Christopher Husberg's Blog, page 5

CHAOS QUEEN book 1-4 on sale at Graphic Audio!

The audio adaptations of my books are on sale at Graphic Audio! Use the SET30 discount code to get 30% off your purchase of the entire set! Sale ends on 8 September! Here's the link for the page to purchase the full set.(Alternatively, if you'd rather just check out the Graphic Audio version of the first book, go here and use discount code FALL25 for a 25% discount until the end of September!)Note that these are the audio adaptations--slightly different from the regular audiobooks. These have a full cast, soundtrack, and sound effects. More along the lines of a radio play than an audiobook. For what it's worth, I think they are AWESOME. I love these adaptations of my books, and I think they've portrayed almost every single one of the characters very accurately.The set for sale right now includes:
DUSKFALL
DARK IMMOLATION Part 1
DARK IMMOLATION Part 2
BLOOD REQUIEM Part 1
BLOOD REQUIEM Part 2
FEAR THE STARS Part 1
FEAR THE STARS Part 2 (not out yet but will be soon)So it doesn't include the forthcoming DAWNRISE adaptations, which aren't scheduled for release until late 2020.Check them out!

The WK/FtS/HD West Coast Book Tour!

Dave Butler and I are once again heading out on a west coast book tour--and this time we're going international! The awesome sci-fi author Christopher Ruocchio will also be joining us for the duration of the tour, and we'll have a few special guests in various cities as well. It's shaping up to be an awesome tour, and it starts NEXT WEEK!

Here's the official schedule--see below for more info on the authors and their books!

Sunday 8 September 6:00 pm (PDT) - Space Cowboy BooksJoshua Tree, CAJoshua Tree Event PageFacebook Event Page
Monday 9 September 7:00 pm (PDT) - Mysterious Galaxy Books(Featuring Luke Tarzian!)San Diego, CAMysterious Galaxy Event PageFacebook Event Page
Tuesday 10 September 5:30 pm (PDT) - Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeeshop(Featuring Luke Tarzian!)La Cañada/Flintridge, CAFlintridge Event PageFacebook Event Page
Wednesday 11 September 7:00 pm (PDT) - Concord Barnes & Noble(Featuring Griffin Barber!)Concord, CAFacebook Event Page
Thursday 12 September 6:00 pm (PDT) - Borderlands BooksSan Francisco, CAFacebook Event Page
Friday 13 September 7:00 pm (PDT) - Powell's Books at Cedar Hills CrossingPortland, ORPowell's Event PageFacebook Event Page
Saturday 14 September 11:00 am (PDT) - Vancouver IndigoVancouver, BC (Canada)Facebook Event Page
Sunday 15 September 3:30 pm (PDT) - University BookstoreSeattle, WAUniversity Bookstore Event PageFacebook Event Page
Monday 16 September 7:00 pm (MDT) - Rediscovered Bookshop(Without, regrettably, Christopher Ruocchio)Boise, IDRediscovered Event PageFacebook Event Page
Dave is promoting the third book in his American alternate history fantasy series, Witchy Kingdom:

SEASON OF THE WITCH

An encounter with her father’s goddess has not turned out to be the end for Sarah Elytharias Penn. Now, with the Imperial fist tightened around her city of Cahokia and the beastkind of the Heron King ravaging across the river, she must find a way to access the power of the Serpent Throne itself—a feat, she has learned, that her father never accomplished. To complicate her efforts, Cahokia’s Metropolitan, a beloved and charismatic priest who despises the goddess as a demon, returns from a long pilgrimage and attempts to finalize the Wisdom-eradicating reform that dogged Sarah’s father when he was king.

Meanwhile, Sarah’s brother Nathaniel and her brilliant but erratic servant Jacob Hop find their steps dogged by the Emperor’s Machiavel, Temple Franklin, as they hunt in New Amsterdam for the third Elytharias sibling. As Simon Sword’s destroying storm threatens from the south and west, and New Orleans is thrown into deadly turmoil when a vodoun priest and mameluke assassins contend for ultimate power and control of the Mississippi, the chance for a unified New World teeters on the brink. Sarah Penn understands she may face a hard fate in the final reckoning. But she also knows that only she can access the power of the Throne—if she can find the Wisdom inside to unlock it.

Christopher is promoting the second book in his epic sci-fi space opera, Howling Dark :

Hadrian Marlowe is lost. 

For half a century, he has searched the farther suns for the lost planet of Vorgossos, hoping to find a way to contact the elusive alien Cielcin. He has not succeeded, and for years has wandered among the barbarian Normans as captain of a band of mercenaries.

Determined to make peace and bring an end to nearly four hundred years of war, Hadrian must venture beyond the security of the Sollan Empire and among the Extrasolarians who dwell between the stars. There, he will face not only the aliens he has come to offer peace, but contend with creatures that once were human, with traitors in his midst, and with a meeting that will bring him face to face with no less than the oldest enemy of mankind.

If he succeeds, he will usher in a peace unlike any in recorded history. If he fails...the galaxy will burn.

And, of course, I'm promoting the fourth book in the Chaos Queen Quintet, Fear the Stars !

All parties converge on the capital city, Triah - Cinzia and the Odenites to establish their new religion and appeal against a charge of heresy; Knot and Astrid to find answers in the vampire girl's past; and Winter has come to conquer the city, at the head of a tiellan army. But Winter is still struggling with her addictions and anger; Knot's efforts to be reunited with her can only lead to disappointment. Cinzia cannot free herself from a terrible bargain. And as the battle lines are drawn, the true nature of the goddess Canta, and the Odenites' final purpose, will soon be revealed...

Luke Tarzian, author of the awesome dark fantasy novel Vultures , will be joining us in San Diego and LA!

And Griffin Barber will join us for our event in the new Barnes & Noble in Concord, CA!

It's going to be an awesome tour!

Salt Lake FanX 2019

I'll be at Salt Lake FanX this weekend! Here's my schedule! In between these panels I'll actually be working hard on Dawnrise, but in general I'll be at or near the con on all three days. See you there!

THURSDAY

4:00 pm (151A) Fractal Narrative: Why You need Story Structure

Story structure is important for ALL writers—outliners, discovery writers, and everything in between. Come learn about a few specific methods of structuring and dissecting stories, and then apply them to your own process!

6:00 pm (150G) "Can't We Just Have Pizza?": The Warring Dualities in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is not for the feint of heart. The series embraces the darkness of black magic and worshipping the Dark Lord, but juxtaposes that darkness with everyday teenage life—and, at the best times, bright rays of hope. Come explore with us this fascinating dichotomy, and how it demonstrates incredible worldbuilding and character growth.

SATURDAY

5:00 pm (255A) A Beginner's Guide to Esports and Pro Gaming

Your mom used to yell at you for playing Call Of Duty for 6 hours straight, saying something on the lines of waiting your time and rotting your brain. Now more people than ever are calling gaming a profession. From the comfort of their homes or flying to international competitions, gaming in North America is starting to become a viable career. We will specifically be talking about North America’s growing visibility in the competitive scenes, the formation of the National Association of Collegiate Esports, advertising gaming for a female gaze to grow the fan base, and the inevitable rise of professional gaming in North America.

Worldcon 77!

I've spent the last few days roaming Northern Ireland waiting for Worldcon 77 to start. It's been cool. Evidence:

Tollymore Forest Park: an old-timey forest with loads of ruins and stuff. Very cool. Also apparently the filming location for many GoT scenes.

Ballygalley Castle Hotel. An old castle that has been converted into a hotel. Also, it's haunted, and I got to stay in one of the tower rooms RIGHT NEXT TO THE GHOST ROOM OMG. But, alas, I experienced no hauntings.

The North-east tower of Dunluce Castle. (Also, apparently, often the filming location for Winterfell in Got?)

Giant's Causeway. SO awesome. Finn McCool is cool, yo.

The Dark Hedges, aka the King's Road (apparently like all of GoT was filmed in Ireland...).

Had to pick me up one of these. If you don't know its significance, why do we even speak to one another?Now, I'm headed south to Dublin for Worldcon! Friends, if you'll be there, let's hang out. My official schedule:
THURSDAY
12:00 (Wicklow Hall - 1) - "Writing Robot & Non-Human Intelligences"
19:00 (Liffey Room - 1) - "Building an Intelligent World"
FRIDAY
16:30 (Odeon 5) - "Riverdale and Sabrina: Small Town Gothic"
SUNDAY
13:00 (Wicklow Hall - 1) - "Wands at the Ready! Magical Worldbuilding in SFF"
Unofficially, I'll be hanging out at various parties in the evenings and hanging out with other folks, all when I'm not making progress on Dawnrise.
Yay!

Dark Fantasy

I usually classify my writing as Dark Fantasy, and people often ask me what exactly that term means. If you're one of those curious folk, check out this Uproxx article on "The Difference Between Dark Fantasy and Horror (And Why It Matters)"--it's pretty spot on as far as my own definition of the label is concerned!
Here's a great snippet:

"If horror is about people trying to escape monsters (both human and supernatural), dark fantasy is about people accepting that the monster may be within and deciding how to live in a world filled with wonder and peril despite that revelation."

Gen Con Next Week!

Next week I'll once again make the trek to Indianapolis, IN for Gen Con! Gen Con is one of the premier tabletop gaming conventions out there, but they also happen to have a superb writing track in the shape of their Writer's Symposium. Most of the Writer's Symposium events will take place at the Downtown Marriott, near the Indianapolis Convention Center, and that's where all of my panels will be. (My signings, on the other hand, will be in the massive dealer's room of the Convention Center.)

Check out my schedule, (mostly) complete with provided panel descriptions!
Thu 1 Aug
1:00 PM (Ballroom 3): What Are You Reading?This one didn't have a description, but I assume it is The Panel in which we talk about what we're reading at the moment, and what we've read recently that is awesome!
4:00 PM (Ballroom 2): Who Said What? Clarifying Dialog"He said, she said...does dialog always need tags? How can you keep readers from getting confused?"
Fri 2 Aug (Which is turning out to be an incredibly busy day for me)
10:00 AM (Ballroom 4): Scrivener Demystified"So you've decided to ditch the notebook or Word to give this whole Scrivener program a whirl. Can this program make your process better? Come learn from LaShawn Wanak, A.E. Greenwood, Christopher Husberg, and more."
11:00 AM (Ballroom 1): Capturing the Creepy: Getting the Details Right"Horror and suspense writers want to captivate their readers without grossing them out, or worse, boring them. Lucy Snyder, Richard Byers, Christopher Husberg, and others discuss how much detail is necessary."
12:00 PM (Ballroom 1): Business Plans for Writers"Writing is a creative endeavor, but it's also a business. Which means...you need a business plan. Shanna Germain, Matt Forbeck, Christopher Husberg, and Keith Law discuss making one."
1:00 PM (Austin/Boston): Fractal Narrative: Understanding Story Structure"Are you an outliner? then you need to understand story structure. A discovery writer? You need it, too. Archetypal structure is for everyone, and Christopher Husberg will tell you the basics." (This one's all me! It's also incidentally an adaptation of the presentation I gave in Brandon Sanderson's creative writing class earlier this year :-D.)
2:00 PM (Ballroom 4): Character Relationships in Stories"Relationships are the backbone of your story. Our panelists Kristin McFarland and Christopher Husberg discuss writing realistic friendships, romantic partners, frenemies, and more."
3:00 PM (Atlanta): Midpoint: How to Get This Pivotal Moment Right"Midpoint is considered one of the most important moments for character development in a story. Christopher Husberg, Kristen Britain, Bill Fawcett, and Elizabeth Vaughan tell you how to get it right."
5:00 PM (Vendor Hall): Signing
Sat 3 Aug
2:00 PM (Vendor Hall): Signing

Surprise! PARALLEL WORLDS Anthology!

If you thought Fear the Stars was the only Christopher Husberg release this year, think again!


I've also got a short story coming out in the Parallel Worlds: The Heroes Within anthology!
Parallel Worlds is an awesome collection put together by the phenomenal writers L.J. Hachmeister and R.R. Virdi, and as you can see from the cover, it includes stories from a number of exceptional authors, including Jody Lynn Nye, Christopher Rucchio, D.J. Butler, and a new,  never-before-seen Dresden Files story from Jim Butcher.
It's going to be awesome.
I'm excited about my entry into the anthology. It is NOT a Chaos Queen story (or a story related to any of the other projects I've been teasing--this is something completely different and new), but sort of an epistolary post-apocalyptic existential crisis story with monsters. So, if that sounds up your alley, or any of the above authors strike your fancy, pre-order the anthology (it'll be officially available 8 October of this year).
Pre-orders are actually going quite well so far--we're already at #1 for Fantasy and SF Anthologies, and #541 of all books sold on Amazon. So, that's neat. (Also, right now it's only available in ebook format, but we're working on a print version if that's what you'd prefer. Stay tuned for more news on that.)
Anyway, cool news! Order the anthology!

Promotional Thingies for FEAR THE STARS

Now that Fear the Stars is finally upon us, I've been doing some things here and there around the inter webs to promote the book, and figured I'd compile them here for your convenience.

In Which I Talk About Music, and Writing While Listening To It

In Which I Talk About Writing with Rituals, and Not Just the Demon-Summoning Types

In Which I Answer a Smorgasbord of Questions at the r/fantasy Subreddit

In Which I Answer More Questions with Words At the Thoughts Stained With Ink Blog

With perhaps more to come as they occur!

FEAR THE STARS is available NOW!

Fear the Stars, book four in the Chaos Queen Quintet, is available in the US today!
It already came out a couple weeks ago in the UK, so it's now available in most English-speaking areas.
Order it from Amazon, order it or buy it from your local B&N, or get it from a variety of other places (namely Powell's!).
I'm hosting an AMA (Ask Me Anything) over at the r/fantasy subreddit all day today, so if you have any burning questions for me (Who is the Chaos Queen? Why do I like Taylor Swift so much? Whose blood did I drink to become so awesome? etc.!), head on over and ask them! Also upvote the post, if you don't mind, so more people can see it :-D.
And, of course, we've got the release day event tonight at Weller Book Works in Salt Lake City! If you're in the Utah area, come on by! Starting at 6:30 PM we'll do a reading, a Q&A, and a signing. There will probably be official Fear the Stars t-shirts and other swag. It'll be fun time.
I'm very excited for Fear the Stars to reach the public. I love this book, it's my favorite I've written so far, and I can't wait for everyone to read it!

FEAR THE STARS available in the UK!

If you're in the UK, you can pick up Fear the Stars, book 4 in the Chaos Queen Quintet, TODAY! What are you waiting for?!

If you're in the US, you'll unfortunately have to wait until the 18th. But that's still soon! REJOICE!

The UK blurb is even better than the US blurb imo:

IN THE PITILESS VOID, EVEN THE STARS ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEMMany forces converge on the great city of Triah, bent on its destruction. By sea, Empress Cova of Roden sails with her armada, determined to bring the rival nation under her yoke. From land, Winter, the Chaos Queen, brings her tiellan army, set on revenge. And their advance brings a yet more terrible army still: awoken by the Chaos Queen’s powers, daemons mass on the border between worlds, waiting for a way in.Caught between the encroaching foes, a small group holds the key to saving the Sfaera from destruction: Knot, the former assassin; Cinzia, the exiled priestess; and Astrid, the vampire-child. But the only way to do so is to step into the Void beyond worlds—from which no one can return unchanged.

You can check out Fear the Stars on Amazon UK here.

Or you can pre-order the US version here.