PRESS RELEASE: Bestselling Independent Author M. R. Mathias announces Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools!!!

International bestselling independent author, M. R. Mathias, is proud to announce the upcoming release of Kings, Queens, Heroes & Fools, the second installment in The Wardstone Trilogy. The ebook version will be available for download in late June 2011 with an official release date of July 4, 2011. Mathias chose this date to celebrate the freedom his writing has brought him. A preview of the book can be found HERE + HERE.

“Mathias’ is a great story,” says W.R. Potter, founder of the Independent Authors Network. “From writing huge epic novels while in prison for drug abuse, to the top of the Amazon fantasy bestsellers lists worldwide. Not only is he an inspiration for rehabilitation, he has shown thousands of Independent Authors that with self publishing, anything is possible.”

Book one of The Wardstone Trilogy, The Sword and the Dragon (Reviewed HERE), was released less than a year ago and is still at the top of ebook bestseller charts across the board. The third and final novel of the trilogy, The Wizard and the Warlord, is scheduled for release in 2012. Mathias is also the author of the bestselling fantasy series, The Saga of the Dragoneers, as well as the paranormal horror/thriller The Butcher’s Boy that was released in 2010 under the pen name Michael Robb.

The cover of Kings, Queens, Heroes, & Fools was made by GVT Grafix featuring the original artwork of Sandara Tang. “The artwork is perfect,” said the author. “The woman on the dragon is Shaella, the Dragon Queen. I wanted it the second I saw the work. Then when Gary from GVX finished turning the piece into a cover I was just amazed.”

For interviews, ARCs, and publicity queries, please contact the author at michael@mrmathias.com.

NEWS: Fantasy Author Alan Campbell Self-Publishes the novella “Lye Street”!

Back in 2008, Subterranean Press published “Lye Street”, a 26,000 word novella which serves as a prequel to Alan Campbell’s fantasy debut, Scar Night, the opening volume of The Deepgate Codex. “Lye Street” is described as follows:

The Greene family is cursed. Every fifty years Deepgate's scarred angel, Carnival, returns to murder another descendant. Now, five hundred years after the first victim's death, Sal Greene is facing his own doom. His time has almost run out. In a desperate attempt to break the chain of violence and save his family, he summons a demon to the chained city: a warrior he hopes is powerful enough to stand against the angel.

Yet the creature which arrives in Deepgate is not quite the legendary mercenary Sal Greene was expecting...

Unfortunately, “Lye Street” was only available in limited edition with a little over 2000 copies printed and has been long sold out. Thanks to popular demand, Alan Campbell has decided to explore the option of self-publishing  and is offering “Lye Street” as an eBook for the measly price of $0.99. “Lye Street” is currently available in Kindle edition HERE and will be available in ePub format in the near future. At only $0.99, this is quite a deal folks! Not only is “Lye Street” a neat little story all by itself—Read FBC’s Review HERE—but it’s also a great introduction to Alan Campbell and The Deepgate Codex. Plus, the novella also includes an excerpt from Alan Campbell’s awesome new book, Sea of Ghosts (Reviewed HERE).

Gemmell Award Final Voting

Voting for the final winners of the Gemmell Award has opened several weeks ago, though only today I managed to vote. I also did a post about the shortlist vote HERE.


Legend Award for Best Novel:

The Desert Spear (FBC Rv) by Peter V. Brett
War of the Dwarves by Markus HeitzTowers of Midnight (FBC Rv) by Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan
The Alchemist in the Shadows by Pierre Pevel
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
The Black Prism (FBC Rv) by Brent Weeks

I read three of the books (Brett, Sanderson and Weeks), while I have no interest in the Wheel of Time series or the Dwarves novel. The first Pevel novel (and previous Gemmell winner) was a huge meh for me though I may take a look at the second one here at some point, but it is not that high a priority.

As mentioned in the shortlist vote The Black Prism was my #1 traditional fantasy of last year (#3 in fantasy and #6 overall), though I voted there for Mark Newton's City of Ruin as more heroic. Here it was my clear vote by far. I liked The Desert Spear well enough but its subject is at the very limit of my interest and only the author's writing style and the way he managed to keep the story unpredictable so far keeps me in the series. I also liked The Way of Kings a bit unexpectedly since I have not been a Sanderson fan so far, but it was very bloated.

Prediction for winner: The Way of Kings

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Morningstar Award for Best Debut:

Spellwright (FBC Rv) by Blake Charlton
The Warrior Priest by Darius Hinks
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (FBC Rv) by N.K. Jemisin
Shadow Prowler by Alexey Pehov
Tymon's Flight by Mary Victoria

Here the choice was also an easy one since The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms was one of my top debuts of last year as mentioned in the Hugo post. I was very meh on Spellwright and have no real interest in its sequel though Robert quite liked it as you can see in his review linked above, while Shadow Prowler is one of those books that while ultra-cliched for anyone versed with English language fantasy, may be a great introduction to the genre in other countries.

After all I read a ton of Soviet and Romanian sf decades ago when that was essentially my only choice and despite all (cliches...) it still nurtured my love for the genre. I have no interest in The Warrior Priest (the only tie-in universe I read in is the 163* one of Eric Flint) and I checked a sample of Tymon's Flight where I had no interest to read more based on it.

Prediction for winner: if the US/UK vote dominates, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, if the international vote dominates Shadow Prowler

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Ravenheart Award for Best Cover Art:

The Ragged Man
Power and Majesty
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Shadow King
Tymon's Flight

Here you can just go and check the covers at the Gemmell site, but I have a weakness for genre covers that show they are genre in an interesting way, so the cover of The Ragged Man had my vote here.

Prediction for winner: The Todd Lockwood cover for The Ragged Man

PRESS RELEASE: Orbit Acquires International Bestselling Author Trudi Canavan’s New Trilogy!

Global SF and Fantasy imprint Orbit has acquired a new trilogy by Sunday Times bestselling fantasy author Trudi Canavan. UK Editorial Director Anne Clarke acquired World rights from Arabella Stein, acting for Trudi Canavan’s primary agent Fran Bryson, in a major deal. The deal coincides with Trudi Canavan’s first major UK and European tour. The tour begins this week for publication of her latest novel The Rogue.

Millennium’s Rule is set in an entirely new magical world, with the first book in the trilogy due to be delivered in June 2013. It will be published by Orbit in 2014 in all good bookstores across the planet.

Trudi Canavan says: “I am delighted to continue working with Orbit who have been such a big part of the success of my books—and I am excited to be exploring this new, dynamic fantasy world which I can’t wait to share with my readers.”

Anne Clarke says: “I have long been a fan of Trudi’s wonderful books, and I was delighted and honoured to become her UK publisher when I joined Orbit at the start of this year. Trudi has a wonderful talent for creating emotionally compelling characters and weaving them into an exciting narrative set in a well drawn and wholly believable magical world. I and the rest of the Orbit team are thrilled at the prospect of publishing Trudi for many more years to come.”

Fran Bryson says “Trudi and Orbit are a terrific team. It’s great news that they will enter the stunning world of Millennium’s Rule together.”

Trudi Canavan’s UK tour for publication of The Rogue starts on May 5, 2011. She is available for interview. For all publicity queries please contact Rose Tremlett at rose.tremlett@littlebrown.co.uk.

PRESS RELEASE: Operation Kid Equip Partners with The Giving Effect to Collect Books for metro Detroit Kids!

WHAT: Operation: Kid Equip (OKE), a nonprofit organization dedicated to supplying metro Detroit kids with free school day supplies and books, will host its first mail in book drive in partnership with The Giving Effect. Between now and May 14th, people from Michigan and across the country can donate new or gently used books to OKE without leaving the comfort of their own home. The postage is free, too.

“I was fortunate to connect with Menachem from Operation: Kid Equip. Their progressive views on social media and their willingness to join us were a tremendous inspiration for building this system,” said Mitchell Silverman, Founder of The Giving Effect. “I look forward to working with them to get many more donations to the thousands of kids OKE serves.”

Local businesses are getting involved in the initiative, too. PublicCity PR has offered to be the first business to cover the cost of postage to donors who mail the first 1,000 books.

“We couldn’t have picked a better organization to partner with. The Giving Effect has helped us take our message to a whole new level,” said Menachem Kniespeck, Founder & Director of OKE. “It’s important to ensure the children of metro Detroit have the proper books they need to become the future of our great state.”

DETAILS: To donate simply collect 10 or more books, put them in a box, weigh it and log onto http://books.operationkidequip.org to print the packing slip. Each donor will receive a tracking number and when the books are received by OKE, the donor will get an in-kind donation receipt via e-mail.

To Donate Locally, Drop Books Off At:

OKE Teachers’ Annex & Operations Center

1830 Stephenson Highway, Suite B

Troy, Michigan  48083

Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 2:30p.m. – 6:30p.m.

Saturday from 10:00a.m. – 2:00p.m.

About Operation Kid Equip:

Operation: Kid Equip’s long term vision is a community where every child’s basic needs are met. To accomplish this in the short term we provide free school supplies, books, hygiene and food items for children who are at-risk. To effect long term community improvement, we work to increase awareness of the issues facing school-aged children to help them succeed in school and in life. For more information about Operation Kid Equip, visit http://operationkidequip.org

About The Giving Effect:

The Giving Effect helps donors connect with organizations that distribute essential items such as clothes, shoes, and food to people in need. Nonprofits use the site to publicize their needs and to create stories around each item donated: donors can share these stories online to increase support for the causes they care most about. Sponsors use The Giving Effect to promote their pro-social message: they provide postage to donors who mail items for free to people in need. The Giving Effect is headquartered in Brooklyn, NY.  For more information, visit www.thegivingeffect.com