Fierce - Out on 1 May 2024
You can read it sooner by joining the review team!
The fantasy novel that I’ve been working on for ages is now finally complete and scheduled for publication on 1 May. Fierce is available for pre-order via Amazon Kindle already, and there will be paperback versions available just as soon as I manage to navigate my way through the maze that is Ingram Spark’s approval process.
You do not need to wait that long if you want to read the book though. I’ve set up a review team on Booksprout and I’m recruiting people for it. Given you’ve read and enjoyed some of my previous work then I think you might be up for that. Here’s the link to join the Skyssian Saga Heroes.
Start reading with the first chapter of Fierce on my blog at https://www.themself.org/2019/12/straven-ya-fiction/
Fierce was inspired by Game of Thrones which my wife and I watched on a family holiday to Bergen. I decided to pick a female single-POV character and tried to make it less misogynistic. I've also picked elements of the Belgariad and the First Law books by Joe Abercrombie (although less grimdark than the awesome Joe Abercrombie). It's very deliberately written with the structure of the Hero's Journey in mind, and takes the main character, Yngvild, from her quiet backwater home on an adventure across the world with her lover Noren, who she has to save from a geas.
From onlinebookclub April 3, 2024, 6:29 pm - The reviewer wrote:
“The end was somewhat of a cliffhanger since Rojden was still capable of causing havoc. Yngvild willingly sacrificed Noren for Malfin was shocking. It was not completely clear if the King's ship was returning Yngvild and Noren to Straven and I hope to see a sequel. It was apparent that Yngvild loves Noren, but her feelings for Snorri and Jerre could leave her questioning if her love for Noren was real or if he was the only one close to her age in Straven. I was curious how Arald made it to Rojden when he was supposed to be deceased and held in Kronstadt by Lady Helga Trollslayer.”