Writers’ Commentary for Shadow on the Sea

This week saw the release of my most on-brand piece of writing ever, combining my love of cats, comics, and history – Shadow on the Sea, a Commando comic about a ship’s cat. As with other recent comics, I’ve written a commentary piece to go with it, available at Down the Tubes, and John Freeman has added a further reading list for anyone interested in ships’ cats or the naval side of World War Two. Come for cute cat art, stick around for the adventure story and military history.

Out Now – Shadow on the Sea

Spring 1941. While escorting convoys across the north Atlantic, Captain Bright of the flower class corvette HMS Dandelion rescues a cat from a sunken ship. As a deadly U-boat hunts the Dandelion and its convoy, the cat proves a vital addition to the crew and helps them turn the tables, hunting down their hunter.

Moving fast off the starting blocks, I’ve had my first publication of 2025 already, with the release of Shadow on the Sea, a Commando comic about a ship’s cat aboard a convoy escort in World War Two. This one has art by Jaume Forns and a cover by Neil Roberts. As usual with Commando comics, you can find it in newsagents, through Mags Direct, or on the Commando app.

The Court Chimera – a fantasy short story

The problem with Prince Lenitini’s chimera cub wasn’t that it pissed on people’s feet. It wasn’t even that the piss was acidic, dissolving the expensive leather and gold trimmings of courtiers’ boots. The problem was that it belonged to the prince, which meant that no one could discipline it. If Lenitini let the wretched creature eat off his plate and sleep on his silk sheets, then there was no chance he would let courtiers bop its nose. It was an impossible situation, which was why it appealed to Benido.

“If I can solve this, then everyone will love me,” he explained. “They’ll introduce me to the prince, I’ll impress him with my wits, and I won’t have to spend my life as a lowly marsh knight.”

“You’re an idiot,” Mariata said, “but go ahead, I could do with a laugh.”

On the first day, Benido brought a pouch of dried snake meat, like he’d seen Prince Lentini feed the chimera. As the prince listened to his courtiers’ concerns, the chimera wove its way between their legs, snake tail swaying, sniffing at their feet with both of its heads, the lion and the goat.

“Here,” Benido whispered as the creature came close, and held out a strip of meat. “You like this, don’t you?”

The goat head looked up at him suspiciously from knee height while the lion head licked its lips. Benido held the meat well away from his legs.

“Leave my boots alone and you can have this, see?” he said.

Courtiers furtively turned to watch as the chimera took the meat.

“Good boy.” Benido smiled proudly.

Then the chimera raised its leg and ruined the moment. Mariata stifled a laugh as Benido’s boots started to dissolve.

The next day, Benido brought a ball of fur hanging from a length of string off a stick. He’d found a man at the market who sold them as toys for cats and who thought they might work for infant monsters, though he’d never met one himself. Benido picked the expensive one made with fragments of exotic fur, because if a thing was worth buying then it was worth buying well.

As the chimera made its rounds, Benido gave the stick a shake. A bell inside the ball rattled, loud enough to catch the attention of a few bored courtiers but not to distract from Prince Lentini’s business. The chimera narrowed both sets of eyes and prowled towards the ball, legs tensed, ready to pounce.

“See this?” Benido said quietly. “Much better than ruining my boots, yes?”

The chimera leapt, caught the ball in its lion teeth and thrashed at it with savage claws. The string snapped and the chimera went rolling across the floor, tearing into the ball, leaving shreds of fur across pale marble.

“Wasn’t that good?” Benido whispered as the chimera dumped the ruined toy at his feet. “I’ll bring you another one tomorrow, far more fun than… oh.”

At least his boots dissolved more slowly than the ball.

On the third day, more of the courtiers watched Benido’s arrival, a soft brush in his hand. They smiled, and if they weren’t the friendly smiles he’d hoped for, at least people had noticed him.

“Seriously,” Mariata hissed, “give up now.”

“But I’m getting through! Look, he’s coming this way.”

Instead of its usual winding path, the chimera headed straight for Benido. Its lion eyes were wide and its tail raised, though the goat head sniffed at people’s boots as it passed.

“It’s me, your friend.” Benido crouched, getting as close to eye level with the chimera as he could, and held out the brush. “This is for your lovely mane. Shall we try it?”

Slowly, carefully, he ran the brush through the chimera’s fur. The lion head purred. The snake tail rippled. The nearby courtiers smiled in amazement.

The goat head leaned over and bit Benido on the wrist.

“Ow!”

Benido jerked his hand away, hitting the lion head. The chimera growled and leapt, knocking him to the ground. Benido lay still, trying not to alarm the monster or draw any more laughter from the courtiers.

Then the chimera raised its leg and pissed down the front of his silk doublet.

“You little—”

Benido tried to fling the chimera away but its claws were hooked into him. The two of them rolled and thrashed across the marble floor between the gold spurs of the court. The chimera was sharp in tooth and claw, its muscles dense, but it was still an infant, and he managed at last to pin it under him.

Then he looked up to see the whole court staring down, Prince Lentini’s face crumpling as he watched a marsh knight fight his favourite pet. Benido felt shame and ruin descending upon him.

Then the prince laughed.

“Bravo!” Lentini clapped his hands. “A man wrestling a monster!” The whole court laughed and applauded. “You have entertained me today!”

“Thank you, your highness.” Benido rose and bowed to the prince, leaving the chimera to scurry away.

“What wonders will you bring tomorrow, my knight of the piss-stained tunic?” The prince grinned. “Let us make you a special livery to mark this occasion, something in yellow and full of holes.”

More laughter fell across Benido as he backed away, red-faced, seeking the anonymity of the crowd.

“You did it.” Mariata laid a hand on his shoulder. “The prince knows who you are.”

There was a weight in Benido’s belly far heavier than the chimera. He turned from the crowd, towards the doors of the palace and the world beyond. A world without princes who would laugh at a man who did his best.

“I’m leaving,” he said. “The life of a marsh knight doesn’t look so bad after all.”

As he headed down the steps from the great hall, the chimera bounded down to join him.

***

***

My new novel The Executioner’s Blade is out! And as this month’s flash fiction shows, I’m not done telling stories in that world. If you’d like to read more about people grappling with monsters and politics, then read on…

In a mountain city where monsters go to die, Lena Sturm is hiding from her past. But when she discovers that she has executed an innocent woman, guilt drives her to seek out the real murderer. A mad alchemist, a zealous bishop, and a ruthless crime lord all become suspects as Lena investigates a mystery she’s been told to leave alone.

But Lena isn’t the only one with an interest in the crime. When an army arrives outside the city walls, using justice as an excuse for invasion, the need to find the truth becomes desperate. With dragon fire and cannon shot threatening Unteholz, can Lena save the city without sacrificing the cause of justice?

The Executioner’s Blade, a high fantasy murder mystery, out now from Northodox Press:

Paperback.

Ebook.

Cover Reveal: Forged For Destiny

Orbit have revealed the cover for my next book, Forged For Destiny, and I’m really pleased with it. I mean look at this thing, isn’t it fantastic?

Coming out from Orbit next spring, Forged For Destiny is the story of Raul, who seems to be the chosen one. He’s got the birthmark, the special sword, and a whole host of prophecies foretelling his destiny to free the people of Estis from their oppressors. But what Raul doesn’t know is that this is all a lie, a scheme put in place as his country fell. As things start to get messy, we’re going to find out whether this good-hearted country boy can save his people in spite of the lies around him, or maybe because of them.

There are a few more details in the announcement on Orbit’s blog, with more to come soon, and if you want to be sure of hearing when the book comes out then you cna sign up to my mailing list.

My Writing in 2024

The end of the year is upon us! And as this year’s been a particularly great one for me, I thought I should do an end of year roundup.

I’ve had nine new short stories published this year, as well as one reprint, which makes this one of the best years I’ve ever had for short publications. They ranged from a cat’s journey through a solarpunk city to a woman baking bread in the face of the Norse apocalypse, and I’m pleased with every one of them. Getting into one of Flame Tree’s lovely gothic anthologies was definitely a highlight.

I’ve also had five comics published based on my scripts, all in Commando, including return adventures for Cadman the Fighting Coward and the Napoleonic-era heroes of the Forlorn Hope.

Most excitingly, I had a novel out, The Executioner’s Blade. Between co-authored self-publishing and all the ghostwriting I’ve done, I’ve had my fingers in a lot of novels over the years, but this is the first one published in my name through the traditional publishing route, and I’m really happy with it. It looks great and it’s had some very enthusiastic responses from its first readers.

On top of publications, I’ve had more success than ever lining things up for the future. I had a trilogy of fantasy novels accepted for publication by Orbit starting in February 2025, which takes me from small press publishing to a big five imprint. That means more readers are likely to find this story about a fake chosen one, and it raises my profile as an author, which is good for my efforts to pay the bills through stories. Aside from that, I have a second book in the Executioner series scheduled with Northodox, two more short stories and four comics accepted for publication, and I just signed the contract for a scifi novella. That’s a lot to look forward to.

Behind the scenes, I still haven’t found an agent, but I’ve got further with that mission than before, as a couple have asked to read the full manuscript of my art-as-magic novel. With things going so well, I’ve scaled back my freelance work to do more of my own writing. Whether that’s sustainable will depend on how the Orbit books sell and whether I can find an agent, so I’ve got a lot riding on 2025, as well as a lot to look forward to.

All in all, it’s been a great year, and the next one holds a lot of promise.

Shedding Skin – a fantasy short story

A snake lay coiled across the road, its body as wide as a wagon, so long that its tail vanished into the trees. It was halfway through shedding, fresh scales gleaming around its head and neck but the old skin rucked up further down, clinging dry and wrinkled to a body that was trying to burst free. It should have been resting, ready to shed that last layer and relish its new growth, but instead it reared up, spitting and hissing at the armoured figures jabbing spears in its face.

General Corin Seeger—no, not general anymore, she’d flung that title aside with everything else it represented—dismounted and tethered her horse to a tree. Despite his name, Blaze was an old, tired steed who’d probably never been lively or brave, but the snake had him snickering and stamping wide-eyed. Seeger laid a hand against his neck, felt his fear run through her mind and let him feel her reassurance in return, until he calmed enough to be left alone.

The warriors wore faded blue tabards over mismatched armour, caravan guards for a merchant house. Seeger laid a hand on the pommel of her sword as she approached, not a threat but a signal that she knew what she was about.

“What in the hells are you doing?” she called.

“Clearing the road,” one of the guards replied, and gestured to a line of laden wagons running towards the mountains.

The snake snapped a spear with a jerk of its head, then lunged for one of the guards. He staggered back screaming, blood streaming for a gash in his shoulder, and the others backed away. That figured. Seeger knew real warriors; only the scared and the lazy chose caravan work over fighting wars.

“Idiots.” She strode toward the snake, rubbing her head as if that could clear the weight of regrets she’d been riding away from. The beast’s shadow stretched across her, swaying as it spat bubbling venom at the hapless guards. If those had been Seeger’s troops, she would have kicked them into better shape by now, but they were a useful distraction, giving her a chance to place a hand on the snake’s side and touch its mind with hers.

The creature’s feelings were a jumbled mess. Hunger to fuel its growth. Anger at these creatures stabbing with their long fangs. Frustration at dried skin too thick to shed. Exhaustion from trying to break free. And more beneath that, a burning, itching sensation that made it impossible to think straight.

Bringing her focus back into the moment, she looked down the snake’s body and saw thick, scab-like lumps cluttering the old skin. Thick-scale, the beast handlers called it, with all the imagination of a rock. When it struck one of her dragons, she’d spent a month washing him with alchemical concoctions alongside her stable hands, until the weight of the scabs dissolved and he could fly again. For the snake, it meant old skin too tough to shed, which meant new growth compressed and twisting into pain. A few more days and the snake would die. The caravan guards might call that a victory, but it scratched at Seeger’s soul like the scabs scratched at the snake.

She drew her sword. Tomas was beautifully balanced with a blade as sharp as love’s loss, too good a weapon for this work, though that also meant too good for her. He flashed in the sunlight as she grabbed the edge of a scale and vaulted onto the snake’s back, one knee buckling into pain as she landed. She was getting too old for this shit.

Now she had the snake’s attention. Its head turned and it hissed in fury, then lunged. She dropped, rolled along its back, just avoided getting bitten but lost her grip on Tomas and there was a clang as the sword hit the ground. From her boot she drew a little knife she used for whittling, then plunged it through the thick, dead skin and pulled. There was a ripping, accompanied by pops and clunks as old scales burst free and fell in the dirt.

This time, she rolled sideways as the snake lunged, clung onto a scale and the hilt of her knife, swung herself back up once the head passed. Running at a crouch down the creature’s length, she dragged the knife behind her, tearing open the old skin, its ragged ends flying free to expose new flesh.

Its head swaying from side to side, the beast looked at her. Then it uncoiled and drew its tail out of the woods, exposing its full length so she could finish the job.

Once the old skin was shed, the monstrous snake slid away into the woods, and the caravan guards finally found the courage to return. One was pale and bandaged but better off than he should have been. Another prodded at the shed skin with her toe.

“You could try selling that at Unteholz,” the guard said. “They sell all sorts of beast parts from there.”

“You have it,” Seeger replied, and gestured towards the heavy bags strapped behind Blaze’s saddle. “I’ve already got enough baggage.”

Unteholz. She’s heard of the place, of course, but hadn’t needed to visit cities that kept out of the war. Maybe she should change that. After all, she’d changed other things.

“Thanks for your help.” The injured guard held out his hand. “What’s your name?”

Seeger looked down at the shed skin, then took the offered hand.

“Lena Sturm,” she said.

Not much of a name, but it would do.

***

My new novel The Executioner’s Blade is out! To celebrate the occasion, here’s one more story from that world. And if you’d like to read more…

In a mountain city where monsters go to die, Lena Sturm is hiding from her past. But when she discovers that she has executed an innocent woman, guilt drives her to seek out the real murderer. A mad alchemist, a zealous bishop, and a ruthless crime lord all become suspects as Lena investigates a mystery she’s been told to leave alone.

But Lena isn’t the only one with an interest in the crime. When an army arrives outside the city walls, using justice as an excuse for invasion, the need to find the truth becomes desperate. With dragon fire and cannon shot threatening Unteholz, can Lena save the city without sacrificing the cause of justice?

The Executioner’s Blade, a high fantasy murder mystery, out now from Northodox Press:

Paperback.

Ebook.

Planning a Series – a Fantasycon Panel

This year’s FantasyCon included an excellent panel on how to plan a series. As someone who’s not good at sitting still and listening, I took lots of notes, which I’ve written up as a blog post for the BFS. The panellists provided lots of interesting insights, so if you’re thinking about witing a fantasy series, or just interested in how they work, then you can learn more at this link.

The Executioner’s Blade Takes Flight

My novel The Executioner’s Blade is out today!

In a mountain city where monsters go to die, Lena Sturm is hiding from her past. But when she discovers that she has executed an innocent woman, guilt drives her to seek out the real murderer. A mad alchemist, a zealous bishop, and a ruthless crime lord all become suspects as Lena investigates a mystery she’s been told to leave alone.

But Lena isn’t the only one with an interest in the crime. When an army arrives outside the city walls, using justice as an excuse for invasion, the need to find the truth becomes desperate. With dragon fire and cannon shot threatening Unteholz, can Lena save the city without sacrificing the cause of justice?

Adrian Tchaikovsky has called it “A perfect balance of action and character wrapped about a delightfully twisted mystery.” Anna Smith-Spark described it as “A very enjoyable, fast paced read.” And over on Bluesky, Juliet E McKenn called it “mature and absorbing epic fantasy, very well worth a look.”

So if you’re looking for a fun slice of action-packed fantasy, just follow these links:

Buy the paperback.

Buy the ebook.

When the Satire Dies in the Grim Dark

A few weeks ago, Edwin Evans-Thirlwell wrote a great piece for Rock Paper Shotgun on the problem of a modern genre icon, Warhammer 40,000’s space marines. He dug into how an archetype that supposedly satirises the trappings of fascism actually celebrates them. It’s a good read which links to other interesting work, and one that points to a broader problem.

Image credit: John Sibbick / Games Workshop

There’s a pattern here of characters created for satire and to let people knowingly explore their dark side, that slide through the process of storytelling into a more polished form. Not just space marines, but Judge Dredd, John Constantine, the empire of Empire larp, protagonists who are created not to be heroes but, at least in part, to explore our own inner villains.

There’s satire and commentary in creating characters like these, potential to provoke deep thought, but also an excuse to thrill in the unacceptable, and people naturally slide toward that easier, more comfortable option as they become more attached to these characters.

Meanwhile, telling their stories knocks off the characters’ rough edges, building justifications for their terrible actions and empathy for their perspective. The villainous elements gain camouflage that makes it easier for readers or players to accept them. Satirical provocation fades as a proportion of the text. The meaning of the character shifts, taking story and design with it. Constantine looks less like a commentary on shitty friends, more like an excuse for them.

I love playing Empire, but the “are we the villains?” joke has run there so long it’s exhausted. When players have access to a skill called hero points, they’ll forget that they’re enacting villainy. When the whole structure of a story is to make you celebrate the space marine’s triumph, you forget whose expense their victory comes at.

When your villainy is get milk on the crown.

Is this a particularly British thing? My favourite examples are, and maybe that’s just the sea I swim in, or maybe it’s because of an uncomfortable relationship with our history, combined with the national use of irony to avoid facing feelings. Satire becomes a way to revel in what we claim to critique, to have it both ways. We want to condemn the barbarities of empire, but we don’t want to stop watching Zulu (I’ve loved that film since childhood, but it goes hard on polishing the festering turd of imperial adventure).

I don’t know how to respond to all this, what to take that lets me create something better without losing the value of characters who, like real people, combine the monstrous and the sublime. A point that Claire Dederer makes in her book Monsters, acknowledging the love of certain works and creators without celebrating them, is a start, but it’s not an end.

This one’s been spinning through my mind for over a year, so I posted about it on Bluesky to clear my head, and now I’ve tidying it up here as something I can come back to. Because this stuff is core to the geek culture I enjoy, and it’s… well, it sure is a thing.

***

In a mountain city where monsters go to die, Lena Sturm is hiding from her past. But when she discovers that she has executed an innocent woman, guilt drives her to seek out the real murderer. A mad alchemist, a zealous bishop, and a ruthless crime lord all become suspects as Lena investigates a mystery she’s been told to leave alone.

But Lena isn’t the only one with an interest in the crime. When an army arrives outside the city walls, using justice as an excuse for invasion, the need to find the truth becomes desperate. With dragon fire and cannon shot threatening Unteholz, can Lena save the city without sacrificing the cause of justice?

The Executioner’s Blade, a high fantasy murder mystery, is out from Northodox Press on 28 November. Preorders available now:

Preorder the paperback.

Preorder the ebook.

Answering Awkward Author Questions

Fellow author Keith Dickinson has been kind enough to have me on his blog, answering his awkward author questions. If you’d like to read more about my upcoming book, my first attempts at fiction writing, and my most overused word, then you can read the post here. And don’t forget to check out Keith’s fiction while you’re there, especially if you’re looking for steampunk adventure or comedy fantasy.