7 day countdown to The Next Together: A medieval short story!

Posted byWren JamesPosted inextras, the next together

To celebrate the release of my first book, I’m posting a new “Behind the Scenes” exclusive about The Next Together daily until September 3rd. You can find them all here, including Chapter One from Matt’s Point of View, a Harry Potter crossover,  A scene from start to finish, a playlist and the book as different genres. 

This is not the gift. I’m sorry.

Today I’m sharing a tiny little look at another of Kate and Matt’s lives – one which isn’t mentioned in the book. It’s set in a vaguely medieval time, and is 100% inspired by this picture I found, which looks exactly like Kate.

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Photograph by Vestal Magazine

In the story, Kate is a midwife with a secret place in the woods where she keeps her herbs and medicines, because the villagers are suspicious of magic and witches. Matthew is the village hangman, mainly because I just couldn’t resist a ‘Matthew Galloway’ pun.

You can read this short story by subscribing to my newsletter. 

 

 

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Still from ‘The Hired Man’ at Octagon Bolton theatre

If you want to know more about Kate and Matt, you can read the first chapter of The Next Together here, and buy the book in the following places:

Amazon UK | Waterstones |  The Book Depository (free international shipping)|Wordery | Foyles | Kobo | iBooks |  Goodreads

In other news: I’m going to be doing a panel at Waterstones Birmingham on 12 September! at their Book Blogger Bonanza! Tickets are available now by calling 0121 631 4333. You can see all of the events I’m attending here.

Published by Wren James

Wren James is the award-winning British author of eleven science fiction & fantasy novels, including The Quiet at the End of the World and The Next Together (previously published as Lauren James). Their books have sold over 200,000 copies in ten languages, and The Loneliest Girl in the Universe was optioned for film by Amazon MGM. Wren is a story consultant on Netflix’s Heartstopper, which was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Writing. Also a RLF Royal Fellow, Wren is the founder of the Climate Fiction Writers League and member of the Society of Authors’ Sustainability steering Committee. They work as a consultant on climate storytelling with a focus on providing optimism and hope. They have won the Sustainable Story Award and been shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, Carnegie Medal and STEAM Book Award. Wren’s writing has been described as ‘gripping romantic sci-fi’ by the Wall Street Journal and ‘a strange, witty, compulsively unpredictable read which blows most of its new YA-suspense brethren out of the water’ by Entertainment Weekly. Their latest titles are Last Seen Online, a crime thriller set in the world of fandom, and The Victors, a cosy fantasy graphic novel illustrated by Beth Fuller. Wren was born in 1992, and has a Masters degree from the University of Nottingham, where they studied Chemistry and Physics. They run a Queer Writers group in Coventry. Follow them on Instagram & TikTok at @wrenjameswriter or find out more at wrenjames.co.uk.

4 thoughts on “7 day countdown to The Next Together: A medieval short story!”

  1. Pingback: The Next Together is released!! – Lauren James
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