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And brought me a box of presents:

That’s right, The Warded Man is finally going to hit mass-market paperback in the US, just in time to whet appetites for The Desert Spear. If you’ve been on the fence about shelling out for the hardback, or just want the awesome new cover, the MMPB goes on sale March 23. Del Rey just sent me 24 copies, which is obviously more than I need. I smell another giveaway contest coming up…

I also got an ARC of Jon Sprunk’s Shadow’s Son from Prometheus (Pyr) books the other day:

I’m already 100 pages into Abercrombie’s Before They Are Hanged and quite enjoying it, but I am going to put it aside for a week or two so I can read Jon’s book. Jon is in my Lit. Agency, and I promised to read Shadow’s Son and write a blurb if it didn’t suck. I’m on chapter 2 now, and not at all worried about suckage. Chapter 1 kicked ass.

Posted on March 5, 2010 at 5:18 pm by PeatB
Filed under Contests, Messenger, Reading, Sales
13 Comments »

Don’t believe me? Here’s proof from French Jess:

Posted on March 4, 2010 at 1:53 pm by PeatB
Filed under Contests, Fan Art, Fans, France
4 Comments »

I heard from the folks at Subterranean Press that The Great Bazaar and Other Stories is finally shipping! For those of you who were going by the January 31 pub date on Amazon and got e-mails saying there was a delay and whatnot… sorry about that. Amazon dates have never been reliable, because publishers are required to predict the exact release date months (or years) in advance. There was also some sort of shipping delay, but I’m not entirely clear on what it was.

But who cares? The book is finally available. You likely won’t find it in stores, but you can order it online from Subterranean or Amazon. Amazon lists it as out of stock at the moment (probably from fulfilling all the pre-orders), but they should have more copies shortly. The signed and numbered limited edition version is already sold out, but the regular hardcover is still available, and I’ll be happy to send folks bookplates if they want their copies signed (more on the plates next post).

The title story of The Great Bazaar is an ALL NEW 15,000 word (60 page) novelette featuring Arlen in the year 328 AR, telling of the adventure he has in the city of Fort Krasia (AKA the Desert Spear) that eventually puts him on the path to find the lost city of Anoch Sun. I’m really proud of the story, and think it acts as a good introduction to the demon world for the uninitiated, a great companion to The Warded Man for fans of that book (it is essentially chapter 16.5), and most of all, an appetizer for the upcoming sequel, The Desert Spear.

Not only does the book take place in the setting for much of The Desert Spear, but the bonus materials include both a Krasian dictionary to help keep some of those foreign words straight, and a Ward Grimoire that gives detailed descriptions of the demon breeds, including two new ones (guaranteed scare the crap out of you) that will be stalking your favorite characters come April.

Oh, and the cover by Lauren K. Cannon fucking rocks. I commissioned that painting of the Warded Man for this website soon after I sold the first book, and am thrilled that Subterranean decided to use it as a cover. Frankly, I wish Del Rey had done so a year ago.

Juicy gossip: To celebrate the release of the sequel, I have Lauren hard at work on a portrait of one of the protagonists of The Desert Spear. Based on preliminary sketches and Lauren’s general awesomeness, it is going to be fantastic.

So order your copy of The Great Bazaar before they all sell out! Even the regular hardcover is a limited run, and I don’t think they’ll be going back on press anytime soon (if ever).

Here’s what some advance readers have had to say:

Sacramento Book Review

Superfast Reader

Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist

Goodreads

I’ll stop shilling now.

Posted on February 28, 2010 at 11:41 pm by PeatB
Filed under Great Bazaar, Sales
21 Comments »

Aidan Moher asked me for an excerpt from The Desert Spear to post on his SF blog A Dribble of Ink sometime in March. I agreed and took my personal reference ARC to leaf through, looking for something cool to lift out that didn’t have any spoilers.

An hour later, I realize all I’ve done is sit and read the book, and haven’t looked for shit.

Damn thing sucked me in.

Posted on February 28, 2010 at 6:40 pm by PeatB
Filed under Craft, Excisions, My Reviews, Reviews, Sales, Writing
5 Comments »

All parents have their priorities. Some are obsessive about teaching the basics of reading and math, and make their child’s life an endless grammar/math quiz. Others don’t give a damn about reading and just want their child to be able to sing. Or dance. Or sit and watch sports/play video games with them. No matter what it is you’re into, odds are you’re training your kid to be into it, too, whether you know it or not.

For my parents, it was skiing. They were skiers, and so the kids were gonna be, too. There are pictures of all three of us on skis at like 2-3 years old. I still remember Frosty’s Ski/Nursery School. They had the best hot chocolate.

For Dani, it’s that Cassie love music. We surround her with it all the time, and at 18 months old, that girl can keep an impressive beat.

For me, it’s that she can tell Dr. Doom apart from Magneto, and doesn’t confuse The Thing with The Hulk:

We all have our priorities.

Posted on February 26, 2010 at 6:42 pm by PeatB
Filed under Cassie, Life, Musings
11 Comments »