Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary: The Real Life of a Legally Blind Fantasy Author

This week I’ve been making good progress on Six of Swords.

I’m 12 chapters into the draft, which probably puts me somewhere around the halfway point.

I’ve also been going back over what I’ve written so far for The Hammer and the Crown, continuing work on the next Ravenglass Legends novel.

One of the more satisfying things this week has been returning to older projects. I revisited Blind Sight, a prequel novella to Blind Gambit that I originally abandoned back in 2018. I’ve finally finished it and published it on Patreon.

I’ve also been working through another story from my open projects folder, this time set in the Black Death world, which should hopefully be ready next week.

On the reading front, I’m continuing with Will Wight’s Cradle series and have now reached Book Five, Ghostwater. I’m really enjoying the series, and I’ve also finally worked out why I struggled to follow parts of the second book, Soulsmith. It turned out to be a useful lesson in storytelling craft.

This week’s Author Diary is a little different because I did absolutely no writing.

Instead, I spent the week at Coniston in the Lake District on an Adventure Week organised by Galloway’s, a charity supporting blind and visually impaired people.

It was a brilliant week packed with canoeing, sailing, fell climbing and plenty of other activities.

One of the best parts was getting to meet other blind and visually impaired people, hearing how they approach different challenges, and picking up ideas about ways of doing things that I hadn’t considered before.

The highlight for me was definitely the sailing. I especially loved getting out on a Dart catamaran, which was enormous fun. It’s something I’d really like to do more of, so I’m now looking into what sailing opportunities might be available locally.

No word count this week, then, but plenty of new experiences, new people and perhaps the start of a new hobby.

This week I’ve been getting RAF Dragon Corps Book 3 ready to send to my editor.

After finishing the draft, I’ve been working through the manuscript one last time, checking that everything is in place before handing it over.

I’ve also started drafting The Hammer and the Crown, the fourth book in my Ravenglass Legends series. It feels good to be back with Ragnar and Maja and moving forward with the next stage of the story.

On the reading front, I’m halfway through Soulsmith by Will Wight. I really enjoyed Unsouled, but I’ve found parts of the second book harder to follow. I’m going to keep reading for now, as so many readers love the Cradle series, and I’m hoping the story finds its footing again.

I also talk about feeling increasingly tired. I haven’t had a proper break since our trip to Rome in May, so I’ve decided to take next week off and give myself some time to recharge.

This week I wrapped up my draft of RAF Dragon Corps Book 3.

I'll be letting it rest for a while before coming back with fresh eyes, but it's always a great feeling to reach the end of another novel.

With that finished, I've started outlining—and even written the first chapter of—The Hammer and the Crown, the fifth book in my Ravenglass Legends series. It feels good to be returning to Ragnar and Maja.

I also decided to tackle a couple of older projects as part of my ongoing audit of unfinished work.

I completed Family of the Wasteland, a novella I originally drafted back in 2017. It's now available exclusively on my Patreon, where even free members can download and read it.

I also finished Threads of Wolfsbane, a Ravenglass Legends prequel starring Maja. That story will be landing on Patreon this weekend, and I'm pleased to finally cross another long-standing project off the list.

On the reading front, I’ve been reading Unsouled by Will Wight and thoroughly enjoyed it.

It's my first real taste of progression fantasy. I'm still not entirely sure where the genre boundaries lie, but the focus on steadily developing the protagonist's abilities gave it an almost anime-like feel.

A really entertaining read, and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.

This week I finished Five of Swords and sent the manuscript off to my editor, marking another milestone in The Ravenglass Chronicles.

I also completed a proof-listen of The Ravenglass Throne: Parts 5–8 audiobook, and once again Emmy Coates has done an outstanding job bringing the story to life. I can’t wait for listeners to hear it.

One of the more interesting things I did this week was a full audit of all my open writing projects. The results surprised even me: more than 15 novels, around 10 novellas, and several short stories in various stages of completion—including ideas dating back more than a decade.

Some of them still excite me and will definitely get finished. Others have probably had their day. It was a fascinating exercise in taking stock and deciding which stories are still worth telling.

This week I've been focused on bringing Five of Swords to the finish line.

The third draft is now complete! Before it heads off to my editor, I'll do one final read-through to catch any lingering issues and make sure everything hangs together.

Looking ahead, I've also finished outlining Six of Swords, so I'm ready to keep the momentum going with The Ravenglass Chronicles.

One unexpected development came from looking through some of my old, unused book covers. That sparked an idea to return to the world of Black Death.

I've now outlined a second novel—an apocalyptic thriller set in the UK—and I'm excited by the possibilities.

It's still early days, but it reminded me how ideas can come from the most unexpected places.

This week I reached the midpoint of Five of Swords as I continue writing the next instalment of The Ravenglass Chronicles.

I've also carried on writing RAF Dragon Corps Book 3, returning to the skies over Britain during the Battle of Britain.

Outside of writing, I've restarted the Ray Bradbury Reading Challenge. The idea is simple: read one short story, one poem, and one piece of non-fiction every day.

I'd forgotten just how rewarding the habit is. It's a great way to keep the creative well topped up and discover voices and ideas I might otherwise have missed.

A productive week of writing, reading, and getting back into good creative habits.

This week’s been a challenge thanks to the UK heatwave, but I’ve still managed to make progress on my latest fantasy project.

I’ve been working through what I have so far on Mark, The Chosen One, a follow-up to my Patreon novella Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny.

The story picks up 20 years later. Mark is now in his forties, has a teenage son, and hasn’t picked up a sword in over two decades.

The Dark Lord never appeared when prophecy said he would… but now the prophecy has finally come true.

After years of living an ordinary life, Mark must decide whether he can become the hero everyone expected him to be.

On the reading front, I finished Dominion of Blades by Matt Dinniman and immediately started Book 2, The Hobgoblin Riot. I’m really enjoying the series and seeing another side to Dinniman’s writing outside Dungeon Crawler Carl.

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This week I’ve continued working on RAF Dragon Corps Book 3 and have now reached the 60% mark in the draft.

It’s been great returning to the skies over wartime Britain and continuing the series.

I’ve also been working through The Sentinel’s Mercy, getting the manuscript ready to send off for a professional edit. It’s always satisfying to move a project closer to publication.

And this week marks a special milestone: nine years since I published my first novel, Wizard of the Wasteland.

Looking back on nearly a decade as an indie author, I reflect on how far things have come, the lessons I’ve learned, and the stories still waiting to be told.

Thanks to everyone who’s joined me on this journey. Here’s to the next nine years!

This week, I’ve been making strong progress on RAF Dragon Corps Book 3, completing the first draft of the opening seven chapters.

The Battle of Britain is beginning to take shape, and I’m enjoying getting back into the world of dragon riders, aerial combat, and wartime Britain.

I’ve also started work on Five of Swords, continuing my return to The Ravenglass Chronicles.

On the reading front, I finished Kaiju: Battlefield Surgeon by Matt Dinniman. It’s an incredibly dark book, veering into horror at times, but I found it compelling from start to finish. I’ve now moved on to Dominion of Blades by the same author and am enjoying seeing a different side of his storytelling.

In publishing news, The Prince and the Fool is out today, marking the next chapter in the Ravenglass Legends saga. Also, my satirical fantasy novella Orphan Farm Boy of Destiny is now available free to followers on Patreon.

A busy week of writing, reading, and new releases!