Jon Cronshaw - When a Pair of Thieves are Recruited to Assassins

Jon Cronshaw is a full-time fantasy and speculative fiction author based in Morecambe, England. Born in Wolverhampton, he has a PhD in the history of art and has written for local and national newspapers across the UK. He’s an avid reader, podcaster, and history geek. As our Author of the Day, he tells us all about his book, Dawn of Assassins.

Please give us a short introduction to what Dawn of Assassins is about.

Dawn of Assassins is about a pair of thieves who are recruited to train as assassins.

But they’re thieves, not killers. And they do everything they can to escape.

But they’re dealing with a master assassin, and they know too much...

What inspired you to write about thieves who are recruited by an assassin?

I realized that most of my favorite fantasy books include thieves, assassins, and other ne’er-do-wells.

My last series, The Ravenglass Chronicles, was about a princess’s journey from a whiney brat to a woman worthy of becoming empress.

For this one, I wanted something more down-to-earth, something a little grittier.

I’ve always been intrigued by con artists and scammers, and wonder how much better the world would be if they plowed their obvious creative talents into producing something rather than trying to take.

Tell us more about Fedor and Lev. What makes them so special?

More than anything, I wanted a story about friendship. Even though they’re thieves, even though they’re a bit rough around the edges, they’ve still got good hearts and are loyal to each other.

But, of course, the master assassin tests that friendship to the limit.

Why fantasy? What drew you to the genre?

Fantasy’s a great genre to read and write. And write the kinds of books I want to read.

It’s a fine balance between wonder and trauma.

Plus, who doesn’t want their own dragon?

Readers liken this to Oliver Twist... was this intentional?

Haha. Funny story. The prequel story called Birth of Assassins started off as an intentional riff on Oliver Twist. Dawn of Assassins is set four years later. But, because I had some crazy brain fog going on, I accidentally uploaded Birth of Assassins to Amazon.

So my most loyal fans, the people who pre-ordered the book or purchased on the first day got the wrong book...and probably a book they’ve already read because I give it away for free when readers join my newsletter.

I only found out because someone left a one-star review about it on Goodreads. How many authors can say they were grateful to receive a one-star on Goodreads?

I got the book updated on the first day, but let’s just say that I felt pretty terrible for letting those early readers down.

So, the Oliver Twist reference comes from someone who received the wrong book.

So, erm...next question!

Besides writing, what other secret skills do you have?

If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret. Let’s just say they involve narwhals and slipping into parallel dimensions.

Readers particularly enjoyed the banter between the friends. Why did you write them this way?

I think banter’s quite a British thing. I love banter with my wife, my friends, with strangers in the pub.

As a teenager, my best friend and I would play Mario Kart for hours and throw insults at each other, trying to make them as funny and distracting as possible.

I try to write what entertains me. My hope is that if I’m having the fun, the readers will have fun.

Do any of your characters ever take off on their own tangent, refusing to do what you had planned for them?

All the time, but that’s what makes it fun.

Sometimes I bribe my characters with promises of future standalone stories if they’re not playing properly.

Or, else, I dangle the Ned Stark fate in front of them and that tends to shut them up.

This is book 1 of a series. Can it be read as a standalone? How do the other books in the series tie in with this one?

Yes. The next book Trial of Thieves takes place a week after the events of Dawn of Assassins.

With everything that happened in the first book, there’s going a new set of challenges, and much to come to terms with.

How much does your love of history influence your writing?

I’ll let you into a little secret. I plunder history without mercy.

Little details of people and places always end up in my work, but maybe twisted slightly, or smashed into something else to create some weird historical hybrid.

When starting on a new book, what is the first thing you do?

Daydream. Take long walks and long showers.

And I listen. I latch onto voices. If there’s a character voice that I can’t shake, I try to find out more.

Once I know who my characters are and what they want, I plan out my stories on paper, usually overlooking the sea.

Then I spend days at the computer, staring at the cursor, often ending up with the keyboard’s imprint on my forehead.

Do you have any interesting writing habits? What is an average writing day like for you?

It’s important to have a routine.

I like to psyche myself up before a writing session by dressing up as the late, great Ultimate Warrior. This means applying face paint, baby oil, and colourful arm tassels. I’ll charge as fast as I can to my computer and roar at the screen before hitting it with a bodyslam for the one-two-three.

What are you working on right now?

I’m avoiding writing Trial of Thieves (Dawn of Assassins book 2) by working on a novella set in the same universe, but about 800 years before.

I guess there are worse ways to procrastinate.

Where can our readers discover more of your work or interact with you?

joncronshaw.com is my website. I don’t use social media much, so the best way to interact is through my newsletter.

I’ve also been doing a weekly audio journal since October 2017.

You can find Jon Cronshaw’s Author Diary wherever you listen to podcast, or watch on YouTube at youtube.com/c/joncronshawauthor