Friday, May 24, 2013

Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom available for preorder now!


I'm insanely excited to announce that my second steampunk novel, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom available for preorder now!

When you order through the preorder site, you'll get free shipping for your order.
All books will be shipped on June 25.
Also each book will be signed but if you'd like your name or a message, just let us know in the comment section of the order form.
Order Thomas Riley and the Maelstrom HERE

You can also order your signed and stamped copy of the re-edited reissue of the first book, Thomas Riley, now on ZOVA Books.
Thomas Riley Reissue

And finally, you can get both bundled signed and with free shipping!
Yes, send me both books


If you liked the last book, you'll love the second one. It's darker, deadlier and with even more insane steampunk action.

Here 's the blurb for the new book!

Thomas Riley and Cynthia Basset's adventures in their steampunk world have turned down a dark path. After an assassination attempt, the West Canvian heroes receive a message from a mysterious woman about the whereabouts of Cynthia's missing suitor and famous sky pirate, Sam Burges.

Cynthia insists on pursuing the lead despite great risk and they take off with a rogue colonial sky pirate and his eclectic crew to find the man that she loves. On their journey, Thomas and Cynthia learn that Sam has joined with their enemies, the Lemurians, under the supervision of the mad man, Doctor Wolfgang Gerhard. To make matters worse, Sam is in a commanding position on board the secret airship, The Maelstrom, that has the ability to control the weather in a most nefarious way.
Thomas and Cynthia's loyalty to their country and to each other are laid on the line in this steampunk tale of love, loss and war.

Praise for Thomas Riley and the Maelstrom:

"Grab your goggles and strap in for a (steam-powered) roller-coaster ride! Nick Valentino has done it again!"

- Jon Klement, Host of DragonTalk Radio


"Gadgets, gizmos, airships and automatons; the essentials of what a good steampunk novel needs and Nick Valentino does not skimp on any of them! Once again we follow Thomas Riley through murder, mayhem and plot with the valiant Cynthia Basset by his side. Thomas Riley and the Maelstrom is a rousing tale; Steampunk enthusiasts will be clamoring for more"

- Diana Vick, Vice Chair of Steamcon

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Thomas Riley 2nd Edition OUT NOW!



I'm super proud to announce that the reissue of my first Steampunk adventure novel, Thomas Riley, is out today on ZOVA Books!

So you may be asking yourself, what do I get out of the reissue? What's so special about the second edition?
Well, the first edition is all but gone. I have a few copies in my stash but that's all that exist. So if you haven't read it yet, well, that's pretty much the only way you're going to get it. The cool parts of the second edition is that the entire book has been re-edited and looks quite different than the original. The second edition also has a revamped cover, sure the art is primarily the same but now it has different lettering, and a nifty back cover. In my opinion, the coolest part of the reissue is that there's an extra chapter at the end, which also happens to be the first chapter of the second book, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom, which isn't due out until June 25. So, I'll promise this much, you're going to get several answers to some burning questions that book 1 left hanging... hey, and you get a sweet teaser for book number 2. Depending on you're reading speed, you might just wrap up book one by the time the second one comes out.

How do you get your hands on a copy? I've got ya covered.

Amazon Paperback

Kindle

Nook 

Barnes & Noble Paperback 

Monday, May 13, 2013

The Thomas Riley Re-issue OUT TOMORROW! Tonight Sounds of Steam


Tomorrow, the re-edited, re-issue of my first Steampunk adventure novel, Thomas Riley, comes out on ZOVA Books! It has an extra chapter (that will immediately answer a few burning questions) for those that can't wait until book 2, (Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom) on June 25. It has a redesigned cover as well!

In celebration of the book release and for all things Steampunk, the fine folks at Sounds of Steam, internet radio, are having me on as a guest tonight!!! 9PM Eastern time, 6PM Pacific time.
They have a lot of amazing guests on tonight and some great music! Here's the details:

Sounds Of Steam, Why We Do, What We Do, in Steampunk, May 13th, 2013

Why Steampunk? What makes you passionate about this hobby, pastime, aesthetic, lifestyle, or whatever you want to call it? We tell you the our personal answers to those questions, as well as ask others. Interviews with Steampunk darling, Airship Captain, and Steampunk Murder Mystery Host, Nim Derringer; Author of the Thomas Riley series, Nick Valentino; and convention creator and host, Jeff Mach.

Featuring music from Professor Elemental, This Way to the Egress, Frenchy and the Punk, The Aeronauts, The Bewitched, Unwoman, Victor Sierra, Abney Park, The Extraordinary Contraptions, Vagabondage, Veronique Chevalier, BirdEatsBaby, CosbySweater, Bad September, Violet, The Cog is Dead, and The Dresden Dolls.

***Please let your friends know, and invite others to join in on this, live or download! Spread the word of the Steampunk show for all sides of the Steampunk lifestyle! Make sure to "Like" and "Share" our page for all updates!

What is Sounds of Steam?
It is a weekly, Steampunk-themed, internet-radio show, hosted by Travis I. Sivart and Chris Hall.

We have our usual weekly segments of Drink-Du-Jour, This Week In History, Opening and Closing Toasts, Upcoming Events, and Steampunk Music Hour. We discuss the influence of Steampunk in the world of movies, literature, music, gaming, and every other corner of culture we can find. We interview convention goers and hosts, artists, bands, writers, inventors, time travelers and craftsmen. We explore the hobbies, sub genres, geographic influences and fringe cultures that help shape Steampunk every day. All of this blended with wit, sarcasm and a pub-like atmosphere.

To listen to Sounds of Steam live broadcast, tune in to:

http://loudcity.com/stations/radio-riel-steampunk/tune_in

or

http://wightpartyradio.com/wightparty-radio-player/

To listen on your iPhone or Android http://tunein.com/radio/Wightparty-Radio-s182957/?popout=true

To download Sounds of Steam's previous episodes: http://www.SoundsOfSteam.com/episodes/

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Steampunk Legos!


Steampunk Legos! You read it right. How cool. There are a bunch of different "levels" that make YOU the weapons designer (Just like Thomas Riley). When I was little, I would have killed for the Legos they have today, (Star Wars and Lord of the Rings to name a few) but now they're making Steampunk Legos? I want to shake the person's hand that got the green light for this.

I'm sure some people are saying that this is somehow a sellout of the culture but personally, I think it's brilliant. I don't think it's possible to sellout the Steampunk culture. I applaud it's expansion in any way shape or form and this is yet another opportunity for kids (and adults) to expand their minds and have fun doing it... just like Steampunk. Go Lego go!

Check out the MSN article here.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Books and blogs and interviews, oh my! Update



Hi everyone! So there's a lot of little things going on at the moment. First off, the re-edited reissue of Thomas Riley (1) (ZOVA Books) is coming out in exactly one week!!! Yep, next Tuesday May 14th it comes out with an enhanced cover and a fun extra chapter for those that can't wait for the second book in the series (Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom) to come out on June 25th. I have to say that I'm really honored to have a book that ZOVA Books and fans around the world deemed as worthy of a reissue! Thank you!

In about thirty minutes, I'm doing an interview which I think airs next Wednesday (I'll check that and let you know if that's correct) on Sounds of Steam which is an awesome website devoted to the propagation of Steampunk culture. More on that later as I'll be doing a blog soon about their sheer awesomeness.

The Blog Tour planning is going great but of course, I need more! So if you have a blog, website, podcast, radio show that I might be able to appear as a guest on, please let me know. You can of course reach me here or you can always email me: Hazeltherabbit@yahoo.com I'd be very appreciative of any help.

For a little fun, I love the new commercial featuring Hell's Kitchen host and chef extraordinaire Gordon Ramsay for the kid's show Team Umizoomi. Super funny! Enjoy!

Friday, May 3, 2013

Jeff Hanneman


I remember in 1988 I was at Camp Ocoee for the summer. I was 12 years old and I had just really gotten into music. I remember sitting on my bunk in my cabin with my Walkman on listening to AC/DC on cassette. We had a junior counselor there who I sadly can't remember his name but he was a metal dude with long hair and I thought he was super cool.

He had just gotten the latest record from Slayer, (South Of Heaven) and played me my first song that would change everything for me. It was "Behind The Crooked Cross". I'll never forget it. It sounded like fast horror movie music and it excited me, scared me, and made me feel something grand like I never had before.

From there, I wrote my friend, Will, and told him he had to check the record out, which he did and when I got home Slayer was basically all we listened to for the rest of the summer. This is a funny tid bit but I was so freaked out and overwhelmed by Slayer's awesomeness and evil at the time, I tried to like the ultra Christian band Stryper just to counteract my obsession with Slayer. Thankfully, that didn't work.

Anyway, Slayer has been a part of my life ever since and I have to say that they are my favorite band of all time. They made a few albums that not only stand the test of time but still have the same emotion and fury that they had twenty years ago. Pretty amazing, especially for a metal band.

My point to this is that one of Slayer's guitar players, Jeff Hanneman, died yesterday and so did one of the godfathers of the metal genre. Without Jeff Hanneman, the world would not be the same today. Pretty amazing legacy if you ask me. RIP Jeff.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

The Sky Pirates Revenge World Blog Tour


When Thomas Riley (1) came out, I did a huge 32 day blog tour (The Sky Pirate's Barrage Blog Tour) that took me from people's personal blogs to Tor.com. It was an awesome journey and I really appreciate those that hosted me and helped Thomas Riley become what it is today.

I'm excited to announce The Sky Pirate's Revenge World Blog tour that will best my last endeavor by one extra stop. I have already gotten a great response but I need more dates and have a bunch more to fill so I'm asking anyone, my friends, family, fans and wonderful geeks around the world if I might be able to get a spot on their website, blog, podcast, radio show, anything that you do online in promotion for my second steampunk novel, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom (ZOVA Books).

Anyone that helps out will get my undying love, special entries in contests and a cool treat later down the line. You all know I love patches right? ;)

So, if you would honor me with a spot on your Internet, please message me here or send me an email at: Hazeltherabbit@yahoo.com

The Blog tour starts Tuesday June 25th and ends Monday July 29th.

Thank you all in advance!
~Nick