Michael Arnold's Blog
June 11, 2018
Highwayman Audiobooks
Hullo. Been a while, hasn't it? Sorry.
Since Marston Moor came out, I have been working on Stryker 7, done a bit of ghost-writing for someone else, and recorded the audiobook version of Highwayman: Ironside.
Stryker 7 is nearly done, which will be a relief!
But I wanted to tell everyone about the audiobook. I've narrated and produced it myself, in my shed, which has been a bit of a challenge to say the very least!! Trains in the background, screaming kids, screeching foxes and next door's bloody dog.
But I got it done. Eventually.
I would love to do the second instalment, Winter Swarm, but I need to shift a few copies of Ironside first. I really hope some of you lovely folk will give it a go. If you haven't used Audible before, its free for the first month, and you get a free credit to get you started. Perhaps Highwayman could be your first go..?
Anyway, here are the links.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highwayman-I...
Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Th...
It will be available on iTunes by the end of this week.
Thank you so much for your continued support. Will be back on here when Stryker 7 is ready to roll...
M
Since Marston Moor came out, I have been working on Stryker 7, done a bit of ghost-writing for someone else, and recorded the audiobook version of Highwayman: Ironside.
Stryker 7 is nearly done, which will be a relief!
But I wanted to tell everyone about the audiobook. I've narrated and produced it myself, in my shed, which has been a bit of a challenge to say the very least!! Trains in the background, screaming kids, screeching foxes and next door's bloody dog.
But I got it done. Eventually.
I would love to do the second instalment, Winter Swarm, but I need to shift a few copies of Ironside first. I really hope some of you lovely folk will give it a go. If you haven't used Audible before, its free for the first month, and you get a free credit to get you started. Perhaps Highwayman could be your first go..?
Anyway, here are the links.
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Highwayman-I...
Audible: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Crime-Th...
It will be available on iTunes by the end of this week.
Thank you so much for your continued support. Will be back on here when Stryker 7 is ready to roll...
M
July 21, 2015
The Battle of Marston Moor: Why so important?
My new book, Marston Moor, is about.... wait for it... yep - you've guessed it... the battle of Marston Moor.
Now I would argue, of course, that the story is much more than that. Historically speaking, it's retells the events leading up to the fight. Prince Rupert's York March, the Army of Both Kingdoms' siege of York and, finally, the battle itself. Not to mention the human tales that turn a history book into a novel.
But there's no getting away from it. In this one book, the battle is the star. So I figured I'd at least explain why the 2nd July 1644 is so important.
Don't worry - I won't give the fictitious side of the novel away. You'll have to read the thing if you want to find out what happens to the characters we've been tracking since Traitor's Blood. But there's no point avoiding what really happened on that pivotal day...
Firstly, Marston Moor was the second largest battle ever fought on English soil (only Flodden Field is thought to have involved more troops). The Royalists were technically underdogs, possessing 10,000 fewer troops than the Parliamentarian-Scots alliance against which they fought, but they were led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the most talented (and feared) generals in the king’s service. Moreover, Rupert’s tactical genius had seen him outmanoeuvre his opponents during the preceding days, wrong-footing their vastly superior force to relieve the city of York and free up the Marquis of Newcastle’s army, hitherto trapped within, to join his own.
The battle itself lasted around two hours, and, though the Royalists initially gained significant success (all three commanders of the allied Army of Both Kingdoms fled the field, believing defeat imminent) they were ultimately defeated in dramatic fashion.
The Parliamentarian right wing horse was destroyed in the first throws, very nearly leading to the collapse of the rest of the allied battle line, but their left wing, led by one Oliver Cromwell, prevailed against the opposing cavalry (including Rupert’s own fearsome cavalry regiment) and was able to roll over the Royalist infantry in the centre and take the field.
At a stroke, the fate of York was sealed, and control of the North passed to Parliament and its Scottish allies. The hitherto powerful Royalist Northern army was destroyed, the reputation of both Prince Rupert and his famed cavalry was in tatters, and the whole momentum of the war swung in favour of the rebels. Crucially, the victory made a name for Oliver Cromwell, and proved that a well-trained, organised, and religiously committed Parliamentarian army could more than match anything King Charles put in the field, heralding the dawn of the New Model Army, which would later sweep all before it.
The argument as to which battle of the English Civil Wars was most important will never reach conclusion. Was it Edgehill, for beginning it all, or Naseby, for the New Model’s crushing victory, or Worcester, the final engagement of a conflict that cost more in British life than any other? But Marston Moor was the moment when the Royalists understood they might actually lose. The moment the Parliamentarians realised that they could genuinely win. It was the turning of the tide.
Now I would argue, of course, that the story is much more than that. Historically speaking, it's retells the events leading up to the fight. Prince Rupert's York March, the Army of Both Kingdoms' siege of York and, finally, the battle itself. Not to mention the human tales that turn a history book into a novel.
But there's no getting away from it. In this one book, the battle is the star. So I figured I'd at least explain why the 2nd July 1644 is so important.
Don't worry - I won't give the fictitious side of the novel away. You'll have to read the thing if you want to find out what happens to the characters we've been tracking since Traitor's Blood. But there's no point avoiding what really happened on that pivotal day...
Firstly, Marston Moor was the second largest battle ever fought on English soil (only Flodden Field is thought to have involved more troops). The Royalists were technically underdogs, possessing 10,000 fewer troops than the Parliamentarian-Scots alliance against which they fought, but they were led by Prince Rupert of the Rhine, one of the most talented (and feared) generals in the king’s service. Moreover, Rupert’s tactical genius had seen him outmanoeuvre his opponents during the preceding days, wrong-footing their vastly superior force to relieve the city of York and free up the Marquis of Newcastle’s army, hitherto trapped within, to join his own.
The battle itself lasted around two hours, and, though the Royalists initially gained significant success (all three commanders of the allied Army of Both Kingdoms fled the field, believing defeat imminent) they were ultimately defeated in dramatic fashion.
The Parliamentarian right wing horse was destroyed in the first throws, very nearly leading to the collapse of the rest of the allied battle line, but their left wing, led by one Oliver Cromwell, prevailed against the opposing cavalry (including Rupert’s own fearsome cavalry regiment) and was able to roll over the Royalist infantry in the centre and take the field.
At a stroke, the fate of York was sealed, and control of the North passed to Parliament and its Scottish allies. The hitherto powerful Royalist Northern army was destroyed, the reputation of both Prince Rupert and his famed cavalry was in tatters, and the whole momentum of the war swung in favour of the rebels. Crucially, the victory made a name for Oliver Cromwell, and proved that a well-trained, organised, and religiously committed Parliamentarian army could more than match anything King Charles put in the field, heralding the dawn of the New Model Army, which would later sweep all before it.
The argument as to which battle of the English Civil Wars was most important will never reach conclusion. Was it Edgehill, for beginning it all, or Naseby, for the New Model’s crushing victory, or Worcester, the final engagement of a conflict that cost more in British life than any other? But Marston Moor was the moment when the Royalists understood they might actually lose. The moment the Parliamentarians realised that they could genuinely win. It was the turning of the tide.
November 14, 2014
Civil War Chrinicles in the US
Just to let folks know, the Civil War Chronicles (Stryker!) are now available as ebooks on t'other side of the Pond.
Hurrah!
ere are some links.
TRAITOR'S BLOOD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ0D4ZE
DEVIL'S CHARGE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKLWNPO
HUNTER'S RAGE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKLWOOO
ASSASSIN'S REIGN: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGF18A
WARLORD'S GOLD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGV89Q
STRYKER AND THE ANGELS OF DEATH: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGF2E8
Hurrah!
ere are some links.
TRAITOR'S BLOOD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PJ0D4ZE
DEVIL'S CHARGE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKLWNPO
HUNTER'S RAGE: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKLWOOO
ASSASSIN'S REIGN: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGF18A
WARLORD'S GOLD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGV89Q
STRYKER AND THE ANGELS OF DEATH: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PKGF2E8
July 23, 2013
Highwayman
So I've got this new series about a Highwayman. Not sure if it counts as a short story or a novella, but, either way, I'm pretty excited about it. It was a new venture for me, as it's only available in electronic format... so we'll see.
Anyway, watch this space. Goes on Free promo on Amazon this morning. If we can get a few downloads, I'll be allowed to write another one! Here's hoping...
M
Anyway, watch this space. Goes on Free promo on Amazon this morning. If we can get a few downloads, I'll be allowed to write another one! Here's hoping...
M
June 16, 2013
Booky Update
So it's a big couple of weeks for me. The new novella series (Highwayman: Ironside) has been unleashed upon the world (well, the e-reading world, anyway) while there is another ebook (Stryker and the Angels of Death)and the paperback of Hunter's Rage to come in the next few days.
But then we have the biggie. Assassin's Reign will be published in hardback in July. It'll see Stryker and his cohort get themselves embroiled in the siege of Gloucester. A pivotal moment in the Civil War Chronicles, and in the First Civil War at large.
So exciting times! If you'd like to join me in raising a glass, the launch party for Assassin's Reign will be at Waterstones Petersfield on Tuesday 2nd July, from 7.30pm.
Come along!
But then we have the biggie. Assassin's Reign will be published in hardback in July. It'll see Stryker and his cohort get themselves embroiled in the siege of Gloucester. A pivotal moment in the Civil War Chronicles, and in the First Civil War at large.
So exciting times! If you'd like to join me in raising a glass, the launch party for Assassin's Reign will be at Waterstones Petersfield on Tuesday 2nd July, from 7.30pm.
Come along!
June 8, 2013
Stryker 5 is alive!
Hi. Just getting into this, so a quickie for now...
Just to let followers of the Civil War Chronicles know that I have begun work on (the as yet untitled) fifth book in the series. It'll see our heroes mooch down to the Scilly Isles, amongst other places, and should be a right good romp.
In other news, my ebook series of novellas launched this week. The first, Highwayman: Ironside, is available to download now. Give it a whirl if you like action-packed hist-fic...
Cheers for now.
M
Just to let followers of the Civil War Chronicles know that I have begun work on (the as yet untitled) fifth book in the series. It'll see our heroes mooch down to the Scilly Isles, amongst other places, and should be a right good romp.
In other news, my ebook series of novellas launched this week. The first, Highwayman: Ironside, is available to download now. Give it a whirl if you like action-packed hist-fic...
Cheers for now.
M
