About The Lion and Leopard Trilogy of historical novels

'The Lion and the Leopard' is a trilogy of historical novels set in Africa.

The first novel, 'The Settler' was published in March 2012, and has now sold over 10,000 copies. It's about loves and wars in the cauldron of Southern Africa in 1890-1902, where a young Englishman and his American companion become accidental soldiers. Can they survive the vicious fighting between settlers and African tribesmen, and between British and Boer armies? Which of four pioneering young women will they choose to share their challeges?

'The Settler' in Amazon.com

The second novel, 'Lake of Slaves', was published in June 2014. “In the 1880s the Lake Nyasa area of central Africa is devastated by Arab slave traders and raids by Angoni warriors. Livingstone's 'Lake of Stars' has become a 'Lake of Slaves'. Alan Spaight is among a handful of British men fighting the slavers. After a year as a trader he starts a coffee plantation, while torn between the enticement of his doctor’s wife and his neighbour’s attractive daughter. He is drawn repeatedly into conflicts with the slavers, in company with mission-educated Goodwill, a former slave who escaped to return to his village. A new Consul, Harry Johnston, brings in British officers and Sikh soldiers in 1891, and the tide turns. After another five years of bitter fighting the slave trade is finally destroyed.”


The third and last novel in the trilogy, 'The Lion and the Leopard', is set in the area round Lakes Nyasa and Tanganyika during the 1914-18 War. The 'Lion' in the title is the badge of the British South Africa Police (BSAP), the paramilitary force in Rhodesia. The 'Leopard' in the title is the Nyasaland Volunteer Reserve (NVR). Both outfits served with distinction in the First World War. I served in both of them, many years later!


Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

In my previous post I estimated that sales of The Settler might reach 2,000 by the end of 2012. This landmark was reached - on December 29 sales were 2,006. The estimate for the end of 2013 is about 15,000 copies, but there are so many variables that will affect sales, such as the price I select, the competition, and the overall economic environment. I've changed the price for the Kindle version on Amazon, raising it to $1.99. I wish I knew more about the price elasticity of demand - a concept that I learned about as a student of economics! I guess trial and error will prevail. There's lots of competition. Most of it is in the genre of recent Rhodesian historical fiction - say, the last 50 years. The Settler is set in 1890-1902, where there is less competition. The grand master of this niche is Wilbur Smith, but I don't profess to compete with him! How about the economic environment? Fortunately, people will always read books. They may read more ebooks than tactile hardcovers or paperbacks, but reading novels is here to stay.
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