Author Archives: Michael

Don’t Give Up: 2021 as a Debut Author – Marc Collins Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where today I’m handing the reins over to the brilliant Marc Collins to talk about what 2021 has been like as a debut author. Marc’s debut novel Grim Repast was published this year as part of Black Library’s Warhammer Crime range, and it’s an absolute belter of a book – and likewise all of Marc’s short stories I’ve read have been fantastic. It’s been great to watch Marc’s authorial journey from the outside, but in this article he’s kindly offered some fascinating insight into what it’s been like from his perspective, including his path through the Black Library Open Submissions process. It’s very much a tale of perseverance and determination, and I’ve no doubt these are only the first steps in a long and prosperous career.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: S.A. Sidor Talks Cult of the Spider Queen (plus sample chapters)

Hello and welcome to this Author Interview, where today I’m chatting to S.A. Sidor about his new novel Cult of the Spider Queen, his second in the growing Arkham Horror range from Aconyte Books. His first Arkham Horror novel, The Last Ritual, was a tale of surrealist art mixed with cosmic horror, but this time the focus is on adventure in the depths of the Amazon jungle…and maybe a spider or two. Cult of the Spider Queen is out now in global ebook and US paperback with the UK paperback due in February 2022, so read on to find out more about this new novel, check out some sample chapters of the book, then order yourself a copy!

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The Hood – Lavie Tidhar

Lavie Tidhar’s British history/mythology/fantasy mashup The Hood, out now from Head of Zeus, is quite frankly batshit crazy. The second book (following By Force Alone) of his ‘Anti-Matter of Britain Quartet’, it’s a wild reinterpretation of the legends of Robin Hood by way of the Knights Templar, the Murder Ballads, fairy tales, fantasy and a shitload of narcotic fungi – it’s totally bizarre, but weirdly compelling. Set across a strangely distended span of decades and taking in everywhere from the city of Nottingham and the surrounding Sherwood Forest to York, London, the Holy Land and Faerie, it begins with the ill-fated kidnapping of Maid Marian and goes on to feature traumatised veteran Will Scarlett, perma-baffled knight Richard at the Lee, the harpist Alan-a-dale, a Jewish drug mastermind named Rebecca, a succession of Sheriffs of Nottingham, and all manner of other weird and wonderful hoods in the woods.

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Mischief, Power and Tricksters – Gabriela Houston Guest Post

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words guest post, where today I’m thrilled to welcome author Gabriela Houston to the site to talk about the fascinating concept of tricksters in fiction! I read Gabriela’s debut novel The Second Bell earlier in the year and loved its Slavic mythology-inspired magic, and themes of family and community. With Gabriela’s second novel (and her Middle Grade debut) The Wind Child due out in February 2022, this fantastic guest post is a great opportunity to see how the familiar figue of the trickster relates to The Wind Child. Check out the publisher’s synopsis for this brilliant-sounding story of friendship, gods and monsters, then read on to enjoy Gabriela’s article on tricksters and the balance of power.

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Original Fiction: Valkyrie by Danie Ware

Hello and welcome to this very special post on Track of Words, where I’m delighted to publish a fantastic piece of original fiction from a wonderful author – Valkyrie by Danie Ware. A bleak tale of the Viking invasion of England, it’s a powerful story that hearkens back to the oral tradition of storytelling – try reading it out loud for full effect!

“In the names of Frey and of Freya,” he said, “tell me where the creature lies.”

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Richard Lee Byers Talks The Rebels of Vanaheim (plus sample chapters)

Hello and welcome to this Author Interview, where I hope you’ll join me in welcoming Richard Lee Byers back to Track of Words to talk about his new novel The Rebels of Vanaheim. This is Richard’s second novel in the Marvel: Legend of Asgard series from Aconyte Books, following on from 2020’s The Head of Mimir, and tells the story of another one of Asgardian hero Heimdall’s adventures in the Ten Realms. The first book was a lot of fun, so I’m looking forward to this one – read on to find out more about this fun-sounding new Marvel novel, then check out a few sample chapters at the end of the article to get a taste of the book itself.

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Best of Black Library 2021

2021 is rapidly coming to a close, which means it’s time for my usual roundup of the best Black Library books I’ve read over the last year. As always, I want to open with the caveat that these are my personal highlights based solely on what I’ve read – I’m not suggesting that there haven’t been other excellent BL titles released this year, just that I haven’t read them! I should also point out that I’m basing my selections on books which were first published in 2021, which means I’ve chosen one that only had a Limited Edition release and won’t be more widely available until 2022, and that this year I’m almost entirely looking at novels. In previous years I’ve also covered other formats and split out my choices into different articles based on the main BL settings – 40k, Age of Sigmar and Horus Heresy – but this year I’m just going to do this one article, and concentrate on novels.

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A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark – Josh Reynolds Guest Review

Hello and welcome to this guest review here on Track of Words, where the fantastic Josh Reynolds – author of (amongst other things) the Royal Occultist series, the Daidoshi Shin books and some of the most entertaining Warhammer stories of all time – is here to talk about A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark. I couldn’t be happier to have Josh on the site as a guest reviewer, not just because he’s one of my absolute favourite authors but because he’s talking about a book that I utterly adore! It really is an incredible book, and Josh has done a great job of illustrating why that is in this clear, concise, persuasive and spoiler-free review.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Carrie Harris Talks Witches Unleashed (plus sample chapters)

Hello and welcome to this Track of Words Author Interview, where today I’m delighted to welcome Carrie Harris back to the site to talk about her latest novel from Aconyte Books, Witches Unleashed. Part of the Marvel: Untold range, this tale features the Ghost Rider and a trio of witches taking on Lucifer himself, and has probably the most metal artwork I’ve ever seen on the cover of a book! It sounds like a total blast, so read on to find out more about this cool new novel, then check out a few sample chapters at the end of the article to get a taste of the book itself.

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Track of Words Advent Calendar 2021

Hello and welcome to the Track of Words Advent Calendar 2021! Every day from the 1st to the 25th December I’m going to be posting a new article on the site – it could be a book review, an author interview, a blog post, or something totally different! I’ve been running Track of Words since 2014 and every year I’ve published (at least) one post per day in December; it started off as a way of following the Black Library Advent Calendar series, where BL would release a new short story each day and I would publish my review of the story. Over the last couple of years it’s become less focused around BL reviews though as I’ve broadened things out to cover a wider range of SFF books, authors and publishers.

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