Martha Wells's Blog, page 99
July 15, 2015
A few more book recs...
New people, you can find the previous book recs on this tag.
Before I forget...
* RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK #1 Out This Week!
The first issue in RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK is published this Wednesday by Titan Comics! Written by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, it expands on the characters and world Ben created in the best-selling Peter Grant series of urban fantasy novels. In addition to the main cover, there are two variant covers (all three above). Here’s the synopsis for issue one...
I've also been really enjoying the Titan's new Doctor Who first-five-issue compilations. I've read Ten, Eleven, and Twelve now, and thought they were much better than the previous comics, and I loved the two new companions.
* The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight.
* Luna Station Quarterly
Luna Station Press is proud to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our flagship Quarterly with this special anthology. The writers gathered in these pages, from every corner of the globe, are explorers of wonder, magic, and places beyond the stars. They are also explorers of what makes us human, in heart, mind, and spirit. Come explore the best we have to offer, as we look back fondly on the last five years and look ahead at what’s to come. Featuring fifty stories by emerging women writers, with cover art by Hugo award-winner Julie Dillon.
Before I forget...
* RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK #1 Out This Week!
The first issue in RIVERS OF LONDON: BODY WORK is published this Wednesday by Titan Comics! Written by Ben Aaronovitch and Andrew Cartmel, it expands on the characters and world Ben created in the best-selling Peter Grant series of urban fantasy novels. In addition to the main cover, there are two variant covers (all three above). Here’s the synopsis for issue one...
I've also been really enjoying the Titan's new Doctor Who first-five-issue compilations. I've read Ten, Eleven, and Twelve now, and thought they were much better than the previous comics, and I loved the two new companions.
* The Sorcerer of the Wildeeps by Kai Ashante Wilson
Since leaving his homeland, the earthbound demigod Demane has been labeled a sorcerer. With his ancestors' artifacts in hand, the Sorcerer follows the Captain, a beautiful man with song for a voice and hair that drinks the sunlight.
* Luna Station Quarterly
Luna Station Press is proud to celebrate the fifth anniversary of our flagship Quarterly with this special anthology. The writers gathered in these pages, from every corner of the globe, are explorers of wonder, magic, and places beyond the stars. They are also explorers of what makes us human, in heart, mind, and spirit. Come explore the best we have to offer, as we look back fondly on the last five years and look ahead at what’s to come. Featuring fifty stories by emerging women writers, with cover art by Hugo award-winner Julie Dillon.
July 13, 2015
Book Recs
I've been collecting minor injuries for a while now: I hurt my right arm trying to unstick a vacuum cleaner hose, and hurt my back a little washing the house. Yesterday I broke a toe on a concrete block while doing yard work. Go me.
Here are some new book recs:
* The Shores of Spain by J. Kathleen Cheney
Even as the branches of peace are being offered, there are some who still believe those who are not human should be used as chattel. And they are willing to go to great lengths to retain their power. This is part of The Golden City trilogy set in early 1900s Portugal, and here are Release Day Giveaways and other links.
* Ink and Bone: The Great Libary by Rachel Caine
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time...Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
* Cities and Thrones by Carrie Patel
In the fantastical, gaslit underground city of Recoletta, oligarchs from foreign states and revolutionaries from the farming communes vie for power in the wake of the city's coup. The dark, forbidden knowledge of how the city came to be founded has been released into the world for all to read, and now someone must pay.
* Death's Good Dog by T.L. Morganfield
In 1521, while the Spanish were conquering the Aztec people, the Archangel Michael defeated their gods. Three hundred years later, the fierce, bloodthirsty gods of Ancient Mexico still sit dead on the shores of the Black Lake in the underworld, watched over by the only two gods the angels spared: Lord Death and his servant, the Black Dog Xolotl.
* Xiao Xiao and the Dragon Pearl by Joyce Chng
Enter the world of Xiao Xiao, daughter of an imperial courtesan, and a fantastical historical Qing China, with dragons and magic and traditions. What happens when her mother adopts a baby girl found in a rice field? What does - can - the green pearl do?
* In the Still of the Knight by John G. Hartness
Murders are happening outside Charlotte's hottest nightspots. A new vampire society has set up shop in the sewers. And Jimmy Black's about to run afoul of the Master of the City. If Jimmy weren't already a vampire, the week ahead would be the death of him.
* Bound by Ink by Kristi Hutson
Michiko has been a vessel containing three demons since she was a little girl. She accepts her lot with stoic humility, covered with warding tattoos printed with spell-laced ink. When the governors of her province send her off-world as a waste of resources, her life takes a strange new turn.
* Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
In a future when Earth is a toxic, abandoned world and humanity has spread into the outer solar system to survive, the tightly controlled use of time travel holds the key maintaining a fragile existence among the other planets and their moons. James Griffin-Mars is a chronman--a convicted criminal recruited for his unique psychological makeup to undertake the most dangerous job there is: missions into Earth's past to recover resources and treasure without altering the timeline. Most chronmen never reach old age, and James is reaching his breaking point.
* Shower of Stones by Zachary Jernigan
At the moment of his greatest victory, before a crowd of thousands, the warrior Vedas Tezul renounced his faith, calling for revolt against the god Adrash, imploring mankind to unite in this struggle. Good intentions count for nothing. In the three months since his sacrilegious pronouncement, the world has not changed for the better. In fact, it is now on the verge of dying. The Needle hangs broken in orbit above Jeroun, each of its massive iron spheres poised to fall and blanket the planet's surface in dust. Long-held truces between Adrashi and Anadrashi break apart as panic spreads.
* The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard is up for preorder
In the late twentieth century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins, the aftermath of a Great War between arcane powers. The Grand Magasins have been reduced to piles of debris, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine has turned black with ashes and rubble and the remnants of the spells that tore the city apart. But those that survived still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.
* Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
A new novella set in the same world as The Curse of Chalion.
Here are some new book recs:
* The Shores of Spain by J. Kathleen Cheney
Even as the branches of peace are being offered, there are some who still believe those who are not human should be used as chattel. And they are willing to go to great lengths to retain their power. This is part of The Golden City trilogy set in early 1900s Portugal, and here are Release Day Giveaways and other links.
* Ink and Bone: The Great Libary by Rachel Caine
In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time...Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.
* Cities and Thrones by Carrie Patel
In the fantastical, gaslit underground city of Recoletta, oligarchs from foreign states and revolutionaries from the farming communes vie for power in the wake of the city's coup. The dark, forbidden knowledge of how the city came to be founded has been released into the world for all to read, and now someone must pay.
* Death's Good Dog by T.L. Morganfield
In 1521, while the Spanish were conquering the Aztec people, the Archangel Michael defeated their gods. Three hundred years later, the fierce, bloodthirsty gods of Ancient Mexico still sit dead on the shores of the Black Lake in the underworld, watched over by the only two gods the angels spared: Lord Death and his servant, the Black Dog Xolotl.
* Xiao Xiao and the Dragon Pearl by Joyce Chng
Enter the world of Xiao Xiao, daughter of an imperial courtesan, and a fantastical historical Qing China, with dragons and magic and traditions. What happens when her mother adopts a baby girl found in a rice field? What does - can - the green pearl do?
* In the Still of the Knight by John G. Hartness
Murders are happening outside Charlotte's hottest nightspots. A new vampire society has set up shop in the sewers. And Jimmy Black's about to run afoul of the Master of the City. If Jimmy weren't already a vampire, the week ahead would be the death of him.
* Bound by Ink by Kristi Hutson
Michiko has been a vessel containing three demons since she was a little girl. She accepts her lot with stoic humility, covered with warding tattoos printed with spell-laced ink. When the governors of her province send her off-world as a waste of resources, her life takes a strange new turn.
* Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
In a future when Earth is a toxic, abandoned world and humanity has spread into the outer solar system to survive, the tightly controlled use of time travel holds the key maintaining a fragile existence among the other planets and their moons. James Griffin-Mars is a chronman--a convicted criminal recruited for his unique psychological makeup to undertake the most dangerous job there is: missions into Earth's past to recover resources and treasure without altering the timeline. Most chronmen never reach old age, and James is reaching his breaking point.
* Shower of Stones by Zachary Jernigan
At the moment of his greatest victory, before a crowd of thousands, the warrior Vedas Tezul renounced his faith, calling for revolt against the god Adrash, imploring mankind to unite in this struggle. Good intentions count for nothing. In the three months since his sacrilegious pronouncement, the world has not changed for the better. In fact, it is now on the verge of dying. The Needle hangs broken in orbit above Jeroun, each of its massive iron spheres poised to fall and blanket the planet's surface in dust. Long-held truces between Adrashi and Anadrashi break apart as panic spreads.
* The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard is up for preorder
In the late twentieth century, the streets of Paris are lined with haunted ruins, the aftermath of a Great War between arcane powers. The Grand Magasins have been reduced to piles of debris, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine has turned black with ashes and rubble and the remnants of the spells that tore the city apart. But those that survived still retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.
* Penric's Demon by Lois McMaster Bujold
A new novella set in the same world as The Curse of Chalion.
July 10, 2015
I've removed most of the free short stories (including Ra...
I've removed most of the free short stories (including Raksura stories) from my web site because a pirate "Booklassic" has taken three of them and is selling them as ebook novels on Kobo and other retail sites.
I reported Booklassic to Kobo about this before, but they haven't done much about it.
I don't want readers paying money for stories I meant to give away as freebies to people who visited my web site, especially when they are short stories the pirate is selling as novels. But there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. So, I apologize.
I reported Booklassic to Kobo about this before, but they haven't done much about it.
I don't want readers paying money for stories I meant to give away as freebies to people who visited my web site, especially when they are short stories the pirate is selling as novels. But there doesn't seem to be much I can do about it. So, I apologize.
July 8, 2015
ConvergenceCon 2015
I'm back from ConvergenceCon in Bloomington, MN, and I've posted some photos on the tumblr here and here
I had a great time. It's a huge convention (I think around 7000 people?), with tons of costumes and, as you can see from the photos, some very elaborately decorated party rooms.
My favorite panel this year was the Build-a-World game show panel hosted and designed by Monica Valentinelli, I was on Team Velociraptor with John Heimbuch and Arianne Tex Thompson, and we fought against Catherine Lundoff, Carrie Patel, and Paul Cornell on Team Menopausal Werewolves (we tried to get them to name it Team Vicar but they wouldn't). It was the most fun I'd ever had on a panel. Basically the audience suggests categories and you use them to fill in a large grid in timed segments, and at the end each team as a new world and hopefully a story. The other team came up with a world I heard described as if Ursula Le Guin wrote Warhammer, and ours was more like Game of Thrones meets Fraggle Rock. (We had two alien races in conflict one of which had a smell-based language. Our YA heroine was named Tiny Oily Salt. It was awesome.) I think we had the most points, but at the end we had to pitch the story to the audience, and Paul Cornell's pitch was so good the other team took the win. It was just a huge amount of fun and I want to play it again.
I had a great time. It's a huge convention (I think around 7000 people?), with tons of costumes and, as you can see from the photos, some very elaborately decorated party rooms.
My favorite panel this year was the Build-a-World game show panel hosted and designed by Monica Valentinelli, I was on Team Velociraptor with John Heimbuch and Arianne Tex Thompson, and we fought against Catherine Lundoff, Carrie Patel, and Paul Cornell on Team Menopausal Werewolves (we tried to get them to name it Team Vicar but they wouldn't). It was the most fun I'd ever had on a panel. Basically the audience suggests categories and you use them to fill in a large grid in timed segments, and at the end each team as a new world and hopefully a story. The other team came up with a world I heard described as if Ursula Le Guin wrote Warhammer, and ours was more like Game of Thrones meets Fraggle Rock. (We had two alien races in conflict one of which had a smell-based language. Our YA heroine was named Tiny Oily Salt. It was awesome.) I think we had the most points, but at the end we had to pitch the story to the audience, and Paul Cornell's pitch was so good the other team took the win. It was just a huge amount of fun and I want to play it again.
July 1, 2015
Book Recs
Great review this morning of the Books of the Raksura: Sky's the Limit
A fantasy story about a human culture dominated by a from-birth caste system, ruled by physically strong women who take beautiful, docile male consorts – a culture that lacks a concept of marriage, where all children are raised collectively and which has no taboos against either polyamory or queer relationships, and where both are treated as normative – would instantly read as blasphemous to some or utopian to others; but either way, we’d likely interpret such narrative choices as being overtly political. But because the Raksura are demonstrably a different species to us – and because, just as importantly, their culture isn't presented as secondary to, exoticised by or in direct contrast with a more "normal" human society – it’s much, much easier to accept these elements of the story at face value: as things that just are, instead of things that need to be constantly questioned or remarked upon.
The art pictured is by Matthew Stewart, who won a Chesley Award for the cover of The Cloud Roads.
***
Book recs
* In Midnight's Silence by T. Frohock
1930's Spain is the backdrop for the tale of supernatural beings, a dark bargain, and a struggle for autonomy, fatherhood, love, and perhaps the future of the world.
* Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych by N.K. Jemisin
Three brand new short stories by Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated author N.K. Jemisin, set in the world of the Inheritance trilogy.
* Legenda Maris by Tanith Lee
Legenda Maris comprises eleven tales of the ocean and her denizens, including two that are original to this collection – ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Land’s End, The Edge of The Sea’ – which were among the last stories Tanith Lee wrote. In this treasure chest of tales, the author works her beguiling, linguistic sorcery to conjure mermaids who are as deadly as they are lovely, the hidden coves of lonely fishing villages harbouring mysteries, and fantastical ships that haunt the waves. She explores the relationship between the sea and the land, and the occasional meetings between those who dwell above and below the waters – meetings that are sometimes wondrous and sometimes fatal, often both.
* Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke (up for preorder)
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union meets The Windup Girl when a female PI goes up against a ruthless gangster—just as both humans and robots agitate for independence in an Argentinian colony in Antarctica.
* Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney
Fabulous story collection: A swan princess hunted for her bones, a broken musician and his silver pipe, and a rat named Maurice bring justice to a town under fell enchantment. A gang of courageous kids confronts both a plague-destroyed world and an afterlife infested with clowns but robbed of laughter. In an island city, the murder of a child unites two lovers, but vengeance will part them. Only human sacrifice will save a city trapped in ice and darkness. Gold spun out of straw has a price, but not the one you expect.
* The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (up for preorder)
Multi-award winning author Aliette de Bodard, brings her story of the War in Heaven to Paris, igniting the City of Light in a fantasy of divine power and deep conspiracy...
* Court of Fives by Kate Elliott (up for preorder)
In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's first young adult novel weaves an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.
A fantasy story about a human culture dominated by a from-birth caste system, ruled by physically strong women who take beautiful, docile male consorts – a culture that lacks a concept of marriage, where all children are raised collectively and which has no taboos against either polyamory or queer relationships, and where both are treated as normative – would instantly read as blasphemous to some or utopian to others; but either way, we’d likely interpret such narrative choices as being overtly political. But because the Raksura are demonstrably a different species to us – and because, just as importantly, their culture isn't presented as secondary to, exoticised by or in direct contrast with a more "normal" human society – it’s much, much easier to accept these elements of the story at face value: as things that just are, instead of things that need to be constantly questioned or remarked upon.
The art pictured is by Matthew Stewart, who won a Chesley Award for the cover of The Cloud Roads.
***
Book recs
* In Midnight's Silence by T. Frohock
1930's Spain is the backdrop for the tale of supernatural beings, a dark bargain, and a struggle for autonomy, fatherhood, love, and perhaps the future of the world.
* Shades in Shadow: An Inheritance Triptych by N.K. Jemisin
Three brand new short stories by Hugo, Nebula and World Fantasy Award nominated author N.K. Jemisin, set in the world of the Inheritance trilogy.
* Legenda Maris by Tanith Lee
Legenda Maris comprises eleven tales of the ocean and her denizens, including two that are original to this collection – ‘Leviathan’ and ‘Land’s End, The Edge of The Sea’ – which were among the last stories Tanith Lee wrote. In this treasure chest of tales, the author works her beguiling, linguistic sorcery to conjure mermaids who are as deadly as they are lovely, the hidden coves of lonely fishing villages harbouring mysteries, and fantastical ships that haunt the waves. She explores the relationship between the sea and the land, and the occasional meetings between those who dwell above and below the waters – meetings that are sometimes wondrous and sometimes fatal, often both.
* Our Lady of the Ice by Cassandra Rose Clarke (up for preorder)
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union meets The Windup Girl when a female PI goes up against a ruthless gangster—just as both humans and robots agitate for independence in an Argentinian colony in Antarctica.
* Bone Swans by C.S.E. Cooney
Fabulous story collection: A swan princess hunted for her bones, a broken musician and his silver pipe, and a rat named Maurice bring justice to a town under fell enchantment. A gang of courageous kids confronts both a plague-destroyed world and an afterlife infested with clowns but robbed of laughter. In an island city, the murder of a child unites two lovers, but vengeance will part them. Only human sacrifice will save a city trapped in ice and darkness. Gold spun out of straw has a price, but not the one you expect.
* The House of Shattered Wings by Aliette de Bodard (up for preorder)
Multi-award winning author Aliette de Bodard, brings her story of the War in Heaven to Paris, igniting the City of Light in a fantasy of divine power and deep conspiracy...
* Court of Fives by Kate Elliott (up for preorder)
In this imaginative escape into an enthralling new world, World Fantasy Award finalist Kate Elliott's first young adult novel weaves an epic story of a girl struggling to do what she loves in a society suffocated by rules of class and privilege.
June 25, 2015
ConvergenceCon
On July 2-5 I will be at CONvergence in Bloomington, MN.
My schedule is:
Friday, July 3
3:30pm
Evolution of the Publishing Industry
From print to e-books to online publishing, how have these changes affected the industry? How have writers, graphic artists, editors, and others involved in book publishing adapted, and what remains the same no matter what format a book takes? Panelists: Laura Zats, Toni Weisskopf, Dawn Frederick, Michael Merriam, Martha Wells
Saturday, July 4
11:00am
Reading - Martha Wells
12:30pm
Signing - Martha Wells
Sunday, July 5
2:00pm
Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing
There are easy ways to write and there are mind-bogglingly difficult ways to write. Wouldn't it be nice if someone told you which is which? Panelists: Wesley Chu, Elizabeth Bear, C. Robert Cargill, Scott Lynch, Martha Wells
3:30pm
Build-A-World with Guests!
Welcome one and all to the Build-a-World game show, with your host Monica Valentinelli! In this panel, two teams of writers will compete against one another to create a brand new world in under an hour. You, the audience, will help judge! Panelists: Monica Valentinelli (mod), Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, Catherine Lundoff, Martha Wells
My schedule is:
Friday, July 3
3:30pm
Evolution of the Publishing Industry
From print to e-books to online publishing, how have these changes affected the industry? How have writers, graphic artists, editors, and others involved in book publishing adapted, and what remains the same no matter what format a book takes? Panelists: Laura Zats, Toni Weisskopf, Dawn Frederick, Michael Merriam, Martha Wells
Saturday, July 4
11:00am
Reading - Martha Wells
12:30pm
Signing - Martha Wells
Sunday, July 5
2:00pm
Things I Wish I'd Known Before I Started Writing
There are easy ways to write and there are mind-bogglingly difficult ways to write. Wouldn't it be nice if someone told you which is which? Panelists: Wesley Chu, Elizabeth Bear, C. Robert Cargill, Scott Lynch, Martha Wells
3:30pm
Build-A-World with Guests!
Welcome one and all to the Build-a-World game show, with your host Monica Valentinelli! In this panel, two teams of writers will compete against one another to create a brand new world in under an hour. You, the audience, will help judge! Panelists: Monica Valentinelli (mod), Paul Cornell, Elizabeth Bear, Catherine Lundoff, Martha Wells
June 23, 2015
Links and Book Recs
I had a great time on Saturday at ApolloCon, and in lieu of a more substantial post, here's some links:
Novelocity: Jeannette Kathleen Cheney talks about Nicholas Valiarde as part of an article on paternal figures.
Great review of Stories of the Raksura vol II: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below on Roqoo Depot. They give it five out of five metal bikinis!
And a review of Stories of the Raksura vol I at Fantasy Cafe.
There's a fundraiser to film a prequel to Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring
New story collection The Fox's Tower and Other Tales by Yoon Ha Lee
Great review of In Midnight's Silence by T. Frohock which is out today.
SF Signal: Tansy Rayner Roberts on Fantasy, Female Writers & The Politics of Influence
There’s this odd sort of conversation that keeps circling the internet, and it usually starts with a question. Where are all the women, in epic fantasy? Where are the female authors? Why is it all so dominated by men?
As Australians we tended to bat our eyelids in confusion, because the idea of commercial fantasy authors being a mostly male species is completely alien to us – for the last twenty years, our conversation, our publishing scene, has been rich with female authors of influence. Successful, bestselling female fantasy authors. If anything, the big name male fantasy author has been the rare special snowflake.
But this isn’t just a cultural issue. It’s not the case that US publishing only recently discovered that ladies can write about dragons too. Whenever someone asks, where are all the women, I’m not just confused because I’m an Australian.
Because, seriously. They were here a minute ago. Why can’t you see them?
Novelocity: Jeannette Kathleen Cheney talks about Nicholas Valiarde as part of an article on paternal figures.
Great review of Stories of the Raksura vol II: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below on Roqoo Depot. They give it five out of five metal bikinis!
And a review of Stories of the Raksura vol I at Fantasy Cafe.
There's a fundraiser to film a prequel to Nalo Hopkinson's Brown Girl in the Ring
New story collection The Fox's Tower and Other Tales by Yoon Ha Lee
Great review of In Midnight's Silence by T. Frohock which is out today.
SF Signal: Tansy Rayner Roberts on Fantasy, Female Writers & The Politics of Influence
There’s this odd sort of conversation that keeps circling the internet, and it usually starts with a question. Where are all the women, in epic fantasy? Where are the female authors? Why is it all so dominated by men?
As Australians we tended to bat our eyelids in confusion, because the idea of commercial fantasy authors being a mostly male species is completely alien to us – for the last twenty years, our conversation, our publishing scene, has been rich with female authors of influence. Successful, bestselling female fantasy authors. If anything, the big name male fantasy author has been the rare special snowflake.
But this isn’t just a cultural issue. It’s not the case that US publishing only recently discovered that ladies can write about dragons too. Whenever someone asks, where are all the women, I’m not just confused because I’m an Australian.
Because, seriously. They were here a minute ago. Why can’t you see them?
June 19, 2015
Barnes and Noble Pirates
Besides everything else that's going on, I found out The Element of Fire is being pirated on both Kobo and Barnes and Noble.
I don't spend time chasing pirates sites that are giving my books away for free (usually accompanied by viruses) but when the books are being sold on the same retailers I use to sell them, it matters.
I've self-pubbed five books, four ebook reprints of my older out of print books (The Element of Fire, City of Bones, The Death of the Necromancer, Wheel of the Infinite), and one new story collection (Between Worlds: the Collected Ile-Rien and Cineth Stories).
Those sales help pay my utility bill. So when Kobo and Barnes and Noble let pirates sell their versions in place of mine, it does directly affect me.
And while the Kobo copy was taken down pretty quickly, the two Barnes and Noble pirated copies are still there. One is taking the place of my legitimate copy, so it doesn't even show up in the search anymore. (And I wondered why my Nook sales have been so bad lately.)
This is the real copy: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/element-of-fire-martha-wells/1000344557?ean=2940012625311&itm=1&usri=2940012625311 The publisher name is Martha Wells.
One pirate copy is published by Booklassic, the other is published by Edward Lee who lists himself as editor. The pirated Booklassic copy has been attached to the legitimate book listing, including the new audiobook, and the out of print paperback and hardcover. So if it's incomplete or garbled, any bad reviews will attach themselves to my ebook and the audiobook, etc.
Anyway, this is frustrating.
ETA: Okay, this is a relief. It looks like the one that was taking the place of the genuine ebook is now down. Just one to go.
I don't spend time chasing pirates sites that are giving my books away for free (usually accompanied by viruses) but when the books are being sold on the same retailers I use to sell them, it matters.
I've self-pubbed five books, four ebook reprints of my older out of print books (The Element of Fire, City of Bones, The Death of the Necromancer, Wheel of the Infinite), and one new story collection (Between Worlds: the Collected Ile-Rien and Cineth Stories).
Those sales help pay my utility bill. So when Kobo and Barnes and Noble let pirates sell their versions in place of mine, it does directly affect me.
And while the Kobo copy was taken down pretty quickly, the two Barnes and Noble pirated copies are still there. One is taking the place of my legitimate copy, so it doesn't even show up in the search anymore. (And I wondered why my Nook sales have been so bad lately.)
This is the real copy: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/element-of-fire-martha-wells/1000344557?ean=2940012625311&itm=1&usri=2940012625311 The publisher name is Martha Wells.
One pirate copy is published by Booklassic, the other is published by Edward Lee who lists himself as editor. The pirated Booklassic copy has been attached to the legitimate book listing, including the new audiobook, and the out of print paperback and hardcover. So if it's incomplete or garbled, any bad reviews will attach themselves to my ebook and the audiobook, etc.
Anyway, this is frustrating.
ETA: Okay, this is a relief. It looks like the one that was taking the place of the genuine ebook is now down. Just one to go.
June 15, 2015
ApolloCon
I'll be at ApolloCon in Houston this Saturday, June 20. Just couldn't afford the time and hotel to stay the whole weekend, but this is the programming I'll be on on Saturday:
Saturday 10:00 am What's the Difference?
—How do you make aliens truly alien? Some ideas of where to start and on just
how different they should be.
2:00 pm The Struggle
Professional writers discuss the things they struggle with when writing, including but not
limited to: imposter syndrome and failed story attempts.
5:00 pm Reading
It's a 30 minute slot, and I'll read a new Raksura bit.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We're due to have a tropical storm on Tuesday and Wednesday, so hopefully it will be cleared out by then. Fortunately, we got a temporary fix for our roof leak last week. Not so fortunately, it's going to take around $300 to fix it permanently, ugh.
Also annoying this weekend was discovering a pirate was selling The Element of Fire on Kobo, despite the fact that my legitimate copy of The Element of Fire had already been up there since 2012, with my other ebook reprints of out of print titles. It got taken down fairly quickly, but it's frustrating that it was allowed up in the first place. Especially considering that the reprints I've done myself (and the Between Worlds story collection) earn money every month that I use to pay our utility bills.
Book Rec
I just finished The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord and really enjoyed it. I somehow managed to read the sequel, The Galaxy Game first, but it didn't ruin it for me. They're both SF that focus on culture and communication between different human cultures, and they reminded me of what I love about science fiction. I hope there's going to be more in this series. Now I need to read her first book Redemption in Indigo.
Saturday 10:00 am What's the Difference?
—How do you make aliens truly alien? Some ideas of where to start and on just
how different they should be.
2:00 pm The Struggle
Professional writers discuss the things they struggle with when writing, including but not
limited to: imposter syndrome and failed story attempts.
5:00 pm Reading
It's a 30 minute slot, and I'll read a new Raksura bit.
Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We're due to have a tropical storm on Tuesday and Wednesday, so hopefully it will be cleared out by then. Fortunately, we got a temporary fix for our roof leak last week. Not so fortunately, it's going to take around $300 to fix it permanently, ugh.
Also annoying this weekend was discovering a pirate was selling The Element of Fire on Kobo, despite the fact that my legitimate copy of The Element of Fire had already been up there since 2012, with my other ebook reprints of out of print titles. It got taken down fairly quickly, but it's frustrating that it was allowed up in the first place. Especially considering that the reprints I've done myself (and the Between Worlds story collection) earn money every month that I use to pay our utility bills.
Book Rec
I just finished The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord and really enjoyed it. I somehow managed to read the sequel, The Galaxy Game first, but it didn't ruin it for me. They're both SF that focus on culture and communication between different human cultures, and they reminded me of what I love about science fiction. I hope there's going to be more in this series. Now I need to read her first book Redemption in Indigo.
June 8, 2015
Couple of Things
If you somehow missed it, Stories of the Raksura: Volume II The Dead City and The Dark Earth Below is now out.
The audiobook of Stories of the Raksura II: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below is up on Audible.com, but has the wrong cover, so it may be confusing.
And I also have an interview here on SFF World
And if you've read it and have the time and inclination, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you bought it, or on GoodReads, LibraryThing, etc. These reviews really, really do help, especially the ones on Amazon which factor in with how often Amazon actually recommends the book. Even if you didn't like it, reviews are appreciated.
The audiobook of Stories of the Raksura II: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below is up on Audible.com, but has the wrong cover, so it may be confusing.
And I also have an interview here on SFF World
And if you've read it and have the time and inclination, please leave a review on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or wherever you bought it, or on GoodReads, LibraryThing, etc. These reviews really, really do help, especially the ones on Amazon which factor in with how often Amazon actually recommends the book. Even if you didn't like it, reviews are appreciated.
