Archive for Orbit US

The Birth of the Comarré

Kristen Painter’s House of Comarré series continues this month with FLESH AND BLOOD. Book 3, BAD BLOOD, will be available in December. You can keep up with Kristen at the official Facebook page.

One of the questions I get asked most often is where the idea for the comarré came from, these hybrid humans bred to be blood slaves for the vampire nobility. Usually I say that I’ve carried the idea of Chrysabelle around in my head since college, which is true, but that was just a blurred image of a woman in a slinky white dress dipped low enough to reveal a gold tattoo on the small of her back. It wasn’t the comarré, exactly. More like the seed that grew into Chrysabelle. (more…)

Interview with Uri

In honor of my Days of the Dead blog tour, I’d like to introduce you to one of my vayash moru (vampire) characters from the Chronicles of the Necromancer and Fallen Kings series.  Vayash moru play an important part in my books, aiding–and sometimes opposing–Tris Drayke and Jonmarc Vahanian.

Here, I’d like to introduce you to Lord Uri,  a member of the Blood Council.  In life, he was a thief and a card sharp, and in death his ethics have been questioned even by others on the Blood Council.  He is not overly fond of mortals, especially not Jonmarc Vahanian, with whom he has repeatedly sparred verbally. 

Q:  What has immortality taught you?

A:  Mortals never learn.  This creates great opportunity for those who do.

Q: You have repeatedly shown disdain for Jonmarc Vahanian, yet in the end, you have grudgingly chosen to side with him rather than against him.  Why?

A:  Jonmarc Vahanian annoys me.  I knew his kind quite well when I was mortal.  And while he made a lot of money for me when I bet on hi back when he was a Nargi fight slave, I find him arrogant in his abilities. But I have to admit, he is good at fighting.  And after last year’s vayash moru insurrection, I find myself owing him–a damnable situation.

Q:  Like most of the Blood Council, you chose to ally with the mortals of the Winter Kingdoms against the Temnottan invaders.  Why?

A:  In this, the living and the undead have common cause.  Temnotta will not be a kind master if the northern forces prevail.  I endured far too much of that kind of oppression in Nargi to serve another such master.  Once again, to my great annoyance, I find Jonmarc Vahanian and I to be on the same side.

Q:  What is your biggest disappointment about immortality?

A:  That despite superior strength and speed, my kind still fall prey so easily to those who would destroy us.

Please check out my Days of the Dead online blog tour—there are lots of other free downloads, drawings for free books, excerpts, interviews and fun—details are at www.ChroniclesOfTheNecromancer.com

Wallpapers for THE HEROES by JOE ABERCROMBIE

I loved working on these epic covers of badassery (technical term) with Gene Mollica & Michael Frost…so now that The Heroes is out, it’s totally time for wallpapers! I think these covers are set to volume 11, just like Joe Abercrombie’s writing, so if you like gritty, brutal, real-life epic fantasy with fabulous characters and a helping of political backstabbing, then you really should pick up The Heroes, out now in Trade Paperback.

Here’s all the wallpaper download links…if anyone needs a specific dimension made, let us know!

1024 x 768 | 1280 x 800 | 1440 x 900 | 1680 x 1050 |1920 x 1200 | iPhone | iPad

Gail Z. Martin’s Days of the Dead Blog Tour

Gail Z. Martin is hosting her annual Days of the Dead blog tour, and she’s kicking it off with  giveaways, special interviews, downloadable treats and news.  She’s also sharing four different excerpts from her upcoming book, THE DREAD, which is now available for pre-order.  Here’s excerpt #1 of four—enjoy!

If you’re new to The Fallen Kings Cycle you can dive in with THE SWORN, which is out now. Enter below for a chance to win a copy — we’ll pick three winners on Friday!

Congratulations Robert Jackson Bennett and N.K. Jemisin!

After a sweltering FantasyCon in Brighton last weekend, I was delighted to collect the Sydney J Bounds Award for Best Newcomer on behalf of Robert Jackson Bennett for his wonderful novel Mr Shivers (US | UK | ANZ). The judges commented he ‘created an atmospheric tale, reminiscent of the best of Block and King, skilfully evoking the ambience of the Great Depression, while demonstrating compelling storytelling’. Quite right! Congratulations, Robert – your statuette is in the post, but meanwhile here’s a picture of it looking rather lovely next to the winning book:

On the shortlist for the same award was another fabulous Orbit author, N.K. Jemisin, for her debut The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (US | UK | ANZ). It’s widely available (as is Mr Shivers) so grab a copy now if you haven’t read it yet. Jemisin’s new book The Kingdom of Gods (US | UK | ANZ) hit the bookshops in the UK, Australia and New Zealand on 6 October and is out in the US next month.

THE REVENGE OF THE DWARVES

“Impressive height or exceptional length of a limb is not the be all and end all of a creature. What I say is: the taller you are, the more likely you are to get hit!”

—Boïndil “Ireheart”, Doubleblade of the Secondling Clan of the Swinging Axes.

 “Now and then you hear malicious remarks about dwarves. They are said to be of inferior build, to be cranky, to have a weird sense of humor; it is told that they only drink beer that is as black as night and are not able to appreciate music unless a hundred voices are bellowing in unison. But I say: only when you have been a guest in their majestic halls, as once I was, should you have the right to pronounce on these rumors and confirm them all to be true. Let us not laugh at them as if they were lovable children with long beards, but, on the contrary, let us praise the magnificent way they have preserved all of us from total destruction. More than once.”

—Excerpts from the ten-volume work My Life and Uniquely Heroic Exploits—the Memoirs of the Incredible Rodario.

The Revenge of the Dwarves (UK / US / ANZ) is out now in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and is released next month in the US. Join the adventure – read the start of their tale right here.

Orbit’s First E-Book Only Launch!

We’re thrilled to announce our first ebook only publication from New York Times Bestselling author Lilith Saintcrow! We’ll be publishing The Hedgewitch Queen in December 2011, and the sequel, The Bandit King, in July 2012 in both the US and the UK.  The series will be available across all digital reader platforms.

The story centers around a young woman who must advance to the throne amidst court intrigue, conspiracies, and magic.

Vianne di Rocancheil is a lady waiting at the Court of Arquitaine, where she studies her books, watches for intrigue, and shepherds her foolhardy Princesse through the glittering whirl. Court is a sometimes-unpleasant waltz, especially for the unwary, but Vianne treads its measured steps well.

Unfortunately, the dance has changed. Treachery is afoot in gilded and velvet halls. A sorcerous conspiracy is unleashed, with blood, death, and warfare close behind. Vianne must flee, carrying the Great Seal of Arquitaine with her. This is the one thing the conspirators need to rule, and they won’t rest until they have it. A life of dances, intrigues, and fashion has not prepared Vianne for this. Nor has it prepared her for Tristan d’Arcenne, Captain of the King’s Guard and player in the most dangerous games conspiracy can devise. Yet to save her country and avenge her Princesse, Vianne will become what she must and do whatever is required.

A Queen can do no less.

Lili is a class act and with such an exciting story – that’s so different from anything she’s done before—we felt we couldn’t pass up this opportunity to try something new.