It’s our pleasure to welcome back Tim Hardie, the author of the Brotherhood of the Eagle series, including the SPFBO 7 finalist Hall of Bones, A Quiet Vengeance which was published earlier in 2023, and one of the authors of The Anatomy of Fear and The Advent of Winter anthologies. This time Bjørn chats with him about his Kickstarter campaign to produce an audiobook for Hall of Bones. If you’d like to read our earlier interview with Tim, find it HERE.


Tim Hardie grew up in the seaside town of Southport during the 1970s and 1980s. This was before anyone had even heard of the internet and Dungeons & Dragons was cutting edge. Living in a house where every available wall was given over to bookshelves, he discovered fantasy writers like JRR Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, Ursula Le Guin, Alan Garner, Stephen Donaldson and Susan Cooper. Those stories led him into the science fiction worlds created by Frank Herbert, Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke and HP Lovecraft.
After training to become a lawyer Tim lived in London for three years before moving to Yorkshire in 1999, where he has worked ever since in a variety of legal, commercial, financial and management roles. His writing began as a hobby in his early twenties and has gradually grown into something else that now threatens to derail his promising career.
Tim writes epic fantasy that will appeal to fans of Joe Abercrombie, John Gwynne and Robin Hobb.
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In the remote land of Laskar the seven ruling clans have vied with each other for power for over a century. The son of the Reavesburg Clan Chief, Rothgar, has been groomed all his life for a role supporting his elder brother, Jorik, in leading their kingdom when their father’s time finally comes to an end.
However, the rulers of their greatest rivals, the Vorund Clan, are in the grip of something older and far darker. They have been conquered by evil, a remnant from the time when the gods warred with one another and the world of Amuran collapsed into the Fallen Age.
Everything is about to change …
The first book in The Brotherhood of the Eagle series, Hall of Bones begins a tale of epic fantasy, magic and intrigue.

What is a Kickstarter and what do you hope to kickstart with it?
Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform, which enables people to raise money over a short space of time to fund a project they’re unable to finance directly themselves. It’s been a popular platform for a number of years for authors who are, for example, producing special editions of their books.
I’m using it to Kickstart the audiobook version of my novel, Hall of Bones, which is the first book in the Viking-inspired The Brotherhood of the Eagle fantasy series. The money raised will fund the costs of having this professionally narrated (i.e. not just me reading it out loud) by voice artist RJ Bayley.
How would you pitch the series to the readers?
The Brotherhood series features a combination of court politics and intrigue alongside battle scenes and adventure, so in that respect it’s like a combination of the TV shows Vikings and Game of Thrones. It’s also very character-focussed, so people who like the writing of authors such as Robin Hobb will find plenty to enjoy in this series. Hall of Bones was a Finalist in the 2021 Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off writing competition and also a Semi-Finalist in the Book Bloggers’ Novel of the Year Award 2023.
How much does it cost to produce an audiobook – i.e. How much would you need to raise?
To have an audiobook professionally narrated by an established voice actor you need to pay an hourly rate. My books are quite long, so to record Hall of Bones I’ll need to raise £3,000. This will also fund the other rewards I intend to include in the overall package, including exclusive artwork and a short story collection.
It’s worth adding here that with Kickstarter, it’s an all or nothing model. So if I raise that amount I get that money (minus the fees due to Kickstarter for using their platform) and can proceed with the recording. If we fall short, then I don’t receive anything. In that case, supporters don’t get charged and the project simply doesn’t happen.
Basically, I’m not in a position to fund those costs directly myself from my author income as things stand, which is why I’m going down this route. It sounds like a lot of money, but I’m looking for some very specific talents here. With its big cast of characters and the fact Hall of Bones is written with a lot of speech rather than action, it’s really important the listener can tell immediately who is talking. RJ Bayley brings a lot of experience and vocal range to this project, which is why I’m so keen for him to be involved.
I tried to read a bit of a short story I have written and I can confirm this requires a professional… I am very good at mumbling, though. What if you get more than £3,000?
Yes, it’s not nearly as easy as you think. Very few authors have that skill and, if they do, they’re very lucky!
I was really keen that something new beyond the audiobook was created as part of this project. So alongside recording Hall of Bones I’m writing a brand new short story series called A Roll of the Dice. This is going to be a mini-eBook and audiobook that backers will receive prior to it going on general release. In addition, supporters will receive bespoke artwork by Dawn Larder. Dawn produced the cover and interior illustrations for The Anatomy of Fear short story anthology we both contributed to last year, which was another project successfully funded through Kickstarter.
Above £3,000 we’re into stretch goals, which will unlock additional stories for inclusion in A Roll of the Dice as well as bonus artwork. If the project really takes off, then I would be in a position to record more books in the main Brotherhood series. The series is now complete, so if we do well, that would mean being able to bring the full series to the audiobook audience, which would be amazing.
For now, though, my main focus is reaching that first funding goal so Hall of Bones happens and I’m able to finish the artwork (which is at concept stage at the moment) and release A Roll of the Dice.
Does that mean that the more I contribute, the more stories I get?
Yes, that’s right. So Kickstarter rewards are structured so you get more rewards with a larger donation. At the entry level (£5) you’ll receive the eBook A Roll of the Dice. At £25 you’ll get both the eBook and audiobook versions of that book, as well as the Hall of Bones audiobook.
At the higher tiers, there’s the opportunity to receive all the audiobooks funded through the project, as well as signed copies of my books. I’ve also included some optional add ons, such as giving people the chance to have their own short fiction recorded by RJ, order specific paperbacks and the like.
When does it kickstart?
I’m running a 30 day campaign, because that’s all the stress I can handle, which launches on Monday 11th March and will conclude on 10th April if I’ve got my maths right.

Sounds up to your alley? Then check out Tim Hardie‘s Kickstarter campaign for the audiobook of Hall of Bones and support an indie author!

Grab a copy of the books in The Brotherhood of the Eagle series!
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