Philippa Ballantine's Blog, page 15

New York, here we come

Finally been given the go ahead to release at least one piece of the cool news I've been sitting on for awhile.

(These things are very uncomfortable things to balance on you should know!)

Tee Morris and I will be attending Comic Con in New York. There is a sentence I never dreamed I would say.

New York Comic Con is a huge event where every kind of forms of genre comes together; movies, television, comics…and writers. The last numbers they have on the event show that over 90,000 people attend!

This is the panel I will be contributing to

WINTER IS HERE: EPIC FANTASY TAKES THE THRONE

Saturday, October 15

Room #: 1A15

6:30PM – 7:30PM

WINTER IS HERE: EPIC FANTASY TAKES THE THRONE

Long a staple of the SF/F genre, epic fantasy is poised to take a coup over the bestseller lists, thanks in part to HBO's fantastically popular series based upon George R.R. Martin's "Game of Thrones" novel.  This summer saw signing lines hundreds of readers deep (luckily none with swords in hand) for #1 New York Times bestselling author Patrick Rothfuss' American appearance.  Now, in a special spotlight session exclusive to New York Comic Con, we pair internationally bestselling author Brandon Sanderson, Peter Brett, Phillippa Ballantine and epic fantasy debut authors Rae Carson, David Chandler and Nils Johnson-Shelton talk about why swords and sorcerers, king-makers and kingslayers; dragons and high drama have renewed resonance in fiction.

I'll probably also put some time in at my publisher's booth, doing a spot of signing. So if you are attending Comic Con, then please stop by and say hi.

The wonderful marketing folks at HarperCollins made this happen, and I am pretty excited to get in there and speak. Imagine…a kiwi writer from Wellington in the heart of New York talking about writing!

I know if I traveled back in time and told my thirteen year old self, just starting out as a writer, she would think I was completely mad!

FenCon Schedule

In two weeks, I'll be attending FenCon in Dallas/Fort Worth. It's my first time in Texas, and I am looking forward to adding another state to places I've visited.

I'm looking forward to meeting more people out there—especially Odin from View from Valhalla.

So here's my schedule between 23-25 September, and I hope to see some of you there. Please don't be shy about coming up and saying hi!

Saturday  10:00 AM  – 11:00 AM  Trinity I – IV

Goggles, Gears, and Gadgets: The World of Steampunk

Saturday  2:00 PM  – 2:30 PM  Gallery

Autographs

Saturday  5:00 PM  – 5:30 PM  Pecan

Reading

Sunday  11:00 AM  – 12:00 PM  Trinity I – IV

Steampunk Around the World (In 80 Days)

New ventures

One of the joys of going to conventions, is the shot in the arm I often get to my creativity and way of looking at business.

During WorldCon, Tee Morris and I sat down with our agent Laurie McLean, and we both realised we were missing a trick. You see, both Tee and I have a wealth of short stories that have just been sitting around not doing anything for us.

Not only that, but with digital publishing we realised we could be expanding on our already published universes.

So we are sallying forth on this bold digital revolution.

I have already had both Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic out on a bunch of digital platforms. My novels are $2.99 each, which I think is pretty reasonable price, considering how much you get for your money.

However now you can get a quick shot of my writing—think of it as an expresso—for 99c. That's right, as of right now there are two Ministry short stories which have been podcast out there. The Evil that Befell Sampson and Nathan Lowell's The Astonishing Amulet of Amaratas are both on the Kindle, and are working their way through Smashwords to all the other platforms out there.

Also I have put six Erotica a la Carte stories through the same process.

My aim is to have ten stories a week available until I have caught up with the backlog—then I will begin on new stories, particularly in the Ministry series. We have plans for a YA series set in the Ministry world. This will probably begin with short e-fiction and we'll see where it goes from there. But for now, the name Verity Fitzroy should be one you keep in mind.

If you want to help spread the word and review the titles, then please let me know by emailing pip@ this site, and I can supply a review copy.

This move into digital short fiction is affordable, and hopefully will find a toehold in the ebook market. I'm excited about the prospect for short stories on these platforms, and interested to see how this little experiment takes off.

Erotica a la carte was after all an experiment, and that has become a real joy.

As for Tee's plans…well…you're just going to have to ask him about that. But they are awesome!

Jason Chan WINS!

I am currently at WorldCon in Reno Nevada, and having a fine old time, but none as fine as what happened tonight.

The Chelsey Awards are the big award for fantasy artists and are presented by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors. Jason Chan's work for my book Geist was nominated in the category of Best Cover; Paperback.

Jason couldn't be at WorldCon, but since Tee and I are here we went along to represent him. We were sitting in the audience, just watching the nominees. I leaned across to Tee and whispered 'This is one of those categories where it is an honor to be nominated.' Check out the field of competitors if you don't believe me.

So when Lou Anders of Pyr books read out Jason's name, I was so delighted. It felt like I'd won the award. I got up on the stage and blathered something about how getting great cover art was such a joy as an author, and how Jason was so amazing (obviously they already knew that!)

So the beautiful award will be winging its way to Jason, and I hope he knows it was my honor to be there to represent him. He's fantastically talented, and this recognition just goes to prove that.

Yes, this is now officially award-winning cover art!

 

Fun with Skiffy and Fanty

I had a lot of fun with Skiffy and Fanty.

We talk Geist, Spectyr, Phoenix Rising and what lies ahead. We also giggle and enjoy ourselves far to much. Listen to the episode here.

Hopefully I can go back on the show one day and do an update, and also be prepared when they break out the Geistbusters theme!

 

 

Eliza and Wellington—the audiobook

People have been asking Tee and I about getting hold of the audio version of Phoenix Rising.

We've been doing a series of short stories set in the world of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences, and one of those stories by Nathan Lowell is nominated for a Parsec Awards. However the rights to the full audio reside with Harper Collins.

Finally an audio version has been released. It is available through Audible, and thus Amazon and itunes as well. I know there will be a few disappointed folks out there who will be wondering why we didn't do the audio for this version.

Quite simply it was a matter of time. Tee and I have only so much time, and it came down to a choice of which we did; record the audio book, or work on new stories. We hope you agree we made the right choice, as new stories come out from us in the near future.

James Langton does a wonderful job of reading the book, and it is actually exciting for me to listen to him do it. In fact, it is awesome.

So if you are keen for nearly fourteen hours of Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences audio fun, then please purchase and download Phoenix Rising. The comments are already coming in…

The mix of mayhem and comedy make this audio book hard to turn off, so make sure you are ready to get angry at anyone who tries to disrupt you. If you've never listened to a steam punk novel I suggest that you make this one your first.

Be a gentleman…

Or a gentlewoman.

As a steampunk author I am particularly keen on proper manners. I try and observe them as much as I can, so recent events have been rather disappointing.

Politeness and civility go a long way in publishing. You want to be known as a professional, not as that person who bailed up an editor at a con and tried to thrust your manuscript down her throat. Even though she had both hands full and was talking to her friend at the time.

Don't go to social events with so little social skills you break into conversation with your relentless desire to pitch. (Yes, agents, editors and publishers are people too!) Get to know people a little, take the time to observe the social niceties, and then most likely people will ask you 'what are you working on?' (That's your cue)

Proper manners are also something that should be observed in all your online dealings. I like the think of myself approachable. Online I answer emails and questions in as a timely a manner as I can. I'm on Twitter and Facebook and am pretty easy to find. However…that doesn't mean it is an open season to bombard me with requests—especially when I have politely said I don't have the time right now.

Approach me as you would any other person. Don't expect me to know or have the keys to the publishing kingdom. I don't, because if I did I would have used them long ago myself. I have deadlines and commitments in the real world that mean I can't say yes to everything- much as that pains me. It's no reflection on you or your work that I don't have the time to read it. It hurts me to turn people away, but as things get busier for me I have to not only fit in writing, but also time with friends and family.

Writing might seem like it's bon-bons and caviar, but it is like any regular job in that it takes time to do.

In other words. Be a person. Interact with politeness and interest to the other people around you- most especially when they are agents, publishers, fans and fellow authors. That is networking- not a relentless shoving of your own interests first. Done properly, people respect you and like you, not run away at the first tweet or Facebook message. Then they decide you are a person who they want to do business with, not someone they complain about to their peers.

Yes, being rude gets you a name. A bad one.

Heading to Reno

I finally got the first rough draft of Wrayth off to Ace, and am heading into other editing projects, but along the way you will be able to find me in Reno, Nevada attending to WorldCon. This is a huge event in the convention calendar, with many publishers, editors, fans and writers attending.

Last year I went to Melbourne Australia, and it ended up being a very fruitful trip. This time I'll be touching base with my agent Laurie McLean, and meeting my new publisher, Lou Anders from Pyr Books, for the first time.

I'll also be doing panels and various other events, so if you're in Reno and want to say hi, please don't be shy. I love meeting listeners and readers!

Here's my schedule where you can find me:

Introduction to Steampunk: What Is Steampunk and Why Is it so Popular? (Panel), Fri 19th August 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Reading: (It'll probably be form Spectyr) Fri 19th August 4:00pm – 4:30pm
New Producer, New Doctor, New Companion: Steven Moffat, Matt Smith, and the New Doctor Who , Fri  19th August 5:00pm – 6:00pm
Writers Collaboration Panel, Sat 20th August 11:00am – 12:00pm
Steampunk versus Alternate History Panel, Sat 20th August 1:00pm – 2:00pm
Autographing: Sat 20th August 2:00pm – 3:00pm
KaffeeKlatsch:Sat 20th August 5:00pm – 6:00pm

Writers getting smart

This is the first in a series of blogposts, where I talk about what I have learned about the publishing industry, writing, and things I see that just irritate or make me want to pull my hair out. I'm not exactly known for my rants, but that doesn't mean I don't have those moments. They are usually inspired by something I heard someone say, something I read, or something I saw someone do. Hang onto your hats!

 

Mama I wish you'd told me it ain't easy. Oh I wish you'd said the pain don't go away.

Or so goes the line in Hollie Smith's heartfelt song, Mama from her album Humour and the Misfortune of Others. Watch the video here, seriously it's a lament of artists everywhere might understand.

Being a creative individual is not an easy path; it is one that is fraught with danger, missteps, and is certainly not for the faint of heart. Unlike Hollie's Mama I'm going to tell you that now- but sometimes creatives are their own worst enemy. In this day and age of social media, forums, email lists and everything in between, some people are still throwing hard earned money away.

It seems that everywhere people are trying to make money from creative folks hard work, be they unscrupulous publishers, dodgy agents or people that offer to make every door open to you. Writers, for example are constantly barraged with messages to do this course, or pay this high profile agent to make you and instant bestseller. Sometimes it feels like the industry to make money off writers dreams is larger than the publishing industry itself. (Honestly it amazes me how some new writers are willing to give away their hard-earned money to practically anybody- even people with no proven track record in the field)

Don't be taken in by the big talk, their pointing at their non-existent credentials, and their promises of a pot of gold and a pony at the end of the rainbow.

If you are going to shell out money for anything that will 'improve your writing' (and that isn't a given that such a thing will happen) examine first the credentials of the person shilling. Have they got a bestseller under their belt (and I don't just mean calling themselves bestseller- I want to know where and when that happened!)? Who can you contact who has been through this course, and make it someone whose name your recognize, or whose judgment you trust. What are they offering you? (If it's to make you a bestseller or sell you 'the secret of publishing' then please…run don't walk AWAY!)

Think about Clarion. Yes it is expensive. Yes, you have to live on campus for 6 weeks. But look at the people they have teaching—known names in the speculative fiction field. Check out the people that have been through Clarion; Cory Doctorow, Octavia Butler and Tobias Buckell.

If I was starting out, I would rather save my money for something like Clarion then spend it on a dozen folks who promise you the world. But there are certainly reputable places where you can find cheaper ways to improve your craft. Someone like Holly Lisle, who has a huge number of books under her belt, and a history of training other authors.

Sometimes we only have our selves to blame. Honestly. Please. We know you have dreams and aspirations. We know that they are dear and personal to you and are a shining light in your life. That doesn't mean you have to throw money at that flame heedless. Take a step back. Breathe. Evaluate the person, what they are offering and if you can afford it.

Please don't drive yourself into debt because some shyster is telling you he can get you on the New York Times list, or some other impossible claim. Keep at least one foot in reality.

Let's get smart folks. We, as a group need to do something we are good at; research. Yes, those same logical skill we apply to our writing we should turn on this industry. Don't take people at their word that they can make the world your oyster.

That's your job and while it might be exciting to imagine someone has that backdoor to publishing superstardom. No one does. It's a sad hard fact.

Here's my experience. I had to work at this. Yes, there were times I wanted to give up, but I kept going, kept writing. And eventually I got my first contract, then my second, hey my third and fourth just recently. I don't have the answers, but I know it certainly didn't happen overnight. Like anything you have to work at it. Alot.

Now, get back to writing. That's where you'll really learn and improve. And you know what…it's free!

Spectyr release day!

Here it is…the third book in nine months.

Yep, here is Spectyr.

Though one of the most powerful Deacons, Sorcha Faris has a tarnished reputation to overcome. She and her partner, Deacon Merrick Chambers, find themselves chasing down rumors of geists, but long for a return to real action. So they jump at the chance to escort a delegation sent to negotiate the terms of the Emperor's engagement. Their destination: the exotic city of Orinthal.

But a string of murders has Orinthal on edge, and Sorcha and Merrick are asked to investigate. Meanwhile the Emperor's sister has unwittingly released a cruel and vengeful goddess, one who it bent on destroying her enemies, including the geistlord who resides inside the shapeshifting rival to the throne—Sorcha's lover….

I've taken Sorcha, Merrick and Raed into new places. Kim the Comic Book Goddess, one of the first to buy the book and finish it (apparently a store in Scranton put it out early) said I think that I shall begin to call Ms Ballantine the mistress of heartbreak, difficult situations, and star-crossed families.

That makes me so happy!

Now, people are always asking, what is the best way to help the author. Apart from telling your friends, blogging and reviewing, there is always the issue of buying. Gail Carriger wrote a very informative and precise article on the methodology of bookstores, and a certain New York Times list. It is well worth reading.

In the meantime you can read the first chapter for free here and please tweet, facebook or email me pictures of Spectyr in the wild, or maybe with your pet.