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The Best Possible Betrayal, or The Fine Art of the Plot Twist in Your Back

BlindingknifeI love a great plot twist. After writing and publishing six big fantasy novels, I’ve become pretty hard to fool with a twist, but every time I hear a reader say, “I never saw that coming, but looking back, it made so much sense.” I get to feel the pleasure anew. It is, of course, merely a vicarious pleasure, but living vicariously is kind of what novelists do.

The Lightbringer Series is, in part, an ass-kicking examination of identity and integrity. Many of the characters have secrets that influence both, and these secrets are revealed not through navel gazing and discourse, but through actions, lies, and inadvertent truths that escape when the characters are under great pressure. Characters do what they don’t say, say what they don’t think, and think what they don’t do. All of which is fertile ground for surprises.

But a plot twist is more than just a character acting in a way that surprises us. A chaotic or insane character does that. (And, let’s be honest, an actually chaotic character might be impossible to pull off. The most famous recent example of a wildly chaotic character is, if one thinks about it at all, actually a master planner par excellence: Heath Ledger’s Joker from The Dark Knight.) Instead, a great plot twist takes a lot of planning and careful management of what a reader thinks is going on at any moment.

But how do you manage audience expectations when an audience ranges from teens reading the very first book they’ve ever read outside of assigned reading to adults who have been reading fantasy for fifty years? Movies get to cheat on this. If you have a convoluted plot, and something’s always happening on screen, only a tiny percentage of people will be able to think through the plot holes and possible lacunae in the two hours they’re watching. With a big fantasy novel, authors don’t have that luxury. Some readers devour, and other readers savor, thinking through every tidbit, and guessing for weeks where the plot’s going. (more…)

Read an excerpt from A DANCE OF CLOAKS by David Dalglish

OctoberAssassin or protector; every choice has its consequences.

For the rogues and fantasy readers out there, Orbit’s Fall line-up is an exciting one, and it includes the Shadowdance series by David Dalglish! Starting in October, we’re publishing the first three books back-to-back. Here’s an excerpt from the first book, A DANCE OF CLOAKS (US | UK | AUS)

For the past two weeks the simple building had been his safe house, but now Thren Felhorn distrusted its protection as he limped through the door. He clutched his right arm to his body, fighting to halt its trembling. Blood ran from his shoulder to his elbow, the arm cut by a poisoned blade.

“Damn you, Leon,” he said as he staggered across the wood floor, through a sparsely decorated room, and up to a wall made of plaster and oak. Even with his blurred vision he located the slight groove with his fingers. He pressed down, detaching an iron lock on the other side of the wall. A small door swung inward.

The master of the Spider Guild collapsed in a chair and removed his gray hood and cloak. He sat in a much larger room painted silver and decorated with pictures of mountains and fields. Removing his shirt, he gritted his teeth while pulling it over his wounded arm. The toxin had been meant to paralyze him, not kill him, but the fact was little comfort. Most likely Leon Connington had wanted him alive so he could sit in his padded chair and watch his “gentle touchers” bleed Thren drop by drop. The fat man’s treacherous words from their meeting ignited a fire in his gut that refused to die.

Continue reading.

Become a fan of the official Facebook fanpage for the latest updates and connect with other fans of the series.

Praise for A DANCE OF CLOAKS

“A gritty book with intriguing characters and has a plot which will keep you hooked till the end’ Fantasy Book Critic

“Fast, furious, and fabulous.” – Michael J. Sullivan, author of THEFT OF SWORDS (US | UK | AUS)

“Dalglish concocts a heady cocktail of energy, breakneck pace and excitement that a reader could get drunk on.” – Sam Sykes, author of Tome of the Undergates

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New Short Fiction: CHARMED, I’M SURE

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Available now!

Last year, I received a submission for a novel that I just couldn’t let go of.  It hit all my urban fantasy notes, plus it had a male hero!  It also had a great hook — and it didn’t hurt that it reminded me of my love for both Jim Butcher and Kevin Hearne.

The concept is this:  What if there was more than one Prince Charming? What if there was a whole line of Charmings’ going back far into history — each one with a mission to rid the world of evil. But what happens when the last one is turned…and he becomes what he hunts?

So with this in mind, I set out to publish CHARMING (out in September), but Elliot James didn’t stop there. He also wrote a series of stories that will introduce us to the character in the coming months. The first, CHARMED, I’M SURE, is out today!

To tell you a tiny bit about the story:
When Tom Morris encounters a naked man walking along the interstate with no memory of how he got there, the smart thing to do is drive away. The only problem is, Tom Morris has secrets of his own. Like the fact that he comes from a long line of witch finders, monster slayers, and enchantment breakers, or that his real name is Charming. John Charming.

We’ll have one story a month starting with this one. DON’T GO CHASING WATERFALLS will be out in September to coincide with CHARMING (the novel) and PUSHING LUCK will be published in October.

And did I mention that Kevin Hearne was kind enough to give CHARMING a quote?

“Loved it! CHARMING is a giant gift basket of mythology and lore delivered by a brilliant new voice in urban fantasy. Elliott James tells stories that are action-packed, often amusing, and always entertaining.”
— Kevin Hearne, author of HOUNDED

I’m very excited about this debut author and if you get a chance, dip into one of the short stories, or even better, pre-order CHARMING! It’s totally worth it!!!

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Orbit Books on the Gemmell Awards Shortlists

The shortlists for the 2013 Gemmell Award were announced during the weekend’s spectacular Nine Worlds Geekfest in London, and everyone at Orbit is delighted to see that five of our titles have been shortlisted.

On the Legend Award shortlist for best novel, we have THE GATHERING OF THE LOST (UK | ANZ) by Helen Lowe (last year’s Morning Star winner), THE BLINDING KNIFE (UK | US | ANZ) by Brent Weeks and RED COUNTRY (US) by Joe Abercrombie.

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Up for the Morning Star award for best debut, we have THE RED KNIGHT (US ) by Miles Cameron and MALICE (US) by John Gwynn.

theredknight  Malice

In the Ravenheart category, awarded for best book cover, we have the wonderful cover for THE BLINDING KNIFE (UK | US | ANZ), with art by Silas Manhood and design by our very own Lauren Panepinto.

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The full shortlists can be found here, and final voting is already open, so be sure to vote for your favourites!

Congratulations from everyone at Orbit to all the authors and artists/designers on the shortlists.

PARASITE: Choose life. Choose health. Choose SymboGen

“Imagine a world without costly prescription drugs. Where useless diets, insulin checks, and allergies are a thing of the past.”

Hmm, sounds pretty good. Maybe too good…

SymboGen wants to tell you all about their new product, the Intestinal Bodyguard, which has been hailed as the next step in human evolution, but do we trust them? Head over to Symbogen.net today for more information or follow them on Twitter.

Remember to pre-order PARASITE (US | UK | AUS) by Mira Grant, releasing on October 29th!

SymboGen: Come join us!

Praise for PARASITE:

“Grant extends the zombie theme of her Newsflesh trilogy to incorporate thoughtful reflections on biomedical issues that are both ominously challenging and eerily plausible. Sally is a complex, compassionate character, well suited to this exploration of trust, uncertainty, and the price of progress.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Readers with strong stomachs will welcome this unusual take on the future.” — Kirkus

“The first book of this ominous duology blends sci-fi imagination with the terrifying authenticity of horror then delivers like a creeping thriller, getting under your skin in a very good way.” — Amazon Big Fall Preview List

Prequels, because doing things “the right way” is too darn easy

THE CROWN TOWERAll my life I’ve done everything wrong, and yet oddly enough, it works for me. I didn’t graduate college. I didn’t wait to get married, and yet I’ve stayed married to the same woman for thirty years. I didn’t take courses, or read books on how to write, and I gave up my dream of getting published after twenty years of trying. I wrote a six book traditional fantasy series with wizards, dwarves, and elves when such a thing was considered absurd. I self-published when no self-respecting writer would stoop so low, and I signed a contract with a major New York publisher when everyone else was making a fortune in self-publishing. So it should come as no surprise that the next book of mine to be released on August 6th through Orbit, THE CROWN TOWER (US | UK | AUS), is a prequel—because rumor has it no one likes prequels.

As usual, I didn’t know there was a stigma regarding prequels any more than I knew there was a stigma around traditional fantasy, or self-publishing until after I did it. Ignorance is bliss, and they say God watches out for children, drunks, and fools. This may be the case, but I refuse to admit which of those I am.

Prequels are apparently disliked for the same reason people dislike sequels and prologues, except prequels are a combination of both. They have been known to feel tacked on and they also precede the interesting events of the primary story. You can feel a yawn approaching just looking at the cover of such a book. Prequels are usually about the childhood years, or possibly even the parents of some main character, and very likely have nothing at all to do with the original story. Once again not knowing all of this, not knowing how I was supposed to build a prequel, I failed to follow these rules. Instead I made the fateful error of fleshing out an origin-story for a legend.

Because I also made the error of writing a fantasy series that didn’t include the formative years of my main characters—preferring to focus on them after they’d actually become interesting—I had skipped the episode where Peter Parker is bitten by the radioactive spider, Clark Kent crashed on Earth, and Bruce Wayne sees his parents murdered, (I really hope those weren’t spoilers for anyone.) For me it just felt logical to include that story. The fact that the majority of my readers requested it didn’t hurt either. (more…)

Cover Launch: DESCENT by Ken MacLeod

We’re very excited to be publishing DESCENT, the new novel from award-winning SF novelist Ken MacLeod, in March 2014. We’ll tell you more about Ken’s fantastic new book closer to its publication, but for the time being here’s the wonderful cover.

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August Events

August 9-11: Charles Stross, Benedict Jacka, Francis Knight and Kate Griffin are all appearing at brand new SF convention Nine Worlds, London UK

August 15: Will McIntosh @ Fountain Bookstore, Richmond, VA, 6:30 PM

August 15-18: Amanda Carlson and Kristen Painter at Authors After Dark, Savannah, GA

August 17: Brian McClellan @ B&N Crocker Park, Cleveland, OH, 1 PM

August 22: James S.A. Corey @ Alamosa Books, Albuquerque, NM, 7 PM

August 23-25: Brent Weeks and James S.A. Corey (Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck) at Bubonicon, Albuquerque, NM

August 29 – September 2: LoneStarCon 3/Worldcon, featuring a whole buncha Orbit authors, including Kim Stanley Robinson and Mira Grant, who are up for this year’s Hugo Award for Best Novel!

Cover Story: FORTUNE’S PAWN by RACHEL BACH

œF�� $¿�Ƒ$�8Ò�ò¤»�däå¸R8BIFORTUNE’S PAWN (US | UK) and the Paradox Series by Rachel Bach is coming out this Fall in November 2013.

I’ve had a particular attachment to this project. As a father of a three year old girl, I love that the covers for this series are showcasing a strong female character. My kid already has to listen to me quote Ripley to her on a daily basis, now she gets to listen to Devi quips too.

Putting this book together was a challenge beyond figuring out how the series was going to look. It was really executing that vision that was the biggest obstacle. I wanted Devi’s face to be front and center. I wanted a snapshot moment of a badass female with an unamused expression to set the tone of the series, then have the cover of each volume expand on that moment. As if each cover was a visual interstitial for the series.

I had to create the initial illustration of Devi herself which I was going to use in the following two volumes. This was a combination of finding the right face, illustrating the armor and tech Devi uses in the books in a cool way, and bring that together in a badass way.

Once her portrait was done, the next phase as putting the face in the a couple contexts to give more depth to her character. I love idea or her floating I space with that jaded look on her face. As if the reason she’s there is just one more thing she has to deal with before getting done what she needs to get done.

Here is a small gallery showing the various stages of the FORTUNE’S PAWN.

Here are the final covers for all three book in the Paradox Series!