February round-up, goals for March, my wife's blog launch and Dark Winds Rising cover reveal

Wow! We're already nearly a week into March and it's high time I put down some goals for the month.

First, let's look back at February. I was pleased to have got quite a lot done and I hope that continues for this month:

• Added 10,000 words to my WIP. Reasonably happy with how this is going and can finally see an end in sight.
• Wrote and submitted a short story for an anthology.
• Got caught up on writing book reviews. This is big for me - it's something I need to get much better at.

For the rest of March, I will be taking a short break from my WIP and, with the A-Z Challenge waiting just around the corner, doing my best to get as many posts prepped as I can. Having sat out last year, I'm really hyped for this. And I say I'll be "taking a break" from my book, but without giving away too much before the theme reveal, these posts will really help me reconnect with the series as a whole and should end up being very useful.

Next, my lovely wife, Heather, has just launched her very own blog where she will be talking all about her business, our family and dogs, animal rescue, and whatever is going on with us. Please click on over here and show her some support! 

And finally, a good friend of mine, Mark Noce, recently unveiled the cover for the second in his excellent historical series set in medieval Wales. I highly recommend you check out the first installment, Between Two Fires. You can check out my review here.

Dark Winds Rising is the sequel to Mark's debut novel Between Two Fires, and comes out with St. Martin’s Press December 5^th 2017.

Dark Winds Rising (synopsis)

Queen Branwen finds her world once again turned upside down as Pictish raiders harry the shores of her kingdom. Rallying her people once more, she must face her most dangerous foe yet, the Queen of the Picts. Ruthless and cunning, the Pictish Queen turns the Welsh against each other in a bloody civil war, and Branwen must attempt to stop her before her country threatens to tear itself apart. All the while Branwen is heavy with child, and finds her young son’s footsteps dogged by a mysterious assassin. Branwen must somehow defeat the Picts and save her people before the Pictish Queen and a
mysterious assassin threaten to destroy their lives from the inside out.

About the Author

Mark Noce writes historical fiction with a passion, and eagerly reads everything from fantasy to literature. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, he’s an avid traveler and backpacker, particularly in Europe and North America. He earned his BA and MA from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he also met his beautiful wife. By day, he works as a Technical Writer, having spent much of his career at places like Google and Facebook. When not reading or writing, he’s probably listening to U2, sailing his dad’s boat, or gardening with his family.

Dark Winds Rising is his second novel in a historical series published by St. Martin’s Press. His debut novel, Between Two Fires, (also published via St. Martin's Press) is available wherever books are sold. Learn more at marknoce.com or connect via his newsletter or blog.

Between Two Fires: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Macmillan