Traitor’s Prize – out now

Traitor’s Prize, the sequel to Kingdom Asunder, is out today.

Both books are discounted until 5 August (KA is just 33% of the usual price, TP 60%), so now’s the perfect time to buy.

If epic and dark fantasy is your cup of tea, if you like medieval bloodshed, treachery and political conniving, you can get just under 200,000 words for less than half the price of a cinema ticket (and no adverts to annoy you for the first half hour).



UK Amazon
US Amazon
Smashwords
Kobo
Barnes and Noble

Thaddeus

Traitor’s Prize discounted for pre-order!

In quite literally fantastic news, Traitor’s Prize, the second book in The Bloody Crown Trilogy and sequel to Kingdom Asunder, is available for pre-order now.

It’ll come out on the 28^th of July, and in the pre-order period (and for the first week of release) is priced at the monkishly humble pittance of US$2.99. Less than a coffee, less than bus fare, but brimming with lashings of bloodshed and treachery, backstabbing and betrayal, brothers-in-arms and family loyalty (or not, perhaps).

The story follows immediately on from the events of Kingdom Asunder, which, if you don’t already have it, has had its price slashed to just 0.99c (but only during the pre-order period of Traitor’s Prize, so now is the perfect time to snap it up).

The plot twists and turns like a pole-dancing anaconda, and is as dark and menacing as a psychopathic honey badger.

Traitor’s Prize purchase links: 

Amazon UK

Amazon US

Smashwords

Kobo

Barnes and Noble

I’ve sent out some feelers for reviews already, and if you’re interested in an ARC do get in touch (@MorrisF1 on Twitter) and I’m sure we can arrange something.

Thaddeus

Traitor’s Prize cover reveal

Traitor’s Prize, the sequel to Kingdom Asunder, will be out later this month. It’s the second part of The Bloody Crown Trilogy, and follows immediately on from the events of the first book.

As you can tell, I have gone for maximum subtlety on the cover.

The story is the middle portion of the ruthless, bloody and sly battle for the Kingdom of Denland, warred over by the rival Penmere and Esden families. Treachery abounds, nobles manoeuvre for advantage, and armies line up to wreak carnage upon their enemies. But it’s the smiler with the knife who makes the nobles tremble...

If you haven’t bought Kingdom Asunder yet, now’s the perfect time as (prior to the release of Traitor’s Prize), the price has been reduced to 0.99.

There will be an announcement of pre-order very soon, so keep your eyes peeled. During the pre-order period, Traitor’s Prize will be available at a substantial discount.

Thaddeus

Timing a Trilogy – Results

The Twitter poll results are in. Including three votes I received elsewhere (two for 1 year and one for 6 months), they are:

One year – 12 votes

Six months – 9 votes

One month or less – 1 vote

I was a little surprised so few voted for the 1 month or less option. Whilst a bit fast for me, I thought some readers would like being able to immerse themselves in a trilogy over a couple of months. Mind you, it’s rather helpful, as that would’ve been (from my perspective) the least welcome option.

I also know there can be a bias to the middle in polling (or other things, that’s why sometimes kettles and so on are deliberately split into cheap as chips, middling and swanky fancy expensive versions. People often want to avoid looking cheap, but won’t sell a kidney to afford a kettle, so they get herded towards the middle option).

A few days into the poll I realised there was another factor I need to consider.

If I release the books once every six months, that leaves no time for Sir Edric. So, is it better to concentrate on the trilogy as a block (a single work with three instalments, if you like), and then have the comedy after, or is it better to alternate?

There’s also the issue of self-publishing versus traditional publishing. There are various pros and cons to both, but arguably the single biggest pro of doing it oneself is that the schedule of release entirely favours the author. If you’re being traditionally published then the timing has to fit in with the publisher (they can’t just splurge books, they want a regular tick-over, which makes sense). But that can also mean the author ends up waiting a while.

I’d like to get Traitor’s Prize (the second book) either finished or very close before releasing Kingdom Asunder. That’ll both ease the pressure on me and reassure readers that they won’t be waiting until the End of Time for the sequel.

Many thanks to those who voted. It was interesting to see a close race between the top two options. For those who want fairly regular (typically monthly) updates on my writing progress, do check out my writing blog at http://thaddeuswhite.weebly.com/writing-blog (it tends to be more serious business/focused than the eclectic rambles about history, fantasy and so on I put up here).

I’m just about to embark on the first serious redraft of Traitor’s Prize, and how well/badly that goes will go a long way to determining when Kingdom Asunder comes out.

Thaddeus

Timing a Trilogy

As I’ve mentioned before, I’m working on a trilogy set in the Bane of Souls/Journey to Altmortis world. The first book, Kingdom Asunder, is essentially finished (I always leave the final proofread until just before release). The second book, Traitor’s Prize, is undergoing its first major redraft and I haven’t start the third book yet (working title is Crown of Blood).

At this moment in time it’s likeliest to be self-published, although there are some other avenues I'll explore. However, if it is to be self-published then I need to decide on how to release (specifically, how much space to leave between each instalment).

I’ve put up a poll on Twitter, here.

If you’re on Twitter, please do click the link and vote for either 1 year, 6 months, or 1 month or less.

From a writing perspective, there are swings and roundabouts for large and small gaps. Large gaps mean you can release the first book sooner. Smaller gaps mean you get more momentum because you do the pre- and post-release marketing stuff and by the time that’s done it’s onto the next book (and by the time readers finish book 1 there’s not long to book 2), but you do need to finish or almost finish the whole trilogy before the first entry can be released.

As a reader, my own pace has slowed to snail-like proportions, so I don’t mind the year or more between Stormlight Archive releases, or the years between A Song of Ice and Fire. Unfortunately that also means I’m not (from a reader’s point of view) a good judge for how faster readers might like things.

Another factor I need to consider is releasing more Sir Edric books. If I released trilogy entries every six months, releasing Sir Edric stories as well would cram far too much into too short a space (as well as leaving me with a fallow period after the last trilogy entry). So, a six month gap would probably mean releasing the trilogy all in sequence, then Sir Edric, whereas a year gap might mean alternating (every six months or so) could work.

So, if you could check out the poll that’d be very useful. If you’re not on Twitter and don’t want to be but do want to have your view taken into account, do feel free to leave a comment below and I’ll use the magic of arithmetic to add that to the results.

The poll lasts for five more days after which I’ll put the results up here.

Thaddeus