What to expect for the next couple of months

Hey everyone, I thought that I should let you know that over the next couple of months, up until probably the second week in April, you wont be seeing as many posts as usual on the blog.

The reason for that is that I’m taking part in a Creative Writing Course presented by Random House Struik (The South African arm of Random House), GetSmarter and Ron Irwin. It’s a ten-week online course consisting of ten modules and 5 assignments, so I will, necessarily, be focused on the course.

There are a couple of posts coming up, don’t worry, and I wont completely dissappear; I’ve still got an interview with Paul Kemp and John Jackson Miller coming up, reviews (at least four in the next couple of weeks) and something pretty exciting, and a first for this blog, in this week. I’ll give you a hint – it has to do with excerpts and Epic Fantasy.

I would point you over to David’s blog, but it seems he’s busy getting things organized in a big way – expect a shiny, beautiful new blog soon!

Anyway, that’s me for today! I’m off to finish an outline for a friend in Los Angeles and to work on the synopsis that suits the Epic Fantasy I’m writing.

Until next time,

Be EPIC!

Angry Robot: Steampunk to Ally with the Robot Army

Wonderful news from the guys at Angry Robot! Really looking forward to this!

The Father of Steampunk Signs With Angry Robot

KW Jeter coined the term Steampunk, but unbelievably his classic novels Infernal Devices and Morlock Night have been out of print since the early 1980s. Angry Robot are delighted to announce that we are bringing them back to a new generation of readers in paperback, audio
and eBook formats.

Infernal Devices tells the story of George – a Victorian watchmaker who has inherited his father’s shop, though not his talent. A tale of time travel, music and sexual intrigue, Infernal Devices is a true classic.

Morlock Night, meanwhile, is a wild sequel to Wells’ The Time Machine – having acquired a device for themselves, the brutish Morlocks return to invade sleepy old England…

So, don your brass goggles, wind your mechanisms and sit back with a couple of true classics from a steam-driven Angry Robot. Infernal Devices and Morlock Night will be published worldwide by Angry Robot.

UK/Aus: October 2010 (ISBNs: 9780007365753 / 9780007365760)
Infernal Devices / Morlock Night
US/Can: December 2010 (ISBNs: tbc)

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More information on Angry Robot can be found at angryrobotbooks.com.
Angry Robot is the new genre imprint from HarperCollins, bringing you the best in new SF,F and WTF?! Our first titles hit the stores in the UK and Australia on 1st July 2009. We debut in the US in May 2010.

Now, other that John Marco’s Starfinder (with its touch of Steampunk), I’ve yet to read a proper Steampunk-novel; I’ve had Stephen Hunt’s work on my TBR-list for a while now but just haven’t had the time to get to the books. So I’m very glad that Angry Robot is not only delving into Steampunk, but bringing back work that was not available; I’ve read some of KW Jeter’s work (only the Star Wars novels), but not enough to have formed a proper opinion. Looking forward to this!

Be EPIC!

John Jarrold’s Corner: New Agency Client Signed

John has some more great news for us: he’s signed a new client (which means that he was really impressed by the client’s manuscript, since John is taking on very few new clients) and it seems that Trudi Canavan and Kristin Cashore will soon have some competition!

PRESS RELEASE – NEW FANTASY NOVELIST JOINS JJLA

John Jarrold’s latest client is British fantasy writer Charlotte Naylor, who is planning a fantasy series that will appeal to readers of Trudi Canavan, Kristin Cashore and Maria V Snyder, opening with The Lady of Eslaya.

‘When I read the opening chapters, I was entranced by the immediacy and fluency of Charlotte’s prose and her young protagonist, Lily,’ said John Jarrold. ‘It reminded me of my reaction to Maggie Furey’s debut Aurian, which I acquired for Random House in the 1990s. I wanted to cheer her and shout at her at one and the same time (and occasionally give her a clip round the ear). She’s bolshy, intelligent and hugely loyal to her friends. And her story is wonderful! It’s great to see another young writer in this genre.’

Jarrold will be working editorially with the author before submitting her work to major publishers on both sides of the Atlantic.

Charlotte Naylor is twenty four years old. She has always been a keen reader of fantasy and started writing her own novels when she was thirteen. Over the years both the world and the stories have grown and developed. When she was eighteen, and back to writing the umpteenth new incarnation of The Lady of Eslaya, it suddenly started to fall into place.

Throughout her pre-university writing career Charlotte was part of an online writing group, working on what started out as a role playing game but turned into a giant, ongoing story. Members of the group took it in turns to write sections, exploring different ideas, writing styles and influences.

She did a BA hons degree in English at the University of Lincoln, where her creative writing dissertation won the Nigel Winn memorial award for ‘Best Piece of Creative Writing by a Student Studying English’. She went on to do a Masters degree in Creative Writing at Nottingham Trent University tutored by novelists Graham Joyce (who suggested she contact John Jarrold as a literary agent) and David Belbin, for which she was awarded a distinction.

After graduating from Trent she and others from the course formed a writers group which still meets up regularly to critique their work. She lives in Nottingham with her partner and two pet ferrets.

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Great news, and looking forward to reading Charlotte’s work!

Be EPIC!

Excerpts from Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching – Part 3

Hey everyone, here’s the final part of the excerpts I received from Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching! Enjoy!

A continuation of Chapter 2 – Formation:

She bought some scrolls, and continued to read many others in the Institute’s library— tales of adventure, and legends, and history. (It was sometimes hard, even for the authors, to make clear the difference.) She found herself envying the people she read about who had been brave and daring, even though their lives had often been short. What was her future? She could not decide, especially after her adventure in Jagar’s Chapel. I almost died… I made a fortune… I was brave… I was stupid… I could do things… I was lucky… But her predominant feeling was that she had lived more in those few moments than in all her previous life and that she might go mad if she didn’t get out and do something. She was certainly not a future lace-maker. She did her best, but her best was merely adequate: her hands were too big for fine work.

Inspired by the tales she read, she bought a bow and practiced in the walled garden behind the main building. Awkward with a needle, she was more deft with arrows. Many of the girls chuckled. Jin at least did not laugh (much), and Nella would sit on the grass and watch her friend toiling away.

“What’s it for, Andi? Not many girls are mercenaries.”

“Oh, of course not. But I’m not going to make lace all my life, or work in a tavern, or… Oh, by the sun! I missed again.”

Girls left the Institute by their nineteenth year. The great majority married more-or-less suitable young men (and some not so young) of the artisan or petty-burgher classes, men with whom the Institute thoughtfully made arrangements. Some chose to go to the Higher Schools, or to enter the Church or the Federated Society. A few, like Jin, chose other things. What about her?

*

At the beginning of her final year at the Institute Andiriel was chosen to be a prefect, one of the four girls to whom was entrusted the management of a wing in the residence hall. This honor surprised many girls. Apparently the matrons perceived qualities in her that her peers had not noticed. Others might have gotten a hint as to what those qualities were by paying attention to what Jin did after the prefects for the coming year were announced: she moved heaven and earth to transfer from Andiriel’s wing to one that would have a different prefect. (Nella, Andiriel’s roommate, stayed put.)

The ensuing year was one that the young women now under Andiriel’s supervision did not easily forget (although those who spoke of a “reign of terror” were surely exaggerating). She simply enforced all the rules. For example, girls were supposed to devote themselves to silent study in their rooms from 8:00 to 9:45 PM. This usually meant only relative quiet: less scurrying about, gossip, and general malingering than usual. But in North Wing during these hours each girl was at her desk and the silence of a tomb prevailed. Regulations said that girls were to have their beds neatly made and their trash emptied before breakfast. Not everyone took this literally, except in North Wing: Andiriel inspected the rooms while the others were eating, and woe betide the inhabitants of messy ones. In her first week as prefect she assigned twenty hours of detention, six of cleaning, and four of kitchen work. In a couple of extreme cases she closeted herself with offenders for “a few words.” What those words were no one knew, but they were apparently very well-chosen, for repeat offenses were rare.

There was also the strange case of Myria, a fifteen-year-old whose marks and conduct were so atrocious that rumor said she was to be dismissed. The Chief Matron moved her to Andiriel’s wing, where a miracle took place: Myria received second-level honors for the quarter and had only three demerits.

At the end of that quarter four girls urgently requested transfers to other wings and eleven requested transfers in. It was all very mysterious, but the matrons left well enough alone. They didn’t quibble with success. Mistress Perra, housemother of North Wing, told the Chief Matron that Andiriel was the best thing that had ever happened to her, for her own supervisory work was largely eliminated. Perra had never seen such intelligent application of energy in the service of scholarship and order.

Three months into the Andiriel regime North Wing posted the second-highest average in the history of the Institute and won the netball tournament. The next Saturday night Andiriel, Nella, and Jin brought back from town a cartload of food, including three gallons of root-tea, and North Wing had a party (for which Andiriel footed the bill). Even those girls who had muttered curses behind their prefect’s back admitted there were some advantages to the system.

But even prefects make mistakes.

There we go, the first two chapters of Storm Approaching! You’ve met Andiriel, the character that will take you through the book, but there’s wayyy more waiting in the wings, including mercenaries, a clever fox, the politics and counter-politics of Empires, and plenty of intrigue.

You can order your copies of Storm Approaching from the publisher, Author House, or from Amazon (US/UK). South Africans reading this can also order the book from Kalahari and Exclusive Books.

And for more info on Brian and his work, you can check out his blog and website.

Be EPIC!

Excerpts from Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching – Part 2

Here’s part 2 of the excerpts of Storm Approaching for you! Enjoy!

Andiriel stood outside the Wizards’ House in a reverie. A hundred gold—why, you could buy a horse for ten! She was still standing there when her friends ran up.

“I sold that thing—it’s called a changer,” she told them. “It’s sort of magical.”

“Then it must have been Garjon, not Vomaxx,” said Jin. “How much did you get?”

“Look.” She held out the coins that bore on one side the portrait of a chubby, beardless man wearing a crown, surrounded by the words “Grellin the Fourth, E.W.G.”

The girls gaped. She gave one coin to her dark-haired friend. “Your share, Jin.”

Jin squealed. “Thanks, Andiriel. Mmmm—I’ll meet you back home. I’m going to get some rouge.” She scampered off towards a shop.

“You get two,” she said to Nella.

The pale, plump blonde girl hesitated, then started to cry. “I can’t take them, Andi. Jin and I just teased you about going into that nasty place because you talk about adventures and heroes and we wanted to make you look silly. We never thought you’d actually do it. I felt awful. So did Jin, a little.”

Andiriel kissed Nella on the cheek. “But it turned out all right. I really got a lot more than this. Garjon is keeping it for me, but don’t tell Jin yet. Here.” She pushed the coins into her friend’s hand. “Take ‘em, Nel. I want you to.”

Nella smiled and put the coins in her pocket.

They got back to the Institute at sundown and entered the residential building to find Mistress Verda looking expectantly at both the door and the large clock. “Just in time, young ladies. None of you needs any washing duty, do you? Andiriel, what did you do to yourself?”

“I tripped, mistress.”

“Clumsy as usual, I see. Is your arm very sore?”

“Some, mistress. I stopped at the Wizards’ House. Master Garjon gave me some salve.”

“Go and wash it, and I’ll get you some gauze to wrap it in.” She shook her head. “What is going to become of you in two years?”

“I think about that a lot, mistress. I really do.”

Chapter 2 FORMATION

Andiriel and her fellows were fortunate. Orphans, foundlings, waifs, they might have starved or met worse fates. But thanks to the benevolence of the Emperor and a philanthropic businessman named Rellas Shai, they were in the Institute for the Salvation of the Homeless: taught carefully, clothed decently, fed well, and cared for by people who combined strictness with fairness. Master Shai, who paid half the expenses, did get some return for his kindness: at age ten the girls learned to make lace, and from then on their schedule was fixed: rise at seven, cleaning and breakfast, school from eight until twelve-thirty, dinner, five hours of work in the lace factory, and, after supper, study, and games, and bed at ten (or eleven, for the older girls). Sunday was free, after morning chapel.

The girls became very skilled. The lace was excellent. They were paid about one-fifth of what Master Shai would have had to pay adults.

*

One afternoon a few weeks after Andiriel’s adventure in Jagar’s Chapel, while the girls were busy at their tables in the factory, someone yelled, “Look! Glory Knights!”

Work stopped. The matrons, far from trying to restore order, joined the general rush to the windows.

Andiriel used her strong arms to push forward until she had a good view. Riding by in ordered ranks were fifty men, each wearing mail under a red surcoat emblazoned with a golden sword encircled by a crown.

These were followed by men on smaller horses, younger fellows in white surcoats, their mounts loaded with impedimenta. Two wagons brought up the rear.

A collective sigh arose from the dozens of women and girls crowding the windows. Andiriel and many others called out, “Long live the Order!”

“They’re going to Red Tooth Pass,” said Nella.

“Yes.” Andiriel’s eyes eagerly followed the cavalcade. “The one with the gold star on his sleeve is a Professed Knight and the others are Knight Brothers, or esquires—the ones in white.”

Traffic along the avenue made way for the riders. Pedestrians watched respectfully, the men removing their caps. Some cheered.

“Aren’t they magnificent?” said Andiriel. “And their horses are so big and beautiful.”

Jin giggled. “So are the riders. Wouldn’t you like to marry one, Nella?”

“If only I could.”

“You all know that the Knights of the Sovereign Order are celibate,” said a matron, whose own eyes had never left the cavaliers. “All right, ladies, back to work.”

Andiriel, Nella, and Jin were at the same table.

“Would you like to meet a Glory Knight, Andi?” asked Nella.

Jin laughed. “Andiriel wants to be one, don’t you?”

She had a faraway look in her eyes as she missed a stitch. “I would if I could. They’re so wonderful. They guard the Emperor, they protect us, they’re brave and strong. And their lives aren’t boring.”

“I’d like to see the Emperor again,” said Jin. “I was too little when he came to Javakis. Maybe we’ll go to the Capital some day. It’s not so far.”

“It’s 200 miles,” said Nella. “That’s far.”

“I’ll get there some day,” said Andiriel. “I’ll see our foster-father, and the palace, and the Glory Knights, and… and… Well, I’m not doing this all my life.”

One of the matrons passed the table. “You won’t be doing this for very long at all if you don’t do it better, young miss. A copper off for that poor work. Less talk and start again.”

Jin laughed; Nella frowned. “What are you going to do when we leave, Andiriel?” asked Jin a moment later. “Are you going back to the chapel for more gold?”

“Maybe you should.”

“Me? I’m no hero. I’m going to apprentice to the Javakis Players. I already talked to the manager. It’ll be fun. They tour all over. That’s how I’ll get to the Capital.”

“You’ll be a good actress, Jin,” said Nella. “I’m sure you will. I’m getting married. Mistress Verda said that Mistress Ellana has had three men asking about me for their sons.”

“That’s what you want,” said Andiriel.

“Oh, yes, Andi, I do. My own home and some children. I love children.”

“I know. I’ve seen you with the biddies.” (She referred to the youngest orphans.) “I’m always afraid I’ll drop one.”

“Why don’t you go to the Higher Schools, Andiriel?” Jin asked. “You could get in easy, with your brains. You read the dictionary, didn’t you”

She smiled. “I did read the General Lexicon, but we won’t have a real dictionary until the Commission finishes work and prints it up.” She did some stitches. “I love words, like Nel loves kids. They’re beautiful and powerful.”

“Join the Federation, learn magic words,” said Jin. “Or the Church, and learn holy ones.”

“I don’t think I can be cooped up much longer. I want to see things and do something new. I just wish I knew what. Let’s be quiet now. Master Shai deserves good work.”

Tomorrow I’ll post the second-half of Formation. You can order your copies of Storm Approaching from the publisher, Author House, or from Amazon (US/UK). South Africans reading this can also order the book from Kalahari and Exclusive Books.

And for more info on Brian and his work, you can check out his blog and website.

Be EPIC!

Angry Robot Books: Kaaron Warren’s Walking the Tree on sale today!

Since Walking the Tree goes on sale TODAY (that’s right, get to your favourite bookstore and pick it up!) I thought it would be the perfect day to post this news. Kaaron and Angry Robot have also done something unique and experimental that’s sure to get the publishing industry thinking along more revolutionary lines:

Angry Robot Announces a New Way of Telling Stories

At Angry Robot we have always attempted to push boundaries with our fiction, and now we’re doing the same with both the content and delivery methods!

When Kaaron Warren told us she wanted to re-write her next book Walking the Tree as a 20,000 word novella from the point of view of one of the book’s minor characters, we thought she was mad! But we’ve always encouraged creative madness.

Kaaron says:
“As I was writing Walking the Tree, with its strong adult and child
characters, it struck me that it would be a wonderful thing if my son and I could be reading the same book but in appropriate versions, so I wrote Morace’s Story, the child’s point of view version of Walking the Tree. My idea is that every parent can share the reading of Walking the Tree with their child. Sit there, together, reading the same book.”

Our only concern was how to fit an additional 20,000 words into an already-hefty book. The answer was so obvious we wondered why everyone else wasn’t already doing it!

The first two chapters of Morace’s Story are included at the back of Walking the Tree along with a secret DVD-style download link and password that allows you to read the entire novella online or on your eBook reader. And if you buy the eBook edition you get the whole thing as an added extra.

Walking the Tree is published worldwide by Angry Robot.

UK: 4th February 2010 (ISBN: 978 0 00 732 244 2)
US: July 2010 (ISBN: 978 0 06 199 417 3)

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More information on Angry Robot can be found at angryrobotbooks.com.
Angry Robot is the new genre imprint from HarperCollins, bringing you the best in new SF, F and WTF?! Our first titles hit the stores in the UK and Australia on 1st July 2009. We debut in the US in May 2010.

And Kaaron’s novel, Slights, has been placed on the preliminary ballot for the Bram Stoker Award! Check out the great news and more details on Kaaron’s blog. Congrats, Kaaron!

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There’s also some cool news regarding Guy Adam’s The World House; he’s recorded the first chapter as a podcast – check out the details here. And it’s also on sale TODAY! (Amazon UK)

Check back later today for the second excerpt from Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching!

Be EPIC!

Excerpts from Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching – Part 1

Hey everyone, today I’ve got the first excerpt of Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching for you. What you’ll be reading is the first half of Chapter 1, titled Audacity. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Audacity

Her feet pounded on the cracked stone slabs. Daylight glimmered enticingly around the half-open door maybe ten yards ahead, but the pursuit sounded closer.

I’ve got to make it. Sixteen is too young to die.

Her foot caught on a broken pavement; she crashed into the rough stone wall. A moment later she heard a thud behind her. Dazed, she turned and saw in the dim corridor the prone figure of a creature that vaguely resembled a man. Apparently it too had stumbled.

Is it dead? Maybe just stunned. I’m lucky.

Walking slowly, shaking her head to clear it, she squeezed past the door into the light of a beautiful June day.

“Andiriel! Are you all right?”

The shout came from a grove. She ran to the trees and found two young women, dressed like herself in plain green smocks.

“See, I told you I’d do it.”

“You’re brave, Andi,” said one.

“Your arm’s all scraped,” said the other. “What happened?”

“I tripped in the dark, but I’m all right.” She glanced anxiously at the ancient building behind her. “Let’s go back.”

“Did you find anything? Any treasures?”

“I found this.”

She held up the metallic object she had taken from a stone table just before hearing the noise in the corridor: oval, about four inches long, with dirt-caked runes etched on one side.

“What is it?”

“It’s, uh, it’s…I don’t know, Jin.”

“The mages can tell us. Let’s go to the Wizards’ House right now.” Jin’s black eyes were wide with excitement. “Maybe it’s magical.”

“Good idea.”

They left the trees and walked back to town, a mile or so away. Jin led, skipping and humming. The other girl walked with Andiriel.

“Are you really all right, Andi? You’re bleeding a little.”

“I’m just bruised, Nel. It was dark and I tripped. I’ll tell you more later.”

She was starting to feel proud and foolish at the same time. She’d shown her friends she wasn’t a coward. But she had almost… Better not to think of it now.

They entered Javakis through the Imperial Gate, so named since the auspicious day fourteen years before when the Emperor and Empress really had visited the town. They made their way to Gold Street, largely empty on a Sunday, where stood the simple stone building that every-one called the Wizards’ House, although its proper name was the Javakis Chapter of the Federated Society of the Arcane. (With barely 10,000 people, Javakis was only just large enough to merit the a Wizards’ House and a city wall.)

“You wait,” said Andiriel. “If Vomaxx is on duty he’ll get mad if we all go, ‘cause he knows we won’t buy anything, the old grouch.” Her friends agreed and went across the street to get some ginger-nuts.

The bearded, brown-haired man behind the long counter smiled when he saw her.

“Hello, young mistress. Come to see Garjon on your day off ? Or did you want something to turn Mistress Verda into a toad?”

“Mistress Verda isn’t bad if you know how to treat her. The Chief Matron is the one to beware of. I’m glad you’re here, master. Look, I found this and I don’t know what it is. Do you?”

Garjon studied it for a moment and said, very seriously, “Andiriel, where did you get this? And what did you do to yourself?”

She gulped; then she met his eyes and said, “In the ruins near the Round Pond. Jin and Nella dared me to go in, so I did, and I explored a little. I found this thing on a stone table, and then I heard a noise, so I ran away, and the noise followed. I almost fell down, and whatever was behind me tripped and knocked itself out. It was like a big ugly man with scaly skin.”

“You…” Garjon stared at the big girl in her green Institute smock. “You went into Jagar’s Chapel and almost got caught by a gorth? Andiriel, what got into you?”

“My friends dared me to. I’m real brave, huh? Or maybe I’m dumb. But I did it. What did I find, Garjon? I told you the truth, so you help me now.”

The mage was still frowning, but he relaxed a bit after looking at her earnest face. “This is a changer, or, in Old Imperial, a samdar. It turns stored magical energy into something else. Wait just a bit. And put some salve on your arm.” He handed her a jar and went through a red curtain into the back of the building.

She applied the ointment and looked around at the shelves and bottles. She and her friends had been here often; the Wizards’ House was one of the more interesting places in town and Garjon was always friendly. She remembered, too, how in her younger days she had visited this building with fearful excitement. Everyone said that if you misbehaved, something awful might happen to you (such as being imprisoned in a beaker for a hundred years). Certainly nobody in his right mind would dare to steal anything from the Wizards’ House.

She knew where everything was; today she noticed something new: books. Taking a big volume from a shelf, she set it on a table, opened the brown leather cover, and read, “The Researches of Otacilion Tambus Concerning the Last Days of the Old Empire.”

Garjon came back.

“You have books here, master. We don’t have any at the Institute yet.”

“Yes—a shipment just a few days ago. They’ll replace scrolls and codices, eventually. The Emperor has commanded that a press be set up in every town, even this one. These came from the Capital, of course.”

“So what did you find out, master?” She put the big book back on its shelf.

“Your samdar is at least 200 years old and empty of magic. It is very well-made.”

“Can I keep it? I mean, is it really mine?”

Garjon smiled. “Whoever used it last will not come in to claim it. It’s certainly treasure- trove, my dear. Would you like to sell it?”

“How much is it worth?”

“The Society can give you G95. In fact, G100. These things are not common.”

“A hundred gold?”

“It’s a fair price. We’ll sell it for about G300, but the Society will first have to re-infuse it and discover the exact word that makes it work… Andiriel, are you all right?”

“Master, we’re paid a silver a week. That’s, uh, it’s… it’s… it’d take me twenty years to earn that much!”

“The rewards of courage, Andiriel—or of stupidity, as you said. You took the risk and did the deed, now the profits are yours. But if I buy this, you must promise never to go into Jagar’s Chapel again. Gorths are bad enough, and there are worse things in there.”

“I promise, Garjon. Orphans’ Honor.” She raised her right hand, her index finger folded behind her thumb, the other three up. “Oh, this is so great… but I can’t carry all that money around, or keep it in my room.”

“I’ll put it on account. There is no need to tell Mistress Ellana. You can draw it out as you like. Here’s G5 now, and a receipt for the rest. It should be a great help when you’re on your own in a couple of years. You’ll get a fine husband, or have the means to open a shop.”

Tomorrow I’ll post the second-half of Audacity. You can order your copies of Storm Approaching from the publisher, Author House, or from Amazon (US/UK). South Africans reading this can also order the book from Kalahari and Exclusive Books.

And for more info on Brian and his work, you can check out his blog and website.

Be EPIC!

John Jarrold’s Corner: Mark C Newton’s New 2-Book Deal!

Absolutely awesome news from John! The Legends of the Red Sun series (which began with Nights of Villjamur and will continue with City of Ruin in March) will run at least another 2 books! Awesome news for Mark!

Here are the details from the Press Release:

SECOND TWO-BOOK DEAL WITH TOR UK FOR MARK CHARAN NEWTON

Julie Crisp, Senior Commissioning Editor at Tor UK at Pan Macmillan has concluded a second two-book world rights deal for UK fantasy author Mark Charan Newton, for an undisclosed five-figure sum. The agent was John Jarrold.

These books continue his Legends of the Red Sun series that opened with Nights of Villjamur, which Tor UK published 2009. The second title, City of Ruin, will be published in June 2010, together with the first in paperback. US rights to both those titles have been acquired from Macmillan by Bantam.

‘I’m delighted that we’ve been able to set up a second deal before Mark’s first novel is even out in paperback,’ said John Jarrold. ‘That speaks highly both of his writing and of Julie’s enthusiasm for the series.’

Julie Crisp commented: ‘Working with Mark on such an exciting series has been wonderful. Everyone here at Tor UK is thrilled that we’re able to continue with this talented author and we look forward to the fans’ reactions to the news that there are forthcoming titles.’

Mark Charan Newton is in his twenties, and lives in Nottingham. He previously worked as an SF buyer in a major bookstore chain.

Praise for Nights of Villjamur:

‘A dark epic which shows its debt to Gormenghast: death stalks the shadows and scheming, idiosyncratic characters have their own agendas. This is fantasy with vast scope and ambition… a complex, eldritch vision.’ The Guardian

‘At its best, I was reminded of Jack Vance or Gene Wolfe… this is a promising start to a series worth pursuing.’ The Times

‘While the sun over Villjamur is dying, Mark Charan Newton’s star as a writer is burning with a fierce talent.’ Stephen Hunt

Be EPIC!

PS Don’t forget that June is The Month of the Red Sun! June will see the publication of Nights of Villjamur in the US, and will also see the publication of the eagerly awaited second novel in the Legends of the Red Sun series, City of Ruin.

To pre-order your copies, use the appropriate links:

Nights of Villjamur Amazon US / UK and Kindle Edition and Paperback Edition.
City of Ruin Amazon UK

This is a quick post to say that…

… there won’t be a proper blog-post tonight. We’ve had an extremely eventful evening! It started with me not wanting to let a stray dog run loose in a busy road, and ended with us meeting some very interesting people and having conversations about Reiki, ghosts, the Anunaki, and much more!

But I will be back tomorrow with a pretty cool blog post – the first excerpt of Brian Libby’s Storm Approaching!

Until then,

Be EPIC!

Grasping for the Wind: Inside the Blogosphere

The man behind the most innovative blogosphere memes the internet has ever seen (in my opinion) has started a new series called ‘Inside the Blogosphere’; John Ottinger III has been running these features for a while now (it started with ‘Ask the Bloggers‘ and became ‘Inside the Blogosphere‘) and the latest edition asks the question, Who Introduced You to the Love of Literature?

John asked a couple of bloggers to share their ‘Introductions’ and I offered my thoughts; mine is the last of the bunch, but do read the entire post – many of the best bloggers / reviewers in the blogosphere offered their thoughts, too.

Be EPIC!