Author Archives: Michael

Three Crows Magazine – Issue 4

Edited by Alex Khlopenko, Three Crows Magazine is a quarterly online speculative fiction magazine, still relatively new to the SF&F community but growing quickly, aiming for cultural diversity and tackling big, challenging subjects. Issue 4 features compelling stories by Avra Margariti, Stephen Couch and Eliza Chan, fabulous interviews with Evan Winter and G.V. Anderson, several thorough book reviews, and a thought-provoking essay on desert-influenced writing comparing Frank Herbert’s Dune with recent novels by Tasha Suri and Bradley P. Beaulieu. For genre fans looking to broaden their horizons, there’s entertainment, information and inspiration aplenty to be found amongst these 66 pages.

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Writing for Black Library – Summer of Writing 2019

The 2019 Black Library open submissions window has been officially confirmed – with the tagline “comrades in arms”, no less, as part of a summer of writing – and it’s running from the 26th August to the 23rd September. Check out my article Black Library Open Submissions – 2018 Recap for a look back at 2018’s open submissions window, including thoughts on some of the authors who successfully made it through, but in this article I’m going to talk a little about the guidelines for the 2019 window, and provide some useful resources for anyone interested in submitting including nterviews with some of the authors who successfully made it through and had stories published by Black Library.

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QUICK REVIEW: Empra – Nate Crowley

Nate Crowley’s second Black Library short story, Empra offers a unique take on 40k and a rare perspective on the Imperium. Toa is a Shellmaker, daughter of the chief shaman; she and the tribe her mother oversees toil to forge great shells that they send up to the Body of Empra in return for food and protection from the poisons of their world. When Toa finds an Angel out in the manhills, her world is turned upside down as she learns that everything she had been told – about Empra, his servant Two-Bird and her entire religion – has been a lie.

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The Court of Broken Knives – Anna Smith Spark

The first book in Anna Smith Spark’s Empires of Dust trilogy, The Court of Broken Knives is a grand, sweeping, brutally violent and beautifully written tale of ambition, politics and power. In the city of Sorlost, heart of the once-mighty Sekemleth Empire, powerful men plan a bloody coup in the name of protecting their way of life against the growing boldness of enemies all around. The Free Company of the Sword, contracted to kill the Emperor, make their way through the desert to Sorlost, in their midst a young man fleeing from disgrace but destined for great and terrible things.

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Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty – Josh Reynolds

With Kal Jerico: Sinner’s Bounty, Josh Reynolds takes the reins from Gordon Rennie and Will McDermott and reintroduces the suave bounty hunter for a new generation of Necromunda fans. Accompanied by put-upon partner Scabbs and sort-of-but-not-really wife Yolanda, Jerico is on the trail of Desolation Zoon, a Redemptionist zealot whose bold behaviour has roused the ire of the Guilders. With every other venator worth the name on the same trail, however, they must keep ahead of the competition and survive the many and varied dangers of the underhive – including a worrying number of muties on the move – if they’re to claim this bounty.

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RAPID FIRE: Nick Kyme Talks Knights of Macragge

Welcome to this instalment of Rapid Fire, my ongoing series of quick interviews with authors talking about their new releases. These are short and sweet interviews, with the idea being that each author will answer (more or less) the same questions – by the end of each interview I hope you will have a good idea of what the new book (or audio drama) is about, what inspired it and why you might want to read or listen to it.

In this instalment I spoke to veteran Black Library author Nick Kyme about his new Warhammer 40,000 novel Knights of Macragge, which is available to order right now in paperback, ebook and audiobook editions.

Without further ado, let’s get straight to the questions and Nick’s answers.

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QUICK REVIEW: The Iron Promise – Josh Reynolds

Josh Reynolds’ short story The Iron Promise, available from Black Library either as a standalone e-short or within the Warcry anthology, is a tale of twisted honour, oaths and bloodshed in the Age of Sigmar. Vos Stalis, Dominar of the Iron Golems, has been tasked with a dangerous mission, leading a small warband into the Bloodwind Spoil to assess the loyalty of a duardin forgemaster whose tithe to the Iron Golems has dried up. A test of his strength and loyalty as much as the forgemaster’s, it sees Vos venture deep into the forge and confront the danger that lurks within.

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Writing for Black Library – Nicholas Wolf Talks the Open Submissions Window

Welcome to this instalment of Writing for Black Library, a new series of quick author interviews in which I chat to Black Library authors about how they got started with writing for the worlds of Warhammer. Whether you’re actively hoping to be published by Black Library yourself, or just interested in getting a peek behind the scenes, these interviews will offer insights into the backgrounds and working processes of some of the authors who are lucky enough to contribute to the ongoing development of Games Workshop’s various worlds and settings.

In this instalment I spoke to Nicholas Wolf, one of Black Library’s newest authors, who made it through the 2018 open submissions process to have his debut short story – Reborn – published as a standalone e-short for Digital Monday in May 2019.

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QUICK REVIEW: Bonegrinder – Josh Reynolds

This story is currently only available within Inferno! Volume 3.

A sequel to 2018’s Death’s Head, Josh Reynolds’ Necromunda short story Bonegrinder continues to follow the exploits of smarter-than-the-usual Goliath ganger Topek Greel. Now a full member of the Steelgate Kings under the watchful leadership of Irontooth Korg, Greel is a dangerous combination of brawn, brains and ambition, and he’s got his sights set on consolidating his position through the manipulation of the Kings’ rival gangs. When Korg brings him along as a second in a parlay with an opposing gang leader, however, it begins to look as though Greel’s ambition might have got the better of him.

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Writing for Black Library – Jamie Crisalli Talks the Open Submissions Window

Welcome to this instalment of Writing for Black Library, a new series of quick author interviews in which I chat to Black Library authors about how they got started with writing for the worlds of Warhammer. Whether you’re actively hoping to be published by Black Library yourself, or just interested in getting a peek behind the scenes, these interviews will offer insights into the backgrounds and working processes of some of the authors who are lucky enough to contribute to the ongoing development of Games Workshop’s various worlds and settings.

For this instalment I spoke to Jamie Crisalli, one of Black Library’s newest authors, who made it through the 2018 open submissions process to have her debut short story – Ties of Blood – published in Inferno! Volume 2.

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