Category Archives: Books

Reading at Borderlands Books in San Francisco in two weeks

Another handy event reminder for you: Two weeks from today, on Aug. 16,  I’ll be at Borderlands Books in beautiful San Francisco to do a reading alongside Japanese science fiction author Taiyo Fujii. The gig starts at 3 p.m., and given this fantastic store, you’ll want to hang out the rest of the afternoon.

It’s certainly an odd but interesting pairing, as Taiyo writes near future, cutting-edge science fiction. He self-pubbed in Japan a few years ago and saw his debut Gene Mapper shoot to the top of the Amazon charts there. That led to a publishing deal and now the English translation in the U.S. I’ve not read Gene Mapper, but I hear tell it’s a pretty intense, awesome thriller, and you can bet I’m picking up a copy.

As for me, of course, I’ll be talking about the Daedalus trilogy and likely reading a bit from The Venusian Gambit. It’s also worth noting that Cthulhu Fhtagn! comes out the day before the reading, so I may talk that up and read a bit from “On a Kansas Plain” to celebrate that, too.

So if you’re in San Francisco or the Bay Area in general, I’d absolutely love to see you. And if you can’t make it, I urge you to please patronize Borderlands Books and consider becoming a member. It’s a fantastic store and a wonderful focus for the local SF/F community. If you’re not in the area, never fear — they ship! Check ’em out and help the store thrive; alternatively, be sure to buy from your own local booksellers.

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Events

Fantasy-Faction interviews me, and I allude to stuff obliquely

TVG-cover-finalThere’s a new interview with me out today from Fantasy-Faction. I talked with the illustrious Dan Hanks — a stand-up guy if there ever was one — about The Venusian Gambit, finishing off the Daedalus series, and what comes next.

I’ve had to kind of tiptoe around that last bit in a number of interviews and such. I can safely say that there’s definitely a something next beyond short stories. In fact, I’m working on it now, and hopefully with out jinxing it, I think it’s some of my best writing. It’s not a continuation of the Daedalus series — that’s a completed story, in my mind, with no pressing need to go back to the setting. It’s new and different.

And that’s all I can say right about now. I’m hopeful there might be more about by September or so. In the interim, I’m gonna write, and you’ll have to hang tight. In the meantime, I do have a story in the Cthulhu Fhtagn! anthology out next month, and it looks like Unidentified Funny Objects 4, which has my “Confessions of an Interplanetary Art Fraud” therein, is due out in the fall.

But that’s all I can say for now. Except for these, which probably doesn’t help unless you do the research to figure out what they are. (Hint!)

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Writing

Cthulhu Fhtagn! up for preorder on Kindle

Are you prepared for Cthulhu’s rise? That’s a silly question, because much like the Spanish Inquisition, nobody expects Cthulhu…which is funny, since it’s a ginormous octopus-headed, bat-winged, humanoid horror that you really can’t miss.

But I digress.

Cthulhu Fhtagn!, the latest Lovecraft-inspired anthology from uber-editor Ross Lockhart, is now available for preorder on Amazon Kindle. The book of 19 amazing weird tales — from authors such as Laird Barron, Richard Lee Byers, Molly Tanzer and, well, me — comes out August 15. Get in on it! Preorder it! Prepare for the soul-wrenching darkness!

Well, the first two, at least.

If you want it in print, head on over to Word Horde and order direct from the publisher — and get the ebook bundled with it for just $19.99. You’ve spent more on lunch. Heck, I’ve spent more on a single bottle of beer.

As for my story, “On a Kansas Plain,” I won’t say too much except that it’s set in the modern day, and bad things happen. Bad. Things. But you probably already figured that last bit out. As I’ve said before, it’s a bit of a departure for me, but I’m excited to see it among the work of so many other great authors.

August 15. Cthulhu’s coming. Be prepared.

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Writing

Win a free copy of The Venusian Gambit audiobook

So with the Audible version of The Venusian Gambit now live, I happen to have a couple promo codes for freebies. Time for a giveway? Absolutely!

I’m gonna keep it simple. Leave a comment on this blog post below by Monday at 9 a.m. EDT. I’ll choose a winner at random and post it here and in the comments as well. If you’re the winner, you can drop me an e-mail to claim your code and download the book.

Easy peasy.

You have to be registered with Audible to use the code and get your book, but registration is pretty simple, so don’t let that stop you. I mean, we’re talking more than 13 hours of entertainment here, delivered by the fantastic narrators Bernard Setaro Clark and Kristin Kalbli. What’s not to like?

As for the comments themselves, you don’t have to write an essay or anything — a simple “I’m in!” or something will suffice. And if you’ve not commented before, your comment will automatically go to moderation, which I’ll monitor and clear out regularly before Monday. So don’t panic if you don’t see it right away.

There you go. Get commenting!

UPDATE: The winner has been chosen — see the comments below. Thanks, everyone!

#SFWApro

9 Comments

Filed under Books

Fantasy Faction reviews The Venusian Gambit; audiobook available now!

TVG-cover-finalIn paying homage to Napoleonic Era naval adventure, I’m well aware the Daedalus series is treading on beloved ground across the pond in the United Kingdom. So I’m doubly proud of this review of The Venusian Gambit from Fantasy Faction, written by one of my favorite Englishmen, Dan Hanks. His conclusion:

The Venusian Gambit is everything you could want in a finale. Bigger, better, darker and with more at stake than ever before, it’s a thrilling climax to a fresh, but delightfully old-fashioned swashbuckling adventure – the type of story we were sure they didn’t make any more.

You can read the whole thing here. My favorite quote, though, is this: “When a French zombie army marching across the English Channel to conquer our green and pleasant land isn’t the craziest event in a book, you know you’re in for a treat.” I’m quite grateful to Dan for the review, and for all the support he’s shown for this series. Rule, Britannia!

Also today, the Audible audiobook of The Venusian Gambit is now available for download! What’s more, the Audible page has a sample of Kristin Kalbli’s fine narration, so head on over and check it out.

#SFWApro

1 Comment

Filed under Books, Writing

One week to go before The Venusian Gambit is released in audio

Once again, my thanks to everyone who’s been reading and enjoying The Venusian Gambit. I’m really heartened at how well it’s been received, and appreciate everyone who’s taken the time to leave reviews on Amazon, B&N, Goodreads, etc. Those things help.

Just as a reminder, the Audible audio release of the final Daedalus novel is coming on June 23 — one week from today. You can pre-order it now and get it all set up in your queue. I’m really glad we kept the narrators on for all three books; they’ve done a really fantastic job.

And one more book note: The folks at SFCrowsnest reviewed the latest issue of Apex Magazine, featuring an excerpt of Gambit, which prompted the reviewer to get the first two books in the trilogy. Job well done, there!

Otherwise, I’m here plugging away. I have some vacation coming up at the end of the month after the Vermont SF Writer’s Series, and I’m working on the Next Thing, which you may hear about later this summer. My Pathfinder serial should be gearing up in a few weeks, and Cthulhu Fhtagn! comes out in August with my short story therein.

Long story short, things are pretty darn good.

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books, Writing

Yes, there’s a gay character in the Daedalus series

TDI-bigcoverThey say, of course, that one should not respond to bad reviews, and I wholeheartedly believe this to be correct. Nonetheless, a recent reader review — on a site that will go unnamed and unlinked here — asked a question:

Is it absolutely necessary to make a gay character these days!? They’re 3% of the population!

The reviewer in question left a four-star rating, which was lovely and greatly appreciated, so this was by no means a bad review. And since the question was asked, I’m inclined to provide an answer. (Note: Very mild spoilers for The Enceladus Crisis and The Venusian Gambit below.)

I’m going to assume that the character in question is Maj. Gen. Maria Diaz, USAF, 22nd century commander of the DAEDALUS task force. She started off as a colonel in command of a backwater Mars base in The Daedalus Incident, then (quite appropriately) found herself promoted to lead DAEDALUS’ efforts to study interdimensional rifts and, as needed, defend against further incursions.

And yes, she’s gay.

Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Books, Writing

Subscribe to Apex Magazine and enter to win The Venusian Gambit

So here’s something pretty cool. Apex Magazine is having a subscription drive sale until Wednesday, June 10. Not only do you get $3 off your subscription, but you’re automatically entered to win a copy of The Venusian Gambit, which was excerpted in the latest issue.

That is one heck of a lot of science fiction for a great price, plus the chance to win more. What are you waiting for? Go! Go now! Subscribe and enjoy!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books

New Venusian Gambit excerpt in the latest issue of Apex

I’m back from Phoenix Comicon (and a two-day detour to Los Angeles). I’m pretty much exhausted, but it was a really fantastic con — thanks largely in part to the people there and, more importantly, all the staff and volunteers who put it together. Thank you all.

I’ll have some more PHXCC thoughts over the next few days, but for now, I wanted to flag folks on the new excerpt of The Venusian Gambit appearing in this month’s Apex Magazine. This is exclusive to ebook purchasers and subscribers, so you’ll have to pony up for it — I’d like to think it’s worth it. I may be biased.

It’s the most extensive excerpt we’ve had out there on this one, so I encourage you to check it out if you’re on the fence about Gambit. Enjoy!

#SFWApro

Leave a comment

Filed under Books

The Gravity of the Affair now free on Kindle! Plus more Phoenix Comicon fun

So it took a bit, but my novella The Gravity of the Affair is now free on Amazon Kindle. You can also get it free via Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. (Sorry, but we could only get it down to $0.99 for the Nook, because of reasons.) So if you think you might like the Daedalus series but you’re not sure, here’s your chance to find out. It’s only for a limited time, so get clicking!

And I’m doing stuff today at Phoenix Comicon! At 10:30 a.m., I’m on the Rewriting History panel with four incredibly awesome authors: Beth Cato, Viola Carr, Deliliah S. Dawson and Cherie Priest. Then at noon, I’m doing Historical and Fantastical and Maybe a Little Magical with Cherie and Viola again, along with Django Wexler and Joseph Nassise. Then at 1:30 p.m., I’m signing in room 126b with the authors from the latter panel.

If you’re in town, hope to see you there! If not, well…I’m sorry you’re not here, because it’s quite a lot of fun.

#SFWApro

1 Comment

Filed under Books, Events