Another year, another art round-up. Though this year, it’s not so much an art round-up as a general round-up. It probably hasn’t gone unnoticed that I’ve created very few artworks this year. Only one in fact.
But I haven’t been sitting doing nothing either. Both personally and professionally I’ve been quite busy.
At the end of 2022 I released the third book in The Strike Agent Chronicles, Without Honour, whilst also continuing to write follow-up novels. At the end of March I revealed the cover artwork for the fourth novel in the series, Operation Red Night, while also releasing the book for pre-order (out 6th May 2024).
In terms of books after Operation Red Night, towards the end of 2022 I had mentioned I was about 1/3 of the way through the first draft for book five. In the intervening year I have since completed work on book five AND book six (last year I was hoping to make a start on #6 by the end of 2023).
Currently, I’ve just finished the planning for book seven and am poised to begin writing the first draft in the new year (once I complete the formatting of book 4 for release). Hopefully in 2024 I will finish book seven and I’m also aiming to complete work on book eight as well, this would then just leave 2 more books to complete the series!
Currently the release dates for my forthcoming novels look like (DD/MM/YY):
Book 4 – Operation Red Night: 06/05/24
Book 5 – The Lost Kingdom: 05/05/25
Book 6 – Black Sea Mutiny: 04/05/26
Book 7 – The Last Alliance: 03/05/27
Book 8: 01/05/28
Book 9: 07/05/29
Book 10: 06/05/30
It’s crazy to see a timetable which completes in 2030! But of course this release schedule is not set in stone and is subject to change. If anything, I might condense the release schedule to 2 novels a year, depending on how quickly I complete the outstanding manuscripts.
As for my plans after The Strike Agent Chronicles, I’m in the beginning stages of planning the next series (The Viator Cycle). It will be a continuation of the characters and universe created in TSAC.
I’m also, optimistically, hoping I’ll be able to find time to write a standalone historical romance novel set in 1930’s New York. I’ve been planning it for a few years and would love to actually get to work on it. But the demands of my current writing work load has prevented me from making much headway in that department. But rest assured it’s always in the back of my mind.
So, in terms of artwork, as I stated earlier, I only created one piece this year, Hell to the Heavens. Though I started the piece at the end of 2022, I didn’t finish it until March 2023. I love the finished artwork, I think it’s quite dynamic and dramatic, although it was the only personal art I created this year, it’s definitely one of my favourites.
Hell to the Heavens, 2023
Last year I had hoped to work on more book covers this year and so far in 2023 I’ve only worked on just one, which is disappointing but not surprising. I’m still in the middle of the project so unfortunately can’t release anything further, but rest assured I’ll let you know all about it the minute I’m able to. I also worked on book covers for my own forthcoming novels and have completed covers up to and including book 7!
That seems to be it for my updates this year. Hopefully I’ll have more information regarding my books as 2024 progresses and perhaps I’ll even make some more artwork too!
Slán!