Simon Lee Brotherton

My latest book, Whisper War, is a 'gripping' 'exciting' and 'fast-paced' wartime thriller with a paranormal twist! amazon.co.uk/Whisper-War-Tr…

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Thought I might do a longer post to help introduce people to my series a little better and help prospective readers better understand what they might be in for. Sooo: A Blade For Hire is a low magic, swashbuckling matchlock fantasy that follows the fortunes of Hale, a former solider with extensive experience in the Cantabrean wars turned hired blade, who predominantly works for his former commander the Lord Barthelme, now the Lord Mayor of the capital city Tylkin. The series heavily focuses on the people Hale meets and the battles he gets into along the way, being noted by reviewers especially for the quality of the action and the realism of the personal interactions between the characters. Magic is present, but plays a somewhat minor role for the most part. I sometimes describe it as "like 'The Three Musketeers', if d'Artagnan was actually John McClane." As such, expect plenty of violence and strong language throughout. The first book, 'A Blade For Hire', sees Hale and his favoured sword 'Iguane' (a greatsword with a four and half foot blade) sent to meet a pair of priests who are acquainted with the Lord Barthelme and have requested help in a delicate matter: the search for their missing contact, known only as 'Amheris'. Despite the reluctance of the priests to explain who Amheris is and what he may have been up to, Hale agrees to go with them as their lifeguard on the promise of a solid payment for an otherwise routine looking task. But almost immediately things begin to go awry and Hale soon finds himself knee deep in a lot more trouble than he had bargained for, hunted by a relentless and deadly foe through a series of spectacular, heart stopping swordfights and melees. In the sequel, 'The Man With The Broken Sword', we see Hale return home from his long journey, tired and ready for a long, well deserved rest. But life is not quite ready to give it to him, and having crossed swords with a secret order he finds they are not ready to let him rest either. To further help figure out if this is the book for you, here is a collection of some of my favourite quotes from reviewers to give you a flavour of what others thought: "It has all the elements you could wish for in such a book: sword fights, a conspiracy to solve, a protagonist who is nothing short of iconic, and a bit of romantic pining. Brand also has an extraordinary talent of writing dialogue - the banter alone makes this series worth reading." "This was a really good book with such great characters! Father Naurice was adorable. His innocence and naïveté made me feel for him in their dangerous situations but he also found his courage" "The characters are very strong indeed. You get to know every character and their intricate habits, opinions, and attitudes to the story as it progresses. The depth of effort used to make them blend into the story feels seamless and unfettered." "The plot is great, as are the characters, and it very much aspires to, and often gets pretty damn close to, the literary heights and thematic world building of the marvellous Mr. de Castell's Greatcoats series." "The dialogue is supremely enjoyable... The humour is tremendous, and the amount of times I laughed out loud were plentiful. There are also moments of true sadness when characters suffer and are left behind, this is a true skill, you invest yourself fully in their plights and travails." "However the sheer joy of this book is that Christopher D. Brand is a master of writing realistic personal interactions, and differentiating in style between friends, acquaintances and people on the journey from one to the other. His conversations flow naturally between banter to crisis to planning to dinner with the right tone and voice for each. What this allows for is genuinely plausible friendship development between characters. Many writers have their leads talk neutrally, in a "intro", "plot point", "exposition", "crisis" manner where the reader is expected to assume friendship or camaraderie develops on the way, but where the tone of writing reveals little of it. In Brand's book we see that development as the characters talk naturally/normally over a period of time, as they share more and more and how insults turn to banter turn to friendship. Oh if all that isn't enough the characters are a joy, the combat enthralling and plot deeply satisfying. This book is a @#_&ing triumph. Read it immediately." "Like the best kind of action movie! A roller coaster ride of magic, sword and gun fights, and ambushes. Makes you laugh out loud and hang on the edge of your seat because you can't wait to see what happens next. It wad a great read and I highly recommend it!" "A thorougly entertaining story. With tons of swordfights, a bit of magic, and a great big mystery to solve, A Blade For Hire is like Skyrim and The Three Musketeers combined. The characters and the witty dialogue alone make the book well worth reading" "My review for "A Blade for Hire" focused heavily on the author's skill in writing dialogue, and that really is still the highlight again. He is able to write realistic, yet witty and interesting dialogue better than all but a handful of authors in this genre, all of whom are far more famous. Chapter 3 for instance would be a paragraph or two for most authors, but here its a genuine joy to read and brings the protagonist to life in a way I have not read anywhere except in the Aubrey/Maturin series by Patrick O'Brien. The action is also a standout strength - with the fights very well written." "With Hale, Chris builds a supremely likeable character. He is a brute, finding his way through life based on hard earned experience, has a big heart, a big sword, a practical view to solving problems (bold action), flaws and a sharp wit that shines through out the pages in wonderfully constructed dialogue." "From the hard chase, the stand-up fight, an occasional ambush or encountering overwhelming odds, Chris cobbles together flowing, nail biting and brutal scenes that allow the reader to ride along without missing a beat. The prose avoids overcomplication and provides just the right bits of descriptive stylings making the action scenes a treat for the reader. "That said, I'm putting this disclaimer right here: Chris is not Shakespeare. BUT! Damn if his ability with cutting, witty, humorous exchanges doesn't conjure to mind some of the best performances of the Great Bard's works that I've seen live or otherwise. Often, it was if I was watching the events and exchanges unfold before me in the Bill’s well-lit Globe Theater." "A little bit on the writing style. I thoroughly enjoy the craftmanship Chris employs. The mechanics of his writing style provide a smooth enjoyable experience. Changes in pace are well timed. Comedic relief is used with proper care to great effect. Banter/dialogue is exceptional. The descriptive stylings are wonderfully balanced delivering the “show” of the trite old saying “Show, don’t tell.” "The Man With The Broken Sword earns my wholehearted recommendation. It was a fun quick paced tale that was difficult to turn the light off on. I found the swashbuckling low magic nature of work refreshing, it was something I didn’t realize I needed." So if this sounds like something that would interest you, please check out the links below. amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DZBVGPVC?…

I second this emotion!

@SWHannahAuthor Excellent stuff!

@sbediting Secunda from the Skyrim ost is on my regular rotation along with Kynes Peace ✌️

Authors, I need your help As I start my next big project, ritual demands that I make a playlist for writing it. Give me your best OSTs for fantasy, horror, adventure, etc. il take movies, videogames, bands, anything, but tell me what vibes it gives you 🙏❤️

All 9 of my indie books are available via Kindle Unlimited. From occult horror to super hero comedy and even a western horror novella plus much more! Details down here 👇

@SWHannahAuthor I need background stuff when writing and just find it calms my mind. Fallout is a bit more rousing!

@SWHannahAuthor Skyrim ambience and Fallout 4!

@lhallwriter The fact that there are some of us who continue to call it Twitter!

The wonderful thing about Twitter is... (Complete the sentence)

@KWBussard_ The Whisper Trilogy is two books in. It's a conscious genre-hop with thriller, paranormal, and historical wartime fiction elements explored so far! #IndieApril #kindle amazon.co.uk/Whisper-Trilog…

Sage words!

@stephenRB4 You again? Get off my feed! (Definitely crankier) 😄

Are you getting crankier as you’re getting older? Or more relaxed and chilled out? 😎

@ParanormalJunk2 Congratulations! I'm guessing Harry Turtledove's World War series is some good company for you in that category!

It’s in the top 100 on Amazon! In an extremely niche category (alternate history science fiction??!!) 😂😂😂😂😂

@YoDanno This classic!

Do you remember the first role playing book you ever read? What was it?

Grab a brew and pick up one of my books, you won’t be disappointed I’ve published eight books across three genres, memoirs told as a series of funny stories in a raw and gritty style, dark comedy thrillers and a survival story #Free on #KindleUnlimited amazon.co.uk/stores/author/…

Last Outlaw is currently discounted in digital but only for the rest of today. Here is some praise from late last year

No excuses, people! If you haven't read this yet, pick it up!

Last day to grab this wee psychedelic cosmic horror post apocalyptic page turner for free on the indiebook.sale

I've just had a scam author email where they left in the details of the previous victim's book without replacing it with my own! Has anyone else had similar? #shoddy

Authors in just 3 words describe your book below 👇 I'll happily repost some and be sure to include links also :)