Greetings, fellow humans. I’m Caroline and I write fantasy and horror—my debut epic fantasy novel, The Obsidian Druid was released in April 2024. This is my newsletter.
Weird Summer
How’s your summer going? Mine’s been weird so far. The weather in the UK can’t seem to decide if it’s summer or autumn. I spent one night this week having drinks in my garden with my parents (that sounds so sophisticated, but it really wasn’t—we sat beneath a plastic Tiki parasol surrounded by the feathery remains of a bird my cat had picked a fight with) because it was too warm to stay inside. Then, today was my girls’ sports day, and the kids all kept their jumpers on while the parents shivered on the sidelines. Weird, right? Sports day is also the reason why the newsletter is shorter this week. I’ve had less time to write about my writing and publishing progress, but I did get to see one of my daughters come second in the sack race, so it’s not all bad.
Future Plans
A couple of weeks ago, I experimented with setting The Obsidian Druid to free on Amazon for five days. I’ve had some interesting, if mixed, results, so if you’re curious about the marketing side of publishing (just keep in mind I’m almost the exact opposite of an expert), I’ll be writing about that next week.
Micro-SPFNO - Week Four
Shining a light on some excellent indie fantasy novels that weren’t chosen to compete in the Self-Published Fantasy Blog-Off by reviewing their first chapters.
The Thirteenth Prince by Joel Glover
The Thirteenth Prince is a low fantasy with romantic elements, written in the first person (which is a first for the SwampWitch Micro-SPFNO!) Here’s the blurb:
In the Eternal Empire the Department of War has a plan. A plan for plunder. A plan for conquest.
In the League of Cities they say the Prince will return when he’s needed. That there will always be a Prince, when he’s needed. And every man, woman and child thinks it could be them.
For two lowly functionaries, stopping a doomed invasion might seem like a steep hill to climb. But when all you have is your wits and a broken heart, you really don’t have much to lose.
The novel’s first chapter is short, but packed with information. It’s set in an Imperial Office—just one of many that keep the Eternal Empire ticking over—which is a clever way to introduce you to a complicated world because the worldbuilding is couched in the type of office speak that any nine-to-fiver will instantly recognise.
Although this novel is written from the point of view of Gene, the first character we are introduced to is Kostya, his fast-talking, curse-spitting boss. He reminded me of Butcher from The Boys. I liked him immediately, although if you’ve seen The Boys, you’ll understand why I was almost disappointed there weren’t a couple of well-timed “diabolicals” dropped in between the numerous “wankers”. Gene describes this as Kostya’s “own particular approach to polite speech”.
Kostya’s dialogue contrasts starkly with the interior dialogue of the narrator, who comes across as thoughtful and quietly astute. He has what he calls an “unsavoury” appetite for reading and claims to remember everything. You’re left with the distinct impression that Gene is surely too intelligent to be sequestered away in an antechamber with a desk “barely fit for firewood”, beneath a man who derides him for daring to do his own thinking. The fact that Gene is working there because of “a minor setback” is an intriguing breadcrumb that makes you wonder what exactly he did to end up in such a place. The temptation to keep reading so that you’ll find out is cunningly laid.
Favourite line: “It tasted like falling out of an apple tree onto a beehive.” Sounds like a bad local cider I once drank.
The Thirteenth Prince is available in paperback, ebook, and on Kindle Unlimited.
Midnight Metropolis is a sci-fi/fantasy novel about daemons, hallucinogenic mushrooms, and the neon megacity sprawled on the blackened backside of a sunless planet. New chapters are posted every Friday and you can read all available chapters for free.
That’s it for now.
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