David Gemmell was and is a huge influence on my work. More so than Tolkien, which many people cite as being their main foundation, Gemmell showed me many worlds where the main characters were not always perfect people. Long before anyone coined the phrase Grimdark, he was writing about grey people in difficult situations.
The longlist for the three awards are now available and you can vote, online, for free, by visiting this page. You can only vote once on the long list.
Battlemage is on the list for the Morningstar award. This is the award for the best début fantasy novel.
The cover for Battlemage has also been nominated for the Ravenheart award, with artist Steve Stone.
I’m delighted to have been included on this list and the winners will be announced in September at the Fantasycon event in Scarborough. As it happens I am attending this event, so I will be cheering on the others and either celebrating or crying into my beer, depending on the outcome!
So, get voting. The longlist closes on 24th June. The shortlist for all categories then opens on July 8th for the final vote.
Stephen Aryan 