Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Last Day: Epic Fantasy Audible Sale


Audible put more 470+ titles on sale for $4.95 - $6.95, including the first two books in my Riyria Chronicles (The Crown Tower & The Rose and Thorn). A few days ago I picked out some titles that I though my readers might enjoy, but since then they added 116 more! It's difficult to go through the whole list, so I set my search to the Epic Fantasy category and went through the first few hundred top-sellers. Here is what I found on sale. But if you want to get any of these titles. Act quickly, sale ends today at 11:59 PM PT.



Here's some information about the titles I'm highlighting to help you decide which ones to pickup. But you have to hurry. The sale ends 11/29 at 12:00 Pacific Time.

Title
Author
Series
 Sale Price
Release Date
 Rating 
# of Reviews
J.R.R. Tolkien
Book 1
Lord of the Rings
$4.95
10/9/12
4.7
14,470
Brandon Sanderson
N/A
$6.95
12/3/15
4.6
2,738
Patrick Rothfuss
Book 2
King Killer Chronicles
$6.95
3/3/11
4.7
26,601
Brandon Sanderson
N/A
$6.95
10/24/08
4.3
9,269
T. Ellery Hodges
Book 1
Chronicles of
Jonathan Tibbs
$4.95
5/20/15
4.3
2,632
Anne McCaffrey
Book 1
Dragonriders of Perl
$4.95
6/17/08
4.3
2,255
Michael J. Sullivan
Book 1
Riyria Chronicles
$4.95
8/6/13
4.7
6,474
J.R.R. Tolkien
Book 2
Lord of the Rings
$4.95
10/9/12
4.8
10,012
Terry Goodkind
Book 1
Sword of Truth
$6.95
10/15/08
4.3
7,364
R.A. Salvatore
Book 2
Icewind Dale
$4.95
5/7/13
4.5
2,717
Brian D. Anderson
Book 1
Dragonvein
$4.95
7/14/15
4.3
2,676
Ken Liu
Book 1
Dandelion Dynasty
$4.95
4/7/15
4.1
441
Jack Campbell
Book 1
Pillars of Reality
$4.95
2/10/15
4.5
3,877
Lois McMaster Bujold
Book 2
Sharing Knife
$4.95
9/10/07
4.3
832
Lois McMaster Bujold
Book 1
Sharing Knife
$4.95
7/19/07
4.1
1,097
Maria V. Snyder
Book 2
Study
$4.95
9/29/06
4.3
2,054
Michael J. Sullivan
Book 2
Riyria Chronicles
$4.95
9/17/13
4.7
5,262
Terry Goodkind
Book 2
Sword of Truth
$6.95
5/13/08
4.2
4,561
Terry Goodkind
Book 2
Sword of Truth
$6.95
5/13/08
4.4
3,547
Brian D. Anderson
Book 2
Dragonvein
$4.95
10/20/15
4.5
1,664

Monday, November 28, 2016

Multi-author Cyber Monday Book Sale



I'll admit, I'm not a "Black Friday" shopper. I certainly don't want to deal with traffic, parking, or fighting someone for limited quantities of deeply discounted merchandise. So I had a nice relaxing day after Thanksgiving staining doors for the cabin.

I am, however, a big fan of Cyber Monday, and almost all of my holiday shopping is performed from the comfort of my computer. For the second year in a row, I've joined with a group of fellow authors to offer some fantastic holiday deals. Discounted books are always a good thing, but we've gone a step further and are providing signed copies--something that can be really hard to get unless you travel to the various conventions where we hang out.

I should mention that because all of us are selling books (and for some, merchandise) directly from private websites, we're cutting out the middle men. Yes, our publishers will get their cut (we buy the books from them), but by eliminating the retailers, more of your generous support goes to us, the people who actually create the stories. So, not only do you get signed and discounted books, but we earn a bit more coin than if you purchase online or from brick-and-mortar stores.

The deals are set by each author, so they'll vary from site to site. Click on each author's name to see their discounts. 

  10% - 70% off
19 items
  Lays of Anuskaya Series  
 Song of the Shattered Sands
Assorted Short Stories
30% off 4 items
(use code:
 bythepowerofgrayskull) 
The Tao Trilogy
The Rise of IO
Time Salvager Books
20% off
8 item
 (use code: SHENANIGANS) 
Iron Druid Chronicles
 33% - 66% off
2 items 
Zero World
The Dire Earth Trilogy
 
10% - 40% off
7 items
Powder Mage Novels
Powder Mage Novellas
Unbound
Powder Keg Silver Pin
  20% - 60% off
12 items
Age of Myth
Riyria Revelations
Riyria Chronicles
Hollow World
 15% - 25% off
3 items
(use code: CYBER)
The Black Prism
T-shirts




For my part, I'm offering 20%- 50% savings on print editions and a 60% savings on ebooks. Click here to get your special savings. Whether you want to stock up on some great fantasy and science fiction for yourself or are looking for a special gift for your favorite avid reader, check out the savings and act quickly. The sale ends December 15th.

Book
Series
#Format Discount  Regular
Price
Sale
Price
 Legends
of the
 First Empire 
1Hard Cover 20%$26.00 $20.80 
Riyria
Chronicles
3 LIMITED EDITION
(Signed, Dated, &
Numbered)
25%$50.00$37.50
Riyria
Revelations
 1 & 2 Trade
Paperback

20%

 $16.00  $12.80 
Riyria
Revelations
3 & 4Trade
Paperback
20%$17.00$13.60
Riyria
Revelations
5 & 6Trade
Paperback
20%$17.00$13.60
Riyria
Chronicles
1Trade
Paperback
20%$16.00$12.80
Riyria
Chronicles
2Trade
Paperback
20%$16.00$12.80
Riyria
Chronicles
3Hard Cover
Paperback
ebook
50%
50%
60%
$25.00
$15.00
$7.99
$12.50
$7.50
$3.20
N/AN/ATrade Paperback
ebook
20%
60%
$15.00
$7.99
$12.00
$3.20

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Audible Black Friday Sale Ends 11/29 at 11:59 PM PT

With 472 discounted audiobooks, it'd be tough not to find something on your wishlist as part of Audible's Black Friday Sale. I'm so pleased that one of mine (The Crown Tower) is one of them. With so many for sale, it's hard to choose which ones to focus on, but here are the ones that caught my eye, and hopefully one or more of them will be books you've been considering.


Here's some information about the titles I'm highlighting to help you decide which ones to pickup. But you have to hurry. The sale ends 11/29 at 12:00 Pacific Time.

Title
Author
Series
 Sale Price
Release Date
 Rating 
Review
The Crown Tower
Michael J. Sullivan
Book 1
Riyria Chronicles
$4.95
8/6/13
4.7
6,452
Wise Man's Fear
Patrick Rothfuss
Book 2
King Killer Chronicles
$6.95
3/3/11
4.7
26,528
Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien
Book 1
Lord of the Rings
$4.95
10/9/12
4.7
14,433
The Queen's Poisoner
Jeff Wheeler
Book 1
Kingfountain
$4.95
4/1/16
4.5
1,182
Dragonvein
Brian D. Anderson
Book 1
Dragonvein
$4.95
7/14/16
4.3
2,658
The Fifth Season
N.K. Jemisin
Book 1
Broken Earth 
$4.95
8/4/15
4.3
1,610
Calamity
Brandon Sanderson
Book 3
Reckoners
$4.95
2/16/16
4.7
14,312
Warbreaker
Brandon Sanderson
N/A
$6.95
12/3/15
4.6
2,728
Elantris
Brandon Sanderson
N/A
$6.95
10/24/08
4.3
9,265
The Crystal Shard
R.A. Salvatore
Book 1
Icewind Dale
$4.95
5/7/13
4.5
2,707
The Scottish Prisoner
Diana Gabaldon
Book 3:
Lord John Grey
$4.95
11/29/11
4.4
2,571
Hexed
Kevin Hearne
Book 2
Iron Druid Chronicles
$4.95
6/7/11
4.6
12,848
Hammered
Kevin Hearne
Book 3
Iron Druid Chronicles
$4.95
7/5/11
4.6
11,398
Grace of Kings
Ken Liu
Book 1
Dandelion Dynasty
$4.95
4/7/15
4.1
439
Dragonflight
Anne McCaffrey
Book 1
Dragonriders of Perl
$4.95
6/17/08
4.3
2,249
Neverwhere
Neil Gaiman
N/A
$4.95
10/23/07
4.4
12,077
Graveyard Book
Neil Gaiman
N/A
$4.95
9/30/14
4.7
4,561
Nice Dragons Finish Last
Rachel Aaron
Book 1
Heartstrikers
$4.95
11/18/14
4.4
3,316
Otherland
Tad Williams
Book 1
 Otherland
$5.95
10/30/14
4.4
544
Princess of Landover
Terry Brooks
Book 6
Magic Kingdom
of Landover
$4.95
8/18/09
4.1
499
Beguilement
Lois McMaster Bujold
Book 1
Sharing Knife
$4.95
7/19/07
4.1
1,097
Legacy
Lois McMaster Bujold
Book 2
Sharing Knife
$4.95
9/10/07
4.2
832
Wizard's First Rule
Terry Goodkind
Book 1
Sword of Truth
$6.95
10/15/08
4.3
7,355
Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe
C.S. Lewis
Book 1
Chronicles of Narnia
$4.95
5/10/05
4.5
5,315
The Magician's
Nephew
C.S. Lewis 
Book 6
Chronicles of Narnia
$4.95
5/10/05
4.5
2,888
Spell or High Water
Scott Meyer
Book 2
Magic 2.0
$4.95
6/17/14
4.5
9,997
Howl's Moving Castle
Diana Wynne Jones
N/A
$4.95
11/14/08
4.6
2,264
Master Magician
Charlie N. Holmberg
Book 3
Paper Magician
$4.95
6/2/15
4.4
1,194
Golden Son
Pierce Brown
Book 2
Red Rising
$4.95
1/6/15
4.7
12,932
Wool
Hugh Howey
Book 1-5
Wool 
$4.95
8/27/12
4.2
2,347

Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Amazon editors pick the 20 best fantasy & sci-fi novels of 2016

It's that all important time of the year when the "best-of" or "most-anticipated" lists start popping up. I was honored that Age of Myth was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award (my 5th), and today I learned of another list. I'm pleased to say Age of Myth was also picked by Amazon as one of the 20 best fantasy and science fiction novels of 2016. It's pretty amazing company to be in, and I'm both honored and humbled. Here are the books:


For those that prefer text rather than pictures, here are the books along with some data about their release date, rating, and number of reviews.

Title
Author
Series
 Book # 
Release Date
 Rating 
Review
Death's End
Cixin Liu
Remembrance of Earth's Past
#3
Sep 20, 2016
4.7
184
The Diabolic
S. J. Kincaid
-
-
Nov 1, 2016
4.2
42
The Hike: A Novel
Drew Magary
-
-
Aug 2, 2016
4.3
140
The Obelisk Gate
N. K. Jemisin
The Broken Earth
#2
Aug 16, 2016
4.6
114
The Wolf Road: A Novel
Beth Lewis
-
-
Jul 5, 2016
4.4
146
The Invisible Library
Genevieve Cogman
The Invisible Library
#1
Jun 14, 2016
4.2
141
Morning Star
Pierce Brown
Red Rising Trilogy
#3
Feb 9, 2016
4.8
1,705
All the Birds in the Sky
Charlie Jane Anders
-
-
Jan 26, 2016
3.8
194
Age of Myth
Michael J. Sullivan
The Legends of the First Empire
#1
Jun 28, 2016
4.6
232
Every Heart a Doorway
Seanan McGuire
Wayward Children
#1
Apr 5, 2016
4.3
235
The Burning Isle
Will Panzo
-
-
Nov 1, 2016
4.4
5
The Summer Dragon
Todd Lockwood
Evertide
#1
May 3, 2016
4.8
134
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife
Meg Elison
The Road to Nowhere
#1
Oct 11, 2016
4.4
112
Ninefox Gambit
Yoon Ha Lee
-
-
Jun 14, 2016
4.0
89
City of Blades
Robert Jackson Bennett
The Divine Cities
#2
Jan 26, 2016
4.6
131
Company Town
Madeline Ashby
-
-
May 17, 2016
4.2
51
The Dark Side
Anthony O'Neill
-
-
Jun 28, 2016
4.1
28
Skinner Luce
Patricia Ward
-
-
Jan 12, 2016
4.5
14
Star Nomad
Lindsay Buroker
Fallen Empire
#1
May 26, 2016
4.5
460
Machinations
Hayley Stone
-
-
Jul 26, 2016
4.2
59

If you're like me, these lists are great for growing the TBR lists.  And Christmas is just around the corner, so if you see something you like, tell Santa. Who knows, he might just stuff your stocking with some good reads.

Thursday, November 17, 2016

Narrators' Greatest Hits



It's been nearly two years since Audible took stock of their best narrators, and when they did, Tim Gerard Reynolds made the list!
  • Ray Porter
  • Andi Arndt
  • George Newborn
  • Tim Gerard Reynolds     
  • Emily Woo Zeller
  • Oliver Wyman
  • Tavia Gilbert
  • Rosalyn Landor
  • Bronson Pinchot
  • Gabra Zackman
  • Grover Gardner
  • Therese Plummer
Anyone who knows me is familiar with my undying respect for Tim's work. I consider myself honored to have him as a fellow collaborator. There's no doubt he is the voice of Riyria. Wait, I take that back, because it's too limiting. Tim is also rocking the voices for the Legends of the First Empire series, so I guess I have to call him the voice of Elan.

Tim's body of work has grown by leaps and bounds since his first release in July 2010. Theft of Swords was Tim's 6th recording and it was released in March 2012. Today he has more than 90 titles!


It must have been difficult for Audible to pick from all those works to get Tim's Top 10, and I'm honored that two of the Riyria books made the list:


So, if you've not heard Tim Gerard Reynolds yet, what's holding you back? If you have, then you already know how awesome he is. Either way, try one of these or any of the other books he's narrated. I haven't found any that aren't absolutely fabulous.

  1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown
  2. Dawn of Wonder by Jonathan Renshaw
  3. The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan
  4. The Red Sea by Edward W. Robertson
  5. Faithful Place by Tana French
  6. Chasing the Scream by Johann Hari
  7. Shift by Hugh Howey
  8. Son of the Black Sword by Larry Correia
  9. Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
  10. Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

2016 Goodreads Choice Award - Final Round


Well, Age of Myth didn't make it to the final round, but it was an honor to be included at all. Ten books  had to go, and  I'm consoled by the fact that even after being cut, it was among some amazing company:


And their stats:

Title
Series 
Author 
shelvedratingreviews 
 Legends of the First Empire #1 
Michael J. Sullivan 
36,1724.305,097
Lightbringer #4Breng Weeks21,7974.292,876
Devine Cities #2Robert Jackson Bennett10,2104.253,149
Wayward Children #1
Seanan McGuire
35,0313.888,963
Broken Earth #2 N.K. Jemisin 12,4584.424,461

Ken Liu 14,4584.331,988
Iron Druid Chronicles #8 Kevin Hearne 19,1354.219,533
Checquy Files #2 
Daniel O'Malley 
16,5124.186,232
Vampire Girl #1 
Karpov Kinrade
13,4854.074,593
Red Queen's War #3
Mark Lawrence
13,0004.383,886

So that leaves 10 books in the final round of the Goodreads Choice Awards including:


And a bit about each of them:

Title
Series
Author
shelvingratingreviews  
 Charlie Jane Anders  
40,1023.6010,574
Mistborn #6
Brandon Sanderson
48,5664.4723,889
Amy Harmon
23,6794.399,593
Charley Davidson #10
Darynda Jones
15,8614.446,515
Fever #8
Karen Marie Moning
32,4104.1512,161
Mercy Thompson #9
Patricia Briggs
35,0684.3518,811
Shades of Magic #2
V.E. Schwab
53,9674.3620,022
Harry Potter #8
J.K. Rowling
 468,668  3.83  270,688
Kate Daniels #9
Ilona Andrews
21,5884.618,654
The Others #4
Anne Bishop
20,8864.3210,859

This round of voting will go through the 27th. And then we'll have our winner!  Don't forget to vote for your favorite of 2016! More than 2,400,000 people already have.




Wednesday, November 9, 2016

Goodreads Semi-Final Round


Voting for the U.S. Presidential election is over, but the second round of the Goodreads Choice Awards has opened. Five books were added through write in, and even if you voted in round #1, you can vote again for round #2. Here's the new list of 20 books in the running.


I was interested to get some stats on the 20 books in the running, so Robin was nice enough to pull that data for me. Interesting stuff in there!

Series
Author
shelvingrating  reviews  
 Legends of the First Empire #1 
Michael J. Sullivan
35,4104.314,965
 Charlie Jane Anders  
39,3453.6010,459
Mistborn #6
Brandon Sanderson
47,9324.4723,645
Lightbringer #4
Breng Weeks
21,0484.312,178
Amy Harmon
22,6234.409,382
Devine Cities #2
Robert Jackson Bennett
9,9254.254,108
Charley Davidson #10
Darynda Jones
15,4514.446,394
Wayward Children #1
Seanan McGuire
33,4793.898,835
Fever #8
Karen Marie Moning
32,0744.1512,074
Mercy Thompson #9
Patricia Briggs
34,6744.3518,665
Shades of Magic #2
V.E. Schwab
53,1424.3619,773
Harry Potter #8
J.K. Rowling
 463,069 3.83  265,772
Kate Daniels #9
Ilona Andrews
21,1114.628,288
The Others #4
Anne Bishop
20,6164.3210,772
Broken Earth #2
N.K. Jemisin
12,0234.424,246
Ken Liu
13,8684.331,928
Iron Druid Chronicles #8
Kevin Hearne
18,8894.219,421
Checquy Files #2
Daniel O'Malley
16,2044.186,116
Vampire Girl #1
Karpov Kinrade
12,4894.084,457
Red Queen's War #3
Mark Lawrence
12,7084.383,803

This round of voting will go through the 13th. And then the field of 20 will be narrowed down to 10 for the final round. You don't have to vote for my book, but please vote for your favorite of 2016!



Friday, November 4, 2016

And we're done! Thanks for making The Death of Dulgath Kickstarter such a huge success.


Thanks to all the amazing backers that not only made The Death of Dulgath Graphic Novel a reality, but their generous support also made the project a huge success. More than $37,000 was raised from 801 backers!! The final two days saw nearly $8,000 in additional support, so we hit the $35,000 stretch goal. As always, the Kickstarter was a great time, and I'm so glad that the backers will not only get an exclusive version of the book, but also some great bonus swag.


Now we need to get the book produced. The team is solid and I can't wait to see what they come up with. Thanks again for all the backers, and if you missed the Kickstarter, there may be ways you can pre-order the book through a separate store. More on that soon.

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Author Writing Advice

I think aspiring authors are always looking for good advice. Jay Dee Archer recently asked a bunch of authors to relate our best advice,  and he compiled it all in a post you can find here.

There's a lot of good stuff mentioned and not just from me. Stop on over to find advice from Mark Lawrence, Djano Wexler, and over a dozen more. Good stuff all.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

Age of Myth is a Goodreads Choice Award Nominee!!



Have I've mentioned lately how much I love Goodreads and the bibliophiles on that site who are so passionate about books? I'm thrilled that 2016 brings me my 5th nomination!! (Also nominated in 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014).


Here's a breakdown for those who prefer text rather than pictures.It's a pretty amazing line up, and I'm honored to be included.

Title
Series
Author
Age of Myth
 Legends of the First Empire #1 
Michael J. Sullivan
All the Birds in the Sky
 Charlie Jane Anders  
Bands of Mourning , The
Mistborn #6
Brandon Sanderson
Bird and the Sword, The
Amy Harmon
Curse of Tenth Grave, The
Charley Davidson #10
Darynda Jones
Feverborn
Fever #8
Karen Marie Moning
Fire Touched
Mercy Thompson #9
Patricia Briggs
Gathering of Shadows, A
Shades of Magic #2
V.E. Schwab
Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child
Harry Potter #8
J.K. Rowling
Magic Binds
Kate Daniels #9
Ilona Andrews
Marked in Flesh
The Others #4
Anne Bishop
Obelisk Gate, The
Broken Earth #2
N.K. Jemisin
 Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, The 
Ken Liu
Staked
Iron Druid Chronicles #8
Kevin Hearne
Stiletto
Checquy Files #2
Daniel O'Malley

There will be three rounds of voting:
  • Opening Round Nov. 1 - 6
  • Semifinal Round Nov. 8 - 13
  • Final Round Nov. 15 - 27
During the opening round, Goodreads will be accepting "write-ins" and five more books will be added to the list for the semifinal round of voting. So if you don't see your favorite, consider telling Goodreads about it. The only requirement is publication date and it should be from Nov 2015 to Oct 2016. The second round will see voting for the full group of 20. Then the field will be narrowed to 10 books for the final round. I don't expect to win, being nominated is honor enough, but if possible I would like to make it to the final round. We'll see if that happens.  

I'm not going to ask for your vote. I want you to pick the book that you think deserves to win (no matter what that is). But please do vote in all rounds so your favorite book has the best chance at being named the best fantasy book of 2016. As far as I know, this is the only award that is a "people's choice" (selected based on votes of readers). As such, it is the most important award that I can think of.