top this one in 2021." Benjawi.co.uk
"I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a well written, epic fantasy novel." -- Off-Planet-Books.co.uk
If you know any others I've missed (that are good, obviously), point me in that direction!
And yes, I know this is quite a vanity post but releasing a book is terrifying and there's no way of know how well it will do for weeks and months... so, please, forgive me!
A quick trip to the Waterstones website provides these:
"The plot's surprising twists and turns will wow fantasy fans." -- Publishers Weekly
"Matthews delivers visceral descriptions of battle, the cut and thrust of gladius and pila, the shouldering of shields, the smell of blood and fear - and weaving through this, the delicate nets of magical constructs that can still snap, inflame or explode." -- The Fantasy Hive
"This is fantasy at its finest." -- Grimdark Magazine
"Refreshingly original" -- SFX Magazine
"Both bloody, and bloody well written." -- Fantasy-Faction
"Full of tension, intrigue, and action" -- Fantasy Book Nerd
And on Amazon it adds this one:
"Matthews has written an addictive page-turner full of magic and political intrigue" -- Adrian Selby, author of Brother Red
And having a quick peek on Goodreads, I can add:
"a book which gathers speed and past the half-way mark begins to thunder towards an exciting conclusion." -- Mark Lawrence, author of Prince of Thorns
Reviews I've found or been tagged into (and thank you!) - I've added the links to these so you can read the whole of the review (should you want to - go on, you know you do.):
"its mix of magic and military prowess creates an engagingly epic read." -- SFFworld.com
"It is full of death, ulterior motives, war, and betrayal." -- mindysbookjourney
"This is a story about politics, faith, betrayal and the loss of innocence" - Setthetape.com
"Matthews delivers on the bigger picture stakes" -- British Fantasy Society
"its exciting at every turn with a wonderfully spun plot that keeps you guessing the entire time" -- Fanfiaddict
"A well crafted, epic, swords and sorcery story" -- mugfullofbooks
" It’s an astounding work of epic fantasy, a genius use of secondary creation with cinematic battle scenes." -- The Swordsmith
"Seven Deaths is not a book that is easily pigeon-holed or dismissed. It neatly brings together the diverse threads of story and character and puts them together in ways we cannot anticipate." -- FeministQuill
"It'll take one hell of a book to top this one in 2021." Benjawi.co.uk
"I'd definitely recommend this if you're looking for a well written, epic fantasy novel." -- Off-Planet-Books.co.uk
If you know any others I've missed (that are good, obviously), point me in that direction!
June 23, 2021
Me, Reddit and an AMA
Hi,
Just did my first AMA on Reddit r/fantasy and it was fun, informative and made me think. If you've a reddit account you can view it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comm...
Just did my first AMA on Reddit r/fantasy and it was fun, informative and made me think. If you've a reddit account you can view it here:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comm...
May 25, 2021
Interview with me on Fantasy-Hive
In case you missed it, there is a lovely interview with me over on Fantasy-Hive all about Seven Deaths of an Empire!
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2021/05/in...
https://fantasy-hive.co.uk/2021/05/in...
May 3, 2021
Book signing!
A little blog post with some lovely photographs for Seven Deaths of an Empire all about signing and forgetting how to spell my own name!
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/signi...
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/signi...
November 28, 2020
What do you think of maps?
Here's a post about the Six Kingdoms wherein Seven Deaths of an Empire (and three other books) is set!
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/a-wor...
Seven Deaths of an Empire
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/a-wor...
Seven Deaths of an Empire
September 12, 2020
The fear and excitement...
As most of you will know, I help look after the Fantasy-Faction Facebook page and website (though most of the latter is down to the wonderful Jennifer Ivins). Anyway, this week a catalogue of new releases - Fall 2020/Spring 2021 - from Rebellion dropped into the FF press email box.
That's when the first tremor of fear hit.
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/the-f...
That's when the first tremor of fear hit.
https://www.grmatthews.com/post/the-f...
September 8, 2019
Quick newsletter
Just sent out the September newsletter with news of 0.99 sales, free books, music, Numenera (RPG), VoyagerCon and BristolCon.
https://shoutout.wix.com/so/51MqGVkID
https://shoutout.wix.com/so/51MqGVkID
