Late last night, I posted a new pieces at Storytellers Unplugged called “Gearing Up for Publication.” It’s all about how I now have to go out and promote Amortals as best I can. If you have any ideas for me or suggestions that might help, don’t hesitate to let me know. Thanks!
Pre-Order Amortals
My upcoming science-fiction novel Amortals is now available for pre-order. I’ve provided a list of online retailers below. The “Indie Bookstores” link should help you find the book at an independent bookstore local to you, assuming there is one. The official release date for the book is November 4 for UK print and worldwide ebook sales. Amazon UK lists themselves as having the book ready November 1, which may well be true too.
If you’re at all interested in Amortals, take a few seconds right now to pre-order the book. I’ll truly appreciate it, and my publisher will too!
- Amazon (UK) (Nov. 1)
- Kindle (US) (Nov. 4)
- Nook (Nov. 4)
- Amazon (US) (Dec. 28)
- Barnes & Noble (Dec. 28)
- Borders (Dec. 28)
- Indie Bookstores (Dec. 28)
My Next Trilogy: Dust
This summer, I signed on to write a trilogy of novels based on Dust, a world created by my longtime friend Paolo Parente. I first worked with Paolo on the Mutant Chronicles RPG way back in the early ’90s, and later when I served as the president of Pinnacle, we regularly hired him to produce some amazing artwork for us. He always creates incredible imagery: dangerous, sexy, and action packed.
More recently, Paolo came up with Dust, a world in which alien technology discovered in 1938 allows the various warring factions of World War II to build and deploy walking tanks and other amazing weaponry. It’s just as much wild, crazy fun as it sounds.
Dust has already seen life as an Image comic book, a series of gorgeous models, and a strategy board game from Fantasy Flight. Fantasy Flight also plans to produce a tactical board game later this fall.
Next year should see the first of the Dust novels released, with the other two following shortly after. I’m diving into the first volume right now, an approved outline in hand and bullets zipping past my head. Geronimo!
Read and Play for Pakistan
The fine folks over at DriveThruStuff.com have launched another charity drive, much like the Gamers for Haiti event they ran back in January. This time around, they’re aiming to help the victims of the recent floods in Pakistan by gathering donations for Doctors Without Borders.
They’re running two concurrent drives, actually. For the RPG side, if you chip in $25, you receive a bundle of game PDFs that total up to being worth over $700. If you prefer comics instead, chip in $10, and you receive over $100 worth of comic-book PDFs.
Both packages have some excellent bits in them. I’m proud to see, for instance, that Pinnacle tossed my Deadlands: One Shot comic in the comic book mix. Even if you don’t like everything in the bundle, you’re sure to enjoy some of it. You’re bound to get far more than your money’s worth – and it’s all going to a great cause either way.
SFBooks Reviews Amortals
At the moment, I’m busy making the final revisions on Vegas Knights, my second novel being published by Angry Robot. This morning, though, AR’s head robot Marc Gascoigne sent me some good news.
Antony Jones at SFBooks.com just gave Amortals a five-star review! The money quote:
Amortals is an action-packed sci-fi thriller full of fantastic tech and a great ending. Highly recommended.
The book is due to appear on shelves in the UK in November and the US in January. The ebook should be available worldwide simultaneously with the UK debut. Can’t wait for you to read it!
Vegas Knights Cover Draft
Amazon.com
Seeing the cover means the book’s one step closer to being real, which is a complete thrill for me. Now I just have to finish those revisions so we have some words to put between the covers.
RPGs for Kids
The fine folks over at Fear the Boot have a new podcast (Episode 207) aimed at exploring which are the best RPGs to use to introduce kids to the hobby. They have a fine list of selections from people across the hobby, including one from me. If you’d rather read than listen, you can find the list and links to the various games on their site too.
Archon 34 Report
I haven’t done one of these con reports for a while. Usually I’m swamped getting ready for the show, and deluged when I get back. Plus, tweeting while I’m at the show dulls the sharp edge of the need. Still, I enjoy writing them up, if only to remind myself of how lucky I am to be able to attend these shows, and I hope you do too.
I had a fantastic time at Archon 34 last weekend. The folks there were kind enough to fly me down, put me up, and stuff me silly with food and drink, for which I’m always grateful. The staff was helpful and unflappable, and everywhere I looked it seemed like people loved the show.
The Fun of Surprise (An Interview)
Jeremy L C Jones just posted a short interview with me on Booklife about how playing and designing games has influenced my writing. Go read “The Fun of Surprise,” and then let me know what you think.
My Archon Schedule
I’m heading out for Archon–a great genre fiction and gaming convention in St. Louis–on Friday morning, and I’ll be there through Sunday. I’m a guest of honor there, so my schedule is packed. It looks something like this:
Friday
1:30 PM (Matterhorn): Opening Ceremonies
2:40 PM (Versailles Hall): Autograph Session
5:00:00 PM (Matterhorn): Reactor 88: Behind The Scenes
9:40:00 PM (Alpine 2): Game Design 101
Saturday
11:10:00 AM (Bern): Game Design, Writing & Illustration
12:20:00 PM (Lugano): Writing Within The World
1:30:00 PM (Bern): Kaffeeklatsch
3:50:00 PM (Versailles Hall): Autograph Session
Sunday
12:20 PM (Bern): Volunteer Pizza Party with the Pros
2:40:00 PM (Bern): Closing Ceremonies
The rest of the time, I’ll be wandering about, chatting with folks, playing games, and having fun. If you’re in the area, come on out and join me and the rest of the guests.