This week was mostly spent on admin tasks—the essential but less exciting side of the author life. From scheduling to organising releases, it’s been a practical sort of week.

The highlight, though, was seeing Nine Inch Nails live in Manchester! It was an incredible show with a set packed full of early album tracks—intense, loud, and absolutely brilliant.

Best of all, my back held up, so I’m hoping that means I’m finally over the worst of it and can get back into the writing groove soon.

This week, I’ve hit the 60 percent mark on the draft of The Prince and the Fool (Ravenglass Legends, Book 4).

The story is moving steadily, and I’m excited to see it coming together.

I’ve also been reading the 33 1/3 book on Kate Bush’s Hounds of Love—a fascinating deep dive into one of my all-time favourite albums.

And I’ve finally started watching House of Cards on Netflix—dark, sharp, and brilliantly acted.

I’m still dealing with a bad back, which has been slowing me down. I’m really hoping it improves soon, especially with Nine Inch Nails coming up next week—fingers crossed I’ll be well enough to go!

After taking last week off, I’m back at the writing desk and making great progress on The Prince and the Fool (Ravenglass Legends, Book 4).

I’ve just hit the mid-point of the book—and the series itself!

I’ll be sharing unedited chapters on Patreon over the next few weeks for those following along early.

This week, I also chat about reading Homecoming by Robin Hobb—a beautifully written book as always—and watching Baby Reindeer on Netflix, a dark but excellent drama that’s definitely stayed with me.

On a less fun note, I’ve been nursing a bad back, which means I’ve had to miss out on seeing one of my favourite bands, James.

Hoping to be back on my feet properly soon!

Join the Patreon at patreon.com/joncronshawauthor.

In this follow-up to the 400th episode celebration, I’m back with part two of the Q&A, this time answering questions from Facebook.

Once again, I’m joined by my wife and editor, Claire, for more behind-the-scenes chat about writing, editing, and the creative life.

Thank you to everyone who submitted questions!

And if you're looking for a brilliant editor, check out Claire’s work at cherryedits.com.

This week marks a major milestone—episode 400 of the Author Diary!

To celebrate, I’m doing something a little different. I answer questions from my Patreon supporters, covering everything from writing to reading.

I’m also joined by a very special guest—Claire, my wife and editor!

We chat about editing, storytelling, and what it’s like working together on my books.

You can check out her work at cherryedits.com.

Thanks for being part of this journey—here’s to the next 400!

This week’s been all about the behind-the-scenes work—the less glamorous side of being an author. I’ve been deep in admin, getting everything in place for the release of Severed Bonds (The Ravenglass Throne, Part Three) on May 19, and preparing the audio edition of Book 4 for my Patreon supporters.

It’s been a week of formatting, uploading, scheduling, and ticking boxes—but not much creative work. I’m itching to get back to actual writing and into the worlds that excite me.

Thanks for bearing with me during the admin grind—stories are coming soon!

This week, I completed work on my four speculative fiction collections: Influenced, Outraged, Cancelled, and Muted. If you’d like a taste, you can grab a free collection at joncronshaw.com/optimised.

I also returned to writing The Prince and the Fool (Ravenglass Legends, Book 4). It feels great to be back in the world of epic fantasy after a detour into short fiction. The story’s gaining momentum again, and I’m excited to see where it leads.

On the publishing front, I’ve received two new covers for The Ravenglass Throne and am considering a pivot to releasing the series exclusively on Amazon—though it will remain Patreon-first for early access.

Thanks for following along!

In this week’s Author Diary, I’ve been continuing work on my Speculative Fiction collections, sorting through short stories and getting everything ready for release.

The first collection, Influenced, is now available to pre-order on all major ebook platforms.

It’s packed with dark, satirical tales that twist reality in unsettling—and sometimes all-too-familiar—ways.

I also talk about watching The Residence, a fun and clever murder mystery set in the White House—highly recommended if you enjoy sharp dialogue and political intrigue with your whodunnits.

Plus, don’t forget: you can download my short story collection Optimised for free at joncronshaw.com/optimised.

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