I started off 2018 by releasing a powder mage short story, Siege of Tilpur, at the end of January. It was originally part of a larger SFF anthology and people had been asking me to put it out as a stand-alone. It’s a quick read about Field Marshal Tamas taking risks to make his bones in the early era of his career.

I followed that up in March with the release of the long-awaited Powder Mage RPG. To be perfectly honest, writing the RPG was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. Content is such a different beast than prose. But it finally got finished and I was very pleased with the result! Thanks to everyone’s patience as I finished that bad boy up.

May was the biggest month for me. It started off with Badali Jewelry unveiling the super cool Ben Styke’s Mad Lancer Ring and moved straight into the release of my fifth major epic fantasy novel. Wrath of Empire is the middle book in Gods of Blood and Powder and the fifth powder mage novel overall. If you don’t really care that much about my side-projects but want to keep on task with the main series, this is the latest piece you need to catch up on.

The end of August saw the release of my first non-powder mage published piece ever. War Cry is a quick, short read published by tor.com. It follows a shape-shifting army ranger on the high plains fighting an endless war. This piece is very close to my heart, and if you like my stuff I hope you’ll give it a try.

The year ended with a handful of foreign language releases, and a semi-finalist spot for Wrath of Empire on the Goodreads Choice Awards, all of which was very cool. Over all, it was a very busy and successful year. Thanks to everyone who picked up one of my works and helped make that happen!

What to Expect from Brian in 2019:

Lots of travel happening this year, so keep an eye on my event list (I’ll update it frequently when I have confirmed conventions and signing dates). Please do keep in mind that I generally don’t choose where I go—I rely on invites from conventions/festivals/bookstores.

My first release of the year will be a side-project I’ve talked about on Twitter quite often. Uncanny Collateral is an urban fantasy romp about a collection agent in Cleveland, Ohio who works for the supernatural elements of the world. It should be out in April, with pre-order links going up over the next couple of weeks.

The only other planned release is the sixth and final powder mage novel, Blood of Empire. Pre-order links, as well as a cover reveal, will probably be up by the end of February. The first draft of the book is finished and I’m currently churning through edits. It’s slated for a release date of November 26th.

As for the rest of the year, there are things I would like to do but have no idea whether I’ll get to them. This includes one (or maybe two) more powder mage novellas, as well as the sequel to Uncanny Collateral.

And finally, the big one: I’ve been working on a proposal for my next epic fantasy series. I won’t say too much because I haven’t sold it yet, but this is a completely new universe; a flintlock fantasy with industrialized magic. The basics of the world have been floating around my head for a good two years now so I’m very excited to be working on it. Fingers crossed I’ll be able to announce a sale at some point during 2019 and give you guys some idea of when you’ll get to see the first book.

That wraps up my year-in-review. Thanks again for your continued patronage!