THE INDIE DAY GIVEAWAY FOLLOWUP: M.R. Mathias Discusses the Titles included in the Indie Day Giveaway...

On Friday, June 3, 2011, Fantasy Book Critic started a giveaway HERE in promotion of M.R. Mathias’ upcoming novel, “Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools”, the second installment in The Wardstone Trilogy. The prize? Why a brand new AMAZON KINDLE—dubbed the “Indie Kindy”—featuring FREE Smashwords Coupons for not only M.R. Mathias’s entire bibliography, but also several titles from some of M.R. Mathias’s favorite independent authors! Joining us now to talk more about those titles is M.R. Mathias himself:

Where do I start? I guess I’ll introduce myself first, that seems the logical thing to do. I am author M. R. Mathias. I wrote The Wardstone Trilogy in longhand while I was in prison in Texas. Book Two—Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools is now available in ebook format everywhere...blah...blah...blah.

The reason for this post is because I am the one who picked the ebooks that go to the winner of the “Indie Kindy.” I am going to talk about some of them and why I chose them. I will also name some other indie/small-pub fantasy authors you might want to look out for.

First up on the Indie Kindy is my published work: Old short stories, YA sci-fi, The Dragoneers Saga, and of course The Sword and the Dragon and Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools from The Wardstone Trilogy. There is also an anthology of poems about dragons written by brave souls who entered a contest. Dragon Poems for Smiletrain will happen again this holiday season, so start working on those dragon poems. Buy the anthology because all of the profit goes to Smiletrain.org.

Next is The Witchcraft Wars Trilogy by Australian author Tracey Alley. It’s hard to publish a single good book in this biz. Tracey has delivered three. She is a friend, and I identify with her main character so much that I am working extra hours to get my plate clean so I can read book three, Slade’s Destiny.

Ryne Douglas Pearson is next. His books are not fantasy, but you’ve seen a few of them at the movies starring folks like Bruce Willis and Nic Cage. Ryne writes solid, action packed, thriller-chillers, and he does it while wearing a poncho made of bacon. (If that doesn’t make sense that’s because you’re not following @rynedp & @Dahgmahn on twitter.)

Another Tracy, this one the author of the popular Rys Chronicles, is next. I doubt she knows it, but Her Ladyship’s web page, and the free fantasy ebook, Union of Renegades that I found there, inspired me to self publish. Tracy Falbe is awesome.

K.C. May’s The Kinshield Legacy, which was reviewed by Piers Anthony himself, was added to the list too. I have a lot of respect for K. C. We indies are our own advertisers/publishers, and like me, she takes that part of the job seriously.

Derek Prior is my friend, and my favorite editor. His well written works are deep and intriguing. His novella The Ant-Man of Malfen will take you back the days of armor class arguments, and trying “to hit” with the old 20 sider. Derek’s newest project and the maps he recently posted on Facebook have me very curious. The Resurrection of Deacon Shader & Thanatos Rising are two of Derek’s highly reviewed novels.

Michael R. Hicks comes highly recommended too. I have yet to read his fantasy/sci-fi saga In Her Name, but I hear it is pretty damn good. I’ve heard this from two dozen different people no less. The In Her Name omnibus is on the Indie Kindy, and nearing the top of my TBR pile too.

Last but not least is me again, well, the other me. I wrote a paranormal thriller called The Butcher’s Boy under the pen name Michael Robb. If you like Rottweilers, ghosts, slow building terror, and moments so intense that you want to scream at the top of your lungs, then this is the book for you. If you read one scary book this year read this one, but don’t read it while it’s storming outside or it might mess you up.

That’s it for the Indie Kindy, but I’m not done. Since this promotion is in the spirit if Indie-Pendence Day, I want to mention a few authors that have free ebooks available through Smashwords.com. First is David Dalglish. He and his half-orcs are here to stay.  T.C. Southwell has a handful of freebies, C.C. Cole, Jeff Hepple, B.V. Larson, Kevin Breaux, Cliff Ball, Moses Siregar, Megan Curd and J.C. Phelps also have free or .99 cents reads available. If you want the best of indie in all genres, and if you want a refreshing diversion from the cookie cutter norm, then try searching the books and authors at  The Independent Author Network or Smashwords.com.

The ereader/indie revolution is here. I’ll always love my hardback edition of Raymond E. Feist’s Magician, and my first paperback series, The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander, but I can take a ton of different books everywhere I go on my ereader.

Good luck fantasy fans. I hope YOU win the Indie Kindy. Oh yeah! Don’t forget to read Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools – The Wardstone Trilogy, Book Two. The paperback should be available by Independence Day. The ebook versions are available now.

Happy 4^th of July!  Freedom Rocks!

Sincerely,

       M. R. Mathias

NOTE: THE INDIE DAY GIVEAWAY ends on Monday, July 4, 2011 – 11:59AM PST and is open to Anyone. For information on how to enter and the rules, click HERE.

“The Watchers” Video & Giveaway (Part Six)!!!

Official Jon Steele Facebook

Order “The Watchers” HERE

Read FBC’s Review of “The Watchers”

Watch The Watchers Video: Part One — Lake Geneva

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Two — LP’s Bar

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Three — Café Grutli

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Four—Escaliers du marché

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Five—Lausanne Cathedral (The Nave)

In support of the June 9, 2011 UK Hardcover publication of Jon Steele’s The Watchers (priced £12.99) via Bantam Press, Fantasy Book Critic is hosting a series of videos that discuss the different locations found in the book. The first five videos are linked above. Today’s video, which covers the Climb up The Belfry in  Lausanne Cathedral, can be found below, followed by a brief explanation from the author, Jon Steele:

It was six years ago when I first learned of le guet de Lausanne, the man who calls the hour through the night from the belfry of the cathedral. A friend and I were coming from dinner and he pointed out the man with the lantern high in the tower, just after the eleven o’clock bells. He said, ‘You will never see this anywhere else in the world.’

Once, all Gothic cathedrals had such a man. He was one of the most important people in the town. He watched for fires and invaders approaching the medieval walls of the town. As the world developed cathedrals got rid of their ‘watchers,’ all except Lausanne. For nearly 800 years there has been a watcher in the belfry of Lausanne Cathedral every night without fail.

My friend knew le guet de Lausanne and telephoned the tower and said he wanted to bring ‘an American writer’ to meet him, and that we were bringing wine. (You want a late night invite in Switzerland, tell them you have wine. Works every time).

We arrived at the bottom of the belfry tower and my friend called up, ‘Renato!’  A few moments later this shadow of a man, in a black floppy hat, leaned through the railings. He waved and disappeared.

‘Where’d he go?’ I asked.

‘To get the key.’ my friend said.

‘Huh?’

Just then the shadow of a man in the black floppy hat reappeared and began to lower a key on a long line of string.

‘You must be kidding me.’ I said.

‘Welcome to Switzerland.’ my friend said.

In addition to the videos, Bantam Press has agreed to give away ONE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Jon Steele’s The Watchers for each video, for a total of SEVEN WINNERS. All you have to do is leave a comment in the post, or send an email to fbcgiveaway@gmail.com with your Name, Mailing Address, and the subject: WATCHERS. However, to double your chances of winning, link this post or one of the videos on your blog, Facebook, Twitter page, etc., and you will be entered TWICE! The giveaway is open to Anyone and the seven winners will be randomly selected after the last video is posted on Friday, June 17. Thank you for entering and Good Luck!

NEWS: Orbit Books Snaps up an Urban Fantasy Trilogy from debut author Amanda Carlson!!!

Little, Brown Book Group’s imprint, Orbit, has acquired the debut urban fantasy novel, Full Blooded, along with two sequels in the series by American author Amanda Carlson. Commissioning editor Anna Gregson bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Tracy Williams at Hachette Book Group USA.

Set in a world where all werewolves are male, the story follows Jessica—a girl who’s just become the only female werewolf in the world. And now she’s on the run, because a prophecy claims that her birth will signal the end of the werewolf race.

Gregson says: “I’m thrilled to be publishing this exceptionally fast-paced and irresistibly sexy urban fantasy trilogy that is just perfect for fans of Kelley Armstrong and Charlaine Harris. This debut stood out to us because it sizzles with energy, has a heart-thumping pace...and readers will want to consume it all in one sitting. So bearing that in mind that fans will be eager for the rest of the series, we’ll be keeping the schedule tight and will be publishing three books within a year.”

Orbit UK and Orbit US will publish the series on both sides of the Atlantic, with the first book, Full Blooded, scheduled for release in all territories in September 2012.

“The Watchers” Video & Giveaway (Part Five)!!!

Official Jon Steele Facebook

Order “The Watchers” HERE

Read FBC’s Review of “The Watchers”

Watch The Watchers Video: Part One — Lake Geneva

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Two — LP’s Bar

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Three — Café Grutli

Watch The Watchers Video: Part Four—Escaliers du marché

In support of the June 9, 2011 UK Hardcover publication of Jon Steele’s The Watchers (priced £12.99) via Bantam Press, Fantasy Book Critic is hosting a series of videos that discuss the different locations found in the book. The first four videos are linked above. Today’s video, which covers The Nave in  Lausanne Cathedral, can be found below, followed by a brief explanation from the author, Jon Steele:

Growing up catholic, in the days of the Latin mass, I was a sucker for Gothic cathedrals. I mean just the word: “Gothic”. Cathedrak naves were designed to create the illusion of entering the kingdom of heaven, and I fell for it every time. Much of my young life I thought I would grow up to be a priest, and I would spend many hours before statues and crosses praying for an apparition...anything; a wink or a nod would do. It never happened. Then came sex and drugs and rock and roll, and that was that for me ever wanting to be a priest.

But I never lost the mystical feeling upon entering a Gothic cathedral. Many original Christian churches were built on pagan holy sites, much the way Christmas was tagged onto the pagan celebration of the Winter Solstice. This gave the early Christians a ready crowd, as pagans would come to mass not so much to come to Jesus, but because they believed in the holiness of the place.

Lausanne Cathedral is the site of one of the first Neolithic settlements in Europe; people who believed in many gods, and in life after death. And the entire cathedral sits atop hundreds of open graves with “ancient skeletons looking like seeds waiting to be reborn”, as Rochat describes them.

And as I wandered Lausanne Cathedral and the crypt, I came to believe—as Rochat and Harper came to believe (and what the pagans knew all along)—that the earth beneath the stones is sacred.

(BTW: I’m posting a picture of one of the skeletons on my twitter page @beforetimes, so you might get the same feeling about the place.)

In addition to the videos, Bantam Press has agreed to give away ONE AUTOGRAPHED COPY of Jon Steele’s The Watchers for each video, for a total of SEVEN WINNERS. All you have to do is leave a comment in the post, or send an email to fbcgiveaway@gmail.com with your Name, Mailing Address, and the subject: WATCHERS. However, to double your chances of winning, link this post or one of the videos on your blog, Facebook, Twitter page, etc., and you will be entered TWICE! The giveaway is open to Anyone and the seven winners will be randomly selected after the last video is posted on Friday, June 17. Thank you for entering and Good Luck!

“Fun & Games” by Duane Swierczynski (Reviewed by Robert Thompson)

Official Duane Swierczynski Website

Order “Fun & Games” HERE (US) + HERE (UK)

Read An Excerpt HERE

Read FBC’s Review of “Severance Package”

AUTHOR INFORMATION: Duane Swierczynski is the author of several crime thrillers, many of which have been optioned for film adaptation, including The Blonde and Severance Package. He has also written six non-fiction books; is a regular writer for several Marvel Comics series (Cable, Punisher, Immortal Iron Fist, Werewolf By Night); and has collaborated with CSI creator Anthony E. Zuiker on the bestselling Level 26 series of “digi-novels”.

PLOT SUMMARY: Languishing in self-imposed exile because of what happened three years earlier, ex-cop Charlie Hardie has become a glorified house sitter. His latest gig comes replete with an illegally squatting B-movie actress who rants about someone trying to killer her.

Unfortunately, it’s the real deal and Hardie suddenly finds himself squared off against people who specialize in making deaths look like accidents. It’s nothing personal—the girl just happens to be the next name on their list. For Hardie, though, it’s intensely personal. He’s not about to let more innocent people die. Not on his watch...

CLASSIFICATION: If Charlie Huston, Dean Koontz, Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie were to join forces one day and write a contemporary, pulp-influenced crime thriller set in Hollywood, it would look a little something like Duane Swierczynski’s Fun & Games...

FORMAT/INFO: Fun & Games is 304 pages long divided over thirty-four numbered chapters. Narration is in the third-person, mostly via the protagonist Charlie Hardie, but the narrative also ricochets between several other POVs, including actress Lane Madden, Factboy, O’Neal and Mann. Fun & Games wraps up some of the book’s major points, but ends on a minor cliffhanger and is the first book in a trilogy. Hell & Gone (Book 2) is scheduled for publication on October 31, 2011, while Point & Shoot (Book 3) will be released in March 2012.

June 20, 2011 marks the North American Trade Paperback publication of Fun & Games via Mulholland Books. The UK version (see below) will be published on June 23, 2011 via Mulholland UK.

ANALYSIS: Duane Swierczynski’s novels are tailor-made for the big screen and the author’s latest, Fun & Games, is no exception. Like his previous efforts, Fun & Games is a massively entertaining thrill ride highlighted by crisp prose, breakneck pacing, smart plotting and memorable characters.

Characters like the protagonist Charlie Hardie, a former consultant for the Philadelphia Police Department-turned-housesitter and drunkard, who believes his life has become a sort of purgatory due to tragic events three years earlier. A belief that fuels his actions when he finds himself in a unique situation to atone for his sins, which includes saving the life of B-list starlet Lane Madden.

Opposing Hardie in his quest for redemption are “the Accident People”, a highly trained secret organization who specialize in cleaning up messes, creating accidental deaths and writing history without leaving behind any evidence of the “hand behind the act”. Backed by “protection at the highest levels”, unlimited resources, and cool gadgets—a weaponized spray that can kill a person in minutes, an injectable heart attack pen, etc.—the Accident People are extremely dangerous, but they’ve never met anyone quite like Charlie Hardie.

Story-wise, Fun & Games can be a bit formulaic in the way it handles Lane & Charlie’s haunted pasts, but inventive scenarios, stylish action & violence, and well-executed plot twists involving serial killers Philip & Jane Kindred and a true-crime reality show, more than make up for any of the book’s familiar elements. Occasionally the novel borders on the impossible, like the number of times Hardie manages to avoid death living up to his nickname, “Unkillable Chuck”, or the numerous coincidences that pop up in the book, but Fun & Games doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is evidenced by interesting facts sprinkled throughout the novel—Number of accidental suffocations per year: 3,300—and dozens of quotes & references to action movies, Hollywood and filmmaking like the Accident People referring to Lane Madden’s death as a ‘production’ and ‘narrative’.

Negatively, I could complain about the novel’s cliffhanger and having to wait for the sequels, but that would be nitpicking. In all honesty, Fun & Games is a nearly flawless novel, led by Duane Swierczynski’s skillful writing, a badass protagonist that readers can really root for, and insanely cool concepts like the Accident People. In short, Fun & Games is a ridiculously fun start to Duane Swierczynski’s exciting new trilogy...