Kate Elliott's Blog, page 5
November 9, 2015
Brand New Kate Elliott Short Story: THE BEATRICEID
If a Court of Fives novella prequel isn’t enough, Kate Elliott will also be publishing a new short story, THE BEATRICEID, with The Book Smugglers.
Set in the world of the Spiritwalker trilogy, the story is “a fun, feminist, subversive retelling of Virgil’s The Aeneid featuring the author’s beloved characters Cat and Beatrice,” written entirely in iambic pentameter. The story will also feature a beautifully illustrated cover from Hugo Award winner Julie Dillon.
THE BEATRICEID will be available 22 DEC. 2015 as an e-book and a limited edition print paperback, which will include two essays and a Q&A by Kate Elliott herself.
Pre-orders will be taken from 8 DEC. 2015, along with an official cover reveal.
Get more details and stay up-to-date with more BEATRICEID news at The Book Smugglers.
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
NIGHT FLOWER Cover Contest Winner
Thank you to everyone who voted for The Novl’s cover contest for NIGHT FLOWER, the Court of Fives exclusive digital prequel! And the winner is…
NIGHT FLOWER tells the “legendary love story” of Jessamy’s parents prior to the events in Court of Fives:
Kiya is a Commoner who has just arrived in the bustling city of Saryenia. Esladas is a member of the Patron ruling class and determined to prove himself in the army. His plans are disrupted by the outgoing and beautiful girl who sells him fruit in the market, though, despite the fact that neither of them speaks a word of the others language. Brief conversations and stolen moments together soon become something more, but when their divided cultures clash, Kiya and Esladas must decide if their blossoming love is worth becoming outsiders for the rest of their lives.
This companion novella will be available digitally through The Novl on 8 DEC. 2015.
Read more about NIGHT FLOWER at The Novl!
PS – The sequel to Court of Fives, POISONED BLADE, will be available Aug. 2016. Read NIGHT FLOWER to tide you over until then!
November 3, 2015
Black Wolves Reviews: Gender Response
Outlet
Reviewer
Gender
Positive/Negative/None
Response to Gender
Source
7/28/2015
Kirkus Review
Unspecified
N/A
None
No response to gender specifically. Mentions one female character’s plot in review (Dannarah).
https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...
9/28/2015
Publishers Weekly
Unspecified
N/A
None
No response. Review focuses on male characters.
http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0...
10/23/2015
Barnes & Noble SFF
Renay Williams
F
Positive
Mention of society’s treatment of women, the book belonging to the female characters despite Kellas’s importance. “This is the type of epic fantasy I wanted as a girl…women are players, not simply objects…”
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/sc...
10/26/2015
Lady Business
Renay Williams
F
Positive
(Expansion of B&N review). Mention of every female character and how their plots deal with gender at large. Discusses male privilege, older women as protagonists, sexualities, consent.
https://ladybusiness.dreamwidth.org/2...
11/3/2015
Tor.Com
Liz Bourke
F
Positive
Marks lack of sexual violence against women, sexual and general agency of women, older women as protagonists
http://www.tor.com/2015/11/03/reconfiguring-epic-fantasy-black-wolves-by-kate-elliott/
11/3/2015
Paper Droids
K.D. Callaghan
F
Positve
General mention of diversity (religious, racial). Praise for character’s ages, but no outright discussion of female characters prominence.
http://www.paperdroids.com/2015/11/03...
Unknown
RT Book Reviews
Victoria Frerichs
F
None
No reponse to gender specifically. Mentions Sarai as stand-out character, Dannarah’s plot.
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/book-rev...
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
BLACK WOLVES – AVAILABLE NOW
Get your copy of Kate Elliott’s BLACK WOLVES today! Set in the same world as her Crossroads trilogy, but the first of a stand-alone series, Black Wolves is available at your local independent bookstore, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other online and bricks and mortar stores!
DESCRIPTION:
An exiled captain returns to help the son of the king who died under his protection in this rich and multi-layered first book in an action-packed new series.
Twenty two years have passed since Kellas, once Captain of the legendary Black Wolves, lost his King and with him his honor. With the King murdered and the Black Wolves disbanded, Kellas lives as an exile far from the palace he once guarded with his life.
Until Marshal Dannarah, sister to the dead King, comes to him with a plea-rejoin the palace guard and save her nephew, King Jehosh, before he meets his father’s fate.
Combining the best of Shogun and Netflix’s Marco Polo, Black Wolves is an unmissable treat for epic fantasy lovers everywhere.
QUOTES:
“Black Wolves is a sweeping tale of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and intrigue, impelled by the mysteries that lie at its heart.”―Jacqueline Carey, bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Kushiel’s Legacy series
“Intricate, fascinating worldbuilding, twisty political intrigue, vivid characters to love and hate — this is Kate Elliott at the top of her epic fantasy game.”―Karen Miller, author of The Tarnished Crown series and Rogue Agent series
“On a vast, colorful canvas, Kate Elliott has drawn dozens of characters who act and react with poetry and grit. Lush and textured, by turns moving, exciting, playful, and contemplative, Black Wolves is a masterpiece that soars with an epic soul.”―Ken Liu, Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning author of the Grace of Kings
REVIEWS:
“Sophisticated, multifaceted worldbuilding sparked by original flourishes, populated by characters we quickly come to care about and whose motivations drive intricate, absorbing conspiracies.” – Kirkus Review
“With this book, Kate Elliott has leveled up. It’s a formidable fantasy…exceptionally plotted and filled to bursting with the politics and drama that makes all of her work so memorable. If you’re seeking epic fantasy that remembers women exist—that they matter—Black Wolves is not to be missed.” –Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog
“This is a novel about politics. It’s politics all the way down. It’s about families of blood and families of choice, families of chance and family secrets and betrayals. It’s about heritage and inheritance in all senses. It’s also an argument about law, justice, and what happens on the edges of empire. It’s about consequences. All about consequences.” –Tor.com
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
Court of Fives Prequel – NIGHT FLOWER
Kate Elliott is releasing an exclusive digital prequel to COURT OF FIVES through The Novl. Entitled NIGHT FLOWER, the prequel will focus on how Jessamy’s parents met prior to the events in Court of Fives. Vote for one of these two covers at the link:
The winner will be announced 9 Nov. 2015, along with more details on the digital original. Don’t forget to vote!
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
September 30, 2015
Fantasy Gender Defaults
Next week I’m leading a 2 hour workshop at Sirens Studio, the 2 day pre-Sirens Conference workshop. AND I NEED YOUR HELP!
(if you can get yourself to Denver next week you can buy a membership at the door for Sirens Conference, Oct 8 – 11–Rae Carson, Yoon Ha Lee, and myself are Guests of Honor.)
Here’s the description of the workshop:
“It all happened TO her, not BECAUSE of her:” Writing Past Defaults.
We all carry societal baggage about gender roles into our writing. That’s inevitable. In this workshop intensive, Kate will analyze how authors (including herself!) who are consciously attempting to expand and center roles for women may unconsciously undermine their female characters by sliding sideways into stereotyped personalities or behaviors and work. Often, male characters act within the plot while women characters—even as the central figures—may be given reactive roles. We’ll discuss typical fantasy gender defaults, ways in which authors who may seem to be subverting them aren’t always, and how to turn around these insidious messages to more fully write women characters as they really are, and have been, in the world.
Here’s where YOU come in. Yes, YOU!
I’m hoping all you well-read readers can come up with examples of girl/women characters in (preferably well known) fantasy novels who
fit typical gender defaults and why
and ALSO examples who
seem to subvert gender defaults but when examined closely actually fall into some default-ish behaviors or character elements (and why)
and examples who
actually subvert gender defaults (and why)
I welcome any other comments on the subject as well. Thank you in advance, crowd-sourcing friends and colleagues! I can only do so much reading research and I want to cast through as many examples as possible.
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
BLACK WOLVES – Coming Soon!
You can now pre-order the first book in Kate Elliott’s new epic fantasy, BLACK WOLVES at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. (Official release date is 3 NOV. 2015 by Orbit US.)
DESCRIPTION:
An exiled captain returns to help the son of the king who died under his protection in this rich and multi-layered first book in an action-packed new series.
Twenty two years have passed since Kellas, once Captain of the legendary Black Wolves, lost his King and with him his honor. With the King murdered and the Black Wolves disbanded, Kellas lives as an exile far from the palace he once guarded with his life.
Until Marshal Dannarah, sister to the dead King, comes to him with a plea-rejoin the palace guard and save her nephew, King Jehosh, before he meets his father’s fate.
Combining the best of Shogun and Netflix’s Marco Polo, Black Wolves is an unmissable treat for epic fantasy lovers everywhere.
QUOTES:
“Black Wolves is a sweeping tale of loyalty and betrayal, ambition and intrigue, impelled by the mysteries that lie at its heart.”―Jacqueline Carey, bestselling author of the critically acclaimed Kushiel’s Legacy series
“Intricate, fascinating worldbuilding, twisty political intrigue, vivid characters to love and hate — this is Kate Elliott at the top of her epic fantasy game.”―Karen Miller, author of The Tarnished Crown series and Rogue Agent series
“On a vast, colorful canvas, Kate Elliott has drawn dozens of characters who act and react with poetry and grit. Lush and textured, by turns moving, exciting, playful, and contemplative, Black Wolves is a masterpiece that soars with an epic soul.”―Ken Liu, Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy award-winning author of the Grace of Kings
REVIEWS:
“Sophisticated, multifaceted worldbuilding sparked by original flourishes, populated by characters we quickly come to care about and whose motivations drive intricate, absorbing conspiracies.” – Kirkus Review
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
September 18, 2015
Read for Pixels: Kate Elliott Reading and Q&A — LIVE TONIGHT
Catch Kate Elliott live online TONIGHT (6 PM PST) for The Pixel Project’s “Read for Pixels” campaign. She will be participating in a reading of one of her works, as well as answering questions from viewers.
The Read For Pixels campaign features live Google Hangout Readings with award-winning bestselling authors in support of the Celebrity Male Role Model Pixel Reveal campaign which aims to raise US$1 million in aid of The Pixel Project and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
September 16, 2015
Code Switching in COURT OF FIVES
In Kate Elliott’s Court of Fives, Jessamy must navigate between different cultures, classes, and languages, as she competes in an athletic tournament and struggles to save her family. Elliott explains this navigation, or code-switching, in her guest post at Diversity in YA:
Jessamy’s parents come from different ethnicities, Saroese and Efean (also called Patrons and Commoners in the book). She knows both languages, is fluent in both, and can switch easily between the two in contrast to most of the population, who only speak either Saroese or Efean depending on their ethnicity.
But because Efea is a conquered country, and because the Saroese are the conquerers, she also must negotiate a far trickier form of code-switching: That between the class divide created by the privileged and powerful Patrons and the conquered and looked-down-upon Commoners.
Read more and enter to win a copy of COURT OF FIVES and four other YA SFF novels at Diversity in YA.
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
COURT OF FIVES Audiobook Available
Kate Elliott’s YA debut novel, COURT OF FIVES, is now available in audiobook format by Hachette Audio of Little, Brown Young Readers.
In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott begins a new trilogy with her debut young adult novel, weaving an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.
Jessamy’s life is a balance between acting like an upper class Patron and dreaming of the freedom of the Commoners. But at night she can be whomever she wants when she sneaks out to train for The Fives, an intricate, multi-level athletic competition that offers a chance for glory to the kingdom’s best competitors. Then Jes meets Kalliarkos, and an unlikely friendship between a girl of mixed race and a Patron boy causes heads to turn. When a scheming lord tears Jes’s family apart, she’ll have to test Kal’s loyalty and risk the vengeance of a powerful clan to save her mother and sisters from certain death.
“Jes will remind readers of fearless Katniss with her skill and strategy for games. But it’s the fascinating descriptions of traditions, royal interactions, and, of course, the intensities of the Fives that will enthrall readers most of all. Let the games continue!”―Booklist, starred review
“This series opener, the auspicious teen debut of a seasoned author of adult fantasy and World Fantasy Award finalist, features a gripping, original plot; vivid, complicated characters; and layered, convincingly detailed worldbuilding. A compelling look at racial and social identity wrapped in a page-turning adventure.” -Kirkus Review
“An imaginative journey…Elliott creates an intricate and intriguing story, conjuring a world of mysticism and centuries-old customs. Jessamy’s boldness and impulsiveness make her a striking heroine in a male-dominated land.” -Publishers Weekly
Also available in hardcover and ebook formats at your local independent bookstore, Indiebound, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and other online and bricks and mortar stores.
Mirrored from I Make Up Worlds.
