Pyres up for pre-order and Shadow on Audible

Welcome to my July 2025 newsletter. The subtitle of this month’s newsletter could be ‘Bloody hell, I’m tired,’ but that’s not very appealing. I’m 40% of the way through my summer university course. The students are, as ever, incredible human beings from far flung corners of the globe. I have great colleagues. But it really is relentless. I need some time to just chill, as I haven’t really done that for more than a couple days at a time since January. Luckily, in six weeks’ time, after I drive back to Portugal, I’ll be jetting off for a break. So, I’ll stop my complaining and fall to task. For there is news, and oh - what news!!!

Let’s start at the beginning, then, with the news that Pyres, my second novel is now available for pre-order in eBook format on Kindle. It will be coming to other marketplaces soon, but I’m going to give it a few months for Kindle Unlimited readers to enjoy before sending it wide, as I know money is tight for so many at the moment and, regardless of what we may think about Jeff, KU is a godsend for so many readers out there. 

You can also add it to your Goodreads TBR, here.

If there are pre-orders and Goodreads entries, there must be a cover, I hear you say? Very astute, well done! And yes, indeed, there is a cover. Made by my friend, writer and former podcast co-host Paul Stephenson, the cover for Pyres was revealed piece by piece on my social media over the course of this week, culminating in this marvellous final reveal by Jim McLeod’s The Ginger Nuts of Horror. Huge thanks to Jim for doing this at short notice and, frankly, for generally supporting me and other horror creators in whatever ways he can.

The pre-order price for Pyres has been set at £1.99 / $2.99. It will go up to £2.99 / $3.99 a few days after launch in October, so if you want to pick it up, please do grab it while it’s cheaper.

Paperback copies are in the pipeline, nearing their emergence. Hopefully, they will be ready to go live wherever you buy your books in time for the October 3rd release. Remember that if you are UK-based and can attend the Indie Horror Chapter: Chapter 3 event in Weston-Super-Mare on September 6th, you will be able to get your mitts on a signed copy almost a month ahead of schedule. I’ll have about 30 copies, so do come and grab an exclusive so you can show off to your relatives and neighbours.

One last detail on Pyres is that I’ve received a final blurb from none other than Beverley Lee, whose newest book I recommended in these very pages last month:

In other news, my award-winning debut novel, Shadow of the Hidden, has finally made it to Audible, Apple Books, Audiobooks.com and a few of the other more mainstream audiobook sites. I’m really proud of the way the audiobook turned out, with some truly amazing work done by Pete Eaton, the narrator, as well as his producer, Dan Brown. I’d love for it to seep into more ears, taking the djinn curse with it, so click here and find it in your favourite store.

I don’t really have any other author news at the moment, as I am fully engrossed in this course and on hiatus from writing. I look forward to getting back to it, though, in October, when I return from my holiday. I have, though, managed to get back to running while in the UK. After slowly rebuilding fitness during the spring, I’m now doing about ninety minutes of running a week and feeling stronger and more resilient by the day, which is a great feeling and great for my mental health after almost two years of stuttering knee injury recovery.

All this being said, I’ll still be back next month, hopefully with news of early reviews for Pyres, and some bargains and recommendations for you all. Speaking of which … 

Recommendations

Reading - In The Valley of The Headless Men by L. P. Hernandez

I picked up a copy of this book from the author himself at last year’s Authorcon. Yes, in April 2024. But I’ve just read it, such is my slow reading speed, the scale of my TBR, as well as the fact I often find myself reading for blurbs, beta feedback, etc. I loved this book. Beginning with two half brothers, newly bereaved, there’s an incredibly believable chemistry between them. A discovery while sorting through their mother’s possessions sends them off to the titular valley, a true wilderness in Canada, where things quickly get strange. I don’t really want to say more, because it’s a short book and - spoilers - but suffice to say the combination of the brilliant character work, combined with the disarming nature of how things develop really worked for me. If this sounds like your cup of tea, you can pick up a copy here. 

Listening - A Single Flower by We Lost the Sea

I discovered these guys via a recommendation on Tidal a couple years ago. Instrumental post-rock. Soundscapes. I loved what I heard. What I didn’t expect, when I hit play on this new album, was for their sound to have developed so much. While retaining the soundscapes of previous outings, there’s almost a Scandinavian doom feel to this record reminsicent, as my friend Paul Feeney remarked, of Moonsorrow. Anyway, great writing music for atmospheric scenes and just great music to listen to and appreciate,  have a listen on your chosen streaming service, here.

Watching - Hopefully back next month - I have watched zero minutes of TV or films since leaving Portugal

Bargains and Freebies

I set up own Book Funnel promo this month. Friends of mine like Robin Knabel, Miranda Kate, and Jack Rollins joined in, along with a bunch of other spooky writers. You can check out the full list and grab a free spooky read here.

Speaking of my friend, writer and editor Robin Knabel, she’s found 25 free horror books and compiled them all in this list - grab yours here.

And finally, NicoleLoves2Read has set up this promo, delightfully called Bloody Gorefest. You’ll find some of my grisliest stuff along with a bunch of others, here.

So, onwards to August and a slightly less manic month at this end. Thank you, as always, for reading. If you want to comment, ask a question, tell me about your cat, or whatever, you can reply to these emails directly, or reach out to me on Bluesky, Xitter, Instagram and all the usual places. I love hearing from you guys.

In the meantime, take care of yourselves, be kind, and I’ll be back in touch towards the end of August.

Kev