Martha Wells's Blog, page 111
August 25, 2014
Books Drive for Ferguson Library
Books for Ferguson: Once Scott Bonner, the director of the Ferguson Library, indicated that their library would be open to taking donations, both of cash and of books, I saw many people willing to donate. I was heartened by this, but I was also concerned that people would send them things that end up not being useful for their collection and end up taking time and effort to get rid of. So, following the example of annual book drive GuysLitWire hosts for Ballou Library, I thought the best approach was to create a list for people to buy from. And what better way to start than with the suggestions from #KidLit4Justice?
Book drive! Follow this link for the Powells wishlist and the shipping address of the Ferguson Library.
Book drive! Follow this link for the Powells wishlist and the shipping address of the Ferguson Library.
August 24, 2014
This is a link to a photo post on tumblr from our trip to...
This is a link to a photo post on tumblr from our trip to Inner Space caverns, where we went for my husband's birthday: http://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/95682837737/this-is-inner-spaces-caverns-outside-austin-tx
And afterward we went to the Salt Lick barbeque: http://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/95683242702/and-after-we-went-to-the-caverns-we-stopped-at
And afterward we went to the Salt Lick barbeque: http://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/95683242702/and-after-we-went-to-the-caverns-we-stopped-at
August 22, 2014
The Skiffy and Fanty Show
Here's an episode of the Hugo-nominated Skiffy & Fanty podcast with me and Carrie Patel. It was recorded live at CONvergence in MN.
August 19, 2014
Stories of the Raksura GoodReads Giveaway
There is a GoodReads giveaway for Stories of the Raksura: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud running from today until about two weeks from now.
The book will be available in ebook, trade paperback, and audiobook on September 2. (ETA: Just found out the pub date has been changed to September 16.)
The two novellas are:
"The Falling World" (39,000 words) Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult.
"The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" (25,000 words) This novella explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born. In the distant past, Indigo stole Cloud from Emerald Twilight. But in doing so, the reigning Queen Cerise and Indigo are now poised for a conflict that could spark war throughout all the courts of the Reaches.
It's also got two previously published short stories in it ("Adaptation" and "The Forest Boy") but the juicy new parts are the two novellas.
The second volume (Stories of the Raksura: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below) will be out on April 15.
If you want more Raksura after that, it would really really help to preorder or order the first book or to ask your local library to get it. (And many libraries can also get it in ebook if they have that set up.) If you can't do that, even telling your friends about it and talking about it helps too.
And I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, but it does really help to review books or even to just add them to your lists on GoodReads and LibraryThing etc. Word of mouth is the only advertising this book is going to get, and every little bit helps.
Here's the page on my site for the book.
The second volume in April 2015 will have:
"The Dead City"
This is a tale of Moon before he came to the Indigo Court. As Moon is fleeing the ruins of Saraseil, a groundling city destroyed by the Fell, he flies right into another potential disaster when a friendly caravanserai finds itself under attack by a strange force.
"The Dark Earth Below"
As Moon tries to prepare for impending fatherhood, members of the Kek village in the colony tree's roots go missing, and searching for them only leads to more mysteries as the court is stalked by an unknown enemy.
The book will be available in ebook, trade paperback, and audiobook on September 2. (ETA: Just found out the pub date has been changed to September 16.)
The two novellas are:
"The Falling World" (39,000 words) Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult.
"The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" (25,000 words) This novella explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born. In the distant past, Indigo stole Cloud from Emerald Twilight. But in doing so, the reigning Queen Cerise and Indigo are now poised for a conflict that could spark war throughout all the courts of the Reaches.
It's also got two previously published short stories in it ("Adaptation" and "The Forest Boy") but the juicy new parts are the two novellas.
The second volume (Stories of the Raksura: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below) will be out on April 15.
If you want more Raksura after that, it would really really help to preorder or order the first book or to ask your local library to get it. (And many libraries can also get it in ebook if they have that set up.) If you can't do that, even telling your friends about it and talking about it helps too.
And I know I'm mostly preaching to the choir here, but it does really help to review books or even to just add them to your lists on GoodReads and LibraryThing etc. Word of mouth is the only advertising this book is going to get, and every little bit helps.
Here's the page on my site for the book.
The second volume in April 2015 will have:
"The Dead City"
This is a tale of Moon before he came to the Indigo Court. As Moon is fleeing the ruins of Saraseil, a groundling city destroyed by the Fell, he flies right into another potential disaster when a friendly caravanserai finds itself under attack by a strange force.
"The Dark Earth Below"
As Moon tries to prepare for impending fatherhood, members of the Kek village in the colony tree's roots go missing, and searching for them only leads to more mysteries as the court is stalked by an unknown enemy.
August 18, 2014
Monday Monday Monday Again
Whee, it's Monday.
Cat photos on Tumblr, because it's that kind of morning: http://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/95096316047/jack-in-all-his-glory
I watched the livestream of the Hugo Awards at WorldCon in London on Sunday afternoon, and they turned out very well, and I'm really happy for all the winners. Also very jealous of the fact that David Tennant and Peter Davison came to the pre-Hugo party and the ceremony, and some people got photos with Tennant.
Here's a con report by Lee Harris.
Book rec: If you love great SF/F, you should check out the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein
Cat photos on Tumblr, because it's that kind of morning: http://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/95096316047/jack-in-all-his-glory
I watched the livestream of the Hugo Awards at WorldCon in London on Sunday afternoon, and they turned out very well, and I'm really happy for all the winners. Also very jealous of the fact that David Tennant and Peter Davison came to the pre-Hugo party and the ceremony, and some people got photos with Tennant.
Here's a con report by Lee Harris.
Book rec: If you love great SF/F, you should check out the Steerswoman books by Rosemary Kirstein
August 17, 2014
I'm missing some winners for the autographed book drawing...
I'm missing some winners for the autographed book drawing. They all entered through Live Journal and probably didn't get the notice that they won, because internet. Anyway, they are:
ghost2, squishydish, bigdamncrow, prationality, surreul
If that's you, contact me with your shipping address and whether you want the book personalized and with what name or just signed.
***
This weekend I mostly reorganized the closet where we keep Halloween stuff plus suitcases. This was pretty successful, and I wish I'd taken before and after pictures. Otherwise, this was a good weekend for feeling depressed. It's lent itself well to that so far.
ghost2, squishydish, bigdamncrow, prationality, surreul
If that's you, contact me with your shipping address and whether you want the book personalized and with what name or just signed.
***
This weekend I mostly reorganized the closet where we keep Halloween stuff plus suitcases. This was pretty successful, and I wish I'd taken before and after pictures. Otherwise, this was a good weekend for feeling depressed. It's lent itself well to that so far.
August 13, 2014
Timeline for the Raksura Stories
Here's a timeline showing when all the Raksura stories happen. I think it's right.
"The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" - in the Reaches, before the Time of the Great Leaving
"The Forest Boy" - Moon as a young boy
"The Dead City" - Moon as a young man, after Saraseil
"Adaptation" - sometime later, at the old Indigo Cloud colony in the east
The Cloud Roads - two turns later
The Serpent Sea - eleven days later after the end of The Cloud Roads
The Siren Depths - two months after the end of The Serpent Sea
"Mimesis" - three months after the end of The Siren Depths
"Trading Lesson" - a month later
"The Falling World" - one turn since arriving at the Reaches colony
"The Dark Earth Below" - six months after the end of "The Falling World"
"The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" - in the Reaches, before the Time of the Great Leaving
"The Forest Boy" - Moon as a young boy
"The Dead City" - Moon as a young man, after Saraseil
"Adaptation" - sometime later, at the old Indigo Cloud colony in the east
The Cloud Roads - two turns later
The Serpent Sea - eleven days later after the end of The Cloud Roads
The Siren Depths - two months after the end of The Serpent Sea
"Mimesis" - three months after the end of The Siren Depths
"Trading Lesson" - a month later
"The Falling World" - one turn since arriving at the Reaches colony
"The Dark Earth Below" - six months after the end of "The Falling World"
August 12, 2014
New Books
There is so much bad news lately it's overwhelming. But there are new books:
* Courting Magic: a Kat, Incorrigible Novella by Stephanie Burgis
In Kat Stephenson's Regency England, magic is even more shocking than a stolen kiss. But now that she's eighteen, it's time for wild and magical Kat to be introduced to high society by her older sisters, whether she likes it or not...and to finally have a romance of her own! Magic, mystery, humor and romance mingle in this YA Regency novella set in the world of Kat, Incorrigible.
* Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells
When a rare Blue Moon upsets the magical balance in the city, Detective Kate Prospero and her Magic Enforcement colleagues pitch in to help Babylon PD keep the peace. Between potions going haywire and emotions running high, every cop in the city is on edge. But the moon's impact is especially strong for Kate, who's wrestling with guilt over her use of illegal magic.
* The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich, available for preorder
A fantastical nineteenth century alternate historical steampunk romp from Beth Bernobich, the critically acclaimed author of the River of Souls trilogy.
* Half in Love With Artful Death by Bill Crider
The local community college and an antique dealer team up to have a workshop for artists. One local man, Burt Collins, isn't fond of the art, and he isn't fond of having the artists in town. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is called to the antique store because Collins has been accused of vandalizing some paintings. When Rhodes arrives, two men are restraining Collins. But before Rhodes can take Collins into custody, a near riot breaks out. Rhodes gets the situation under control with the help of college math instructor and wannabe cop Seepy Benton.
* Griots: Sisters of the Spear edited by Milton Davis and Charles Saunders (author of the Imaro books)
Griots: Sisters of the Spear picks up where the ground breaking Griots Anthology leaves off. Charles R. Saunders and Milton J. Davis present seventeen original and exciting Sword and Soul tales focusing on black women. Just as the Griots Anthology broke ground as the first Sword and Soul Anthology, Griots: Sisters of the Spear pays homage to the spirit, bravery and compassion of women of color. The griots have returned to sing new songs, and what wonderful songs they are!
* The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato, available for preorder
Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.
* Vita Nostra, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
a review by Aliette de Bodard: The parallels between this and Harry Potter are hard to ignore (magical school, specially picked students), but you should probably put them out of your mind. Vita Nostra is a different, darker book: the students are university-age, with more adult preoccupations; and the magic, far from cookie-cutter spells, is impredictable, incomprehensible, and wildly dangerous; and Sasha’s position as a special student is far from enviable. There’s a palpable, oppressive sense of doom and dread throughout the entire novel, building to a very satisfying climax (which nevertheless leaves a lot of questions dangling in the air: this isn’t a book which will do a point-by-point explanation of its worldbuilding, but it’s a book that works as it is). I read this cover to cover in an evening (which should tell you something, as any free time those days is generally against my better judgment): the book draws you in, and, especially in the last quarter or so, an accelerating build-up towards the placement exam that is meant to seal the students’ fate, is darn hard to put down. Recommended.
* Courting Magic: a Kat, Incorrigible Novella by Stephanie Burgis
In Kat Stephenson's Regency England, magic is even more shocking than a stolen kiss. But now that she's eighteen, it's time for wild and magical Kat to be introduced to high society by her older sisters, whether she likes it or not...and to finally have a romance of her own! Magic, mystery, humor and romance mingle in this YA Regency novella set in the world of Kat, Incorrigible.
* Cursed Moon by Jaye Wells
When a rare Blue Moon upsets the magical balance in the city, Detective Kate Prospero and her Magic Enforcement colleagues pitch in to help Babylon PD keep the peace. Between potions going haywire and emotions running high, every cop in the city is on edge. But the moon's impact is especially strong for Kate, who's wrestling with guilt over her use of illegal magic.
* The Time Roads by Beth Bernobich, available for preorder
A fantastical nineteenth century alternate historical steampunk romp from Beth Bernobich, the critically acclaimed author of the River of Souls trilogy.
* Half in Love With Artful Death by Bill Crider
The local community college and an antique dealer team up to have a workshop for artists. One local man, Burt Collins, isn't fond of the art, and he isn't fond of having the artists in town. Sheriff Dan Rhodes is called to the antique store because Collins has been accused of vandalizing some paintings. When Rhodes arrives, two men are restraining Collins. But before Rhodes can take Collins into custody, a near riot breaks out. Rhodes gets the situation under control with the help of college math instructor and wannabe cop Seepy Benton.
* Griots: Sisters of the Spear edited by Milton Davis and Charles Saunders (author of the Imaro books)
Griots: Sisters of the Spear picks up where the ground breaking Griots Anthology leaves off. Charles R. Saunders and Milton J. Davis present seventeen original and exciting Sword and Soul tales focusing on black women. Just as the Griots Anthology broke ground as the first Sword and Soul Anthology, Griots: Sisters of the Spear pays homage to the spirit, bravery and compassion of women of color. The griots have returned to sing new songs, and what wonderful songs they are!
* The Clockwork Dagger by Beth Cato, available for preorder
Orphaned as a child, Octavia Leander was doomed to grow up on the streets until Miss Percival saved her. Gifted with incredible powers, the young healer is about to embark on her first mission, visiting suffering cities in the far reaches of the war-scarred realm. But the airship on which she is traveling is plagued by a series of strange and disturbing occurrences, including murder, and Octavia herself is threatened.
* Vita Nostra, Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
a review by Aliette de Bodard: The parallels between this and Harry Potter are hard to ignore (magical school, specially picked students), but you should probably put them out of your mind. Vita Nostra is a different, darker book: the students are university-age, with more adult preoccupations; and the magic, far from cookie-cutter spells, is impredictable, incomprehensible, and wildly dangerous; and Sasha’s position as a special student is far from enviable. There’s a palpable, oppressive sense of doom and dread throughout the entire novel, building to a very satisfying climax (which nevertheless leaves a lot of questions dangling in the air: this isn’t a book which will do a point-by-point explanation of its worldbuilding, but it’s a book that works as it is). I read this cover to cover in an evening (which should tell you something, as any free time those days is generally against my better judgment): the book draws you in, and, especially in the last quarter or so, an accelerating build-up towards the placement exam that is meant to seal the students’ fate, is darn hard to put down. Recommended.
August 11, 2014
Autographed Book Giveaway Winners!
Okay, I have selected and hopefully notified all the winners! I hope. If I have told you you won a book you didn't actually enter for, please let me know, sorting everybody out got a little confusing.
There were 91 entries total, with the bulk of them coming in from Live Journal. I messaged the Goodreads winners through the GR message system and tried to notify the tumblr users through their ask box. I know that doesn't always work, so if I don't here from you in a couple of days, I'll post and tag user ids.
The most entries were for Wheel of the Infinite by far, with The Siren Depths and Razor's Edge coming in second. I added an extra copy of Wheel of the Infinite so there were three winners instead of two. (Several people said they hadn't read it -- the ebook is available DRM-free on Kobo, Nook, etc for cheap and there is a lovely audiobook narrated by Lisa Reneé Pitts)
The best chances were for the non-English additions, and two people won because they were the only ones who entered for them.
If you have any questions, please ask! I'll be mailing these this week, and for the US entries I'll use media mail to save on postage, so it may take a while to get there.
Thanks to everyone for entering!
There were 91 entries total, with the bulk of them coming in from Live Journal. I messaged the Goodreads winners through the GR message system and tried to notify the tumblr users through their ask box. I know that doesn't always work, so if I don't here from you in a couple of days, I'll post and tag user ids.
The most entries were for Wheel of the Infinite by far, with The Siren Depths and Razor's Edge coming in second. I added an extra copy of Wheel of the Infinite so there were three winners instead of two. (Several people said they hadn't read it -- the ebook is available DRM-free on Kobo, Nook, etc for cheap and there is a lovely audiobook narrated by Lisa Reneé Pitts)
The best chances were for the non-English additions, and two people won because they were the only ones who entered for them.
If you have any questions, please ask! I'll be mailing these this week, and for the US entries I'll use media mail to save on postage, so it may take a while to get there.
Thanks to everyone for entering!
August 10, 2014
Last Call for Autographed Book Drawing
Today is the last day to enter the drawing for a bunch of autographed books by me. I'm collecting entries from Live Journal, Tumblr, GoodReads, and Dreamwidth. (If you entered somewhere else other than one of those sites I might not have gotten a notice for it.)
Tomorrow (Monday, August 11) I'll close entries, sort them by book, and randomly draw winners. At this point, I think there are entries for each book.
***
I did one GISHWHES story for someone who asked nicely on Thursday. I appreciate everyone who held off asking earlier, because I really didn't feel well this past week and was struggling just to get my own daily writing schedule done.
I think I'm finally over it now. I went out on Saturday to get envelopes to mail all the books for the book drawing and found a big plastic box tub from a company that labels them "really useful boxes" which turned out to be true, and sparked some more closet reorganization. I was moving stuff around and making a pile for Goodwill and recycling in our guestroom closet and found a sack with a Christmas ornament from Galveston, a ridiculously cute little pirate ship with Christmas lights. The receipt was still in the bag, which told me it was from 2012 and bought with my credit card. I have no memory of this, but obviously bought it as a gift then hid it and forgot about it. It would be nice if all my Christmas shopping got done that easily.
Tomorrow (Monday, August 11) I'll close entries, sort them by book, and randomly draw winners. At this point, I think there are entries for each book.
***
I did one GISHWHES story for someone who asked nicely on Thursday. I appreciate everyone who held off asking earlier, because I really didn't feel well this past week and was struggling just to get my own daily writing schedule done.
I think I'm finally over it now. I went out on Saturday to get envelopes to mail all the books for the book drawing and found a big plastic box tub from a company that labels them "really useful boxes" which turned out to be true, and sparked some more closet reorganization. I was moving stuff around and making a pile for Goodwill and recycling in our guestroom closet and found a sack with a Christmas ornament from Galveston, a ridiculously cute little pirate ship with Christmas lights. The receipt was still in the bag, which told me it was from 2012 and bought with my credit card. I have no memory of this, but obviously bought it as a gift then hid it and forgot about it. It would be nice if all my Christmas shopping got done that easily.
