So what’s Dan facing this time?

Well, his mum is a dryad, so he knows that asking someone from the supernatural world for a favour means there’ll be a price to pay, sooner or later. Dan’s been waiting for the Hunter, the antler-crowned guardian of predators and prey, to call in this debt, after his girlfriend Fin needed the Hunter’s help last year.

He wasn’t expecting this to happen when they were planning to visit Fin’s sister Iris and her new husband Conn at their house in Dublin. Dan has prepared for this unknown challenge, as best he can, by reading up on Irish folklore. So far, he’s learned how different those who live in that unseen realm will be from anyone he’s encountered before – and that crossing them could be very dangerous.

You’ll find a full list of purchase options on the Wizard’s Tower Press website.
That page will be updated as further retailer listings go live.

The Green Man’s Debt will be published on 10th September 2026.

I am sure you will agree that Ben Baldwin has given us another magnificent cover for Dan Mackmain’s latest adventure.

This time around, Dan and Fin are off to Ireland – a trip I know many readers have been keen to see them take. It’s been an interesting writing challenge. I’ve visited Ireland many times, so I can see people and places through Dan’s eyes, but visiting isn’t the same as living somewhere. I have Irish resident characters in this story who I need to be convincing – especially for Irish readers! Thankfully, on my many visits to Irish SF&F conventions, since my first Octocon somewhere around the turn of the century, I have made lifelong friends whose assistance with that aspect of this particular book has been invaluable. (Any errors that remain are down to me, obviously.)

The Green Man’s Debt will be published by Wizard’s Tower Press on 10th September 2026. Pre-orders will open shortly, and we’ll be sharing more about this story to whet your appetite soon.

It’s all go hereabouts!

Today I learned that The Riven Kingdom is included in this week’s Waterstones online only, pre-order offer – ending on Friday 24th July. Enter the offer code SUMMER26 at the checkout and get 25% off the RRP.

Do check out the whole selection of great reads along with the Angry Robot titles … and you will see I also have an interest in No Laughing Matter, a horror anthology forthcoming from Flame Tree Publishing.

This selection of horror short stories has been edited by Peter Coleborn and Mike Chinn and includes work by Ramsey Campbell, Samantha Lee, Stephen Volk and more, alongside my own.

I did say I was busy when I last posted an update … and very productively so. I’m very pleased to report The Green Man’s Debt is now written and edited with the invaluable assistance of Editor Toby, and with the benefit of input from several expert consultants, most notably talented writer and valued friend, C.E. Murphy. As those who heard me read a taster at Eastercon will know, this new story takes Dan and Fin to Ireland. As many of you will be aware, I’ve visited Ireland regularly for years. That gets me so far, but I still need folk closer to daily life there to take a look at what I’m writing. Quite simply, I don’t know what I don’t know.

Ben Baldwin is working on the cover art right now, and the preliminary sketches are as good as you would imagine. I’ll be sharing the finished cover soon, along with details of September’s publication date. Can you believe this is the ninth book in this series?! And that this success is entirely thanks to enthusiastic readers spreading the word? I am hugely grateful to everyone who has supported me and Wizard’s Tower Press as this series has unfolded.

The Riven Kingdom, my new epic fantasy from Angry Robot is now finalised and will be published in ebook and paperback on 27th October 2026. Audiobook production is underway. I’ll post updates on that, and promotions, interviews etc as I have them.

My next opportunity to talk about both books will be a week today. On 25th July 2026, I’ll be taking part in the British Fantasy Society’s BFS Online event, exploring power in speculative fiction, its manifestations, imbalances and consequences, both intended and unforeseen. The event is free to BFS members and £5 to non-members – and these online days are a great introduction to the BFS.

Throughout the day, an international roster of panellists will bring a wide range of perspectives to discussions on how individuals handle power, how oppressive power can be resisted, and whether or not power really does corrupt? At 12.15, I’ll be talking to Shona Kinsella about power dynamics in my own work and elsewhere, in fiction and reality.

Looking ahead to other dates in the diary when I’ll be talking about these books and no doubt, many other things, I’ll be at Fantasycon in Glasgow 9th – 11th October, and Bristolcon (in Bristol obviously) 24th – 25th October. There are a couple of other potential upcoming events, and I’ll post updates on this as and when details are confirmed.

Between now and then, I have a very interesting short story commission to work on, which is what I’ll be doing once I’ve posted this. It’s been a good year for my short fiction. I was tremendously honoured to be invited to contribute to an absolutely stellar anthology celebrating David Gemmell’s work in commemoration of his untimely death twenty years ago. The Iron Code will be published on 28th July by Newcon Press – and you can get your preorders in here

You can also read my contribution to the splendid anthology from Wizard’s Tower Press, Fight Like A Girl Volume 2 in The 2026 Best of British SFF Bundle, available to the end of the month. This fifth annual Best of British SF/F bundle is bigger than ever, and honestly, I read the roster of titles thinking ‘read that, it’s great, ooh, and so’s that, and that, and that…’ The Green Man’s Heir is also in there, so if you know someone you think would enjoy reading that, or any of the other excellent books on offer, do send them the link.
Click here for full details.

That’s all for the moment. Now that I’ve got two novels off my desk, hopefully I’ll be able to blog a bit more frequently. No promises, mind you. I still have plenty to keep me busy, not least supporting the Society of Authors’ ongoing defence of writers’ rights against predatory techbros and others!

You will recall I mentioned doing an interview with The Tiny Bookcase? I had a wide-ranging and very enjoyable chat with Nico and Ben, and you can now listen to that on their podcast. Did you know there was a rumour, early in my writing career, that I didn’t actually exist? Tune in to find out more…

Here’s a link to a list of more places where you can get podcasts than I had any idea were out there!

In other news? I’m focused on writing The Green Man’s Debt to the exclusion of just about everything else. That’s it for now.

I had an excellent weekend at Eastercon, where I offered a couple of readings from this year’s forthcoming books, and revealed the title of the next Green Man story with eager readers. The Green Man’s Debt will be coming from Wizard’s Tower Press in September 2026. More news and artwork will be shared in due course.

The Riven Kingdom will be published by Angry Robot on 27th October, and I see Amazon UK are already taking pre-orders if that’s of interest. Regardless, you can click through to see the cover art from Alice Coleman.

I have now added The Tiny Book Case pin badge to my convention lanyard, as I thoroughly enjoyed writing a short story for Ben and Nico, and then hearing and discussing their stories – all very different even though we were working from the same single-word prompt of ‘Whip’.

Click here for Podlink or go to wherever you get your podcasts from.

The next episode will be our highly enjoyable, more general chat about writing, books and more besides.

This coming weekend, I’ll be at Iridescence, the Eastercon in Birmingham. My schedule is now as follows:

Friday, 3 April
16:30 Book launch: Wizard’s Tower Press
Sussex, 60 mins

Saturday, 4 April
09:00 Considering Anne McCaffrey
Sandringham, 60 mins

13:30 Appropriation of Greek Culture in the Anglophone world, and how to reclaim it
Salisbury-Wellington, 60 mins

15:00 Introduction to Fantasy Kingdoms
Salisbury-Wellington, 60 mins

Monday, 6 April 2026
10:30 Author Reading III
Salisbury-Wellington, 60 mins
I’ll be reading alongside Aliette de Bodard, and sharing the title of this year’s novel in my Green Man series, along with a short reading from that work in progress. I’ll also be offering a new taste of The Riven Kingdom, my epic fantasy novel coming from Angry Robot this autumn. Since keen readers are asking if this relates to my previous fantasy writing, you may be interested to know the story is set in the same world as Shadow Histories of the River Kingdom but these events unfold some centuries earlier…

As always at conventions, feel free to say hello, get a book signed, ask a question about my writing or writing in general.

In haste as I am working flat out on various things at present. Alongside everything else, I’ll be recording interviews with a couple of podcasts later this week. More details when those are available for a listen.

The weekend after next is Iridescence, the Eastercon in Birmingham. My schedule is as follows:

Friday, 3 April
16:30 Book launch: Wizard’s Tower Press
Sussex, 60 mins

Saturday, 4 April
09:00 Considering Anne McCaffrey
Sandringham, 60 mins

13:30 Appropriation of Greek Culture in the Anglophone world, and how to reclaim it
Salisbury-Wellington, 60 mins

Monday, 6 April 2026
10:30 Author Reading III
Salisbury-Wellington, 60 mins
I’ll be reading alongside Aliette de Bodard and Robin CM Duncan, and sharing the title of this year’s novel in my Green Man series, along with a short reading from that work in progress. I’ll also be offering a new taste of The Riven Kingdom, my epic fantasy novel coming from Angry Robot this autumn. Since keen readers are asking if this relates to my previous fantasy writing, you may be interested to know the story is set in the same world as Shadow Histories of the River Kingdom but these events unfold some centuries earlier… 

Speaking of The Riven Kingdom, today and tomorrow this week, Barnes & Noble Premium and Reward members can get 25% off on preorders. I appreciate this will mainly be of interest to those in the US, but it does mean that everyone can now admire the fabulous cover art 😊

Back in the last century, before the millennium turned, blogging lore said three things make a post.

I have started writing the new Green Man book. As usual, I came up with an overall concept, and I have been gathering related ideas and background material to add to that over the past few months. I could see various ways of fitting a good many of these elements together, but not a plot that encompassed them all. So in a first for me, I tried something I’ve seen other writers find useful. I wrote the plot points and other story elements I had on Post-Its, and then shifted them around on my desk until I could see the best underlying narrative for Dan Mackmain’s next adventure, bringing in everything that I wanted. This also showed me where there were gaps, and where ideas needed reshaping. It’s been a very interesting exercise as well as proof that it’s never too late to try something new creatively. I’m going to enjoy writing this one. Further details in due course…

My work as a member of the Society of Author’s board continues. Following the first meeting of the year last week, I am honoured to be elected to serve as the management committee’s Vice Chair. This post was created by a resolution approved by the members’ vote at the 2025 AGM. The demands on all volunteer-led organisations working for the benefit of their wider communities has grown inexorably through the past decade, as anyone involved will know. Having a Vice Chair role will increase the SoA’s resilience, as the board and the incredibly hard-working staff tackle the ongoing challenges for creators, most notably but by no means limited to the continuing threats to copyright, and the devaluation of our work by genAI slop.

Last but by no means least, I am delighted to see The Green Man’s Holiday on the BSFA Awards longlist. Inclusion in this preliminary stage of the awards process is a great compliment. Writing the Magic is also listed in the Non-Fiction category, rewarding all the contributors’ and editors’ work.

As always this is an excellent opportunity for everyone, whether you’re a writer, an artist, a BSFA member or not, to go and read the lists and see the breadth and depth of writing and art available for us to enjoy, created with passion and skill by real people! Click here

Firstly, I’ve deleted my formerly Twitter account. It’s been shuttered for months, and I was only keeping it to avoid impersonation. Given what’s going on there now, I decided cutting user numbers, even by one, matters more.

It’s not just about bikinis. An under-reported aspect of the way digital images are being manipulated is users are depicting women and children as victims of physical violence, bloodied and bruised. In some cases these deep-fakes are being used to threaten and intimidate.

There’s also the legal aspect. In the UK possessing CSAM (child sexual abuse material) is a strict liability criminal offence, with a prison sentence of 2-3 years. Viewing it on your phone counts. No proof that you sought the material is required. People can be and have been convicted after receiving unsolicited images. Don’t be confident your own detailed safeguards will protect you from seeing CSAM on X. Months ago, the last time I checked my locked, highly curated, all tweets deleted, placeholder account, the first thing I saw was a graphic photo of a child who had been shot in the head.

From now on, anyone claiming to be me on X is a fake.
For the avoidance of doubt, I interact with people on social media on Facebook, Bluesky and Mastodon.
I have placeholder accounts on Tumblr, Instagram and Dreamwidth which I rarely use. 

Which brings me to my second point. Another surge of fake social media accounts claiming to be famous authors is currently underway. Fraudsters are contacting writers with initial expressions of (spurious) support, swiftly followed by offers of paid-for (and non-existent) services. I’ve also seen reports of these solicitations being emailed direct, and they can be insidiously plausible, thanks to bloody generative AI.

If you ever get an approach by direct message or email, which you have no reason to expect, from someone claiming to be me, feel free to get in touch to verify it. I’d want know if this sort of thing is going on.

Right. Let’s go and do something much more pleasant, now that’s done.