Benedict Jacka's Blog, page 54

Reddit AMA April 26th

Just finishing up Book #8, but in the meantime, I’m going to be doing a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on r/fantasy tomorrow week, on April 26th.  More details (including exact timings) closer to the date!

Nearly There

Writing the epilogue of Book #8.  (Given how many updates I’ve been giving on this one, I wonder if you guys want this to be over as much as I do.)  Admittedly, given the length, it shouldn’t really be all that surprising that it’s run past the deadline – it’ll be around 115,000 words by the time it’s done, which is pretty long given that the early Alex Verus novels average between 85,000 and 90,000.

The good news is that it’s almost over.  Once that’s over with, I’ve got a long backlog of Ask Luna questions to do, as well as an anniversary post and a whole lot of emails that I’ve let pile up.  (Oh, and the new sales figures have come in, too – will do an update on that as well, but short version, they’re very good.)

Just a little more . . .

Burned Reviews

Still busy with book #8, but in the meantime a whole bunch of reviews for Burned have been coming in.  Here’s a selection!

Whatchamacallit Reviews

I Smell Sheep

The Genre Minx

Fangtastic Fiction

One Book Two

The Arched Doorway

I’ve also done an interview for PW Radio, which should be going live sometime today.  Will post up the link when it does.

. . . And back to writing.

Burned UK Release

And a couple of days later (as usual) the British readers get it too.  Alex Verus #7 is available outside of the US as of today!

Tomorrow’s post will probably be a collection of reviews, and possibly a link to my PW interview (though probably not – I’m doing it today, but I don’t know exactly when it’ll go live).  For now, I’m back to writing book #8!

Burned US Release

And the seventh Alex Verus novel is finally out!

On sale in mass market paperback and on Kindle, as per usual.  Audiobook version should be available by today, too.  For now, I’m still spending all my time finishing the sequel!

Burned Release Week!

And it’s finally here!  Burned will be released in the US this coming Tuesday, on April 5th, and two days later in the UK, on April 7th.

I’m mostly still busy with book #8, but to mark Burned’s release I’m doing a radio interview with Publishers Weekly on the 7th – I’ll post up a link to it when it goes live.

For those of you who’ve been waiting for Burned, I hope you enjoy it – I had a lot of fun writing this one, and I think you’ll probably like it too.  Oh,and  if you do, feel free to leave a review at Amazon or somewhere similar – it does help.

Right, back to writing the next one.

Yes, Still Writing

Word count: 105k.

Projected word count: 110k (I really really hope).

Is the book finished: stop asking.

Deadline: hoping to only miss it by a month, if I’m lucky.

Mood: even more stressed.

About the best that can be said at the moment is that at least the first number is going up faster than the second one.

And Still Busy Writing

Word count: 100k.

Sections completed: 5, in theory.

Have I hit the projected word count for the book: yes.

Is the book finished: no.

Deadline: somewhere in the rear view mirror.

Mood: stressed.

Still inching along.

PW Starred Review for Burned

With less than a month to go before the release of Burned, here’s a very complimentary starred review from Publishers Weekly!

The seventh Alex Verus novel (after Veiled) may be the best so far in a consistently outstanding urban fantasy series. Jacka ruthlessly rips away all the protections that London-based diviner mage Alex built against his former master, power-hungry Dark mage Richard Drakh. While trying to reverse a death sentence engineered by a grudge-holding mage on Britain’s Light Council, Alex is distracted by a fiery assassination attempt that destroys his home and livelihood . . . Alex has been reliably clever and resourceful while remaining independent of both Dark and Light cabals, but this novel shows him recognizing his own desperate vulnerability. The stakes suddenly are much higher for Alex and his friends, putting the complex, sympathetic central characters in real peril and rousing serious concern in readers. As the action gathers momentum, a dramatic series climax hovers on the horizon. Fans of Jim Butcher and Ben Aaronovich absolutely should not miss this deeply intelligent, morally complex, and action-packed series.

Work on Alex Verus #8 is still going;  don’t ask about the deadline.  More updates as I go.

Burned Chapter 1 Online

Chapter 1 of Burned is now available!  You can read it here.

Only a month to go now – the book will be out on April 5th in the US, and April 7th in the UK.