COVER REVEAL: The Magic Is Always With Us by David M Allan

We are delighted to reveal the cover of David M Allan’s new fantasy novel The Magic Is Always With Us. Set in Tirog, the land of the Sidhe that is co-incident to the human world and accessed through portals or lacunae in the barrier that separates the two. There are Realms and Domains in the land of the Sidhe, with population centres that are often in the ‘same’ place as they are in the human world. So, Eideann in Alba is co-located with Edinburgh in Scotland.

The cover, designed by Alison Buck, was inspired by a passage in the book where the main protagonist, Lady Trinafar, is standing in front of the throne of the ruler of Obharden (co-located with Aberdeen):

 

The floor in front of the throne was covered by a yellow and green carpet with a maze pattern. It grabbed Trinafar’s attention. It’s a trap, isn’t it. Start tracing the curves and the magic will ensnare the watcher. She knew she should ignore it, but it was difficult. It must give him an advantage over any visitors. It took a lot of concentration, but she did manage to drag her eyes away from the maze and look somewhere else. Even with the effort she had put into breaking the mesmeric effect it wasn’t until he spoke that she was completely free of the influence of the carpet.

 

The Magic Is Always With Us by David M Allan; Cover artwork: Alison Buck
Cover artwork: Alison Buck

Look at the cover for more than a few seconds, and you too will find yourself being mesmerised!

The action takes place in various places in both Alba and Scotland. Handily, one of the characters has a map:

Map of Alba in Tirog from The Magic Is Always With Us by David M Allan; Map: Alison Buck
Map of Alba in Tirog
© 2024 Alison Buck

The Magic Is Always With Us will be published in eBook on 29th March and is available for pre-order now. It will be out in paperback on 29th April.

Author edits latest novel while backpacking in South America

Having escaped from an attempted drugging/mugging on a bus in Ecuador, Tej Turner completed the editing of the third book in his epic series in hostels and the rainforest.

DARTFORD, KENT – 26 February 2024 – Tej Turner, author, chef, and inveterate traveller, recently returned from a nine-months trip backpacking around South America. On his travelblog he tells of being drugged and mugged on a public bus as well as volunteering in a wildlife sanctuary in Ecuador. While he was travelling, Blood War, the third book in his Avatars of Ruin fantasy series was in the process of being prepared for publication by Elsewhen Press, a UK publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors like Tej. Part of the pre-publication process is an interaction between the author and their editor, to finesse the final text (and root out any typos). At times, Tej was editing the text on his laptop in exotic locations that made the editorial team highly envious, although they did not let their envy stop them helping him to complete the book, which was published as an eBook in January and in print this month. Of course, at other times Tej was trying to edit in an oven-like hostel room with no air conditioning and loudly snoring companions; or even on a bus (not while being mugged!).

Tej says: “Having the occasional mishap is all part of having an adventure, and it was overall a great trip that I will look back on fondly. I am back in the UK now, and I have even started working on my new novel. It has certainly been an inspiring year and that should give me plenty of material for the next book. I hope that my readers enjoy Blood War as it is possibly my most ambitious work to date.”

Peter Buck, Editorial Director of Elsewhen Press, says: “This is not the first time that Tej has been completing the editing of a book while backpacking in exotic locations. When you’re sitting in an office in Kent on a rainy afternoon and Tej sends a picture of his ‘office for the day’ with lush vegetation and a waterfall just beyond the veranda of his hostel, it’s hard not to feel a little envious. But, on the other hand, sitting in an office is generally not as dangerous as travelling alone in some parts of South America!”

One reader described Tej’s Avatars of Ruin series as ‘Wheel of Time meets The Walking Dead’. It is an epic fantasy series about a group of survivors forced to band together when their world takes a dark turn. It has some illustrious fans. Trip Galey, author of A Market of Dreams and Destiny said, “This is epic fantasy with a touch of the mythic to it. There were villains I loved to hate, and a queer protagonist I loved rooting for. Action, magic, a world in peril…what more could you ask for?” Bestselling science fiction and fantasy author Christopher G. Nuttall called Bloodsworn, the first book in the series, “a stunning introduction to a new fantasy world” and renowned grimdark author Anna Smith Spark said “Classic epic fantasy. I enjoyed it enormously.” Allen Stroud, Chair of the British Science Fiction Association, said “a journey into Fantasy, only it’s not quite the journey you expected, and it’s all the better for it”. David Craig, author of the Sooty Feathers gothic fantasy series, said of Blood Legacy, the second book in Tej’s series, “an exciting book which ups the stakes, mixing traditional fantasy with an element of possession horror”. Fantasy author Joanne Hall said “a nuanced, smart high fantasy novel with intelligent, complex characters, good LGBT rep and some killer twists”.

The first three books of Tej’s Avatars of Ruin series, Bloodsworn, Blood Legacy and Blood War are all available in ebook and paperback format from good book retailers.

Notes for Editors

About Tej Turner

Tej Turner is an SFF author and travel-blogger. His debut novel The Janus Cycle was published by Elsewhen Press in 2015 and its sequel Dinnusos Rises was released in 2017. Both are hard to classify within typical genres but were contemporary and semi-biographical with elements of surrealism. He has since branched off into writing epic fantasy and has an ongoing series called the Avatars of Ruin. The first instalment – Bloodsworn – was released in 2021, and its sequel Blood Legacy in 2022. The third – Blood War – was published in early 2024.

He does not have any particular place he would say he is ‘from’, as his family moved between various parts of England during his childhood. He eventually settled in Wales, where he studied Creative Writing and Film at Trinity College in Carmarthen, followed by a master’s degree at The University of Wales Lampeter.

Since then, Tej has mostly resided in Cardiff, where he works as a chef by day and writes by moonlight. His childhood on the move seems to have rubbed off on him because when he is not in Cardiff, it is usually because he has strapped on a backpack and flown off to another part of the world to go on an adventure.

He has so far clocked two years in Asia and two years in South America, and when he travels, he takes a particular interest in historic sites, jungles, wildlife, native cultures, and mountains. He also spent some time volunteering at the Merazonia Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Ecuador.

Firsthand accounts of Tej’s adventures abroad can be found on his travel blog at https://tejturner.com/

About Avatars of Ruin

A reader described the Avatars of Ruin series as ‘Wheel of Time meets The Walking Dead’.

Bloodsworn by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck
Blood Legacy by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck
Blood War by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

It is an epic fantasy series about a group of survivors forced to band together when their world takes a dark turn. The story starts in Bloodsworn where we meet the villagers of Jalard. Once a year they are visited by representatives from the Academy who choose two of them to be taken away to their institute in the capital. To be Chosen is considered a great honour… of which most of Jalard’s children dream. But this year the Academy representatives make an announcement which is so shocking it causes friction between the villagers, and some of them begin to suspect that all is not what it seems. Just where are they taking the Chosen, and why? Some of them intend to find out, but what they discover will change their lives forever and set them on a long and bloody path to seek vengeance…

The story continues in Blood Legacy and Blood War.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/AvatarsOfRuin

COVER REVEAL: King Street Run by V.R. Ling

We are delighted to reveal the cover of King Street Run, the debut fantasy novel from V.R. Ling. It is a satirical fantasy thriller set among the iconic buildings of contemporary Cambridge.

Thomas Wharton, an archaeology graduate, becomes drawn into the problems of a series of anachronistic characters who exist in the fractions of a second behind our own time. These characters turn out to be personifications of the Cambridge Colleges; they have the amalgamated foibles, history, and temperament of their Fellows and students and, together with Thomas, must enter into a race against time to prevent their world being destroyed by an unknown assailant.

The cover was designed by Alison Buck, based on ideas from the author.

King Street Run by V.R. Ling; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

King Street Run will be published in the Spring.

COVER REVEAL: Blood War by Tej Turner

In conjunction with The Fantasy Hive, we are delighted to reveal the cover of Blood War, book 3 in Tej Turner’s epic series The Avatars of Ruin series.

The Avatars of Ruin series, follows a group of people from the small village of Jalard, as they become embroiled in events way beyond their experience that affect them in ways they could not possibly have ever imagined. Conflict that once seemed so distant comes right to their doorstep. Fabled gods and goddesses are soon very real to them.

In Blood War, Sharma stands on the precipice of destruction as Gavendara’s army of shapeshifters surges towards the Valantian mountains. A mutant invasion leaving terror and death in its wake and whose victims rise again, swelling its ranks. Yet still the Synod dithers, its leaders fractured as they plot and scheme against each other.

Once again the cover is by artist Alison Buck, based on an original idea by Tej Turner, continuing the style and theme of the first two books in the series, Bloodsworn and Blood Legacy:

Bloodsworn by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck
Blood Legacy by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

Blood War by Tej Turner; Cover by Alison Buck
Cover: Alison Buck

Blood War will be published in eBook format on the 8th January 2024 and in paperback on the 2nd February 2024.

Galata by Ben Gribbin published today

Galata by Ben Gribbin is out today in eBook.

Seven days. Seven deaths. Seven brides for seven rivers…

Galata by Ben Gribbin; Cover: Photos by Andrea Piacquadio; Background by Lise-Noor Lemmens
Cover: Photos by Andrea Piacquadio; Background by Lise-Noor Lemmens

It is New Year’s Day. The city of Galata, with its ancient river-streets, is slowly sinking into the sea. But for one week its citizens want to forget this, and celebrate the city’s thousand-year anniversary.

For Joseph, a jaded ex-detective, the day brings a glimmer of hope. Last night he met and kissed Celice, a free-spirited artist. Tonight he is meeting her again. But Celice never turns up.

Then her body is pulled out of the canal.

There are papers on her; charred at the edges, with mysterious writing on them. As Joseph teams up with his former police colleague J.D, they discover this may be just the first in a series of eerily similar crimes that took place on exactly the same week, 100 years ago.

Is history about to repeat itself? And can they stop it happening again?

Many politicians misleadingly use ‘witch hunt’ as a dismissive label when being held accountable for their own lies, corruption and misdeeds.

Whereas, actual witch hunts in the UK are conducted by HM Office of the Witchfinder General, a secretive arm of law-enforcement concerned with enforcing ‘magus laws’, and ‘Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645’.

DARTFORD, KENT – 30 June 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction from talented authors, including many debut authors. One of our more established authors is Simon Kewin. Perhaps best known for science fiction novels, Simon is, nonetheless, an accomplished author of fantasy stories that often include witches. His Witchfinder series of books is predicated on the premise that the role of Witchfinder General in Britain was instigated by parliament, and indeed has survived to the present day in the form of HM Office of the Witchfinder General. The OWG is now a shadowy arm of law-enforcement concerned with enforcing the ‘magus laws’, and trying to ensure that the general public are not aware of the evil forces that are at large. Their mission statement is ‘Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645’. But the main protagonist, Danesh, an officer of the OWG, questions their approach and attitude towards all magic users not just those who are a danger to the public. Indeed, he objects to the Office’s motto ‘Maleficos non patieris vivere’, which while literally translating as ‘You shall not suffer an evildoer to live’ is widely interpreted to mean ‘Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live’, thanks to the misogynistic translation in the King James Bible. The ambiguity of Danesh’s evolving position is a compelling sub-plot in the Witchfinder series of books. The OWG’s treatment of magus law-breakers today is rather more nuanced than in the 15th century, and Simon Kewin’s witty writing style makes the books both thrilling and engaging.

The third novel in the series, Head Full of Dark, is a book close to the author’s heart, revealing, as it does, certain autobiographical details about him – including his own connection to the Office of the Witchfinder General. While names have been changed to protect the innocent, it remains to be seen how the Office will respond to one of their own breaking ranks in this way. He very much hopes that he will be able to produce further (redacted) reports on the battles waged against malign magic use and supernatural incursion – and that he does not, for example, get consigned to Oblivion never to be heard from again…

In reality, of course, the actual role of Witchfinder General was one that Matthew Hopkins invented and assumed for himself in 1645 during the English Civil War, pretending to have been commissioned by Parliament, and using many techniques from King James’ own book Daemonologie to discover witches. Like many entrepreneurs, cult leaders and fascists since, Hopkins made a fortune from the gruesomely lucrative business of ridding communities of an imagined enemy, often used as a cover by power-hungry locals to remove their rivals or exact revenge. Within a couple of years, however, his methods and motivation were called into question by a popular puritan cleric who described them as “abominable, inhumane and unmerciful” and Hopkins was forced to retire in 1647. He wrote a book justifying his own methods and the results of his hunts, A Discovery of Witches, which became a popular legal text especially in the Colonies, and is widely recognised as having had considerable influence on the Salem Witch Trials in Massachusetts some 45 years later. Ironically, the man responsible for the deaths of at least 300 women was reputed, in contemporary legend, to have died in one of his own ducking stool ‘trials’ after he had himself been accused of witchcraft; but more prosaically, in fact, he actually died not long after his retirement, either of tuberculosis… or a curse.

Today narcissistic politicians, especially in English-speaking nations, use ‘witch hunt’ as a conveniently dismissive label when being held accountable for their own lies, corruption and misdeeds. While hoping to leverage the perception that witch hunts were unfair and often conducted for ulterior motives, they fail to recognise that unlike modern judicial reviews and law enforcement activities, historical witch hunts were conducted without evidence and against (usually poor) victims who had neither the resources, nor often the wit, to defend themselves. The two situations could not be more different. Perhaps those politicians are trying to identify themselves with the poor defenceless ‘wise women’ typically portrayed in popular myth as the victims of witch hunts – which, given the largely misogynistic behaviour displayed by those same politicians, would be a cynical irony if it weren’t so contemptible.

Head Full of Dark, the third book in Simon Kewin’s Witchfinder series, is available as an eBook from today and in paperback from 31st July 2023.

Notes for Editors

About Simon Kewin

Simon Kewin is a pseudonym used by an infinite number of monkeys who operate from a secret location deep in the English countryside. Every now and then they produce a manuscript that reads as a complete novel with a beginning, a middle and an end. Sometimes even in that order.

The Simon Kewin persona devised by the monkeys was born on the misty Isle of Man in the middle of the Irish Sea, at around the time The Beatles were twisting and shouting. He moved to the UK as a teenager, where he still resides. He is the author of over a hundred published short stories and poems, as well as a growing number of novels. In addition to fiction, he also writes computer software. The key thing, he finds, is not to get the two mixed up.

He has a first class honours degree in English Literature and an MA in Creative Writing (distinction). He’s married and has two daughters.

About the Witchfinder series

Stories of HM Office of the Witchfinder General: Protecting the public from the unnatural since 1645

The Witchfinder series is a different type of police procedural. For a start, it’s about a department of law enforcement that you’ve never heard of. They investigate crimes that you’re never supposed to hear about, criminals that you really don’t want to know about, using methods that it’s best not to ask about.

Find out more at https://bit.ly/WitchfinderSeries

Book 1: The Eye Collectors

Cover design: Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

When Danesh Shahzan gets called to a crime scene, it’s usually because the police suspect not just foul play but unnatural forces at play.

Danesh is an Acolyte in Her Majesty’s Office of the Witchfinder General, a shadowy arm of the British government fighting supernatural threats to the realm. This time, he’s been called in by Detective Inspector Nikola Zubrasky to investigate a murder in Cardiff. The victim had been placed inside a runic circle and their eyes carefully removed from their head. Danesh soon confirms that magical forces are at work.

Book 2: The Seven Succubi

The Seven Succubi cover image by Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

Of all the denizens of the circles of Hell, perhaps none is more feared among those of a high-minded sensibility than the succubi.

The Assizes of Suffolk in the eighteenth century granted the Office of the Witchfinder General the power to employ ‘demonic powers’ so long as their use is ‘reasonable’ and ‘made only to defeat some yet greater supernatural threat’. No attempt was made in the wording of the assizes to measure or grade such threats, however – making the question of whether it is acceptable to fight fire with fire a troublingly subjective one. Now, in the twenty-first century, Danesh Shahzan, Acolyte in Her Majesty’s Office of the Witchfinder General, had been struggling with that very question…

Book 3: Head Full of Dark

Head Full of Dark by Simon Kewin; Cover design by Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

There is clearly someone in the Office of the Witchfinder General who is working for or with English Wizardry, and Danesh and the Crow are determined to track them down. It might even be one of the Lord High Witchfinders. Who can they trust? Can Danesh even trust the Crow? To ensure the traitor is not alerted, Danesh conducts an off-the-books investigation under cover of an inquiry into a cold case. But not all cold cases stay cold; not all dead witches stay dead; and not all traitors stay hidden… and what is the significance of the goat’s skull?

An Extraordinary Tale out today in eBook

An Extraordinary tale by P.R. Ellis; cover art by Alison Buck
Cover art by Alison Buck

Today sees the publication of An Extraordinary Tale by P.R. Ellis.

A gnome, a mouse and a skeleton meet on a train

No… not the start of a joke but of an adventure that crosses worlds, space and time!

The Fairy Queen’s electrum, the most valuable material in the world, has been stolen. By chance Philbrach Hohenheim, a gnome, finds himself on the trail of the thief. A motley fellowship is formed between the gnome and other creatures. The pursuit crosses lands, times and realities until finally a major puzzle at the borders of the world is solved. On the way, Philbrach encounters giant pigeons, a sentient fungus, a seafaring merman, the Sun’s chariot driver and other helps and hindrances.

Find out more…

“Absorbing fantasy set in a richly imagined world”

The final book in Juliet Kemp’s acclaimed epic series is lauded both by other fantasy authors and fans

DARTFORD, KENT – 24 February 2023 – Elsewhen Press is a publishing house specialising in high quality, entertaining and thoughtful speculative fiction, often addressing current, real-world issues through a fictional prism. Author Juliet Kemp, activist and campaigner, has long been fascinated by politics and how the various elements of society interact, negotiate and compromise. For the Marek series, Juliet has built a fascinating and believable world juxtaposing political in-fighting, social inequity, familial conflicts, territorial and trade disputes, against a backdrop of an innovative magic system. That this world, and Juliet’s writing and story-telling, has proved engaging to readers is amply demonstrated by the award-winning authors who have been expressing their admiration of the books in the series.

Multiple Nebula-award winning author Aliette de Bodard wrote, of The Deep and Shining Dark (book 1 in the series), “A rich and memorable tale of political ambition, family and magic, set in an imagined city that feels as vibrant as the characters inhabiting it.”

Book 2 in the series was Shadow and Storm, about which Lamda Literary Award winner, Rivers Solomon, wrote “Shadow and Storm is an absolute delight to read, the literary equivalent of sinking into the embrace of a dear friend. Warm and cosy but never short on adventure and intrigue, Kemp’s second entry into this series won’t disappoint. The characters are real, full of depth, and richly drawn, and you’ll wish you had even more time with them by book’s end. A fantastic read!”

Author, sociologist and humanitarian aid worker, Malka Older, had this to say about The Rising Flood, the third book in the series, “Fantasy politics with real nuance and believable uncertainty, characters whose richness and depth has developed over three books, and a growing threat that starts pulling together threads across the series make The Rising Flood a fantastic read, while Marek is a textured place that is a joy to return to.”

The final book in the series is The City Revealed. Una McCormack, New York Times bestselling science fiction author, wrote “The City Revealed is an absorbing fantasy set in a richly imagined world. A lovingly drawn and diverse set of characters struggle both personally and politically with the consequences of their own and others’ actions, and strive for cooperation without sacrificing principles. A thoroughly satisfying read.”

Another accomplished fantasy author, Juliet E. McKenna, wrote of The City Revealed, 
“Eminently satisfying epic fantasy where the personal, the political and the magical are multilayered and interlocked.”

About building the world for Marek, Juliet Kemp has said, “In creating Marek, I wanted an independent city-state (I’d been reading about mediaeval Venice and the other Italian city-states, and why they fell); and I wanted it to be in relationship with another country, to generate plot-tension. Marek is a port, because ports are great (I’m biased; I live right by the river in what was once the Pool of London). Specifically, I decided it would be the port for the landlocked country of Teren, upriver; and put swamp between Teren and Marek to make contact harder. That also gave me a founding story, and one that I could tie in to the beginning and foundation of Marek’s very particular form of magic, mediated by the cityangel, who made a deal with the people who founded Marek. But despite being a port, Marek doesn’t carry its own goods; the Oval Sea is monopolised by a sailing nation who do all the carting around of things – a source of tension in the first book, and a window into the wider world that we don’t see directly. Marek is primarily a trading city, so the ruling merchant families of Marek are rich. Being physically cut off, Marek’s become more independent over time, including financially; and Teren wants to claw back some of those riches. That became a major series plot arc. Meanwhile… who within the city has, and doesn’t have, power? The trading families have power, but they rely on the Guilds for much of what Marek trades (added value); and the Guilds are getting stronger and more arsey. And then there’s the lower city… Some of my characters at times make some quite stupid political decisions, given the underlying drivers. I’ve watched real life people make some quite stupid political decisions, in recent years, so, well. Fiction needn’t be more sensible than reality. It’s been a lot of fun to write in the world; maybe I will be back to it some day!”

The City Revealed is now available in eBook format on most platforms and in paperback from Amazon and good booksellers.

Notes for Editors

About The City Revealed

Independence brings self-determination, but also threats from without and within

The City Revealed by Juliet Kemp; Artwork: Tony Allcock
Artwork: Tony Allcock

The city of Marek rests on newly-independent laurels. Their ties to Teren, the land-locked nation for which they served as sole trade link to the world, are cut; Teren’s Lieutenant, Selene, has been expelled, and her seat rests empty in the Marekhill Council chambers.

But Selene, fresh from her political defeat, threatened to return – next time, not with honeyed words or veiled threats, but with armed soldiers and war sorcerers. Last year, the sorcerers of Marek narrowly defeated a single Teren-summoned demon; how might they fare against a dozen or more?

Twisting the already fraying cord of a city under siege, the common people of Marek grow increasingly fervent in their own demands for representation – for a say in how the city is run, and for whom it is run.

Marcia, Fereno-Heir, agrees with the Lower City; they deserve a better say. But much of the Council won’t hear of it – and, of course, there’s Selene’s threat of an army of sorcerers at the city’s magical border. Sorcerers that half the Marekhill Council wouldn’t even accept as real.

She must work with the sorcerer Reb, her lover, to force the Council to recognise the truth of magic, whilst her sorcerer brother, Cato, rushes to build some sort of defence.

Because if Teren’s demons can pass the Cityangel’s wards, it’ll be the end of them all.



ISBN: 9781915304216 (paperback, 344pp) / 9781915304315 (eBook)

Visit bit.ly/TheCityRevealed

The Marek series

Book 1: The Deep and Shining Dark

Book 2: Shadow and Storm

Book 3: The Rising Flood

Book 4: The City Revealed

About Juliet Kemp

Juliet Kemp lives by the river in London, with their partners, child, dog, and too many fountain pens. They have had stories published in several anthologies and online magazines. Their employment history variously includes working as a cycle instructor, sysadmin, life model, researcher, permaculture designer, and journalist. When not writing or parenting, Juliet goes climbing, knits, reads way too much, and drinks a lot of tea.

Long-awaited novel from best-selling Scottish author, continues series that explores changes to society had the science behind magic been understood in the 19th century

After a six-year wait, the latest, much-anticipated, novel in Christopher G. Nuttall’s Royal Sorceress series depicts a society that continues to be ardently patriarchal despite the most powerful magician being female

DARTFORD, KENT – 27 January 2023 – Elsewhen Press, an independent UK publisher specialising in Speculative Fiction, is committed to publishing entertaining books. Their most popular author is Christopher G. Nuttall, frequently one of the best-selling science fiction and fantasy authors on Amazon. As well as being a prolific self-published author, Nuttall has been published by indie publishers. His first professionally published book, The Royal Sorceress, was published by Elsewhen Press in 2012 and was an instant hit. Since then, there have been three more books in the series, the last one published in 2016. The Revolutionary War, the long-awaited next instalment in the story of Lady Gwendolyn Crichton, the eponymous Royal Sorceress, is now finally available.

Christopher G. Nuttall is a master storyteller, with an insatiable interest in history and in studied exploration of what might have been if events had been even just slightly different. That led him to set up one of the first alternative history websites in the early days of the world wide web. He soon had a large following among the community of history and alternative history fans, so when he started writing his own fiction it found immediate success. He has subsequently been writing stories in a number of different series, both science fiction and fantasy, but often with an eye on alternative history and social justice.

Peter Buck, Editorial Director of Elsewhen Press, says, “The Royal Sorceress series continues to be very popular, in ebook, print and audiobook – even now, 10 years after the first book was published. The stories are set in the early 19th century where English researchers had, some years before, discovered the scientific basis of ‘magic’ – enabling Britain to win the American war of independence, and the British Empire to flourish while other nations struggled to develop their own magical talents. As well as allowing Chris to explore the implications of such changes in global events, politically, the premise of the series addresses the disconnect between a society that has advanced both technologically and magically, but is still stuck with old social mores and attitudes. This is made evident in the attitude of politicians and military who are aghast that the most powerful magician in the country is a woman. His peerless skill at combining alternative history, social satire, and fantasy means that the stories appeal not only to fans of historical adventures and alternative history, but also to fans of fantasy and steampunk fiction. Since the success of The Royal Sorceress, Chris has been writing a variety of stories, but there have always been many readers regularly asking for the next instalment in Gwen’s story. At last, this much anticipated tale has arrived, with Gwen going to France for the first time.”

The Revolutionary War, is published by Elsewhen Press in eBook format today and will be available in paperback on the 27th February.

Notes for Editors

About Christopher G. Nuttall

Christopher G. Nuttall has been planning sci-fi books since he learnt to read. Born and raised in Edinburgh, Chris created an alternate history website and eventually graduated to writing full-sized novels. Studying history independently allowed him to develop worlds that hung together and provided a base for storytelling. After graduating from university, Chris started writing full-time. As an indie author he has self-published many novels. This is his latest fantasy to be published by Elsewhen Press, the much-anticipated fifth in the popular Royal Sorceress series. The first was The Royal Sorceress, followed by The Great Game, Necropolis and Sons of Liberty. The Revolutionary War continues Gwen’s story. Chris is currently living in Edinburgh with his wife, muse, and critic, Aisha, and their two sons.

About The Revolutionary War

The Revolutionary War by Christopher G. Nuttall; Cover design by Alison Buck
Cover design by Alison Buck

Something is rotten in the state of France …

After years of inconclusive war, the Franco-Spanish Empire is on the verge of collapse. The military is coming apart, the people are starving, the economy is on the brink … and yet, as long as the crown keeps tight control of its magicians, all hope of revolution and victory remains faint. The secret police are in control, rebel magicians are hunted down and eliminated before they can pose a threat and, worst of all, the government has found a new way to enhance magical power. The situation seems dire. But with a little help, there may be a chance.

Returning from America with Bruce, her fiancé, Gwen is not best pleased to be sent to Paris to train the rebels in magic, to give them a fighting chance against the government before the stresses of war threaten to destroy the British Empire as surely as their French enemies. But with shadowy figures lurking in the background, and an entire country on the brink of chaos, Gwen must face her gravest challenge yet …

… In an environment where her enemies hold all the cards.

 

Book V of the Royal Sorceress series

Cover artwork by Alison Buck

ISBN: 9781915304339 eBook / 9781915304230 paperback 422pp

Visit bit.ly/The-Revolutionary-War

About The Royal Sorceress series

It’s 1830, in an alternate Britain where the ‘scientific’ principles of magic were discovered sixty years previously, allowing the British to win the American War of Independence. Although Britain is now supreme among the Great Powers, the gulf between rich and poor in the Empire has widened and unrest is growing every day. The King’s Royal Sorcerer, is ageing and must find a successor to lead the Royal Sorcerers Corps, one who is Master of all known magical powers. There is only one candidate, one person who has displayed such a talent from an early age, but has been neither trained nor officially acknowledged. A perfect candidate to be Master Thomas’ apprentice in all ways but one: the Royal College of Sorcerers has never admitted a girl before. So start the adventures of Lady Gwendolyn Crichton, soon to be the Royal Sorceress.

The City Revealed, Book 4 of the Marek series by Juliet Kemp, out today in eBook

Today sees the publication of The City Revealed, the fourth and final book in Juliet Kemp’s fantasy Marek series.

The City Revealed by Juliet Kemp; Artwork: Tony Allcock
Artwork: Tony Allcock

The city of Marek rests on newly-independent laurels. Their ties to Teren, the land-locked nation for which they served as sole trade link to the world, are cut; Teren’s Lieutenant, Selene, has been expelled, and her seat rests empty in the Marekhill Council chambers.

But Selene, fresh from her political defeat, threatened to return – next time, not with honeyed words or veiled threats, but with armed soldiers and war sorcerers. Last year, the sorcerers of Marek narrowly defeated a single Teren-summoned demon; how might they fare against a dozen or more?

Twisting the already fraying cord of a city under siege, the common people of Marek grow increasingly fervent in their own demands for representation – for a say in how the city is run, and for whom it is run.

Marcia, Fereno-Heir, agrees with the Lower City; they deserve a better say. But much of the Council won’t hear of it – and, of course, there’s Selene’s threat of an army of sorcerers at the city’s magical border. Sorcerers that half the Marekhill Council wouldn’t even accept as real.

She must work with the sorcerer Reb, her lover, to force the Council to recognise the truth of magic, whilst her sorcerer brother, Cato, rushes to build some sort of defence.

Because if Teren’s demons can pass the Cityangel’s wards, it’ll be the end of them all.





As for the previous titles in the series, the cover artwork is by renowned artist Tony Allcock who has this time produced a beautiful wraparound cover:

The City Revealed by Juliet Kemp; Artwork: Tony Allcock
Artwork: Tony Allcock