Back Story: Deprecated

Back when I was a wee lad and just starting to write, I used to create huge, sprawling backstories for my works: Complete histories going back thousands of years, maps and other archival documents, diaries for characters—none of which was ever meant for the book itself. It was just for my sense of realism and to convey a sense of history to the work through the casual dispensation of details that were vetted against each other and thus quietly consistent.

Obviously, I could also have begun this essay with the sentence, Back when I was a wee lad and just starting to write, I had few friends other people could see, but let’s not go down that road. (more…)

The Digital Plague in One Minute(ish)

It’s time for the next instalment in Jeff Somers’ ingeniously speedy recap of the Avery Cates series so far. Presenting: ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute’. OK, so as pointed out on the previous video, maybe it’s just a little longer than a minute, but I guess Jeff figured that ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute and Forty-Two Seconds’ isn’t nearly as catchy . . .

***SPOILER ALERT!***


 

Disclaimer: As Jeff’s publisher we cannot *quite* back up the veracity of his final statement…

Gorgeous new Celia Friedman cover

We’ve just had in the most gorgeous visual for Celia Friedman’s Wings of Wrath, in mass market paperback, out in August in the UK. This is the second book in Friedman’s masterful Magister trilogy, and I am just loving the bold design and glowing colours of these covers. Book One, Feast of Souls (UK I ANZ) is already out in mass market and you can still get Wings of Wrath (UK I ANZ) in its trade paperback size too (the same, but bigger, with less glow-y colours).

The author also had some really nice things to say, always appreciated: ‘I think the British books are GORGEOUS, especially the WoW. Your artist got the flavor of the Souleaters  beautifully — I was thrilled! — and the color and composition of the design are  breathtaking … a real delight for me.  Can’t wait to get the last one to you and see what you do with it!’

And take a look at these reasons why you should read, with this praise for the Magister trilogy:

  • ‘It’s potent stuff … Friedman is an excellent writer, so that you feel involved in the plot’s urgency’
    SFX
  • ‘Set in a casually grim world where cloak-and-dagger political intrigue is necessary for survival … Beautifully written’ 
    Publishers Weekly
  • ‘Friedman keeps the tension at a high level throughout … emotionally charged’
    SFFWorld.com
  • ‘Typically superb writing style, dark content and well-drawn characters … Wings of Wrath is highly recommended and a must for fans of C.S. Friedman’
    FantasyBookCritic
  • ‘One of the very best fantasy novels of the year … Wings of Wrath is C. S. Friedman writing at the top of her form. This series is head and shoulders above most of the competition on the market today’
    Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist
  • ‘An excellent new fantasy trilogy … highly recommended’
    NethSpace

Tart Talk (Vol. 2): In Which Jane And Alexia Avoid the Stinky Bag, Commiserate on the Difficulty of Finding Good Help These Days, and Find Common Ground for Later

When last they met, my own character, Jane True, and Gail Carriger’s, Alexia Tarabotti, had a little difficulty communicating. Personally, I think they’ll become fast friends once they learn to decipher each other’s language. Until then, the shenanigans continue…

Alexia: Well, my dear Miss True, how are you?

Jane: Hey lady! Yay! So happy to see you! After the “chafing” incident from last time, you looked a bit horrified, and I wasn’t sure if I’d hear from you again. . . Anyway, I’m great! And, um, I’ve brought you something.

*holds out a gift bag*

Alexia: What’s this? Tea? In little baggies? Remarkable, I have never seen the like. Ingenuous concept. (more…)

How to Read a Book

When I was a young teenager I read T.H. White’s wonderful fantasy novel The Once and Future King, which was later remade as the Disney cartoon The Sword in the Stone (the film is not a patch on the book.)  And I vividly remember the sequence in which the young Arthur is taught by Merlin how to swim as a fish, and then to fly as a owl. (more…)

Let’s Fight

After my mother read RED-HEADED STEPCHILD, she called to tell me how much she enjoyed it. Then she hesitated and asked, “But, honey, where on earth did you learn to write fight scenes?”  The subtext of this question was, “Where did I go wrong?”

It was actually a fair question. Despite the proliferation of violence in my fiction, I am, in the real world, a wimp. In fact, the only fight I’ve ever been in was a schoolyard slap fight with Christy Cates (no relation to Avery Cates) in the fourth grade. Instead of instilling a healthy blood lust in my young self, the experience resulted in a healthy dose of tears and mild psychological trauma. (more…)

“You want to know WHAT?”

When I ask friends and acquaintances about their specialties  so I can get the details in books right, usually it’s simple stuff.   Ask the naval historian who commanded the Adriatic Squadron in the early days of WWI, and out pops “Ernest Troubridge.”  Ask the martial arts enthusiast to show me how to disarm the fellow with the blaster, and I’m soon flat on the ground.     (more…)

The Engineer trilogy reissues — get your free extracts here

As well as some tempting frontlist books, January also brings Orbit UK some very handsome reissues of K. J. Parker’s Engineer trilogy. And free extracts are available here for all three books: Devices and Desires (click here for extract), Evil for Evil (extract here) and The Escapement (extract here).  The reissues will also be available via Orbit Australia from March. It’s great to see this trilogy getting a new lease of life as it’s received so much critical acclaim since its first publication. SFX deservedly called it ‘One of the finest fantasy trilogies of recent years,’ and I’ll leave you with a quote from Locus to further whet the appetite:

‘I was hooked from the very first scene … The whole thing is brilliant – disturbingly so, since these fantasies (without a whit of magic) explore the human condition and reveal it all, brain, heart, guns and bowels, with a starting precision. Parker gets back to basics, the things that drive the oldest tales: love and war, hope and betrayal’

   

The Electric Church in One Minute

The date is drawing closer for the UK release of The Eternal Prison (UK/US/ANZ), the third novel in Jeff Somers’  fast and furious techno-thriller series, the Avery Cates sequence. By putting his genius video-making skills to use, Jeff has provided us with two handy bite-size films to remind you of the series so far in speedy fashion. Here we present the first: ‘The Electric Church in One Minute.’  (And for those poor misguided individuals who haven’t  sampled the sheer awesomeness of Avery Cates yet – no fear! Doesn’t feature too many spoilers…)

Stay tuned for ‘The Digital Plague in One Minute’!