Martha Wells's Blog, page 144
December 7, 2012
Friday!
Jack the cat Update: Jack has a bad habit of trying to attack your hand when it's on the bannister as you're walking downstairs. This feels like tiny warm hands grabbing your hand from behind. Basically I'm glad I know the house is not haunted. Also, we were watching TV after dinner on Tuesday night and he jumped up on the table and dunked his stuffed mouse in my ice tea glass.
Stupid human trick update: On Wednesday night, I was trying to cook even though I didn't feel that great, and managed to knock a spoon up and get boiling hot gravy on my hands. It didn't do any damage, just hurt enough to piss me off. So last night we had Panera for dinner.
Question: I did a Big Idea Post on Whatever on The Siren Depths and I got this question from @PrinceJvstin and wanted to go ahead and answer it here:
Got a question. Given the events in the third book, and how it ties into Moon’s origins, without spoilers, how much of the "revelations" did you have in mind when you started the Cloud Roads?
I hadn't fleshed out everything, but I knew what had happened to Moon's original court. I don't think I had worked out all the details of what happened when Sorrow left, but I knew she hadn't stolen Moon and the others kids, like Stone had suggested as a possibility at one point. I think that's about as far as I can go without spoilers.
Signing: I'm doing a signing at Murder by the Book in Houston tomorrow (Saturday) from 3:00 - 4:00 pm for their local authors day. A lot of authors will be signing throughout the day, and if you're out of town, you can use that link to order books and get them personally signed, and the store will ship them to you.
eBooks for The Siren Depths: EBooks are starting to gradually appear on Kindle and most recently on iTunes. Nookbooks are available at Barnes and Noble's UK site, but not on their US site for some reason. Some irritating, glacially slow reason. The ebook is the cheapest, and DRM-free, at the Baen Webscription eBook Store.
Stupid human trick update: On Wednesday night, I was trying to cook even though I didn't feel that great, and managed to knock a spoon up and get boiling hot gravy on my hands. It didn't do any damage, just hurt enough to piss me off. So last night we had Panera for dinner.
Question: I did a Big Idea Post on Whatever on The Siren Depths and I got this question from @PrinceJvstin and wanted to go ahead and answer it here:
Got a question. Given the events in the third book, and how it ties into Moon’s origins, without spoilers, how much of the "revelations" did you have in mind when you started the Cloud Roads?
I hadn't fleshed out everything, but I knew what had happened to Moon's original court. I don't think I had worked out all the details of what happened when Sorrow left, but I knew she hadn't stolen Moon and the others kids, like Stone had suggested as a possibility at one point. I think that's about as far as I can go without spoilers.
Signing: I'm doing a signing at Murder by the Book in Houston tomorrow (Saturday) from 3:00 - 4:00 pm for their local authors day. A lot of authors will be signing throughout the day, and if you're out of town, you can use that link to order books and get them personally signed, and the store will ship them to you.
eBooks for The Siren Depths: EBooks are starting to gradually appear on Kindle and most recently on iTunes. Nookbooks are available at Barnes and Noble's UK site, but not on their US site for some reason. Some irritating, glacially slow reason. The ebook is the cheapest, and DRM-free, at the Baen Webscription eBook Store.
December 6, 2012
Some Kindle Editions Starting to Show Up
Ebooks for The Siren Depths are slowly starting to appear: Amazon US Kindle, Kindle UK, Barnes & Noble NookBook UK, Kindle Germany, Kindle France, Kindle Spain, Kindle Italy.
The cheapest (and DRM-free) option is still the Baen Webscription eBook.
ETA: Ooh, and my Big Idea post is up on Whatever:
Like a lot of people, I did not have a Hallmark card childhood, and even now I can tell that it still affects the way I think and react to people. So in these books I wanted to explore the ways that the past affects the characters’ perception of the present. And I wanted to show how Moon, who saw his whole world destroyed and lived for years in isolation, and who survived by a talent for deception and pretending to be something he wasn’t, would cope in what was supposed to be his normal environment. He has to learn how to trust his new, large, and somewhat dysfunctional family.
Other links:
Black Gate recommends omnibus edition of Obsidian and Blood by Aliette de Bodard: New Treasures
Reading, Writing and the Rhythmatic of Life: From My Bookshelf Book recs, including The Wizard Hunters:
The Wizard Hunters, by Martha Wells. Tremaine is one of my favorite heroes of either gender. Trenchant, competent, has morbid sense of humor, knows how to pick a lock, fire a gun and kill a man, isn’t very interested in magic, gets to fly a dirigible before steampunk was a thing, doesn’t damsel, but is in no way perfect. Need I say more?
NolaWoman.com: Deon Haywood Leads Women with a Vision To Their New Home After the Fire
The cheapest (and DRM-free) option is still the Baen Webscription eBook.
ETA: Ooh, and my Big Idea post is up on Whatever:
Like a lot of people, I did not have a Hallmark card childhood, and even now I can tell that it still affects the way I think and react to people. So in these books I wanted to explore the ways that the past affects the characters’ perception of the present. And I wanted to show how Moon, who saw his whole world destroyed and lived for years in isolation, and who survived by a talent for deception and pretending to be something he wasn’t, would cope in what was supposed to be his normal environment. He has to learn how to trust his new, large, and somewhat dysfunctional family.
Other links:
Black Gate recommends omnibus edition of Obsidian and Blood by Aliette de Bodard: New Treasures
Reading, Writing and the Rhythmatic of Life: From My Bookshelf Book recs, including The Wizard Hunters:
The Wizard Hunters, by Martha Wells. Tremaine is one of my favorite heroes of either gender. Trenchant, competent, has morbid sense of humor, knows how to pick a lock, fire a gun and kill a man, isn’t very interested in magic, gets to fly a dirigible before steampunk was a thing, doesn’t damsel, but is in no way perfect. Need I say more?
NolaWoman.com: Deon Haywood Leads Women with a Vision To Their New Home After the Fire
December 4, 2012
The Siren Depths Official Release Date
This is the official release day for The Siren Depths!
This is the third book in the Books of the Raksura series.
If you've been reading this LJ for a long time, some of this is old news, but I had a career crash in about 2006. I kept writing and finished The Cloud Roads in 2008, but at that time had no idea if I would ever be able to get it or any other fantasy novel published again. I wrote about this here in this post in the Night Bazaar, about 2011, and how it was supposed to be my last year as a professional writer.
I've come a long way since then, and I'm still so relieved and grateful that I can keep doing this.
The Siren Depths FAQ and Other Stuff I Wanted to Mention:
The description, and first two sample chapters are on my web site here. Free stories set in the same world, fan art, and other extras are on the Three Worlds Compendium.
Trade Paperback: It's available at these sites: Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo, Amazon US, Powell's, Mysterious Galaxy, The Tattered Cover, Books-a-Million, Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide), Waterstones UK, Book Depository.uk, Whitcoulls NZ, Amazon UK, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon Spain, or look for it at an independent book store in the US through IndieBound.
It may still show as up for preorder in some of the non-US sites, not sure when it will be available everywhere.
Ebook: I checked again this morning and the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and etc ebooks still aren't available. The good thing is, the ebook is available at the Baen Webscription site DRM-free, in multiple formats, at a discount of $6.00. (I linked to my author page there where The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea are also listed.)
Weirdly, the ebook is also seems to be available at the new UK site for Barnes and Noble's Nook. So I'm hoping this means it will slowly make it's way through the US system at some point soon.
Audiobook: Yes, this is supposed to be one, but I don't know yet when it'll be available. I'll post as soon as I know.
Sale: The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
Signing: I'm doing a book signing this Saturday, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm at Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas. There will be lots of different authors there that day. If you want a signed copy of the book and can't be there, you can call the store and order one, and they'll get it signed and ship it to you.
Fan art: I've gotten some new fan art recently for the Raksura books, and it's linked on the Three Worlds page here.
Future Novels in the Series: At this point I don't know if there will be any more novels in the series with these characters. It really depends on how well the books sell. There will be four ebook novellas which I should be turning into the publisher starting next year, and at least two of them will feature Moon, Jade, and all the others.
Reviews: Reviews and recommendations are the only advertisement that most books get now. So if you like the books, please consider reccing them to your friends. Also, leaving reviews at the online retailer where you bought the book does help, especially if it's Amazon. There, it's the number of reviews that count, and until the book gets 20 reviews (bad or good or middling), the book doesn't start to show up in their recommendation system.
This is the third book in the Books of the Raksura series.
If you've been reading this LJ for a long time, some of this is old news, but I had a career crash in about 2006. I kept writing and finished The Cloud Roads in 2008, but at that time had no idea if I would ever be able to get it or any other fantasy novel published again. I wrote about this here in this post in the Night Bazaar, about 2011, and how it was supposed to be my last year as a professional writer.
I've come a long way since then, and I'm still so relieved and grateful that I can keep doing this.
The Siren Depths FAQ and Other Stuff I Wanted to Mention:
The description, and first two sample chapters are on my web site here. Free stories set in the same world, fan art, and other extras are on the Three Worlds Compendium.
Trade Paperback: It's available at these sites: Barnes and Noble, Chapters Indigo, Amazon US, Powell's, Mysterious Galaxy, The Tattered Cover, Books-a-Million, Book Depository.com (free shipping worldwide), Waterstones UK, Book Depository.uk, Whitcoulls NZ, Amazon UK, Amazon.ca, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon Spain, or look for it at an independent book store in the US through IndieBound.
It may still show as up for preorder in some of the non-US sites, not sure when it will be available everywhere.
Ebook: I checked again this morning and the Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and etc ebooks still aren't available. The good thing is, the ebook is available at the Baen Webscription site DRM-free, in multiple formats, at a discount of $6.00. (I linked to my author page there where The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea are also listed.)
Weirdly, the ebook is also seems to be available at the new UK site for Barnes and Noble's Nook. So I'm hoping this means it will slowly make it's way through the US system at some point soon.
Audiobook: Yes, this is supposed to be one, but I don't know yet when it'll be available. I'll post as soon as I know.
Sale: The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
Signing: I'm doing a book signing this Saturday, from 3:00 to 4:00 pm at Murder by the Book in Houston, Texas. There will be lots of different authors there that day. If you want a signed copy of the book and can't be there, you can call the store and order one, and they'll get it signed and ship it to you.
Fan art: I've gotten some new fan art recently for the Raksura books, and it's linked on the Three Worlds page here.
Future Novels in the Series: At this point I don't know if there will be any more novels in the series with these characters. It really depends on how well the books sell. There will be four ebook novellas which I should be turning into the publisher starting next year, and at least two of them will feature Moon, Jade, and all the others.
Reviews: Reviews and recommendations are the only advertisement that most books get now. So if you like the books, please consider reccing them to your friends. Also, leaving reviews at the online retailer where you bought the book does help, especially if it's Amazon. There, it's the number of reviews that count, and until the book gets 20 reviews (bad or good or middling), the book doesn't start to show up in their recommendation system.
December 2, 2012
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday
I'll be working all day, and trying to catch up on house stuff when I'm not working. I'm still trying to do the one line from a story meme, though I'm moving pretty slow on it.
If you missed my post yesterday, The Siren Depths ebook is now available DRM-free at the Baen ebook site (should start showing up in more places soon) and The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
* I forgot to link to this list: The Ranting Dragon: Top 20 Most Anticipated Speculative Novels Released in December 2012
* The Book Smugglers have started Smugglivus, a month of holiday guest posts by authors and book bloggers about books/media/things they liked and books/media/things they're looking forward to.
* WorldBuilders is happening here. A donation to Heifer International will enter you to win signed SF/F books or you can bid on individual auctions for cool prizes, including manuscript critiques. It's already raised over $70,000 and the goal is $500,000.
Middle Grade books needed:
Middle Grade books are needed for a first and second grade class at Mayberry Elementary in Los Angeles. You can send them to:
Cecil Castellucci, PO Box 29095, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Books for kids labelled for a little older than first and second grade are okay, too. I'm pretty sure used books in readable condition would be good too, so if you have any children's books you don't need anymore, this could be a good time to send them on.
If you missed my post yesterday, The Siren Depths ebook is now available DRM-free at the Baen ebook site (should start showing up in more places soon) and The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
* I forgot to link to this list: The Ranting Dragon: Top 20 Most Anticipated Speculative Novels Released in December 2012
* The Book Smugglers have started Smugglivus, a month of holiday guest posts by authors and book bloggers about books/media/things they liked and books/media/things they're looking forward to.
* WorldBuilders is happening here. A donation to Heifer International will enter you to win signed SF/F books or you can bid on individual auctions for cool prizes, including manuscript critiques. It's already raised over $70,000 and the goal is $500,000.
Middle Grade books needed:
Middle Grade books are needed for a first and second grade class at Mayberry Elementary in Los Angeles. You can send them to:
Cecil Castellucci, PO Box 29095, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Books for kids labelled for a little older than first and second grade are okay, too. I'm pretty sure used books in readable condition would be good too, so if you have any children's books you don't need anymore, this could be a good time to send them on.
December 1, 2012
The Siren Depths Ebook at Baen
ETA: Ooh, The Siren Depths ebook is available DRM-free at the Baen ebook site. Should show up at other retailers soon!
Two things for Saturday morning:
The Cloud Roads ebook for Kindle US is back to its normal $7.99 price, but now The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
And if you missed my post last night, there's new fan art by Jessica Peffer for the Raksura books:
The rest of the fan art I've gotten for the Raksura books is linked on the Three Worlds page here. I love fan art! It's great to have this for the book's official release date, which is this coming Tuesday, December 4.
Two things for Saturday morning:
The Cloud Roads ebook for Kindle US is back to its normal $7.99 price, but now The Serpent Sea Kindle US is on sale for $1.99.
And if you missed my post last night, there's new fan art by Jessica Peffer for the Raksura books:
The rest of the fan art I've gotten for the Raksura books is linked on the Three Worlds page here. I love fan art! It's great to have this for the book's official release date, which is this coming Tuesday, December 4.
November 30, 2012
New Raksura Fan Art!
Yay! Great new Raksura fan art by Jessica Peffer:
The rest of the fan art I've gotten for the Raksura books is linked on the Three Worlds page here. I love fan art! It's great to have this for the book's official release date, which is this coming Tuesday, December 4.
The rest of the fan art I've gotten for the Raksura books is linked on the Three Worlds page here. I love fan art! It's great to have this for the book's official release date, which is this coming Tuesday, December 4.
November 28, 2012
Meme, Links, and More Deeper Than Swords Info
I've been trying to keep up with the Story I Haven't Written Meme but people had a lot of good suggestions. I'll be trying to fill in more today and tomorrow.
Some cool stuff:
This is the cover for the The Other Half of the Sky anthology that I have a Raksura story in. It's an anthology of SF stories with female protagonists.
Barnes and Noble Nook ebooks are now for sale in the UK. My UK Nook ebooks are here.
Someone linked to this and I really liked it: 10 Ways Your Cat Shows She Loves You
***
Deeper Than Swords George R.R. Martin will be appearing at Texas A&M University as part of the opening for the Deeper Than Swords exhibit on the Game of Thrones books at the Cushing Special Collections Library. (Cushing did a big exhibit on their SF/F collection last year, and it was awesome.) There is more information on the Deeper Than Swords Exhibit web site but here are the three events where he'll be appearing:
Free event: On Friday, March 22 at 6:30 he will be doing a lecture and reading. The tickets to this are free, but you have to pick them up in person at the Memorial Student Center Box Office. (Touring the exhibit itself is also free and it will be open from 4:00-6:00 pm before the lecture.)
There are also two fundraising events for the library:
Thursday, March 21: Dinner with George R.R. Martin Guests will begin the evening with a preview of the George R.R. Martin exhibit and finish with a themed meal featuring dishes from Martin's "Ice and Fire" series. The preview and dinner are hosted by George R.R. Martin himself and tickets are limited. $275 if purchased before Jan. 2, 2013 $350 if purchased after Jan. 2, 2013.
Friday, March 22, 4:00: Book Signing Book signing at the Cushing Library with George RR Martin. George R. R. Martin will be available to autograph up to two (2) items. Tickets for this are $25.
Here's the web site for the event: Deeper Than Swords
Some cool stuff:
This is the cover for the The Other Half of the Sky anthology that I have a Raksura story in. It's an anthology of SF stories with female protagonists.
Barnes and Noble Nook ebooks are now for sale in the UK. My UK Nook ebooks are here.
Someone linked to this and I really liked it: 10 Ways Your Cat Shows She Loves You
***
Deeper Than Swords George R.R. Martin will be appearing at Texas A&M University as part of the opening for the Deeper Than Swords exhibit on the Game of Thrones books at the Cushing Special Collections Library. (Cushing did a big exhibit on their SF/F collection last year, and it was awesome.) There is more information on the Deeper Than Swords Exhibit web site but here are the three events where he'll be appearing:
Free event: On Friday, March 22 at 6:30 he will be doing a lecture and reading. The tickets to this are free, but you have to pick them up in person at the Memorial Student Center Box Office. (Touring the exhibit itself is also free and it will be open from 4:00-6:00 pm before the lecture.)
There are also two fundraising events for the library:
Thursday, March 21: Dinner with George R.R. Martin Guests will begin the evening with a preview of the George R.R. Martin exhibit and finish with a themed meal featuring dishes from Martin's "Ice and Fire" series. The preview and dinner are hosted by George R.R. Martin himself and tickets are limited. $275 if purchased before Jan. 2, 2013 $350 if purchased after Jan. 2, 2013.
Friday, March 22, 4:00: Book Signing Book signing at the Cushing Library with George RR Martin. George R. R. Martin will be available to autograph up to two (2) items. Tickets for this are $25.
Here's the web site for the event: Deeper Than Swords
November 27, 2012
Meme: A story I haven’t written
Okay, trying this Meme, which I saw on
kateelliott
and
kristine_smith
's LJS:
Tell me about a story I haven’t written, and I’ll give you one sentence from that story.
kateelliott
and
kristine_smith
's LJS:Tell me about a story I haven’t written, and I’ll give you one sentence from that story.
November 26, 2012
Last night Jack the cat fell into the bathtub and used my...
Last night Jack the cat fell into the bathtub and used my shins as a ladder to get out. Oddly, being clawed up by a cat underwater does not hurt as much, which must be due to air not getting to the cuts immediately. If I ever need to know that for a book, now I know, so that's good! I guess.
He and Tasha are still fighting, though I actually witnessed a non-hostile physical interaction between them yesterday before the bathtub incident. It would be really nice if they could get along. They both still sleep with me when it's cold, though every time I move, Tasha assumes it's Jack and growls. So I'm sleeping with something that wants to cuddle with me then growls continuously through the night. (It must be kind of like sleeping with a Raksura.)
* Author Rachel Neumeier posted a non-spoilery review of the Raksura Books.
I really loved Book 3, which wound up as my favorite book of the trilogy. In fact, I read it too fast and am now going to take some time to re-read some of my favorite parts. This trilogy is DEFINITELY a keeper; I will LOVE re-reading the whole thing in a few years. In the meantime, I’ll be pushing it on everybody who loves great writing, ornate worlds and wonderfully-drawn nonhuman characters. And I am also looking up Martha Wells’ backlist, right now.
* If you missed it yesterday, my yes there will be an ebook for The Siren Depths post. Short version, The Siren Depths trade paperbacks shipped early from the distributor but its release date is still December 4, and the ebooks don't come out until the release date.
If you're doing Cyber Monday:
* My post with the list of art, craft, fair trade, small press, and links to find local independent bookstores you can buy online from is here.
Holiday Book Drive:
* There is a holiday book drive for Ballou High School Library in Washington, DC There are lots of sale books and new books under $10.00 on the Powell's wishlist. You can buy a book for 9.95 and give a gift to 1200 kids!
The Cloud Roads Kindle US Sale:
* The first Raksura book, The Cloud Roads, is still on sale in the Kindle US ebook version for $1.99. I think the publisher will probably put it back to the normal price at the end of November, so if you ever wanted to check it out or know someone who wants to check it out on ebook, now is a good time.
He and Tasha are still fighting, though I actually witnessed a non-hostile physical interaction between them yesterday before the bathtub incident. It would be really nice if they could get along. They both still sleep with me when it's cold, though every time I move, Tasha assumes it's Jack and growls. So I'm sleeping with something that wants to cuddle with me then growls continuously through the night. (It must be kind of like sleeping with a Raksura.)
* Author Rachel Neumeier posted a non-spoilery review of the Raksura Books.
I really loved Book 3, which wound up as my favorite book of the trilogy. In fact, I read it too fast and am now going to take some time to re-read some of my favorite parts. This trilogy is DEFINITELY a keeper; I will LOVE re-reading the whole thing in a few years. In the meantime, I’ll be pushing it on everybody who loves great writing, ornate worlds and wonderfully-drawn nonhuman characters. And I am also looking up Martha Wells’ backlist, right now.
* If you missed it yesterday, my yes there will be an ebook for The Siren Depths post. Short version, The Siren Depths trade paperbacks shipped early from the distributor but its release date is still December 4, and the ebooks don't come out until the release date.
If you're doing Cyber Monday:
* My post with the list of art, craft, fair trade, small press, and links to find local independent bookstores you can buy online from is here.
Holiday Book Drive:
* There is a holiday book drive for Ballou High School Library in Washington, DC There are lots of sale books and new books under $10.00 on the Powell's wishlist. You can buy a book for 9.95 and give a gift to 1200 kids!
The Cloud Roads Kindle US Sale:
* The first Raksura book, The Cloud Roads, is still on sale in the Kindle US ebook version for $1.99. I think the publisher will probably put it back to the normal price at the end of November, so if you ever wanted to check it out or know someone who wants to check it out on ebook, now is a good time.
November 25, 2012
Yes, there will be an ebook for The Siren Depths
I've got some comments and questions lately about The Siren Depths ebook, so I wanted to post to address them. (And I want to thank all the people who just asked me online somewhere when or if the ebook would still be available, and didn't make assumptions about why it wasn't out yet. I don't mind being asked at all.)
The ebook isn't out yet because technically, the book isn't out yet. The ebook will be made available in December, the date of the book's actual publication, by the publisher.
The Siren Depths was scheduled by the publisher to be released on December 4, but the distributor shipped the trade paperbacks early so people who preordered from an online retailer are receiving them. (Even Amazon, which is shipping the early trade pbs, still has the listing down in "Product Details" saying Publisher: Night Shade Books (December 4, 2012))
The ebook will be available in December at all the same places that the ebooks for The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea are available: Baen Webscription eBook (DRM-Free), Barnes & Noble NookBook, Amazon US Kindle, Kobo, Waterstones UK, Whitcoulls NZ, Kindle UK, Kindle Germany, Kindle France, Kindle Spain, Kindle Italy, Books-a-Million ebook.
No one, especially me, has any reason to try to prevent sales of the book in ebook format. And if I could make the ebook come out this minute, I would, but that's under the control of the publisher.
The ebook isn't out yet because technically, the book isn't out yet. The ebook will be made available in December, the date of the book's actual publication, by the publisher.
The Siren Depths was scheduled by the publisher to be released on December 4, but the distributor shipped the trade paperbacks early so people who preordered from an online retailer are receiving them. (Even Amazon, which is shipping the early trade pbs, still has the listing down in "Product Details" saying Publisher: Night Shade Books (December 4, 2012))
The ebook will be available in December at all the same places that the ebooks for The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea are available: Baen Webscription eBook (DRM-Free), Barnes & Noble NookBook, Amazon US Kindle, Kobo, Waterstones UK, Whitcoulls NZ, Kindle UK, Kindle Germany, Kindle France, Kindle Spain, Kindle Italy, Books-a-Million ebook.
No one, especially me, has any reason to try to prevent sales of the book in ebook format. And if I could make the ebook come out this minute, I would, but that's under the control of the publisher.
