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Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthology. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 28, 2017

New XPRIZE Anthology - Seat 14C


Visionary Sci-Fi Writers Transport You 20 Years into
the Future in New XPRIZE Anthology

Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Bruce Sterling, Hugh Howey, Mike Resnick among writers contributing original stories to new anthology, written from the perspective of passengers onboard a flight that mysteriously lands in the year 2037

The public is encouraged to fill the remaining seat on this flight by submitting a short story, with the winner to receive a trip for two to Tokyo

LOS ANGELES--June 28, 2017--XPRIZE, the global leader in incentivized prize competitions, in partnership with ANA, Japan’s 5-star airline, today launched Seat 14C, a revolutionary digital anthology that blends original science fiction stories with a writing competition to imagine what the year 2037 could look like. It is the first initiative by members of XPRIZE’s recently announced Science Fiction Advisory Council and includes new pieces by such high-profile authors as Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Bruce Sterling, Hugh Howey, Mike Resnick, Nancy Kress, Karl Schroeder, and Daniel H. Wilson.

The Seat 14C campaign is presented as an interactive web experience, featuring a short introductory video, followed by an interactive seat map where the stories of each passenger flying to San Francisco from Tokyo onboard ANA Flight 008 can be explored. Upon selecting Seat 14C, visitors will be provided instructions on how to submit their own short story and one person will be chosen to occupy that open seat, and the winner will receive a trip for two to Tokyo.

The anthology will launch with an initial batch of 22 stories, with subsequent stories to be released on a weekly basis over the course of the campaign.

The competition, which begins today and runs through August 25, 2017, is open to anyone over the age of 18 from anywhere in the world who submits a short story between 2,000 - 4,000 words. The stories will be judged based on unique vision of the future, adherence to story prompt, and alignment with a techno-optimistic view of the future. XPRIZE will narrow the selection to three finalists and members of the Science Fiction Advisory Council will vote on the finalist pieces to select the grand prize winner. The winner will receive a prize package worth $10,000 including:
  • Round trip economy airfare to Tokyo for two
  • 4 nights in a 4-star hotel
  • $1,500 spending money
  • GoPro HERO5 Ultra HD Camera
  • ili, a Handheld Universal Translator
  • Honorary membership in the acclaimed Science Fiction Advisory Council
For more information, visit http://www.seat14c.com.

About XPRIZE

XPRIZE, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, is the global leader in designing and implementing innovative competition models to solve the world’s grandest challenges. XPRIZE utilizes a unique combination of gamification, crowd-sourcing, incentive prize theory, and exponential technologies as a formula to make 10x (vs. 10%) impact in the grand challenge domains facing our world. XPRIZE’s philosophy is that—under the right circumstances— igniting rapid experimentation from a variety of diverse lenses is the most efficient and effective method to driving exponential impact and solutions to grand challenges. Active competitions include the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, the $20M NRG COSIA Carbon XPRIZE, the $15M Global Learning XPRIZE, the $7M Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE, the $7M Barbara Bush Foundation Adult Literacy XPRIZE, the $5M IBM Watson AI XPRIZE, the $1.75M Water Abundance XPRIZE and the $1M Anu and Naveen Jain Women’s Safety XPRIZE. For more information, visit XPRIZE.org.

About ANA

All Nippon Airways (ANA) is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers. Founded in 1952, ANA flies today on 87 international routes and 117 domestic routes. The ANA group has 35,000 employees and a fleet of 254 aircraft. In FY2016, it carried 52.1 million passengers and generated revenues of 1.77 trillion Japanese yen. ANA offers trans-Pacific connections between Asia through the gateway of Japan and 10 North American destinations namely: New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Houston, Vancouver, and Honolulu. ANA has been a member of Star Alliance since 1999 and has joint-ventures with United Airlines on trans-Pacific and Asia routes and with Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines and Austrian Airlines on Japan-Europe routes. Its Frequent Flyer Program, ANA Mileage Club, has more than 26 million members. ANA was voted Airline of the Year for 2013 by Air Transport World Magazine, and in 2017 was awarded five stars for the fifth consecutive year by the world's leading Airline and Airport review site, SKYTRAX. ANA is the launch customer and biggest operator of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Guest Blog by Jennifer Brozek - Irreverence in the Holiday Season


Please welcome Jennifer Brozek to The Qwillery writing about Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Anthology. Note that the first two months of profits from the anthology go to Cystic Fibrosis research. Check out the Table of Contents below. This looks fabulous!







Irreverence in the Holiday Season
Jennifer Brozek
With a little bit of nice, a sprinkle of dark, a handful of sexy, and a whole lot of naughty, this adult-oriented anthology is filled with blushes, laughs, and gasps. This is not your average holiday reading. From the story behind Marley's fate, to a little elf who makes the perfect "toy" to the holiday rituals that keep the world going, Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Anthology, keeps the pages turning. Be prepared to be a little bit shocked!
Why on earth would any editor put together an anthology where Santa pits the reindeer against the elves in a bloody televised war? Or accept a story about the gift of a haunted mirror that revealed a past horror? Or a story about a supernatural chimneysweep battling a monster of corruption? Isn’t the holiday season about goodness, family, and light? It’s the celebration of another year well spent. Right?

Right?

Perhaps. Perhaps not.

The winter season is a contentious time of the year where tempers flare at unrealistic expectations, depression rears its ugly head at another disappointing year gone, and sadness abounds for those who do not have loved ones to share the darkest time of the year with. Over and over, we are bombarded with images of gift-giving between members of the perfect nuclear family. Frankly, this sucks for those who do not have the time, money, or family to celebrate the holiday season in advertised style.

Naughty Or Nice is an anthology for those people… and for anyone who is tired of the standard picture perfect story. I wanted to put together an anthology that was a little bit nice, a whole lot of dark, with a splash of sexy and the irreverent. Everyone needs a good giggle, gasp, and wince during the winter months to enjoy. It gives you that secret smile that makes people wonder what you’re thinking.

Do you tell them? Maybe not. Let them keep on wondering.

More than that, Naughty Or Nice was created as a charity anthology for cystic fibrosis research. One of my authors’ son has been afflicted with this terrible disease. He was the one who came up with the idea for the anthology because, as he put it, “Parents of CF kids need to laugh, too.”

As such, we played with the all of the speculative fiction genres (horror, erotica, urban fantasy, sci-fi, fantasy, and apocalyptic) for the holiday season. (Almost) No topic was off-limits. Needless to say, but I’m saying it anyway, this isn’t an anthology for kids or for dear old grandma… unless she has a wicked sense of humor.

As part of the charity effort for Naughty Or Nice, the anthology is part of Kevin J. Anderson’s Holiday Fantasy StoryBundle. We want to get this anthology into as many hands as we can. With stories from authors like Peter Clines, Rachel Caine, Jody Lynn Nye, Kevin J. Anderson, and Lucy A. Snyder, we think you are in for quite the treat. Though, be careful. Like a lush Thai chili chocolate, this anthology bites back!





Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Anthology
Evil Girlfriend Media, October 31, 2015
Trade Paperback or eBook, 238 pages

With a little bit of nice, a sprinkle of dark, a handful of sexy, and a whole lot of naughty, this adult-oriented anthology is filled with blushes, laughs, and gasps. This is not your average holiday reading. From the story behind Marley's fate, to a little elf who makes the perfect "toy" to the holiday rituals that keep the world going, Naughty or Nice: A Holiday Anthology, keeps the pages turning.

Be prepared to be a little bit shocked!

NAUGHTY OR NICE: A HOLIDAY ANTHOLOGY
Table of Contents
Foreword by Jennifer Brozek
“Cold Dead Turkey” by Kevin J. Anderson
“Mistletoe” by Jody Lynn Nye
“Coming up the Chimney Tonight” by Josh Vogt
“The Kwanzaa Kid” by Maurice Broaddus
“Letters To Santa (From the Arctic Academy for Gifted Creatures)” by S.G. Browne
“The Longest Night of the Year” by Shannon Page
“Passing the Torch” by M. Todd Gallowglas
“Forged” by Peter Clines
“Sweet Peppermint Blow” by C. Thomas Hand
“Monster Mingle and Kris Kringle” by Jon Del Arroz
“The Wench Who Stole Christmas” by E.S. Magill
“He Knows When You’re Awake” by Cat Rambo
“Spam, the Spooks, and the UPS Bandit” by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough
“Santa’s Bloody Reign” by Timothy W. Long and Jonathan Moon
“The Toymaker’s Joy” by Lucy A. Snyder
“By the Light of the Silvery Moon” by Rachel Caine
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound





About Jennifer

Jennifer Brozek is a Hugo Award-nominated editor and an award-winning author. She has worked in the publishing industry since 2004. With the number of edited anthologies, novel sales, RPG books, and nonfiction books under her belt, Jennifer is often considered a Renaissance woman, but she prefers to be known as a wordslinger and optimist. Read more about her at www.jenniferbrozek.com or follow her on Twitter: @JenniferBrozek.

Friday, February 28, 2014

Review - Stamps, Vamps & Tramps: A Three Little Words Anthology


Stamps, Vamps & Tramps
Series:  A Three Little Words Anthology
Editor:  Shannon Robinson
Publisher:  Evil Girlfriend Media, February 12, 2014
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook, 263 pages
List Price:  $3.99
ISBN:  9780615970783
Review Copy:  Provided by the Publisher

Eternally stamped, Eternally damned…

Grecian prostitutes and blood guzzling birds, pickle-sized vampires who wear their hearts on their sleeves, sexy immortals that fear human greed and memories that become tattoos; Stamps, Vamps & Tramps crosses genres to deliver bone-chilling stories that will keep you up at night.

Sixteen talented authors take you on a journey where stamps aren't always inked, tramps aren't always hookers, and vampires aren't always at the top of the food chain. From the colonnade of ancient Greece to a small town amusement park, from the battlefield to the urban center, this anthology will suck you in to the very end.

Featuring stories by Rachel Caine, Nancy Kilpatrick, Paul Witcover, and Gemma Files, among others.
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound



Doreen’s Thoughts

Stamps, Vamps & Tramps is a Three Little Words anthology - where authors write stories with two or more of the semi-associated words as the basis for the story. It is an interesting concept - taking tattoos, vagabonds, and vampires and coming up with related stories. I liked most of the stories in this anthology.

For example, Rachel Caine starts the book off with her ‘Easy Mark,’ the story about a young girl riding the rails who finds someone who helps people like her and who deals with the people who want to cause trouble. ‘Only Darkness’ by Paul Whitcover had an interesting perspective about art in general and drawing in particular, where something like a vampire tries to have its portrait drawn since it cannot see itself in a mirror. I found its perspective about artists and their ability to create art interesting, along with how an artist might handle losing their ability. ‘Flies in the Ink’ has a young girl vampire who turns out to be a serial killer keeping tattoos as trophies of her murders while a father tries to use her to replace his daughter.

One or two of the stories were almost too short and hokey for me to appreciate. I found ‘Mungo the Vampire’ to be one of those that could have been excluded from the book without any loss. ‘Josephine the Tattoo Queen’ by Joshua Green was almost predictable. Though it was short, Nancy Kilpatrick’s ‘The Hungry Living Dead’ turns the page on vampires making humans to be the real predators. ‘Stabilization’ by Daniels Parseleti viewed madness from the perspective of an institutionalized person. Mary Turzillo’s ‘A Virgin Hand Disarmed’ gives us a very different view of William Shakespeare.

I enjoyed the folksy tone of Gemma Files’ ‘His Face, All Red,’ enough to track down some of her other works. Altogether, this provided a nice taste of new authors and their works for me, which is the best trick for any anthology.


Thursday, November 07, 2013

"What's so magical about books, anyway?" - Authors from the Bibliotheca Fantastica anthology answer - November 7, 2013







When we put together the fantasist anthology, Bibliotheca Fantastica, we asked ourselves, “What’s so magical about books, anyway?” Today, several authors from the anthology have answered that question for us.


David Sklar, author of “The Philosopher’s Nectar”:

“Were you saying things that you heard in your mind from just looking at that book?”
- Walter Tevis, Mockingbird

Other species use language. A prairie dog can tell prairie dogs what you look like. A crow can add “Watch out—that one’s trouble.” But humans leave words behind us for others to read. Some animals may leave a scent to say “I’m horny” or “Get off my lawn.” But we can write a treatise, a Constitution, or a cookbook. You can look at a stone tablet and learn ancient Babylonian laws. Or read a story or poem and feel what someone felt in the distant past.

That’s a part of why I write—the hope that something I wrote may touch someone after I’m gone. A reader might laugh at my thoughts about alien life or water on Mars, and still be touched by my words about love, loss, or sacrifice.

Or the other way around. Perhaps when our twenty-first century values and emotions are quaint and passé, my insights about sorcery might speak to a reader. Either way, a person from now and a person from then can be part of the same conversation, because someone put the words down in a book.

In other words—magic.


Gord Sellar, author of “The Rite”:

Magical? Books are virtually necromantic. They don't merely preserve ideas, but also voices, entrapping them on paper, vellum or papyrus as one might trap a sacrificial offering in amber, the breath of life still caught in its soft, vulnerable throat. Translations, especially, are harrowing necromantic rituals: Odysseus had to dig a cleft in the earth and pour blood straight from the slashed throat of an ewe, mingled with milk and honey, to hear the dead speak... but if we want to hear those faint voices, we just head to the library, and there they are, set out before us like jugs of blood-laced wine for the tasting. Those who steep themselves in this sort of magic--by spending time listening to the voices of the dead, or by practicing the entrapment their own voices in the shadowy lines of ink that stain page after page--are helpless to resist the changes wrought within them by these necromantic things that we today strew about without a second thought.


Michael J. DeLuca, author of “Other Palimpsests”:

Books are time travel. They're telepathy. They're the seance, the ansible, the summoning ritual, the oracle, the visionary dream. Reading makes another person's ideas our own, for better or worse, as different, far away or long ago as that other person might be. The connection isn't perfect--what magic is? But what's lost in the translation from one mind to the page and back into another's leaves room for the creativity that makes the next book possible, and the next. If only we could read them all.


A.C. Wise, author of “The Book of Her”:

Everything about books is magical - from the sound the pages make as they're turning, to the promise of a whole new world lying in wait between the covers. An unopened book is full of endless potential, and the best books, once you do open them, fulfill that whispered promise by taking you on a journey, introducing you to characters who end up feeling like friends, and making you see the world - at least briefly - in a completely new way


Garry Kilworth, author of ”The Secret Atlas”:

'Books are small boxes containing vast treasures.'


S.J. Hirons, author of “Pages Torn From “Eminent Phantasists: A New Edition”":

They remind us of places we've never been and times we haven't lived in.


Ray Vukcevich, author of “The Go-Between”:

We are matter that looks at and thinks about the universe and then tells stories. How that all works and why we should make up stories are deep mysteries, but that's what we do, and while it might not really be magic, it is wonderful. As we change in the coming ages, if we survive, the way we tell those stories might change, too. When we augment those most complicated of things, our brains, new art forms will probably arise. At some deep level, though, I think it will still be narrative, because that's who we are. We struggle to make sense of things and then we say stuff. Some of the most interesting things we say are collected in objects called "books."


Tina Connolly, author of “Paperheart”:

My favorite and most heartbreaking dreams are the ones where I'm in a library or old junk shop and I stumble on a book by a beloved author that I didn't know existed. I know where this comes from--when I was little I was obsessed with the Wizard of Oz. I thought there was only one book, but then in my Scholastic flyer from school I boggled as I saw an advertisement for #2. In our local bookstore sometime later I found 3, and eventually all the L. Frank Baum ones through 14. Several years later I was in the Topeka library and the same thrilling shock ran through me as I found the ones by Ruth Plumly Thompson. Each of these moments is incised in my memory. The books themselves were magical, but the unexpected discovery that you could, in fact, go back to Oz (or Narnia, or Green Gables, or or or) was always the real magic.


Andrew S. Fuller, author of “The Crimson Codex”:

Books are a beautiful chimeric species, similar in form and diverse in function. They are portents to other more exciting and more terrifying worlds, and adjust the lens through which we view our own. They introduce us to characters who shape us. They mutate our language. They can be escapes, journeys, companions, heartbreaks, archives, or exorcisms. Books are time capsules and historic records, though it often seems that fiction books contain more truth than those filed books in the 000-999 shelves of the library. But their most important power is to inspire. At their best, they move us to learn, question, and create.

I remember, many years ago, still living at home, working on my first novel project when my father came in. He stood beside my desk reading the dozens of sticky notes on the walls, jots of notes and quotes and fragments of chapters to be.

"This one by Kafka," he said, "The one about the axe and frozen sea. I don't agree."
"Hey, pal," I said, "This is my office. Yours is down the hall."

---





Bibliotheca Fantastica, edited by Don Pizarro and with a cover by Hugo award-winning artist Galen Dara, is out now from Dagan Books. Order it online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Weightless Books, and direct from www.daganbooks.com.

Learn more at http://daganbooks.com/titles/bibliotheca-fantastica/

Saturday, September 14, 2013

The Book of the Dead, edited by Jared Shurin - September 14, 2013


The Book of the Dead, an anthology edited by Jared Shurin, is coming out just in time for Halloween!  It looks fantastic and we'll have a review closer to the publication date. Here's some information about the anthology. Add it to your To Be Bought (TBB) list!

The Table of Contents:
  • "Ramesses on the Frontier" by Paul Cornell
  • "Escape from the Mummy's Tomb" by Jesse Bullington
  • "Old Souls" by David Thomas Moore
  • "Her Heartbeat, An Echo" by Lou Morgan
  • "Mysterium Tremendum" by Molly Tanzer
  • "Tollund" by Adam Roberts
  • "All is Dust" by Den Patrick
  • "The Curious Case of the Werewolf that Wasn't, The Mummy that Was and the Cat in the Jar" by Gail Carriger
  • "The Cats of Beni Hasan" by Jenni Hill
  • "Inner Goddess" by Michael West
  • "Cerulean Memories" by Maurice Broaddus
  • "The Roof of the World" by Sarah Newton
  • "Henry" by Glen Mehn
  • "The Dedication of Sweetheart Abbey" by David Bryher
  • "Bit-U-Men" by Maria Dahvana Headley
  • "Egyptian death and the afterlife: mummies (Rooms 62-3)" by Jonathan Green
  • "Akhenaten Goes to Paris" by Louis Greenberg
  • "The Thing of Wrath" by Roger Luckhurst
  • "Three Memories of Death" by Will Hill

Introduced by John J. Johnston (Egypt Exploration Society)
Illustrated by Garen Ewing
Edited by Jared Shurin



A peak at the stunning illustrations by Garen Ewing:

Escape from the Mummy's Tomb


Mysterium Tremendum



And so you can add The Book of the Dead to your TBB, some publication details:

The Book of the Dead will be released on October 29, 2013 in three editions by Jurassic London:

• Limited Edition
100 handnumbered, hardcover copies, with gold embossed titles on midnight blue buckram and dark cream endpapers. The Book of the Dead limited edition is bound (literally) in cloth and sealed in wax, then impressed with the seal of the Egypt Exploration Society.

This edition also contains an exclusive illustration by Garen Ewing that will not appear inany other edition.  Because of its unique construction, purchasers of the limited edition will also receive a copy of the ebook for free.

Available exclusively through the independent retailer Spacewitch.com or directly from the publisher.
RRP £29.99 / $49.95
ISBN: 978-0-9576462-4-7


• Paperback
Available through Amazon (worldwide) and all major bookstores and online retailers.
RRP £9.99 / $14.95
ISBN: 978-0-9576462-5-4 


• Ebook
Available worldwide through Amazon and Kobo, worldwide.
RRP £4.99 / $7.49
ISBN: 978-0-9576462-6-1


A portion of all proceeds from sales of The Book of the Dead will be donated to the Egypt Exploration Society.


Read more about The Book of the Dead at the Jurassic London site.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Guest Blog by Jonathan Strahan - On putting together an anthology, or what went into Fearsome Journeys - June 19, 2013


Please welcome Jonathan Strahan to The Qwillery. I asked Jonathan how an anthology, specifically Fearsome Journeys, is put together. Fearsome Journeys was published on May 28, 2013 by Solaris.







On putting together an anthology, or what went into Fearsome Journeys

First of all, I’d like to thank The Qwillery for hosting this stop on the Fearsome Journeys blog tour. It’s a great blog and I’m thrilled to be here.

Most people I talk to about editing anthologies don’t have a clear idea of what an anthology editor does or how you go about putting an anthology together. Seventeen years ago, when I started work on my own first book, The Year’s Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy, I only had a vague idea of what was involved. It took trial and error and a lot of advice from friends like Jack Dann, an experienced and award-winning editor I’d gotten to know when he moved to Australia, to work out what I needed to do and, even though Fearsome Journeys is my thirty-sixth anthology, I’m still working it out.

Let me start, though, with the answer I give at cocktail parties. Being an anthology editor is like being an independent movie producer, or what I imagine being an independent movie producer must be like, though on a small scale. As editor you’re responsible for everything, or at least if feels like it you are. You come up with the idea, you get creative people (the writers) excited about it so they’ll agree to be involved, you assemble a pitch to put to publishers so they’ll support the book, you do the deal so the book’s possible, you shepherd everyone towards delivering a final manuscript to your own editor, you make sure it’s as good as it can be, you work on the sales and stuff with the publisher so the book gets out to readers, you get everyone paid, and then, when it’s done, you try to keep that book alive while you look for the next project to work on, because there’s always a next project (for example, I’m already working on a follow-up to Fearsome Journeys).

That’s the short-hand for what I do, but I don’t know if it gives you much of an idea what it’s like or how you go about it. Fearsome Journeys, for example, started out as a discussion with Jonathan Oliver, my editor at Solaris Books, about what we might do to follow Engineering Infinity, a successful science fiction book we’d just done together. We knew it would be fantasy, and that it would be “mainstream fantasy”, by which we meant real core genre stuff, rather than literary mainstream.

The book started life as Reap the Whirlwind, and was inspired by a spectacular cover Raymond Swanland had done for a Glen Cook book that I’d seen recently. I loved the energy and drive in it, and it seemed to fit emotionally with what Jonathan and I had in mind. I felt we were looking for something not too far away from Swords and Dark Magic, a sword and sorcery anthology I’d edited a few years earlier with my good friend Lou Anders, so I started out by asking some of those authors if they’d like to be part of this project. Several had commitments that prevented them being involved, but Glen Cook, Scott Lynch, Jeffrey Ford, and K.J. Parker were on board. I also asked Saladin Ahmed, whose terrific debut novel Throne of the Crescent Moon I’d just read, to be part of the book, along with people I’d wanted to do work with for some time like Kate Elliott, Robert V.S. Redick, and so on to come on board.

Choosing who you’ll ask to be part of a book is critical, because it shapes the final book. I always want a core group of writers who are really closely identified with the kind of book I’m trying to do, then a few sideways choices. When Jeffrey Ford wrote for Swords and Dark Magic it surprised some people because he’d not written sword and sorcery before. Asking Ellen Kushner to write for the book was an easy choice, given her sly and witty novel Swordspoint, but asking someone like Ellen Klages, who is a marvelous writer but hasn’t written anything like this before is all about stretching the book. It works.

From there, once everyone’s in, it’s a matter of waiting for stories. In this case, nearly a year passed before the first stories came in. This is the most nerve-wracking part of being an anthology editor for me. Will you get stories? Will they be great? From the moment K.J. Parker’s “The Dragonslayer of Merebarton” hit my email inbox I knew the book was going to be great. My role from their was to be the best reader I could for the stories, nudging them here and there as editor to be the best stories they could be by working with the author with suggestions for improvements or in some cases, just by making sure we had clean copy. Once I had the stories, there was an introduction and story notes to write. They’re always a bit of a chore for me, but I think they give the book shape. When that’s done, there’s assembling the manuscript. I think an anthologist is a little like either a maker of mosaics building a picture out of pieces or someone making a mixtape for a friend. A book needs rising action, it needs pace and shape, it needs variety in theme and rhythm, and it needs to both invite you in and tell you what it’s about.

What does that mean? Well, it means picking the story to open the book that you think will both engage readers the most, but making sure it’s one that readers will expect to find in the book they’ve done. In Fearsome Journeys I knew I needed an immediately engaging story that was full of color and adventure, and that was exactly what you expected from the cover. That’s why Scott Lynch’s “The Effigy Engine” opens the book. It was perfect. I then look at the book closer, one that will give you the right feeling when you get to the end of the book, and Daniel Abraham’s “The High King is Dreaming” does a great job of being that story. I then look to interchange length and theme, while trying to put something special right in the middle of the book.

Once that’s all done, and I know how the book should read, I put together the manuscript and get it off to my editor. This is always a nerve-wracking thing because, while I always know my writers have done a great job, I always lose confidence in what I’ve just done. Happily, the Solaris team loved the book and it was done. Tomasz Jedruszek did a great cover, and the book ended up being even better than I’d first imagined.

I seem to have gone on far too long for what is just supposed to be a short blog post, but I really hope it gives The Qwillery’s readers a bit of an idea of what’s involved in putting an anthology together.





About Fearsome Journeys

Fearsome Journeys: The New Solaris Book of Fantasy
Editor:  Jonathan Strahan
Publisher:  Solaris, May 28, 2013 (US)
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 416 pages
Price:  $7.99 (print)
ISBN:  9781781081181

A brand new series bringing you Fantasy stories from some of the biggest and most exciting names in the genre! The authors appearing in the launch volume include Trudi Canavan, Elizabeth Bear, Daniel Abraham, Kate Elliott, Saladin Ahmed, Glen Cook, Scott Lynch, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner & Ysabeau Wilce, Jeffrey Ford, Robert Redick and KJ Parker.

An amazing array of the most popular and exciting names in Fantasy are set to appear in the first in a brand new series of Fantasy anthologies featuring original fiction, from the master editor Jonathan Strahan. The authors appearing in the launch volume include Trudi Canavan, Elizabeth Bear, Daniel Abraham, Kate Elliott, Saladin Ahmed, Glen Cook, Scott Lynch, Ellen Klages, Ellen Kushner & Ysabeau Wilce, Jeffrey Ford, Robert Redick and KJ Parker.
Amazon : Barnes and Noble : Book Depository : Books-A-Million : IndieBound





About Jonathan



Jonathan Strahan is an editor and anthologist. He co-edited The Year’s Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy anthology series in 1997 and 1998. He is also the reviews editor of Locus. He lives in Perth, Western Australia with his wife and their two daughters.

Website  ~  Twitter @JonathanStrahan








The Giveaway

What:  One commenter will win a Mass Market Paperback copy of Fearsome Journeys from The Qwillery.

How:   Log into and follow the directions in the Rafflecopter below.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59 PM US Eastern Time on June 29, 2013. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.


*Giveaway rules and duration are subject to change.*



a Rafflecopter giveaway



Monday, August 22, 2011

The View From Monday - August 22, 2011

Happy Monday. It's a light but good week for books. (I know, I saw that almost every week!)

The Qwillery has 5 interviews this week. Four of the five interviews are with 2011 Debut Authors.

Monday:  Sarah Gilman (Out in Blue)
Tuesday:  Jeremy Wagner (The Armageddon Chord)
Wednesday:  Bonnie Vanak (Shadow of the Wolf and many other books)
Thursday:  Stephanie Chong (Where Demons Fear to Tread)
Friday: Edward Lazellari (Awakenings)

A book shopping list in PDF format may be found by clicking here. Click "File" on the left and then "Print (PDF)." Anthology cover(s) and book trailers are below.

August 22, 2011

The Armageddon Chord (d)Wagner, JeremyDF


August 23, 2011

The Measure of MagicBrooks, TerryF - Legends of Shannara 2
Where Demons Fear to Tread (d)Chong, StephaniePNR - Company of Angels 1
Mayan DecemberCooper, BrendaHF
Knight's CurseDuvall, KarenUF - Chalice 1
The Year's Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, 2011 EditionGuran, Paula (ed)DF/H - Anthology
The Mandel FilesHamilton, Peter F.SF - Omnibus, Vol 1
Down to the Bone (h2tp)Robson, JustinaSF/EF - Quantum Gravity 5
Cast in Fury (ri)Sagara, MichelleEF - Chronicles of Elantra 4
Cast in Silence (ri)Sagara, MichelleEF - Chronicles of Elantra 5
Dark Taste of RaptureShowalter, GenaPNR - Alien Huntress 7
Lord of the VampiresShowalter, GenaPNR - Royal House of Shadows 1
Body of SinSilver, EvePNR - Otherkin 4
The Shadow WolfVanak, BonniePNR - Khamsin 10
Blood BoundVincent, RachelUF - Unbound 1

d - Debut
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - Reissue

DF - Dark Fantasy
EF - Epic Fantasy
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
HF - Historical Fantasy
PNR - Parnormal Romance
SF - Science Fiction

Anthology


Book Trailers

The Armageddon Chord by Jeremy Wagner

Author Revealed: Gena Showalter

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent

Friday, August 19, 2011

Interview with Nancy Kilpatrick & Giveaway - August 19, 2011

Please welcome author and editor Nancy Kilpatrick to The Qwillery.

TQ:  Would you walk us through the process of putting together an anthology?

Nancy:  Every anthology I've edited has been different but there are some overall steps in the process. If I'm co-editing an anthology, the work load is not really less because both editors need to do everything. The big advantage of co-editing is that there's a shared belief in the individual stories selected and also in the anthology as a whole, the concept. Doing it alone, the burden of that falls on one person. I suppose it's a little like being married or living alone--you still have a lot of work to do!

The first step is to come up with a viable idea and then sell the idea to a publisher. Publishing is a terrible business and whether you're a writer or an editor, much of the work of selling, marketing and promotion falls on your shoulders--even when you have an agent. It's important to know what types of books a particular publisher produces so you can pitch your idea to the right house and within that publishing house, to the right editor, who likes this sort of thing. Publishing houses always say: anthologies don't sell. And yet, readers love anthologies. I suspect some of it is marketing issues. But ultimately, to sell the idea, you need to more or less promise some top-name writers to the publisher. And this can be tricky. The editor needs to secure a 'promise' from said top-gun writers in advance. But just because someone promises a story, that doesn't mean they will deliver. This is the bane of every anthology editor. Most of the time the in-house editor knows and understands this and will take substitutes. Once, a co-editor and I had an actual clause in our contract with a major publisher: 1 writer from list A; 2 writers from list B; 6 writers from list C. It was horrifying. We managed to get 3 writers from list B and list C wasn't a problem, but that list A! OMG! We had secured one writer who then told us at the last minute the story he'd been finishing up to send to us had to go to a different antho with a similar theme that he had committed to first (and more or less forgotten about). My co-editor was having a nervous breakdown over this (first-time anthologist), but I'd edited many anthologies and had weathered such crises before. In the end, we got something from that same writer, which was good, but a poem, not a story. It was enough to satisfy the terms of our contract.

Most of the 12 anthologies I've edited have been invitational, meaning, I or my co-editor and I invite specific writers whose work we know is great and who will deliver and do a good job of it. That's the easier anthology.

I've also edited 4 anthologies that were open, meaning anyone can submit material. To save myself and the writers time, energy and grief, for 3 of them I asked for a synopsis of the story idea first. I have guidelines I write up for the writers and they send the idea based on their understanding of the GLs. Sometimes the story idea is way off the mark, in which case I say thanks but it won't work for this antho. But if the idea is a good one, I'll give the go-ahead to write it, with the proviso that if the actual story doesn't work for any reason, I can't buy it. Most writers understand that.

There is, of course, a strong onus on the editor to take a story for which the go-ahead has been given. But it doesn't always happen. And in truth, editors ask for more stories than they can take because there is no way to know whether or not a story will actually arrive in your email box until it's there. All sorts of things happen that keep writers from writing a story they've said they'll write. And if you are short, it's not easy to get a story that fits the antho at the last minute and that's a good way to create a weak spot in the book as a whole.

Once stories come in, I generally read them and put them into 3 categories in my computer:

Yes, I want this; Maybe, but I'm not sure about it or it needs work; No, this story doesn't work or it doesn't work for this antho.

As stories are accepted, the anthology starts to take a shape and most of the time it's a surprise to me that the idea I began with ends up blossoming in a certain way. The shape forming is what determines which of the good stories end up in. Sometimes there are perfectly fine and wonderful stories that just won't fit, even though they fit the GLs, because the anthology has shifted slightly, like ground settling the more stories are accepted.

Perfect stories are accepted right away. Stories that are from recognized writers that might need some work are accepted with the understanding that if something isn't working in the story, the writer needs to fix it, and the pros are very good about this. They recognize that a second pair of eyes, especially eyes of someone who knows what they are talking about, is invaluable for a writer. (As a writer myself, I always appreciate editors' comments, even when I don't agree with some of the comments, but most of the time I do.)

Maybe stories I get back to the writer and say why I'm iffy about the story to give them a chance to reform it, if they want to, and resubmit. The No stories I have to tell the writers the fiction isn't working for this anthology.

There is a deadline for completed stories and some writers I have to nag to get the story in, but most, that's not a problem. Once all the stories are in I read them again, so this might be the 3rd or 4th reading of each story. I need to make sure that there are no major problems, nothing that can't be fixed simply.

Somewhere along the way I start to count words because I've promised a certain number of them to the publisher. That determines, too, which stories get in and which don't towards the end. There's some leeway, of course, so if I've promised 90,000 words, I could send 95,000 or 87,000. I also do an introduction which counts in the wordage, and the writers' bios.

Now comes a very difficult part of the process: Ordering the stories. Most of the time this is a highly intuitive process for me, one that I get nervous about, but which always works out in the end. I fret for a long time. There are stories that are natural lead-ins, and stories to end with--in Evolve Two, for example, Sandra Kasturi's "The Slowing of the World" is a natural conclusion. But it's everything between the beginning and the end that's the problem! Yet all my thinking and shifting the stories around always leads to An Idea, that strikes like lightening one day after weeks of this rearranging. Often I have section headings which I find works well towards organization, but that generally comes later in this process. Even with a co-editor, it's agonizing to order stories.

Finally, I have the stories ordered and then read the entire manuscript from start to finish at least twice, once being a 'final' copyedit. And this might lead to some minor re-arrangement of the order. I also need bios from the writers and my introduction and must proof all that.

Eventually I meet the DL I've established with the publisher and send in the anthology in electronic form.

At that point, it's out of my hands and I wait for the publisher's in-house editor to read it and declare it brilliant. It's then passed to a copyeditor who goes over the MS and sends it back with questions or minor changes and every story goes back to its writer to consider changes and for one final proof. Then the final version of the story is returned to the publisher within a very short time period.

After this, it's the publishing process and we wait for the book to actually appear. There will be some promotion closer to the release and perhaps a book launch. Reviews and interviews happen. Contributors receive a copy of the book and their check for the contract they have signed with either me or the publisher directly, depending on the situation.

And then, if I want to edit another anthology, I seem to have memory loss about all the work and this 1-1/2 to 2 year process starts all over again!

TQ:  You are both an author and an editor. Is it hard to switch hats? Which skills do you need for both?

Nancy:  For me it's never been hard to switch hats. Writing is a right-brained activity and editing a left-brained one, although, of course, ultimately one uses both the creative and the analytical skills for both jobs. Generally, I think both a writer and an editor need to be able to recognize what constitutes a good story and to be honest enough with yourself as a writer and editor to acknowledge when a story works and meets expectations and when it doesn't. I have high standards for both. I'm known as a tough editor because I don't just take a story because it's from a major writer if it has a flaw. Too many editors are not editors but acquirers--they take anything submitted and just do a light copyedit. I think short fiction readers deserve more. They deserve a story that works and is satisfying and not one a writer has just knocked off for the bucks. As a writer, I want that for my work (which is why I value the editorial eye coming at me). I want readers to feel something when they read a story or novel by me, and to come out of it thinking that it all hangs together, that this is a fulfilling and entertaining read and may even have something deeper to offer in the end. All this is a tall order but what is life if we don't have personal standards for excellence?

TQEvolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead was published in 2010. Evolve 2: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead is out this month. While both anthologies are about vampires, how do the themes differ between the 2 anthologies? How are they the same?

Nancy:  Both are about vampires. Evolve: Vampire Stories of the New Undead came from me wanting to show what the vampire has evolved into since Dracula, which is the primary book everyone associates with the first vampires in fiction. These stories reflect the evolution of a sub-species, one that's been with us prior to print and goes way back in mythology. The stories in this anthology take us to about 2025 time-wise and are now, meaning, they are not old-fashioned. I also wanted to show the scope of the vampire because these days Twilight is popular and this young adult fare has defined the modern vampire. I'm not opposed to Twilight at all. It serves a purpose and especially if you can see the books and films fit into the larger picture of the undead. But I wanted to say, there's more! The vampire is much greater than Twilight.

Once I'd edited that book, I realized that the vampire could go further into the future, hence son-of, or, Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead. In this book I've divided the stories into three sections, which are pretty much are self-explanatory: Pre-apocalypse; Post-apocalypse; New World Order.

One other difference is that the first Evolve has all Canadian writers, both English and French (translated) which includes Kelley Armstrong and Tanya Huff, two who are internationally known. Tanya is of course well known for her vampire books and the spin-off TV series. Kelly had a vampire character she was working into one of her very popular urban fantasy novels, Zoe (who appears in both Evolve and also Evolve Two).

For Evolve Two, the scope of writers is international, with Tanith Lee, John Shirley, Thomas Roche, William Meikle, Anne Mok, and Kelley Armstrong again, etc.

TQ:  Why do you think vampires have remained popular in literature for so long?

Nancy:  The vampire is an archetypal energy, meaning, it is a universal energy that lives in the collective psyche. The fact that the vampire has been around since the earliest recorded records--The Epic of Gilgamesh, 2500 BC--and has appeared in the mythology of just about every culture on the planet, that tells us this is a big energy, one that touches all of us. Archetypes have durability because they are important in some way to everyone.

Aside from that, I believe there are times when the vampire surfaces in some form or another in a way that is relevant to that time frame. The revolution that allowed vampires to have sex started decades ago, and without tooting my own horn too loudly, I was one of the writers who initiated this idea. We now see it played out in True Blood, Twilight, Being Human, The Vampire Diaries and in many many erotic-horror novels and supernatural romance novels. Prior to the 1970s, that was mostly only alluded to. This sexuality fits with the times. We are in a mash-up era where it's okay to have sex, but sex is fraught with disease, and it's also much harder to meet people for romance than it has ever been, and western cultures still prefer romantic connections as opposed to arranged ones. Cyber relationships seem to be as important as face to face contact and are generally safer. The world has changed and people are more isolated and that breeds fantasy. (Of course, if you are young and reading this, you're likely in high school or university or college and there are plenty of people around you now, most single, many hot--that will change!)

The vampire we have today is generally sexy, not the resuscitated corpse of the past, but that old one is still around! Today's vampire is a creature you want to date. Also, in our politically-correct world where everyone has to be careful what they say and do for fear of being misinterpreted, the vampire is the one who is both dangerous and also not likely to respect mortal boundaries and rules and regulations, so it puts the onus back on the mortal to be conscious of what he/she is doing. Society would do well to heed this message.

TQ:  Which 10 books should be in the essential vampire literature library?

Nancy:  You mean besides my Power of the Blood vampire novels? LOL!

Actually, I tried to make a list and found there were way too many titles and even series. I guess if I work with the word 'essential', I'd say, read the classics. Dracula, of course, and the short story "The Vampyre". The first novel in English Varney the Vampire or The Feast of Blood (if you can get through it!). And Carmilla. Here are most of the titles of early vampire short fiction in various languages and you can find translations of the non-English originals: "Wake Not the Dead" by the German writer Ludwig Tieck; "The Vampire Mistress" by Elizabeth Gray; "The Dead Woman in Love" by Gaultier; "Liegia" by Poe; Tolstoy's "The Vourdalak"; "The Horla" by de Maupassant; “The Mystery of the Campagna” by Crawford; "The Good Lady Ducayne" by Mary E Braddon. Plus, there is early poetry.

I've listed more works in Evolve and Evolve Two so readers can scout out titles there.

TQ:  In the introduction to Evolve Two, you mention that you are a collector of vampireobilia. What is your favorite item in your collection?

Nancy:  I have so much junk, oh, I mean invaluable vampire items! It's hard to choose. There's the Dracula punching bag; the Dracula in a coffin ice bucket; the vampire pot holder and oven mitts; the old bust of Bela from Disney world; a fragment of the Lyceum Theatre where Dracula was first staged; the Count Dracula's Wallpaper Warehouse key chain... You can see my problem!

TQ:  What's next?

Nancy:  I have quite a few projects underway right now.

A new vampire collection will be out in 2013 called Vampyre Variations, with a few obscure reprints and original vampire stories.

I am currently editing another (non-vampire) anthology, Danse Macabre: Close Encounters With the Reaper, out in 2012.

I have a graphic novel out later this year from Brainstorm Comics in eformat and then print format, called Nancy Kilpatrick's Vampyre Theater.

I'm also working on three novels, including another in the Power of the Blood vampire world.

And, as always, a number of short stories, since I write about 6 to 8 a year when people ask me. Here's a list:

Nancy's stories published in these recent anthologies:

Blood Lite; Blood Lite 2-Overbite (both Pocket Books); Hellbound Hearts (Pocket Books); The Bleeding Edge (Dark Discoveries); The Living Dead and By Blood We Live (both Nightshade Books); Don Juan and Men (MLR Press); Ecstasy (Necro Files); Vampires: Dracula and the Undead Legions (Moonstone Books); The Bitten Word (Newcon Press); Campus Chills (Stark Publishing); DarknessBooks); Hellbound Hearts (Pocket Books); The Bleeding Edge (Dark Discoveries); The Living Dead and By Blood We Live (both Nightshade Books); Don Juan and Men (MLR Press); Ecstasy (Necro Files); Vampires: Dracula and the Undead Legions (Moonstone Books); The Bitten Word (Newcon Press); Campus Chills (Stark Publishing); Darkness on the Edge (PS Publishing); Vampires: the Recent Undead (Prime Books); Best New Vampire Tales #1 and Best New Zombie Tales #3 (both from Books of the Dead Press).

Nancy's stories to appear in these upcoming anthologies:

The Moonstone Book of Zombies; The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories by Women; The Devil's Coattails: More Dispatches from the Dark Frontier; Halloween; It Never Sleeps: Tales from the Darker History of New York City.

Check my website for updates: www.nancykilpatrick.com

And please, join me on Facebook.


About Evolve Two

Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead
(EDGE, August 15, 2011)

EVOLVE TWO: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead

Vampires: friend or foe? Either way, time is on their side, and they are more powerful than ever before!

Meet the eternal predator that humanity never ceases to find both fascinating and terrifying. Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead moves this creature beyond 2012, through this century and into the next. We humans will evolve, but so will they! Whatever apocalyptic events that lie ahead for our species, for the planet, Vampires will be there too, helping or hindering, effecting or infecting us. Time is on their side, but it may not be on ours. They are vampires, and more powerful than ever before!

Hot on the heels of the best seller, EVOLVE: Vampire Stories of the New Undead, Nancy Kilpatrick does it again with twenty-two original stories that explore the evolution of vampires.

EVOLVE TWO includes works by:
Tanith Lee, Kelley Armstrong, John Shirley, Thomas Roche, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Heather Clitheroe, Erika Holt, Ivan Dorin, Michael Lorenson, Jason Ridler, David Beynon, Eileen Bell, Peter Sellers, Sandra Wickham, William Meikle, David Tocher, Leanne Trembley, Ryan McFadden, Steve Vernon, Bev Vincent, Anne Mok, and Sandra Kasturi.

About the Editor:
Award-winning author Nancy Kilpatrick has published eighteen novels, over one hundred and ninety short stories, five collections of stories, and has edited nine other anthologies. Much of her body of work involves vampires. Nancy writes dark fantasy, horror, mysteries and erotic horror, under her own name, her nom de plume Amarantha Knight, and her newest pen name Desirée Knight (Amarantha’s younger sister!) Besides writing novels and short stories, and editing anthologies, she has scripted four issues of VampErotic comics. As well, she’s penned radio scripts, a stage-play, and the non-fiction book The Goth Bible: A Compendium for the Darkly Inclined (St. Martin’s Press — October 2004).

Nancy won the Arthur Ellis Award for best mystery story, is a three times Bram Stoker finalist and a five times finalist for the Aurora Award.

About the Cover Artist:
Ex-gravedigger John Kaiine, self trained professional artist/photographer, is also the author of the critically acclaimed metaphysical thriller Fossil Circus and various short stories, including the short film feature Dolly Sodom. He lives in a house by the sea with his wife, Tanith Lee, and two black and white cats.

About the Website: www.vampires-evolve.com is a website dedicated to the Evolve anthologies. Find out information about Evolve authors, and forthcoming event information.
Amazon : Barnes & Noble : Books-A-Million


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Evolve Two: Vampire Stories of the Future Undead from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question: 

What is your favorite vampire story or series?

Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1) Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2) Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3) Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition please leave a way to contact you.

Who and When: The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Friday, August 26, 2011. Void where prohibited by law.

*Giveaway rules are subject to change.*

Monday, July 25, 2011

The View From Monday - July 25, 2011

It's the last Monday in July. The month seemed to go very quickly. This week The Qwillery has interviews with:

Will McIntosh, author of Soft Apocalypse (part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge interviews);

Seressia Glass, author of the Shadowchasers series. Shadow Fall, the 3rd book in the series, is out tomorrow.; and

Justin Gustainis, author of the Morris and Chastain Investigations series and the new Occult Crimes Unit Investigation series. Hard Spell, the 1st book in new series is out tomorrow as is Sympathy for the Devil, the 3rd Morris and Chastain novel.

A book shopping list in PDF format may be found by clicking here. Click "File" on the left and then "Print (PDF)." Remember to set your printer to Landscape mode. Anthology covers and book trailers are below.


July 26, 2011

RestorationsAdams, GuyF - The World House 2
Spell BoundArmstrong, KelleyUF - Women of Otherworld 12
After America**Birmingham, JohnSF/AH
Bearers of the Black Staff**Brooks, TerryF - Legends of Shannara 1
Ghost StoryButcher, JimUF - The Dresden Files 13
The SeekerCarmody, IsobelleYA - Obernewtyn Chronicle
Den of ThievesChandler, DavidF - Ancient Blades Trilogy 1
BloodlandsCody, ChristineF/SP/W - Bloodlands 1
Monster Hunter AlphaCorreia, LarryUF - Monster Hunter International 3
WolfsbaneCremer, AndreaYA - Nightshade 2
Resistance: A Hole in the SkyDietz, William C.SF
The Infinity GateDouglass, SaraF - Darkglass Mountain 3
The Devil's DiademDouglass, SaraF/AH
When the Great Days ComeDozois, Gardner (ed)SF - Anthology
Seduce Me in FlamesFrank, JacquelynPNR - Three Worlds 2
Bound By MoonlightGideon, NancyPNR - By Moonlight 4
Shadow FallGlass, SeressiaUF - Shadowchasers 3
Sacred EvilGraham, HeatherH - Krewe of Hunters 3
Hard SpellGustainis, JustinUF - Detective Sgt. Stan Markowski 1
Sympathy for the DevilGustainis, JustinUF - Morris/Chastain Investigations 3
Vampire Rising**Henderson, JasonYA - Alex Van Helsing
Voice of the UndeadHenderson, JasonYA - Alex Van Helsing
Black NightHenry, ChristinaUF - Black Wings 2
The Last VikingHill, SandraPNR
Claire de Lune**Johnson, ChristineYA
A Soldier's DutyJohnson, JeanSF - Theirs Not To Reason Why 1
SmoketownJohnson, Tenea D.SF
TattooKasai, Kirsten ImaniSF
The Fire KingLiu, Marjorie M.PNR - Dirk & Steele 9
Ghosts of WarMann, GeorgeUF - The Ghost 2
The Goblin CorpsMarmell, AriEAF
Dangerous WatersMcKenna, Juliet EEF - The Hardrumal Crisis 1
Another Kind of DeadMeding, KellyUF - Dreg City 3
Heroes at OddsMoore, Moira J.F - Hero 6
Citizens: Military Science Fiction by Military VeteransRingo, John (ed)
Thomsen, Brian M. (ed)
SF - Anthology
Heart of IronSedia, EkaterinaF
His Darkest SalvationStone, JulianaPNR - Jaguar Warriors 3
ShadowflameSylvan, DianneUF - Shadow World 2
Mission of HonorWeber, DavidS - Honor Harrington 12
Paranormalcy**White, KierstenYA - Paranormalcy 1
Do Unto OthersWilliamson, Michael Z.SF
The Black Lung CaptainWooding, ChrisSF - Tales of the Ketty Jay 2


July 31, 2011

Mortality BridgeBoyett, Steven R.F
Adjustment Team: The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick, Volume TwoDick, Philip K.SF - Collection
Grimscribe: His Lives and WorksLigotti, ThomasH - Collection
TroikaReynolds, AlastairSF


**  Paperback of Hardcover


AH - Alternate History
EF - Epic Fantasy
EAF - Epic Action Fantasy
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
PNR - Paranormal Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SP - Steampunk
UF - Urban Fantasy
YA - Young Adult

Anthology covers




Book Trailers

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer



Heather Graham - Krewe of Hunters



Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis



Sympathy for the Devil by Justin Gustainis



Vampire Rising by Jason Henderson (for the hardcover release)



Voice of the Undead by Jason Henderson



Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson (for the hardcover release)



His Darkest Salvation by Juliana Stone



Paranormalcy by Kiersten White (for the hardcover release)

Monday, July 18, 2011

The View From Monday - July 18, 2011

This may be a very sad week. As you know, Borders has been in bankruptcy since February trying to reorganize or sell itself to remain a going concern. This week is it. A deadline for bids passed at 5pm yesterday. There were none and a group of liquidation companies is the only bidder. Unless a new bidder for Borders appears miraculously before bidding that starts tomorrow, Borders will be liquidated and close every single remaining store. There had been a bidder other than the liquidators, but the creditors objected, and the bidder withdrew. One of the creditors' concerns was that this bidder would buy Borders and then liquidate the company itself. The bidder was concerned about getting favorable terms for book purchases for the stores. The creditors feel that they will get more if Borders is simply liquidated. I know this is oversimplified, but that's basically what's going on in a nutshell. So I'm crossing my fingers that somehow Borders survives. I have not believed that Borders would survive. I'd really, really like to be wrong.

You can read a news article that sums it up better than I at Bloomberg. If you're inclined you can keep track of what's happening at the Borders Case Administration Website.

Moving on to this week's book.  It's another light week, which is good because there are a lot of books out next week. A book shopping list in PDF format may be found by clicking here. Click "File" on the left and then "Print (PDF)." Remember to set your printer to Landscape mode. Anthology covers and book trailers are below.

There will be interviews & giveaways this week as well. Stay tuned....


July 19, 2011

MayhemArthur, ArtistYA - Mystyx 3
Misguided Angel**Cruz, Melissa De LaYA - Blue Bloods 5
Magical MischiefDale, AnnaYA
Out of the WatersDrake, DavidSF
The Clockwork RocketEgan, GregSF
The Half-Made WorldGilman, FelixSF/F/SP
This Shared DreamGoonan, Kathleen AnnSF
Ashes of AngelsHauf, MichelePNR - Of Angels & Demons 3
Guardian WolfJohnston, Linda O.PNR - Alpha Force1
Code of the WolfKrinard, SusanPNR
RebirthLittlefield, SophieF - Aftertime 2
After the FallSummers, RobinF
The Big SwitchTurtledove, HarryAH - War That Came Early 3


July 20, 2011

The Key to CreationAnderson, Kevin J.EF


July 21, 2011

Vampires: Classic TalesAshley, Mike (ed)H - Anthology
RippleHubbard, MandyYA
Last Men in LondonStapledon, OlafSF
The RobotWatson, PaulYA


Anthology



Book Trailers

Misguided Angel by Melissa de la Cruz (for the hardcover release)




After the Fall by Robin Summers


Monday, July 11, 2011

The View From Monday - July 11, 2011

Happy Monday! This is a light week for book releases. I'm only going to pick up 1 book!

There will be 3 interviews this week:

- Sarah Zettel on the 13th. A Taste of the Nightlife, the first book in her new Vampire Chef Mystery series was published on the July 5, 2011.

- Christine Cody on the 14th.  Bloodlands, the first book in her Bloodlands series will be published on July 26, 2011.

and

- Stina Leicht on the 15th.  Of Blood and Honey, the first book in her The Fey and The Fallen series, was published in January 2011. Stina is part of the 2011 Debut Author Challenge.


A book shopping list in PDF format may be found by clicking here. Click "File" on the left and then "Print (PDF)." Remember to set your printer to Landscape mode. Anthology covers and book trailers are below.


July 11, 2011

My Favorite Band Does Not ExistJeschonek, Robert T.YA


July 12, 2011

Token of Darkness**Atwater-Rhodes, AmeliaYA - Den of Shadow
Sleepless**Balog, CynYA
StarstruckBalog, CynYA
Dragon's OathCast, P.C.YA - House of Night
The Hidden CoronetFisher, CatherineYA - Relic Master 3
Johannes Cabal the DetectiveHoward, Jonathan L.F
Wildcat FirefliesKizer, AmberYA - Meridian 2
A Dance with DragonsMartin, George R.R.EF
UndercurrentRayburn, TriciaYA - Siren Trilogy 2
ForeverStiefvater, MaggieYA - Wolves of Mercy Falls 3
The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities: Exhibits, Oddities, Images, and Stories from Top Authors and ArtistsVanderMeer, Ann (ed)
VanderMeer, Jeff (ed)
SF/F - Anthology
SpellboundWest, JacquelineYA - Book of Elsewhere 2


July 13, 2011

The Four Fingers of Death**Moody, RickSF
Guardian of the Gate**Zink, MichelleYA - Prophecy of the Sisters 2


July 14, 2011

The Last ArchangelYoung, MichaelYA


July 15, 2011

Out of This World: Science Fiction But Not As You Know ItAshley, MikeLiterary Criticism
The Emergence of Latin American Science FictionFerreira, Rachel HaywoodHistory & Criticism


Anthology cover



Book Trailers

A DANCE WITH DRAGONS is complete!




Forever by Maggie Stiefvater




The Four Fingers of Death by Rick Moody (for the hardcover release)




Guardian of the Gate by Michelle Zink (for the hardcover release)




The Last Archangel by Michael Young