Lou Anders's Blog, page 23
August 18, 2014
SF Signal Interview
This morning, I am interviewed by the wonderful Kristin Centorcelli for SF Signal. We talk about RPGs, Norway, children's literature, and more. And through the generosity of Random House Children's Books, there's a contest to win 1 of 5 copies of
Frostborn
as well.Read the enormously titled, "A Chat with Lou Anders about World Building, Influences and What Makes FROSTBORN so Special (PLUS: Giveaway!)"
August 15, 2014
The Frostborn Tour
An update of all the tour dates:Saturday August 09, 2014 4:00 PM
The Official Launch: Barnes and Noble Reading/Signing
Barnes and Noble @ The Summit Birmingham
Summit Shopping Center, 201 Summit Boulevard Suite 100, Birmingham, AL 35243
205-298-0665
Thursday August 29 - Monday September 1, 2014
DragonCon
Atlanta, Georgia
Panel Appearances and Signing at The Missing Volume
Exact date and time of signing TBD
Wednesday September 03, 2014 5:30 PM
Barnes and Noble Reading/Signing
Crossroads Commons
2999 Pearl Street, Boulder, CO 80301
303-444-0349
Thursday September 4th, 2014 (time to come)
Old Firehouse Books
232 Walnut St.
Fort Collins, CO 80524
970-484-7898
*school visits and evening signing
Friday September 5th
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClinktock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205
*school visits only
Saturday September 6th (time to come)
Changing Hands Bookstore
6428 S. McClinktock Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85283
480-730-0205*daytime event with the Changing Hands Kids Book Club (and general public)
Wednesday Sept. 10th, 4:00 PM
Page & Palette32 S. Section St.
Fairhope, AL 36532
251-928-5295
*school visits and in-store signing
Thursday Sept. 11th, 6:00 PM
Little Professor Book Center
2717 18th St. S.
Homewood, AL 35209
205-870-7461
*school visit, local library visit and in-store signing at 6PM
Tuesday, September 16, 2014, 6:30 PM-8PM
Young Authors Program
Vickery Creek Middle School
6240 Post Road
Cumming, GA 30040
Event and location details forthcoming. Time subject to change.
Open to any student in Forsyth County and their families.
Thursday, September 18, 2014 7:00 PM
Books-a-Million
757 Brookwood Village, Birmingham, AL 35209
Phone:(205) 870-0213
Tuesday, September 23, 2014 4:00 PM
Avid Bookshop
493 Prince AveAthens, GA 30601
Phone:(706) 352-2060*school visit and in-store signing
Saturday, September 27, 2014
Tweens Read Book Festival
South Houston High School
3820 Shaver St, South Houston, TX 77587
713-740-0350
Saturday, October 12, 2014
wik'14: Writing & Illustrating for Kids*
Spain Park High School (Birmingham)
4700 Jaguar Drive
Hoover, AL 35242
* Not a Frostborn-specific event. I am teaching a two part lecture "ScripTips: Hollywood Screenwriting Techniques from 10am-11:45am, but I will happily sign books.
Friday-Sunday, November 14-16, 2014
Windycon 41*
Westin Lombard Yorktown Center
70 Yorktown Shopping Center, Lombard, IL 60148
630-719-8000
*Not a Frostborn-specific event. I'm Editor Guest of Honor, but will happily sign books.
Additional dates in other cities are being added. I'll update this list as they are confirmed.
A Life Worth Telling
Earlier this week, I was honored to be a guest on "A Life Worth Telling", a writing-centric show on UAB's Blaze Radio, hosted by Mary Doss. We talked for an hour about Frostborn (Thrones and Bones), covering everything from the three decade journey to get to the point of having a book published to my research trip to Norway while working on revisions. The interview can be downloaded in mp3 format here for those interested.
August 14, 2014
Latest Frostborn Roundup
This morning, the wonderful Jay Requard hosts a Q&A with Yours Truly on his blog, where we discuss Frostborn,dragons, RPG games, and Norway.
Sit.Write.Bleed
Meanwhile, yet another bookstore has chosen Frostborn as a Staff Pick. Sue Mason at the Waucoma Bookstore of Hood River, Oregan recommends the novel and says:
dragons, RPG games, and Norway.
Sit.Write.BleedMeanwhile, yet another bookstore has chosen Frostborn as a Staff Pick. Sue Mason at the Waucoma Bookstore of Hood River, Oregan recommends the novel and says:
"This is being touted as being in the same league with John Flanagan and Rick Riordan. It does have the feeling of a Flanagan story. Frostborn is a great adventure of a young boy and a girl who is half human/half giant.... The boys and girls will love this. Our giantess, Thianna, is a very brave adventurer and saves Karn mostly from himself. This will be a series so it will be fun to see where Thianna ends up next."Reading Rumpus Book Reviews, run by librarian Barb Middleton at the Taipei American School in Taiwan, has an incredible review this morning. WARNING: The review is very, very SPOILER heavy, but really says some wonderful things, particularly about Frostborn's depiction of being biracial and a minority. Such as:
"The action-packed, well-plotted story has plenty of humor and a female character that defies stereotypes. A biracial girl named, Thianna, searching for her identity along with the message to girls to embrace yourself no matter what your size makes this story rise above your average fare."
And:
"Thianna's biracial background captures what it is like to be a minority."
And concludes:
"This will appeal to fans of Percy Jackson, The Lord of the Rings series, and The Inheritance Cycle. Don't miss it."
August 12, 2014
Some more news roundup
Frostborn is a week old today. And the good things just keep happening.
Powells.com, Portland's giant independent bookstore chain, has just selected Frostborn as one of their Staff Picks! Richard C. of Powells.com writes, "Drawing on Norse legends is the first of a series involving Karn, a farm boy who would rather play board games, and Thianna, a half-frost giantess. They join together to battle trolls, walking dead, and a fire-breathing dragon. This is a wonderful summer read filled with humor and adventure."
Storytime Hooligans called Frostborn "A great addition to public and upper elementary/middle school libraries" and said that, "When a writer pack a fantasy novel with this many mythological elements, the resulting book can feel like a checklist instead of a story. Anders, however, knows how to create a believable backstory and personality for each species and individual, resulting in an exciting pseudo-Norse world in which our heroes may romp."
And Black Gate is kindly hosting a guest blog from me where I discuss my fantasy-upbringing in "Why I Write What I Write How I Write It."
Powells.com, Portland's giant independent bookstore chain, has just selected Frostborn as one of their Staff Picks! Richard C. of Powells.com writes, "Drawing on Norse legends is the first of a series involving Karn, a farm boy who would rather play board games, and Thianna, a half-frost giantess. They join together to battle trolls, walking dead, and a fire-breathing dragon. This is a wonderful summer read filled with humor and adventure."
Storytime Hooligans called Frostborn "A great addition to public and upper elementary/middle school libraries" and said that, "When a writer pack a fantasy novel with this many mythological elements, the resulting book can feel like a checklist instead of a story. Anders, however, knows how to create a believable backstory and personality for each species and individual, resulting in an exciting pseudo-Norse world in which our heroes may romp."
And Black Gate is kindly hosting a guest blog from me where I discuss my fantasy-upbringing in "Why I Write What I Write How I Write It."
August 11, 2014
The Frostborn Launch Event
This past Saturday, we launched
Frostborn
in style at the Barnes and Noble Booksellers at the
Summit Shopping Center in Birmingham, Alabama. I'm deeply grateful to Community Relations Manager Pam Tindal and to the entire B&N staff, and to all the people who came out and supported the launch. As I said at the event, last week marked the culmination of a journey that began decades ago, and apart from my marriage and the birth of my children, feels like one of the crowning moments of my life thus far.
For over a decade now, I've been speaking 6 to 10 times a year to audiences all over America (and sometimes overseas), telling them how amazing other people's books are. This is the first time I've ever really done it for myself. T'aint easy! I'm deeply grateful to everyone who came and helped break me in to this new phase of my professional life.
It was an amazing launch for the Thrones and Bones series. So many friends, acquaintances, and new faces too. It was an amazing time. I signed books for over an hour!
And everyone who bought a book got it not only signed but stamped in Norse runes, and went home with all four of the custom trading cards in "series one" of the Thrones and Bones collectable card set. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did.
So, how did we do?
Before:
After:
I would call that a success!
Summit Shopping Center in Birmingham, Alabama. I'm deeply grateful to Community Relations Manager Pam Tindal and to the entire B&N staff, and to all the people who came out and supported the launch. As I said at the event, last week marked the culmination of a journey that began decades ago, and apart from my marriage and the birth of my children, feels like one of the crowning moments of my life thus far.
For over a decade now, I've been speaking 6 to 10 times a year to audiences all over America (and sometimes overseas), telling them how amazing other people's books are. This is the first time I've ever really done it for myself. T'aint easy! I'm deeply grateful to everyone who came and helped break me in to this new phase of my professional life.It was an amazing launch for the Thrones and Bones series. So many friends, acquaintances, and new faces too. It was an amazing time. I signed books for over an hour!
And everyone who bought a book got it not only signed but stamped in Norse runes, and went home with all four of the custom trading cards in "series one" of the Thrones and Bones collectable card set. I hope everyone had as good a time as I did.So, how did we do?
Before:
After:
I would call that a success!
August 6, 2014
Frostborn, Day Two
So, one day past
Frostborn's
debut, and the interweebs are booming.
Publishers Weekly, who also gave Frostborn a Starred Review, selected it for one of only eleven PW Picks: Books of the Week, August 4, 2014. They write, "Though a lot of elements are in play, Anders ties the novel’s threads together in a neatly satisfying way, crafting a powerful, fast-paced tale."
io9 selected Frostborn for their list "All the Amazing Must-Read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Books for August."
I answer questions like what is my Patronus and what my favorite sandwich is on Tor.com's The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe, go into my story's origins in "On the Conception of a World and Birth of a Giant" on Suvudu, and also on Suvudu, discuss trends in "The Truth about Trends."
I am interviewed by Dave Gross for his Creative Colleagues series, and also at My Bookish Ways.
And there's a contest running on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.
The wonderful John Freeman reviewed Frostborn for SciFi Pulse , calling it "a terrific debut novel in what I’m sure is going to be a great trilogy, crammed with action and adventure, believable characters you can genuinely care about and some wonderfully funny moments as Karn and Thianna battle all manner of foes, including the undead and a really petulant dragon," and adding, "I’m looking forward to the TV series/ films, the game, the figurines… because I can see them coming!"
Fantasy Literature calls Frostborn, "a sweet middle grade story" and says, "Middle Grade readers are sure to love Frostborn and, as an adult, I liked it, too. It’s an exciting fantasy adventure and I’m looking forward to the next THRONES & BONES novel. I listened to Listening Library’s audio version which is 8½ hours long and narrated by Fabio Tassone, a European actor. He gave a great performance. I’ll definitely choose this format for the sequel."
The Librarian of Snark was very unsnarky when they wrote, "I will definitely be recommending this to my fantasy-loving tweens and I think it will easily find its audience."
Mom Read It says, "I thoroughly enjoyed this book; fans of mythology-based fantasy will, too. Anders is a Hugo Award-winning editor; this is his first book, and kicks off a promising fantasy series that will appeal to boys and girls alike. I love that Karn is a 'gamer' – and so are other characters in the book, which will appeal to gamer boys and girls out there, who try to explain to their disapproving parents that games help sharpen their mental acuity. The characters have rich backgrounds, with the promise of more to be revealed in future books, and Anders’ description of various terrain is so vivid, I could feel the chill of the frozen land of the frost giants. If you’ve got middle graders looking for a fantasy series along the lines of Kelley Armstrong’s Blackwell Pages, this is a great place to steer them. The book hits stores today – go get your copy!"
debut, and the interweebs are booming.
Publishers Weekly, who also gave Frostborn a Starred Review, selected it for one of only eleven PW Picks: Books of the Week, August 4, 2014. They write, "Though a lot of elements are in play, Anders ties the novel’s threads together in a neatly satisfying way, crafting a powerful, fast-paced tale."
io9 selected Frostborn for their list "All the Amazing Must-Read Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Books for August."
I answer questions like what is my Patronus and what my favorite sandwich is on Tor.com's The Pop Quiz at the End of the Universe, go into my story's origins in "On the Conception of a World and Birth of a Giant" on Suvudu, and also on Suvudu, discuss trends in "The Truth about Trends."
I am interviewed by Dave Gross for his Creative Colleagues series, and also at My Bookish Ways.
And there's a contest running on Pat's Fantasy Hotlist.
The wonderful John Freeman reviewed Frostborn for SciFi Pulse , calling it "a terrific debut novel in what I’m sure is going to be a great trilogy, crammed with action and adventure, believable characters you can genuinely care about and some wonderfully funny moments as Karn and Thianna battle all manner of foes, including the undead and a really petulant dragon," and adding, "I’m looking forward to the TV series/ films, the game, the figurines… because I can see them coming!"
Fantasy Literature calls Frostborn, "a sweet middle grade story" and says, "Middle Grade readers are sure to love Frostborn and, as an adult, I liked it, too. It’s an exciting fantasy adventure and I’m looking forward to the next THRONES & BONES novel. I listened to Listening Library’s audio version which is 8½ hours long and narrated by Fabio Tassone, a European actor. He gave a great performance. I’ll definitely choose this format for the sequel."
The Librarian of Snark was very unsnarky when they wrote, "I will definitely be recommending this to my fantasy-loving tweens and I think it will easily find its audience."
Mom Read It says, "I thoroughly enjoyed this book; fans of mythology-based fantasy will, too. Anders is a Hugo Award-winning editor; this is his first book, and kicks off a promising fantasy series that will appeal to boys and girls alike. I love that Karn is a 'gamer' – and so are other characters in the book, which will appeal to gamer boys and girls out there, who try to explain to their disapproving parents that games help sharpen their mental acuity. The characters have rich backgrounds, with the promise of more to be revealed in future books, and Anders’ description of various terrain is so vivid, I could feel the chill of the frozen land of the frost giants. If you’ve got middle graders looking for a fantasy series along the lines of Kelley Armstrong’s Blackwell Pages, this is a great place to steer them. The book hits stores today – go get your copy!"
August 5, 2014
Frostborn has arrived!
Today, I am a published author.
This has been a very long journey across many years. But today, Random House Children's Books, through their new imprint, Crown Books for Young Readers, has released Frostborn,my debut novel, and the first book in the Thrones and Bones series. Frostborn is a middle grade novel for boys and girls ages 8-12, inspired by Norse mythology and my love of fantasy worlds. There is an amazing website that Random House has built at www.thronesandbones.com as well as the series Facebook page. You can also follow Thrones and Bones news on Twitter @ThronesandBones.
The book has been garnering multiple positive reviews, including a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly, and it currently has a rating of 100% on Goodreads.
For those in and around the Birmingham, Alabama area, they'll be an official reading/signing and launch of the Frostborn tour at the Barnes and Noble at the Summit Shopping Center on Saturday, August 9th, at 4 pm. You can find out about this event here and you can order Frostborn from B&N here.
This has been a very long journey across many years. But today, Random House Children's Books, through their new imprint, Crown Books for Young Readers, has released Frostborn,
my debut novel, and the first book in the Thrones and Bones series. Frostborn is a middle grade novel for boys and girls ages 8-12, inspired by Norse mythology and my love of fantasy worlds. There is an amazing website that Random House has built at www.thronesandbones.com as well as the series Facebook page. You can also follow Thrones and Bones news on Twitter @ThronesandBones.The book has been garnering multiple positive reviews, including a Starred Review from Publishers Weekly, and it currently has a rating of 100% on Goodreads.
For those in and around the Birmingham, Alabama area, they'll be an official reading/signing and launch of the Frostborn tour at the Barnes and Noble at the Summit Shopping Center on Saturday, August 9th, at 4 pm. You can find out about this event here and you can order Frostborn from B&N here.
August 4, 2014
Knattleiker Training Game
Today the Knattleiker Training Game just debuted on the Thrones and Bones website. Try you hand on computer or mobile and see how you rank at this ancient Norrøngard sport!
Cycling for Cancer
Starting this Saturday, science fiction and fantasy author Joel Shepherd is cycling from Bangor,
Maine, to Washington, DC, a journey of about 800 miles, while raising money for the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). You can find out about the ride here, and you can follow Joel's progress on Facebook and on Twitter @ShepJoel. More importantly, you can sponsor Joel's ride by donating to the Cancer Research Institute here.
Maine, to Washington, DC, a journey of about 800 miles, while raising money for the Cancer Research Institute (CRI). You can find out about the ride here, and you can follow Joel's progress on Facebook and on Twitter @ShepJoel. More importantly, you can sponsor Joel's ride by donating to the Cancer Research Institute here.
