Reviews and Appearances

Hello all! It's been some time, but I couldn't let today go by without sharing some news. 

Namely, as it says right there in the title, today Stillbright received its first press review, and I've been celebrating it all day. 

Publisher's Weekly has given Stillbright a starred review. You can read the entire thing here. 

I'm probably not supposed to admit how good that feels, but it does. I've worked on this story, lived with these characters, basically nonstop since August of 2011, and to get that kind of reception is validating. It may not seem like a big deal to some of you, or to more seasoned authors. But that review hones right in on many things I cared about, and thought about, while writing the books. I wanted a good story, characters that readers cared about, and to ask some questions. I know there's places I could've been more successful, but right now I feel better about The Paladin Trilogy than at maybe any point since I started writing a story about a beat up old knight running away from his life and finding a burnt-out village. If you haven't read Ordination I hope you do. If you have, thank you, and please enjoy Stillbright. 

And now to the second part of this post: upcoming appearances!

March 26: Griffincon, Williamsburg VA. I'll be selling and signing copies of Ordination. I also think I'll be debuting a talk on writing fight scenes, and how to take lessons from RPG combat into writing action scenes in fantasy. 

April 8th: CecilCon, North East MD. I'm definitely doing the panel I mentioned above. Panel time is 1 pm in Room B. I'll also be selling and signing. I hope to be giving away an ARC of Stillbright, with entries earned by purchasing copies of Ordination. 

April 29th: Artomatic, Arlington VA, at 7 p.m. I'll be part of a panel on character-building in fantasy with the amazing Kathy MacMillan, author of Sword and Verse. You do not want to miss this. It's going to be great. 

May 20th: Release Party! at The Barking Dog in Bethesda, MD, 7-11 pm. Celebrating not just Stillbright but all of SFWP's spring releases, including Kate McCahill's travel memoir Patagonian Road, AA Balaskovits' collection of fractured fairy tales Magic for Unlucky Girls, Tara Laskowski's flash collection Modern Manners for Your Inner Demons, and a spate of releases from Stillhouse Press, especially We All Scream, the harrowing memoir of my publisher, Andrew Gifford. 

I'm hoping to build on the above list as the summer goes on and moves in to fall, so if you know of any literary or SFF events or bookstores that might put up with me, please give me a shout. I'm also looking for more review outlets for Stillbright so if you're a blogger, podcaster, reviewer, or bookseller please get at me! 

As soon as I have any more info on the upcoming audiobook of Ordination from Podium Publishing, I'll pass it on immediately. 

Hark, An Announcement!

Hello all. I hope this Boxing Day or Kwanzaa or Monday December 26 finds you well, and that this season has seen you enjoying exactly the Holiday celebrations you wish with the people you treasure. 

Folks who follow me on Twitter may have noted a few cryptic "I have cool news I can't announce yet" tweets in the past couple of months. I wasn't exactly under an NDA or anything, but I wanted to keep this under my hat until I knew it was truly happening, and now I do. 

I've signed an audiobook deal for The Paladin Trilogy with Podium Publishing. 

This happened several weeks ago and I've been keeping it fairly close except largely for family members and beta readers. The even more exciting news than that it's happening is that they are going to be narrated by none other than the amazing Michael Kramer, who has narrated the work of Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson, Ken Liu, and countless others. It's an honor and a pleasure to know that Ordination is in his hands and that he will be bringing Allystaire, Idgen Marte, Torvul, and Mol to life. 

I want to thank all my original readers and everyone else who has read Ordination, written reviews, foisted it on friends and family members, talked it up to other fantasy readers, left ratings on Goodreads or reviews on Amazon so far. I also especially want to thank Andrew Gifford and the entire team at SFWP for all the work they have put in as well, and for having had the belief in my work to put it in print in the first place. 

I don't yet know a release date, but as soon as I have one I'll be sharing it with everyone. 

Thank you, and Happy New Year.