Author Archive

Space Rocks

Orphan's AllianceOver at SF Signal Robert Buettner joins a host of writers to answer the question: “Is Science Fiction Responsible for the Lack of Public Interest in Space Exploration?” Robert observes:

“The Apollo Generation stampeded out to a Solar System that promised dragons. But the Solar System delivered…rocks. Neat rocks, sure, but their frigid reality has left no room to believe in dragons next door.”

You can find the rest of Robert’s response — along with thoughts from David Brin, Alastair Reynolds, John Scalzi and more — here.

If you’re new to the series, you can find a review of book one, Orphanage, at Fandomania.com.

And be sure to watch for Orphan’s Alliance, (US / UK ) book four in Buettner’s Jason Wander series available in November in the US and January in the UK.

Orbit and Yen

As reported in Publishers Weekly, Hachette Book Group is creating a new publishing division that will include both Orbit and Yen Press (the company’s Graphic Novel and Manga imprint). VP and publisher of the new division Tim Holman explains:

“Orbit and Yen Press will continue to develop independently. However, as a single division, we’ll be able to combine our efforts in a number of key areas to great effect. Both Orbit and Yen Press are publishing in genres that can no longer be considered marginal. It is almost impossible to imagine popular culture today without them. Our challenge is to embrace this change, to be creative and forward-thinking, and to engage with the new audiences that we know are out there.”

Ugly is the new Awesome

The Orbit US edition of Orcs is out next week, but the verdict is in on the cover model: UGLY. Which is, of course, exactly what we were going for when we hired the orc on the cover (we interviewed hundreds of orcs before settling on Walter, who had the perfect combination of pathos, anger and ugly.)

Orcs

Walter’s visage has proven too ugly even for some of the genre’s most prominent critics. Jeff VanderMeer (who, let’s be honest, must have seen an awful lot of ugly covers in his years as an SFF critic) eventually decided he had to pretty up the orc.

Jeff writes:

“Just look at what a few randomly applied stars, flowers, smiley-faces, and the like can do to make a cover more humane! In fact, maybe Orbit should even run a “Beautify Your Orcs” contest. I bet readers would get a kick out of that.”

Pretty?

So inspired by Jeff’s suggestion, we’re asking you to beautify Walter. Here’s a link to a jpg image of the cover – Photoshop it, print it out and draw on it, scribble on it in MS Paint – then post the result to your blog or send us a copy of the image. To sweeten the deal we’ll send a copy of Orcs to the first five people to email their image to orbit@hbgusa.com .

Where did Walter come from, you ask? Our orc was sculpted by Nimba Creations, an FX firm that has created effects for films including King Kong, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and Nightmare on Elm St.

Every wrinkle, scar, and pore on Walter was done by hand. And there are a lot of lovely details that you don’t see on the final cover – Walter’s slightly beseeching eyes and gloriously awful teeth. You can practically smell his breath just looking at him.

Ugly?

In Their Own Words: Jennifer Rardin on BITTEN TO DEATH

Jennifer says:

Bitten to Death by Jennifer Rardin, US paperbackBitten to Death is a love story. Sometimes it’s twisted. And a little sick. And there are parts you shouldn’t read while eating. But it faces the fact that sometimes people fall so hard they want to fold the objects of their affections into origami swans and lock them in cedar boxes forever. (No, that doesn’t literally occur in BTD, but you’ll get what I mean by the end.)

Of course my books are also all about the assassination. When you’ve based your operations in a Vampere community, however, you’ve created a dilemma. Namely, which ubercreep should you smoke first? The serial killer who greets you at the door? The snappy dresser who calls for your head before he even gets your name? The ally who may be just as evil as your target? Or Edward ‘The Raptor’ Samos, the guy you’ve been chasing forever? Decisions, decisions…


Read an Extract!

Press Release – Orbit US

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scoundrels! Grave-robbers! Spinsters! Heiresses! Hot on the heels of its decision to double the size of its list in the US, Orbit welcomes four new stars of fantasy fiction.

Orbit is pleased to announce the upcoming releases of four new books from four new stars of fantasy fiction: BEST SERVED COLD by Joe Abercrombie (June 2009); THE SAD TALE OF THE BROTHERS GROSSBART by Jesse Bullington (Sept. 2009); SOULLESS by Gail Carriger (Nov. 2009); and THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS by N.K. Jemisin (Sept. 2009). (more…)