Jon Cronshaw – The King of Nobledark
Author of epic fantasy with heart, grit, and moral weight. Where hope bleeds, but never dies.
Feeling better after a month of illness. Progress on Four of Swords and Guild of Assassins Book 4. Also saw Project Hail Mary at the cinema—thoroughly enjoyed it.
This week I’m finally feeling better after a month of illness, which means a welcome return to proper momentum.
I’ve been working on Four of Swords and also going back over my progress on Guild of Assassins Book 4, getting a clearer sense of where that story is heading.
I also went to see the film adaptation of Project Hail Mary, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It’s well worth a watch if you liked the book.
A much more positive and productive week all round.
Still feeling unwell, so I’ve focused on editing The Prince and the Fool (70k so far) ahead of a professional edit. Also reading book six of Dungeon Crawler Carl, which hasn’t hooked me yet.
I’m still feeling under the weather this week, so instead of drafting I’ve been focusing on editing.
I’ve been working through The Prince and the Fool (Ravenglass Legends, Book 4) to prepare the manuscript for a professional edit next month.
I’m now around 70,000 words into the edit, so if all goes well I should have the manuscript finished early next week.
On the reading front, I’ve moved onto the sixth Dungeon Crawler Carl book. I absolutely loved book five, but so far this one isn’t quite grabbing me in the same way.
This week, I wrote a new Soren short story for Patreon, set in the Guild of Assassins universe, and talk about managing SAD and winding down for the Christmas break.
This week, I wrote a new Soren short story set in the Guild of Assassins universe, exclusively for Patreon supporters.
It’s always great to return to Soren’s world and explore new corners of the guild.
I also talk about struggling with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), and how I’m starting to wind down for the Christmas break to rest and reset before the new year.
This week, I hit the midpoint of Churchill’s Dragons and started posting chapters on Patreon. Plus, Rising Storm (Ravenglass Throne Part Eight) launches Monday!
This week, I reached the midpoint of Churchill’s Dragons (RAF Dragon Corps, Book 2) and have started posting editor-ready chapters on Patreon for early access readers.
The story’s coming together well, and it’s exciting to share it as it develops.
I also talk about the upcoming release of Rising Storm (The Ravenglass Throne, Part Eight), which is out this Monday! If you’ve been following the series, be ready—things are about to escalate.
This week, I talk about early signs of SAD, working on thriller projects, planning my next fantasy book, and what’s coming soon to Patreon. Feeling the early autumn blues but pushing forward.
This week’s been a bit of a struggle—I talk about feeling off and wondering if Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has kicked in earlier than usual.
It usually hits me in November, but with autumn feeling like it arrived early, the dip may have too.
Creatively, I’ve been working on thriller projects and thinking ahead to my next fantasy book.
I’m torn between starting Ravenglass Guardians Book 3 or working on RAF Dragon Corps Book 2—both exciting in their own ways.
I also share what’s coming up soon on Patreon, with exclusive content and early chapters for supporters.
This week marks 8 years of the Author Diary podcast! I reflect on author branding, launching my J. Cronshaw pen-name for thrillers, and lessons learned from building a focused audience.
This week marks eight years since I started this podcast—back in October 2017, I recorded the first episode, and here we are in 2025, still going strong!
I reflect on the lessons I’ve learned about author branding, especially as I launch my new pen-name, J. Cronshaw, focused entirely on domestic psychological thrillers. Narrowing the audience has made everything—from messaging to marketing—so much easier.
Branding has always been a challenge for me. I’ve wrestled with how to define what I do when my books range from dark fantasy to wacky steampunk to near-future sci-fi. Maybe I should have embraced pen-names earlier… but then again, setting up a new website, newsletter, and socials has been a lot of work.
Fantasy author Jon Cronshaw shares how writing The Nanny’s Secret—his first domestic thriller—reignited his creativity after completing The Ravenglass Chronicles. Discover how his new pen name, J. Cronshaw, opened a new chapter in his storytelling career.
If you’ve been following my work for a while, you probably know me for wyverns, assassins, and dark fantasy worlds.
I’ve been publishing fantasy and speculative fiction since 2016, and I’ve been a full-time author since 2018.
Most of my readers found me through The Ravenglass Chronicles—a long-running epic about magic, destiny, and rebellion that spanned half-a-million words. It was an intense creative journey, and by the time I finished it, I needed to catch my breath.
In 2022, I decided to write something completely different. No magic. No kingdoms. No wyverns. Just people. Ordinary lives under extraordinary pressure. It started as a palate cleanser, a little side project to clear my head before diving into my next fantasy series. That story became The Nanny’s Secret.
At the time, I didn’t think I’d ever publish it. It didn’t fit with my other books. I love reading psychological thrillers, but I saw them as something separate from what I wrote. I wasn’t keen on setting up a new pen name or building a whole second author brand. So I set the manuscript aside and got on with other things.
But the idea of writing thrillers stuck with me.
The stories kept coming—small-town secrets, lies, betrayals, and the dark undercurrents that run beneath everyday life. Before long, I’d written a second thriller, then a third. Now, I’ve written eight and I’m working on my ninth.
When I showed them to a friend who writes thrillers, he told me I was mad not to publish them. I told him I didn’t want to annoy my regular eaders, and I didn’t want the stress of juggling two identities. He gave me a simple solution: drop my first name.
So “Jon Cronshaw” became “J. Cronshaw.”
Same writer. Different shelf.
That small change made everything click.
I’ve since built a new website, newsletter, and social media presence for J. Cronshaw—the domestic thriller author.
I’ll admit, I was reluctant at first. Starting over from scratch after years of building my fantasy world felt strange. But once I began, I rediscovered something I hadn’t felt in a long time: the spark of building something brand new.
These domestic thrillers are grounded in real life. They draw on my years as a court reporter, on real places near where I live—Morecambe, Heysham, Lancaster.
The stories are intimate and claustrophobic, the kind of tension that doesn’t need magic to feel dangerous. And in a way, writing them has made me a better fantasy author too. They’ve sharpened my sense of pacing, dialogue, and emotional realism.
I’m still writing fantasy—always will.
The Ravenglass Legends series is continuing, and there are more stories from that world on the way. But writing thrillers under J. Cronshaw has reminded me how much I love storytelling in all its forms. It’s a different kind of worldbuilding—one built from truth, not myth.
So if you ever fancy reading something a little different from me—something without wyverns, but still full of secrets and twists—you can download your free copy of The Lodger HERE to give you a flavour of what I’ve been doing.
And if you’d like to hear more about what I’m working on—both fantasy and thriller—you can listen to my weekly Author Diary podcast. I’ve been recording every week since 2017 and haven’t missed an episode.
It’s been a strange journey from wyverns to whispers, but I’m glad I took it. Because sometimes, stepping outside your world is the best way to remember why you built it in the first place.
Join me in this week’s Author Diary as we celebrate a significant milestone, delve into current projects, and look forward to an exciting event.
🎉 7th Anniversary of the Author Diary Podcast:
This week marks the seventh anniversary of my Author Diary podcast. It’s been a wonderful journey of sharing insights, challenges, and triumphs from my writing life. I’ve enjoyed connecting with all of you, and I’m grateful for your continued support.
📖 Current Writing and Reading:
I’ve been making steady progress on “Forged in Blood,” the latest installment in the Guild of Assassins series. Writing this book has been an intricate process, weaving complex characters and dark themes into the narrative fabric. Alongside writing, I’ve been immersed in “Vengeful Spirit” from the Horus Heresy series, a gripping tale that complements the intense and dramatic tone of my own work.
👥 Reader Interaction:
In this special anniversary episode, I took the opportunity to answer some reader questions.
🏰 Prepping for Fantasycon:
Looking ahead, I’m thrilled to be attending Fantasycon next weekend. I’ll be participating in four panels discussing topics ranging from rogues and grimdark to post-apocalyptic fiction and the portrayal of disability beyond the trope of ‘superpower.’ As I prepare for the convention, I’m excited to meet many of you there, share insights, and explore the diverse and dynamic world of fantasy literature.
Stay tuned for updates from Fantasycon and more adventures from the writing desk!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on podcast milestones, your experiences with fantasy conventions, or any questions you might have about writing and reading. Don’t forget to like, share, and subscribe for more weekly insights and updates from my author’s journey!
Discover the epic tale of Ragnar and Maja in “The Fall of Wolfsbane,” a prequel set in the intricate world of the Ravenglass Chronicles. Immerse yourself in a rich fantasy realm!
If you’ve been following my Author Diary podcast, you’ll be aware that I’ve added a second point-of-view character to The Fall of Wolfsbane, and the story is so much stronger because of it.
Now, you can expect a full-length epic fantasy novel (it’s the longest novel I’ve written to date) that tells the story of Ragnar and his sister Maja as they are taken as hostages by the Ostreich Empire.
Ragnar is forced to live in Welttor under the mentorship of Prince Gregor, while Maja is sent to the Imperial Palace in Reichsherz to become a pet project of Princess Saranka.
It’s set several hundred years before The Ravenglass Chronicles at the time when the Empire first invades Wiete.
There will be some familiar places and even a familiar character!
As with Dawn of Assassins, you don’t need to have read The Ravenglass Chronicles to enjoy the story, but as I write more stories in this world, hopefully you’ll enjoy the little Easter eggs and how the world is different at various points in the timeline.
If you’ve not read the prequel Blades of Wolfsbane yet, you can get it for free as part of the Ravenglass Universe starter library.
If you’re a member of the Ravenglass Universe Facebook group, you’ll have already seen the cover for The Fall of Wolfsbane.
I love what Christian has done with this. It fits in nicely next to my Dawn of Assassins and Ravenglass Chronicles series.
As an author, getting a new cover is as close to the feeling I used to have opening presents on Christmas morning.
The designer gets the brief, you wait…and wait. And then something magical happens and the vague notes you made about the concept and colours come to life in front of you.
Of course, I still need to finish writing my redrafts, but having a cover definitely energises me to a book finished.
Here it is…
