Category Archives: Born of Hatred
UK Sale
Hello one and all. I hope your 2019 is starting off well.
For those of you in the UK, who haven’t yet read my books, or maybe read the Avalon Chronicles, but not read the Hellequin Chronicles, today’s post is for you.
For a limited time, Crimes Against Magic, Born of Hatred, and With Silent Screams are only £1 each on the Amazon UK Store. In fact, here’s a link
Some reviews of the books:
“Seriously, give these books a go, you won’t regret it.”
“Magic and mayhem, a real page turner.”
“I’m looking forward to the next one and can’t recommend it highly enough.”
“what an absolute revelation!!!”
If you decide to pick them up, I hope you enjoy your time in Nate’s world.
Hellequin Chronicles Sale
There’s currently a sale on Amazon.co.uk, where you can get all 3 Hellequin Chronicles books for only £1 each. Click the book covers to go to the books.
So, if you’re yet to take a read, now’s your chance.
Review from Liz Loves Books:
If you like Urban Fantasy you will love this. If you love Thrillers and Mystery but have not yet dipped your toe into the world of UF, then this is for you – you will get the best of all worlds. I don’t think I have ever been so pleased to see the great words “Book 1” in the title! “Born of Hatred” Book 2 is now sitting on my Kindle and I will be heading back to see what Nate is up too very very soon. You should come too…
Review from Bitten by Books:
“Nate is going on my list of favorite urban fantasy characters after reading Born of Hatred. I appreciate his absolute ruthlessness against evil, and his sense of integrity. While some might consider him an antihero, I definitely feel he is a good guy, even if he wears tarnished armor at times.
I definitely recommend the Hellequin series to readers who enjoy urban fantasy. They will find a lot to appreciate in these books, especially if they do not mind some gritty and violent content that is integral to the storyline.”
Review by Liz Loves Books:
“This is definitely a set of books that has grown in stature since its humble beginnings as Nate and the mythology surrounding him has grown, developed and taken on a life of its own. So, all in all a terrific 3rd book in a series that is now absolutely one of my favourites in the Urban Fantasy stakes alongside Felix Castor and Alex Verus. Possibly not for the faint hearted but if you like your Urban fantasy absolutely Urban and fantastical these will probably bring great satisfaction.“
2 Years Published
April 30th this year marked 2 years since I decided to try self-publishing and released Crimes Against Magic on an unsuspecting world. A lot has happened in 2 years. So, I thought I’d go through some of the highlights in, sort of, chronological order.
Selling a copy.
On the opening day of release in 2012, I sold 28 copies of Crimes Against Magic and was, frankly, astonished. I wasn’t really to know how things would change over the next year, but it was a hell of a start.
Getting e-mails from people.
This never gets old. Not once. I always love to hear from people who have enjoyed my work. I’d be crazy not to.
Breaking the top 10 in my genre
A great moment for me. I think the first time it happened, in July 2012, I got to #8 in urban fantasy in the US.
Publishing my second book
Born of Hatred was also self-published in Dec 2012.
Getting to the top 10 in my genre the UK.
Jan 2013, I had both books in the top 10 Urban Fantasy in the UK. It’s always nice to do well anywhere, but it was pretty special to get it that high up in my own country.
The offer.
Feb 2013 I got a call from my now publisher, 47North who offered me the chance to work with them. I said yes. Turns out that was a pretty good call on my part.
The re-release
September 2013, both Born of Hatred and Crimes Against Magic are re-released by 47North with edited content and new covers.
Top 100 part 1
Oct 2013 was the first time I broke the top 100 in the US and Canada.
Dec 2013
I release my first novella, Infamous Reign. I’m quite proud of that little story, even if it did take me longer to write than Born of Hatred.
Top 100 part 2
By Feb 2014, Crimes Against Magic was in the kindle top 100 in US, Canada, UK, Germany and Australia. Born of Hatred was in UK, US and Canada.
With Silent Screams
Feb 14th was the release of Book 3, With Silent Screams. It went in the top 100 in several countries, as well as hitting the number 1 spot in 7 genres, and appears to have gone down well.
Waterstones
Getting a phone call from Waterstones to be asked if they can stock my books because people are asking for them was a massive moment for me.
Agent
April 2014, I got myself an agent in the form of Paul Lucas from Janklow and Nesbit.
Future
It’s been a crazy 2 years, and I’ve met some awesome people, specifically my 47North brethren who have both incredibly fun to get to know and more help than I could possibly hope for. If there’s a closer group of writers working for any other publisher, I’d be astonished.
I’m writing Book 4, Prison of Hope, and should have a release date for you about both that and book 5 soon enough. I’ve got other things I want to write too, so I’m hoping to start the first book in a new series at the end of the year. Other than that, I have no idea what the future holds, but so long as I continue to enjoy writing and people enjoy reading my ramblings, I’ll be pretty happy.
The Hellequin Chronicles seems to have struck a chord with readers. People tell me they enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them, and I can’t ask for anymore than that.
Discussion
Just to let everyone know, I’ve created a discussion group on Facebook for people to talk about the Hellequin Chronicles books old and future.
If you want to take part, then click the cover below. I look forward to seeing some of you there.
Hellequin Sale
Last month is was America’s turn and now it’s over to the United Kingdom, who get a chance to pick up the first two Hellequin novels for only 99p each.
This sale only lasts for the month of February, so get them while you can.
Click the covers to go directly to the books.
Hellequin Chronicles Books 1 and 2 for $0.99 Each
I don’t usually use my blog to post deals and things for my books, but I figured this one might interest a few people.
Both Crimes Against magic and Born of Hatred are featured in Amazon’s Bounceback Deal.
Basically if you buy any Science Fiction or Fantasy book before 31st Jan, you can get both of my books for $0.99 each. For more details, here’s a link.
Personally, I think that’s a pretty fine deal, although I’ll freely admit to being slightly biased about that.
So there you go, a little bit of news for those of you who may not have read the books before but are interested in doing so.
Blog Stop Post 1
Yeah, I know, you don’t hear anything from me in a few weeks and then you get posts every day. I promise i’ll be more timely in a few weeks.
But at the moment, I just wanted to take a second to post some more links for people to go to. I’ve done a few fun interviews and guest posts and figured a few people might be interested in reading my ramblings.
First up: Books, Books and More Books have a guest post of mine where I discuss character. They also have a giveaway where people can win a copy of each book.
The incredibly patient (because I forgot to send her what I said I was going to) Lesley Smith has a look at Crimes Against Magic and Born of Hatred.
The very talented Melissa Olson interviews me about writing and my books.
The equally talented Richard Ellis Preston Jr has an interview with me too.
That’s it for today. I’ll be doing a few of these and if you get time you really should go have a read as they were fun to do. Remember if you re-tweet or share my twitter and FB status’ about my books, your name goes in a hat to win the chance to name your own character in book 4! Only 1 week left.
Before I go, thanks to everyone for making yesterday’s launch day, an awesome day all round.
Release Day
So today is the day that the 47North editions of Crimes Against Magic and Born of Hatred are finally released. This is hopefully the start of a whole new episode of great things to happen. However, I have been asked a few questions about the editions and figured I’d answer them all here.
Is there anything different from the old versions?
Short answer, yes. Long answer: Crimes Against Magic has some considerable changes to parts of the book, it reads better for it too. Born of Hatred has a lot less changes, but still a few. Think of them this way, these are my directors cut versions. Basically these are better than the versions that were out. It’s up to you whether you’re happy with what you’ve read, or you want the updated version.
If I already own them, do I need to re-buy them.
Yes. They’re new editions, so in essence a new version of the book.
When will book 4 be out?
No idea. Ask me again in 6 months and you’ll probably have a different answer. But considering I’ve not started writing it yet beyond notes and the opening few chapters, probably a little while.
Also, here’s a few places you should go visit as I start my trip around the web.
Roberta Oliver Trahan is hosting a spotlight on my two books.
Liz Wilkins, not only had an interview with me, but also a review of Born of Hatred.
Alex Bledsoe has a guest post by me about how I chose the flashback times I used in both books.
That’s it for now. I’ll be posting all of the upcoming blog tour stuff I’ve got going, if you have time go check them out.
Born of Hatred – New Cover
That’s right, I’m back already. 2 posts in 1 day. This time, I’m pleased to be able to present to you all the new cover for Born of Hatred, which is being re-released by 47North on 17th September 2013.
Book 2 in the Hellequin Chronicles.
There are some things even a centuries-old sorcerer hesitates to challenge…
When Nathan Garret’s friend seeks his help investigating a bloody serial killer, the pattern of horrific crimes leads to a creature of pure malevolence, born of hatred and dark magic. Even with all his powers, Nate fears he may be overmatched. But when evil targets those he cares about and he is confronted by dire threats both old and new, Nate must reveal a secret from his recently remembered past to remind his enemies why they should fear him once more.
Born of Hatred, set in modern London with historical flashbacks to America’s Old West, continues the dark urban fantasy of Crimes Against Magic, the acclaimed first book in the gritty and action-packed Hellequin Chronicles.
The book has edits and changes to the original story that was published December 2012, and is available to pre-order:
Kindle edition:
Paperback Edition:
Book Update 3.2
It’s time for another book update.
With Silent Screams, is now on approximately 109,000 words, so I have about 10k left to do. And then the editing process begins. Yay, edits. So, it’s coming along quite nicely at the moment. In fact the person who’s read it said it was the best thing I’ve ever written, so I’m pretty excited about it.
It also means I may actually write a full blog post when it’s done. But let’s get the book finished first.
And now for a slight announcement. In a few weeks I’ll be running a competition to win something very cool, and the only way to win is to answer a question about Born of Hatred. So, if for some odd reason you haven’t read it yet, you may want to. And if you haven’t actually purchased it then it’s currently only $3.99 (£2.70), so you’ve got even more of a reason to buy it apart from the over 100, 5 and 4 star reviews (which I’m very grateful for)!
That’s it for another week. Normal service may resume next week, or it may not. Until then, have a good weekend.
Steve McHugh 