Bound By Blood Second Printing!

My unbelievably talented wife's first book, Bound By Blood, has gotten new life with the New York publishing house Kinsington/ Lyrical Press! It got a nifty new cover and is now back on sale for your Kindle at Amazon! It's set at a mega low price of $2.99 and it downloads instantly. Seriously, it's a super action packed novel for fans of Underworld and Daybreakers.

Check out the blurb here:

Vampire Mila Deluca is as powerful in magic as her trigger-finger is quick.
Pack leader Bryce D’Angelo is as sexy a warrior as he is deadly.
Two equally powerful species, the vampires and lycans are natural enemies. Yet when Mila and Bryce’s lives collide in the midst of a world filled with chaos an uneasy alliance is formed. Together, they must right wrongs and impart justice in the face of a dangerous evil…even as they fight against the connection between them that turns to something far deeper than mere lust.
Mila and Bryce must become bound by blood before they face a final show down that will decide the fate of the world.

Link to the Bound By Blood Amazon

July Updates

Some cool things are afoot! First off, the release of Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom is going very well! I'm in the planning stages now for some signings so I'll let you know when and where I'll be with the brand spanking new book in hand. You know I love rubber stamps right? If you haven't seen it yet, here's the stamp that will come with every signed copy of TR2.

If you haven't gotten your copy yet, here's where you can get it: (TR2 is now available for the Nook!)
Amazon.com

Kindle

Barnes and Noble.com

Get Thomas Riley for Your Nook

I can't say a lot about this yet but I think I can say that Liz and I are working on the story book for a steampunk RPG game coming out in 2014 from the Harsh Realities game company. It's going to be huge and super fun! I'll let you know more about it when I'm allowed to do so.

Life is good, we are as busy as can be.

Q & A with Ice Forged author Gail Z. Martin

 

Q & A with Ice Forged author Gail Z. Martin

Q:  You write epic fantasy.  What got you interested in sword-and-sorcery stuff?

A:  As a kid, I loved anything about King Arthur, and I read every book I could find about Arthur, Merlin, Morgan LaFey, and the Round Table.  I know all the words to every song from Camelot! That got me interested in real history, and I read a lot about kings, castles, wars and then of course, magic.  Then I got into reading mythology and folklore, and when you put it all together, I started thinking up stories of my own!

Q:  Please tell us about your other books and where to find them.

A:  The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven and Dark Lady’s Chosen make up my Chronicles of the Necromancer series.  The Sworn and The Dread are books one and two of my Fallen Kings Cycle, which continues the characters and setting from the first four books.  Ice Forged, and in 2014, Reign of Ash, are the first two books in my Ascendant Kingdoms Saga series, which is an entirely different fantasy world from my first books.  All of these titles are available wherever books are sold as paperbacks, ebook and audiobook.

Every month I bring out a new short story on Kindle, Kobo and Nook for just .99.  It’s a cheap thrill, and a good way to get to know my writing if you haven’t read one of my books.  In the Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures, so far we’ve got Raiders’ Curse, Caves of the Dead, Storm Surge, and Bounty Hunter.  In my Deadly Curiosities Adventures, so far the titles include Vanities, Wild Hunt, Steer a Pale Course.  You can find these online wherever ebooks for Kindle, Kobo and Nook are sold.

Q:  Ice Forged started a new series for you, with a different world and all-new characters from what you’ve written before.  What made you decide to write a different series instead of continuing with your other characters?

A:  I still have plans to write more stories in the Chronicles world, but I had reached a good place to take a break and do something different for a while.  There’s a natural break in the plot line after The Dread that makes a logical resting point.  So while my characters are taking a much-deserved vacation, I had the opportunity to write some new stories that had been banging around in my head.

Q:  You’ve also begun to bring out short stories on ebook.  How did that happen?

A:  I started doing short stories for anthologies, and discovered that it was fun.  Since my Chronicles world is on hiatus for now, I decided to bring out some of Jonmarc Vahanian’s back-story, since he’s a character everyone wants to know more about.  I created my Deadly Curiosities world for my anthology stories, and enjoyed writing about that world so much I decided to create more stories on my own.  I’ve found that switching up which world I’m writing about keeps me sharp and it’s like a mini-vacation.  I’m having a lot of fun!

Q: What’s the best part about being a writer?

A:  For me, there are two “best” parts—getting to tell the stories and getting to meet readers.  Writing is a lot of fun for me, even though it is a lot of work.  It doesn’t feel like work!  It’s so exciting to share the stories that bounce around in my head and make them real to other people.  Then meeting other people who love to read is also wonderful.  Book people have so much in common, even if we don’t always agree on our favorites, we do agree that books are fantastic!

The Hawthorn Moon Sneak Peek Event includes book giveaways, free excerpts and readings, all-new guest blog posts and author Q&A on 21 awesome partner sites around the globe.  For a full list of where to go to get the goodies, visit www.AscendantKingdoms.com.

@GailZMartin Book Giveaway on Twitter—Every day from June 21 – June 28 I’ll be choosing someone at random from my Twitter followers to win a free signed book.  Invite your friends to follow me—for every new 200 followers I gain between 6/21 – 6/28, I’ll give away an additional book, up to 20 books!

Gail Z. Martin is the author of Ice Forged in her new The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), plus The Chronicles of The Necromancer series (The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven & Dark Lady’s Chosen ) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (The Sworn  and The Dread).  She is also the author of two series on ebook short stories: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures and the Deadly Curiosities Series. Find her online at www.AscendantKingdoms.com.

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 

Steamed Up by Elizabeth Darvill

Today is the day that Elizabeth Darvill's steampunk erotica book, Steamed Up, comes out from Harlequin Spice Briefs! It's part two of a the Lust in a Time of Steam series featuring her first book, Steam Heat which came out a year ago. What a great day all around. One year ago today I also asked her to marry me on the steps of The Parthenon in Nashville, TN. I'm a happy boy.

You can get Elizabeth's book on Amazon for your Kindle and guess what? You can get it in audio form as well!! How cool is that? Personally, I'm dying to hear it. I'm super curious about who is reading it an what it sounds like... Pretty naughty stuff to hear. :)

So go forth, buy the digital version for a mere $2.99 and the audio version is only $2.58!

Here's the blurb:
In a world of steam runners, demons and soul stealers, seduction is her greatest weapon….

Half-succubus Angel has found her perfect match with Ian, the man with the other half of her soul. He gives her love and the erotic pleasure she needs to survive, though they also enjoy ménages with her frequent paramour, Jezebel.

But when her friend betrays them, Angel may lose everything she holds dear. She'll do anything—and anyone—to save Ian, including join forces with a dangerous former lover….

Buy Steamed Up for your Kindle here.

Buy the Steamed Up audio version here.

Buy Steamed Up for your Nook here.

Also, be sure to keep an eye on Elizabeth's Facebook page as she will be doing some really cool contests for reviews and such. Like her page here.  

Norm Cowie ebooks

Free ebooks are fun! You risk nothing but could gain everything by downloading a fun piece of literature. Today I'm spreading the word about a bunch of Norm Cowie's books that are on Amazon for free for your kindle today!

Norm is a great guy that I met at Printer's Row in Chicago a few years ago. He's quick, funny and writes the same way which is a joy. He has an angle on humor that few others possess and I absolutely mean that in the best way. What are you waiting for? He's got four ebooks up for free so don't miss out!

NORM COWIE AMAZON EBOOKS

Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells

I have the honor of being in a new steampunk anthology called Clockwork Spells and Magical Bells published by Kerlak Publishing. This is a super fun and once again super different anthology where the writers mix magic and steampunk or in many cases, magic vs. steampunk in their stories. So you get a wonderful mix of technology against mystisism.

My story is called "The Black Dress" and follows a Victorian paranormal investigator and her assistant as they chase down a spellbinding mesmerist in New England.

So go get your copy. It's available in all formats. Print, Kindle, Nook

There are tons of amazing writers in this one. Check out the list here:

Ironwork Falcon - Jackie Gamber
Discombobulation - Robert J. Krog
Moved To Action - Angelia Sparrow
The Taste Of Treasure - Kathryn Sullivan
Quest For The Dragon's Scale - M. R. Williamson
A Bit Of A Bind - CRS Bailey
The Leprechaun's Story - J. L. Mulvihill
The Witch Of Midnight Hollow - Alexander S. Brown
When The Heart Lies Open To Steam And Star - Anne E. Barringer
Wax Seal - Mandi M. Lynch
Survival - S. P. Dorning
The Black Dress - Nick Valentino
Words in Eden - Lewis Sanders
Time - Windsong Levitch
A Series of Steampunk Haiku - Michael Greenway
Flying Machine I (CAM) - Michael Bielaczyc
Flying Machine II (WASP) - Michael Bielaczyc
Dragon Chase – Emily Mottesheard
Apotheosis Jones – Nigel Sade

Angelkiller by H. David Blalock

H. David Blalock. I'm a huge fan of this amazing writer for a whole truckload of reasons. I first met David at Shadowcon in Memphis, TN a few years back and I've been overwhelmed by his awesomeness ever since.

He has a new book out on Seventh Star Press called Angelkiller (which is a favorite subject of mine by the way) and guess what? For a very limited time, it's FREE on your kindle! This is your chance to get a really cool story for free by a really cool writer.

Here's a little blurb from Amazon to wet your further appetite.
Why do bad things happen to good people? Simple. In the ancient war between the Angels of Light and Darkness, the Dark won. Now it is the job of an undercover force simply known as The Army to rectify that.

Using every tool available, The Army has worked to liberate our world from The Enemy for thousands of years, slowly and painfully lifting Mankind out of the dark. On the front of the great Conflict are the Angelkillers, veterans of the fight with centuries of experience.

Jonah Mason is an Angelkiller, and his cell is targeted as part of plot to unseat a very powerful Minion of The Enemy. Mason and his troop are drawn into a battle that stretches from real-time to virtual reality and back. The Conflict is about to expand into cyberspace, and if Mason is unable to stop it, The Enemy will have gained dominion over yet another realm.

Here's the link to the Amazon Kindle page where you can get this for free.

Also, check out David's Facebook Page HERE

What are you waiting for?

Kindle Gold

I want to make you all aware of a new website called Kindlefinds (located at Kindlegold in the blogosphear)that features all types of awesome books. Many of which have super great prices. I've always wanted a Kindle or Ipad so I could pick up all the wonderful short stories and inexpensive books. It just seems like such a steal for some great entertainment.One day... one day...

So check this new site out, you won't be disappointed.

The Southern Festival of Books

I've been on the road practically all year. From Victoria, BC to Baltimore, MD and nope... it's not even close to being over. In that time, I've never had a big signing in my home town (Nashville, TN). The Southern Festival of Books was the perfect opportunity to make a big splash for a homecoming.


I was nestled in booth number 8 in beautiful Legislative Plaza with Echelon Press and amazing new author Gale Borger who wrote the funny murder mystery, "Totally Buzzed". The hometown crowd was awesome! It's especially nice to have all your friends and family come out even if they just stopped by to say hello. Ok I don;t know this child but he was really into the steampunk weaponry.


The fest was amazing as expected. It's funny, the more I travel the more people know about steampunk. In fact I've seen a huge difference in the last six months of people that are aware and curious about it.

On Saturday night we went out and celebrated with the first hockey game of the season!



Also, many thanks to model, dancer and actress Karina Beck for her help with promotions! Here she is on the lookout for enemy airships.


Things are busy, exciting and amazing but oh so busy. December is going to mainly be a tour of Tennessee bookstores but in the meantime I'll be going to Austin, TX, Statesboro, GA, New Orleans, LA, Frankfort, KY, Seattle, WA and Atlanta, GA.

Next up:
I'll be at the Texas Bookfest this weekend. (October 16 & 17) in Austin, TX with author O.M. Grey and her paranormal steampunk novel Avalon Revisited.

Come see us for all your steampunk literary needs.


Don't forget if you're not around any of these cities you can always get Thomas Riley here at Amazon.

And the kindle version here.

Toronto Bound Update

FAN EXPO 2010

Next week, August 27-29, the good Ensign and I will be attending Fan Expo 2010 in Toronto Ontario. This 90,000 person fandom extravaganza is Canada's version of the San Diego Comic Con and I can't wait to be a part of it. I'll be signing Thomas Riley and the new Dreams of Steam anthology at booth A-13 in the convention centre and I'm on the Steampunk 101 panel on Saturday at 3:30 in Room 205A in the convention centre.

This one is going to be crazy. We have steampunk guns and goggles for giveaways and all types of shenanigans planned. The only sad part is that The Pyre's Fortune Sky Pirate Patches will not be in on time for this con... but we plan to have them by Dragon Con and the Decatur Book Fest the following week.

So come by our booth if you are planning on attending Fan Expo. Mention this blog and get 2 free raffle tickets for the steampunk weaponry giveaway.

Interview
The most excellent writers of the Nicknameless270 blog did a fun question interview with me. Check it out here: NICKNAMELESS270

Ebooks
If you have an ebook reader Thomas Riley is on mega sale for Kindle and The Nook. $2.99
I mean you can't go wrong with three bucks right?
Kindle
The Nook

Scaling Mountains & Dodging Rock Slides

Printers Row Chicago
This weekend I'll be signing in Chicago, IL (as if there's really another Chicago)at the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Lit Festival. For the majority of the time I'll be at the Echelon Press tent, which is TENT FF. So come see me. This will be the biggest book festival all year and I'm quite excited to be a part of it. I'll also be guest signing at The Olde Town Books table TABLE #176 on Saturday from Noon-2:00 and Sunday 4:00-6:00.

The Almost Famous Book Faire
For those located in a more central area of America, next week, June 19th, I'll be signing at The Almost Famous Book Faire in Elizabethtown KY. The Faire is located in the Towne Mall from Noon-7:00PM. The extra fun part about this is I'll be assisted by Miss Kentucky 2010, Kindra Clark. So come see us. We promise it'll be fun.

The Kindle
Kindle sales are going pretty well. But as always pretty well is never good enough. So I'll take a brief moment to direct you to the Thomas Riley Amazon Kindle site. It only costs $2.99 so if you have a Kindle check this out. Thomas Riley Kindle Page

The Nook
Yep, It's available for the Barnes & Noble Nook as well. I've only met one person with a Nook before but they seem pretty darn nifty. So if you have a Nook, I'd like to hear from you and see what you think. While you're at it tell me how Thomas Riley looks on it. Thomas Riley Nook Page

Twitter Contest
Copy and paste the Tweet below into your Twitter or Facebook status. Two winners will be chosen by a random number generator when the contest ends on Thursday June 10 11:59PM. First prize wins a pair of Swiss Airship Goggles generously supplied by the lovely ladies at Frenzy Universe. Frenzy Universe is a great place to shop for quality and unique steampunk/Victorian clothes, accessories and goodies on the web and judging by the buzz about them at The World Steam Expo, they were definitely one of the busiest booths at the Conference. Second Prize wins a $10 gift card from Amazon.com.

Copy and paste the following line into your Twitter or Facebook:
RT @SirThomasRiley on Amazon http://tiny.cc/4uiwx for a chance to win steampunk goggles from @frenzygals http://www.frenzyuniverse.com/

And...
There's a myriad of crazy things developing, much of which I can't talk about at the moment but be sure that you will be the first to know if they develop correctly. Needless to say these things can be quite nerve racking. With that vague and cryptic ending I leave you with... The mysterious beer face:

A word from Lana Richmond

Hey Everyone! Lana Richmond of Pixie Chick fame here. I'm still hijacking Regan's plans for her blog tour. Nick's cool enough to host us today and I just managed to get my email sent off before Regan. It's not like there was an option. Come on! Sky Pirates and Steampunk? It all sounds so much cooler than anything I've seen around my town lately.

My high school's got all the requisite classes - and by that I'm talking social, not academic. We've got band geeks, jocks, nerds, goths, and preps, but we're fresh out of Steampunk. I'm thinking of starting a trend though.

Thomas Riley (Nick's lead character) gave me a crash course in wardrobing and accessories. It could be Halloween all year round with Steampunk, because it can go subtle or all out. And none of it violates our school dress code. Besides, clothes are just another way to declare yourself and your interests. Who wouldn't want to declare themselves ready for any adventure?

Really, the goggles did it for me, although I'm liking the boots a lot. And the inventive gadgets...that's just fun and trouble waiting to happen. Since I don't sleep much, tinkering with gadgetry (no, Regan, not weaponry) might be a fine new hobby.

And who knows, the goggles might be the one thing I need to finally break through the Hobbitville portals.

My hometown is so boring, it's no wonder someone created a magic garden - they needed the fast ticket to somewhere interesting. But after poking around Nick's world of Steampunk, I'm going back to the library - maybe there are some alternatives hidden away in my town's history. If I find that we did have a few inventive types, maybe I can find a way to escape and explore without the Hobbitville magic after all.

Wish me luck!
Lana Richmond,
band geek, Pixie Chick, Hobbitville magic seeker, and potential Sky Pirate!


~Well, thank you Miss Richmond. I'm sure Regan will just be thrilled that you've done all of her tour stops for her. So now that you all have heard, Regan Black has a new short story on Echelon Shorts called The Shadow Stone. Want to know more? Yeah, I thought so. Here is the blurb about the new short:

Lana Richmond will not be the left behind when all her friends are using the magic of Hobbitville to escape their small Midwestern town for more exciting places. She's been trying–and failing–to use the garden's portals. The bruises haven't quite faded when Lana takes matters into her own hands and meets a stranger who promises to help her…on Halloween. Will Lana have the courage to follow her wanderlust, or will she settle for being the only Pixie Chick who can't work the Hobbitville magic?

I thought that would interest you. Ok, I guess I'm allowed to give you a little more. Here's an excerpt.

Lana is alone in Hobbitville the night before Halloween, determined to find what the kids call a touchstone - a garden statue that allows them to travel magically to other gardens around the world.

Lana's thoughts rambled back across the memories as she hovered over every stone of any artistic formation. It seemed memories didn't open portals either. She tried to amuse herself with philosophy as she moved from Brie's section on to the next portion of the
garden. "When something's lost, you always find it in the last place you look," she murmured to the cherub-faced cupid cloaked in shadows.
She reached out, more than a little conflicted. She definitely wanted to find her touchstone, but a cupid was so not her.
As expected, the cupid did nothing for her, but maybe that was because she expected nothing from it. Philosophy was an annoying companion tonight. She tried to rev up some enthusiasm and made a second attempt. Still nothing.
She moved on before she made herself crazy with circular arguments. "The lost thing's always in the last
place you look because you stop looking once you've found it."
"It is pretty silly to keep looking once something's
found," a deep voice rumbled out of the darkness.

Oh now you really want to read the whole thing. Gotcha. Try these:

Here's a link to all of Ms. Black's Kindle titles

Go here to purchase your own copy of Shadow Stone from Echelon (It's going to be the best $2.25 you've ever spent.)

I know... You want to know more about Regan Black. Click here to go to her blog.

Taking the Mystery Out of EBooks

I'm honored to have Pam Ripling as the super star of my blog today. I have to say that Pam's views are shared by me as well and not only is there value and quality in her thoughts, but there is also invaluable experience that should not be ignored by writers and readers alike. So, enjoy... Pam's expert views will shed new light on the subjects of Ebooks.

This just might be a timely topic for some. For me, not so much. My first electronic book was released in 1998. Yawn.

For many people, likely the larger part of the U.S. population, digital content is brand new and maybe suspect. Their confusion is understandable, their fears many. After all, as a society, we’ve been turning paper pages for centuries. Baby boomers and older, in particular, are a paper-dependent populace. We’ve already had to endure the vinyl-to-tape-to-disc-to-digital journey in the music industry. We’ve suffered the Beta vs. VHS, the rabbit ears, the cable, the satellite dish wars.
It’s a small wonder, then, that people can be seen virtually hugging their heavy, hardcover copy of THE DEFECTOR to their chest and screaming, “You can’t take books away from me! My real books!”

Calm down. Paper books are not going away, not anytime soon or ever, so please exhale now. Ebooks, however, are also here to stay, so it might not be a bad idea to become familiar with how they work, just in case. Like, someone might give you a Kindle for your birthday, and then where would you be? Feeling a bit uneasy. Uninformed. Behind the times.

So as much as I’d like to extol the virtues and benefits of ebooks, I will, instead, endeavor to explain how they work, via a brief FAQ made up from queries/comments I’ve received from my readers.

1. I can’t sit in front of my computer long enough to read a book. Good news! You don’t have to. There are a myriad of devices now available, and several under development for release in the coming year. Readers with some smartphones can already read ebooks and probably don’t know it! Even Nintendo’s DS can be outfitted with software that will read books.

2. I’m a zip when it comes to downloading stuff from the computer. Too many cables, too many programs. More good news. You can go completely wireless with a device like Amazon’s Kindle, which doesn’t require a computer at all. The upcoming offering from Plastic Logic will utilize a wireless connection from a cellular carrier. More will follow.

3. I’ve heard ebooks are expensive. Not true. They average a much lower retail price than their paper cousins.

4. I like to give away my books after I’ve finished reading them. How can I give away an ebook? As a royalty-earning author, this is a touchy subject for me. Sadly, your generosity eats into my income. However, you cannot give away an ebook unless you no longer keep a copy of it on your device(s). That would be akin to making a copy of a paperback book and giving it away. A big no-no.

5. I read lots of books. I can’t afford a Kindle or any other ebook device I’ve seen. Make a quick list of the last fifteen or so book purchases you’ve made, the prices you paid. Then compare the prices of the same books in electronic formats. Over time, the savings will pay for the reader, while at the same time you are going green, big time! Consider TWILIGHT by Stephanie Meyer, at Amazon: Hardcover: $12.73, Kindle edition: $6.59. Savings=$6.14 plus shipping!

6. I don’t want to add another device to my ever-growing pile of technology-I already have an iPhone, a Palm Pilot and a netbook! You are in luck. You can read ebooks on any one of these devices—no new hardware required!

7. What about all those formats? I’m lost in a sea of alphabet soup! Yep – PDF, HTML, LIT, DRM, Mobi, Palm, etc. Unfortunately, the variety of formats doesn’t help the cause. Once you are interested in a specific device, find out if it supports the more popular formats before you buy.

8. I really love and need the smell and feel of paper when I’m reading a book. Can’t help you here. Am thinking about marketing an aerosol spray called, “That New Book Smell.” What do you think?





If you’re serious about adding ebooks to your virtual shelf, see if you can get your hands on an ebook reader to try out in a store. When I had a chance to play around with Sony’s Reader Digital Book at the L.A. Times Festival of Books, I was sold. You might be, too. Don’t be afraid to explore the new electronic book frontier!

Additional resource: http://knowsomethingproject.com/literature/0609ebooks.html

Pam Ripling, who also writes as Anne Carter, is the author of paranormal romantic mystery, POINT SURRENDER, from Echelon Press, Amazon, and for your Kindle, iPhone or other e-formats, Fictionwise. Visit Anne at BeaconStreetBooks.com.