I’m happy to report that Across the Sorrow Sea – Book Five in my Seven Swords novella series – is now available in ebook. Please note that, whilst the Kindle version is available for immediate download, the ebook will only become available for download on the other stores on September 30th (no idea why).
Also, my US publisher is running another Goodreads giveaway for my upcoming post-apocalyptic thriller Red River Seven, this time for a paperback copy. Go here to enter (sorry, US residents only): https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/371581-red-river-seven
To Blackfyre Keep – Volume Four in my ongoing fantasy novella series The Seven Swords – is now available for pre-order from Subterranean Press as a limited edition signed hardcover.
To Blackfyre Keep is slated for release in September this year. Pre-order from the Subterranean Press website.
Many thanks to everyone at Subterranean for making this happen, and, as always, to Didier Graffet for the wonderful cover illustration. You can view more of his workhere.
The ebook edition will appear on the day of the hardcover release. There will also be an audiobook edition but the release date is not yet confirmed. Details to follow when I have them.
Book description:
GUYIME—DEMON CURSED WIELDER OF THE NAMELESS BLADE—FOLLOWS THE TRAIL OF THE FABLED SEVEN SWORDS INTO THE TROUBLED NORTHLANDS, A REALM WHERE HE WAS ONCE CALLED KING…AND RAVAGER.
Magically guided to enlist in the retinue of a lovesick knight, Guyime and his companions journey to the haunted ruin of Blackfyre Keep, a castle legend tells cannot be held. But a far deadlier threat than mere ghosts awaits. An ancient evil has been conjured and to defeat it Guyime may be forced to become the monster he used to be—the Ravager reborn.
Continuing the epic adventure of The Seven Swords, To Blackfyre Keep is an enthralling tale of creeping menace and pulse pounding action from New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow and Draconis Memoria trilogies.
Newcomers to this series should start with Volume One, A Pilgrimage of Swords – details on the book page.
I’m pleased to announce that Subterranean Press is now taking pre-orders for my novella City of Songs – Book Three of The Seven Swords.
About the Book:
ATHERIA – THE FABLED CITY OF SONGS, THE SHINING JEWEL OF THE THIRD SEA WHERE THE MASKED EXULTIA CASTE HOLD SWAY AND VIE TO OUTDO EACH OTHER IN THEIR PATRONAGE OF THE ARTS, SOMETIMES WITH DEADLY CONSEQUENCES…
Guyime, wandering, dethroned King of the Northlands, is drawn to the Atheria by his quest for the Seven Swords, the demon cursed blades of legend. But to claim the next sword he must first solve a seemingly impossible murder—a puzzle that, once untangled, will unveil secrets so dark they could bring the City of Songs to utter ruin.
Continuing the epic tale of The Seven Swords, City of Songs is an action-packed, darkly magical mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow and Draconis Memoria trilogies.
Thanks to my editors, Yanni Kuznia and Bill Schafer, and everyone else at Subterranean for making this happen. Also, many thanks to Didier Graffet for yet another spectacular cover. Check out more of his work here.
I’ll be running a mailing list giveaway for signed hardcovers closer to the release date so watch out for that.
I’m pleased to report that the signed, limited edition hardcover of Songs of the Dark, the collection of my Raven’s Shadow short fiction, is now in stock and shipping from Subterranean Press. The collection includes a new introduction, author notes on each of the stories and black-and-white interior illustrations by yours truly.
It’s a strange feeling when a whisper becomes a shout.”
Songs of the Dark collects all four novellas from the world of Anthony Ryan’s internationally best-selling Raven’s Shadow trilogy.
Centuries before the rise of the Unified Realm, the final battle looms between the city-state of Kethia and the Volarian Empire. As told by Imperial Chronicler Lord Verniers, this terrible event is shrouded in many secrets and, some say, wrought by servants of the Dark.
When word reaches the north of a fresh outbreak of the dreaded Red Hand, Brother Sollis, the finest swordsman in the Sixth Order, leads a small band to a long-abandoned castle in search of a potential cure but discovers a far greater threat lurking in the mountains.
A quest for bloody vengeance forces Derla, a skilled and deadly veteran of the Varinshold underworld, into the service of the arch schemer King Janus.
Veteran Realm Guard Jerhid, newly appointed Lord Collector of the King’s Excise, finds himself battling ruthless smuggler gangs and worse on the wild southern shore of the Unified Realm.
Four compelling tales of mystery, magic, intrigue, and battle presented in one volume for the first time—featuring all-new introductions and black-and-white interior illustrations by the author.
Limited: 400 signed numbered hardcover copies: $125
Lettered: 26 signed specially bound copies, housed in a custom traycase: $600
In other news, I’m excited to let you know that work on the Draconis Memoria RPG continues a pace and I’m now able to share a sneak peak of pages from the rule book.
The game will be produced by Hirukoa based on Dungeon & Dragons 5th Edition and funded via Kickstarter. More details to come when I have them.
Songs of the Dark – Short Fiction from the World of Raven’s Shadow will be released in special edition hardcover by Subterranean Press in December. I thought I’d let you have a preview of my interior illustrations for A Duel of Evils, the first story in the collection. I’ll be revealing the other illustrations prior to release so check back for updates.
In other news, I was intending to wait until mid-December to run the giveaway for signed hardcovers of The Kraken’s Tooth, the second volume in my Seven Swords novella series. However, given the current state of postal services around the world I though it best to run it now to give winners a chance of receiving their prize before Christmas (for those that celebrate it – other mid-winter festivals are available).
I have five signed hardcover copies of The Kraken’s Tooth to give away to members of my mailing list. Existing members are automatically entered. If you’re not a member and would like a chance to win one please join the mailing listbefore midnight GMT on 22nd November. Winners will be chosen at random and notified on 23rd November (remember to check your spam folders to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize).
I’m told that Subterranean still has some copies of The Kraken’s Tooth hardcover available for purchase. Please note that these can only be bought direct from the Subterranean Press website.
I’m delighted to announce that Subterranean Press is now taking pre-orders for ‘Songs of the Dark – Short Fiction from the World of Raven’s Shadow’. This is a special limited edition signed hardcover collecting all the Raven’s Shadow novellas including a new introduction and black-and-white interior illustrations by yours truly (previews to come). The wraparound dust jacket illustration is by long-time collaborator Kevin Zamir Goeke.
Subterranean will start shipping in December so please get your order in early if you’d like to secure a copy. There is a limit of one copy per person/household. Order from the Subterranean Press website.
About the Book:
“Heard whispers of the Dark all my life. It’s a strange feeling when a whisper becomes a shout.”
Songs of the Dark collects all four novellas from the world of Anthony Ryan’s internationally best-selling Raven’s Shadow trilogy.
A Duel of Evils – Centuries before the rise of the Unified Realm, the final battle looms between the city-state of Kethia and the Volarian Empire. As told by Imperial Chronicler Lord Verniers, this terrible event is shrouded in many secrets and, some say, wrought by servants of the Dark.
Many Are the Dead – When word reaches the north of a fresh outbreak of the dreaded Red Hand, Brother Sollis, the finest swordsman in the Sixth Order, leads a small band to a long-abandoned castle in search of a potential cure but discovers a far greater threat lurking in the mountains.
The Lady of Crows – A quest for bloody vengeance forces Derla, a skilled and deadly veteran of the Varinshold underworld, into the service of the arch schemer King Janus.
The Lord Collector – Veteran Realm Guard Jerhid, newly appointed Lord Collector of the King’s Excise, finds himself battling ruthless smuggler gangs and worse on the wild southern shore of the Unified Realm.
Four compelling tales of mystery, magic, intrigue, and battle presented in one volume for the first time—featuring all-new introductions and black-and-white interior illustrations by the author.
Limited: 400 signed numbered hardcover copies: $125
Lettered: 26 signed specially bound copies, housed in a custom traycase: $600
Thanks to those nice people at Subterranean Press I have three signed Advance Review Copies of my novella The Kraken’s Tooth – Book Two of the Seven Swords, to give away to mailing list subscribers. If you’re not already a subscriber please sign up here by midnight GMT on July 12th to have a chance of winning. Winners will be chosen and notified on July 13th.
Any book reviewers/bloggers/book-tubers who would like a copy please get in touch via the contact page and I’ll ask Subterranean to send you one. The book is also available to reviewers via Netgalley.
The Kraken’s Tooth will be released in special limited edition hardcover and ebook on September 30th. Further details, excerpt and pre-order on the Subterranean Press website: https://subterraneanpress.com/krakens-tooth
Also, a reminder that anyone who pre-orders will be entered into a draw to win this signed original illustration that appears at the front of the hardcover. I’m told the hardcover may well sell out prior to release so act now if you don’t want to miss out.
About this time I was hoping to run a giveaway for signed UK and US edition hardcovers of The Black Song. Sadly, due to ongoing COVID chaos, I’m not sure when my author copies will turn up. As I don’t want to promise books to readers without a reasonable expectation of when their prize will arrive, I’ll be holding off on this giveaway until I have my author copies. It’s possible this may happen after the book is released, so watch this space for updates.
Please note – the release date for The Black Song has been changed from July 28th to July 30th for the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – August 4th in the US & Canada. Pre-order details for all formats are on the book page.
Win a signed paperback of Slab City Blues: The Collected Stories.
I’m happy to announce I’ve teamed up with sci-fi authors Glynn Stewart, Christopher Ruz, Daniel Willcocks, and Matt Ward to do a SF/F raffle giveaway for FREE signed paperback copies of The Ragged Blade, Starship’s Mage, Slab City Blues: The Collected Stories, Dawn of Chaos, Cynetic Wolf, and Death Donor.
Very excited to be working with some of the heavy-hitting indies in the space to offer up some late-night, award-winning distraction in these challenging times.
The contest will be running from June 1st-10th. No purchase necessary.
NOTE: By entering the sweepstakes, you are expressly giving each participating author permission to add you to their email newsletter. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.
Just hop over to mattwardwrites.com/raffle and enter your email to register. Then, on June 11th, one lucky winner will be chosen to receive free signed copies of each of the books. And to keep things interesting, five runner-ups will also be selected to get free electronic copies because everyone loves free books, right?
Interested? Again, just hop on over to mattwardwrites.com/raffle before June 10th and enter your email to register.
In other news, I’m delighted to report that my upcoming novella The Kraken’s Tooth has received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly – ‘Ryan masterfully combines vivid characterization and understated worldbuilding in the stellar second fantasy novella in his Seven Swords series.’
The Kraken’s Tooth will be released in September 2020 by Subterranean Press in special limited edition signed hardcover and ebook. Pre-order here: https://subterraneanpress.com/krakens-tooth
The 26 signed and lettered copies have now sold out. However, you can still pre-order one of the 1000 signed limited editions. These might sell out too so order soon to make sure you snag one. Pre-orders for the ebook will appear closer to the release date.
Those fine people at Subterranean Press are running a giveaway for the original frontis illustration for the hardcover edition of my novella The Kraken’s Tooth – Book Two of The Seven Swords which began with A Pilgrimage of Swords.
The giveaway is open to anyone who pre-orders the hardcover from the Subterranean Press website. The winner will receive the original illustration hand-drawn by yours truly, signed and dated. It looks like the signed and lettered special traycase hardcover has sold out but the signed and numbered edition is still available. Don’t worry if you’ve already pre-ordered as you’ll automatically be included in the draw. The Kraken’s Tooth will be released in September 2020
I hope you’re all staying safe and well in these trying times. For everyone patiently waiting for The Black Song advance reader copy giveaway, I hope to run it sometime in May. It will be exclusive to my mailing list subscribers so be sure to sign up to make sure you don’t miss out.
My all-new novella, A Pilgrimage of Swords, is released today by Subterranean Press. Most of the special edition hardcovers have already sold out but I’m told there are a few left if anyone wants to head over to the Subterranean Press site to snag one.
It is two hundred years since the deity known as the Absolved went mad and destroyed the Kingdom of Alnachim, transforming it into the Execration, a blasted wasteland filled with nameless terrors. For decades, desperate souls have made pilgrimage to the centre of this cursed land to seek the Mad God’s favour, their fate always unknown.
Now a veteran warrior known only as Pilgrim, armed with a fabled blade inhabited by the soul of a taunting demon, must join with six others to make the last journey to the heart of the Execration. Allied with a youthful priest, a beast-charmer, a duplicitous scholar, an effete actor and two exiled lovers, Pilgrim must survive madness, malevolent spirits, unnatural monsters and the ever-present risk of treachery, all so that the Mad God might hear his prayer and, perhaps, grant redemption. But can sins such as his ever be forgiven?
Set in a world where demons and gods walk the earth, A Pilgrimage of Swords is a dark and exciting fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow and Draconis Memoria trilogies.
‘Fans of quick, descriptive tales built around shadowy figures with murky motives will enjoy this quest-based story and come away craving more.’ – Starred review in Publishers Weekly.
‘This grim succinct tale should find an eager audience amongst fans of sword-and-sorcery fare.’ – Library Journal.
‘A Pilgrimage of Swords is an engrossing adventure for anyone who likes a story with a great atmosphere and imagination. It is short, sweet, and will leave you wanting a lot more.’ – The Quill to Live.
‘A Pilgrimage of Swords may be a short, quick read, but for what it lacks in pages and words, it makes up for in fantastic storytelling.’ – FanFiAddict.
Thanks to my editor Yanni Kuznia and everyone at Subterranean for the efforts in bringing this to fruition. Thanks also to the always excellent Didier Graffet for his spectacular cover illustration. You can view more of Didier’s work here: https://www.alanlynchartists.com/didier-graffet
The winners of the signed hardcover mailing list giveaway have now been chosen and notified. Check your spam folders to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize. Join the mailing list so you don’t miss out on future giveaways.
A Pilgrimage of Swords is the first in a series of novellas The Seven Swords. The second volume, The Kraken’s Tooth, will be published by Subterranean Press next year.
