All In The Details

This is probably not the spice you are searching for... 🤣 But this is the spice content in my book!  You may have noticed my MMC, Murad, carrying his bags of spice around in ATBOD, my medieval era Fantasy novel. Murad is a West Asian messenger sent to Britain. It's not his first time there, and he arrives armed with eating spice to season the British food. Why? Because in my alt timeline of history, Britain has been cut off from the spice trade for many years, along with other trade sanctions. (If you didn't know already, this story was inspired by the modern disaster known as Brexit.) While Britain in the middle ages would've had spices for food, I actually wanted a way to represent what it felt like growing up in Britain in more recent times, when only bland unseasoned food was available. (Sorry, not sorry.) Yes, things are a little spicier now in the 21st Century... but for the first half of my life in the century before that, lol, finding decent food was a struggle! An...

Fantasy Written For a Heavy Metal Soundtrack Welcome back to my blog! It's time for another fun post. If there's one thing I do consistently, it is pick absolute BANGER tunes for my social media posts. I decided to delve into that for ATBOD, my medieval era Fantasy novel.  So, without further ado, please enjoy the three soundtrack themes for ATBOD! Heavy Metal Brian May 's epic guitar set to a backdrop of 80s glam metal. Am I describing the score to Masters of the Universe ? Yes! Perfect for dramatic sword wielding!  Also: Cathedral - Witchfinder General  Metallica - Wherever I May Roam  Don Felder - Heavy Metal (Take A Ride) I'll also take a heavy metal remix of Bonnie Tyler - Holding Out For A Hero. 80s Synthwave An epic score that evokes the Dark Fantasy films of the '80s. I'm talking Excalibur, Ladyhawke, Legend; exciting scores that mix medieval chants and classical music with prog and synth.  Neil Acree - The Mighty Nein (theme) Depeche Mode - Pe...

  As a way of celebrating my the release of my fourth book (!!) in two years,  I thought it would be fun to gather a few of the compliments readers and reviewers have said about my books so far! These are a few snips that have stood out to me, but is by no means an exhaustive list. I'd love to do a part two to this, maybe I'll make it a thing? So by all means please keep 'em coming! Authors need fuel! Presented in text format so it's easier to read, and in no particular order:  "I'm very impressed by this author, this is the third book I have read and they are all so very different - and all so very good." "One thing C Quince gets me to do, is to read books that I did not know I wanted to read until I read them. I hold my hands up, whilst I have heard of Steampunk, I did not know that Solarpunk was a thing and now I want more." "I'm not sure what it is, but there's something about C. Quince's writing that scratches an itch so rig...

Paperback Art Reveal! This is the full wraparound cover art for the paperback edition of At the Border of Destiny, my Historical Fantasy novel. Shout out to my cover artist Kalimpaszmadar for this stunning piece of art! 🪾🪾🪾 We both loved the thorn forest border! Yes this version of the art is a little different from the ebook, which is brighter in tone and without much of the thorn forest. We hope you like the paperback art as much as we do. I know I'm in love with it! 🩷 ATBOD is available now from most major retailers! 🎉  F ind ATBOD at your favourite online bookstore, then select 'format' to change it to a print edition.  Some links: Buy paperback - Amazon US Buy paperback - Amazon UK   I will be running a special paperback edition giveaway at some point soon, so keep an eye out!  Please rate and review queer indie books, it really helps us indie authors get seen! Add ATBOD to your TBR shelf now: Goodreads Storygraph   Purchase ATBOD as an ebook on Kind...

  Interviewing My MC's - Murad and Aaron Portraits by Kalimpaszmadar .  Hello! I stumbled upon some "ice breaker" questions for first dates, and thought this would be a very funny way to interview the ATBOD main characters, Murad and Aaron. Without further ado, here are the questions! Q: What travel essentials are you packing? Murad: Bow, arrow, swords, explosives. Spices.  Aaron: Lance, sword, shield.  Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would you go? Murad: Venice. Aaron: I have to stay in Mercia at the moment. I have responsibilities. Murad: I'm changing my answer. I will also stay in Mercia. Aaron: You don't have to. Murad: I will stay in Mercia. Q: If you could switch lives with someone for a day, who would it be? Murad: I would be a horse. Aaron: I'd switch with Murad. I'd love to see what he gets up to. Q: If you had three wishes, what would you ask for? Murad: Keep Aaron safe. Vanquish his enemies. Have a horse stable all ...

Wip Wednesday Snippet! From the Specimen sequel! Hello, here is a cheeky sneaky peeky of two separate snips from the same scene. Snip #1: High above, on the topmost platform of the pyramid, a figure dressed in decorative, colourful feathers, and a white cloth skirt appeared. He raised his hands up, and the people below him began cheering and screaming. “This is a little over the top,” Tir muttered. “Who is this guy? He hasn’t done anything yet and they’re all going crazy. Is it mass hysteria?” “Dear gods,” Sepehr hissed. “Shut up and watch.” The drums started up again, with shrill ululating cries. The people threw their hands up to the sky en masse, some sobbing in relief. When it began, Tir gasped softly. Even Sepehr’s breathe caught, because no matter how many times she’d witnessed this festival, it was still a marvel to behold. Snip #2: “You don’t even know who you’re addressing.” Amon pushed himself off the wall and approached, coming to stand in front of Sepehr. He smiled down fro...