David Gemmell – Stephen Aryan

Good things in 2016

Given that for a lot of people 2016 has been a pretty tough and demoralising year, I thought I’d just post some of the good stuff that happened to me. Bloodmage is Published Way back in April, which feels like a decade ago right now, Bloodmage was published. In some ways it’s a more accomplishedContinue reading “Good things in 2016”

Guardian Masterclass and Fantasycon

Yesterday I was at the sold out Guardian Masterclass on ‘How to find a literary agent’ in London, being run by my agent Juliet Mushens. For a portion of the afternoon she was ably assisted by two of her clients, Elodie Harper and myself. It was a really great event where the engaged audience listenedContinue reading “Guardian Masterclass and Fantasycon”

Gemmell Awards 2016 – final vote

The final vote for the Gemmell awards is now open, anyone can vote from anywhere in the world, but only one vote per person, so please get voting! Battlemage is still in the running for the Morningstar debut book award. There are 6 books in each of the categories, so vote on those too! ClickContinue reading “Gemmell Awards 2016 – final vote”

David Gemmell Awards

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. TheContinue reading “David Gemmell Awards”

A Black Time

I was going to do a post about writing, about juggling different parts of being a writer and having a day job, but then three pretty big things happened in the last few weeks. First, Leonard Nimoy died at the age of 83. I’m sure I don’t have to explain who he was to anyone.Continue reading “A Black Time”

Books That Changed My Life – Part 2

This has slightly morphed into authors that changed my life more than particular books, but it’s still appropriate as I do mention specific titles by each of the authors. Legend by David Gemmell – Gemmell was an enormous influence on me growing up, and together with Eddings and Brooks, he is partially responsible for myContinue reading “Books That Changed My Life – Part 2”