I thought it was about time I brought you guys up to date with what I’ve been working on, and what my provisional release schedule is looking like moving forward. It’s laid out in timeline order by year and quarter.
As this is a ‘Tepris Press‘ crystal ball, I’ll also put in here the things that my partner-in-shenanigans, NT Anderson, is releasing/has planned too. So this should be your ‘go to’ page for all future release news.
There are loads of things coming down the pipeline, and I know you’re all eager to know what’s in store for you. So here goes!
NOTE: This blog post will be constantly updated to reflect the current state of the timeline. Which is why it’s pinned to the top of the blog! Come back here from time to time to find information on expected releases!
- 8th February 2021 – Release of Acts Series #1 – ACTS OF CLOSURE by NT Anderson (1st Tepris Press release – Paperback/eBook/KU)
- 12th February 2021 – Release of Ballad of the Songbird #1 – HUNTERS by Jon Ford (2nd Tepris Press release – Paperback/Hardback/eBook/KU)
- 17th October 2021 – Release of Ballad of the Songbird #2 – BLOOD TO EARTH by Jon Ford (3rd Tepris Press release – Paperback/Hardback/eBook/KU)
- 10th February 2022 – Release of Acts Series #2 – ACTS OF CONFESSION by NT Anderson (4th Tepris Press release – Paperback/eBook/KU)
- 15th March 2022 – Release of Femme Fatales #1 – THE SCORCHED SKY by Jon Ford (5th Tepris Press release – Paperback/Hardback/eBook/KU)
- 14th July 2022 – Release of Acts Series #3 – ACTS OF COMMITMENT by NT Anderson (6th Tepris Press release – Paperback/eBook/KU)
- 20th November 2022 – Release of Femme Fatales Novella #1 – KNIGHTINGALE by Jon Ford (7th Tepris Press release – Paperback/eBook/KU)
- 24th February 2023 – Release of Malarkey’s ImaginOmnibus volume 1 – THEY WALK AMONG US (Anthology – 1st SULK Media release – Paperback/eBook)
- 11th May 2023 – Release of the HUNTERS audio book. Narrated by Adam Hatch (Audible)
- 14th August 2023 – Release of Malarkey’s ImaginOmnibus volume 2 – FADE TO NOIR (Anthology – 2nd SULK Media release – Paperback/eBook)
- 31st October 2023 – Release of Malarkey’s ImaginOmnibus volume 3 – HUBBLE BUBBLE (Anthology – 3rd SULK Media release – Paperback/eBook)
- 17th March 2024 – Release of Ballad of the Songbird #3 – TOOTH & CLAW by Jon Ford (8th Tepris Press release – Paperback/Hardback/eBook/KU)
- 27th October 2024 – Release of Malarkey’s ImaginOmnibus volume 4 – OMINOUS ORBS (Anthology – 4th SULK Media release – Paperback/eBook)
So, what’s planned for 2025?
Originally I had Kasai coming out first, and then The Broken Ground.
Then… I flipped them around because I had to plug some holes in the narrative before releasing Kasai.
Now I’m back to doing them the first way again. But, I’m writing them simultaneously.
The biggest reason for this is because Kasai introduces a new character (meow) that will be in The Broken Ground. So it makes sense to release the novella first before getting you stuck into the second book of the main arc.
This was meant to be a dual release with The Broken Ground, but now it’s coming out first as a solo. It should be due sometime around the end of March, all being well.
There are no BOOK release plans for Quarter 2, unless Kasai slips. But by this point I should be deep in the throes of writing The Broken Ground.
However, I didn’t say I wouldn’t be releasing anything. Adam Hatch has finished work on his narration for the audiobook of The Ballad of the Songbird, Book 2 – Blood to Earth. I’m currently giving it a listen through a few times to try and spot any issues (I don’t foresee any!) and then it’ll be good for release.
I think I’m planning to get it out in April! VERY EXCITING!
Adam has already said he’d be game for book 3, he’s a glutton for punishment. So, I’ll be passing that one over to him soon. I should think that one will be ready for early 2026.
Ideally, I would like this out in Q3.
It’s about 30% done at the moment, but real life got in the way somewhat last year that delayed writing. Now I’m back in the groove it shouldn’t take long to finish off. My biggest obstacle here is getting distracted writing Dragonsong (the 4th Ballad of the Songbird book) which I’ve already started, and a new project I’ve been tossing around based on a short I did for the latest Malarkey’s Imaginomnibus anthology. More on that later!
The advantage to these first few Femme Fatale books is that on the whole they’re already written. The original stories were fan fiction for the City of Heroes game, so the skeleton is already there. What I’m actually doing is running through them, converting them over to the new Femme Fatales universe, and adjusting the characters and the background items appropriately. That’s the 30% I referred to above.
I can get away with this for perhaps the next 5 or 6 books in the series.
After that, I’m back to writing them from scratch. EEK!
So, this is where it gets a bit barren of things to report.
By this time I should have got The Broken Ground released and should be deep into the writing of Dragonsong.
Okay, so let’s get out the telescope and see the other things far out on the horizon.
The wheel doesn’t stop turning, and I have all kinds of ideas floating around my head. Some more solid than others, but here’s a little overview of what I’d like to do…
The plan for DRAGONSONG is to hopefully get the draft finished early in 2026, probably by January. That way Nikki can have it and do her magical editing thing. Then I can push for perhaps a March release in 2026. I like March. It’s been good to me traditionally.
I have a few chapters written and the cover art is now finished. Other than that there’s not much to report on this one as yet.
NEW IDEA ALERT!!!
So, way back in August 2023, I was honored to be invited (for the second time!) to contribute to an anthology series called Malarkey’s Imaginomnibus. It’s a collection of VERY talented indie authors (including me somehow!) who are given a prompt for which we all write a short story. Something around 6k words. It’s A LOT of fun. I’ve talked about it elsewhere on this website, but it’s an amazing opportunity to try new things and get my name out there.
Anyway, the book we put out in August 2023 was the second book in the series and the prompt was ‘Fade to Noir‘. I took it quite literally and did a short Cyberpunk detective story in a kind of noir-esque style. It’s one of my favourite things I’ve ever written.
It’s set in a future London and introduces a hard-nosed cyberpunk copper called Detective Violet Chase who is trying to solve a murder.
I loved it so much, I now want to do a spin-off series from it. So that’s what I’m doing.
I’ve already got the story down, and I’ve written a few excerpts here and there to get the ball rolling. My plan is to do this after Dragonsong as a pallete cleanser before I get on with the next Femme Fatale book.
Anyway, look out for more on this over the coming year or so.
Femme Fatale Novellas
These are a certainty. I’ll get them done. I currently have plans for books based on Reflex, Centurion, Rogue, Honsou, Mr. Infinity, Ecstasy, Shield Maiden, and a few more. I’m also still looking forward to my friend Steve Vimes finally popping his publishing cherry and releasing the Coin novella/novel.
Femme Fatale Ongoing Series Novels
So, after THE BROKEN GROUND we have a few more in the pipeline.
- Book 3 will be THE SHATTERED SHARD.
- Book 4 will be THE FEMME FATALITY
- Book 5 will be THE TANGLED WEB
- Book 6 will be THE FOUND FAMILY
- Book 7 will be THE FUTURE FEMME
I don’t intend it to end there, the series could run and run till everyone gets bored. But this is the first complete arc, so to speak. Book 7 is the only one that isn’t really written in any form yet, just a few chapters here and there. All the others are written in their original fan-fiction form but will need converting to the new Femme Fatales universe.
It should be a fun series.
Of course, this is the main event series. I’m hoping to have at least one of these out every year, which should mean the completion of the saga by around 2029. Or thereabouts. Maybe at this point I just aim for 2030! LOL Fingers crossed.
In case you didn’t know, here are the titles:
- Book 5 – THE TECHMASTERS
- Book 6 – THE RIVER
- Book 7 – THE BROKEN CIRCLE
And that will bring us to the end of the saga.
Or at least the end of the main Ballad of the Songbird saga, The ending I have in mind does leave it kind of open to another series that follows but I’m not sure I’ll ever do that.
However…
Ballad of the Songbird Adjacent Books
There are a few books I’d like to write which are linked to the Songbird series. known as The Rising. This is the thing that turned the world upside down in 2016, three decades before the events of the Songbird series.
First up, there’s a mention in book 2, BLOOD TO EARTH, of a case that Allyson worked on when she was a London detective. She referred to the horrific murder spree case of ‘The Holloway Horror’. I’d kind of like to write the story of this case as a detective novel. And then, maybe, a little series of detective novels based around Allyson’s time as a detective.
The name of this one may be subject to change… I’m thinking about it.
Secondly, I already have an almost complete book in a series that I’ve tentatively entitled ‘The Hunters Files’ which will detail the exploits of the 137th Hunters up to the events of ‘Bloody Valletta’ which, anyone who has read HUNTERS and BLOOD TO EARTH will know, is a major event in Gayle Knightley’s life. This will be a series of novellas.
Thirdly, there will likely be a trilogy series set around the events leading up to the apocalyptic event known as The Rising. This is the thing that turned the world upside down in 2016, three decades before the events of the Songbird series.
And lastly, I tentatively started to do a series of Young Adult books based on the adventures of the cadets at the HFA Academy. Kind of like a supernatural Harry Potter. Not sure whether I’ll move forward with this as plans kind of changed with what I was going to do with the kids, but you never know.
And that I think pretty much gives you the heads up on everything that’s bubbling away in my head.
I’ll try and keep this thread regularly updated so you know what’s going on.
Love & Books
