M. Edward McNally's Blog, page 3

Ed on the FlipSide (author interview)

Thanks much to Julianne Snow for letting me drop bey her blog, the FlipSide for an interview where I pontificate about, um, me. I combed my hair and cleaned up first, I promise.

Is it only happenstance that the interview consists of nine questions, while the pantheon of my fantasy setting has nine deities, and nine characters all assemble by the end of Volume One, The Sable City? Yes, it is just a coincidence.

New Map: Riven Kingdoms

The Riven Kingdoms, 1396 NC

Slowly but surely getting more maps converted from old chicken-scrawl handwritten versions. This one is of the Riven Kingdoms which are often referenced but have so far only appeared on the eastern edge of maps of Daul (which is “The Protectorate” by 1396 NC) or the northern edge of Ayzantium (where civil war still rages at the same time). This map does however include the birthplaces of five characters from the series: Zebulon Baj Nif was raised in Wakminau, one of the three cities at the Bifurcation, where the Dranner River divides into the Ghendal and the Riddle. Captain Block was born in the Dwarf Mountain’s of Garak-Tor while the Gnomish mercenary Fitzyear Coalmounderan is from the neighboring hill country of Nom. Finally, Nesha-tari was born in the north Ayzantine desert at the bottom of the map, known in Zantish as The Hakalya (“the Desolation), while Durkashil Karza’s “Focaru” tribe inhabits the valley of the Fox River to the northeast.

New from Tara West

 New today from Tara West, the FREE prelude volume of her Keepers of the Stones series gets a shiny new cover, that would be Feira over there.

Do stop by Tara’s blog for a bit more background, along with links to everywhere Witch Flame is available for free.

Happy Birthday, Dad

 Happy Birthday, Dad. That’s it.

The Sable City on FKB&T

Thanks much to Free Kindle Books and Tips for featuring The Sable City among today’s featured FREE titles. And of course as always, all unKindled e-readers are welcome to a free copy as well.

Feel free to jump aboard the Norothian Cycle, and see where Tilda Lanai takes you.

- Ed

Congrats, New Year Blog Hop Winners!

Thanks to all who entered the 2013 New Year Hop here at the Sable City blog, and took a shot at the question:

<<< How many characters speak at least one line of dialogue in THE SABLE CITY? >>>

And big congratulations to both islandkayaker & Rachel, who both guessed 63 and were thus within one of the right answer, 64. I’ll be e-mailing you both today to arrange just how you would like to receive your prize books of The Norothian Cycle. Thanks to everybody who entered and took part in the overall New Year Hop, and good look with the Grand Prize drawings.

- Ed McNally.

Characters who spoke lines in The Sable City (64) -

1.) Captain Block 2.) Kauna 3.) unnamed Guild apprentice 4.) blond apprentice (Vonivan) 5.) Tilda Lanai 6.) Legionnaire-Sergeant Dugan 7.) Oti’s daughter 8.) Oti’s wife 9.) Oti 10.) guard at Trellane bridge 11.) Leftenant Kagsfold 12.) Zebulon Baj Nif 13.) unnamed Axman 14.) Axman Mollka 15. through 23.) nine various unnamed Axmen 24.) Uriako Shikashe 25.) Amatesu 26.) Baron Trellane 27.) Banner de Trellane 28.) Fitzyear Coalmounderan 29.) one of Fitz’s men 30.) Sir Procost 31.) Phinneas Phoarty 32.) Father Luis Corallo 33.) Brother Kendall Heggenauer 34. and 35.) two more of Fitz’s men 36.) unnamed Channel sailor 37.) Madame Nesha-tari 38.) Edgewise 39.) Ladamia (The Great Bronze Lady) 40.) Pagette 41.) Duke Cyril II 42.) Sir Gideon Towsan 43.) Duchess Claudja Perforce 44.) bullywug messenger 45.) Lolanhi Kauhine 46.) Gorpal the bullywug raft captain 47.) Kerek the bullywug witch doctor 48.) unnamed Jobian acolyte 49.) Legionnaire Ty 50.) “The Sarge” 51.) Sister Paveline 52.) Legionnaire Gery 53.) Legionnaire Rickard 54.) Female Destroyer of Ayon 55.) Horayachus of Ayon 56.) unnamed hobgoblin translator 57.) unnamed gnome selling maps 58.) Lord Balan 59.) Uella 60.) unnamed Bearded Devil 61.) Poltus 62.) Danavod 63.) Kanderamath 64.) Kazandra

Entry Guesses :

Bridget H. 5, Sherry J. 10, Virginia H. 11, bn100 12, meleakua 13, Ellen T. 15, Darlene Y. 15, Jessica 17, Stacy G. 17, mama3science 19, Shai V. 20, Books4me 23, Lynn C. 23.5, Ashfa A 24, Shadow 26, Kathlenne Y. 26, Robin D. 27, Kai W. 30, Bill M. 31, Tina M. 32, Crystal Y 32, Suzanne 32, Sacha S. 33, Jeannie P. 37, mabledsoe 39, Janice H. 43, Anne C. 48, Julie O. 51, Suzy 54, Liisasue25 55, Crystal C. 55, jademphillips 57, Mary Y. 61, islandkayaker 63, Rachel 63, (((actual answer, 64))) Celia 66, Olgac 74, Lisa M. 85, Heidi S. 89, Nicole T. 89, Karen C. 99, Rebecca B. 100, Belinda G. 100, Vera M. 100, Teri S. 102, Tasha T. 125, Merisha A. 127, Stacey 168, Lucinda Moebius All of Them

Welcome to the 2013 New Year Hop!

Welcome to the epilogue of the Mayan Calendar, and thanks for taking part in the New Year’s Holiday Hop. I’m M. Edward McNally (but you can call me “Ed” ), and this is the homepage for my Epic Fantasy series, The Norothian Cycle. Welcome, and thanks much for hopping by.

Here is how I am working my giveway, which will be so simple a caveman could do it, assuming the caveman had internet access. Volume One of The Norothian Cycle, The Sable City, is always FREE for all e-book platforms. It weighs in at a bit over 180,000 words (I did say “epic,” right?) and it is the source of my super simple “How many jellybeans in the jar?” style question:

<<>>

Feel free to leave a guess here as a comment, along with a way you can be reached online (if you are not already posting as a facebook, wordpress, whatever profile). At the conclusion of the blog hop which runs January 11th to 14th, I will select a winner by a careful process of addition and subtraction, to calculate the closest answer to the correct number of characters who speak a line in the book. Guessing higher or lower doesn’t matter, so feel free to take a shot in the dark.

The correct or closest guess, or guesses, (ties are fine) will win THE NOROTHIAN CYCLE. That is, I will get you e-copies of the existing books in the series (Death of a Kingdom – The Wind from Miilark – Devil Town) which sell for $4.99 each, provided in any of the normal ways: Either directly via Kindle “gift,” Smashwords coupon, or just sending the apporpriate files for any kind of e-reader you may have. Whatever works for you. In addition, I will throw in the next book, Volume V: The Channel War, when it becomes available later this quarter.

That’s all there is to it, just leave a number as a guess, and do remember to check out the main page of the Holiday Hop to visit all the participating blogs, and enter for the Grand Prize packages including (drumroll) A KINDLE FIRE!

Thanks again for taking part, have a great New Year, and as I always say: Thanks for reading.

Ed McNally

Note, for my purposes, “speaking one line of dialogue” is defined as saying something “in quotation marks.” So a nameless guard who opens a door and bids Tilda to enter doesn’t count. But if he said, “Come on in, y’all,” the same nameless guard would count as a “speaking” character.

Book of the Day, Ebook Impresario

Thanks much to Ebook Impresario for featuring The Sable City’s Kindle listing as today’s Book of the Day.

And as usual, Sable remains free at all major ebook vendors for all formats.

Amazon Kindle - Barnes & Noble Nook - iTunes - Kobo – Smashwords

Free Yakuza! (you heard me)

Happy 2013, party peoples.

I thought I would start off the new year with a progress report on The Channel War, the fifth volume of the Norothian Cycle, which will be the next book I release this year. Progress is: Progressing. As readers of the series will know, there are a lot of plot lines interweaving, and various and sundry characters running hither, thither, and yither by Book V, so pulling everything together against the back-drop a multi-theatre intercontinental war takes a bit of doing. My goal is still to have everything good-to-go relatively early in this year of 2013, sooner rather than later. I am trying to be quick, without hurrying.

Now, the fact that some characters are returning to the story after an absence of a book or longer reminded me of something else I may have failed to mention here at the sablecity before. While I have previously “pimped” the short story collections put out by my fellow authors of The Eclective, I am not sure I have said that in some of them, my stories have involved the larger world or some supporting characters from the Norothian Cycle.

For example, in last year’s Halloween Collection - which is available FREE from all ebook retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords - my story called “The Village of Those Who Touch the Dead” is something of an origin piece regarding Yu Pao Long; the friendly neighborhood yakuza who travels with John and Rhinanne Deskata throughout book three, The Wind From Miilark. The story can also be read free on Wattpad.

If you haven’t read the story and would like a little something to tide you over until Book V is out, please do feel free to check it out on any convenient venue. And if you haven’t read anything from my fellow Eclectivites before, I reckon the stories in any of the collections may serve as an introduction to something else you might like, as we cover a variety of genres and styles (and thus the name). In any case, Welcome to the New Year, and I look forward to looking forward with you all.

- Ed

Ed’s Casual Friday: Signing Off

Today on Ed’s Casual Friday over at Indies Unlimited, I ride off into the sunset.

Thanks much to the IU admins, staff, and readers for a great year.