Stillbright Audio!

Hello folks! It's been a while. And for most of that while, the most common question I've been getting asked....on twitter, via this website...is when is the audiobook of Stillbright: Book 2 of The Paladin Trilogy coming out. And I promised an answer as soon as I knew. 

Well, I've got one. 

Tuesday, October 17! 

Let me tell you, I'm listening to Michael Kramer's narration as I write this, and if you enjoyed Ordination, you won't want to miss it. 

If you haven't nabbed the Audio versions yet, but you do have the Kindle version (or feel like spending a buck to get it) check out the kindle whispersync available from Amazon. Check it out here. 

Hopefully you'll hear some more in this space soon, or perhaps I'll see you at the upcoming Hockessin Art and Book Fair (November 4) or Thy Geekdom Con (November 5). More on those later. 

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. 

Summer Update and Appearances Info

Greetings!

Been a while since there was any action on this blog, but I thought I'd catch you up on a few things. 

First, any reviews on Amazon or Goodreads are still appreciated. 

Secondly, I've got a big stack of bookplates just waiting to be signed and affixed on your copy of Ordination. To get one, all you have to do is any of the following: 

Follow me on Goodreads or Twitter and send me a message with the address to ship it to

Tweet a picture of your copy of Ordination and send DM me an address (again, DM on Twitter or email me through this site). 

Last, I've got a few appearances already scheduled for the end of summer and fall and hopefully more to come, but for now

Monday, August 15 at 6 pm: 5th Annual Space, Magic, and Swords at the North East Branch of the Cecil County Library. I'll be a special guest, and a signed copy of Ordination will be given away as a prize. Details here

Thursday, September 29 at 6 p.m.: I'll be on the SFWP Panel at the Fall for the Book Festival at George Mason University 

Sunday, October 2nd at 2 p.m.: There is an SFWP reading at The Writer's Center in Bethesda! Details here

Saturday, October 22 at 11 a.m: The Hockessin Book & Art Fair. I'll be exhibiting, selling Ordination, signing books, and who knows what else. Best please to get details on the Book & Art Fair is on their Facebook page, here

I'm hoping to add more appearances. Got a book club, library, fantasy bookstore, gamestore, or comic book store within a 2 hour drive of New Castle, Delaware (longer also possible)? Let me know. I'll come and talk your ear off about Allystaire, Idgen Marte, Torvul, and company. 

ARCs, Events, Promotion or I'll Even Mop the Floors

Dear readers,

Are you a bookseller? A librarian? A reviewer? A podcaster? If yes, are you interested in Fantasy fiction? I'm presuming you are or you wouldn't be here.

Even if you aren't one of those things, maybe you know someone who IS a bookseller, reviewer, blogger, podcaster, or librarian. Maybe you know some people who are attached to a Convention or a Book Festival, or work at a bookstore or a library. Maybe you run a book club (mom, your book club doesn't count) or know people who do, or are involved with a Sci-Fi or Fantasy Appreciation Club or Society and they might appreciate Ordination. 

If any of the above describes you or anyone you know, please, please get in touch with me; I have Advance reader Copies still looking for homes. 

When it comes to making appearances to do signings, give talks, or Q&As, I am willing to drive anywhere from Richmond to Philadelphia to the Jersey Shore and probably quite a lot farther than that on any reasonable amount of notice. Come the summer, I'm probably willing and able to go a lot farther than that. 

If you're wondering how I am with an audience, I talk to teenagers about World Literature and writing for a living, and I think I keep them interested. I can talk to your crowd about fantasy and about The Paladin Trilogy and, like I say in the title, I'm probably even willing to mop the floors. 

If you have any questions about any of this, don't hesitate to ask! There's a few weekends I'm already booked or unavailable (April 9, May 21, June 5 are all definitely out; May 7 may very well be). 

If you have any reasonable advice or suggestions, I'm all ears. Scoot on over here to scope out the prologue and the beautiful cover art if you haven't already. 

ARCs! Fresh hot ARCs!

Good evening folks. It's been a while since I've blogged here, I know. There were some technical difficulties that have recently been overcome (read: I bought a new computer) that should make posting here a more regular occurrence. In the next few weeks expect some thoughts on what I'm looking forward to reading in 2016, more on my writing music, possibly some scattered thoughts on the Orioles, perhaps some pictures of toys, and maybe a post introducing the editor cats. 

However, tonight's post is very simple; I still have Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of Ordination: Book I of the Paladin Trilogy looking for good homes. If you're a blogger, review, podcaster, or general internet/literary gadabout who is interested in fantasy and would like one and is willing to review it/help spread the word, please let me know! Contact me via this website or get at me on Twitter (@soundingline). 

Amazing cover art from Kerem Beyit. Look him up and prepare to be wowed.