L.R. Lam's Blog, page 10

Paris & PAF

From May 12th until the 23rd, I went to France. Most of it was spent at a writing retreat at the Performing Arts Forum, a possibly haunted former convent and convent school. It was a marvelous place to write. I went with a group of fifteen authors, organised by author (and new friend) Amy Plum. The building was bought in ruins and is being slowly renovated, meaning there are all sorts of interesting nooks and crannies to explore. Other creatives are always there, either temporarily or permanent. I met a few dancers, a flautist, a performance DJ, an academic, a few philosophers, and more. While there, I wrote 8k of a novella and edited 5k of the book I’m co-writing with Elizabeth May. On either end of the retreat, I spent some time in Paris. I last went when I was fifteen–my first international trip. I’d called my now-husband from every pay phone, mere months away from finally telling him I loved him. There’s a special place in my heart for Paris.

Here are some of my favourite pictures of my stay there. I tried to limit it to my ten snaps feature, but I had too many favourites. As ever, more are on instagram.

Shattered Minds is an Amazon Best SFF Book of the Month!

Opened up Twitter after a meeting at work today to see that Shattered Minds is an Amazon SFF Best Book of the Month! Absolutely floored by this. One of the hardest parts of launching any book is just having people find out about it, so to be highlighted by Amazon is such a good visibility bump that I’m well chuffed.

Lots of other excellent books picked this month too. I read The Space Between the Stars and recommend you pick it up. This is probably the only time I’ll be on a list with JRR Tolkein.

It’s also over on a list on The Verge today, too.

It’s now officially out THIS MONTH! Ah! Will this ever not be terrifying? Probably not.

False Hearts out in the US in Paperback; Masquerade officially out in the US

Two days, two paperback releases on two books! The first half of 2017 is weird (in a good way).

Yesterday was the US release of False Hearts! If hardbacks aren’t your thing or the price point was too high, it’s now out and about for your pleasure. Today is also the official US release date of Masquerade being available, though I’m pretty sure anyone who ordered it via Amazon etc got it early.

False Hearts: Orphan Black meets Inception. Formerly conjoined twins, cults, secret identities, the mob, a cult, brain hacking, some shoot outs, touch of romance.

Purchase links:  Forbidden Planet / Indiebound / Book Depository / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Audible / Barnes & Noble / Powells / Booksamillion / Waterstones / Fishpond / Kobo / iBooks / Hive / Indigo

Masquerade: third book in the Micah Grey trilogy. Intersex, genderfluid, bisexual protagonist. Court magic. Intrigue. Rising civil war. Romance. Magic. Possible end of the world.

Purchase links: Forbidden Planet / Indiebound / Book Depository / Amazon UK / Amazon US / Barnes & Noble / Powells / Booksamillion / Waterstones / Fishpond / Kobo / iBooks / Hive / Indigo

As ever, reviews on retailers are super appreciated. If you leave one, you can claim a signed and stamped bookplate for your copy. Details here. If reviewing is not your thing, then telling a friend or two about the book is also so helpful. Thanks!

Shattered Minds Pre-Order Incentive, Bookplates Offer & Pre-Release Anxiety

UK cover

US cover

Hello! It’s 17 days until Shattered Minds comes out in the UK and 22 days until it’s out in the US.

First, I’ll have some in-person events for Shattered Minds’ release:

June 15th: Forbidden Planet, Newcastle, 6 pm. More details here.

June 20th: Waterstones Aberdeen, time TBC.

June 22nd: Waterstones Glasgow Argyle St, 6.30 pm. More details here.

There might be more coming! Probably something in Edinburgh, and I’ll have at least one event in San Francisco in August, too.

Like with Masquerade, I’m offering a pre-order incentive. If you buy Shattered Minds between now and June 25th, you will receive free e-book copies of two tie-in short stories: Through the Eyes of a Bluebird and Creatures of Celebrity.

Cover design: Craig Lam (thanks, husband!)

This was first featured on tor.com for three months. If you missed it, you can catch up. Cover copy:

In the world of Laura Lam’s False Hearts, this mysterious little commune outside San Francisco exists in stark contrast to the biotech “perfection” of the not-too-distant future. It rejects outsiders and modernity both with irritating success, like a splinter beneath the skin, or a defiant middle finger. Those of the Hearth offer only the occasional glimpse of life within. But take care that you take nothing for granted during your visit. What you’re about to see is only the tip of a very, very deep iceberg.

This story is designed to give you a taste of Mana-ma’s Hearth, the cult featured in False Hearts. It contains no spoilers.

Craig also designed this cover. This is a tie-in story to Shattered Minds, and expands on the backstory of a minor character in the book, Isaac Clavell. It contains no spoilers for either book.

In the world of Laura Lam’s Shattered Minds, fame is a dream for many in the bright lights of futuristic Hollywood. The higher the social rank, the better your life. Isaac Clavell should have one of the best lives of them all–social rank in the top ten, a mansion floating above the sprawl of Los Angeles below. Yet the constant pretending has left Clavell hollow. It’s only when a fan becomes too obsessive, Clavell finds out just how much he has to lose. 

HOW TO ENTER:

Buy the book through a retailer of your choice. Some links on the main Shattered Minds page. Ebook or hardcover format is fine. Note that Shattered Minds is a standalone in the same world as False Hearts. You’ll get some minor spoilers of FH if you read SM first and you might miss some cameos, but they can be read in any order.
Email receipt to lauralamauthor [at] gmail [dot] com. Taking a picture of a paper receipt works, or including the email confirmation.
Tell me which format you’d prefer to have the story in: pdf, mobi, or epub.
Enjoy!

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE! Bookplate Offer.

I’ve decided to take a page out of my friend Amy Plum’s marketing book. If you leave a review on a retailer, she will send you a bookplate. I thought that was brilliant and decided to do the same.

Craig designed this nice and simple bookplate for me that should match both my SF and fantasy works. I will send this to you with a bookmark if you leave me a review! It’ll be stamped and signed: a double heart for the Pacifica series and a dragonfly for Micah Grey. I’ve just ordered the bookplates so they haven’t arrived yet, but here’s what the stamps and my signature looks like:

HOW TO CLAIM:

Leave me a review on a retailer website, such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Goodreads is excellent too, but it has to be at least 1 retailer as well as that affects algorithms for visibility. 50 is the magic number for Amazon, evidently, but only 1 of my 5  books have that so far, which means it doesn’t show up in as many “if you like this, try these” links that retailers supply. Feel free to leave more than one review at more than one retailer!
Email the link to the review to lauralamauthor [at] gmail [dot] com. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a positive review, but I probably will wince a little if you send me a one star. Note: If you review more than one book, I’ll give you more than one book plate. So if you review all 5 of my books, you can get 5 book plates.
Tell me if you want a double heart or a dragonfly stamp, and the name you want it made out to if you want it personalised.
Tell me the address you want it sent to. You’ll get a bonus bookmark as well.
Stick ’em in your copies of my books! Or wherever.

Both offers are open internationally. The review doesn’t have to be long–just a sentence is fine! And as stated, it doesn’t have to be glowingly positive. Honest thoughts are great. Thanks so much!

And finally, a little on pre-release jitters.

I find the pre-release period nerve-wracking for all sorts of reasons. This is book five, and it’s still about as terrifying as book one. Am I doing enough to help people find out about the book? Am I doing too much self-promo and being annoying? What should I be doing? What works? What doesn’t? Will my readers like this dark serial killer thriller? Will I sell enough to make my publishers happy, or will everyone finally find out I’m really a fraud and an imposter? Will I be finished forever? A lot of this is irrational, but that’s anxiety. The constant hamster wheel spins and spins in my head, and I’m left exhausted.

I let out my anxieties in a Twitter thread earlier, and I felt nervous about airing them. But almost instantly, I had four people reach out with ways to help. A few others chipped in simply saying that they planned to buy the book or pre-ordered right there. Asking for help is a good thing. As ever, there’s only so much I and my publishers can do. It’s you, the readers, who have the real power. So if you can think of a cool way to feature Shattered Minds, or if you could simply help me shout about it and tell others that it’s coming, I’d be so, so grateful.

Over and out!

Shattered Minds Now on US & UK Netgalley

Not long now until Shattered Minds is out in the world! But book bloggers, librarians, booksellers, and teachers can request it up on Netgalley.

US link

UK link

Finished copies have also landed in the UK Tor office and they look beautiful! It’s a very shiny edition. Pan Macmillan do such a good job of packaging and making the finished product look really lush.

If you don’t know much about the book, here’s the UK cover copy:

Ex-neuroscientist Carina struggles with a drug problem, her conscience, and urges to kill. She satisfies her cravings in dreams, fuelled by the addictive drug ‘Zeal’. Now she’s heading for self-destruction – until she has a vision of a dead girl.

Sudice Inc. damaged Carina when she worked on their sinister brainmapping project, causing her compulsions. And this girl was a similar experiment. When Carina realizes the vision was planted by her old colleague Mark, trying to expose the company, she knows he’s probably dead. If she can’t unmask her nemesis, she’ll be next.

To unlock the secrets Mark hid in her mind, she’ll need specialist

hackers. Dax is part of the group and they grow close. But first Carina must destroy her adversary – or it will change us and our society, forever.

 

It’s basically female Dexter with a drug problem meets Minority Report. I’m also going to have a pre-order incentive go live soon, so check back for updates!

Teen Author Smash & Writing Update: March and April

Time for my bimonthly writing update.

But first, a little housekeeping. I’m currently in Paris, staying with the lovely Amy Plum. Tonight is the Teen Author Book Smash at the American Library in Paris, so please do show up if you live in the area. It’s always lovely to meet readers, and you get to see EIGHT wonderful authors at once!

Another update is that I’ve made The Snake Charm permafree up on Kindle so you can try the world of Micah Grey. The Mechanical Minotaur, the last story in the Vestigial Tales series, is also up on Kindle. All 5 tales can be read for free via Kindle Unlimited as well.

So, writing!

March was the release month for Masquerade, so I didn’t get as much writing done as I’d like. Some of the month was re-reading the co-written project I’m doing and planning edits, which means less of a word count. I also had to research and prepare for an audition for a project that sadly didn’t work out, and also travelled up to Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire and to Utrecht for Comic Con. That, combined with the usual teaching load, meant words were low.

Fiction: 7,103

Nonfiction (research, some Napier work, blogging, etc): 8,518

Total: 15,621

April was more productive. I didn’t really have much travel and made some headway on a few projects. Had a few events and the end of term, which slowed things down a bit. This month I worked on a thriller, wrote most of a novella, and a short story.

Fiction: 19,065

Nonfiction: 6,863

Total: 25,928

Another reason fiction writing went up was that I discovered a café near my house that just doesn’t have wifi, and if I sit in the middle of the café, I can’t even get service on my phone (though about half the time I leave the phone at home entirely). It means I get my work done much faster and with less distractions.

The total so far this year is 100,628. Not bad at all. A lot of that is work that needs to be heavily re-edited or is supplementary work (outlines, making timelines, scenes that were removed). But if I can keep up this pace for the rest of the year, I’ll be more than happy. It’s nice to be finishing some projects. The next phase is to start editing what I have into a submittable standard. Onwards!

Books read in April

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) – Steig Larsson

Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch—and there’s always a catch—is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson’s novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don’t want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

2. The Girl From Everywhere (The Girl From Everywhere #1) – Heidi Heilig

Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

3. Assassin’s Fate (Fitz & Fool #3) – Robin Hobb

The final book in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy.

Prince FitzChivalry Farseer’s daughter Bee was violently abducted from Withywoods by Servants of the Four in their search for the Unexpected Son, foretold to wield great power. With Fitz in pursuit, the Servants fled through a Skill-pillar, leaving no trace. It seems certain that they and their young hostage have perished in the Skill-river.

Clerres, where White Prophets were trained by the Servants to set the world on a better path, has been corrupted by greed. Fitz is determined to reach the city and take vengeance on the Four, not only for the loss of Bee but also for their torture of the Fool. Accompanied by FitzVigilant, son of the assassin Chade, Chade’s protégé Spark and the stableboy Perseverance, Bee’s only friend, their journey will take them from the Elderling city of Kelsingra, down the perilous Rain Wild River, and on to the Pirate Isles.

Their mission for revenge will become a voyage of discovery, as well as of reunions, transformations and heartrending shocks. Startling answers to old mysteries are revealed. What became of the liveships Paragon and Vivacia and their crews? What is the origin of the Others and their eerie beach? How are liveships and dragons connected?

But Fitz and his followers are not the only ones with a deadly grudge against the Four. An ancient wrong will bring them unlikely and dangerous allies in their quest. And if the corrupt society of Clerres is to be brought down, Fitz and the Fool will have to make a series of profound and fateful sacrifices.

ASSASSIN’S FATE is a magnificent tour de force and with it Robin Hobb demonstrates yet again that she is the reigning queen of epic fantasy.

4. The Hate U Give – Angie Thomas

Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil’s name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

5. Stories of Your Life and Others – Ted Chiang

Ted Chiang’s first published story, “Tower of Babylon,” won the Nebula Award in 1990. Subsequent stories have won the Asimov’s SF Magazine reader poll, a second Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the Sidewise Award for alternate history. He won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 1992. Story for story, he is the most honored young writer in modern SF.

Now, collected here for the first time are all seven of this extraordinary writer’s stories so far-plus an eighth story written especially for this volume.

What if men built a tower from Earth to Heaven-and broke through to Heaven’s other side? What if we discovered that the fundamentals of mathematics were arbitrary and inconsistent? What if there were a science of naming things that calls life into being from inanimate matter? What if exposure to an alien language forever changed our perception of time? What if all the beliefs of fundamentalist Christianity were literally true, and the sight of sinners being swallowed into fiery pits were a routine event on city streets? These are the kinds of outrageous questions posed by the stories of Ted Chiang. Stories of your life . . . and others.

6. The Luckiest Lady in London (The London Trilogy #1) – Sherry Thomas

Felix Rivendale, the Marquess of Wrenworth, is The Ideal Gentleman, a man all men want to be and all women want to possess. Felix himself almost believes this golden image. But underneath is a damaged soul soothed only by public adulation.

Louisa Cantwell needs to marry well to support her sisters. She does not, however, want Lord Wrenworth—though he seems inexplicably interested in her. She mistrusts his outward perfection and the praise he garners everywhere he goes.But when he is the only man to propose at the end of the London season, she reluctantly accepts.

Louisa does not understand her husband’s mysterious purposes, but she cannot deny the pleasure her body takes in his touch. Nor can she deny the pull this magnetic man exerts upon her. But does she dare to fall in love with a man so full of dark secrets, anyone of which could devastate her, if she were to get any closer?

Total books: 29

Loose reading goals:

Catch up on books I own but haven’t read (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Hate U Give, the Girl from Everywhere)
Read more romance (Luckiest Lady in London)
Re-read some old favourites (Stories of Your Life and Others)
Read more classics (none)
Read more books by my friends and peers (Assassin’s Fate)
Continue to read diverse books/books by marginalised authors (The Girl From Everywhere, The Hate U Give, The Luckiest Lady in London, Stories of Your Life and Others)
Read nonfiction (none)
Read women (The Girl from Everywhere, Assassin’s Fate, The Hate U Give, The Luckiest Lady in London)

Upcoming Events: American Library in Paris, London Comic Con, YALC & More

Photocredit

I’ve some upcoming events!

May 10th – I’m chairing the Grampian Childrens Literature Award, which is being held at the University of Aberdeen.

May 13th – Teen Author Smash at the American Library in Paris. 7:30 pm. More information here. 

Join authors Amy Plum, Pedro de Alcantara, Bree Despain, Sarah Grant, J.R. Johansson, Laura Lam, Katherine Marsh and Tom Pollock for a celebration of Young Adult Literature. This event will celebrate the wide range of writing in young adult literature with both male and female writers across several genres of YA. As our co-organizer Amy Plum says: “the awesomeness will be overwhelming.”

I’m excited for this. A few days later, I’m doing a writer’s retreat and am looking forward to making some concentrated headway on a few projects.

May 27th – London Comic Con. I’m on a Tor Panel, talking about fantastic fiction. More information here. 

Tor Presents – Fantastic Fiction

Join Tor Authors Peter F Hamilton (NIGHT WITHOUT STARS) Laura Lam (FALSE HEARTS) Vic James (GILDED CAGE) Zen Cho (SORCERER TO THE CROWN) and Adrian Tchaikovsky (THE CHILDREN OF TIME series) as they discuss their influences across the genre

Panellists: Peter F Hamilton, Laura Lam, Vic James, Zen Cho, Adrian Tchaikovsky
Moderator TBC
Panel Duration: 1hr
Exact Time: 10:00am – 11:00am
Day: Saturday 27th of May
Lower Platinum Suite
Author signing

There’s also some Shattered Minds events in June, but I’ll post those all together once they’ve been finalised. I’ll be doing events in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Newcastle, at least.

In July, I’ll be at YALC! That was just announced today. Again, more details of panels closer to the time.

August: Worldcon Helsinki! More information closer to the time as well.

So lots of bouncing around the next few months. Hope to see readers at the events!

 

News Roundup: Bisexual Book Award, Waterstones blog, Shattered Minds on Netgalley, and the Mechanical Minotaur

False Hearts has been shortlisted for the Bisexual Book Award! Pantomime won back in 2013 so it’s an honour to be shortlisted again.
I was on the main Waterstones blog, talking about gender and genre.
The first review of Shattered Minds has come through, and it’s a nice one!
There’s a sign up sheet for the US leg of the Shattered Minds blog tour here.
Shattered Minds is up on Netgalley for North Americans! UK one should follow soon.
The Fifth Vestigial Tale is now up on Kindle if you didn’t participate in the Masquerade pre-order incentive. It can be read for free on Kindle Unlimited if you’re a Prime member (and I still get paid for page reads–so even if it’s not your thing, downloading and flipping through would still help me out!). It’s best read after Masquerade as a cap to the series. There’s a few Easter eggs in there.

Cover copy:

Untold centuries ago, the Archipelago was ruled by the Alder—mysterious beings who vanished, leaving behind only scattered artefacts of unknown power, called Vestige. Sometimes, a person will be lucky or unlucky enough to discover that each piece of Vestige has its own tale to tell . . .

The Mechanical Minotaur

Evander’s father locks him in the cellar on his twelfth birthday. Their house in the Emerald Bowl is cold and empty, far from the warm home in Imachara where he lived with his parents back when his mother was alive. Yet down in the dim, dark cellar is a trunk with Evander’s name on it, and within is an automaton that says it can lead the boy back to his mother . . .

Vestigial Tales are stories set in the world of the award-winning Micah Grey series. Step behind the circus ring from Pantomime, the theatre of Shadowplay, and the court magic of Masquerade.

 

And that’s all for now! This will probably be the last Vestigial Tale. I’ve enjoyed writing them, and they do still sell, but not in amounts enough to justify the time away from other potentially paying projects, sadly.

I have a few more events coming up in the next few months, so I’ll do a roundup of those soon as well. Happy May!

False Hearts is Out in Paperback in the UK!

Hooray, False Hearts is now out in paperback this side of the pond. It should be available in all good bookstores and libraries (if they don’t have it, they can order it in!). If you haven’t picked it up yet and it seems like it’s your thing, I’d be really  grateful if you would give it a look and consider getting it for yourself or a friend. If you’ve already read it, authors are always desperate for reviews, so please do feel free to leave a short review, especially on places like Goodreads or Amazon. They make such a big difference.

If you’d like a personalised signed copy, Transreal Fiction in Edinburgh will ship anywhere in the world. Waterstones West End in Edinburgh currently has signed copies. There’s a few chances to win copies too. My UK publisher is doing a competition on Twitter, and there’s a Goodreads giveaway (and there’s a Goodreads giveaway for Shattered Minds too!). I also have a chance for a personalised copy that closes today on Twitter here. All the giveaways!

I have a couple of blog posts that have gone live as well. Tor UK re-posted things I wrote for the initial hardback: How I Write and Before the Book Begins.

Here’s the usual spiel about the book and links to various places to order.

Paperback cover copy:

One night Tila stumbles home, terrified and covered in blood. She’s then arrested for murder, the first by a civilian in decades. The San Francisco police suspect that the drug Verve is involved, and offer her sister Taema a chilling deal to save her sister’s life. Posing as Tila, she must infiltrate the crime syndicate running the drug to help bring it down. However, Taema’s inquiries raise dangerous questions.

The sisters were raised by a cult which banned modern medicine. Yet as conjoined twins, they needed surgery to replace their failing heart, so had to escape. Now Tila discovers disturbing links between the twins’ past and their present. Once unable to keep secrets, the twins now learn the true cost of lies.

Order links:

Goldsboro (signed first edition) / Forbidden Planet (signed first edition) / Indiebound / Book Depository / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Audible / Barnes & Noble / Powells / Booksamillion / Waterstones / Fishpond / Kobo / iBooks / Hive / Indigo

Add on Goodreads!

Thanks so much and thanks for everyone who picked up my thriller. Writing this book was such a joy and I’m still so fond of it. I’ve said it before, but this was my lifeline book. It helped me come back from a low point in my writing career and life, and I threw everything into it. I had no idea if it was commercial or if any publisher would want it. I found a new home at Tor UK and US and my life has changed so much over the last 3 years since I sent the draft to my agent. Go go, Bonkers Book!

Me at the Waterstones West End event on the 18th of April in conversation with Elizabeth May (Photocredit: Waterstones West End).