FAQ

The Broken Flag Saga is an ongoing saga of novels and companion stories, reimagining pivotal moments of history through a fictional lens. Baler and Other Stories collects shorter fiction from the same saga, and Nahui Ollin, the Fifth Sun expands the world further.

The main saga novels follow a shared timeline and are best read in publication order. Baler and Other Stories is a companion collection of self-contained stories — it can be read at any point, though it will be richer after the main novels.

They are fiction. The stories are grounded in well-documented history, but real events, figures, and institutions appear in a fictional or alternate-history context. Think of it as history as it might have been — not history as it was.

The books are written for adult readers. They include wartime violence and dark themes, and are recommended for readers aged 16 and up. If you are unsure about a specific title, get in touch via the Contact page for an honest answer about its content.

Depending on the title and format: directly through this site's store, on Amazon (Kindle and paperback), or through the print-on-demand partners. Every book page lists the up-to-date links for each edition.

Ebooks (EPUB, compatible with virtually every reader app, plus Kindle editions via Amazon) and print-on-demand paperbacks. Audiobook editions are not available at this time.

Ebooks purchased directly from this site are standard, DRM-free files — they are yours to keep and to read on any device. Purchases made through Amazon are subject to Kindle's own terms.

Because it is the edition that most supports the writing. Direct sales cut out the middlemen, and every direct purchase makes a real difference to an independent author.

Preordering reserves your copy ahead of release day. Depending on the platform, you will be charged at checkout or at release; ebooks are delivered on publication day, and print copies ship as soon as they become available. Preorders also help a new release more than almost anything else.

Print books are produced and shipped by our print-on-demand partners, Amazon and IngramSpark, which deliver to most countries. Merchandise ships separately via Printful. Shipping costs and delivery times depend on your location and are shown at checkout.

Print-on-demand books are produced individually, so please allow a few business days for production before dispatch. You will receive a confirmation email and, where available, a tracking number from the platform.

That should not happen. Print and shipping issues are handled by the platform's support team (Amazon or IngramSpark, depending on where you ordered), who can arrange a replacement. If you run into any trouble, message via the Contact page and it will be chased up personally.

Physical books follow the return policy of the platform where you purchased them. For ebooks, the right of withdrawal does not apply once the download has begun, in line with EU/UK consumer law — but if a file is faulty or will not open, get in touch via the Contact page and it will be made right.

Check your inbox (and your spam folder) for an email from Payhip containing your download link. Still nothing? Contact via the Contact page with your order number and it will be resent.

Release news, preorder announcements, cover reveals, and the occasional exclusive excerpt or companion material not published elsewhere. No spam, and never more than a handful of emails a year.

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Yes — digital review copies are available for reviewers, bloggers, and Bookstagram / BookTok creators. Send a request through the Contact page including a link to your platform.

Occasionally, yes. Send the details through the Contact page.

For rights and licensing enquiries, please use the Contact page.

While I don't formally teach writing in workshops or classes, I believe strongly in mentoring and helping other writers. I share knowledge and advice through the blog and on social media. The most important thing is to always be learning, and to support your fellow authors.

I appreciate you asking, but I don't read or review manuscripts — it's a decision that lets me stay focused on my own writing and publishing deadlines. Finding the right reader for your work is a critical step for any writer; I'd recommend a professional freelance editor or a writing critique group. Both can provide invaluable feedback.

I write historical and alternate-history fiction — stories built on real, meticulously researched history, but reimagined at the pivot points where things could have gone differently. The Broken Flag Saga, for instance, follows one bloodline across five centuries of real conflicts, alongside a fictional near-future Spanish civil war. I'm drawn to the untold stories of the people who lived through moments of historical rupture, real or reimagined.

My process is a systematic journey from a simple idea to a finished story, in four stages:

1. The Spark

Every story begins with a single question or a fleeting image. I spend a long time with this initial concept, letting it grow before writing the first word.

2. Research and World-Building

This is where I build the foundation — digging into historical detail, reading non-fiction, studying real events. This step is what makes a story feel lived-in.

3. Drafting

I keep a loose outline but leave room for the story to surprise me. The goal at this stage is momentum, not perfection.

4. Editing and Polish

Once the first draft is done, I step away from it to get distance, then return to refine language, tighten plot, and polish every sentence.

It varies, but taking a book from initial idea to a polished manuscript typically takes between twelve and twenty months, split roughly as:

Research and Planning

Several months immersed in the history, source material, maps, and documents that ground the story.

The First Draft

Getting the story down on the page, without stopping to edit — usually four to eight months.

Revisions and Editing

Often the longest part of the process: fixing plot holes, refining dialogue, and polishing every sentence, over several more months.

"The first draft is just you telling yourself the story" — a line often attributed to Terry Pratchett. It takes the pressure off writing something polished the first time around: the first draft's only job is to get the story out of your head and onto the page. Editing comes later.

A few resources I've found genuinely useful over the years:

• "On Writing" by Stephen King — a no-nonsense look at the craft and business of writing.
• "The Elements of Style" by Strunk and White — the fundamentals of good prose.
• "Bird by Bird" by Anne Lamott — honest, funny advice on the writing process.

Read widely, write consistently — the rest follows from that.

Most of what I'm doing right now is taking manuscripts I've already had written for years and splitting them into trilogies. A few titles, like Baler and Other Stories and the first Broken Flag book (set during the fictional Second Spanish Civil War), I've written only in the last few years, and those are nearly ready to go. For most of the rest, what's left is finishing the split of those trilogies into their three separate books, plus bringing the content up to date — mainly because I keep finding new information or additional historical detail about the real events the stories are built on.

Yes. Kyle Alexandre Struan is a pen name. All titles are published under the imprint Noble House Press.

Thank you in advance — please use the Contact page and it will be fixed as soon as possible.