Category Archives: Medieval Fantasy
7 day steal deal
Another special deal that lasts for a week only. You can snap up a 70% discount on my e-books from the Carentan Series, directly from my publisher’s website Double Dragon Books.
My books focus on action adventure, battles, political intrigue and magic realism. I like to include a sub-plot with a love interest and I don’t write long paragraphs of description, so my books are light reads with lots of action and short chapters. Each book is a stand-alone story in itself, so you don’t necessarily need to have read the previous books to enjoy them and they can be read in any order.
I have always loved fantasy books and some of my earlier influences include classic epic fantasy, such the Lord of the Rings, The Belgariad and the Wheel of Time. Of course, I’m also a big fan of Game of Thrones. I’m also very much influenced by YA fantasy and love to read books by authors like, Tamora Pierce, Sharon Shinn and Megan Whelan Turner.
So, what are you waiting for? Snap up a fantasy adventure e-book for only £1.30 ($1.80) – hurry, offer ends on March 10th! Available only from Double Dragon Books
Black Friday deal
Okay, so it’s really black Saturday now, but stick with me, as my deal is a special one that lasts for a week. You can snap up a heavily discounted e-book from the Carentan Series, directly from my publisher’s website Double Dragon Books.
My books focus on action adventure, battles, political intrigue and magic realism. I like to include a sub-plot with a love interest and I don’t write long paragraphs of description, so my books are light reads with lots of action and short chapters. Each book is a stand-alone story in itself, so you don’t necessarily need to have read the previous books to enjoy them and they can be read in any order.
I have always loved fantasy books and some of my earlier influences include classic epic fantasy, such the Lord of the Rings, The Belgariad and the Wheel of Time. Of course, I’m also a big fan of Game of Thrones. I’m also very much influenced by YA fantasy and love to read books by authors like, Tamora Pierce, Sharon Shinn and Megan Whelan Turner.
So, what are you waiting for? Snap up a fantasy adventure e-book for only £1.30 ($1.80) – hurry, offer ends in 5 days! Available only from Double Dragon Books
Pre-launch discounts!
In advance of the launch of my new novel, The Blue King, I am offering a discount on all 3 of my previous books at $1.80 / £1.33 for ONE WEEK ONLY!
Please use the following links to buy directly from the publisher’s website:
Sign up for a free ebook, updates and future discounts.
New book available for Pre-order NOW
Something is amiss in the Kingdom of Tordre. On her wedding night, Princess Nerys of Carentan discovers a sinister secret hiding in the depths of Castle Ryemont; a king with two faces, who is not the husband she was expecting. One day on a journey back home, Nerys is kidnapped and finds herself in the midst of a revolution to overthrow the monarchy.
Nerys: ‘Gods, did it take an army to capture one stray queen?’
‘An intriguing fantasy where there are more twists than a castle maze. The plight of the teenage queen tugged this way and that by unseen forces within castle walls and a faceless king makes for an exhilarating page-turning read.’ @geoffnelder, author of Sci-Fi novels, The ARIA trilogy, and The Flying Crooked series of novellas.
Grab your pre-order copy today at the launch price of £1.99 / $2.99
Discounted e-book
A coming-of-age story about a downtrodden and rebellious young prince, and his journey towards becoming a king.
Head on over to Fiction4All’s brand new imprint; Dragon Claw, for YA and younger readers, where you’ll find the first e-book in the Carentan Series discounted to $1.80 / £1.31 – for one week only.
Hurry! Offer ends on 25th November.
Books, Work and WIP
Work and life do have a habit of catching up with you and I will admit that after the busy day job, there is nothing more satisfying that settling down with a good read.
My current WIP (work in progress – yes, another Carentan book), has been completed in as far as a first draft has been written and I’m now working on a second draft. Lots of plot holes that need fixing, but I hope to get it out to an editor some time soon.
In the meantime I am getting continually distracted by reading (and work, of course), which I am excited to share with you. I’ve been exploring different types of writing and particularly classics which I have not yet tried. Some of my recent reads, include Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, which is an extraordinary psychological thriller. I’ve also just finished a biography of Angela Carter, whose work The Bloody Chamber has been had huge influence on my writing over the years – particularly my short stories. Deerskin by Robin McKinley (another of my favourite authors), has the timeless quality of a fairytale with the page turning quality that I have come to expect from the author. I’m currently reading Tess of the D’Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy.
The curious thing that I have noticed about classics, is that the authors employ a variety of techniques and styles that in time have become out of vogue and in some cases, a red flag for novice writers. Some (not all) of these works are littered with exclamation marks, for example, and a proliferation of adverbs, rambling narratives and over descriptive paragraphs. The other thing that I have noticed as a reader, is that I am willing to forgive these stylistic foibles (according to modern editorial standards) if the author gives me the one fundamental thing that keeps me reading; a damn good story!
So there you have it. Story eats Style for breakfast. But then I may well just eat my own words for breakfast as I’m off now to edit the living daylights out of my second draft.
Kemal’s quote here is quite apt and can be applied just as neatly to story craft as well as martial arts.
Happy Reading!
Discounted e-books and a new release!
To celebrate a new release of book 3 in the Carentan Series, I am offering a ONE WEEK ONLY discount on books 1&2 – available only on the Double Dragon website here for £1.33 ($1.80).
Book 1 follows the adventures of Geriente Andolin, as he grows from a boy prince into a king-to-be. Book 2 sees two new characters arrive in the Western Isles who develop to aid Gereinte in keeping his beloved Carentan from falling into a bloody battle for control of the Western Isles. Stories of love, loss and coming-of-age reverberate throughout.
If you’ve read the first two books, I’m delighted to announce that book 3 – The Prince and the Assassin – has now been re-released with a new cover designed by my talented nephew, Adam Laval. You may still see previous versions of the book cover at various retail outlets, but I think you’ll agree, this one is a huge improvement!
Finally… a sneaky heads up that there is a book 4 in progress – currently with beta readers and if you want to know more, sign up here for my email updates and I will give you priority notice of publication dates. As a special gift, you will also receive a free fantasy e-book.
What are your favourite epic fantasy shows?
Okay, so I’ll admit up front to being a die-hard GoT fan (I’m not going to talk about the ending to the TV show, as it just makes me cross). What a perfect way to spend a bank holiday weekend, tucked up with a great book or re-watching an epic series like Games of Thrones. Actually, that might take several weekends and a few fights over the TV remote! You know already that I love The Witcher and can’t wait for the next instalment. I was pleasantly surprised by Shadow and Bone, the new Netflix adaptation of Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series – mainly because I’ve tried a few times to read the books but found it difficult to get hooked. However, the style of writing and the world the author has created lends itself perfectly for the screen, so it is definitely one to look out for. If you’re lost for some ideas this weekend, check out this article in Paste Magazine:
https://www.pastemagazine.com/tv/shadow-and-bone/best-fantasy-series-streaming/
Or… you could just go and sit outside in the sunshine with a good book – I’m reading The Thirteenth House, by Sharon Shinn. What are you reading?
Happy May Day!
The Witcher: season 2
Are you a fan of high/medieval fantasy? If you didn’t catch season 1 of The Witcher, now is your chance, as season 2 is on its way. Personally, I am not bothered by the wait – the first season was so beautifully rich and evocative, if they can bring the same production values to season 2, it is worth the wait. No spoilers here in this article, just vague promises and a few tweets on the progress of filming. I’ll take that, though and look forward to seeing the trailers soon… If you don’t have Netflix or prefer reading, The Witcher is adapted from the fantasy novel series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The protagonist, Geralt of Rivia (played by Henry Cavill), is an assassin trained to hunt and kill monsters. War hangs over a world populated by humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves (as well as monsters!), in which Geralt is bound to a prophesy to protect a child who has the power to change the world. Watch the first season or jump into the books – I promise you won’t be disappointed.
FG Laval 