Join me on Monday 11th March, 8pm GMT for a livestream with updates on…
The edit of THE END OF DRAGONS (the sequel to THE END OF MAGIC)
The latest draft of THE CORN BRIDE (the 5th book in The Witches of Woodville series)
And a COVER REVEAL of the stunning new artwork for THE END OF MAGIC by renowned artist Alejandro Colucci (you really don’t want to miss this!).
I’ll also be joined by the splendid bestselling author Caimh McDonnell. We’ll be discussing the editing process and why it doesn’t always have to be traumatic.
Facebook folk: Apologies for the issues with Facebook stream last time around. Mr Zuckerberg’s gremlins don’t make livestreaming as simple as it could be and there’s a good chance it could all go horribly wrong again. If it does, there will be a link to Youtube in the description and comments on the Facebook page.
Here’s a quick update on The End of Dragons in this month’s livestream catch up. I also have a couple of special guests: my beta readers Ian W Sainsbury and Julian Barr…
Join me on THURSDAY 1ST FEBRUARY, 8PM GMT for an update on the progress of my next book The End of Dragons with two people who have actually read it! The very splendid Ian W Sainsbury and Julian Barr are not only amazing authors, but they are also beta readers for The End of Dragons and they will be joining me in a spoiler-free chat about what they thought of the book.
There will also be updates on…
The launch team for The End of Dragons
The recording of the audiobook
The cover art
And the latest on The Corn Bride, the fifth Witches of Woodville novel
It’s all go! So do please join us for a chance to quiz me and Ian and Julian about the new book, their books, the meaning of life and anything else that might be rattling around your noggin!
Here’s tonight’s livestream with an update on the sequel to The End of Magic, THE END OF DRAGONS…
This is the first of a series of live monthly updates in the run-up to the publication of THE END OF DRAGONS in May 2024.
Yes, you heard that right: I’ve written a sequel to THE END OF MAGIC, something I said I’d never do. Stay tuned to discover how you can be one of the first to read THE END OF DRAGONS before anyone else and for free!
Here’s the publication timeline (when the sound cut out on the vid, I was basically reading this out loud, so you didn’t miss anything):
And this is where you lovely people come in.
I’m building a launch team for THE END OF DRAGONS.
Members of that team will receive an advanced reading copy of the novel in the hope of an honest review.
A few basic terms and conditions…
I can only offer digital copies: eBook, Kindle, PDF. I can’t do print copies. Sorry, I know many of you would prefer print, but it’s too costly.
Also, this will be the version that goes to Julian for proofreading, so you’ll see all the typos and other errors that he’ll see (that’s why we call them proof copies in the UK).
Why? Because if I’m going to email you this stuff, then I want to ensure that your private email address is safe and the best way to do that is via the newsletter. It’s all GDPR approved and you can unsubscribe at any time.
And the Woodville Village newsletter is lots of fun: it’s where you can download all sorts of free short stories too, and it’s run by the Woodville Village Library’s head librarian Araminta Cranberry who is totally a real person who loves the Witches of Woodville books, but disapproves of all the swearing and violence in my other works.
Oh, and if you’ve not yet read THE END OF MAGIC, or you fancy a digital re-read then you can get a special reviewer’s copy of that too.
I’m going to send an email tonight at 9pm UK time with all the details, so sign up now!
And just to reassure readers of THE WITCHES OF WOODVILLE that I’m hard at work on a draft of THE CORN BRIDE, which is scheduled to come out in Spring 2025.
NEXT MONTH…
Next month I’ll be updating stuff like pre-order links, new cover art for the End of Magic and End of Dragons, and audiobook versions of both books and maybe even a special guest. Exciting stuff! Until then, happy reading!
In the first of a series of monthly live catch-ups I’ll be outlining what lies ahead in 2024, the year of the dragon! Yes, there’s going to be a sequel to The End of Magic called The End of Dragons, and this will be where you can find out how you can read it before anyone else. I’ll also give updates on the next Witches of Woodville book and more. And because it’s a live stream you can ask me questions, too… (And yes, I’m aware that the artwork for this event makes it look like my head is growing out of the horizon… I think it’s a fetching new look). See you soon!
Something unexpected happened a couple of weeks ago. I got the rights back to The End of Magic from my publisher. This happened a year earlier than I thought it would and it caught me on the hop, but it means three things:
So why couldn’t I write a sequel previously? Well, when you sign a deal with a publisher they have first refusal on any sequel/series ideas that you have. And as much as I like the good people at Unbound, I didn’t much fancy going down the crowdfunding route again. I had planned to wait until their licence expired next February, but they’re having a bit of a purge of their digital list, and they’ve been reverting the rights back to authors left, right and centre and so when they reverted the rights a couple of weeks ago it was something of a pleasant surprise.
I’ve spent the time since re-reading The End of Magic and I’d quite forgotten how much I loved writing those characters and playing in that world. So I’ve started making notes for a sequel, currently titled (drumroll)…
THE END OF DRAGONS
This will continue the story of Sander Bree, Rosheen Katell and her moon child brother Oskar and anyone else who managed to survive the events the End of Magic intact. Oh, and there will be dragons. Big ones.
Don’t get too excited just yet. It could take a year before it’s ready for publication, but it is happening (and there might even be a third to make it a trilogy, too), and I’m very excited to be writing it.
Mark Stay Writes 