Gabriel Farrell's Blog

Apologies for a bit of a late update, given it's been a week and a half since I got back, but I recently attended my first ever convention - Bristolcon 2026! After such a monumental and enjoyable occasion, I thought I'd do a bit of a debrief on what was ultimately a very successful (and very wet!) weekend spent on the banks of the Avon. Bristolcon, perhaps surprisingly, is a fantasy and sci-fi convention held in the city of Bristol, and on the Friday night I made good use of the very recently...

Hello everyone! Have we all had a relaxing, event-free few weeks? Yeah, me too. Rik Mayall snort. The Worth of Scars has now been available to purchase for two weeks, and, to my surprise and a great deal of gratitude, some people out there have actually purchased it. If you, the reader, are one of those kind souls, I really appreciate it, and hope that the book has lived up to your expectations! Hardback sales in particular have been far stronger than I expected, so particular thanks must go...

Happy release day everyone! To celebrate (and thankfully we can celebrate this, up to a point), we're taking a look at the reception to The Worth of Scars from those who received an advance copy. Huge thanks to all those who took the time to read and review the book! It's a long old tome, so it's no surprise that only a handful of those that received the novel have so far reviewed it. For those that have, however, it's been almost universally positive, which is great! After 8 ratings,...

Happy release week everyone! Reviews are rolling in and have been mostly very positive, and those who pre-ordered the ebook should now be able to download the full novel. If you happened to have read an advance copy, reviews are also now allowed to be posted on Amazon, so if you have an active Amazon account and have read the book already please go do that here! If you happen to be on the fence about whether or not to purchase The Worth of Scars, this blog post is for you. If you're a fan of...

Anyone who reads The Worth of Scars will very quickly notice that I wear my inspirations on my metaphorical sleeve, so to speak, with nods to my favourite novels and other media dotted throughout. From calling squads of magic users 'coteries' to the use of a certain writer's favourite archaic expression 'mayhaps', the novel is filled with so many references I've likely forgotten I used many of them (and some, no doubt, are even unconscious!). I know some readers dislike this, and regard it as...

It's been a while! Over the last month or so I have been busy with the (almost) final proofreads for The Worth of Scars. As a result, I haven't had much time for anything, let alone social media or website updates, something I hope you can forgive. I'm sure I'll more than make up for it over the next few months as I spam your feeds with more and more promos during the build up to release and beyond. Apologies in advance! For it is exactly six weeks to go until publication, a phrase that is as...

Two months?? Two whole bloody months until publication?? I can't wait that long to read The Worth of Scars! I want it now! Ever find yourself thinking along these lines? Desperate to read the debut of an unknown author with dubious credentials as soon as possible? Or, do you like to get in early? To be in the know? To be the cool kid who gets their hands on something the filthy shitmunchers out there in the rest of the world won't for ages? Chances are you probably don't. Any of that. I know...

It's been an exciting few weeks. Last Friday I announced the release date for The Worth of Scars, pre-orders and went live and revealed the incredible cover you see above. It took a little while to get here - I have been seriously considering what to do with the cover for my debut novel since January, starting by drawing up briefs and mood boards and ending by pedantically picking out the minute details I wanted changed in the final proposals. In February, I approached a number of artists and...

This is an odd blog post, I'll admit. Less of an update, and more of a 'lots of updates are coming soon, I promise.' Also, the Alan Partridge nod is hardly a hot-of-the-press bit of cultural referencing, even if I enjoyed it. Behind the scenes, though, things are happening with The Worth of Scars that are really exciting, and I'm anticipating a flurry of news some time in the next month or so. Think cover reveals, publication dates, pre-order news, ARC offers, free chapter samples, that sort...

If you're one of the two, maybe three people that regularly read this blog and have been paying attention to the marketing and promotion for The Worth of Scars (which should be about to significantly ramp up - watch this space!), you may have noticed that the novel is prominently advertised as 'Book One of The Scarred Saga'. What is The Scarred Saga you (probably don't) wonder? How many books will it be? Will I need to read the rest if I decide to do Gabe a favour and slog my way through the...