Frank Tuttle's Blog, page 32
September 22, 2011
The Broken Bell
Relax! I'm not going to talk about the new book All the Paths of Shadow.
Instead, I'm going to talk about the new Markhat book The Broken Bell, which won't even be published until December 27. So fear not, gentle reader -- no sales pitch today.
The good people at Samhain Publishing sent me the final digital version of the book. We're done editing. The cover is in place. This is the first time I've seen the book in the form you'll see, and I have to say it looks amazing.
Especially the cover. I can't post it yet, but when I do, you'll see what I mean. One of the many things Samhain has done right is cover art. Every book has been nothing less that beautiful.
Heck, look for yourself -- here are my Samhain covers:
Am I right? And you bet I've got these framed and hung. Each one of them is a work of art.
Pretty soon, the cover for The Broken Bell will be right beside them. I think Markhat fans are going to love this new one. All the old gang is back, with some fresh new faces and a huge twist at the end.
To whet your appetite, I'm going to post a short excerpt from Broken Bell below. It doesn't contain any spoilers -- it's just a brief sample of Markhat's voice.
FROM THE BROKEN BELL:
There's a trick to hiding young women in fancy hotels. Ifyou ever need to do so, never mind the reason, there's a right way to do it,and a wrong way.
The wrong way seems the best way to honest folk. They thinkthat by slipping furtively into the hotel and speaking in hushed tones to thedesk clerk and paying in cash and calling yourself Mr. Smith you'll simply sinkdown into a blessed state of total obscurity.
That's why honest people are so easy to find.
Taking the sneaky approach just brands you as one of twothings, in the minds of hotel staff. You're either sneaking around on yourspouse or you're hiding from someone. So when inquisitive sorts start askingquestions and perhaps handing out coins to the talkative, the hiding place isrevealed as surely as if a giant hand reached down and ripped off the roof.
That's the wrong way.
The right way?
Tamar rushed into the hotel lobby a dozen steps ahead of me.The pillow she'd placed under her blouse did a credible job of simulating themiddle stage of pregnancy. She let me get in the door and take a single stepbefore she turned on me and let loose a stream of loud, heartfelt invectivethat turned the heads of everyone in the lobby.
Once all eyes were upon us, she took off her wedding ring,which was actually a bauble purchased moments ago from a shady street jewelerfor a couple of coppers, and flung it at my face.
"I told you if your mother didn't leave I would," shescreamed, putting just enough screech into it. "I will not spend another hourunder the same roof as that mean-spirited old warthog!"
"Honey," I said, raising my arms in surrender. "It's justanother week—"
"You said that last week. And the week before."
Right on cue, Flowers rushed in, freshly scrubbed andwearing the first new shirt he'd ever seen, much less worn. I didn't trust hisaccent or his diction, so I'd told him to keep his mouth shut, and he did.
"Come, Reginald," said Tamar to Flowers. "See? He can'tstand your mother either. Now pay the man, and pay him enough to keep me hereuntil you remove that awful woman from my house!"
And with that, she turned and stormed up the stairs, Flowersin tow.
The room was suddenly filled with barely-suppressedsnickering. I made a heavy sigh and approached the desk clerk, a grinninglittle man in his early hundreds, with my hands in my pockets.
"Trouble to home, is that it, sir?" he asked.
"Guess you could say that." I leaned on the counter andlowered my voice to a whisper. The room went as silent as a tomb, as two dozenears strained to hear something that wasn't a bit of their business.
"How much for a room for the wife and son, for, let's say, aweek?"
"Might be cheaper to just rent one permanent-like for yourmother."
Laughter rippled through the lobby. The old man cackled.
"Have a heart. How much? I can't move Mother now. She'staken to her bed. What am I supposed to do?"
He cackled and named a price. It was a quarter again toomuch, but I didn't haggle.
I did tell him my name was Smith, which touched off anotherround of laughter, and that I'd also want to purchase extra meals for the boyand laundry service for the wife. More coins changed hands. My next sigh wasvery real.
But it had worked. Anyone sniffing around for word of a singleyoung woman who kept to herself and never left her rooms would be greeted withshrugs and shakes of the head. Tamar was an angry pregnant wife with a son intow and a milksop for a husband.
And that, my friends, is the right way to hide a woman inplain sight.
-- END EXCERPT
It's a lot of fun, writing as Markhat.
Oh, and remember when I said I wasn't going to plug my new book?
Yeah. I lied. The new book is All the Paths of Shadow, and you can get it through Amazon for your Kindle or through the publisher Cool Well Press for your Nook. It has a great cover too, which is below:
One last thing today -- I'm on Facebook and Twitter, both as Frank Tuttle. Look me up!
Instead, I'm going to talk about the new Markhat book The Broken Bell, which won't even be published until December 27. So fear not, gentle reader -- no sales pitch today.
The good people at Samhain Publishing sent me the final digital version of the book. We're done editing. The cover is in place. This is the first time I've seen the book in the form you'll see, and I have to say it looks amazing.
Especially the cover. I can't post it yet, but when I do, you'll see what I mean. One of the many things Samhain has done right is cover art. Every book has been nothing less that beautiful.
Heck, look for yourself -- here are my Samhain covers:
Am I right? And you bet I've got these framed and hung. Each one of them is a work of art.
Pretty soon, the cover for The Broken Bell will be right beside them. I think Markhat fans are going to love this new one. All the old gang is back, with some fresh new faces and a huge twist at the end.
To whet your appetite, I'm going to post a short excerpt from Broken Bell below. It doesn't contain any spoilers -- it's just a brief sample of Markhat's voice.
FROM THE BROKEN BELL:
There's a trick to hiding young women in fancy hotels. Ifyou ever need to do so, never mind the reason, there's a right way to do it,and a wrong way.
The wrong way seems the best way to honest folk. They thinkthat by slipping furtively into the hotel and speaking in hushed tones to thedesk clerk and paying in cash and calling yourself Mr. Smith you'll simply sinkdown into a blessed state of total obscurity.
That's why honest people are so easy to find.
Taking the sneaky approach just brands you as one of twothings, in the minds of hotel staff. You're either sneaking around on yourspouse or you're hiding from someone. So when inquisitive sorts start askingquestions and perhaps handing out coins to the talkative, the hiding place isrevealed as surely as if a giant hand reached down and ripped off the roof.
That's the wrong way.
The right way?
Tamar rushed into the hotel lobby a dozen steps ahead of me.The pillow she'd placed under her blouse did a credible job of simulating themiddle stage of pregnancy. She let me get in the door and take a single stepbefore she turned on me and let loose a stream of loud, heartfelt invectivethat turned the heads of everyone in the lobby.
Once all eyes were upon us, she took off her wedding ring,which was actually a bauble purchased moments ago from a shady street jewelerfor a couple of coppers, and flung it at my face.
"I told you if your mother didn't leave I would," shescreamed, putting just enough screech into it. "I will not spend another hourunder the same roof as that mean-spirited old warthog!"
"Honey," I said, raising my arms in surrender. "It's justanother week—"
"You said that last week. And the week before."
Right on cue, Flowers rushed in, freshly scrubbed andwearing the first new shirt he'd ever seen, much less worn. I didn't trust hisaccent or his diction, so I'd told him to keep his mouth shut, and he did.
"Come, Reginald," said Tamar to Flowers. "See? He can'tstand your mother either. Now pay the man, and pay him enough to keep me hereuntil you remove that awful woman from my house!"
And with that, she turned and stormed up the stairs, Flowersin tow.
The room was suddenly filled with barely-suppressedsnickering. I made a heavy sigh and approached the desk clerk, a grinninglittle man in his early hundreds, with my hands in my pockets.
"Trouble to home, is that it, sir?" he asked.
"Guess you could say that." I leaned on the counter andlowered my voice to a whisper. The room went as silent as a tomb, as two dozenears strained to hear something that wasn't a bit of their business.
"How much for a room for the wife and son, for, let's say, aweek?"
"Might be cheaper to just rent one permanent-like for yourmother."
Laughter rippled through the lobby. The old man cackled.
"Have a heart. How much? I can't move Mother now. She'staken to her bed. What am I supposed to do?"
He cackled and named a price. It was a quarter again toomuch, but I didn't haggle.
I did tell him my name was Smith, which touched off anotherround of laughter, and that I'd also want to purchase extra meals for the boyand laundry service for the wife. More coins changed hands. My next sigh wasvery real.
But it had worked. Anyone sniffing around for word of a singleyoung woman who kept to herself and never left her rooms would be greeted withshrugs and shakes of the head. Tamar was an angry pregnant wife with a son intow and a milksop for a husband.
And that, my friends, is the right way to hide a woman inplain sight.
-- END EXCERPT
It's a lot of fun, writing as Markhat.
Oh, and remember when I said I wasn't going to plug my new book?
Yeah. I lied. The new book is All the Paths of Shadow, and you can get it through Amazon for your Kindle or through the publisher Cool Well Press for your Nook. It has a great cover too, which is below:
One last thing today -- I'm on Facebook and Twitter, both as Frank Tuttle. Look me up!
September 21, 2011
Free Kindle E-Reader Contest!
Enter to win your own Kindle e-reader!
Cool Well Press, publisher of my new book All the Paths of Shadow, is giving away a free Amazon Kindle e-reader to celebrate their launch. Click here to enter.
The winner gets a WiFi Kindle with a custom designed Cool Well Press skin. The prize Kindle also comes pre-loaded with three new Cool Well Press e-books and the Shadow Street anthology, which includes a never-before-published short story by me. My entry is The Knocking Man, and it may or may not feature an appearance by zombies. But I'm not saying.
Is that not a wicked cool skin? Imagine how cool and erudite you'll appear, waving your new Kindle around in Starbucks. You won't even need a black turtleneck sweater.
But what are you still doing here, listening to me babble? Apply thy nimble little clicking fingers to thine own mouse, and enter the contest.
I wish you luck, and good reading!
Cool Well Press, publisher of my new book All the Paths of Shadow, is giving away a free Amazon Kindle e-reader to celebrate their launch. Click here to enter.
The winner gets a WiFi Kindle with a custom designed Cool Well Press skin. The prize Kindle also comes pre-loaded with three new Cool Well Press e-books and the Shadow Street anthology, which includes a never-before-published short story by me. My entry is The Knocking Man, and it may or may not feature an appearance by zombies. But I'm not saying.
Is that not a wicked cool skin? Imagine how cool and erudite you'll appear, waving your new Kindle around in Starbucks. You won't even need a black turtleneck sweater.
But what are you still doing here, listening to me babble? Apply thy nimble little clicking fingers to thine own mouse, and enter the contest.
I wish you luck, and good reading!
September 20, 2011
Behind the Scenes Magic
Every novelist engages in worldbuilding. Even if the novel is set in present-day New York, even if the novel is about investment bankers (eww), even if nothing even remotely paranormal, magical, or supernatural happens, the writer of the novel of investment bankers in modern-day New York is still worldbuilding. They have to bring their New York to life. They have to trick readers into believing the squiggles on the page are telling a story, one that happened just yesterday, in a place everyone knows something about.
It's not so different for me, when I write about Wistril's Castle Kauph or Markhat's rough-and-tumble town of Rannit. I have to make the place at least seem to be alive. If the reader doesn't believe he or she has been taken to a strange new place with new sights and new sounds and new smells, then I've failed, and worse I've wasted my reader's time.
I put a lot of work into my latest fantasy setting. I'm talking of course about Mage Meralda's city Tirlin, which is the setting for my new book All the Paths of Shadow.
Of all the fantasy worlds I've put to paper, Tirlin would be the place I'd choose if I was told I was to be transported to one of my worlds. Rannit, on the other hand, would be great fun, but only until the sun set. I'm too old to run from hungry halfdead and, perhaps worse, only Rannit's rich have hot running water or fancy flush toilets. Tirlin has both, and the streets are safe day and night, and since Meralda accidentally invented electric generators and electric lights, iPods and the Internet can't be far behind.
Since All the Paths of Shadow is a fantasy, magic is a big part of what makes Meralda's world tick. So I spent a good bit of time trying to create a self-consistent magical system to go along with the new world. I think I came up with something both fun and unique.
Latching mass, for instance. Spells in Meralda's world need to be connected -- latched -- to something physical. The larger and more powerful the spell, or the greater the number of spells, the more massive the latching mass needs to be.
Simple spells don't require much mass. Meralda carries a copper tube in her bag to which an elementary radiant spellwork is latched. She speaks a trigger word, and a beam of light shines from the tube. It's a flashlight, but instead of dry cell batteries and an incandescent light bulb, you've got a bit of metal as latching mass with a radiant spellwork attached.
That automatically places limits on the nature of the spells and magic Meralda can use. You can't level a city with a wand, for instance, because a foot or so of oak lacks the mass. You'd need a monumental object for a monstrously powerful spell -- an ancient tower, for instance, something a thousand feet tall, made of solid granite. Not that I'm hinting. Just thinking out loud.
To me, that's the fun part of world building. You set your own rules, and then you start the game, and see how they play out.
All the Paths of Shadow, in Kindle format. Or, if you prefer mobi or epub, click here to hit the Cool Well Press site.
Either way, I hope the magic works for you, too.
It's not so different for me, when I write about Wistril's Castle Kauph or Markhat's rough-and-tumble town of Rannit. I have to make the place at least seem to be alive. If the reader doesn't believe he or she has been taken to a strange new place with new sights and new sounds and new smells, then I've failed, and worse I've wasted my reader's time.
I put a lot of work into my latest fantasy setting. I'm talking of course about Mage Meralda's city Tirlin, which is the setting for my new book All the Paths of Shadow.
Of all the fantasy worlds I've put to paper, Tirlin would be the place I'd choose if I was told I was to be transported to one of my worlds. Rannit, on the other hand, would be great fun, but only until the sun set. I'm too old to run from hungry halfdead and, perhaps worse, only Rannit's rich have hot running water or fancy flush toilets. Tirlin has both, and the streets are safe day and night, and since Meralda accidentally invented electric generators and electric lights, iPods and the Internet can't be far behind.
Since All the Paths of Shadow is a fantasy, magic is a big part of what makes Meralda's world tick. So I spent a good bit of time trying to create a self-consistent magical system to go along with the new world. I think I came up with something both fun and unique.
Latching mass, for instance. Spells in Meralda's world need to be connected -- latched -- to something physical. The larger and more powerful the spell, or the greater the number of spells, the more massive the latching mass needs to be.
Simple spells don't require much mass. Meralda carries a copper tube in her bag to which an elementary radiant spellwork is latched. She speaks a trigger word, and a beam of light shines from the tube. It's a flashlight, but instead of dry cell batteries and an incandescent light bulb, you've got a bit of metal as latching mass with a radiant spellwork attached.
That automatically places limits on the nature of the spells and magic Meralda can use. You can't level a city with a wand, for instance, because a foot or so of oak lacks the mass. You'd need a monumental object for a monstrously powerful spell -- an ancient tower, for instance, something a thousand feet tall, made of solid granite. Not that I'm hinting. Just thinking out loud.
To me, that's the fun part of world building. You set your own rules, and then you start the game, and see how they play out.
All the Paths of Shadow, in Kindle format. Or, if you prefer mobi or epub, click here to hit the Cool Well Press site.
Either way, I hope the magic works for you, too.
September 19, 2011
Meet the Publisher
I've done a lot of blathering the last week or so about my new book. I thank all of you who've stuck with me, and I bow down in profound gratitude to those who bought the book!
Today, though, I'd like to invite everyone to meet the publisher of All the Paths of Shadow, which is Cool Well Press. Go ahead, click on their link and have a look around. I'm not going anywhere.
The first thing you probably noticed is that Cool Well Press is offering all their e-books in various formats. You can get epub. Or Mobi. Or, in a week or so, you can even get good old print. So whether you rolll with a Kindle or a Nook or a Sony, Cool Well is there to hook you up.
Cool Well just released two other books as well as mine. Check out The Trinity Pact by E. M. Shelton and Weirdo World by Cathy Seckman while you're there.
And of course Cool Well Press will soon announce the Win a Kindle contest, in which you, yes you, can win a free Kindle just because you're such a cool person.
I owe Cool Well Press a huge thanks for working so hard to make All the Paths of Shadow such a good-looking book. And of course for the intense editing. If there are typos in that book I will gnaw off my own feet, and that's a promise made on the internet which of course I will deny ever making if typos are in fact found.
So please check them out! Oh, and if you're an author, be sure and click the Calls link. They're planning several themed anthologies, and the pay is top-notch!
Today, though, I'd like to invite everyone to meet the publisher of All the Paths of Shadow, which is Cool Well Press. Go ahead, click on their link and have a look around. I'm not going anywhere.
The first thing you probably noticed is that Cool Well Press is offering all their e-books in various formats. You can get epub. Or Mobi. Or, in a week or so, you can even get good old print. So whether you rolll with a Kindle or a Nook or a Sony, Cool Well is there to hook you up.
Cool Well just released two other books as well as mine. Check out The Trinity Pact by E. M. Shelton and Weirdo World by Cathy Seckman while you're there.
And of course Cool Well Press will soon announce the Win a Kindle contest, in which you, yes you, can win a free Kindle just because you're such a cool person.
I owe Cool Well Press a huge thanks for working so hard to make All the Paths of Shadow such a good-looking book. And of course for the intense editing. If there are typos in that book I will gnaw off my own feet, and that's a promise made on the internet which of course I will deny ever making if typos are in fact found.
So please check them out! Oh, and if you're an author, be sure and click the Calls link. They're planning several themed anthologies, and the pay is top-notch!
September 18, 2011
CONTEST! Epub and Mobi People Rejoice!
All the Paths of ShadowI'm not sure half of my audience is old enough to remember 1970s-era car sales commercials, and that's too bad. Not because the 1970s were that great, but the sight of some balding overweight car salesman dancing atop the hood of a '72 Impala truly captured the spirit of America.
I don't have any Impalas to sell, and I'm not balding, thankyouverymuch, but I am about to engage in the very same sort of antics while I promote my new book.
So allow me to put on a too-tight yellow sports coat and a bright red hat. Man, polyester really doesn't breathe, does it?
Camera ready. Mikes on.
Three.
Two.
One.
Action!
Woooooo hooo! They call me Crazy Frank and I must be crazy, because I'm about to give away ten copies of my new book for FREE, yes people, you heard me, I'm so crazy I'm giving it away!
Be among the first ten people to email me at franktuttle@franktuttle.com with the words CRAZY FRANK'S FICTION GIVEAWAY in the subject line and I will email you one of the following:
1) An epub version of my new book, All the Paths of Shadow. In epub format. This baby comes fully loaded with cover, working Table of Contents, dedication, copyright notice, and one hundred and twenty thousand words of timeless Tuttle prose! Works on any epub device. Ask for epub in your email!
OR
2) The mobi version of my new book, All the Paths of Shadow. In mobi format. This baby comes fully loaded with cover, working Table of Contents, dedication, copyright notice, and one hundred and twenty thousand words of timeless Tuttle prose! Works on any mobi device. Ask for mobi in your email!
It's so simple it's CRAZY! Again, just email me at franktuttle@franktuttle.com with the words CRAZY FRANK'S FICTION GIVEAWAY in the email subject line. Inside your email, tell me which version you want, epub or mobi. If you're among the first ten to enter, I'll email you the file of your choice, and you can have All the Paths of Shadow for your very own, at no cost!
Why?
Because I'm crazy. Also because I feel like showing some love to my Nook and Kobi and Sony toting pals. Note that the Kindle doesn't read epub or mobi files. So if you're a Kindler, sorry, this contest won't help you. Unless of course (wink wink nudge nudge) you download a free epub or mobi reader program and read from your PC. Just thinking out loud here.
So, all you Nookers, you Sony-ers, you Kobikins -- fire up that email now!
Remember, first ten get the free ebooks. The next ten get a high-resolution JPEG image of me clipping my toenails. It's not pretty, so hurry and enter!
September 17, 2011
Yes, another blog post about the book!
All the Paths of Shadow
Just in case anyone is on the fence about trying this Tuttle character's new YA book (and I don't blame you being suspicious of me), I thought I'd put out another sample today.
This was taken from near the start of the book. You've got three of the main characters having a meal and plotting; there aren't any spoilers, so read freely.
Remember, the whole thing is now available for your Kindle or Kindle-enabled device here!
Excerpt:
"But here we are, two old gaffers doddering on about roads and boats when we ought to be talking about the lovely young lady in our midst," said Shingvere, as he handed Meralda another bottle of Nolbit's. "So tell us about the Tower, Mage Meralda," he said. "Seen the haunt, have you?"
Meralda groaned. "Please," she said. "Not that. Anything but that."
Fromarch, from his shadowed repose in his enormous Phendelit reclining chair, guffawed. "Oh, he's always believed in haunts and the like," he said. "Can't blame him, really, given the standards of education in dear old Erya."
Shingvere ignored the jibe. "'Tis true I spent a whole summer chasing the Tower shade," he said. "Back in—oh, 1967, it was. Did you know that?"
Meralda blinked. "I didn't," she said. No more Nolbit's, she decided. Her legs and arms were getting heavy, while her head seemed light and wobbly.
She sank back into Fromarch's couch, pulled a small copper funnel from behind the small of her back, and relaxed again.
"Nobody does," said Fromarch, after a sip of beer and a sigh. "Too bloody embarrassing. If the Exchequer found out we'd spent from the crown's purse on a spook hunt, we'd have been put out on our heads, and rightly so."
Meralda frowned. "Were you a part of this, Mage?" she asked.
"Reluctantly," Fromarch growled. "I was to make sure our Eryan friend didn't mistake flying squirrels for long-dead wizards." Fromarch leaned forward, so that his short ring of thin white hair and pale cheekbones shone faintly in the dim, slanting rays of the setting sun streaming lazily through the window. "The ghost hunt, of course, was nonsense," he began.
"Aye, but people were seeing lights in the Wizard's Flat," said Shingvere, quickly. "Reliable people. Guardsmen. Reporters. Even," he said, after a pause and a grin, "a noted Tirlish Thaumaturge."
Meralda shook her head to clear it. "You?" she asked Fromarch, incredulous. "You saw something?"
Fromarch snorted. "I saw lights in the Wizard's Flat," he said. "Once. Just lights, nothing more. Could have been kids with a lantern."
Meralda thought about the long, long climb to the Wizard's Flat, and the locked door at the top.
"These were clever, determined children," said Shingvere. "Aye, one might even say brilliant, since the Tower, that evening, was locked, sealed with wards, and under heavy guard by no fewer than two dozen watchmen." Shingvere assumed a pose of mock concentration. "In fact, I recall someone, I'm not sure who, making a grand proclamation early that very evening that no human being could possibly enter the Tower, that night. Who was that, I wonder?"
Fromarch emptied his bottle and put it down with a thump. "Lights at a window do not prove the existence of haunts," he said. "Neither did you, I recall, despite a whole three months of fussing about with magnetometers and radial thaumeters and that bloody heavy wide-band scrying mirror," he added. "My back still aches, some days, from carrying that thing up and down those stairs while you pretended to fiddle with the holdstones."
Shingvere held up his hand. "Aye. You're correct," he said. "I found nothing." The little wizard fixed his eyes on Meralda's. "Perhaps, though, I just wasn't looking with the right pair of eyes."
"Bah," snorted Fromarch. He waved a finger at the Eryan. "We both know that the lights, if they weren't reflections off the window glass, were nothing but a residual discharge from some old structural spell."Shingvere shrugged. Meralda remembered the laughter on the stair and shivered and took another cold draught of Fromarch's beer.
"Bah," said Fromarch again. "So how are you going to go about moving the Tower shadow, Thaumaturge?" he asked.
Meralda wiped her lips. "Directed refraction," she said. Shingvere slapped his knee.
"Told you!" he crowed. Fromarch scowled.
"He thought you'd hang those spark lights of yours from scaffolds and aim them at the ground," said Shingvere. "I told him they weren't bright enough, and if they were they'd be too hot."
Meralda nodded. "I'm working on cooler, brighter lights," she said. "But that could take months. Months I won't get, with Yvin wasting my time at every turn."
"Spoken like a mage, lass!" said Shingvere. The Eryan donned a wicked smile. "Now you see why I spend so much time away from Erya and that blatherskite queen. She'd have me whiling away the hours as a magic carpet cleaner, you mark my words."
Fromarch snorted. "So instead you come to Tirlin and chase ghosts," he said, lifting his bottle. "Another college education, gone sadly to waste."
Shingvere grinned. "Will you be latching your refraction spell to the Tower itself?" he asked.
"Of course," said Meralda. "The focal volume will be just below the ceiling of the Wizard's Flat." She tilted her head. "If, that is, your ghosts won't mind."
Shingvere nodded gravely. "Oh, I don't think they will," he said. "But I'd ask them nicely first, all the same. No harm in being polite, is there?"
"No harm in being a soft-headed old fool, either," muttered Fromarch. He leaned back into the shadows. "But do have a care latching spells to the Tower," he said. "We had a devil of a time, way back when."
"Aye," Shingvere said. "The structural spellworks left a residual charge. New spells tend to unlatch, after a short time. Even old skinny there had trouble working around it."
Fromarch began to snore. Shingvere yawned and rose from his settee, padding quickly across the dimly lit room toward Meralda. "Well," he said, smiling. "Just like old times. Seems we young folks need to put the oldsters to bed."
Shingvere offered his hand, and Meralda took it, and rose. "It's good to have you two back," she said, in a whisper. "I've been worried about him, since he retired. He used to come around, but lately..."
"He doesn't want you to feel like you're still working in his shadow," replied Shingvere. "He's really not such a bad old fellow, once you get to know him. And I'm sure he wouldn't mind a bit of company here, now and then."
Meralda nodded. I'll make the time, she vowed. Yvin can deal with it in any way he pleases.
Shingvere grinned. "That's my 'prentice," he said. Fromarch began to mumble restlessly.
"I'll see you at court, I'm sure," said Shingvere. "Tomorrow. But for now, we should all get some sleep. News of the Hang will break tomorrow, and that will make for a very long day of hand-wringing and useless conjecture."
Meralda groaned softly and rose. Shingvere took her hand, and the pair tip-toed, giggling and stumbling, through Fromarch's darkened sitting room.
Meralda gathered her light cloak from the rack on the wall and stepped outside. Angis and his coach sat in the dim red glow of a gas lamp. Angis' cabman's hat slumped over his eyes, and his chest rose and fell in perfect time with Fromarch's snores.
Shingvere laughed. "Looks like we're the only ones left awake," he said.
"Good night," said Meralda, struggling to regain her composure. "It's been a lovely evening." She shook her head to clear it, letting the cool night air wash over her face.
Shingvere bowed. "Aye, lass, that it has," he said. "Would that I were thirty years younger."
Meralda returned his bow. "You've been an old bachelor all your life," she said. "But I love you anyway, you rascal of an Eryan wand-waver."
Then she darted for the cab. Shingvere laughed and bowed and watched her go. He waved once to Angis as the cabman snapped his reins. Then he turned back to the door and Fromarch's lightless sitting room.
Inside, Fromarch stirred. "She gone?" he asked.
"Gone," said Shingvere, settling into a chair and fumbling in the dark for his pipe pouch.
Fromarch muttered a word, and a light blazed, slow and gentle, from a point below the center of the ceiling.
"Thank you," said Shingvere, filling the bowl of a blackened, ancient Phendelit wood pipe. "May I?"
"Please do," said Fromarch. A flame appeared at Shingvere's fingertip, and he lit his pipe with it.
"She's in for a bad summer," said Shingvere, after a moment of sucking at the pipe stem. "The Hang. The Tower. The Vonats."
Fromarch nodded. "Vonats are sending that new wizard of theirs. Humindorus Nam. Mean piece of work.""So I hear," said Shingvere. "Think the stories are true?"
Fromarch snorted. "Every other word, if that," he said. Then he frowned. "Still. Met him once, years ago, outside Volot. Don't ask what I was doing there."
"I won't," said Shingvere. "Mainly because I've known for years, but go ahead."
"Met him then," said Fromarch, squinting back as if across the years. "Called himself just Dorus, then. Mad, he was. Twisted up inside. Didn't figure he'd last long enough to be a danger to anybody but himself."
Shingvere pulled his pipe from between his lips. "He's still a danger to himself, I'll wager," he said. "Pity is, he might be a danger to Mage Ovis, too. We can always hope a manure cart runs over him first, but I don't think that's likely."
Fromarch grunted. "She's smarter than both of us put together," he said, gruffly. "She can take care of herself. And Nam too, if need be."
Shingvere nodded. "Of course, of course," he said. "After all, it's bad form for one wizard to interfere in the matters of another. She'd be furious, and rightly so."
"Simply isn't done," said Fromarch, shaking his finger. "Breech of professional etiquette. Runs counter to everything we taught her."
Shingvere wedged his pipe in the corner of his mouth and settled deeper into his chair. "Glad that's settled, then," he said. "So, which lot do you want to interfere with? The Vonat or the Hang?"
Fromarch dimmed the foxfire, conjured up a fresh-rolled Alon cigar, and broke into a sudden, awful grin.
September 16, 2011
More Reviews for ALL THE PATHS OF SHADOW
After a brief but intense flurry of pleading, bribery, and two instances of outright coercion, All the Paths of Shadow is getting more reviews!
"The best book I've ever read! Okay, I said it, when do I get the ten bucks?" -- Co-worker Larry, who I've never met and do not know.
"Woof woof arf, woof." -- My dog Max, who once ate the book's rough draft.
"You wrote a book? You?" -- Mrs. Stevens, my eighth-grade English teacher, via Ouija Board
"We have a dress code here, sir." -- Some French dude in a tux.
"The best book I've ever read! Okay, I said it, when do I get the ten bucks?" -- Co-worker Larry, who I've never met and do not know.
"Woof woof arf, woof." -- My dog Max, who once ate the book's rough draft.
"You wrote a book? You?" -- Mrs. Stevens, my eighth-grade English teacher, via Ouija Board
"We have a dress code here, sir." -- Some French dude in a tux.
September 15, 2011
Reviews Are Pouring In!
All the Paths of Shadow hasn't even been up on Amazon for a day yet, but already reviews are pouring in!
Here are a few of the latest:
"I was dead and buried before I read Frank Tuttle's All the Paths of Shadow. But look at me now. I've risen from the grave in order to seek out and devour living human flesh! Loved the world-building and the humor. Brains!"
-- Former Chicago resident Milford M. Barrons.
"Mr. Tuttle, do you know how fast you were going when I pulled you over?"
-- Mississippi Highway Patrol Sergeant H. Adams, Badge Number 334.
"Book? What book? Look, I'm here to see if you're ready to order."
-- Bryan, my server at Chili's, address unknown.
"About 13,500,000 results (0.17 seconds)."
-- Google.
"Please stop talking about that blasted book."
-- Everyone in my office.
So far I'm off to a great start!
Here are a few of the latest:
"I was dead and buried before I read Frank Tuttle's All the Paths of Shadow. But look at me now. I've risen from the grave in order to seek out and devour living human flesh! Loved the world-building and the humor. Brains!"
-- Former Chicago resident Milford M. Barrons.
"Mr. Tuttle, do you know how fast you were going when I pulled you over?"
-- Mississippi Highway Patrol Sergeant H. Adams, Badge Number 334.
"Book? What book? Look, I'm here to see if you're ready to order."
-- Bryan, my server at Chili's, address unknown.
"About 13,500,000 results (0.17 seconds)."
-- Google.
"Please stop talking about that blasted book."
-- Everyone in my office.
So far I'm off to a great start!
September 14, 2011
Surprise! All the Paths of Shadow sees an early release!
Remember when I said the official release date for All the Paths of Shadow was next Tuesday, the 20th?
Surprise! Cool Well Press got the Kindle e-book up early -- so if you're a Kindler, you don't have to wait.
The print version and other e-book versions will be up later. But seeing All the Paths of Shadow up on Amazon is a blast.
So apply thy fingers to the clicky thing and sally forth for Paths of Shadow. Download a sample. Click the like button on the page. Leave a comment in the discussion area at the bottom of the page.
Or, better still, buy a copy! I think you'll love the book. Try it and see.
Surprise! Cool Well Press got the Kindle e-book up early -- so if you're a Kindler, you don't have to wait.
The print version and other e-book versions will be up later. But seeing All the Paths of Shadow up on Amazon is a blast.
So apply thy fingers to the clicky thing and sally forth for Paths of Shadow. Download a sample. Click the like button on the page. Leave a comment in the discussion area at the bottom of the page.
Or, better still, buy a copy! I think you'll love the book. Try it and see.
September 13, 2011
Win a FREE Kindle!
Picture me, if you will, chortling with unseemly glee and rubbing my palms together ala Mr. Burns from The Simpsons.
Why?
Because a little bird tells me that Cool Well Press is going to be giving away a free Kindle e-reader to celebrate their release of certain books, one of which was written by me.
I like giveaways. They're a good way to promote anything, and giving away the best-selling e-reader in connection with a book release is both classy and guaranteed to generate some interest in the publisher.
Which of course trickles down to interest in me, or more specifically, in my book.
Thus the chortling and the hand-rubbing. It's not greed, precisely. It's just that I want this book to be read by as many people as possible. I've always wanted to put out a full-blown YA novel, and this is it.
The Young Adult field is pretty crowded right now. Standing out is going to be tough. Especially since there's not a single vampire, sparkly or otherwise, in All the Paths of Shadow. No Elves, either. And not once does anyone utter the words 'Guards! Seize them!'
But I look at these omissions as good things. I wrote the kind of book I liked to read as a younger less grey-haired Frank. People will either loathe it or love it, though I hope for the latter.
I'll post more details about the Kindle giveaway as they become available, so stop back around for updates. The giveaway will start in about a week. Free Kindle? I did mention FREE KINDLE?
Right. Back soon with specifics!
Why?
Because a little bird tells me that Cool Well Press is going to be giving away a free Kindle e-reader to celebrate their release of certain books, one of which was written by me.
I like giveaways. They're a good way to promote anything, and giving away the best-selling e-reader in connection with a book release is both classy and guaranteed to generate some interest in the publisher.
Which of course trickles down to interest in me, or more specifically, in my book.
Thus the chortling and the hand-rubbing. It's not greed, precisely. It's just that I want this book to be read by as many people as possible. I've always wanted to put out a full-blown YA novel, and this is it.
The Young Adult field is pretty crowded right now. Standing out is going to be tough. Especially since there's not a single vampire, sparkly or otherwise, in All the Paths of Shadow. No Elves, either. And not once does anyone utter the words 'Guards! Seize them!'
But I look at these omissions as good things. I wrote the kind of book I liked to read as a younger less grey-haired Frank. People will either loathe it or love it, though I hope for the latter.
I'll post more details about the Kindle giveaway as they become available, so stop back around for updates. The giveaway will start in about a week. Free Kindle? I did mention FREE KINDLE?
Right. Back soon with specifics!
