17/08/2024 - Jackets for The Awakening and The Kiss of Nessemi
The jackets for Book 3 (The Awakening) and Book 4 (The Kiss of Nessemi) of The Nessemiah have now been confirmed. Only the front covers are shown below, as revealing the full jackets for Books 3 and 4 would also reveal a few spoilers from the blurb on the rear covers!
27/07/2024 - Website overhaul and epic fantasy publication dates...
After various delays and an annus horribilis since my last update, I can finally post a positive update. Firstly, I believe the updated website is an improvement on the predecessor. The content has also been significantly overhauled to include everything relevant relating to the four-book fiction deal with Halsgrove Publishing that is the feature of the previous update in this column in May 2023.
The most important news is that due to delays on both my side and the publishers, the release of Books One and Two of The Nessemiah was put back from the end of 2023 to this summer. Furthermore, even though The Strains of Malice and Cold Sanctuary are now available on most major bookseller websites for pre-order, the listed date of publication (31/07/2024) is likely to get pushed back by another two months or so. With a bit of luck, Books One and Two will come out at the end of September 2024 and Books Threee and Four during December 2024.
As well as the content, what has now also been finalised is the jackets for Books One and Two, and they look like this:
Books Three (The Awakening) and Four (The Kiss of Nessemi) have also been completed and were submitted in June 2024, to hopefully ensure a December 2024 release. I have also completed the provisional jackets for them, and the front covers will look something like this:
As for my next project, that will be to complete Worcestershire Unusual & Quirky and maybe publish a book of my short stories and poems written between 1996 and 2009. Many of these stories and poems were published in newspapers and magazines, whilst others won competitions at both a local and national level. Then it will be on to Series Two of the epic fantasy set on the world of Thera; a series which will be entitled The Theraeon.
19/05/2023 - Second mainstream book deal for my epic fantasy series...
Fantastic news! I have now secured a fabulous deal with Halsgrove Publishing, to publish a new four-book series entitled The Nessemiah. Each book will be c.400 pages apiece. This will now replace the part-started previous series which was known as The Theraeon - which was published on KDP, and would have been a five-book series of c.800 pages apiece. Although for KDP, I had to split Book One (The Strains of Malice) into two c.400 word Parts: The Strains of Malice: Part One: Spite and The Strains of Malice: Part 2: Malevolence. Those two books have now been taken down from Amazon/KDP.
I will now be signing two contracts with Halsgrove for The Nessemiah: the first contract to cover the publication of Book One (The Strains of Malice) and Book Two (Cold Sanctuary), and the second contract to cover Book Three (The Awakening) and Book Four (The Kiss of Nessemi). Books One and Two will be very similar to the two previously published KDP books. The main differences for me is that the four Halsgrove books will be distributed to all leading book chains in the UK, which was not possible with KDP, and the books will also be more widely marketed.
Contract 1 will be signed imminently, and the publication target is October/November 2023. Contract 2 will be signed shortly after the publication of Books One and Two, with Books Three and Four hopefully published around Spring or Summer 2024.
To clarify: the new four-book series, The Nessemiah, is a tetralogy revolving around Nessemi (readers of the books will understand what I mean). The Nessemiah will now end at the point that Book Two of The Theraeon was originally scheduled to end. The rest of that original series (Books 3, 4 and 5) would then become Series Two, if Series One (The Nessemiah) is a success.
Below, underneath the first two book jackets, is a teaser of the provisional book covers...
08/05/2023 - Update on The Theraeon, The Strains of Malice, etc...
Well, last month, I issued a positive announcement about having secured a contract with a mainstream UK fiction publisher for Book One of my historical fantasy fiction series - and which would have commenced with Book One, The Strains of Malice. I must now regretfully announce that I decided to pull out of the contract during the initial fourteen-day period, as was my contractual right. I am currently weighing up the best way to progress from here.
In the meantime, the KDP versions of the series have been restored to Amazon, but these have been temporarily re-assigned to a new series which is also entitled The Strains of Malice. This is for two reasons. Firstly, it is due to consistent advice from publishers about what is more manageable and attractive to them – this being a series of four books of c.400 pages apiece, as opposed to the original Theraeon series, which was five books of c.800 pages apiece. And secondly because, once published in KDP, you cannot change the titles – and as both currently published books are entitled The Strains of Malice (Parts I and II), I've had no choice but to call the new series The Strains of Malice as well. Fortunately, it doesn't look too bad - check out the graphic below.
However, should I decide to go with another mainstream option (and I already have interest), the series title and individual book titles will change again. This will be to reflect a four-book series (aka a tetralogy) revolving around Nessemi (readers of the books will understand what I mean). Series One will then end at the point that Book Two of The Theraeon was originally scheduled to end. The rest of that original series (Books 3, 4 and 5) would then become Series Two, if Series One was a success.
Below are the tetralogy book covers should I stay solo and stick with KDP! Under these circumstances, both Retribution and Nessemi (Parts Three and Four) should be published before the end of 2023. If I go with a mainstream publisher, only Part One (which would be redefined as Book One) will be published this year, with Books Two, Three and Four potentially following in 2024, 2025 and 2026, respectively - if Book One sells well. You now see my dilemma…
23/04/2023 - Mainstream book deal for The Strains of Malice...
Some major book news just in. I am delighted to announce that I signed a contract on Friday with a mainstream UK fiction publisher for Book One of my historical/fantasy fiction series, The Strains of Malice. Because of the new contract, I have had to take down the versions of The Strains of Malice from Amazon that I published last year with Kindle Direct Publishing. Part One will be replaced later this year with something much better, plus this and the following books in the series will be available through all outlets including Waterstones and WH Smiths.
Better still, the publisher will distribute copies of the book to the press, radio and tv for review, promote via numerous strands of social media, as well as engaging their wider marketing engine through their offices in the UK, US and India. There are even clauses in the contract re percentages for film, TV and radio adaptations, and many other offshoots which are also listed - although that is still obviously a long shot, despite having negotiated this latest enormous hurdle.
All I can share at the moment, is that the first book in this epic fantasy series will still be called The Strains of Malice, and will be very close to the KDP version released last year. Thereafter, things are likely to change, and I already have provisional titles for what may well be Books Two, Three and Four in a four-book series. As yet, though, nothing is set in stone.
I will share more when the publication date draws near for the new and improved incarnation of The Strains of Malice.
16/03/2023 - The Strains of Malice rubs shoulders with Terry Pratchett...
Well, it almost does in LoveReading's "March Books of the Month" newsletter, as shown by the screenshot below. But next door but one isn't too shabby...
18/02/2023 - The Strains of Malice: Malevolence now getting in on the act with Five Stars
LoveReading have now reviewed The Strains of Malice: Part 2: Malevolence, and once again have awarded Five Stars.
The review can be found here.
Highlights include these statements:
"Andrew Beardmore’s ‘The Strains of Malice: Part 2: Malevolence’ continues to remind me of A Song of Ice and Fire, with a deadly looming threat overshadowing peril and conflict in the lives of our characters."
"Beardmore knows when to finish a book leaving you asking questions and keen to discover more and I really want to know what happens with Nessemi. Will any of them survive the asteroid hit? Who will survive up until then?"
12/02/2023 - Another fantastic review of The Strains of Malice
Leading US online book reviewer, onlinebookclub.org, has now also reviewed The Strains of Malice and is currently advertising it on their landing page.
Highlights include these statements:
“Andrew Beardmore is a fantastic storyteller with a penchant for meticulous details. He crafts a world so humanistically flawed and tremendously intriguing…”
“I am in deep awe of the depth of creativity and high-ended cultivated discipline to see this complex story through. The characterization was terrific!”
“I am bouncing in anticipation of the second book, as this story ended on a cliffhanger. I would give an arm and a leg to have this book directed into a movie series.”
21/01/2023 - Link to LoveReading review for The Strains of Malice
LoveReading has reviewed The Strains of Malice: Part One: Spite, and the review can be found here.
12/01/2023 - Great LoveReading review for The Strains of Malice
LoveReading has reviewed The Strains of Malice: Part One: Spite, and I am very pleased with their overview. A pity they couldn't have reviewed Part Two as well, but that would have been pushing it.
Note the comparison to ‘A Song Of Fire And Ice’ and stating that one of my villains could “give Joffrey a run for his money”. Pretty happy with that!
The review can be found on this local webpage. Links to the LoveReading page and review will be posted once it is published.
Advantages for the book include being advertised on LoveReading's website, being entered into their Indie Book Of The Year Competition, and also getting a post about the book in their next monthly newsletter which goes to 3,000 consumer reviewers. Those consumer reviewers can then potentially choose to read the book and write further reviews. Oh yes, and I can now formally use this sticker on future issues of the book, which is also good news:
04/12/2022 - New website launched and news on forthcoming books
As you have no doubt noticed, this website has been significantly upgraded. You may also have noticed that I have decided to jettison all of the previous news listed on the old website, and which dated all the way back to 2011 - although this can be restored if anyone is interested.
Feedback is welcomed at andybeardmore@virginmedia.com, or any questions about upcoming books. At present, these include:
- The Kiss of Nessemi - Book Two of The Theraeon. This book should be released towards the end of Q1 in 2023.
- Shropshire Unusual & Quirky. The publication of this book was originally scheduled for 2020, but was postponed due to Covid. It was eventually re-scheduled for October 2022, but due to severe global supply issues, Halsgrove Publishing have now put the publication date back to 31/03/2023.
- Warwickshire Unusual & Quirky. For the same reason, this book will now be released in Autumn 2023 rather than Spring 2023.
I am also considering releasing an anthology, via Kindle Direct Publishing, of all the short stories and poetry that I had published between 1997 and 2008. Many of these were competition winners, while others which appeared in the small press received some great reviews. The major lure of publishing this anthology is that it will be relatively quick - as all of the material is already written. What might be an issue, though, is how those stories have aged over time. Perhaps many will no longer make the cut! We shall soon find out...