The Trafalgar Gambit

Afterword

Wow. Just wow.

I posted Ark Royal on 15th January 2014. By the end of the month, I had sold over 10’000 copies, a success that left me absolutely stunned. I wrote The Nelson Touch — Book II — in March and sold 6000 copies in eight days. As of writing, Ark Royal has over 1000 reviews and has sold upwards of 65’000 copies. I am astonished and delighted and very — very — proud.

And, when I asked readers to vote for Book III or a spin-off, the majority vote was for Book III. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

When I started to plot out this series, I fixed on two things. First, that I would leave the background history — future history — a little vague. I’ve seen books suffer from having a detailed history that later proved incorrect or was treated as terrifying by some readers. The Troubles, in particular, were left undefined. I may go back to that era and write a book set there and then, but it will be very different from Ark Royal — and intensely political.

The second thing was that I would remember that the officers and crew of Ark Royal were human.

Times of stress bring out the best in some people and the worst in others. War is very stressful. We can see acts of astonishing heroism like a man throwing himself on a grenade to ensure his comrades survive, mixed with disciplinary problems, prisoner abuse, and an indifferent attitude to local civilians. I wanted to show the crew suffering from stress, fighting to overcome (or not) their demons and, in the end, being human. Soldiers, sailors and airmen are not machines. They can and do break under the pressures of war — or make stupid decisions that come back to haunt them.

And now a word about the future.

Ark Royal’s story is concluded, along with the war, but there will be many stories to tell set in the post-war universe. I intend to write a second trilogy following a smaller ship patrolling the borders or fighting a minor war with other humans, as well as the planned spin-off covering the Battle of Earth. Please let me know what you would like to see next.

As always, you can follow my work on my blog, post on my forum or simply sign up to my mailing lists for future announcements.

Thank you for reading. If you liked this book, please don’t hesitate to leave a review, share the link and tell your friends .