Today marks the official release of Bones of the Priory, now available on all platforms as part of the Nun With A Gun series.
This story has had an interesting journey. I originally wrote it last year when I was invited to contribute to the Uncollected Anthology. The theme was Monster Hunters, which meant I needed a character who could stand toe-to-toe with something dangerous, unnatural, and determined to leave a trail of bodies behind.
Fortunately, I already had Sister Jacobine. To be honest, I didn’t have to stretch very far to fit the theme.
One of the pleasures of writing this story was returning to Jacobine after spending some time away from the series. These shorter stories and novelettes occupy a sweet spot for me. They’re long enough to explore an idea properly, but short enough to keep the pressure on from beginning to end. No wandering. No filler. Just trouble, complications, and the occasional body.
Bones of the Priory takes Jacobine back to the place where everything began. A letter arrives from someone who should have been dead for centuries, drawing her back to the ruins of Amesbury Priory and into a mystery buried beneath five hundred years of secrets. Along the way there are ancient grudges, immortal rivals, old sins, and more than a few reasons to regret digging up the past. Which, now that I think about it, is a fairly accurate description of the entire series.
I’m looking forward to writing more Jacobine stories. At the moment, though, my attention is focused on a different challenge: the first full-length Nun With A Gun novel. Moving from the shorter format into a full novel is a very different beast, and I’m having a great deal of fun wrestling it into submission.
In the meantime, I’m delighted to finally bring Bones of the Priory home where it belongs—as an official entry in the Nun With A Gun series.
If you’ve already been following Sister Jacobine’s adventures, I think you’ll enjoy this glimpse into one of the darkest corners of her past. If you’re new to the series, welcome aboard. Things rarely go well for anyone involved, but they’re usually entertaining.
Bones of the Priory is available now wherever ebooks are sold. Start here.
Happy reading,
— Mark