E.C. Blake's Blog, page 7
February 13, 2015
Masks shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards
Each year the Saskatchewan Book Awards honour the best books by Saskatchewan authors, and I’m pleased to announce that the 2015 shortlisted books include Masks, in two categories: Young Adult Literature (self-explanatory) and Regina Book Award (for the best book by a Regina author).
The books are judged by out-of-province judges, and the stated criteria is simply “the quality of the writing.”
I’ve been shortlisted for Saskatchewan Book Awards in the past but have only won once, for my YA fantasy Spirit Singer (written under my other name, Edward Willett), back in 2002. I was also nominated for Best First Book in 1997 for my first novel, Soulworm; for Children’s Literature a couple of years later fro my YA fantasy The Dark Unicorn, and for the Regina Book Award a couple of years ago for my adult fantasy novel Magebane (written as Lee Arthur Chane).
Best thing about winning a Saskatchewan Book Award? A $2,000 cash prize!
In the Young Adult Literature category, the other nominees are:
Brenda Baker, Camp Outlook (Second Story Press)
Robert Currie, Living with the Hawk (Thistledown Press)
Alice Kuipers, The Death of Us (HarperCollins)
For the Regina Book Award, the other nominees are:
Tracy Hamon, Red Curls (Thistledown Press)
Trevor Herriot, The Road is How: A Prairie Pilgrimage through Nature, Desire, and Soul (HarperCollins)
Margaret Hryniuk and Frank Korvemaker, Legacy of Worship: Sacred Places in Rural Saskatchewan (Coteau Books)
Zarqa Nawaz, Laughing All the Way to the Mosque (HarperCollins)
The awards will be announced at a gala on April 25.
November 17, 2014
Book 3 of my OTHER YA fantasy series gets its Amazon page
The Lake in the Clouds, Book 3 in The Shards of Excalibur series from Coteau Books, written as Edward Willett, now has its Amazon page. Here’s the description:
In the third instalment of this modern take on Arthurian legends, Ariane – descendant of none other than the Lady of the Lake herself – is on the run and on her own. Using her powers to keep avoiding Rex Major’s agents makes her too weak to detect the next Shard of the broken sword she must reunite. And her erstwhile best friend and sidekick Wally has switched allegiance and is living a pampered life at Rex Major’s right hand.
Perhaps worst of all, the powerful Rex (aka Merlin) has the biggest network in the world, and has used it to find Ariane’s Aunt Phyllis – her mother’s sister, and the person she’s closest to.
With her aunt under threat, Ariane has no choice but to walk straight into Rex Major’s trap. No longer using her powers to stay ahead of his spies, she can sense the third Shard. Now all she has to do is win back Wally’s friendship, protect her aunt’s life, figure out Major’s next move – oh, and get to New Zealand and safely back with the Shard whose song is beginning to call her…
That’s the Amazon.ca version. The Amazon.com version is a little shorter for some reason.
Go forth and pre-order!
Meanwhile, I’ll just double down on finishing writing the thing, since it’s going to be out in May. I’ll be turning in the manuscript this week…
November 9, 2014
The Qwillery calls Shadows “an excellent sequel”
Reviewer Brannigan at The Qwillery (who also liked Masks) praises Shadows:
“E.C. Blake provides an excellent sequel in Shadows . ..Blake does a great job of building on the foundations he laid in the first book when it comes to both the magical system and world building…Anyone who liked Masks needs to read this book. Fans of realistic heroines will love Mara.”
October 23, 2014
Here’s the cover art for Faces!
Just got this from DAW Books today: it’s the cover art for Faces, Book 3 in my Masks of Aygrima trilogy. It builds on the previous two covers and reveals, appropriately enough, Mara’s face for the first time. I like it a lot! How about you?
Like the first two covers, this one is by Paul Young.
The paperback of Masks will be out November 4, the paperback of Shadows will be released on May 5, and then Faces will be out in August of next year in hardcover.
October 19, 2014
Great video about the best genre literary conference anywhere: When Words Collide
Here’s a great video about the best genre literary convention in North America and probably the world: Calgary’s When Words Collide. If you’re interested in writing, you owe it to yourself to get to When Words Collide.
My “other” name (Edward Willett) gets mentioned about halfway through this video as an example of the kinds of deals that get made at the convention: it was there last year that Hayden Trenholm of Bundoran Press asked me if I’d write a sequel to Right to Know. That sequel, Falcon’s Egg, will be out next year.
you
October 10, 2014
Faces, Book 3 in The Masks of Aygrima, submitted to DAW
Early this morning I sent off Faces, Book 3 in The Masks of Aygrima, to Sheila Gilbert, my editor (and co-publisher with Betsy Wollheim) at DAW Books. I’m quite pleased with it–I hope she is, too!
We’ll be discussing it at World Fantasy Convention in Washington, D.C., early in November. After which I’ll be plunging back into it for editorial revisions, all heading toward next August’s release.
I’ve seen the cover art and it’s grand! As soon as I can I’ll share it…
September 10, 2014
Night Owl Reviews calls Shadows “a world filled with magic and special people”
Four stars for Shadows from Pamela Robinson at Night Owl Reviews, who, interestingly, had not read Masks–though she intends to go back and do so now!
In Shadows, by E.C. Blake, I found a world filled with magic and special people. Mara Holdfast is an intriguing main character. The author weaves a journey for her that many will connect with. It was fun to go through every emotion with her along the way. The classic good versus evil takes a turn in this novel that adds the perfect twist.
Cover art reveal! The Lake in the Clouds, Book 3 of The Shards of Excalibur
Just got the cover art for The Lake in the Clouds, Book 3 of The Shards of Excalibur, my other YA fantasy series, written as Edward Willett. Book 1, Song of the Sword, came out in the spring, and Book 2, Twist of the Blade, was just released. The series is being published by Coteau Books. If you like Masks and Shadows, you might very well like this series, too!
Pretty cover, isn’t it?
August 26, 2014
I’ll be at Word on the Street Saskatoon!
I’m really looking forward to being a featured author (wearing my secret identity of Edward Willett) at Word on the Street in Saskatoon on September 21. I’ll be part of a panel (along with Arthur Slade, Sean Cummings, and Jefferson Smith) called Other Worlds on the Prairies, focusing on writing science fiction and fantasy, which will be (appropriately enough) in the “Brave New World” tent at 2:30. We’ll be talking and taking questions for an hour, then we’ll be signing books.
The image is the poster WOTS is putting up in high schools. Cool, huh?
Hope to see you there!
Masks “a great-page turner and a fantastic start to an exciting new series”
T.E.J. Johnson gives a rousing review to Masks:
“The novel is fast paced and Mara gets herself in and out of a million-tangles as she falls from a high-born Aygriman citizen, to concentration-camp prisoner to unmasked rebel…I would thoroughly recommend this novel; it is a great page-turner and a fantastic start to an exciting new series.”
