Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary
By Jon Cronshaw
The British journalist turned independent author released his debut novel Wizard of the Wasteland in June 2017.
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Jon Cronshaw's Author DiaryJun 03, 2023
297 - June 4, 2023 - Dication game-changer
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296 - May 28, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends #amwriting
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295 - May 21, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, Empireland #amwriting
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294 - May 14, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, Brandon Sanderson, Eurovision
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293 - May 7, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, Dawn of Assassins
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292 - April 30, 2023 - Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny
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291 - April 23, 2023 - Dawn of Assassins, Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny
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290 - April 16, 2023 - Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny, The Midnight Library, Death of Kings #amwriting #amwritingfantasy
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289 - April 9, 2023 - Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny, Jum Butcher, WrestleMania, cakes, and cateracts
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288 - April 2, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny, Questions!
In this week's author diary, I talk about something I wrote, some things I read, and some things I did.
I also answer some of your questions about writers' block, character names, and fantasy movies.
287 - March 26, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, UBIK, Philip K. Dick
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286 - March 19. 2023 - Ravenglass Legends
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285 - March 12, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, Kings of the Wyld
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284 - March 5, 2023 - Ravenglass Legends, your questions,
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283 - February 26, 2023 - Dawn of Assassins, Ravenglass Legends
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282 - February 19, 2023 - The Ravenglass Chronicles, Dawn of Assassins, LoTR
The Ravenglass Chronicles audio edition is now live:
US: https://www.audible.com/pd/B0BVY34KWL/?source_code=AUDFPWS0223189MWT-BK-ACX0-340622&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_340622_rh_us
UK: https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/B0BVY8854Q/?source_code=AUKFrDlWS02231890H6-BK-ACX0-340622&ref=acx_bty_BK_ACX0_340622_rh_uk
281 - February 12, 2023 - The Ravenglass Chronicles
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280 - February 5, 2023 - Crucible of Shadows, The Ravenglass Chronicles
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279 - January 27, 2023 - Crucible of Shadows, Babel, Jade City
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278 - January 22, 2023 - courses, blog posts, R.F.Kuang's Babel
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277 - January 15, 2023 - Trial of Thieves book launch!
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276 - January 8, 2023 - Trial of Thieves, Crucible of Shadows #amwriting
In this week's author diary, I announce the title of Ravenglass Legends book 1, I talk about next week's launch of Trial of Thieves and the release date for Crucible of Shadows.
I also talk about forthcoming audio books and my goals for 2023!
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275 - Review of the Year 2022
In this special author diary, Jon looks back at the ups and downs of 2022.
274 - Jon's favourite reads of 2022
In this week's diary, I talk about my favourite books of 2022.
273 - December 18, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Christmas Break
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272 - December 11, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends #amwriting #amwritingfantasy
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271 - December 4, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Crucible of Shadows #amwriting #amwritingfantasy
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270 - November 27, 2022 - Crucible of Shadow complete!
269 - November 20, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, account suspension,
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268 - November 13, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, Ravenglass Legends
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267 - November 6, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, SAD
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266 - October 28, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, Dawnshard
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265 - October 23, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, SAD
In this week's author diary I talk about SAD, Crucible of Shadows, and Things Fall Apart. You can listen to this every week as an audio podcast. Simply search for Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary wherever you listen to podcasts to subscribe!
264 - October 16, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, Trial of Thieves, The Ravenglass Chronicles
In this week's author diary, I talk about my progress on Crucible of Shadows, Trial of Thieves, and The Ravenglass Chronicles audio edition.
I also talk about the books Unruly Places and Legends of the Pyramids, and finishing Stranger Things 4.
#amwriting #amwritingfantasy
263 - October 9, 2022
In this week's diary, I talk about finishing my first draft of Crucible of Shadows, book 3 in my Dawn of Assassins series.
#amwriting #amwritingfantasy
262 - October 2, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, Warbreaker
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261 - September 25, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows
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260 - Seotember 18, 2022 - bleugh!
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259 - September 11, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, A Game of Thrones season 8 Redux
In this week's author diary, I talk about writing Crucible of Shadows and listening to the Game of Thrones season 8 Redux podcast.
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258 - September 4, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, Kazuo Ishiguro, The Wasteland series
In this week’s author diary, I talk about getting back to work on Crucible of Shadows, reading Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, and releasing my Wasteland series as a bumper paperback edition!
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257 - August 28, 2022 - Ravenglass Chronicles, Wasteland series, Ravenglass Legends
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256 - August 21, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, The Ravenglass Chronicles
In this week's author diary, I talk about outling Ravenglass Legends book 3, reading, and the print version of The Ravenglass Chronicles! Visit https://geni.us/ravenglasspb to order yours.
255 - August 14, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Rakim, The Phoenix Guards
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254 - August 7, 2022 - Jersey!
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253 - July 31, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Steven Brust
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252 - July 24, 22 - burnout, short story, Lawrence Block
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251 - July 17, 2022 - bleugh...
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250 - July 10, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Crucible of Shadows, Wyrd Sisters
In this week's author diary I talk about my progress on Ravenglass Legends and Crucible of Shadows. Visit joncronshaw.com to get your free Ravenglass Universe starter library!
249 - July 3, 2022
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248 - June 26, 2022 - Crucible of Shadows, The Ravenglass Chronicles, Ravenglass Legends
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247 - June 19, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, The Ravenglass Chronicles, Ravenglass Legends, Peter V. Brett
Welcome to Jon’s author diary for the week ending June 19, 2022.
In this week’s diary I talk about finishing Trial of Thieves, starting Ravenglass Legends, and getting prepared for my next book launch.
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246 - June 12 2022 - 20Books Madrid, Trial of Thieves, SFWA membership
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245 - June 5, 2022 - The Ravenglass Chronicles, The Wasteland series
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244 - May 29, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, John Gwynne, Terry Pratchett
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243 - May 22, 2022 - Trial of Thieves
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242 - 40th Birthday, Trial of Thieves, Malice, John Gwynne
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141 - May 8, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, TOOL, 40th birthday...
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240 - Trial of Thieves, Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett
In this week’s author diary, Jon talks about his rewrite of Trial of Thieves, reading Good Omens, and project that may or may not happen.
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239 - April 24, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, Blind Gambit, David Eddings
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238 - April 17, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends 2, Jeffrey L. Kohanek
In this week’s author diary, Jon Cronshaw talks about writing up his outline for the second Ravenglass Legends book.
He also talks about reading The Eye of Obscurance by Jeffrey L. Kohanek, Take Off Your Pants! by Libbie Hawker, and others.
He then outlines his plans for next week.
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237 - April 10, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, Ravenglass Legends, Jeffrey L. Kohanek
In this week's author diary, Jon talks about having some time off, his progress on Trial of Thieves, and outlining the second book in his Ravenglass Legends series.
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236 - Trial of Thieves, The Wolf and the Wyvern
In this week’s author diary, Jon talks about his progress on Trial of Thieves, The Wolf and the Wyvern, plus building a new Facebook group for readers.
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235 - March 27, 2022 - The Wolf and the Wyvern, Trial of Thieves, The Demon Cycle
In this week’s author diary, Jon talks about his progress on Trial of Thieves, starting a new project set in the Ravenglass Universe, and some news on the future of Indie Author Mastermid.
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334 - March 20, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, The Heroin's Journey, The Daylight Way
In this week's author diary, Jon talks about his progress on Trial of Thieves, and why he chjanged his method of writing.
He also discusses The Heroin's Journey by Christine Downing and The Daylight War by Peter V. Brett.
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233 - March 13, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, Peter V. Brett, Robert McKee
In this week’s author diary, Jon talks about reaching the midpoint of Trial of Thieves, coming to an abrupt stop, and rewriting the outline for the second half of the novel.
He also reviews The Painted Man by Peter V. Brett and Character by Robert McKee.
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232 - March 6, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, ASC contest, Indie Author Mastermind
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231 - February 27, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, Robin Hobb, Fool's Fate, new venture
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230 - February 20, 2022 - Trial of Thieves.
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229 - February 13, 2022 - Ravenglass Legends, Trial of Thieves, Robin Hobb
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228 - February 6, 2022 - Trial of Thieves, Robin Hobb, assassin's Quest
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227 - Dawn of Assassins, Trial of Thieves, Ravenglass Legends, Robin Hobb
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226 - January 23, 2022 - Dawn of Assassins: what went wrong?
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225 - Dawn of Assassins, Black Death Survival, Greatcoats
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224 - January 9, 2022 - Dawn of Assassins, Black Death Survival, Greatcoats
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223 - Review of the year 2021
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222 - Jon's favourite reads of 2021
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221 - Decemner 19, 2021 - Admin schmadmin, The Traitor's Blade
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220 - December 12, 2021 - Dawn of Assassins, The Traitor's Blade, Horus Heresy
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219 - December 5, 2021 - Dawn of Assassins, Horus Heresy, James
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218 - November 28, 2021 - EGYPT!
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217 - November 21, 2021 - Interview with Robert Wright for Black Country Talking Newspaper
This interview is used with kind permission of Beacon Centre for the Blind.
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216 - November 14, 2021 - Egypt, The Magician's Nephew, Rob Moore
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215 - November 7, 2021 - Dawn of Assassins, Black Death Survival, Michael Anderle, Craig Martelle, Games Workshop
Welcome to Jon’s author diary for the week ending November 7, 2021.
I’ve not had the best week in terms of mood. I can definitely feel seasonal affective disorder rearing its ugly head.
This means I feel both restless and tired and my creative energy has been very low.
I usually find this hits me around the end of October, so I’m not surprised that it’s here.
I’ve not written anything new this week, but I did get Dawn of Assassins back from the editor and went through that.
That book is now ready for publication, so that’s exciting.
My original plan was to release it as an experiment on Kindle Vella while I’m working on the second book, but it’s not available yet for UK-based authors, so I’ll be launching the book in January.
Hopefully that will do better than Black Death Survival, which on reflection has been a complete waste of time since starting the project.
In future, I need to remember not to fall for the sunk cost fallacy. I spent a lot of time working on the book, several months I could have spent doing other projects.
I’m sure it’ll pay for itself over time, but it’s not done well at all, and I don’t think a post-apocalyptic story featuring real people in the UK is what the readers want.
But this is good. This is me drawing a line under a project that had been open for over three years.
It’s also me drawing a line under writing post-apocalyptic fiction because what the readers want does not align with the types of stories I want to tell.
So lots of reflection this week. Reflection about my writing career so far, the successes and failures, the ups and downs.
In April 2017, I drew up a five-year plan to make a sustainable full-time income as an author.
The plan worked.
I did it.
But as we’re moving towards the end of 2021, I keep asking myself ‘what next?’
Do I continue writing books and building up my back catalogue?
Or, do I scale the business up?
I feel like it’s time draw up a new five-year plan.
I can write more stories in the Ravenglass universe.
I can work with other authors, outsource tasks, and expand what I do.
I’m inspired by what companies like Games Workshop and authors like Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle have built.
They’ve created universes and a cast of unforgettable characters.
I wrote my twenty-one book series The Ravenglass Chronicles and Dawn of Assassins is set in the same universe.
It’s a universe where I can tell many stories, from stone age fantasy to space opera, and everything between.
And that’s exciting.
That’s potential.
Me doing this alone isn’t sustainable. I need to grow this thing.
In terms of reading, I read Legion and Battle for the Abyss. These were books 7 and 8 in the Warhammer 40k Horus Heresy series.
They couldn’t have been different in terms of quality. Legion was very good, but I struggled to get through Battle for the Abyss.
I’ve found with this series that some books are much better than others, but I like the idea of having a huge overarching story that gives space for many smaller stories to be told.
So, next week is going to be interesting.
I should be going to Egypt.
We’ve got the tickets.
My bags are packed.
I’m still not fully convinced that I’m going, but if I do, I’m sure it will help with the SAD stuff.
Finally, if you haven’t done so already, you can get your free copy of Birth of Assassins by visiting joncronshaw.com.
So, until next time, cheerio.
214 - October 31, 2021 - Trial of Thieves, Susanna Clarke, Perinesi, Chuck Palanhuik
Welcome to Jon’s author diary for the week ending October 31, 2021.
This is the Halloween special of Jon’s author diary.
And like all of my previous Halloween specials this episode is like any other, except I’m wearing an awesome vampire costume.
For those watching the video, you’ll obviously notice the lengths I want to make this costume as genuine as possible -- I am of course a modern day vampire who has done all he can to blend in with the populous.
This week has been the half-term break.
My wife and son have been at home, so I’ve done very little in the way of work.
I have spent a bit of time going over Trial of Thieves, which is the second book in my Dawn of Assassins series, previously called A Murder of Crows.
I want to make sure that the changes I made to Dawn of Assassins are reflected in the second book.
It’s basically meant adding an extra scene and removing references to an event that no longer occurs.
It also means I’ve got a new subplot in the story,