Martha Wells's Blog, page 75
July 3, 2017
One More Sleep to Raksura Day
So, tomorrow, July 4 2017, is the release day for The Harbors of the Sun, the last book in the Books of the Raksura series.
The ebooks will be dropping tomorrow, but I think the trade paperbacks and hardcovers have already started shipping. (I haven't heard anything about an audio version yet.)
If you want a signed edition, you can order one shipped to you from Murder by the Book as part of a signing I'm doing there with Rachel Caine on July 15. (You can probably get a whole signed set of Raksura books if you want, as long as you order in enough time for the store to get them.)
The timeline for all novels, and the novellas and stories collected in Stories of the Raksura I and II is:
"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. Jade, Chime and Balm go missing while on a trip to another court.
"The Dark Earth Below" - half a turn after the end of "The Falling World." Jade is about to have her clutch and the court is under attack.
The Edge of Worlds - one turn after "The Dark Earth Below"
The Harbors of the Sun - immediately after The Edge of Worlds
The Raksura Patreon with flash fiction about the Indigo Cloud Court is here: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=2458567
The Traveler's Guide to the Three Worlds is here: http://www.marthawells.com/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page
Happy reading!
comments
June 27, 2017
Book Recs and News
News: If you missed it yesterday, there are going to be two more Murderbot novellas for a total of four, and 2, 3, and 4 are all coming out next year.
***
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
Short story: The White-throated Transmigrant by E. Lily Yu
* Miles Morales - A Spider Man Novel by Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He's even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he's Spider Man.
* Bright Thrones by Kate Elliott
An exciting e-novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Court of Fives, from World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott!
* Drawing Dead by SM Reine
The vampire slayer is turning into a vampire? Over her dead body. Dana McIntyre has been bitten by a master vampire. She's infected with the venom. And after killing hundreds of vampires to keep Las Vegas safe, she'd rather die than turn.
* Kangaroo Too by Curtis C. Chen
On the way home from his latest mission, secret agent Kangaroo’s spacecraft is wrecked by a rogue mining robot. The agency tracks the bot back to the Moon, where a retired asteroid miner—code named “Clementine” —might have information about who’s behind the sabotage. Clementine will only deal with Jessica Chu, Kangaroo’s personal physician and a former military doctor once deployed in the asteroid belt. Kangaroo accompanies Jessica as a courier, smuggling Clementine’s payment of solid gold in the pocket universe that only he can use.
* The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.
* Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Blackfeet author Stephen Graham Jones brings readers a spine-tingling Native American horror novella. Walking through his own house at night, a fifteen-year-old thinks he sees another person stepping through a doorway. Instead of the people who could be there, his mother or his brother, the figure reminds him of his long-gone father, who died mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows it he discovers his house is bigger and deeper than he knew.
* Shattered Minds by Laura Lam
Carina used to be one of the best biohackers in Pacifica. But when she worked for Sudice and saw what the company's experiments on brain recording were doing to their subjects, it disturbed her—especially because she found herself enjoying giving pain and contemplating murder. She quit and soon grew addicted to the drug Zeal, spending most of her waking moments in a horror-filled dream world where she could act out her depraved fantasies without actually hurting anyone.
* The Last Good Man by Linda Nagata
carred by war, in pursuit of truth: Army veteran True Brighton left the service when the development of robotic helicopters made her training as a pilot obsolete. Now she works at Requisite Operations, a private military company established by friend and former Special Ops soldier Lincoln Han. ReqOp has embraced the new technologies. Robotics, big data, and artificial intelligence are all tools used to augment the skills of veteran warfighters-for-hire. But the tragedy of war is still measured in human casualties, and when True makes a chance discovery during a rescue mission, old wounds are ripped open. She’s left questioning what she knows of the past, and resolves to pursue the truth, whatever the cost.
* Mars Girls by Mary Turzillo
What Nanoannie and Kapera find at the Smythe’s Pharm is more than the girls bargained for. The hab has been trashed and there are dead bodies buried in the backyard! If that wasn’t bad enough, the girls crash the rover and Kapera gets kidnapped by Facers who claim her parents are murderers! Between Renegade Nuns, Facers, and corp geeks, Nanoannie and Kapera don’t know who to trust or where to go. Kapera only wants to find her parents so they can get to Earth Orbitals and she can be treated for her leukemia. Nanoannie wants to help her friend and experience a little bit of Mars before selling her contract to the first corp that offers to buy it.
comments
***
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
Short story: The White-throated Transmigrant by E. Lily Yu
* Miles Morales - A Spider Man Novel by Jason Reynolds
Miles Morales is just your average teenager. Dinner every Sunday with his parents, chilling out playing old-school video games with his best friend, Ganke, crushing on brainy, beautiful poet Alicia. He's even got a scholarship spot at the prestigious Brooklyn Visions Academy. Oh yeah, and he's Spider Man.
* Bright Thrones by Kate Elliott
An exciting e-novella set in the world of the New York Times bestselling Court of Fives, from World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott!
* Drawing Dead by SM Reine
The vampire slayer is turning into a vampire? Over her dead body. Dana McIntyre has been bitten by a master vampire. She's infected with the venom. And after killing hundreds of vampires to keep Las Vegas safe, she'd rather die than turn.
* Kangaroo Too by Curtis C. Chen
On the way home from his latest mission, secret agent Kangaroo’s spacecraft is wrecked by a rogue mining robot. The agency tracks the bot back to the Moon, where a retired asteroid miner—code named “Clementine” —might have information about who’s behind the sabotage. Clementine will only deal with Jessica Chu, Kangaroo’s personal physician and a former military doctor once deployed in the asteroid belt. Kangaroo accompanies Jessica as a courier, smuggling Clementine’s payment of solid gold in the pocket universe that only he can use.
* The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter by Theodora Goss
Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture...a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes. But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherin Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.
* Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Blackfeet author Stephen Graham Jones brings readers a spine-tingling Native American horror novella. Walking through his own house at night, a fifteen-year-old thinks he sees another person stepping through a doorway. Instead of the people who could be there, his mother or his brother, the figure reminds him of his long-gone father, who died mysteriously before his family left the reservation. When he follows it he discovers his house is bigger and deeper than he knew.
* Shattered Minds by Laura Lam
Carina used to be one of the best biohackers in Pacifica. But when she worked for Sudice and saw what the company's experiments on brain recording were doing to their subjects, it disturbed her—especially because she found herself enjoying giving pain and contemplating murder. She quit and soon grew addicted to the drug Zeal, spending most of her waking moments in a horror-filled dream world where she could act out her depraved fantasies without actually hurting anyone.
* The Last Good Man by Linda Nagata
carred by war, in pursuit of truth: Army veteran True Brighton left the service when the development of robotic helicopters made her training as a pilot obsolete. Now she works at Requisite Operations, a private military company established by friend and former Special Ops soldier Lincoln Han. ReqOp has embraced the new technologies. Robotics, big data, and artificial intelligence are all tools used to augment the skills of veteran warfighters-for-hire. But the tragedy of war is still measured in human casualties, and when True makes a chance discovery during a rescue mission, old wounds are ripped open. She’s left questioning what she knows of the past, and resolves to pursue the truth, whatever the cost.
* Mars Girls by Mary Turzillo
What Nanoannie and Kapera find at the Smythe’s Pharm is more than the girls bargained for. The hab has been trashed and there are dead bodies buried in the backyard! If that wasn’t bad enough, the girls crash the rover and Kapera gets kidnapped by Facers who claim her parents are murderers! Between Renegade Nuns, Facers, and corp geeks, Nanoannie and Kapera don’t know who to trust or where to go. Kapera only wants to find her parents so they can get to Earth Orbitals and she can be treated for her leukemia. Nanoannie wants to help her friend and experience a little bit of Mars before selling her contract to the first corp that offers to buy it.
comments
June 26, 2017
Raksura and Other Stuff
Yesterday was the anniversary of the day I found out The Cloud Roads sold to Night Shade, after two years of visiting and being rejected by various publishers.
So I posted: https://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/162255829557/something-else-ive-been-meaning-to-post-the The entry on the Three Worlds from Worlds Imagined: The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection for the Cushing Library exhibit.
I got my author's copies of the trade paperback of The Harbors of the Sun on Friday, so it should start showing up soon. The hardcover will probably be a week or so later, and the ebook will drop on July 4.
***
Murderbot got a really nice review on The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/25/15837368/all-systems-red-murderbot-chronicles-martha-wells-book-review
Our protagonist got its name after killing a bunch of company employees on another planet a couple of years ago, but while it has a bit of a bloodstained history, this isn’t Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a dour security bot that likes to watch steamy soap operas, and would rather be left alone. After its murderous rampage, it hacked its own governor module, not wanting to fall victim once again to hardware manufactured by a company that cuts corners to save a buck.
Ann Leckie also liked Murderbot:
http://www.annleckie.com/2017/06/23/recent-reading/
I’m not kidding, I can almost guarantee that my readers will enjoy this. I have already pre-ordered volume 2, which is out in January.
***
The Authors Auction for the victims of Grenfell Tower is going until June 27. My item is https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/2017/06/23/signed-copy-of-the-murderbot-diaries-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells/
and the whole list of items is
https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/items-for-auction-2/
***
If you need a quick break today, "Night at the Opera" is still free at Podcastle in text and audio:
http://podcastle.org/index.php?s=night+at+the+opera
It's a prequel to The Death of the Necromancer
***
I'm doing a signing with Rachel Caine at Murder By The Book in Houston, TX, on Saturday, July 15, at 4:30, and you can order our books and get them signed and personalized and shipped to you: http://www.murderbooks.com/event/wells-caine
comments
So I posted: https://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/162255829557/something-else-ive-been-meaning-to-post-the The entry on the Three Worlds from Worlds Imagined: The Maps of Imaginary Places Collection for the Cushing Library exhibit.
I got my author's copies of the trade paperback of The Harbors of the Sun on Friday, so it should start showing up soon. The hardcover will probably be a week or so later, and the ebook will drop on July 4.
***
Murderbot got a really nice review on The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/25/15837368/all-systems-red-murderbot-chronicles-martha-wells-book-review
Our protagonist got its name after killing a bunch of company employees on another planet a couple of years ago, but while it has a bit of a bloodstained history, this isn’t Hal from 2001: A Space Odyssey. It’s a dour security bot that likes to watch steamy soap operas, and would rather be left alone. After its murderous rampage, it hacked its own governor module, not wanting to fall victim once again to hardware manufactured by a company that cuts corners to save a buck.
Ann Leckie also liked Murderbot:
http://www.annleckie.com/2017/06/23/recent-reading/
I’m not kidding, I can almost guarantee that my readers will enjoy this. I have already pre-ordered volume 2, which is out in January.
***
The Authors Auction for the victims of Grenfell Tower is going until June 27. My item is https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/2017/06/23/signed-copy-of-the-murderbot-diaries-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells/
and the whole list of items is
https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/items-for-auction-2/
***
If you need a quick break today, "Night at the Opera" is still free at Podcastle in text and audio:
http://podcastle.org/index.php?s=night+at+the+opera
It's a prequel to The Death of the Necromancer
***
I'm doing a signing with Rachel Caine at Murder By The Book in Houston, TX, on Saturday, July 15, at 4:30, and you can order our books and get them signed and personalized and shipped to you: http://www.murderbooks.com/event/wells-caine
comments
June 23, 2017
Friday For What It's Worth
This has been a week of extreme highs and lows. The high points were awesome but the low points are...low.
I've got news I can't share yet so this is kind of a boring post. I need to get back to my book rec posts but Fridays are kind of a bad day for them.
We were supposed to have a hurricane but it turned and is now torturing a different part of the country.
Oh, I did a Reddit r/Fantasy AMA yesterday, and got a great question on Worldbuilding:
Question: One of my favorite things about your books is the incredible detail and authenticity to the cultures and societies you create. I've read City Of Bones and your Raksura books and I am always immediately engaged when the characters travel to a new city. The residents, architecture, customs, languages, and overall presentation feel well rooted and historical. It really adds an incredible flavor to your writing and inspires me to improve my own.
Are you willing to describe the process in which you develop a new city? When you sit down to create a new location, how you start the vision and do you have a system in how you begin to add layers of detail until the city/town/society feels authentic?
Me: Thank you so much!
I use different methods for different types of book. For the Ile-Rien books, where the locations are based more on real-world places, I did a lot of research into cities in similar cultures, climates, environments as my imaginary city. For the Raksura books, I tried to think of a neat setting for a city, then tried to make it as weird and extreme as possible. Like the Turning City, Keres-gedon, which started out as just a camp in the mountains.
Basically it's a process of coming up with an element you want in your city, like canals. You look at cities with canals, like Venice, and maybe Angkor Wat. What are the canals used for? Transportation, a reservoir, entertainment, defense, etc. You think about how the environment and climate of your city is going to affect your canals. Can they freeze over? Are they affected by drought? Sewage? Plant growth? Underwater monster issues? Etc. Why or why not are they affected by these things? Once you make all those decisions, you decide how they affect the inhabitants of the city, their culture, their everyday life. It can be simple or complicated, and ideally, it leads to ideas that can further characterization and plot. And the big thing to remember is that the reader doesn't need to know everything you know about your canal system. They'll be able to infer a lot from the bits and pieces they see as your characters move through the story, and the sense that the city is operating by a logical system is more important than knowing the exact details.
I also don't usually figure out too many of the details of my settings in advance, since I'm going to concentrate mainly on the parts my characters are interacting with. Like most of the city may be sketched in, but the characters are going to need this little train system and this temple hospital, so those bits are going to get more attention and development. Also keep in mind that cities change over time, with new buildings, new roads, and what stays in place and what gets built over or torn down all say things about the people who live there.
It also helps not to set too many boundaries. You never want to tell readers that there's nothing over the mountains, because it's going to make the world feel closed in, like a puddle instead of a huge mysterious ocean. And if you keep writing in this setting, you may eventually need those empty places to put things in.
I hope that helps!
***
Also:
I have a signed copy of The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red in the Authors for Grenfell Tower Auction: https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/2017/06/23/signed-copy-of-the-murderbot-diaries-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells/
There are tons of other great items up for auction to benefit the tower fire victims. Please check it out or pass it on.
comments
I've got news I can't share yet so this is kind of a boring post. I need to get back to my book rec posts but Fridays are kind of a bad day for them.
We were supposed to have a hurricane but it turned and is now torturing a different part of the country.
Oh, I did a Reddit r/Fantasy AMA yesterday, and got a great question on Worldbuilding:
Question: One of my favorite things about your books is the incredible detail and authenticity to the cultures and societies you create. I've read City Of Bones and your Raksura books and I am always immediately engaged when the characters travel to a new city. The residents, architecture, customs, languages, and overall presentation feel well rooted and historical. It really adds an incredible flavor to your writing and inspires me to improve my own.
Are you willing to describe the process in which you develop a new city? When you sit down to create a new location, how you start the vision and do you have a system in how you begin to add layers of detail until the city/town/society feels authentic?
Me: Thank you so much!
I use different methods for different types of book. For the Ile-Rien books, where the locations are based more on real-world places, I did a lot of research into cities in similar cultures, climates, environments as my imaginary city. For the Raksura books, I tried to think of a neat setting for a city, then tried to make it as weird and extreme as possible. Like the Turning City, Keres-gedon, which started out as just a camp in the mountains.
Basically it's a process of coming up with an element you want in your city, like canals. You look at cities with canals, like Venice, and maybe Angkor Wat. What are the canals used for? Transportation, a reservoir, entertainment, defense, etc. You think about how the environment and climate of your city is going to affect your canals. Can they freeze over? Are they affected by drought? Sewage? Plant growth? Underwater monster issues? Etc. Why or why not are they affected by these things? Once you make all those decisions, you decide how they affect the inhabitants of the city, their culture, their everyday life. It can be simple or complicated, and ideally, it leads to ideas that can further characterization and plot. And the big thing to remember is that the reader doesn't need to know everything you know about your canal system. They'll be able to infer a lot from the bits and pieces they see as your characters move through the story, and the sense that the city is operating by a logical system is more important than knowing the exact details.
I also don't usually figure out too many of the details of my settings in advance, since I'm going to concentrate mainly on the parts my characters are interacting with. Like most of the city may be sketched in, but the characters are going to need this little train system and this temple hospital, so those bits are going to get more attention and development. Also keep in mind that cities change over time, with new buildings, new roads, and what stays in place and what gets built over or torn down all say things about the people who live there.
It also helps not to set too many boundaries. You never want to tell readers that there's nothing over the mountains, because it's going to make the world feel closed in, like a puddle instead of a huge mysterious ocean. And if you keep writing in this setting, you may eventually need those empty places to put things in.
I hope that helps!
***
Also:
I have a signed copy of The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red in the Authors for Grenfell Tower Auction: https://authorsforgrenfelltower.com/2017/06/23/signed-copy-of-the-murderbot-diaries-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells/
There are tons of other great items up for auction to benefit the tower fire victims. Please check it out or pass it on.
comments
June 22, 2017
r/Fantasy AMA
FYI, I'm doing an Ask Me Anything on reddit Fantasy today (June 22): https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/6it1cf/hi_everybody_this_is_sff_writer_martha_wells_and/
comments
comments
June 21, 2017
Artificial Condition Quote
Trying to get photos to post here still seems really wonky, so here's a link to a tumblr post with a quote from The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition: https://marthawells.tumblr.com/post/162086407182/for-book-quote-wednesday-bookqw-on-twitter
This was for Book Quote Wednesday on Twitter.
comments
This was for Book Quote Wednesday on Twitter.
comments
June 15, 2017
Signing at Murder by the Book
I'm doing a signing with Rachel Caine at Murder By The Book in Houston, TX, on Saturday, July 15, at 4:30, and you can order our books here and get them signed and personalized and shipped to you: http://www.murderbooks.com/event/wells-caine
comments
June 14, 2017
The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition
Just noticed “The Murderbot Diaries: Artificial Condition” is up for preorder now.
This is the second novella in the The Murderbot Diaries novella series. Ebook and paperback, DRM-Free, available world-wide.
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/artificial-condition-martha-wells/1126552371?ean=9780765397546
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Condition-Murderbot-Diaries-Martha-ebook/dp/B072MZWHMB/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/artificial-condition
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/artificial-condition/id1247589033?mt=11
The follow-up to the hugely popular “All Systems Red”
It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot.”
But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.
What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
comments
This is the second novella in the The Murderbot Diaries novella series. Ebook and paperback, DRM-Free, available world-wide.
B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/artificial-condition-martha-wells/1126552371?ean=9780765397546
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Artificial-Condition-Murderbot-Diaries-Martha-ebook/dp/B072MZWHMB/
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/artificial-condition
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/artificial-condition/id1247589033?mt=11
The follow-up to the hugely popular “All Systems Red”
It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot.”
But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.
What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
comments
June 7, 2017
New Book Wednesday Actually on Wednesday
(If you've been following my book rec and new book listing posts for a while, you may have noticed this already, but while most book lists emphasize books by popular straight white men, this one emphasizes everybody else. I include books by straight white men, but in about the same percentage that other book lists include everybody else. I also try to highlight books that are less well known.)
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Story: Bourbon, Sugar, Grace by Jessica Reisman
* Storybundle: The LGBT+ StoryBundle with books by Melissa Scott, K.J. Charles, Heather Rose Jones, Geonn Cannon, Catherine Lundoff, Jude McLaughlin, Jo Graham, A.C. Wise, Steve Berman, Amy Griswold, Lisa A. Barnett
* The Broken Ones by Danielle L Jensen
Below Forsaken Mountain, a plot is being hatched to overthrow the tyrant king of Trollus, and Marc is the right-hand man of its leader. His involvement is information more than one troll would kill to possess, which is why he must keep it a secret from everyone, even the girl he loves.
* Preorder: The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang
Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What's more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother's Protectorate.
* Preorder: The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang
Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hunts deadly, sky-obscuring naga in the harsh outer reaches of the kingdom with packs of dinosaurs at her side, far from everything she used to love.
* Food of the Gods by Cassandra Khaw
It’s not unusual to work two jobs in this day and age, but sorcerer and former triad soldier Rupert Wong’s life is more complicated than most. By day, he makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls; by night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. Of course, it never seems to be enough to buy him a new car—or his restless, flesh-eating-ghost girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle—until opportunity comes smashing through his window.
* The Chosen Ones by Jaye Wells
Sabina Kane is one of the most infamous and beloved heroines in the Urban Fantasy genre. This special collection of short fiction is a must-have for any fan of the series, and a must-read for any fan of the genre.
comments
(I only link to one retail outlet in the book's listing, but most books are available at multiple outlets, like Kobo, iBooks, international Amazons, Barnes & Noble, etc. The short stories are usually on free online magazines.)
* Story: Bourbon, Sugar, Grace by Jessica Reisman
* Storybundle: The LGBT+ StoryBundle with books by Melissa Scott, K.J. Charles, Heather Rose Jones, Geonn Cannon, Catherine Lundoff, Jude McLaughlin, Jo Graham, A.C. Wise, Steve Berman, Amy Griswold, Lisa A. Barnett
* The Broken Ones by Danielle L Jensen
Below Forsaken Mountain, a plot is being hatched to overthrow the tyrant king of Trollus, and Marc is the right-hand man of its leader. His involvement is information more than one troll would kill to possess, which is why he must keep it a secret from everyone, even the girl he loves.
* Preorder: The Black Tides of Heaven by JY Yang
Mokoya and Akeha, the twin children of the Protector, were sold to the Grand Monastery as children. While Mokoya developed her strange prophetic gift, Akeha was always the one who could see the strings that moved adults to action. While his sister received visions of what would be, Akeha realized what could be. What's more, he saw the sickness at the heart of his mother's Protectorate.
* Preorder: The Red Threads of Fortune by JY Yang
Fallen prophet, master of the elements, and daughter of the supreme Protector, Sanao Mokoya has abandoned the life that once bound her. Once her visions shaped the lives of citizens across the land, but no matter what tragedy Mokoya foresaw, she could never reshape the future. Broken by the loss of her young daughter, she now hunts deadly, sky-obscuring naga in the harsh outer reaches of the kingdom with packs of dinosaurs at her side, far from everything she used to love.
* Food of the Gods by Cassandra Khaw
It’s not unusual to work two jobs in this day and age, but sorcerer and former triad soldier Rupert Wong’s life is more complicated than most. By day, he makes human hors d’oeuvres for a dynasty of ghouls; by night, he pushes pencils for the Ten Chinese Hells. Of course, it never seems to be enough to buy him a new car—or his restless, flesh-eating-ghost girlfriend passage from the reincarnation cycle—until opportunity comes smashing through his window.
* The Chosen Ones by Jaye Wells
Sabina Kane is one of the most infamous and beloved heroines in the Urban Fantasy genre. This special collection of short fiction is a must-have for any fan of the series, and a must-read for any fan of the genre.
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June 5, 2017
The Harbors of the Sun Excerpt and Signing
In less than a month, The Harbors of the Sun, the last Raksura book, will be out in hardcover, trade paperback, and ebook.
(If you missed it, The Edge of Worlds is already out in hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook.)
If you want signed copies, I'm doing a signing with Rachel Caine at Murder By The Book on Saturday, July 15, at 4:30, and you can order our books and get them signed and personalized and shipped to you here: http://www.murderbooks.com/event/wells-caine
(You can also order signed copies of The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red.)
The Harbors of the Sun Excerpt
Sleeping in swamps was always difficult. The brackish mud was too cool against Moon's scales to be comfortable, and every time he managed to doze off, something crawled over him. The clouds of insects sheltering in the tall grass weren't much interested in Raksura, but the ugly little things that looked like fish with legs had sharp teeth and were annoyingly persistent. Moon had always found sleeping in his scaled form awkward and not restful, but the distractions made it nearly impossible.
Fortunately for his temper, the sky was finally darkening toward evening. Moon shoved himself up out of the mud and slid through the sharp grass blades and over to a much larger puddle. He found a knot of driftwood near the edge and chunked it in. "Stone, wake up."
Bubbles broke the muddy surface, then a big dark scaled tail whipped up and took a swing at Moon. He dodged and went to find a less muddy place to clean off in.
He waded through the waist-deep grass out to one of the pools where the sea entered the wetlands. Sitting on his heels in the cool saltwater, he scrubbed the sticky mud off his scales with handfuls of sand. The empty sea stretched out, the evening sky was indigo and purple, and the quarter moon gleamed on the water. The breeze held saltwater and the intense green scent of the wetland grasses, leavened with various flowers and laced with bird scat and dead fish. All the groundling shipping that he had spotted throughout the afternoon, both surface sailing ships and flying boats, had already made port.
Moon glanced around again out of habit, even though nothing could see him except for a few tall spindly shore birds striding away through the shallows. Then he shifted.
His wings, tail, spines, and black scales flowed away into his soft-skinned form. Anyone watching would now see a tall lean groundling, with dark bronze skin and dark hair. He was dressed in light pants cut off at the knee and a loose brown shirt, the kind of clothes some groundlings wore for sailing or other work. It wouldn't draw attention in most of the groundling ports Moon had visited, but this wasn't exactly a groundling port. He felt the wind lift his hair and scratched at the back of his neck where he hadn't managed to get all the mud out of his spines.
With no warning, Stone stepped out of the grass. Moon twitched in spite of himself. Stone was in his groundling form now too, with gray skin and hair, in battered clothes much like Moon's, and a pack slung across his shoulder. He was somehow already dry and mostly clean, despite having been buried in a mud wallow for most of the afternoon. Clearly not in any better a mood than Moon was, he said, "What's taking you so long?"
"I'm waiting for you." Moon hissed at him and followed him back through the grass.
( read more )
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(If you missed it, The Edge of Worlds is already out in hardcover, trade paperback, ebook, and audiobook.)
If you want signed copies, I'm doing a signing with Rachel Caine at Murder By The Book on Saturday, July 15, at 4:30, and you can order our books and get them signed and personalized and shipped to you here: http://www.murderbooks.com/event/wells-caine
(You can also order signed copies of The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red.)
The Harbors of the Sun Excerpt
Sleeping in swamps was always difficult. The brackish mud was too cool against Moon's scales to be comfortable, and every time he managed to doze off, something crawled over him. The clouds of insects sheltering in the tall grass weren't much interested in Raksura, but the ugly little things that looked like fish with legs had sharp teeth and were annoyingly persistent. Moon had always found sleeping in his scaled form awkward and not restful, but the distractions made it nearly impossible.
Fortunately for his temper, the sky was finally darkening toward evening. Moon shoved himself up out of the mud and slid through the sharp grass blades and over to a much larger puddle. He found a knot of driftwood near the edge and chunked it in. "Stone, wake up."
Bubbles broke the muddy surface, then a big dark scaled tail whipped up and took a swing at Moon. He dodged and went to find a less muddy place to clean off in.
He waded through the waist-deep grass out to one of the pools where the sea entered the wetlands. Sitting on his heels in the cool saltwater, he scrubbed the sticky mud off his scales with handfuls of sand. The empty sea stretched out, the evening sky was indigo and purple, and the quarter moon gleamed on the water. The breeze held saltwater and the intense green scent of the wetland grasses, leavened with various flowers and laced with bird scat and dead fish. All the groundling shipping that he had spotted throughout the afternoon, both surface sailing ships and flying boats, had already made port.
Moon glanced around again out of habit, even though nothing could see him except for a few tall spindly shore birds striding away through the shallows. Then he shifted.
His wings, tail, spines, and black scales flowed away into his soft-skinned form. Anyone watching would now see a tall lean groundling, with dark bronze skin and dark hair. He was dressed in light pants cut off at the knee and a loose brown shirt, the kind of clothes some groundlings wore for sailing or other work. It wouldn't draw attention in most of the groundling ports Moon had visited, but this wasn't exactly a groundling port. He felt the wind lift his hair and scratched at the back of his neck where he hadn't managed to get all the mud out of his spines.
With no warning, Stone stepped out of the grass. Moon twitched in spite of himself. Stone was in his groundling form now too, with gray skin and hair, in battered clothes much like Moon's, and a pack slung across his shoulder. He was somehow already dry and mostly clean, despite having been buried in a mud wallow for most of the afternoon. Clearly not in any better a mood than Moon was, he said, "What's taking you so long?"
"I'm waiting for you." Moon hissed at him and followed him back through the grass.
( read more )
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