Day one of the massive Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom Blog Tour!

Day one of the massive Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom Blog tour! 

The day has finally arrived! My second steampunk adventure novel, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom (published by ZOVA Books) is available! It's been a very long road but worth every second as I feel like this book is the perfect sequel to book one. It's a much darker story and the reader gets immersed into the characters neurosis that fuel their unique desires.

Centered around a massive airship that can control the weather in nefarious ways, Thomas Riley and The Maelstrom has taken the original story to a new level of action and peril that I'm most proud of.

Before I go on, tomorrow's blog tour stop is an interview at Book In The Bag so be sure to check it out. 
Also, if you'd like to get the new re-edited reissue of book 1, Thomas Riley click here: http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Riley-1-Nick-Valentino/dp/0615790283/ref=sr_1_29?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372211444&sr=1-29&keywords=Thomas+Riley

How do you get a copy? There are a lot of different ways depending on your favored delivery method. Note that for signed copies, be sure and let me know how you'd like the book signed in the note to seller section right before you submit payment. Another cool thing is that the book is on sale everywhere! So you'll get discounts everywhere you order.

Get signed copies here:

Amazon.com Paperback $14.39:

Kindle $2.99:
 
Barnes & Noble Paperback: 

FROM THE BACK COVER

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, so the two of them 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 adventure.

PRAISE FOR THOMAS RILEY AND THE MAELSTROM

"Valentino does it again with a Thomas Riley story packed with high-stakes action, full of fantastical figments of science, and incredible description guaranteed to transport you on a grand adventure. An epic tale you won't want to miss."
Theresa Meyers, award-winning author of The Legend Chronicles series

"Nick Valentino takes us back into the steampunk world in this second Thomas Riley book, giving us more Riley, his friends, and enemies in an action
and intrigue packed volume that starts with a bang and hurtles toward an unforgettable conclusion. A definite must-read for steampunk and action fans!"
H. David Blalock, author of Angelkiller

"It's another adventurous journey for Thomas Riley and Cynthia Basset as they confront perils from new adversaries, new weapons, and new mysteries. Assassinations, captivity, and several races against time keep the duo charging forward from battle to battle and airship to airship. A captivating and creative story for readers of all ages!"
Kevin Steil, Airship Ambassador

"Thomas Riley and the Maelstrom picks up where the last left off, with the danger escalated, action raised, and tone matured. It's a must read for any fan of steampunk fiction."
Doctor Q

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

The Nashville Predators n' Stuff

In 1998, The Nashville Predators NHL hockey team came to Nashville and since then, I've been a huge hockey fan ever since. It only took one game with my dad, the Preds vs. the Ottawa Senators when Patric Cote (not the MMA guy) got in a scuffle on the ice and ignited some gladiatorial instinct, forever hooking me on the sport.

I've seen it all and I was there for everything. The hat tricks, the routs, the fights, the trades, the first lockout and yes... even when they tried to sell my beloved team to a cro-magnon Blackberry goon in Canada I was there to battle him (and ultimately defeating him) as part of the Save The Predators organization. The Preds are in my blood and always will be. I love every aspect of the team and the game and love keeping track of as much as I can.

When I moved up to Washington, I had to be able to watch my team so we have NHL Center Ice where I park my butt in front of the TV to soak up my Preds fix. Of course this year they had to have another lockout... at least it was a half lockout but still disappointing for a guy totally separated from his team. When the season finally returned my team came out pretty flat. Losing in overtime a lot and generally looking like a team that well, hasn't played half a season.

Now it looks like they've found a stride and are picking up where they left off playing determined underdog hockey. It's awesome to watch and awesome to have in my life.

Other cool and unrelated news:
I've been talking to my publisher, Zova Books and I'm really getting stoked for the new book releases! I'm now in the very early staging plans for some appearances, blog tours, contests and all types of fun stuff to celebrate the new stories.

The Blackout and guess what? We had another wedding!

Huge aplogies. We had over a month without proper internet capabilites, then all of our computers died due to hard drive issues... It's like they had a suicide pact. But thanks to the amazing talent of Lizzie Valentino, we now have one back! That was crazy. But we're back and things couldn't be better.

There are tons of blogs I want to write but I figured I'd start with the biggest news first.
Liz and I got married again! This time was more of a celebration for friends and family as officially we've been married since labor day weekend. The niftiest part is that we did it all for about $150. No kidding. The clothes, the food, the drinks, the decor... everything for a grand total of $150. We had 1000 butterflies (instead of cranes) which I'm particularly proud of. Liz traced and cut them out while the kids and I decorated each one uniqely. See pics below. Liz's brother, Brian, officiated the ceremony which was awesome and we had a great crowd (bigger than expected) show up which was really great.

So it was wonderful to marry my love again. It was magical in a new way this time. In front of people, new vows and happy things to say... The experience was once in a lifetime but this time, I got to expirience it twice. Thanks to everyone that came out, shed us well, posted on our walls, took pictures and generally were amazing all the way around. Super special thanks to everyone that helped us with this... (Brian, Jen, Anthony, Mom, Autumn) It was crazy to pull it off but your help really made it all possible. A thousand thank yous!

In other news:
-I'm waiting on the release date for Thomas Riley 2 and the rerelease of Thomas Riley (1). I'll let everyone know the instant I hear something.
- Look for new blogs on "The 33 days of Halloween", "Loss (The band)" Lizzie's new princess dress company and tons more.
-Now that I have a computer back, you'll be hearing much more and more often.

 Me and the very lovely Lizzie

Our Officiant, Brian having a celebratory glass of vino

Our Seattle friend and fellow Steampunk, Andy.

    1000 Butterflies

Random Updates

Today I'm going to do a general update. It's a little more on the personal side but you can get a glimpse into life which is always fun. 


Travel and life
We'll be heading back to Nashville at the end of the month for my mom's wedding! We're super excited to get back and see everyone. It really will be kind of shocking for me. After living there my whole life, the place almost seems like a dream. I feel like I've lived in Washington for years now and it'll have only been 7 months by the time we get in the plane. On the other hand, it also feels like we moved here last month... strange how that happens huh? So, we'll be in Cashville for 4 days at the end of the month. Hope to see everyone!

Books and Work
As book stuff goes, there's not a lot more to report since my last update a few days ago. I'm chipping away at new projects while editing Thomas Riley 2. I can give you a fun hint and tell you that I did find a Day of The Dead book I'm excited to read as research for Tribes. ;) Also, as I may have mentioned before, Liz and I have been approached to write for a really awesome steampunk RPG game. Stoked!

Animals
Skye and Ghoulia are doing awesome. Skye is crazy as ever but slowly learning the rules around here. The key word in that last sentence is "slowly". She's a sweetie but also note that she's earned the nicknames: Snacks, Crack Head, Corneus, Torpedo, Woo Woo and Tornado since her sort of short time with us. I've never had a big dog and never anything close to a seventy pound one year old Siberian Husky before.

TV
As you know we like our shows. So far, we're knee deep in Project Runway (Go Chris! well, and Dimitri!), The new season of Castle is one of the best so far. We're really hoping to have another Halloween episode as they are our favorites. Face Off is another Tuesday night staple. We're routing for the dude in the cowboy hat. And of course we love our House marathons! There's some really good stuff to come too! American Horror Story is starting up like next week along with The Walking Dead and new Top Chef in November which is in Seattle! Awesome!

So that's sort of a quick personal cross section of fun going on in the Valentino house right now.

I love October updates

October is here tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. Not only is my love's birthday this month but October has all my favorite things. My favorite holiday, Halloween, my favorite beer, Octoberfest/Pumpkin Ale, and my favorite weather.

Updates

Thomas Riley and the Maelstrom
I just sent a "special edit" to my editor at Zova Books where we were making a bid turning point of Thomas Riley 2 smoother. I'm happy to get it to her as I've been held up the last few weeks with a massive amount of work. I'm so excited this is finally coming to fruition!

Tribes
As you know, I'm slowly writing a horror novel. (The only big hint I can give you now is to take a look at my Pinterest.) But I can tell you that the amazing musician Ben Steed is already working with me step by step in composing a soundtrack to the book. This is such an honor for me as Ben is a total bad ass and can capture the feeling of the written word in his music. I heard the first rough piece he composed last night (called As Quick As Possible) and I couldn't be happier. It's chilling in every way and fits the first chapter perfectly. By the middle of the piece, I keep getting chills. Perhaps when I get the word from Ben, I'll share a bit of it here. My mind is going wild with the fun things we can do with a book and a soundtrack.

The 33 Days of Halloween Mostly Horror Movie Marathon
Lizzie and I are dedicating our movie watching starting yesterday to a full on barage of horror movies! We've started off with a bang already watching The Last Exorcism, The Hitcher, Cherry Falls, Lake Placid The last Chapter, and The Tall Man. We have tons of movies planned. I'm super stoked to re watch the classics. All 7 Hellraisers, Nightmare on Elmstreets, Friday the 13ths and Halloween movies! I'll do a full on blog in November about what we watch.

August Blog Stats and Updates

Stats
Last month the sexy Elizabeth Valentino took first place on my blog followed by the very talented Ben Steed and his amazing music! Last place was my post on Pinterest. (Finally, the blog stat post wasn't last place.... by only one point.) So it looks like this is  going to be a good and big blog month as I seem to be getting on the ball with all my writing. So stay tuned for lots of fun.

Here's the stats for you geeks like me.

Update
TR3 is coming along nicely! I'm waiting on round three of the TR2 edits but I should have them soon. I think Zova Books is hard at work re-editing Thomas Riley (1). So that is crazy exciting! I'm pretty darned stoked to see the next printing.

Tribes is going pretty well too! I've got my character sheets up and I'm really excited to write it when I have some off time or need a little break from steampunk. I almost have the first two chapters written. So one day, you'll get a totally different book from me.

That's it for now. More soon! Like tomorrow. :)

Thomas Riley 2 Edits Round 2 Done

Edits
I'm happy to announce a few cool things. One that the Thomas Riley 2 (Round 2) edits are done and sent off. My editor, Amanda Shults from ZOVA Books has been insanley wonderful through this whole process and has been such a huge help. She's helped me hone and shape this into a wonderfully detailed story. I'm absolutely excited for everyone to read this! The book has several big turn of events.

Thomas Riley 1 Reissue
So ZOVA Books will be rereleasing the first Thomas Riley novel. (All three will be under the same house now) I'm excited to report that the reissue will have the first chapter of book 2 at the end of the novel. This will not only answer a very important question, but it sets up book 2 quite nicely. I'm excited to see it!

In random news...
I'm working on the plotting of Thomas Riley 3 and it's looking to be even more detailed and in depth than #2. Somehow, this crazy steampunk story is going to get even crazier. In my in between time, I'm also fooling with a new book which all I will tell you right now is a horror novel called Tribes.

The State and July Blog Stats

The Steampunk world is in quite the uproar right now. I thought I'd take a break from the drama to give you...The July Blog stats! I know it's still one of your least favorite posts I make every month but I love to see it and record it for posterity. Close race last month! This month the most hits went to the ultra cute Siberian Husky, Skye, while the completion of the first round of TR2 edits got second and the last place was stage combat class. People just love their cute puppies.

In other news I have some fun info about some shorts coming up and I'm going to be knee deep in some second round edits for Thomas Riley 2 very soon. Also, I should get some info on the cover art that I'll be sure to let you in on as soon as I'm allowed to. All I can tell you now is that it's awesome. I can't say a bunch right now but I'll be sure to post everything as soon as possible. The ole' blog is always the first to know.

Thomas Riley Edits Round 1

The edits for Thomas Riley 2 are complete and sent to my wonderful editor at Zova Books. While this sounds awesome, don't get me wrong, it totally is, there is quite a lot more to do. The round one is the first set of edits for the first seven chapters. (There are 23 in all) So, we have two more sets of first round chapters, then a final edit as well.

The great part is that I now have Open Office and I'm on a bullet train (for me) pace. I feel good and I want to get this out asap and kick some booty with Thomas Riley 3. I'm extra inspired because I saw The Dark Knight Rises yesterday and what a bad ass trilogy that was! I loved it and it put me in the mindset to possibly close out the Thomas Riley series with a great ending.

I'm still chipping away at Thomas Riley 3 plot points, character bios and even getting some ideas for the rewrite of Chapter one. If you don't know, I started it and didn't like the scene at all so I'm redoing it. Okay, here's a hint. Right now I'm thinking about starting book three off with a funeral...

Look out for a blog tomorrow on my awesomely kooky weekend.

Happy 4th of July! (June Blog Stats)

First off, happy fourth of July! Hopefully you all are having a wonderful day full of family, friends, fireworks and adult beverages. The weather in Gig Harbor today is amazing and Lizzie and I are looking forward to some grilling and fireworks ourselves.

In steampunk/Thomas Riley 2 news, I got 1/3 of my first edits from Zova Books yesterday! I'm beyond excited! Amanda gave me awesome suggestions and I can;t wait to start on them tomorrow. We also have a new name for the new airship in the book, the Maelstrom, which will probably be incorporated in the title as well. More on that as I get some done.

Today I checked the blog stats for last month. Its funny because my blog stat posts are the least viewed, probably because it is a bit boring. But when you have thirty days to fill up, I feel the need to quench my inner stat geek with a the winners and losers of the blog views.

Last month the insane George The Animal Steele took first place with Elizabeth Darvill (Valentino) taking second. As I said, the "May Blog Stat" post was the big loser. So, here they are again in crab grass green bar graph for your enjoyment.

May Blog Stats

I hate math but I love stats. Last month, May 2012, was the biggest month in the Nick Valentino Blog history since I started writing in it in 2008. Sure I went through a lag where I was pretty bad about updating it but I'm on the upswing and the data is encouraging.

So I took the blog traffic, put it in a fancy graph maker and came up with a bar graph of which posts were most successful to least successful. It's so interesting what people read. Every one of these blogs was promoted the exact same way so I have to wonder where some of the stats come from. This month's stats are just as interesting and perplexing.

Of course the death of Beastie Boys hip hop mastermind MCA got the most traffic and my post on getting married and finishing Thomas Riley 2 were 2nd and 3rd I thought it was really interesting where the bands came into play.

Here's the nifty graph: enjoy!

Tomorrow, I'm doing a post on writer Gary Starta!

ZOVA Books

As I wait for the incoming edits for Thomas Riley 2, I thought it would be good to introduce my new publisher ZOVA BOOKS. I first met with the good people at ZOVA in person at San Diego Comic Con 2010. It was so exciting to hear their budding plans and their enthusiasm back then, nearly two years later, they've turned their bubbling book plans into a super volcano. They have their hands in a ton of amazing and ultra exciting things, not only in the publishing world but in the universe of film, and media as well.

I'm super excited to be a part of this company and they have a ton of amazing writers on their roster that run the gambit of literary genres, so as you can imagine, I'm honored to be in their company. ZOVA BOOKS holds the contracts for Thomas Riley 2 and 3, so you'll at least see two books coming from these fine folks. I'm also absolutely stoked on the help they've given me so far. I really believe that the character development in book two is already stronger because of Amanda at Zova. I'm so happy that my crazy characters have become crazier and now you'll get to see some glimpses of backstory in Thomas, Cynthia, Ann and Kathleen Benika.

Have I gushed enough? Okay, okay, I'll stop for now. Take a minute to check them out everywhere:

Website www.zovabooks.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/ZOVABOOKS

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/#!/ZOVABooks

Tumblr Feed: http://zovabooks.tumblr.com/

Blog http://zovabooks.blogspot.com/

Beginnings and Endings

Beginnings and Endings

Ending
As you probably know, Thomas Riley 2 is finished. It took insanely long to finish because of reasons that I explained in an earlier post. Life, divorce, move across the country, getting settled in a new house, becoming a step parent. There's more I'm sure. But I'm happy to say that TR2 rings in at a pretty hefty  101,571 words and 241 single spaced Microsoft Word pages.

Beginning
So I'm working on Thomas Riley 3 and while I know where it is going and how it will end, I'm having problems starting the first chapter. The same thing happened on the second book too... I write half of the first chapter and I'm not happy with it... then I do it again, and I'm not happy with it again. I'm not worried, I'll get it right, it's just a pain in my ass. I will give these hints. TR3 should have some elements of time travel, and a possible trip to America... um, I mean "The Colonies".

Ending
If you know me, you know I'm a pretty obsessed hockey fan and my Nashville Predators were taken out by the Phoenix Coyotes in the second round of the playoffs. I'm disappointed... I always am when the season is over. I kind of felt like they would go really far this year. But I have to hand it to the Coyotes, they kicked out butts fair and square. So, I'll defer to the sports fan cliche: There's always next year.

Beginning
I'm finally getting pretty settled in Washington. Things are different, that's for sure but they are awesome in totally different ways. Despite what everyone says, the weather is amazing. Everyday feels like Halloween in Nashville. Also the weather reminds me a lot of London or Amsterdam. Anyway, Gig Harbor feels like home. I mean essentially, it's kind of a place one would retire... There's an amazing Harbor (hence the name), fun mom and pop places to eat and a few fun water front bars that we've been enjoying. It's a much slower place than Nashville but it's also awesome.

Thomas Riley 2 is done

I'm done! After way too long and the roughest yet most amazing and wonderful time of my life, I'm so happy to say that Thomas Riley 2 is finished. I promise, this won't happen again. I'll literally be starting Thomas Riley 3 tomorrow. Thank you to everyone that have been so awesome waiting for the next book. I hope that the extra time it took to finish this has yielded a more dynamic novel. Musically, it took everything from Cradle of Filth to Made out of Babies to La Dispute and Touche Amore to get the steam to write this. Also the art above is a rough in progress look at the cover art by the amazing Will Routon (who did the art for book one). I figured he wouldn't mind me sharing.

Thomas Riley 2 (which doesn't have an official title yet) is a much darker story than book one. It's definitely an act two kind of tale. It's a love triangle that has turned into a love square. The story follows Thomas Riley and Cynthia Basset into a new battle against their longtime enemies, the Lemurian nation where Cynthia threatens everything with her love for famous sky pirate and now Lemurian recruit Sam Burges.

This instalment in the Thomas Riley series has a title wave of new characters and dangers ranging from Lemurian sharpshooter Joseph Allerberger, the even more insane than his predecessor, Doctor Wolfgang Gerhard and an airship larger than the Titanic that has the futuristic ability to manipulate the weather. Also there's an "American" pirate, Captain Bradford Booker who assists Thomas and Cynthia on their journey with his ethnically diverse crew to find Sam Burgess when he was taken prisoner after saving Thom and Cyn in book one. And finally, a young Sophie, or (Long Form) Sophie Marie Franziska Antonia Ignatia Alberta von Hohenberg, daughter of the Lemurian ruler takes center stage in book two. You may remember her from book one when Thomas and Sam infiltrate the Lemurian palace to rescue Cynthia. You'll also get a more in depth look into the characters from book one. Ann Read has become more bitter and vengeful while her counterpart Kathleen Benika has become completely mad. The latter may or may not have cannibalized a priest...

I like to think that more time was taken for the reader to really get involved with the characters, you get some back story as well as a hearty look into their personalities (even though many of them are completely crazy). Also for those who were wondering where the phantoms come into play in book one... all of that is explained and actually is now a part of an evil Lemurian scheme to win the twenty year war. Also, for those wondering what happened to Lillian Beuafort's soul? You'll get all the answers while being given a host of new ones.

So again, thank you to everyone that has been so patient waiting for this to be finished. This includes everyone from friends and family to Zova Books and fans that have been so great during this process.