Ask the Author: Guy Haley
Answered Questions (29)
Guy Haley
Hi there Abbey,
I get asked this a lot about my books. Alas, I have no control over how they are marketed or how much they cost. All you can do is keep an eye out for a reasonably priced secondhand copy. I'm pretty sure it'll get reprinted one day, as Games Workshop periodically rerelease old titles.
All the best,
Guy
I get asked this a lot about my books. Alas, I have no control over how they are marketed or how much they cost. All you can do is keep an eye out for a reasonably priced secondhand copy. I'm pretty sure it'll get reprinted one day, as Games Workshop periodically rerelease old titles.
All the best,
Guy
Guy Haley
Hi there! Thanks for reading. You're right, it has been some years, 11 since I wrote it, to be precise. I had to go and look it up, but a quick search reveals that the book says the Harlequin King is 'the greatest of the Great Harlequins', so it must be that.
Guy Haley
Funny you should ask, as only yesterday Gav Thorpe and I were talking about Ork clans, and he was saying it’s odd how people don’t make up their own very often, although it’s been clearly stated in the sourcebooks for years that minor clans other than the big six do exist, for example, the White Spiders. The Kill Blades were me riffing exactly on this point. I made them up just to show that minor clans are a thing. So you won’t find reference to them anywhere else, and the details you request do not exist. If you wanted to model them as an army, you have total freedom to invent the rest yourself...
Guy Haley
Thanks, that’s really kind. As a matter of fact, I have a sequel planned. I almost started it last year then it got delayed in favour of other projects. Don’t worry, I do plan to write a full trilogy about Noctis and Lux, and I’d like to start book two sooner rather than later, but there is nothing imminent, I’m afraid. Still, it will happen eventually.
Guy Haley
Hi! Thanks for your kind words there. I’ve checked the listing, and if you click on the ‘editions’ link there’s a whole host of them. I’m looking on my phone, however (busy with DIY at the mo - not been near my writing computer for a few days!) so it could just be hidden, or connected with Goodreads migration to their new page format, but I don’t know, I’m just guessing here.
Guy Haley
Hi Katie. Thanks for enjoying it! It's not exactly part of a longer story, but the good news is that the adventures of Noctis continue in Flesh and Steel, which is a full length novel. Here's a link. https://www.blacklibrary.com/all-prod... If hardcopies are your thing, they aren't available from GW directly at the moment, but they're definitely still available on Amazon (and in bookshops and some gaming stores, I imagine).
Guy Haley
Hi! As always, I’d love to, but the publisher didn’t believe sales warranted a continuation. But never say never, I would love to return to it one day.
Guy Haley
Hi. Do you think you could send me an email about this? You can get it from BL. I don't really want to be answering IP queries on a public forum!
Guy Haley
Well sir, there you are mistaken. Dark Imperium has not been expunged. It admittedly has been off sale for a while, but it will return, as will Plague War, in new editions that slightly retcon it to take place within the Indomitus Crusade rather than afterwards. Godblight, book three in the series, will be released shortly thereafter. So, in answer to your question, you can read the Great Work. It is not invalidated in the slightest. They are connected a little, but not in the way that you have to have read the DI series to understand or enjoy! I hope that is a satisfactory answer, and thank you for your question.
Guy Haley
I do know what's happened to it, but I can't say yet... It's quite cool though. The book will be back after a while, as will Plague War, and I will be writing the third part later this year. Funny, really, a lot of people think it's been quietly disappeared forever, and that Dawn of Fire is going to replace it, but that's not the case, I assure you.
Guy Haley
I can give you a two word one: Pandemic homeschooling.
Guy Haley
Hello! A printing press eh? I’ve not heard that before! Excellent. The fastest I’ve ever written a book, not including the two weeks research, was six weeks for Valedor. Normally it takes me anywhere between that and twelve weeks, but 12 weeks is really the outside, and that’s more than one draft, it’s the finished product. I write between three and five novels’ worth of material a year, so it must be that (I don’t record how long it takes, generally, so anything I say here is a bit elastic).
I don’t have a process per se. Obviously, there is a process, because I start with nothing and finish with a book, but I don’t have a set process. Further, because of the kind of fiction I write for BL, there is a formula too, I suppose, but I vary both process and formula as much as I can, so it’s not something that is readily quantifiable in an answer like this. But, having interviewed and spoken to a LOT of authors, I can say there is no magic recipe, if that’s what you’re after. We all do it differently. You have have to find your own way of doing things. The one commonality is that I try to to write an average number of words a day over the course of a project. 3500 for me is satisfactory, but nothing to get excited about. I aim for 4000. If I do less, than 3500, I get annoyed. Even if I’m not feeling it, I push on and get words down on the page. In the economy of writing, words down on the page are the currency that really matters.
I hope that answers your question!
I don’t have a process per se. Obviously, there is a process, because I start with nothing and finish with a book, but I don’t have a set process. Further, because of the kind of fiction I write for BL, there is a formula too, I suppose, but I vary both process and formula as much as I can, so it’s not something that is readily quantifiable in an answer like this. But, having interviewed and spoken to a LOT of authors, I can say there is no magic recipe, if that’s what you’re after. We all do it differently. You have have to find your own way of doing things. The one commonality is that I try to to write an average number of words a day over the course of a project. 3500 for me is satisfactory, but nothing to get excited about. I aim for 4000. If I do less, than 3500, I get annoyed. Even if I’m not feeling it, I push on and get words down on the page. In the economy of writing, words down on the page are the currency that really matters.
I hope that answers your question!
Guy Haley
Hi there! Thanks for defending my honour. There will eventually be a third Baneblade book. It’s been in my schedule a few times but keeps getting bumped back. I will write it eventually though! No plans for a navy book, but we’ll see.
Guy Haley
I would love to, but the publisher pulled the plug on the series, and I haven’t had the time to work out how I’d carry it on. Kickstarter sounds like a great idea though!
Guy Haley
Many thanks for your kind words. I can't tell you exactly when my books from GW will come out, as they like to announce things according to a strict schedule. In the case of Dark Imperium 3, I actually have no idea, mostly because I haven't written it. I can tell you that I will be writing it soon, though, so you won't have to wait too long.
As for Cawl, absolutely I would like to write some more stories about him. Whether I'll continue the story or hop back in time to some other incident, I have not decided. I would like to do both, and will at some point. I have talked about doing another Cawl book, but as yet it is far down my list of books to write. I hope that helps.
As for Cawl, absolutely I would like to write some more stories about him. Whether I'll continue the story or hop back in time to some other incident, I have not decided. I would like to do both, and will at some point. I have talked about doing another Cawl book, but as yet it is far down my list of books to write. I hope that helps.
Guy Haley
The kingdom occupies territory in and around the modern two Virginias. Under the Emperor it grew much bigger, but was stripped of most of its empire after the League War. There is no current emperor, but a king, and he has little power being heavily overseen by the angels of the Eastern League of Dreaming cities. The towns of Virginia currently manage most of their own affairs.
Richmond was destroyed at the end of the Days Gone Before, and no longer exists. The major coastal towns of Virginia as we know them today are largely underwater owing to changes in sea levels. The current capital is at Hopewell. This is near the site of modern day Hopewell, outside Richmond on the James River, but the old settlement is also underwater. As rivers are so important for trade in this era, as they were in the past, most of the major cities are to be found where they are navigable. I hope that answers your question.
Richmond was destroyed at the end of the Days Gone Before, and no longer exists. The major coastal towns of Virginia as we know them today are largely underwater owing to changes in sea levels. The current capital is at Hopewell. This is near the site of modern day Hopewell, outside Richmond on the James River, but the old settlement is also underwater. As rivers are so important for trade in this era, as they were in the past, most of the major cities are to be found where they are navigable. I hope that answers your question.
Guy Haley
Hi Trevor, thanks for your message.
Yeah, I know Charleston is in West Virginia today, but in this future the states don't match up with the way they are now (indeed, they're not even states any more). In Quinn's time there is a kingdom called Virginia that lies in and around the boundaries of the modern day Virginias. There's a lot of this going on. Some places haven't kept the same name, and there are some far bigger geographical upheavals coming up in future books. At some point I'll have to draw a map.
I chose West Virginia because it represents a transition between the Eastern seaboard and central US landscapes. Quinn's already some way into his journey from the city of Atlantis when we meet him, and this story represents something of a turning point for him. Charleston of the future is a frontier town in many respects.
It was also important to me that this future makes sense. The cities and kingdoms have to be able to trade and so on. I wanted an area where the Mississippi river system starts to get big enough to carry large barges. In this future, most travel and communications are done along the rivers, as it was in the 19th century - and the Kanawha fit the bill.
If I'm truthful, part of it was down to confusion on my part between Charleston, South Carolina and Charleston, West Virginia, but once I did my research it all came together quite nicely.
I've no personal connection with the US, and have never been to that part of the the States, in case you were wondering. I'll have to visit for real some day!
Yeah, I know Charleston is in West Virginia today, but in this future the states don't match up with the way they are now (indeed, they're not even states any more). In Quinn's time there is a kingdom called Virginia that lies in and around the boundaries of the modern day Virginias. There's a lot of this going on. Some places haven't kept the same name, and there are some far bigger geographical upheavals coming up in future books. At some point I'll have to draw a map.
I chose West Virginia because it represents a transition between the Eastern seaboard and central US landscapes. Quinn's already some way into his journey from the city of Atlantis when we meet him, and this story represents something of a turning point for him. Charleston of the future is a frontier town in many respects.
It was also important to me that this future makes sense. The cities and kingdoms have to be able to trade and so on. I wanted an area where the Mississippi river system starts to get big enough to carry large barges. In this future, most travel and communications are done along the rivers, as it was in the 19th century - and the Kanawha fit the bill.
If I'm truthful, part of it was down to confusion on my part between Charleston, South Carolina and Charleston, West Virginia, but once I did my research it all came together quite nicely.
I've no personal connection with the US, and have never been to that part of the the States, in case you were wondering. I'll have to visit for real some day!
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Jan 15, 2025 04:34AM · flag