Hello, Insiders!
The Uncanny Kingdom…
Multiple unique series set in one urban fantasy world.
But how did it all start? Short version: it was all down to me, Matt. Long version: that isn’t true at all.
One fateful day, I was sat at a pub table across from David, beer in hand. I said I was going to start publishing urban fantasy books and that he, should he choose to, could join me in this brave venture. He, of course, agreed, because it would be madness not to hitch your wagon to a shooting star like mine.
Okay, that’s not entirely true. The fact is, we’d both been independently developing UF characters: mine a kick-ass witch’s familiar, his a ghost detective. It was actually David who had the bright idea of putting both characters in the same world (he was long overdue a good idea). Anyway, I was delighted by the possibilities that a collaboration might offer, if secretly fuming that I hadn’t thought of the idea myself.
I did come up with the name, though.
Since all of our books would be set in the United Kingdom, I said, “How about, as a play on that, we call the universe the Uncanny Kingdom?” David quickly realised the genius of this and replied, “That’s it, Matt. You’ve nailed it. My wife is right, you are better than me.”* I might be paraphrasing him there, but that was the gist of what he said.
One of the great things about the Uncanny Kingdom is that, because all of the stories take place in the same universe, we get to cross-pollinate characters across different series. As a reader, you don’t need to have read the books in any particular order. You don’t even have to read all of them. Read all of the series, read some of the series, even just read one, it’s up to you (although we’d really prefer if you read all of them because we like to eat and pay our mortgages).
I know some of you, the full-on sexy nerds, will want to read all of them, and not only that, you’ll want to read them in some sort of order. If that’s you, here’s the order the books we published:
London Coven,
Spectral Detective,
Dark Lakes,
Branded,
Hexed Detective,
Uncanny Ink.
Again, you don’t have to follow that order; mix it up, freestyle that puppy, live your life.
We’ve loved developing this world, these characters, and all the freaky, dangerous monsters, vamps, and nightmare demons they face off against. We hope you’re enjoying the ride, too.
Now tell me, which of our series brought you into the Uncanny Kingdom? And which will you read next? Reply and let us know!
*upon reading this email, David informs me that his wife never said I was better than him. Denial is a terrible thing.
Speak soon, Insiders!
Matt.
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