The good news is you don’t actually need to own a Kindle to read it. Amazon has made a variety of apps available for iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows PCs, Android phones and more. And best of all, they’re completely free.  This means you can shop for 850,000 ebooks in the Kindle store, including The Great Dominions. The Kindle device also allow you to read the first ten chapters for free.

Whether you choose to purchase or not, please please ‘like’ the book on Amazon (by clicking the ‘thumbs up’ button next to the book title.) And if you do download and read it, please please write an Amazon review. Whether you think it’s a load of old pickle or the finest of chutneys, let the world – and me – know what you think.

Why write a novel in the first place?

Not for fame and riches. Most published authors sell roughly 1-2,000 copies of their book, and earn something like £7,000 per annum. I wrote it because I love writing fiction and, as far as I could tell, there wasn’t much else like it in the market. So I was motivated by excitement, frustration, and an impulse to plug that gap. Also writing is what I do – whether specifications, memos, presentations, proposals, business cases, blog posts, poems or books – it’s one of the few things at which I’m vaguely competent.

What’s it about?

Read this for some background. It’s dark, gritty, epic, shocking and moving. With lots of twists. And battles.

What genre is it?

First and foremost it is an historical thriller. But with substantial layers of fantasy, supernatural and horror – like a grim and foul-tasting trifle.

Who are your inspirations?

A non-definitive list:

Alan Garner, Tim Willocks, Joe Abercrombie, CJ Samson, Karen Maitland, Dan Simmons, Michael Moorcock, Neil Gaiman, Herman Hesse, Gene Wolfe, Ursula Le Guin, Robert Holdstock, William Hope Hodgson, Bernard Cornwell, Pip Vaughan-Hughes, Michelle Paver, Jasper Kent, Sarah Waters, M D Lachlan, Robert Low, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Philip Pullman.

My all-time favourite novel has to be The Religion by Tim Willocks – epic historical fiction in a totally different class; I’ve been waiting for the sequel for years and still no sign of it.

Why commission artists to illustrate the book?

I cannot divorce the novel from the music I was listening to throughout the period of writing. Apart from film and other books, certain music was hugely influential in providing me with an ‘internal movie’ that, in turn, inspired whole chunks of the book. Once finished, I wanted to make an explicit connection between the writing and the music, so turned to a select band of ‘underground’ illustrators – who would usually provide artwork for band CD covers, shirts and posters; specifically, the type of band I listened to throughout the writing process.
As it happens, I’m a big fan of these illustrators in their own right. Each of them is hugely talented, and with a distinct style that I consider appropriate for depicting key scenes in the book. It was a massive thrill to see these guys interpret my words in their own unique way. So now I have four illustrations which perfectly complement the written material, and provide a unique selling point for the book.
I’m a bit of a music nerd, and love discovering new bands to fire my imagination. Some of my favourites, old and new, include: Sleep, Ufomammut, Camel of Doom, Enslaved, OM, Grand Magus, Led Zeppelin, Wardruna, Fields of the Nephilim, Naam, Daylight Dies, Esoteric, YOB, Earth Ride, Arcana, Celtic Frost, Black Sabbath, Teeth of the Sea, Abunai!, Hawkwind, Goatsnake, Comets on Fire, Jex Thoth, Earthless, Agalloch, Black Bombaim, Opeth, Sunn, Saint Vitus, Nachtmystium, Tangerine Dream, White Hills, Forest of Shadows, Urgehal, Gnod, Doom Vs, Colour Haze, Wolves in the Throne Room, Mammatus, Draconian, Gehenna, Negura Bunget, Earth, Popol Vuh, Ramesses, Kyuss,

When’s the book out?

It is out now for Kindle at Amazon UK and Amazon US. Hard copies and limited edition packs are in the pipeline.

The elevator pitch:

While Christian and Muslim wrestle for control of the Holy Lands, another secret battle is being fought between ancient supernatural foes – with far greater rewards at stake.

The short summary:

On the eve of the greatest battle in the history of the Crusades, something ancient and evil stirs beneath the sands of the Judean wilderness. For some it is their saviour, for others their nemesis.
Friend and foe alike converge on the same remote desert valley to wage war, and to witness it’s awakening: Petrovingian sorcerer knights travel from their lands in the far north; the enigmatic Repha’im emerge after centuries of hiding; a secretive order of warrior monks enact a desperate plan, while the few survivors of a persecuted Muslim sect watch from the shadows.
Power and control are the prizes in this war – but the victor will be determined by the actions of a single man: a corrupt, disgraced young Templar. Guilty of murder, hunted by his own father, and wanted for kidnap, Alaric is a reluctant protagonist. Yet he and his rag-tag band of misfits become irrevocably drawn into a maelstrom of events that will shape the destinies of Christian and Muslim alike, and ultimately decide the fate of the Holy Lands.

Joshua Belanger

Joshua is an artist and illustrator based in New Hampshire, specialising in ultra-detailed works for underground bands across packaging, posters and merchandise. His commissions include artwork for the likes of: Bring Me The Horizon, Suicide Silence, Zombie Liquorice, Bleed From Within and Rings of Saturn. More on Joshua’s illustration for The Great Dominions here.
www.joshuaandrewbelanger.com

David V D’Andrea

Since the early 1990s,  D’Andrea has gradually become a staple in the West Coast music scene. His artwork is dark yet organic, heavy yet fantastic, with images weaving together rich hues, dark tones, and exceptionally complex textures and details. D’Andrea creates eerie scenes filled with stoic human figures, disillusioned faces, nature, and death. Depictions of trees, blossoming flowers, and tombstones are omnipresent, as are D’Andrea’s unusual textures – often reminiscent of reptile scales and bird feathers. His commissions include works for: Agalloch, Swans, Comus, Om, Sleep, Ulver, Witchcraft, Scott ‘Wino’ Weinrich and Sleepy Sun. More on David’s illustration for The Great Dominions here.
www.dvdandrea.com

Arik Roper

Arik Moonhawk Roper was born in 1973 in New York City, grew up in Richmond, Virginia, then returned to New York to attend the School of Visual Arts from 1991-1995. Since then he has built a universe of strange and familiar fantasy, horror, surreal, and psychedelic imagery. After starting out creating record and CD covers for a variety of bands, and various gigs in the commercial art world, he has continued onward and into more diverse areas of poster design and graphic illustration, and animation. Arik has created artwork for bands including: Comets on Fire, Om, High on Fire, Sleep and Earth. More on Arik’s illustration for The Great Dominions here.
arikroper.com

B A Vierling

Benjamin Vierling is an illustrator and fine artist. His painting technique is derived from methods used in northern europe during the 15th and early 16th centuries, in which egg tempera and oil paint mediums are alternately layered, conspiring to produce a subtle radiance of tone that is difficult to create any other way. The subject matter is often painstakingly rendered from real life over the course of many months and laden with detail and symbolism. His output includes pieces for: Joanna Newsom, Weapon, Nightbringer, Anja Records, plus a number of book illustrations. More on Benjamin’s illustration for The Great Dominions here.
www.bvierling.com