October 4-7: Jaye Wells and Nicole Peeler at Bouchercon, Cleveland, OH
Friday, October 5: N.K. Jemisin at Parnassus Books, Nashville, TN, 6:30 PM
October 11-14: Kate Elliott at Sirens, Stevenson, WA
October 12-14: Rachel Neumeier at Archon, St. Louis, MO
October 19-20: Amanda Carlson at Florida Writers Association Annual Conference, Orlando, FL
Stay tuned for information about what Orbit will be up to at New York Comic Con this year!
The Griffin Mage (US | UK | ANZ) by Rachel Neumeier is now out!
It contains the full Griffin Mage Trilogy: Lord of the Changing Wind, Land of the Burning Sands and Law of the Broken Earth.
When I first read the book, I thought her writing style was exactly like Patricia McKillip — and instead of Naomi Novik’s dragons — we have griffins. And of course, the griffins put me in the mind of another popular series: Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern.
It’s omnibus week here in the Orbit Art Department, and the fangirl in me loves an omnibus. Get a whole story arc or series all in one giant go? Yes please! Today we have the cover launch for The Griffin Mage Trilogy by Rachel Neumeier, which collects Lord of the Changing Winds, Land of the Burning Sands, and Law of the Broken Earth.
I really enjoyed this series, it gave me a very Robin McKinley/Anne McCaffrey feeling and that’s a very good thing in my book. Classic heroine coming of age story, with a novel take on griffins, bringing them back to more wild animal (and wild magic) roots. I make no secret of my lack of griffin respect in their past fantasy incarnations, but I love that these griffins feel legitimately dangerous rather than cartoonish. That was the angle we took with the original covers, but I always love a chance to reinvent a cover for a new format, and here I think the cover gives the right feeling of menace, while still keeping Kes the center of the story.
After the jump, a teaser! (more…)
The griffins have landed in the UK! Here’s one of the majestic beasts caught on camera causing havoc in London just today. With the arrival of these ferocious creatures of fire, it may be that half of the city will turn to desert by this evening . . .
We’re wondering if you’ve spotted any griffins in your local vicinity? Send your reports and photos to orbit@littlebrown.co.uk and we’ll reward the five most vigilant (and creative) people with copies of the first two books in the Griffin Mage series: Lord of the Changing Winds (UK/US/AUS) and Land of Burning Sands (UK/ US/ AUS). They’re released this month and next month in the UK, and are already available in the US.
The author, Rachel Neumeier – a long-term griffin observer and specialist – may be able to offer some helpful advice for dealing with any griffin nuisances in your local area. You can read Rachel’s account of what happens when griffins and humans clash on the SFX website. And for further information on the author, see her brand new website, launched just last week: www.rachelneumeier.com
At Orbit, we love to try something new… and in this case, the something new was Griffins. We are publishing Lord of the Changing Winds and Land of the Burning Sands in May and June.
When I first read Rachel, I was instantly transported to my favorite book as a child, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip. I thought Rachel’s story of the relationship between griffins and mortals in a world where magic and science coincide was too amazing to pass up. So of course, I bought the whole series – just so I could read it in one go!
They are both out now so you can grab them at your nearest bookstore – and the final book in the trilogy, Law of the Broken Earth, will be out this December. So all three books out in six months.
Today, lucky readers, I have not one but TWO covers to launch: Lord of the Changing Winds and The Land of Burning Sands by Rachel Neumeier, Books I & II of the Griffin Mage Trilogy. I am launching them together because they are releasing back to back in May and June 2010, and the final book will be out in December 2010. (We know you guys love it when we do a quick publishing schedule so you can get the whole epic, right? We’re geeks too, we know waiting for book 2 is the worst.)
Anyway, back to the books. The author has a fresh take on griffins, much more raw, and dangerous than the traditional fantasy griffins — and I wanted that to show through in the covers. These griffins are animal creatures first, and I think that’s never been explored before, so I have focused on those details of the griffins, and then just added touches of the story – in the first book you can just see the reflection of Kes in the griffin’s eye, and then in the second book you can see the role the desert will play. (more…)
Sadly, the summer is over, and with it, (hopefully) the rain, the rain, and the rain. But not to worry, yours truly went to the Caribbean, and got a tan. So not a total waste. But on to the exciting news: (more…)
