Yes, it’s been a year since I lastposted. I don’t know why, I guess I just ran out of things to say.

The blogging world used to be a vibrantcommunity, and it still is around those blogs with a sizableestablished following, but so many of the bloggers I used to follow –and who used to visit The Bald Patch – have fallen quiet over theyears. I found trying to post on a regular basis was a game ofdiminishing returns.

However, today I do have something tosay, so I’ve come out of hibernation.

A new novel, Wrath of Empire, isnow out there in the usual range of e-book formats. At the momentit’s at an introductory price of $0.99. The paperback will followonce I’ve received and approved the proof copy.

Wrath of Empire is a prequel toGhosts of Innocence, and follows the catastrophic events thatlead up to Shayla’s mission of revenge.

The Emperor wants peace betweenwarring Families on rival worlds. His brother sees peace treaties asweakness; he aims to seize the throne and rule by strength. And thenthere’s Chalwen, bodyguard to the Emperor’s nine-year-old son,heir to the throne.

Chalwen takes professional paranoiato extremes, so when she suspects treachery inside the palace hersuperiors dismiss her warnings. Then the Emperor is assassinated.People are angry, looking for a villain, and all evidence points toone of the rival Families. Amid riots and military clashes, the youngheir and his ambitious uncle fight for the throne.

Chalwen must protect the youngsterwhile solving the Emperor’s murder to defuse the conflict. But theuncle has powerful supporters opposing Chalwen’s every move. Throwin a deranged arms dealer keen to profit from the chaos, and fullscale interstellar war seems unavoidable.

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