I’m a little late with my roundup this month, but I’ve been a busy bee! In case you missed the news, I have formally announced the sequel to Sand Dancer, and I can finally reveal the name!
Book two is called Fire Walker and will be coming out in February 2021! Yeah I know what you’re thinking, that’s a long way away. Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic this year, my publisher felt it would be best to delay the book rather than rush it out this Autumn to compete with everyone else. This delay does mean I’ll get to spend more time polishing Fire Walker ready for release, and you bet they’ll be Advance Reader Copies available this year if you’re desperate to know where Mina’s story goes next.
What I’m Writing
As mentioned, I’ve spent most of June going through my first edit run of Fire Walker with Uproar Books. They’ll be a few additional edit passes before the book is officially finished, but I can confirm they’ll be more sword dancing, fire magic, sand wraiths (new exciting types of wraiths!) and Fez being cute. I can’t wait to talk more about this book in the coming weeks because it introduces some of my new favourite characters, and also delves into the lives of the Fire Walkers – as you may have guessed from the title.
Keep an eye out for the Fire Walker cover reveal coming soon! It features Mina looking pretty angry, but that’s standard for her, right?
Whilst waiting for more edits and feedback, I’ve also started work on the THIRD book in the Sand Dancer series. Yep, there’s gonna be another one! Maybe I’ll get to talk about that this year, too…
What I’m Reading
I’ve been on a series Leigh Bardugo binge this month in between edits. I devoured the Shadow and Bone trilogy a while back, and now I’ve finally got around to reading the Six of Crows duology.
Yes, I did read both books within days, yes, Matthias was my favourite character, and yes, these books are freaking amazing! Although I am questioning whether the characters are really young adult protagonists…
I’m currently reading through Crooked Kingdom for Nina’s story if nothing else. But I’ve bought some great YA fantasy from black authors for my TBR pile and will be starting A Song of Wraiths and Ruin soon.
What I’m Playing
I’m getting excited for the PC release of Death Stranding because I absolutely loved playing through it on the PlayStation 4. Until then, I’ve reinstalled Skyrim and have been indulging in my old obsession for installing mods. Skyrim is a game I’ve been playing since the original release in 2011, and coming back to Tamriel feels like coming home.
Steam are holding their annual summer sale right now, and I’ve picked up a few bargains. I’ve recently completed Journey, which is a hauntingly beautiful experience, and also played through A Way Out, which is a co-op jail-breaking sim that has some great ideas on how to present co-op gameplay. Worth a go if you like co-op games!
So that’s been my month. With more Fire Walker edits, and another book to draft, I’m expecting a busy July.
See you next then!