Philippa Ballantine's Blog, page 16

Spectyr winners

I'm happy to announce that my winners are Terri and Anita.

They both get an advanced copy of Spectyr and a lovely Catherinette ring. I got some great entries to the competition, and it was great fun to see the people with Geist. I've put together a little collection of the entries that were particularly funny. Thanks for entering everyone!

 

Spectyr competition

Spectyr is coming…

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….

If you enjoyed Geist the sequel is only a few weeks from hitting the shelves, but you can win a copy right now!

If you're in the United States this one's for you…

Yes, I have two advanced copies of Spectyr to give away…and to sweeten the joy of that even more- two  Catherinette rings

Here's how you can win.

Each one of these gives you a draw in the competition.

Send me a picture of you holding Geist (paper, ibook, Kindle etc)
Direct me to your blogpost/Facebook/tweet about Spectyr coming
Direct me to your review of Geist on Amazon/Goodreads/Shelfari/your blog

Get your entries into me by sending them to pip at this site by the 17th of June.

Another May celebration

May 2009- sold the Book of the Order series to Ace Books

May 2010- sold the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series to Harper Collins.

 

Pretty good average for May. I joked to someone around Christmas "what could possibly happen in May 2011?" Be very careful what you wish for.

It is with considerable delight that I can tell you that Pyr Books will be publishing my book Hunter & Fox (though the name may change in edits) in 2012 (tentatively summer), with the sequel to follow.

If you don't know Pyr, you should. Under Lou Anders, who has been nominated for Hugos, Nebulas and every other award that a editor can be, Pyr has quickly become one of the leading names in speculative fiction. They have Joe Abercrombie, Alan Dean Foster, Michael Moorcock and Sean Williams to name just a few.

I've been watching Lou with a keen eye, and he seems to have a good grasp on the developments in this emerging publishing worlds, as well as very podcast friendly. In short, I am super excited to work with him, and bring this tale of dark lands and conflicted heroes to the world.

Here's my blurb…I am sure Pyr will come up with something more wonderful

In a world of chaos, there are heroes turned villain, and villains whose motives are not necessarily dark.

Talis is the Hunter for the Caisah, and a wreck of a once proud person. She has lost her people, and her soul. Salvation though is looking for her, and it wears the face of gentleness and strength. A tale of redemption in a land of darkness, where determination is not always a positive attribute.

Balticon schedule

Well we survived the Steampunk Worlds' Fair- not because it was awful, but because both myself and Tee were struck with the lurgy. The event was full of lovely, beautifully costumed fans of steampunk. I will do a roundup post on this event and Balticon in early June.

For now I am concentrating on getting this post out before I collapse back into bed.

My Balticon schedule, where you can find me, and what I am doing is what follows next.

Friday, May 27, 2011, 6:00 PM  Chesapeake Suite, New Independent Voices in New Media—Who's new in Podcasting

Saturday, May 28, 2011,   3:00 PM  Chesapeake Suite, Book Launch: The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences: Phoenix Rising

Saturday, May 28, 2011,   10:00 PM  Derby Room Erotica A La Carte: Iron Chef

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 12:00 Noon  Garden Room GoH Speech: From Wellington to Baltimore- How New Media got me here

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 5:00 PM   Chesapeake, Metamor City Live:  SF/Urban Fantasy/Noir radio drama

Sunday, May 29, 2011, 7:00 PM   Maryland Foyer, Laura Frechette, Philippa Ballantine, and Starla Huchton Autographs

Monday, May 30, 2011, 10:00 AM, Salon C, Network vs Platform: Can you tell them apart?

It's my very first Guest of Honor role, so I am a little nervous, but I hope to see some of you there. Please don't hesitate to step up and say hi.

Ministry May-hem

It's been a crazy month in a crazy year.

Phoenix Rising: A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novel was launched about three weeks ago, and it's been go go go. We've done three readings and signings, and been editing the second book in those three weeks.

But coming up are two even larger events.

The first is the Steampunk World's Fair, in Somerset, NJ. So if you want to find us between 20-22 May check out this post over on the Ministry. It will be our first steampunk only convention, so we are really looking forward to it.

The second is the following weekend. Balticon in Baltimore held over Memorial Weekend, has become the default location for podcast authors to meet. (at last count there would be twenty-nine podcasters in attendance) I am very proud to be the New Media Guest of Honor. It is my first GoH and I plan on being everywhere I can.

So if you are attending either (or both) of these please stop by and say I. I really enjoy these opportunities to get out and about.

Tick Tock…Tick Tock

Waiting for a book to hit the shelves is a curious thing.

You've spent a long time with it, through edits, covers, conferences, more edits, worrying about it, and yet more edits. At times it seems it never will come out.

Then one day the Advanced Reader copies come out and you think perhaps this isn't all a dream. Then the box of finished books arrives…and then you start to worry.

Unlike my co-author on Phoenix Rising, I saved all my panic for the final month. It's a crazy moment, but it is here.

Phoenix Rising; A Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences

Yes, Phoenix Rising hit the shelves yesterday, so please go in to a local bookstore if you have one, and pick it up. Or if you prefer ebooks, then it should be available in all your favourite formats.

Writers lend a hand

In the first few months of 2011 many parts of the world were struck by devastation; my home country New Zealand, and then Japan. Both of these places are hotspots of seismic activity, and both nations have sent support to the other.

The images on the news have tapered off, but there are still thousands of people dealing with the after-effects of the devastation. Often such huge events can leave us, scattered all over the world, feeling helpless. But if we all did just a few small things it would make a huge difference.

In the community of writers there are people who have decided to step up and do something.

First of all is the Tales for Canterbury. An anthology of short stories by national and international authors. The complete list is available here and is a veritable embarrassment of riches. There will even be a short story by me in there. This is a never before seen story, and the only non genre short I have ever written. It's called the Straw Garden and is a bit like Weather Child, intensely personal.

Pre-orders are available now, with ebook and paper versions available.

The second effort is Genre for Japan. There are some ridiculously cool offerings on the site. My contribution is not up yet, but I'll let you know when it is. Here's a sample of what you can bid on right now, for all those George RR Martin fans out there…

Don't forget to check the complete list, there are offerings for both writers and readers to bid on.

Remember it feels good to do good and together we can do incredible things.

Upcoming appearances

The convention season is heating up, and here are the places you can find me in the next couple of months.

RavenCon April 8-10, Richmond, Virginia

Reading at 4pm, and signing to follow at 5pm.

Panels: Writing sex in science fiction and fantasy 11pm Friday, Collaboration 4pm Saturday, Introduction to "social media" 10pm Saturday, All A Twitter 9am Sunday, the Problem with Genre Labels 11am Sunday, Genuine Steampunk 1pm Sunday

Borderlands Books, April 30, San Francisco, California

Signing and reading

Bookworks, May 7, Staunton, Virginia

Signing and reading, followed by a steampunk photoshoot (weather permitting). So bring your best gear and see you there!

Steampunk Worlds Fair, May 20-22, Somerset, New Jersey

Signings, panels and book launch (to be finalised)

Balticon May 27-30, Hunt Valley, Maryland

Signings, panels, tea part and readings (to be finalised)

 

Hope to see some at you at some of these conventions and bookstores. My co-author Tee Morris will be with me, so you get two for the price of once. There will be more confirmed places to find both me (and Tee too) but these are the soonest ones.

Once more into the breach dear friends…

 

This week the final chapter of Digital Magic will drop, and while I am excited about that, I barely have time to breathe before plunging into another podcast frenzy.

Yes, the very first Tales from the Archives has dropped. The story read and written by me is called The Evil That Befell Sampson. It is the story of how Agent Eliza D Braun ended up exiled from New Zealand and working in the London Head Office of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences. There are suffragists, clockwork and nefarious goings on.

Listen here and/or subscribe

All these stories are about the Agents of the Ministry- including some tales about Eliza and Wellington that predate events in Phoenix Rising.

A new story will appear every two weeks, and you can look forward to stories from the like of OM Grey, Nathan Lowell, Starla Hutchon, PC Haring, and naturally Tee Morris.

In other news from the Ministry, Phoenix Rising will be included in the Science Fiction Bookclub so for those of you who are members, please check it out when it comes.

Take me with you…

..well at least take some of my words with you.

I am happy to announce that Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic are both available on a variety of ebook formats.

You can find it on the Nook, on the Sony e-reader, for the Kobo, on Diesel, on the Kindle (Chasing the Bard and Digital Magic) and on the ibook store for the iphone and ipad.

Or if you prefer your book DRM free, then buy the Smashwords versions

These books are slightly different from previous editions. I gave them another polish, and new shiny covers by Alex White. In Chasing the Bard you will also find a new Chapter Thirteen- one that was only previously podcast.

I am working on putting together an ebook version of my stories from Erotica a la Carte- so look for that in the coming month.