Lou Anders's Blog, page 30

Death's Heretic

Death's Heretic is my second Pathfinder Tales novel, after Elaine Cunningham and Dave Gross' Winter Witch. The Pathfinder Tales novels are set in the world of Paizo Publishing's Pathfinder Role Playing Game, though knowledge of the game isn't necessary to appreciate either work. In fact, Death's Heretic was chosen as the number three fantasy novel of the year in the Barnes & Noble Book Club's 2011 Best Fantasy Releases (a fact which more than legitimizes the Pathfinder Tales fiction editor, James L. Sutter, in publishing himself in his own line).

Death's Heretic stars Salim Ghadafar, a man from a country of militant atheists, who now finds himself bound in the service of Pharasma, the goddess of death (as well as birth and prophesy, but it's her aspect as goddess of death with which the novel is chiefly concerned). Salim is sent to the nation of Thuvia, where a recently-murdered powerful merchant's soul has gone missing. The local church of Pharasma obviously has an interest in seeing the matter dealt with, as does Neila Anvanory, daughter of the murdered and missing merchant. The novel reads like (and actually is) a classic noir transposed to a fantasy setting, though not in the Jim Butcher sense--no fedoras or trenchcoats, though there is a damsel in distress and a suitably compromised investigator. The plot points don't stray far from the archetype -- eliminate the obvious suspects, identify the guilty party, tables turned while trying to apprehend them -- but it's the richness of the language, the breadth of the world-building, and the depth of Salim Ghadafar himself, hung upon this rather straightforward scaffold, that make the novel exceptional. Without spoiling anything major, the excursions to multiple planes of existence really take the novel into exciting and most unexpected territory, even as everything ties together nicely in the end.

There is a little bit of "male gaze" in the description of women, which I could do without but probably won't throw off fans of either noir mysteries or old school sword & sorcery, and Sutter's language, which for the most part is one of his core strengths, does go a little overblown in a few places, but these are quibbles in a unique, fascinating, engaging, and interesting fantasy work that I have no trouble recommending highly. If every Pathfinder Tales novel is as good as the two I've read so far, then this line is certainly a place for vanguard swords and sorcery fiction. Clearly, anyone expecting merely serviceable, by-the-numbers tie-in fiction is in for a very pleasant surprise.

5 Questions to a Great Story

As part of Wake County Public Libraries' Write On @ Your Library series, Vampire Empire authors Clay and Susan Griffith discuss five questions to create a great story.

The Making of The Creative Fire

Over at the collective artists blog, Muddy Colors, John Picacio talks about his inspiration for creating the cover for Brenda Cooper's The Creative Fire (Book One of Ruby's Song). He shows some classic paintings that inspired his piece, as well as rare glimpses into his pencils and early process pieces.

From John's piece:

"All of us are living in a fragile time for our fundamental rights, at least here in America. It seems our news and social feeds are filled with daily attacks on womens' rights. Revolutionary posters have always been rallying cries, and Lou and I felt like we might have a chance to evoke those here, as well as serve the novel's intentions. When I thought about who Ruby was, I thought of the 1940's image of Rosie the Riveter, as imagined by J. Howard Miller and Norman Rockwell (with genius inspiration from Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel). I thought of the grace of Sandro Botticelli's The Birth of Venus, along with Russian revolution posters, and Howard Chandler Christy's 'Fight or Buy Bonds' painting."

Speculate hosts Pyr Roundtable Podcast

Today, episode 61 of Speculate: The Podcast for Writers, Readers and Fans, features a special roundtable podcast with Pyr editorial director Lou Anders, Pyr authors Brenda Cooper ( The Creative Fire ) and E.C. Myers (Fair Coin and Quantum Coin), and freelance copyeditor Gabrielle Harbowy. They say:


"We set a new record for single episode participation in this show with four distinguished guests: Brenda Cooper and E.C. Myers (authors of The Creative Fire and Quantum Coin, respectively), freelance editor Gabrielle Harbowy, and Pyr Books‘ editorial and art director Lou Anders speak for an hour on what has made Pyr such a successful speculative fiction imprint, where it’s been and where it’s going in the future. This wide ranging discussion also looks at the finer points of how good editors work with good authors, how important a good cover is to an equally good book, and what makes Dragon Con such a scary (and amazing!) event every year. Our shows normally don’t run this long, but we hope you’ll agree the extra discussion we got with all of these fine people was worth the extra time. If you like what you hear, don’t forget to check back next week when we’ll start a new series of shows on the work of Joe Abercrombie. Until then, thanks as always for listening, and please continue to spread the word about the show!"

The Wisdom of Dan Draper

Writers, take note:

The Roundtable Podcast: Workshop Episode 36 (Guest Host: Lou Anders)

The second part of my appearance on the fabulous, vital Roundtable Podcast is up today. This is the part where a volunteer writer brings in a story idea, and the guest host and two regular hosts - Dave Robison and Brion Humphrey - dispense sage wisdom and/or useless advice. Here's what they have to say about the show:

Lou Anders – Editorial Director at Pyr, the science fiction and fantasy imprint of Prometheus Books Publishing – returns to the Big Chair at the Roundtable to help workshop a story idea by podcaster, writer, and former Guest Co-Host Doc Coleman.  Doc’s idea inspires a wealth of Literary Gold as Lou walks us through some exceptional insights into the storytelling craft (he even assigns homework!). (and if you’re STILL hungry for more writerly goodness, then check out  Lou’s Showcase Episode!)

The Roundtable Podcast Interview

I am a guest today on the fabulous Roundtable Podcast. We talk about Hollywood, TV sets, screenwriting, publishing, and the most famous black blade in fantasy fiction.

I'll be returning to the podcast on November 6th, for their Workshop Episode, where we live-improve a writer's pitch (or perhaps just muck it up horrendously). 

The Round Table Podcast Interview

I am a guest today on the fabulous Round Table Podcast. We talk about Hollywood, TV sets, screenwriting, publishing, and the most famous black blade in fantasy fiction.

I'll be returning to the podcast on November 6th, for their Workshop Episode, where we live-improve a writer's pitch (or perhaps just muck it up horrendously). 

Photo to Concept Art in 15 minutes (speed x3)

Jonas De Ro recorded this video (speed up x3) to show how he went from a photo to a finished piece of concept art in 15 minutes. It's pretty inspiring to see:

The 2013 John Picacio Calendar

 Hugo Award-winning and Chesley Award-winning artist John Picacio has just announced a Kickstarter project for a 2013 calendar featuring twelve of his fantastic illustrations. This is the first project from his new company, Lone Boy, and a very exciting one. The full-color 12” x 12” 2013 wall calendar collects twelve of John's personal favorite book cover artworks from his career to date. The calendar’s cover will be printed on 12 pt. premium paper stock, with a satin aqueous-coated finish, and the interior pages will be printed on 100# text. The interior image area will be a larger-than-normal 12” x 16”. Depending on your pledge, you could get your own copy of the calendar, signed archival prints, process drawings, your name printed on a full run of the calendars, and/or the opportunity to model for an upcoming published science fiction/fantasy artwork by the artist.

Here is John's pitch for the project:



And here is the calendar's artwork by month:
JANUARY: Fast Forward 2 edited by Lou Anders (Pyr)FEBRUARY: Muse Of Fire by Dan Simmons (Subterranean)MARCH: Elric: Sword And Roses by Michael Moorcock (Random House/Del Rey)APRIL: Age Of Misrule: World’s End by Mark Chadbourn (Pyr)MAY: Hyperion by Dan Simmons (Subterranean)JUNE: A Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (HarperCollins/Eos)JULY: The Creative Fire by Brenda Cooper (Pyr)AUGUST: Gateway by Frederick Pohl (Random House/Del Rey)SEPTEMBER: The 13th Reality: The Journal Of Curious Letters by James Dashner (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin)OCTOBER: Memoranda by Jeffrey Ford (Golden Gryphon Press)NOVEMBER: Drood by Dan Simmons (Subterranean Press)DECEMBER: Away From Here (Asimov’s Science Fiction, September 2009)What are you waiting for? Pledge!