Shadow of the Eagle launched!
I can’t begin to tell you how special it was to launch The Shadow of the Eagle at The Emporium in Kalbar last weekend (25 October 2025).
It’s been eight years since I last released a book and, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I would get to experience a launch event again. I almost didn’t have this one because – after so much time, and now publishing under my own imprint – I didn’t know if anyone would even show up aside from my trusty inner circle.
I was pleased (and then panicky) when Suzy Baines at The Emporium got excited at the idea of hosting the launch in her magnificent store in Kalbar. It’s only a few kilometres from my home and one of my favourite places.
To then have more than 50 people turn up was overwhelming in the best possible way. Suzy and I chatted up the front, and then I had a string of excellent questions from the audience (none of which were planted!).
I sold and signed a stack of books, drank some wine, laughed a lot, and remembered why it is I love these events so much.
Heartfelt thanks to everyone who came along, and especially to Suzy and Greg for their generosity as hosts, Annemarie for coming from Darwin for the event, Pam for keeping the wine and popcorn flowing, and Murray for, well, everything.
Thanks too to Winnie from (@Reading_at_Isaacs), Annemarie (@Annemarie.book.adventures), Anne (@Anne_Andrew_Writer), Sabrina and Rachel for the photos.
The launch was everything I hoped it would be, and I’m so grateful.
Playing around with character art
As part of re-releasing The Rephaim series in Australia and New Zealand, I’ve been playing around with character art to keep my promos interesting.
I don’t use AI for any form of written content generation, but I’ll confess I’m mildly addicted to the image generation function (which can be hit and miss – and some of the misses are hilarious). And even then, I’m only using it for social media. (I’ll blog separately on my thoughts on generative AI.)
What do you think of these? Any requests for scenes/moments/quotes out of any of the books?
There’s a better way to stay up to date
As you’ll see by the dates of posts below, I haven’t been great at regularly blogging.
If you’ve found this page, you’re possibly interested in keeping up to date with my writing projects, new releases, musings on life and creativity etc.
I’ve started a newsletter – which, to be honest, hasn’t been much more regular than my blogging. But that’s because I’ve been busy with a few book-related projects (and the day job, life etc.), but I finally have things to talk about, so the frequency will pick up. And by ‘frequency’, I mean every few weeks/once a month. Definitely no spamming!
If so, feel free to click on the button below, which will take you to a sign-on form.
Thanks. 🙂
The Undercurrent – interviews and reviews
It’s been a busy six weeks since The Undercurrent was released here in Australia. I’ve had the chance to talk about the new novel on air, online and in print, which I’ve really appreciated. I’ve put together a few links below (as much for myself, so I have them in one place!):
- Magpies Volume Thirty-Two (one of the most in-depth interviews I’ve done)
- ABC Rhi, OzYAY Chat – extended interview
- ABC Brisbane Drive (1:32:35) with Emma Griffiths (4 August episode)
- Love OzYA Q&A
- Brisbane News
And here are some of my favourite reactions to The Undercurrent:
- #OzYA! -Rhi, Jean and Sarah discuss The Undercurrent in the 6 August episode
- Bookseller and publisher
- Sydney Morning Herald
- Children’s Book Council of Australia – Reading Time
- Kids Book Review
- ReadPlus
- Readings
- Booktopia
- Otago Daily Times
- Speculating on Spec Fic
Having a new book out is always nerve-wracking, so I appreciate the positive responses when they come. 🙂
In Melbourne, The Sun Bookshop’s Younger Sun YA Book Club is reading The Undercurrent and chatting about it over pizza on 3 October (6pm-7pm). More details here.
If you live in Brisbane and are keen to discuss The Undercurrent, I’ll be joining Trent Jamieson and Avid Reader’s Science Fiction & Fantasy Bookclub next month on Monday 30 October (6.30pm-8pm). You can book and find out more here.
Yes, the Undercurrent is a standalone novel
The Undercurrent – out now in Australia and New Zealand – is a speculative thriller set in near-future Australia and, yes, it’s a standalone novel.
There are two main reasons for this.
Firstly, after the challenge of telling a story over four books with the Rephaim series, I wanted to push myself to write a tightly contained narrative in a single novel.
Secondly – and more importantly – when I understood the story I wanted to tell with these characters, I realised it only needed one book to do it.
It took me a while to get a feel for these characters, their world and where I wanted to take the story. There were many false starts. I think I re-wrote the first 25,000 words at least a dozen times before I figured out what I was doing. (There were more re-writes once I had a full draft, but I understood the terrain by then.)
I had a number of competing priorities in my life at the time and felt like I could never get my teeth into this story, but it did come together, piece by piece, taking longer than I expected because I needed to get it right.
I tend to do everything at pace, but life was forcing me to slow down with the book and take my time. I hope I’ve produced a good novel as a result. It’s ambitious, I know. I hope it takes people by surprise (in a good way!). Most of all, I hope they’re hooked by the characters and the story, and enjoy the ride.
The first copy of The Undercurrent to reach the Mediterranean! My dear friends the Alfords took their copy to Crete this week.
