A new series and a new book...BLACK LEGION

It is 2012 and after a number of delays my latest novel has been released. This is novel number nine and the first in this new series. Unlike the Star Crusades saga of five books, this series is set far into the future. It is a world populated by aliens, advanced technology and characters with no memory of Earth and its ancient past.

My background is ancient history, advanced computing and European martial arts, so this new book combines the lot into a new and exciting work. The story is influenced by the famous story of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand Mercenaries. I studied this work in great detail when working on my Masters Degree in the original Ancient Greek, and have always found its themes influential in my writing.

It is my plan continue the Black Legion story into a series of at least three books. I would them like to jump ahead a couple of generations to continue the story with new characters with stories to tell. This will all follow the framework of Ancient European history, mixed with renaissance intrigue, politics and style.


The Black Legion is an army like no other. Paid for by the blood money of a sinister alien race and filled with ten thousand of humanity’s best warriors. They are an unstoppable force with their number taken from every known Terran planet in the Galaxy. They have little in common, other than their love of wealth and adventure, and a bitter hatred for each other. Ten thousand savage mercenaries, exiles, thieves and criminals, each looking to make their name in the greatest enterprise in living memory.


Into this world of space travel, war and intrigue comes Xenophon, the exile from the Alliance planet Attica, Glaucon the rich playboy, Roxana the experienced starship officer, and Tamara, the blue-haired castaway with a hidden past and a violent personality. Fate brings them together, to serve on board one of the mighty Titans, the great floating fortresses and the most powerful starships known to mankind. There are only twelve of these in existence, and just one is powerful enough to take on an entire fleet of enemy ships.


With only a few weeks to train with their comrades, nothing will prepare them for the carnage that awaits them at the infamous Gates of Cilicia. This fortified sector serves as the entrance to the Median Empire, the largest and most powerful empire in the known Galaxy and ruled with an iron fist by the tyrant, Emperor Artaxerxes.


An epic science fiction novel that retells the ancient tale of Xenophon and the Ten Thousand Mercenaries.

Star Crusades Omnibus Edition out now

There is now an even more affordable way to get hold of my best-selling Star Crusades series. The newly released Omnibus edition includes all five of the novels in one package. As well as saving money you will also get the latest artwork for the series. At nearly 390,000 words this is a true epic that will keep even the fastest reader busy for a good number of nights. A paperback and hardback of this penology will be out in the next few weeks.

Star Crusades pentalogy is finished!

After a great deal of work I am pleased to announce the completion of my pentalogy of novels. All are now available to buy as kindle books and all but book five is available as a paperback. A hardback containing all five books will be out within the month. it has taken a long time to plan out and write these novels, the last one was especially tough and ended up being two chapters longer than planned. At 380,000 words, this is truly an epic piece of work and one I am very pleased with.

This is the first major work I have completed and it has proven to be a real epic in both time and scope. I am now well underway on a new series of books that are unrelated to Star Crusades. I hope much of what I have learnt in terms of plotting, style and technique will be used to make my new series even greater than this one.

As for whether this is the end of the road for Star Crusades, well, not really. It is the end of the story arc for sure but there are many more stories to tell. What happened before the war? Perhaps more importantly, what happened afterwards? There are also some of the smaller stories such as the characters of Gun, Khan, Anderson and the rest. It is my plan to produce at least two more series based on the Star Crusades universe. I will leave it to my legions of fans to let me know what they would like to know more about before the story continues.

That is your cue to get in touch!

November update: Terra Nova, Star Crusades and the future...

Confederate taskforce

Terra Nova is finished
After months of work the manuscript for the final book in the Star Crusades series is finished. Fall of Terra Nova is now with the editor and proofreader to have the finishing touches put to the text. The final book in the five book series is by far the largest at well over 100,000 words, the longest novel I've written so far.

Dawn of a new series
This isn't a moment to sit and reflect though, starting this week I have begun planning a whole new science fiction series that will combine my knowledge and experience of computing, armed martial arts and ancient history. Once Fall of Terra Nova is released I will post up details of my new saga. For now, all I can say is it will be a longer series than Star Crusades and it will be heavily influenced on 4th century BC history mixed with science fiction and adventure.

The Future of Star Crusades
Where does this leave Spartan and the characters from Star Crusades now that the series is complete? That is a good question. First of all, I think it is important to understand that the five book series ends a story arc. There are more stories to be told in this world from the early days of Spartan through to the continuing adventures of the Jotnar.

The battle for Proxima begins

Book 4 in the Star Crusades Series

Today is the 14^th of September and I am pleased to announce the final release of Battle for Proxima. This is the fourth big in my Star Crusades series and the penultimate story in the five book story arc. The events of the previous books have been building up to a level that demanded satisfaction in the most violent of ways. This is the longest book I have written so far and that added extra time on the end to get it finished. It was one of those stories that just wouldn’t end!

One question I am often asked is about extra detail with regards to smaller characters. For example, some of the more junior soldiers or officers might just get a mention but the reader wants more. In a war as big as this one I have to keep the attention on the small group of main characters, the two most important being Spartan and Teresa. Next in line are general Rivers, Admiral Jarvis, Commander Anderson, Gun and Marcus. There are dozens more but you are probably already starting to see the problem. 

Warships assembling for battle at Euryale

When book five is completed it is my intention to examine the lesser characters. I have some ideas for them and will bounce them off you in due course. For now enjoy my new novel, I will let you know more about book five as we get closer to its own release date.

Thunder and Lightning

Confederate frigate escorted by Lightning fighters

The Confederate Navy Fighter Wings were the elite fighting arm of the Navy and contained the best trained pilots in the fleet. Though most squadrons were based at the Naval bases and battlegroups around Terra Nova a few squadrons did play their part in the Proxima Emergency. Operating from escort cruisers and carriers the men and women of the Fighter Wings made use of the two most advanced craft in the Fleet. The MK II Lightning was a twin-engine interceptor whilst the Thunderbolt MK I was a four engine torpedo bomber with enough firepower to cripple a frigate.

Excerpt from Tears of Kerberos.

Close-up view of the Lightning MKII two-seater fighters

Book Cover Photoshoot & Party

My publisher, Swordworks Books is responsible for some great artwork for my novels. The designs are detailed and often include an amalgamation of custom artwork, illustration and images of models. Earlier on in June I was pleased to take part in a bizarre but very interesting photoshoot to obtain artwork that will be included in a variety of projects including my Star Crusades series. Swordworks publish books on such diverse subjects as science-fiction, fantasy, horror and instructional manuals.

The day started off with a number of people dressed in all kinds of attire from World War II German uniforms to leather jackets and dyed hair. Each carried a variety of props that included historical and modern weapons and in some really great poses. A make-up team was on standby and they created some fantastic injuries as well as dirtying up some of the models prior to the photo session.

Photography was conducted by Imaginography and I think you'll agree that the photographs were truly exceptional. All of the images were taken at the session or created from material taken that day. Enjoy!

If you would like to see more of the photgraphs from that day please checkout the Imaginography Facebook page.