Brown River Queen cover art

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Sightings, Smashwords, and More!

It's been a good day, as far as my writing is concerned.

First, I got a sneak peek at the cover for All the Paths of Shadow (coming soon!).  The cover is going to be beautiful.  The model looks just like I pictured Meralda, the heroine in the new book.  And, unlike the Markhat covers in which you never *quite* see Markhat's face under the brim of his hat, Meralda has the courtesy to look right at you.

All the Paths of Shadow will probably be out in September of this year.  The publisher is Cool Well Press, and I'll post links and so forth as soon as the information for All the Paths of Shadow  is publicly available.

Paths of Shadow is my first full-length YA novel.  YA stands for 'Young Adult,' which is authorspeak meaning 'for the love of all that is holy please shelve my book next to the Harry Potter books kthnxbye.'  I will stress that it's not a children's book.  Not that children couldn't read it -- in fact, they should read it, twice a week -- but when I say YA I don't mean it's filled with talking animals and rhyme and whimsy.  Paths certainly isn't as dark as the Markhat series, but I didn't shy away from including some pretty weighty themes, either.  There are, though, far fewer instances of gleeful decapitation conducted solely for humor in Paths.

Seeing a stunning piece of cover art with your own name plastered across it is always gratifying.

Finding your book in another bookstore is cool too.  I spotted two copies of The Markhat Files on the shelf in the campus bookstore -- so all my Oxford and Ole Miss pals, they're at the Union bookstore, in the SF/Fantasy section, right next to Gene Wolfe.

Go buy the last two so they'll order more, won't you?

Anthology 1: The Far Corners hit #8 on Amazon today in the fantasy short story anthology category.  That's a pretty hefty jump in a very short time; I have the good folks at DailyCheapReads to thank for that.  They put up a post for the anthology and sales took a huge leap.

Lastly, today marks my debut at Smashwords!  If you're not familiar with Smashwords, you should be, because no matter what kind of reading device you prefer (Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad, PC, etc.) they've got ebooks in your format of choice.

I've just placed Wistril Compleat there, and it's on the virtual shelf already.  Mallara and Burn: On the Road and The Far Corners anthology are awaiting placement now.  They should be up and for sale in a day or two.

I can't wait for everyone to see the cover for All the Paths of Shadow!  Hurry September!