2025: A YEAR IN PUBLISHING

Today marks one year since RAVEN was re-released by Boldwood Books, and I thought I would celebrate by recapping on a crazy 2025, and a quick look ahead at what is to come in 2026.

So I think it was summer 2024 when I first spoke to Boldwood about coming onboard. At the time I was pretty committed to self-publishing, with four books self-pubbed and I was busy working on the fifth. I had been with a publisher before and had found the experience underwhelming (to say the least) and was in no rush to sign over rights to anything I had written to someone else.

But I had friends who worked with Boldwood and all of them spoke very positively about their experiences, so I thought I would give it a go. I had one condition though: If I committed, they took my backlist too. Time is often my greatest enemy, and I wanted all my work in one place, where it limited my admin and meant I could focus my time on writing new material, and going on adventures with my characters (which is all I really want to do with my life)

Luckily for me, Boldwood were keen to do this. And they didn't want to just quietly re-publish them, they wanted to re-release them as 'frontlist' books, with new titles and fresh edits. Initially I was unsure, I worried it would annoy readers and would delay the release of new books. And whilst I have had a couple of shitty emails, on the whole I think it has gone really well, and the books have found a new readership.

So, let's look back at what we've done.

RAVEN came out on Feb 3rd last year! Previously published as OATHBREAKER, it never really found an audience as a self-pubbed book, and since I had written a sequel, it made sense to try to give it a push. It has sold more copies in the last year than it ever had before, I think, which can only be a good thing!

OUTLAW (previously RAVENSWORN) came next in May, and again the re-launch really helped the book find a new audience. And just look at that cover! My favourite of the lot, I think!

Going slightly out of order here, but WARLORD came out in October. This was BRAND NEW, my editor at Boldwood encouraged me to write a third Enemy of the Empire book, something I hadn't really thought I wanted to do. But, Alaric is A LOT of fun to write, and in the end I didn't take much persuading.

I'm really glad I did, the book wraps up Alaric's story nicely, and sends him off into a well earned retirement.

EAGLE AND THE FLAME (previously VALENTIA) came out in July. This was a big deal for me. This and the sequel, USURPER, had done very well self-pubbed and were probably a big reason as to why I came on Boldwood's radar in the first place. Handing them over was not an easy decision.

But, again, I'm glad I have. This book has continued to prove very popular with readers, and what was initially written as a standalone novel, was then going to be a trilogy, and is now going to be a six book saga (at least!) I love writing about the late Roman empire, and I'm excited to see where the story takes us. Sixtus Victorinus is a great protagonist. There is something about grumpy old men that suits my writing style. Not sure what that says about me?

And finally... WOLF AND THE CROWN (previously USURPER) was re-released last month, two years after it originally came out. Another story I'm really proud of, and it's great to see it back out in the wild. Mainly because that means there are no more re-issues to get through, and we can now just focus on new books! To that end....

FINALLY!!! TRIBUNE AND THE SWORD, the third Shadow of Rome book, is coming this April! I had just finished writing this book when Boldwood got in touch, so I feel like I've been sitting on this forever! It's going to be great to finally get it out there. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this, and I'm very grateful to you all. Here's the blurb:

August. 383 AD. Flavius Maximus has declared himself emperor and crossed into Gaul. The civil war with Gratian has been short, and the rightful ruler of the West lies in an early grave.

Now two men face off across an empire. Theodosius in the east, his armies large but reliant on mercenaries. Maximus in the west, his forces small, but battle hardened and loyal to a fault.

In the middle of the chaos, at the heart of a dying world, two old friends march at the heads of opposing forces. Tribune Sixtus Victorinus fights for the West. Not out of loyalty to Maximus, but to his two sons who are bound by oath to fight for the pretender.

And General Gaius Felicius for the East. Outcasted by Maximus, he will stop at nothing to see the usurper toppled. But if his old friend stands in his path, is the road to vengeance still one he will choose to tread?

War is coming, and both men must look inside themselves and decide what is greater: the cause they fight for, or the bonds of fellowship

Sound good? I re-wrote the ending to this a few months ago, so it leads on to book four a bit smoother, and reading the story back to myself before I did was great. I'm really happy with how it has all turned out, and I can't wait to get some reader reactions when it's finally released. April 17th, in case you were wondering! Available to pre-order now.

Aaaannnnndddd..... We're not stopping there! What's that saying about waiting for a bus?

In August, book 4 in the Shadow of Rome series will be released! Titled BARBARIAN AND THE THRONE. No cover and no blurb yet, but the book has been written and is with my editor now. We go in a bit of a new direction after the third book, but I don't want to ruin anything with spoilers. The eager among you can pre-order the eBook now if you want, using the button below.

More on that in the months to come! The fifth book in the series will also be out in December. I've not actually started writing it yet, but will be come March, with it due in July to be edited.

All in all it looks like it's going to be another busy year for me! In the second half of the year I'll also be working on a new trilogy for next year, as well as a couple of standalone novels. I can't wait to tell you all about them!