Juliet E. McKenna

I am naturally delighted to see The Green Man’s Heir shortlisted for the British Fantasy Society’s ‘Best Fantasy Novel’ award, alongside a selection of extremely fine writing. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the book and boosted the signal to help make it such a success.

Also, as far as I am concerned, this nomination is for the whole team – publisher Cheryl Morgan of Wizard’s Tower Press, editor Toby Selwyn and artist Ben Baldwin.

You can find the full list of nominees here on the British Fantasy Society website. As you can see I’m shortlisted alongside a selection of very fine writing from extremely talented authors. I’d also encourage you to read down through all the categories and shortlists, to see the excellent work being done in all sorts of ways. The UK fantasy reading and writing community is so very served these days.

One last thing. I’m not sure which agents represent every author on this best novel lists, but I reckon it’s definitely worth noting that Max Edwards of Apple Tree Literary is working with two of us.

Better sort out going to Fantasycon.

Wizard’s Tower Press and I can now confirm that the ebook of The Green Man’s Foe will be published on the 15th August 2019. If you’re interested in an eARC, contact @WTPress on Twitter or email.

That’s the first day of the Dublin Worldcon, so I look forward to celebrating there with friends old and new.

Paperback, hardback and audio editions will also be available. Firm dates on those will be announced as soon as possible.

It’s Wednesday and that means #BookQW on Twitter and Facebook, so here’s this week’s taster to whet your appetite.

The latest anthologies from ZNB are now out, and my story The Echoes of a Shot can be found in Alternate Peace. These tales of alternate history look at what might have happened if something dramatic didn’t happen; a war, an assassination, a battle that we know was pivotal in our timeline. My starting point was thinking about the way that warfare accelerates technological change. What could it mean for politics on both sides of the Atlantic, if progress in key areas never happened in the second decade of the 20th century? The 1930s could look very different…

I hope you enjoy this story along with the others, and do take a look at this years other anthologies Portals and Temporally Deactivated.

In a new look for existing books, I am pleased to say the next six weeks will see ebook editions of The Hadrumal Crisis trilogy, and The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution coming out from Gollancz Gateway. I’m very much hoping these books will find a new audience, so spread the word!

Since we know how many eager readers are looking forward to this book, we thought, let’s celebrate Midsummer’s Day by sharing Ben Baldwin’s fabulous artwork, and letting you know a little bit about this new story.

When you do a good job for someone, there’s a strong chance they’ll offer you more work or recommend you elsewhere. So Daniel Mackmain isn’t particularly surprised when his boss’s architect brother asks for his help on a historic house renovation in the Cotswolds.

Except Dan’s a dryad’s son, and he soon realises there’s a whole lot more going on. Ancient malice is stirring and it has made an alliance in the modern world. The Green Man expects Dan to put an end to this threat. Seeing the danger, Dan’s forced to agree. The problem is he’s alone in a place he doesn’t know, a hundred miles or more away from any allies of his own.

A modern fantasy rooted in the ancient myths and folklore of the British Isles.

We’re in the final stages of production, and as soon as we have a firm date for publication, we’ll share that too!

It’s Book Quote Wednesday and the word is ‘scream’. These kids out in the woods at night would be a whole lot more terrified if they knew what Daniel Mackmain knows about The Green Man’s Foe…

I’m very pleased to say that I will have a story in this anthology coming soon from Newcon Press. This is going to be a particularly interesting collection of original stories blended with reprints from classic writers whose names you may or may not recognise. We’re all exploring the dark corners and shadows of life in London from the Victorian era onward. In my case, I’m looking at the harsh lives of peripatetic governesses, and an unexpected opportunity for one unjustly dismissed young woman.

My story also proves the old maxim that no writing is ever wasted. I wrote it for a different project entirely which never came together, alas, quite a few years ago now. Editor Ian Whates remembered seeing it back then, and he realised how well it would suit this particular collection. I’m delighted to see it in print in such fine company.

The full table of contents –

1. Introduction by Ian Whates
2. Hunger – Bryony Pearce
3. A Street – Arthur Morrison
4. A Maze for the Minotaur – Reggie Oliver
5. The Phantom Model (A Wapping Romance) – Hume Nisbet
6. The Ghost of Cock Lane – Rose Biggin
7. The Hand That Rocks The Cradle – Juliet E. McKenna
8. Watercress Girl – Henry Mayhew
9. Queen Rat – David Rix
10. Christopherson – George Gissing
11. From The Casebook of Master Wiggins, Esq. – Paul di Filippo
12. Albert And The Engine Of Albion – Terry Grimwood
13. In the Tube – E.F. Benson
14. A Romance of the Piccadilly Tube – T.G. Jackson
15. Blood and Bone – Susan Boulton
16. Behind the Shade – Arthur Morrison
17. Southall Tantra – Paul StJohn Mackintosh

This week’s word is ‘year’, but rest assured, you’ll be able to read this story within a couple of months.

I got distracted yesterday, so it’s Book Quote Wednesday on Thursday this time around. The word is ‘short’ and Daniel’s wondering how long this new project will take him.

Whatever social media you use, you doubtless see regular polite/pleading reminders from your favourite authors about how important online reviews are these days, and reviews on Amazon most of all.

This isn’t just needy writers looking for some ego boost. Publishers tell us authors time and again how reviews drive vital visibility when their numbers reach the ever-shifting tipping points that trigger different promotional algorithms. How even readers who don’t shop at Amazon use the site to see what other people think of books that interest them, as they decide to buy. How publishers can even use a title’s level of reviews as one measure of a writer’s popularity and a possible predictor (among others) of interest in a possible future project.

So please support your favourite authors with Amazon reviews. As long as you are allowed to. This is where all this starts to get problematic. A pal thought to do me a favour by leaving a genuinely favourable review on Amazon only to have it rejected because their spend on the site over the last six months didn’t reach the required threshold. I went to see what was what and found this on Amazon UK –
“To contribute to Community Features (for example, Customer Reviews, Customer Answers), you must have spent at least £40 on Amazon.co.uk using a valid payment card in the past 12 months. Promotional discounts don’t qualify towards the £40 minimum.”

Since I remarked on this on social media, various other people have confirmed that the same thing had happened to them. Though what that qualifying spend might be clearly varies from time to time and place to place. That doesn’t surprise me. We already know that Amazon regularly tweaks their algorithms’ review number trigger points as they look for the best way to maximise their revenue. Other things also became apparent. You don’t have to be buying books to qualify, just stuff, because this isn’t about books, it’s about Amazon making money. Indeed, when some people found they were unable to post reviews they were told that their Kindle purchases didn’t count because the spend had to be on physical goods. Whether or not an Amazon Prime subscription counts seems to vary as well.

Why are Amazon doing this? The obvious answer is it’s a countermeasure against bots and review spam. That’s fair enough, but it’s a very, very blunt instrument. It does nothing to stop astroturfing (faking ‘grassroots’ support) by someone with a lot of pals who buy sufficient stuff online. But that’s not Amazon’s concern. They’re in business to make money, first last and always.

So what can we do? Well, the reason that reviews matter is what sells books is word of mouth recommendation. That’s been the case for ever. All the Internet has done has enabled us to tell each other about a good new book in a whole lot of new ways. So carry on doing that – but now, please try to remember to look beyond Amazon when you want to support an author by boosting a book and when you’re looking for recommendations. If you have the time and inclination, check out Goodreads maybe, and/or look for the bookbloggers that share your particular interests.

Whatever social media you use, whenever you can spare the time for a quick mention, even just a line or so, it all adds up and it all helps to boost the signal, and that’ll help keep your favourite authors writing. Thanks.