Michael J. Sullivan's Blog, page 59

Authors helping authors: Underrated and Underread Fantasy

If you love fantasy and haven't been to the reddit Fantasy sub you really should check it out. It's an amazing group for a number of reasons including:
A lot of authors hang out there and are very open to interactions.A fabulous set of moderators that keep the group growing by leaps and bounds by fostering an incredibly friendly and respectful online presence.Really great contributing members who have great posts and comments.
As is the nature of such forums, a lot of names come up time and time again in recommendations: Patrick Rothfuss, Brandom Sanderson, Joe Abercrombie, even myself - for which I'm very grateful. But there are a ton of quality authors that just don't get the mentions that they should. 
From time to time some of the members hold polls and I thought one of the best was a poll to highlight those authors that aren't often mentioned, but should be. Running these polls can take a lot of work and I'm grateful for p0x0rz for putting it together. You can find the full list here . But I'm reproducing it here sorted alphabetically by author's first name.

So, if you find yourself looking for something new, I suggest you check out some of these books. You just might find your next favorite read.

Author Book or SeriesAdrian Faulkner Four Realms, the Adrian Tchaikovsky Shadows of the Apt AE Marling Brood of Bones Alex Bledsoe Eddie LaCrosse series Andre Norton Witch World Anne Lyle Night Masque series Anthony Horowitz Gatekeepers, the Ari Marmell Goblin Corps, the Barbara Hambly Those Who Hunt the Night | Darwarth Trilogy Barry Hughart Bridge of Birds Ben S Dobson Scriber Blake Charlton Spellwright Bradley Beaulieu Lays of Anuskaya Brian D Anderson Godling Chronicles Brian Ruckley Godless World Brian Staveley Emperor's Blades, the Caitlin R. Kiernan Drowning Girl, the Carol Berg Lighthouse Duet | Rai Kirah trilogy | Song of the Beast Carrie Vaughn Discord's Apple Catherynne M Valente Orphan's Tales, the Chris Claremont and George Lucas Chronicles of the Shadow War Chris Kellen Sorcerer's Code series Chris Wooding Tales of the Ketty Jay series Christopher Buehlman Between Two Fires Christopher Kellen Arbiter Codex, the/ Elements of Sorcery | Kane Series CJ Cherryh Fortress series Courtney Schafer Whitefire Crossing D. B. Jackson Thieftaker Daniel Abraham Dagger and Coin Series | Long Price Quartet, the Daniel Polansky Low Town David Dalglish Shadowdance series David Gemmell Hawk Queen duology | Troy series David Hair Moontide Quartet Dawn Cook Decoy Princess, the Diana Wynne Jones Fire and Hemlock Django Wexler John Golden: Freelance Debugger | Thousand Names, the Donna Boyd Devancroix Dynasty Douglas Hulick Tale of the Kin, A series EE Knight Age of Fire series Eliezer Yudkowsky Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality Elizabeth Bear Eternal Sky Ellen Kushner Riverside series, the Emma Bull Territory Eve Forward Villains by Necessity Felix Gilman Half Made World Francis Pauli Kingdoms Gone series Fritz Leiber Lankhmar series Gene Wolfe Latro in the Mist Genevieve Valentine Mechanique: A Tale of the Circus Tresaulti George Macdonald At the Back of the North Wind Glen Cook Dread Empire | Garrett P.I. Glenda Larke Havenstar | Watergivers trilogy Greg Keyes Kingdom of Thorn and Bone Gregory S Close In Siege of Daylight Ha Il-Kwon Annarasumanara Harry Harrison Hammer and the Cross series Helen Lowe Wall of Night series Holly Lisle Korre series, the Hope Mirrlees Lud-in-the-Mist Howard Andrew Jones Chronicles of Sword and Sand Ian Tregillis Milkweed Triptych Irene Radford Dragon Nimbus, the Isobelle Carmody Green Monkey Dreams J. V. Jones Barbed Coil, the J.D. Hallowell War of Blades J.M.M. McDermott Dogsland trilogy J.S. Morin Twinborn series Jack Vance Lyonesse | Dying Earth series Jacqueline Carey Sundering, the Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennet Havemercy James Clemens Banned and the Banished series James Sutter Death's Heretic Janny Wurts War of Light and Shadow Jeff Salyards Bloodsounder's Arc Jeff VanderMeer Annihilation Jennifer Fallon Tide Lords Jim Grimsley Kirith Kirin JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst S. JL Doty Gods Within series John Brown Servant of a Dark God John Gwynne Faithful and the Fallen series, the John Marco Tyrants and Kings and Lukien John Morressy Iron Angel series Jon Sprunk Shadow Saga Judith Tarr Alamut Julian May Saga of Pliocene Exile series JV Jones Sword of Shadows, a Kage Baker Anvil of the World | House of Stag Kameron Hurley Bel Dame Apocrypha Karen Rae Levine Sister Raven Kate Elliot Spiritwalker series | Crossroads Trilogy Katherine Kurtz Deryni Kay Kenyon Entire and the Rose series Ken Scholes Psalms of Isaak series KJ Bishop Etched City KJ Parker Folding Knife | Purple and Black | SharpsLaini Taylor Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy Lavie Tidhar Violent Century Lindsay Buroker Emperor's Edge, the Lord Dunsany King of Elfland's Daughter Louise Cooper Time Master Trilogy Lyndon Hardy Master of Five Magics Lynn Flewelling Luck in the Shadows | The Tamir Triad M. Todd Gallowglas Tears of Rage series | Halloween Jack series Marie Brennan Memoir by Lady Trent series Mark Charan Newton Legend of the Red Sun, the | Drakenfeld Mark Frost List of Seven Mark T Barnes Echoes of Empire Markus Heitz Dwarves Martha Wells Cloud Roads, the | Death of the Necromancer Mary Gentle Ash: A Secret History Maryna Dyachenko Scar, the Mat Nastos Wier Codex Matthew Stover Acts of Caine Max Gladstone Three Parts Dead Mazarkis Williams Emperor's Knife Melina Marchetta Finnikin of the Rock Mercedes Yardley Bone Angel Trilogy, the Mervyn Peake Gormenghast Michael Montoure Still Life Michael Scott Rohan Winter of the World series Michael Stackpole Once a Hero Michael Swanwick Iron Dragon's Daughter, the Michelle West Sun Sword | House War Mike Carey Felix Castor Mike Shevdon Courts of the Feyre Miles Cameron Traitor Son Cycle Mitchell Hogan Sorcery Ascendant Sequence Moses Siregar Black God's War Multiple Authors Sundering D&D series Myke Cole Shadow Ops series N.K. Jemisin Dreamblood Duology | Inheritence Trilogy Nick Harkaway Gone Away World, the Nnedi Okorafor Who Fears Death P. C. Hodgell Kencyrath Pamela Dean Tam Lin Patrica A McKillip Riddle Master trilogy | Alphabet of Thorn | In the Forests of Serre | Od Magic Patricia Bray Sword of Change, the Paul Kearney Monarchies of God | Macht Trilogy Paul S Kemp Egil and Nix series, the Paula Volsky Illusion Peter Orullian Unremembered, the Peter Stenson Fiend Poul Anderson Broken Sword Rachel Aaron Legend of Eli Monpress, the Raymond Feist and Janny Wurts Empire Series Richard Adams Shardik Rob J Hayes Ties That Bind series Robert Asprin and Lynn Abbey Thieves' World series edited Robert E Howard Savage Tales of Solomon Kane Robert Evert Riddle in the Stone series Robert Holdstock Mythago Woods Robert Jackson Bennett Troupe, the | American Elsewhere Robert Silverberg Lord Valentine's Castle Robert VS Redick Chathrand Voyage Robin Lythgoe As the Crow Flies Rosemary Kirstein Steerswoman Rowena Cory Daniells King Rolen's Kin Russel Kirkpatrick Fire of Heaven series S M Wheeler Sea Change Saladin Ahmed Throne of the Cresent Moon Sam Bowring Strange Threads Duology Sam Sykes Aeon's Gate series Sarah Monette Bone Key, the Sean Williams Books of the Cataclysm Sebastien de Castell Greatcoats series, the Sherwood Smith Inda Simon Brown Chronicles of Kydan Simon R Green Blue Moon Rising Snorri Kristjansson Valhalla Saga, the Stella Gemmell City, the Stephen R Lawhead Dragon King Trilogy | King Raven Trilogy Steven Brust Vlad Taltos series Tad Williams Bobby Dollar series | Shadowmarch Series | Otherland series TC McCarthy Germline Ted Chiang Stories of Your Life and Others Ted Dekker Circle, the series Teresa Frohock Miserere: An Autumn Tale Terry Brooks Genesis of Shannara, the Tim Powers Drawing of the Dark, the Tom Lloyd Twilight Reign | Empire of a Hundred Houses series, the Wesley Chu Lives of Tao, the Wil Wight Traveler's Gate wildbow Worm William Horwood Hyddenworld Quartet William King Gotrek and Felix series William Nicholson Noble Warrior Trilogy Wu Ch-Eng-En Monkey Ysabeu S Wilce Flora Segunda Series, the Zachary Jernigan No Return

I'm out of questions!

Well, that's not entirely true, I always have questions because I'm a curious guy. But my queue for the Goodreads "Ask the Author" has run dry.



To date I've answered more than 100 questions (108 to be precise), and it's one of my favorite things to do. So, if you have questions about me, my writing, or publishing, please toss me a question. You can do so at this link .  Or ask one here, and I'll post it on your behalf.  

Discover the truth in myths and the lies of legends

That's a tagline I've recently come up with to concisely explain my new First Empire series to existing Riyria readers. For those who have read those books, I "might" have been "less than truthful" about certain events in Elan's past.  Specifically, the legend of Novron/Nyphron and how he saved mankind from extinction and formed the First Empire.

While there is no Royce, Hadrian, Arista, or Esrahaddon, there will be some familiar names including Nyphron, his beloved Persephone, and Mawyndulë. Don't remember these people, or how they fit into Elan's past?  No worries, you'll figure it out as reading, and besides, this series is designed to be read by those who haven't read any of the prior Riyria books. That being said, I do like to reward loyal readers, so for those who HAVE read Revelations, you'll get the added benefit of seeing the events in a whole new light. After all, they say,  "History is written by the victorious," and I think that is very true. Exposing the truths that only I know about  is part of what has made writing these books so enjoyable for me.

As to how the project is going...it's doing quite well.  I'm about a month ahead of schedule with regards to finishing the last book. The first book has had two solid beta reads, and the additional changes to it are minor. Robin has a nicely prioritized list, so that should go quickly. And she is going to New York to meet with some of the people at Del Rey to discuss "business."

I can't begin to express how helpful that last part is to me. Just "thinking" about the business side of writing saps me of all creativity and puts me on edge. Not being involved makes me blissfully oblivious and keeps the words flowing, which is good for everyone involved.

On other fronts, I've been using my "afternoon downtime" to work on the plot for the third Riyria Chronicle. It's starting to take shape, and I'm looking forward to diving into it. Given who long I've been in Elan's distant past, it will be nice seeing old friends again.

Authors Helping Authors - Mark Lawrence's Self-published Blogger Challenge

Well, if you snooze you loose, and so this event is already closed, but I think it is worth talking about anyway. Mark sent me an email about this last Sunday, but I already had an "Authors Helping Authors" post for that day, and when I went to write this post, it had already closed. Doh!

So what is/was it?  Well Mark was helping to get some publicity for well-deserved self-published authors by utilizing the fantasy book blogging community. Here's how it works:
He assembled a team of 10 bloggersAccepted 250 (actually 275 before it closed) self-published booksAssigned each blogger 25 books at randomAsked the bloggers to act as "agents" in that they wouldn't read all the books but would pick one to move to the "next round."After six months, the bloggers (who are free to review any books they  were assigned) deliver their verdict.The pooled books from round 2 will be looked at by the bloggers who will rate them on a scale from 1 - 10Totally the scores will give a single winner which be read and reviewed by the bloggers 
You can read all about the "process" in Mark's post here .
The list of bloggers that Mark compiled are:Sarah Chorn of Bookworm BluesSteve Diamond &co at the Hugo-winning Elitist Book ReviewsMark Aplin &co of the award winning Fantasy FactionMihir Wanchoo of Fantasy Book CriticLynn Williams of Lynn's BooksMilo of The Fictional HangoutBob Milne of Beauty in RuinsRia of BibliotropicTyson Mauermann of The Speculative Book Review The guys at Fantasy Book ReviewSo, why still post about this if the event is closed?  Well, a few reasons. First, I want to give a shout out to Mark and all the bloggers for their generosity of spirit. I believe what goes around comes around and hopefully you, fine readers, will support Mark by buying one of his amazing books ( See a list of them here ). As to the bloggers, they are all excellent and if you are a fantasy fan and not already following them, please do. I'm sure if you check out their reviews and interviews, you'll find some great new books to explore.

The other reason why I'm posting this, as I'd like to follow this process as it goes along. I'm always looking for new indie authors to read, so I'm excited to see what is recommended.  I'll keep you posted.

Tools for Authors: Natural Reader

Like my Sunday "Authors Helping Authors" post, I'd like to try to use Saturdays to focus on tools for authors. Today I'd like to talk about NaturalReader .


You've probably heard that when proofing your book it's best to read it aloud. I think this is excellent advice.  In the "old days," Robin and I would do the proofing of my books by taking turns reading aloud to one another.  Why did we do it as a team?  Well, because we often don't read what's on the page, we read what we "think" is on the page, which means we insert missing words or remove duplicated ones. Having both of us would usually catch the error because one person was following along and seeing where the other "auto-corrected."

When my wife got her first Kindle, it had text-to-speech built into the device.  Then Robin started doing the proofing herself because the computerized voice doesn't skip or "auto add" words. It says EXACTLY what is on the page, and she can find those errors quickly and easily.  Robin's Kindle is battered and beaten, and the headphone jacks no longer work.  Plus, she can't plug her Kindle into the car radio and listen to the book while driving. Another solution was needed.  Enter NaturalReader.

What is NaturalReader?  I'll take a quote from their website:

"NaturalReader is a Text to Speech software with natural sounding voices. This easy to use software can convert any written text such as MS Word, Webpage, PDF files, and Emails into spoken words. NaturalReader can also convert any written text into audio files such as MP3 or WAV for your CD player or iPod."

Now Robin imports the book's doc file, converts them to .mp3 files, and puts them onto her iphone so she has them wherever she is and can even listen while driving.

Natural Reader has a few different pricing levels, including free.


We use the "Personal Edition" and it has worked very well for us. The great thing about Natural Reader is you can choose from a number of voices, which sound much more realistic than the standard "Steven Hawking" version used by most text-to-speech software. Plus the ability to turn them into mp3 means we can listen to them from virtually any device.

Given its low cost, I think it's well worth the investment. Give the free copy a try, and if it works out for you think of upgrading. I'm sure you'll find it pays for itself in the mistakes it finds.

Star Trek Continues

Really sorry I missed BOTH of these Kickstarters :













But I'll definitely be on the look out for more.  If you haven't seen the episodes produced from this yet, I HIGHLY recommend you do.  They are exceptionally well done and very nostalgic.

Here's a link to watch the first three episodes:























Oh, and check out the Kickstarter videos as well. Also very entertaining!  (First Kickstarter | Second Kickstarter)

Oh, and after checking it out, if you like what you see as much as I do, then donate such awesomeness is worth paying for.  I did!

Unbound Anthology Line-up and Pre-ordering!

Did you love Unfettered?  Or were you bummed because you missed out on the signed and numbered copies?  Well, don't fret, here comes Unbound and pre-ordering is up now!


Of course, the cover above is just for mock-up purposes but, like Unfettered, it features an amazing line up:

 Terry Brooks (intro) Kristen Britain Jim Butcher Rachel Caine Harry Connolly Delilah S. Dawson David Anthony Durham     Jason M. Hough Mary Robinette Kowal Mark Lawrence John Marco Tim MarquitzSeanan McGuire Peter Orullian Kat Richardson Anthony Ryan Shawn Speakman Brian Staveley Michael J. Sullivan Sam Sykes Mazarkis WilliamsThere are several ways to buy:
$30 - Hardcover Editions$50 - Advanced Reading Copy Hardcovers (limited press run)$125 - Signed and numbered Hardcovers (also limited press run)Like Unfettered, this is expected to be one of the most anticipated anthologies of this year, so ensure your copy now by pre-ordering !

Authors Helping Authors: Kameron Hurley

Last week I told you about Courtney Schafer and her  The Labyrinth of Flame Kickstarter. It's fully funded by the way, and heading for some nice stretch goals. If you haven't checked it out, please do. Today, I want to tell you about another author that I think is worth taking a look at.  It's Kameron Hurley, who has two series:



Bel Dame Apocrypha - A completed trilogy that finished up in April 2014 The World Breaker Saga - A new series that started in August 2014Now for the record, I've not yet read any of Kameron's books...although I've bought all four of them to support her. So, why am I recommending her work and asking you to "check it out"?
Well, first off Kameron has a TON of accolades.  Authors such as Kate Elliott, Jeff Vandermeer, and Lauren Beukes have sung her praises. Then there are the awards:Winner: Sydney J. Bounds Award for Best NewcomerWinner: Kitschy Award for Best Debut NovelNominated: Arthur C. Clarke AwardNominated: Hugo AwardNominated: Nebula AwardNominated: Locus Award Nominated: BSFA Award for Best Novel. Honor List: Tiptree AwardShe also has short stories curated by some of the biggest magazines in genre fiction including Lightspeed, EscapePod, and Strange Horizons. 
All that tells me she's an amazing writer that really cares about her craft. But, that's not the reason I'm singling her out for one of my Authors Helping Author's Post.  No, my reason is simple...she's doing everything right, and yet still struggling.  Kameron is no stranger to self-promotion, and has launched monumental efforts each time her books release.  Plus, she is writing and releasing frequently. She reminds me a lot of Robin who took a "failure is not an option" attitude when starting my own career. 
I have no doubt Kameron will be more well known in the future, and anything I can do to help get the word out about her I'm happy to. I'm not one to say "BUY THIS BOOK" but I do want to let people know Kameron and work exists.  Go checkout some sample chapters. Read her blog . And if it looks like something you might be interested in, then by all means plunk down some money. This business isn't easy, but when someone like Kameron is doing it all right, that's worth supporting.  I hope you find one of her books right up your alley.

One of a kind

Not long ago I did a giveaway for one of my books, The Crown Tower. I wanted to make it special...really special. So, I asked my daughter to personalize the book by doing a drawing in it. I thought she'd do a doodle of Royce or Hadrian...instead she did an excellent montage from the novel. It was so good that I thought I should share it with everyone.


If you want to see some of Sarah's other Riyria inspired artwork, you can view them here .

Hello, my name is Майкъл Дж Съливан...you killed my father...ah, okay, maybe not.

Sorry, I couldn't resist. So, for those that didn't see my Facebook post , I recently discovered that Майкъл Дж Съливан is how the people of Bulgaria spell Michael J. Sullivan. I'd love to know how it is pronounced. That in itself is a new revelation...but I also discovered some covers that I didn't know about previously.

When it comes to foreign translations, sometimes the author is the last to know. Yes, I'm aware of contracts I've signed but knowing when the books are released is another matter.  I apologize to the people of Bulgaria for not being "up to date" on the releases of my books.

But now that I know about them, I'm so pleased with how they came out, and I wanted to share them with everyone else.  So first up are the covers for the six books of The Riyria Revelations. The covers are from the amazing Marc Simonetti .  The first three were done for the French editions and re-licensed for the Bulgarian editions. But then the publisher from France decided to switch over from the "six book" versions to the "three book" versions so they didn't have graphics for the remaining three books. MBG Books was releasing the books quickly and needed a fast solution for the last three book's covers. So they picked some other images by Marc,  of the series and so there  weren't corresponding drawings for the other books. Thinking fast, the publisher utilized some existing art from Marc and all in all they work pretty well.


With a little more time under their belt, the publisher commissioned covers for the two Riyria Chronicle books.  I'm not sure who the artist is, but when I find out I'll let you know.  I really like them.  The first depicts the famed Crown Tower, which Royce and Hadrian scale on their first job together.  The second one I can't tell you what it depicts, as it would be a spoiler to the book.  But those who have read Revelations could probably guess about what "past fire" it shows.


The titles of the books (and series) are:

Откровенията на Ририя » Revelations of Ririya
Конспирация за короната » Conspiracy to crownАвемпарта » AvempartaНифрон се въздига » Nifron risesИзумрудената буря » Emerald stormЗимният фестивал  » Winter festivalПерсепликуис  » Perseplikuis Хрониките на Ририя » Chronicles of Ririya
Короносната кула » Koronosnata towerРозата и бодилът » Rose and bodilat