We’ve released the paperback and audio editions of Jim Butcher’s COLD DAYS (UK|ANZ) today, the latest novel in the Dresden Files. To celebrate the release, we thought we’d share an audio extract!
COLD DAYS is read on audiobook by James Marsters (known to some of us as ‘Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer’), who makes an absolutely excellent Harry Dresden. Listen to James do his stuff here:
We’re delighted to present the beautiful new cover for NIGHT BROKEN, the stunning eighth novel in Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series. It’s released as a hardback on 4th March next year, and urban fantasy fans are in for a treat! Check out what lies in store . . .
An unexpected phone call heralds a new challenge for Mercy. Her mate Adam’s ex-wife is in trouble, on the run from her new boyfriend. Adam won’t turn away a person in need, but with Christy holed up in Adam’s house, Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.
Soon, Mercy learns that Christy has the farthest thing from good intentions. She wants Adam back and will anything to get him, including turning Adam’s pack against Mercy.
On top of this, there’s an even more dangerous threat circling. Christy’s ex is more than a bad man – in fact, he may not be human at all. As the bodies pile up, Mercy must put her personal troubles aside to face a creature with the power to tear her world apart.
If you’re new to Patricia Briggs, you can get hold of other books in the Mercy Thompson series right now – they begin with MOON CALLED (UK |ANZ). And if you’ve already devoured both this and Patricia Briggs’ other urban fantasy series Alpha and Omega, there’s something new you can try too: check out ARALORN (UK | ANZ), the tale of a noble, shapeshifter and spy . . .
Kate Elliott was one of my favorite authors growing up. I wrote a gushing letter in the front of COLD MAGIC (US | UK | AUS) that she still tortures me about to this day. Let’s see if I can find it! Ah. Here it is:
I was 13 years old when I first fell head over heels in love with Kate Elliott’s Jaran. I still remember sitting on the floor of my local library one minute, and being transported to another world the next. Over the years, I’ve gone back and read the series again and I still love it as much today as I did then. So it is an absolute privilege and a pleasure for me to welcome Kate Elliott to the Orbit list.
Kate is known for her enormous epic fantasy tales, full of brilliant characterization, in-depth politics and mind-blowing plot twists and turns. Now, in Cold Magic, she’s created an alternate Victorian England where airships rule the skies and Cold Mages will do anything to keep technology from getting into the wrong hands. It’s a world where magic rules the day and science hides at night, and where one young woman must discover her destiny.
Kate has outdone herself, creating an intricately detailed and lavish world where technology mixes with magic, and our own history is rewritten in an alternative world.
Many readers spend their adult lives trying to rediscover the feeling of the books that first transported them as readers. I can safely report that this book did just that for me, and I hope it does the same for you.
WHOA!
And to think that I wrote this three years ago! A whole series has passed! And with it, comes the conclusion of this fantastic series that everyone has been raving about. Mysterious men? Check. Airships? Check. Steampunk? Check. Kate Elliott tells a wonderful story that culminates in COLD STEEL (US | UK | AUS). It was many years in the making and when you reach the end, it is everything that a satisfying series should be. Plus just a bit more. I love the experience of working with her on this series — and I can’t wait to tell you more about her new one! Though that will wait for a bit. But here’s a bit about COLD STEEL:
Trouble, treachery, and magic just won’t stop plaguing Cat Barahal. The Master of the Wild Hunt has stolen her husband Andevai. The ruler of the Taino kingdom blames her for his mother’s murder. The infamous General Camjiata insists she join his army to help defeat the cold mages who rule Europa. An enraged fire mage wants to kill her. And Cat, her cousin Bee, and her half-brother Rory, aren’t even back in Europa yet, where revolution is burning up the streets.
Revolutions to plot. Enemies to crush. Handsome men to rescue.
Cat and Bee have their work cut out for them.
I hope you have as much fun with this series as I did.
In September we release CHOSEN (UK|ANZ), the fourth Alex Verus urban fantasy novel from Benedict Jacka. In an interview below, another Orbit fantasy star Francis Knight
(author of FADE TO BLACK – UK|US|ANZ, and the soon-to-be-released BEFORE THE FALL –UK|US|ANZ) finds out more about the writing of this highly popular series . . .
Francis Knight: So, Alex Verus, wizard in London. I suppose certain comparisons are inevitable, if a bit easy. So who and/or what were your inspirations for this series? I know when I start, the first idea generally morphs into something bigger. What was the initial spark, the first ‘what if…’ that led to the book becoming reality?
Benedict Jacka: The Alex Verus setting is an adult version of a YA setting that I’ve been using on and off for almost 15 years – the whole mage world and the magic types was something I first came up with back in 2000-ish. Between 2000 and 2008 I wrote four YA books in the setting, all with teenagers as the main characters who all had elemental powers of some kind. None of the books got published, so I kept giving up and shelving the series and trying something else.
In 2009 I decided to pull out the setting yet again to give it another shot, with an adult main character this time. I was getting dissatisfied with the elemental mages as protagonists, though, and at some point I had the idea of using a protagonist whose abilities were information-based instead of brute force. The rest of the story snowballed from there! (more…)
Next week sees the release of the fantasy novel BEFORE THE FALL (UK|US|ANZ), the second Rojan Dizon novel by Francis Knight (following FADE TO BLACK – UK|US|ANZ).
Below, another Orbit fantasy star Benedict Jacka, author highly popular Alex Verus novels, interviews Francis on the towering fantasy world of Mahala . . .
Benedict Jacka: One way to describe the Rojan Dizon books would be dark fantasy – how did you end up moving into that genre, and what’s it like to write in compared to other things you’ve done in the past?
Francis Knight: By accident! It started off as an antidote to what I had been writing – romance – and went from there. I like to challenge myself each time I start something new, and this was it. Every genre has its restraints, and I wanted to explore not-so-nice “heroes” and not-so-Happy-Ever-After endings and lots of other things that a romance reader might be very disappointed to find in her book! In particular I wanted to explore how being a not particularly nice chap doesn’t have to prevent you from doing the right thing.
BJ: How difficult do you find it to write a protagonist of the opposite sex? Do you find yourself asking guys for advice on how a male character would react in a particular scene you’re writing?
FK: The first time it was hard, I have to say. I actually find I prefer it nowadays. It’s a lot easier to separate my characters from me for a start! Also I love trying to get inside a guy’s head, see what makes them tick. I do sometimes ask husband/male friends/betas for advice about whether a guy would do X – but it’s just not that simple. It’s not about whether he’s a guy or not, it’s about who he is. Some guys would do one thing, and others would do the opposite. They’re still both guys.
BJ: So, the scenes in Fade to Black which go into detail on exactly what Rojan and the other pain-mages do to themselves to fuel their pain magic . . . did you deliberately make them wince-inducing or did it just work out that way?
FK: I actually tried not to be too graphic there, but it was necessary to show something, I think, or it wouldn’t have been honest. There’s a fine line between glossing over something important and showing graphic things that are unnecessary. Of course, that line is going to be different for everyone. I inferred more than I showed (I think/hope), but that goes for lots of things. (more…)
In writing THE SHAMBLING GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY (US | UK | AUS), a book about a travel book for monsters, there was, sadly, a lot I had to leave out. Originally I wanted to write a full travel guide to go with the novel, but ambition beat me down with a club. Or is that hubris? Anyway, there was a painful encounter with a metaphorical club, and I had to settle for writing little excerpts from the book to put at the end of each chapter.
But there is so much more to think about for the travel-savvy monster (“coterie” please, let’s not be rude.) So I thought I would take this opportunity to provide a bit more advice on traveling in New York City. (Please note that we may not be able to cover all coterie here, and if you find yourself left out, please send an email to our webmaster to add to the errata on the website.)
Vampires: You already know the most important things, your own coffin, your hometown soil (if you’re from Eastern Europe), and plenty of sunscreen. The City that Never Sleeps is very friendly to vampires, considering very little shuts down by the time you wake up, and often it’s so bright that you can get a fleeting feeling of daylight. But you must make sure your thrall has everything he or she needs, especially credit cards, cash, and possibly weapons. They will need to hire a car that specializes in coffin-transport (unless you like to live on the edge and arrive at night and hope you find a hotel room – your chances are good, but there’s always a risk!) Also remember hell notes and blood tokens, they’re the best way to barter with the Red Cross.
Zombies: You know what they say; travel to Arizona, carry a humidifier, travel to NYC, carry a dehumidifier! Well, if they don’t say that, they should. The problem, of course, with forgetting your dehumidifier is you get rather rotten in the time you forgot you brought yours. New York summers are murder on zombie skin. They are drier in the winter, so bring lotion. You’ll want to carry our convenient map to the coterie-friendly morgues to do some shopping, but sometimes hitting the restaurants is actually cheaper than the morgues! You will want hats for camouflage but you already have the bonus of the fact that no one meets your eye in the city, so no one will look at your directly to notice your dead gaze (although we’re sure your eyes are lovely.)
Today Amanda Carlson, the author of HOT BLOODED (US | UK | AUS), interviews Nicole Peeler about TEMPEST REBORN (US | UK | AUS) and the last Jane True novel.
Amanda Carlson: I love Jane True and your writing voice. She’s witty, quirky and lovable. How did you come up with the idea to write a half selkie heroine?
Nicole Peeler: Thanks, Amanda! I’d fallen in love with the mythology as a teenager, and I’d always wondered about what happened to the half-human, half-selkie children that often feature in these myths. So when I realized I wanted to write a character that wasn’t naturally “kick-ass,” the answer was pretty obvious. Seal shapeshifters are definitely not naturally kick-ass!
AC: In the TEMPEST REBORN, without giving too much away, does Jane get snuggle time with Anyan?
NP: Absolutely. I knew I’d be beaten to death by Jane’s fans if that didn’t happen.
AC: You have a PhD in English Literature and teach Popular Fiction at Seton Hill University, which sounds like an amazing job! What’s the most fun assignment you’ve given your students?
NP: The most fun was working with undergraduates, creating World Building Books for an Urban Fantasy course I taught. They had such amazing ideas! And it was fun to watch them realize they could do just that—create a whole world.
AC: You just bought a house! That’s a big, exciting step. Tell us about it.
NP: It’s soooooo nice! I keep having to rein myself in from having my every Facebook post be “OMG I LOVE MY HOUSE.” I’m also really loving Pittsburgh. It’s super up-and-coming, so you can really get involved with things. I’m going to help plant a tree irrigation system for Tree Pittsburgh this weekend and I’m stupidly excited about it.
AC: The TEMPEST REBORN is Jane’s last adventure. What’s up next for you? (We hope more fantasy!)
NP: I’m not sure yet, honestly, but yes. All my ideas are inevitably fantasy. It’s funny that I read so much literature but I think in dragons. I’m not sure why! But I do love the genre.
AC: Here are some fun quick bullet questions to end.
Ice cream or sorbet: Both!
Breakfast or dinner: Both!
London or Paris: OMG both.
Beer or margarita: YEAH, both. I don’t really limit myself too much, in case you couldn’t tell.
Cats or dogs: Neither. I travel too much.
Spring or fall: Either, as long as it’s not winter or summer.
The Walking Dead or Game of Thrones: MAD MEN. (I’m not very good at this game, am I? But I loved playing!)
Both Jessica McClain and Jane True are back this season with new books from Amanda Carlson and Nicole Peeler. In the first of a two part series, Nicole is here to interview Amanda about what’s in store for Jessica in HOT BLOODED (US | UK | AUS). Join us later in the week to get the full scoop from Nicole on the final Jane True novel, TEMPEST REBORN (US | UK | AUS).
Nicole Peeler: Hi Amanda! Love the series, and super psyched you’re doing so well. But how on earth did a nice girl from Minnesota come to write about werewolves?? ;)
Amanda Carlson: We love wolves here, but alas, they are of the timber wolf variety. There are so many forests up in northern Minnesota I always pictured it as a perfect setting for werewolves to lurk undercover. But this MN girl ultimately chose werewolves purely because of their hot blooded feistiness. Nothing like a hot blooded man to warm your bed. Something about them has always been primal to me.
NP: Obviously, werewolves are a much loved and much used mythology. So what did you think you could bring to werewolves that other people couldn’t? Or was that even an issue for you?
AC: I really feel like I’ve brought something new to the genre with Jessica, but when I started writing the first book years ago the market wasn’t saturated. I had no issues. I wrote the kind of story I wanted to read and nothing more. My biggest mistake was letting it sit for over a year. I suffered from the most common writer anxiety—is it good enough? Will people like it? So when I finally polished it and decided to query, there was a fear I may have missed the “werewolf” window, LOL! Being new to the game, I had no idea it took a year and a half to two years to get a book on the shelf. But my agent assured me there was always a market for a good story and I believe in that wholeheartedly. I’ve found that readers don’t really care who the protagonist is, or what their power is, most of them are just looking for a great read.
This is a big week for us in the New York office. Book Expo America begins this Thursday. For three full days of signings, panels, and events, New York City will host authors, agents, and book lovers from all over. So it is appropriate that this week marks the publication of Mur Lafferty’s debut novel, THE SHAMBLING GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY (US | UK | AUS) in trade paperback, ebook, and audio formats.
THE SHAMBLING GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY follows the adventures of Zoe, a recent New York transplant, as she struggles to settle into her new job in Publishing and life in the big city. Sounds pretty normal right? However, if there is one thing that I’ve learned over the last five years, nothing is ever completely normal when it comes to New York City. As it turns out, humans aren’t the only ones to call New York home.
For the release of novel, we wanted to show you a bit of Zoe’s New York which is as mysterious and wonderful as the real thing. Click here to view a map of some of the hidden places of New York City where we fragile humans dare not go. For those of you who are attending BEA this week, be sure to stop by booth #1828 to pick up a printed copy to take home with you.
We’re absolutely thrilled by the reviews that this debut novel has already received, and hope you will enjoy it as much early readers have. If you want to sample the novel for yourself, click here or go to Mur Lafferty’s site and listen to an audio sample. The first four chapters are online now, but you can purchase the entire audiobook from Hachette Audio today.
Chat with author and podcaster Mur Lafferty next week in a live, interactive event brought to you by Shindig! You may know Mur as the host of the award-winning “I Should Be Writing” podcast or for her work with “Escape Pod,” which publishes audio science fiction short stories — now get to know her as an urban fantasy author.
This event will be live on Wednesday, May 22nd from 6:30-7:30 EDT. RSVP today.
Mur’s book THE SHAMBLING GUIDE TO NEW YORK CITY (US | UK | AUS) will be out on May 28. Listen to an audio excerpt on Mur’s website.
