Welcome

Well, I’ve only gone and done it!

A few weeks ago I gave up salaried full-time work to go part-time and embrace the life of a freelance writer.

I tried something similar straight out of university thirteen years ago. However, at the time I had only had two books published, with a third commissioned, and with no other prospects beyond that.

Fast forward to 2007, with numerous published short stories, comic strips, magazine articles, adventure gamebooks and novels to my name, and I’m having another go.

And now seemed like the ideal time to create a presence for myself on the Web, to let people know what I’ve done and what I’m going to be up to in the future. Hence the blog. But why ‘Unnatural History’?

Everything I write has elements of fantasy or science fiction to it so, in a sense, everything I write is an unnatural history of one kind or another, and with my latest project – the ‘Pax Britannia’ novel line I’ve developed for Abaddon Books – it seemed even more apt. But now you’re probably asking, ‘What’s Pax Britannia?’

Let me explain…

In the closing years of the 20th century the British Empire’s rule is still going strong. Queen Victoria is about to celebrate her 160th birthday, kept alive by advanced steam technology. London is a fantastical sprawling metropolis where dirigibles roam the skies, robot bobbies enforce the law and dinosaurs are on display in London Zoo. Welcome to Magna Britannia, a steam driven world full of fantastical creations and shady villains. Here dashing dandies and moustachioed villains battle for supremacy while below the city strange things stir in the flooded tunnels of the old London Underground.

The first book, which launched the ‘Pax Britannia’ series, is ‘Unnatural History’, a good old-fashioned action-adventure romp, featuring larger than life characters, set within this alternative history steampunk world.

The blurb on the back of the book reads as follows…

In two scant months the nation, and all her colonies, will celebrate 160 years of Queen Victoria's glorious reign. But all is not well at the heart of the empire of Magna Britannia. A chain of events is about to be set in motion that, if not stopped, could lead to a world-shattering conclusion.

It begins with a break-in at the Natural History Museum. A night watchman is murdered. An eminent Professor of Evolutionary Biology goes missing. Then a catastrophic Overground rail-crash unleashes the dinosaurs of London Zoo.

But how are all these events connected? Is it really the work of crazed revolutionaries, seeking the violent evolution of Magna Britannia? Or are there yet more sinister forces at work?

Enter Ulysses Quicksilver dandy, rogue and agent of the throne ­back from the dead. Aided by his ever-faithful manservant Nimrod, it is up to this dashing soldier of fortune to solve the mystery and uncover the truth before London degenerates into primitive madness and a villainous mastermind brings about the unthinkable. The downfall of the British Empire!

So there you have it. You can find out more about ‘Unnatural History’ and the ‘Pax Britannia’ series here, at the Abaddon Books website.

And that just about wraps up my first post. I’ll be back soon to talk more about ‘Pax Britannia’ and to let you know what my next publication is going to be. But until then…