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3…2…1…REDEEMER!
It is *surprisingly* nerve-wracking to launch a Kickstarter, even if you’ve run half a dozen or more crowdfund projects. But we’re doin’ it, ladies and gentlemen!
First! Let me invite you to read the Redeemer Proposal Chapters and submerge yourself into the world of the Redeemer!
Then when you’ve just gotten invested and find that the proposal comes to an end, dash over to the REDEEMER Kickstarter and help make it happen as a project! Go little Kickstarter go!
(I will now gnaw my knuckles for the next 30 days. :))
(holy shit, there’s already a pledge and i haven’t even posted this anywhere!)
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Shaman Rises cover reveal!
I thought I’d start the new year off right, with a cover reveal for SHAMAN RISES, the final book of the Walker Papers!
Would you like to know all the reasons this cover is terrific? Let me tell you all the reasons it’s perfect!
First: the colors. My publisher’s always been very good about discussing colors with me, and I very much wanted the final book in the series to have a light, bright look in direct and deliberate contrast to the first book’s cover. So what do I get? Spring green and whites: *perfect*, and also well in keeping with the time frame for the book, which is set in early April.
Second: Joanne’s pose. It’s *perfect*. It’s strong. It’s confident. It’s relaxed. It’s looking upward and outward, challenging without being afraid. It is, again, the *perfect* contrast to the dark, clench-fisted tension of the first cover.
Third: JOANNE HAS A FACE! Okay, granted, the face looks absolutely nothing like Joanne (and we won’t even talk about the hair!) but we actually finally get to fully see her, and it’s as a grown-up, confident woman, which actually–although I know perfectly well this was not the intention of the cover department; it’s just been the evolution of urban fantasy covers over the past eight years–really works beautifully well in terms of slow reveals. I’m just delighted with it!
So there we go, lads. SHAMAN RISES, the final book of the Walker Papers, coming in July 2014…
…and if by some chance you haven’t read NO DOMINION, the collection of Walker Papers short stories that fits between RAVEN CALLS and MOUNTAIN ECHOES, I *heartily* suggest you pick it up and read it before reading SHAMAN RISES…! :) (Amazon Kindle | Amazon Paperback | B&N Nook)
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Old Races short story collection answers
I should have been smart enough to answer these without having to be asked, but somehow I wasn’t. :)There will be 3 Old Races collections coming out in epub this summer.
The first, OLD RACES: ORIGINS, will contain five of the Old Races Short Story Project stories, all set long before the Negotiator Trilogy:
» Salt Water Stains the Sand, a story of the djinn which is also available as a free read on my website;
» The Death of Him, a story of the selkies;
» Falling, a story of the gargoyles;
» St. George & the Dragons, a story of the dragons;
and
» Legacy, a story of the humansand may or may not have a 6th brand new story depending on how much I get done before the cover art comes in.
The second, YEAR OF MIRACLES, is the novella that tells the story of Sarah Hopkins, the human woman that Janx and Daisani both fell in love with in the Year of Miracles–the year London burned.
The third, OLD RACES : AFTERMATH, will contain at least four stories all set after the Negotiator trilogy, and will include
» Awakening, a story of the vampires
» Perchance to Dream, a Janx story reprint (the original publication was in DRAGON’S LURE)
» Aftermath, a Margrit Knight story included in the ORSSP for those who bought in before June 1, 2011and at least one other brand-new story to fill the collection out.
In theory these collections will be released in May, June and July, but that really depends on when I get the cover art.
If you haven’t read the Negotiator Trilogy already, I would humbly submit you read it first, ’cause these collections are backstory and history (and what happens next) for stuff you learn in those books, and of course as the author I think you’ll get the most impact from reading them in publication order. The Negotiator Trilogy, in order, is HEART OF STONE, HOUSE OF CARDS, and HANDS OF FLAME,
Print edition: Don’t hold your breath. It may eventually happen, but it’s not a near-term thing, and frankly, it probably depends on how well BABA YAGA’S DAUGHTER does from Subterranean Press, so if you haven’t pre-ordered that yet…do!
ORSSP patrons: I will be getting epub/mobi/pdf files to you, complete with the shiny new cover art, by the end of April. Thank you for your patience. O.O
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DON’T READ THIS BOOK
*squeaks*!
I am so excited about this book. O.O
It’s the anthology tie-in to DON’T REST YOUR HEAD, the award-winning horror RPG (now available on Kindle & Nook!) from Evil Hat Productions. I would be excited about it even if I weren’t part of the lineup, because it’s really Evil Hat’s first foray into fiction, and these guys have been my friends for like, ever, so: yes. I would be excited anyway.
But I am sort of beside myself because I don’t normally write horror, and Fred knew he was pushing me outside of my comfort zone when he asked me to be one of the anthology participants. And because once I got my head around what I wanted to do, I wanted to do something really specific, and from Fred and Chuck’s commentary I nailed it. So I’m actually really proud of my story in there, which is nice not just because I like to do my job well but because it’s *specifically* nice to feel I’ve done well for something on a friend’s project.
Also, the cover rocks. OMG. And the contributer line-up is amazing. I mean, if you’d asked, “Gosh, Catie, think you’ll ever be in an anthology with ROBIN D FREAKING LAWS?” the answer would have been “Er, no, I’m just not awesome enough to hang with that crowd.” Only it turns out I am. *beams* (Or that I have friends who are, anyway. :)) And also, may I say that I’m really pleased that four of the contributers are women? This is an RPG tie-in. It would have been really, really easy to hit the gender blind spot on that one, although I would not *expect* EHP to do that. And they didn’t, and that makes me happy too.
Seriously. DON’T READ THIS BOOK is just full of win, and it is coming to e-pub and shortly thereafter physical manifestation soon! With the next 3 months! And you will want to read it! You WILL! EVEN IF IT SAYS NOT TO! :)
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Spirit of the Century & ME!
So loads of you know that my friends, Evil Hat Productions (the good people who brought you the Dresden Files RPG) have also got an award-winning pulp fiction RPG called SPIRIT OF THE CENTURY. I mentioned their Kickstarter for their new fiction line a couple days ago. They’ve blown past the goals that will get subscribers the entire DINOCALYPSE trilogy by Chuck Wendig, and now they’re gonna go for The Big Stretch.
If they hit $15,000, they’ll be producing a stand-alone SotC pulp fiction novel by Atomic Robo creator Brian Clevinger. Brian will be writing about Benjamin Hu–think Sherlock Holmes from Hong Kong, running around like Indiana Jones as an olympic-class fencer.
And if they hit $20,000, I get to write the next one.
My character is Amelia Stone, the Spirit of Justice! She’s tough as nails, lives by her fists and her wits, and is so full of pulpy goodness I could squee. I’ve been desperately wanting to try my hand at crazy in-your-face no-holds-barred no-apologies-given pulp since I started reading the ERB Mars books, and this opportunity was too awesome to pass up. I cannot *wait* to give this a shot, and, well you guys aren’t going to let me down, right? You’re, er, going to go forth and, er, make me write another novel this year, right? You’re, um…
…I’ve done it to myself again, haven’t I. :)
No, really, I actually have the time to do this and I’m tremendously excited about the chance, so please! Go forth and help make it happen! There are loads of awesome rewards and exciting potential, and this is a crazy fun chance for me to do something I will probably never have another opportunity to do, so, um, I’m gonna be over here in the corner holding my breath while we wait to see what happens.
