The Qwillery

Happy Monday!

There is one debut this week:

Queen of Spades by Michael Shou-Yung Shum.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

Live in London (Bookburners Season 3 #13) by Max Gladstone;

Himself by Jess Kidd is out in Trade Paperback;

and

(ID)entity (Phoenix Horizon 2) by PJ Manney.

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green.

October 8, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Where the Stars Rise: Asian Science Fiction and Fantasy	Lucas K. Law (Ed) Derwin Mak (Ed)	SF/F - Anthology

October 10, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Midnight Unleashed	Lara Adrian	PNR - A Midnight Breed Novella
The Power	Naomi Alderman	SF/AP/PA
The Stone in the Skull	Elizabeth Bear	F - The Lotus Kingdoms 1
Blockbuster Science: The Real Science in Science Fiction	David Siegel Bernstein	Sc/Phil/SF
The Tufa Collection: (The Hum and the Shiver, Wisp of a Thing, Long Black Curl, Chapel of Ease, Gather Her Round, “Shall We Gather,” “The Two Weddings of Bronwyn Hyatt”) (e)	Alex Bledsoe	CF - Tufa Novels
Assassin's Creed Origins: Desert Oath	Oliver Bowden	MTI - Assassin's Creed
Death Overdue	Allison Brook	PCM - Haunted Library Mystery 1
Children of the Fleet	Orson Scott Card	SF/SO - Fleet School 1
A Long Day in Lychford	Paul Cornell	CF/UF - Witches of Lychford 3
To Guard Against the Dark	Julie E. Czerneda	SF/SO - Reunification 3
Marvel The Tales of Asgard Trilogy	Keith R.A. DeCandido	F - Tales of Asgard Trilogy
The Book of Swords	Gardner Dozois (Ed)	F - Anthology
Ironfoot	Dave Duncan	HistF/DF - Enchanter General 1
Tarry This Night	Kristyn Dunnion	Dys/LF
The Malazan Empire Series: (Night of Knives, Return of the Crimson Guard, Stonewielder, Orb Sceptre Throne, Blood and Bone, Assail) (e)	Ian C. Esslemont	F - Novels of the Malazan Empire
The Runelords Series: (The Runelords, Brotherhood of the Wolf, Wizardborn, The Lair of Bones, Sons of the Oak, Worldbinder, The Wyrmling Horde, Chaosbound) (e)	David Farland	F - Runelords
A Dragon Age Collection: (Dragon Age: The Stolen Throne, Dragon Age: The Calling, Dragon Age: Asunder, Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, Dragon Age: Last Flight) (e)	David Gaider Patrick Weekes Liane Merciel	F - Dragon Age
The Iliac Crest	Cristina Rivera Garza Sarah Booker (Tr)	Gothic/LF/CW
An Orchard in the Street	Reginald Gibbons	LF/VM - Collection
The Princess Bride Deluxe Edition HC: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure	William Goldman	F
Shattered Legions	Laurie Goulding (Ed)	SF - Horus Heresy Anthology
Undeniable	Tom Grace	TechTh/SF/GenEng - Nolan Kilkenny 6
Halloween Carnival Volume 2 (e)	Brian James Freeman (Ed)	H - Anthology
The Rules of Magic	Alice Hoffman	LF
Dark Tales	Shirley Jackson	H/SupTh/Gothic - Collection
Entropy in Bloom: Stories (h2tp)	Jeremy Robert Johnson	H/F/Occ/Sup - Collection
The Mammoth Book of Vampire Stories by Women	Stephen Jones (Ed)	H/PNR/F/DF - Anthology
Calgar's Fury	Paul Kearney	SF - Warhammer 40,000
Himself (h2tp)	Jess Kidd	LF
Oracle Bone	Lydia Kwa	Hist/GH/MR
The Best of Richard Matheson	Victor LaValle (Ed)	SF/H/F - Collection
Reimagining Lovecraft: The Tor.com Novellas (e)	Victor LaValle Kij Johnson Cassandra Khaw Caitlin R. Kiernan	DF/H - Anthology
Swords and Deviltry (ri)	Fritz Leiber	F
The World of Lore: Monstrous Creatures	Aaron Mahnke	Folklore/M/SocHis
Ghosts of Empire	George Mann	SF/SP - Ghost 4
(ID)entity	PJ Manney	TechTh - Phoenix Horizon 2
Volk: A Novel of Radiant Abomination	David Nickle	H/Dys/F/DF/Occ/Sup
The Skeleton Paints a Picture	Leigh Perry	PCM - A Family Skeleton Mystery 4
The Fissure King: A Novel in Five Stories	Rachel Pollack	F/CF
Queen of Spades (D)	Michael Shou-Yung Shum	LF/MR/Th
The Sea Peoples	S. M. Stirling	SF/AP/PA/AH/F - A Novel of the Change 14
Lorgar: Bearer of the Word	Gav Thorpe	SF - The Horus Heresy: Primarchs 5
Cursed	Sue Tingey	PNR - The Soulseer Chronicles 2
Ocean's Fire	Stacey Tucker	CF/FR/FairyT/FolkT/LM - Equal Night Trilogy 1
Honor Among Enemies, Limited Leatherbound Edition	David Weber	SF - Honor Harrington 6
A Lot Like Christmas: Stories	Connie Willis	F - Collection

October 11, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Live in London (e)	Max Gladstone	UF/M - Bookburners Season 3 #13

October 13, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
John Silence--Physician Extraordinary / The Wave	Algernon Blackwood	H
Strange Is the Night	S.P. Miskowski	H - Collection

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Illus - Illustrator
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback
Tr - Translator



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CB - Coloring Book
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
Fem - Feminist
FL - Family Life
Folklore - Folklore
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
Gothic - Gothic
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
MF - Military Fantasy
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Noir - Noir
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Phil - Philosophy
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
Sc - Science
SH -Superheroes
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SO - Space Opera
SocHis - Social History
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
UFR - Urban Fantasy Romance
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical

Note: Not all genres and formats are found in the books, etc. listed above.

PJ Manney (2015)

(ID)ENTITY
Phoenix Horizon 2
47North, April 18, 2017
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook

Marshall Ryan Maresca (2015)

An Import of Intrigue
The Maradaine Constabulary 2
DAW, November 1, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

The neighborhood of the Little East is a collision of cultures, languages, and traditions, hidden away in the city of Maradaine. A set of streets to be avoided or ignored. When a foreign dignitary is murdered, solving the crime falls to the most unpopular inspectors in the Maradaine Constabulary: exposed fraud Satrine Rainey, and Uncircled mage Minox Welling.

With a murder scene deliberately constructed to point blame toward the rival groups resident in this exotic section of Maradaine, Rainey is forced to confront her former life, while Welling’s ignorance of his own power threatens to consume him. And the conflicts erupting in the Little East will spark a citywide war unless the Constabulary solves the case quickly.

The Holliver Alley Crew
Streets of Maradaine 1
DAW, March 7, 2017
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

The Rynax brothers had gone legit after Asti Rynax’s service in Druth Intelligence had shattered his nerves, and marriage and fatherhood convinced Verci Rynax to leave his life of thievery. They settled back in their old neighborhood in West Maradaine and bought themselves a shop, eager for a simple, honest life. Then the Holver Alley Fire incinerated their plans. With no home, no shop, and no honest income—and saddled with a looming debt—they fall back on their old skills and old friends.

With a crew of other fire victims, Asti and Verci plan a simple carriage heist, but the job spirals out of control as they learn that the fire was no accident. Lives in Holver Alley were destroyed out of a sadistic scheme to buy the land. Smoldering for revenge, burdened with Asti’s crumbling sanity, the brothers lead their crew of amateurs and washouts to take down those responsible for the fire, no matter the cost.

Rhonda Mason (2015)

Cloak of War
The Empress Game Trilogy 2
Titan Book, October 25, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

The bloody tournament to determine the new empress of the intergalactic empire may be over, but for exiled princess Kayla Reinumon, the battle is just beginning. To free her home planet from occupation, Kayla must infiltrate the highest reaches of imperial power. But when a deadly nanovirus threatens to ravage the empire, it will take more than diplomacy to protect her homeworld from all-out war.

Brian McClellan (2013)

The Powder Mage Novella Collection #1
Stories from the Powder Mage Universe
Jul 10, 2016
eBook, 288 pages

Enter a new world or return to see old friends in four Powder Mage Universe novellas featuring Erika, Tamas, Adamat, Taniel, Ka-poel, and Ben Styke.

Forsworn
Servant of the Crown
Murder at the Kinnen Hotel
Ghosts of the Tristan Basin.

Note:  Collectible hardcovers of these four Powder Mage novellas are available via the author here. They are signed and dated by the author.

Sins of Empire
Gods of Blood and Power 1
Orbit, March 7, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 624 pages

A new epic fantasy series from highly acclaimed fantasy author, Brian McClellan, set in the same world as The Powder Mage trilogy.

A world on the cusp of a new age...
The young nation of Fatrasta is a turbulent place -- a frontier destination for criminals, fortune-hunters, brave settlers, and sorcerers seeking relics of the past. Only the iron will of the lady chancellor and her secret police holds the capital city of Landfall together against the unrest of an oppressed population and the machinations of powerful empires.

Sedition is a dangerous word...
The insurrection that threatens Landfall must be purged with guile and force, a task which falls on the shoulders of a spy named Michel Bravis, convicted war hero Mad Ben Styke, and Lady Vlora Flint, a mercenary general with a past as turbulent as Landfall's present.

The past haunts us all...
As loyalties are tested, revealed, and destroyed, a grim specter as old as time has been unearthed in this wild land, and the people of Landfall will soon discover that rebellion is the least of their worries.

Julie McElwain (2016)

A Murder in Time
Kendra Donovan Mysteries 1
Pegasus Books, April 11, 2017
Trade Paperback, 320 pages
Hardcover and eBook, April 11, 2016

When brilliant FBI agent Kendra Donovan stumbles back in time and finds herself in a 19th century English castle under threat from a vicious serial killer, she scrambles to solve the case before it takes her life—200 years before she was even born.

Beautiful and brilliant, Kendra Donovan is a rising star at the FBI. Yet her path to professional success hits a speed bump during a disastrous raid where half her team is murdered, a mole in the FBI is uncovered and she herself is severely wounded. As soon as she recovers, she goes rogue and travels to England to assassinate the man responsible for the deaths of her teammates.

While fleeing from an unexpected assassin herself, Kendra escapes into a stairwell that promises sanctuary but when she stumbles out again, she is in the same place - Aldrich Castle - but in a different time: 1815, to be exact.

Mistaken for a lady's maid hired to help with weekend guests, Kendra is forced to quickly adapt to the time period until she can figure out how she got there; and, more importantly, how to get back home. However, after the body of a young girl is found on the extensive grounds of the county estate, she starts to feel there's some purpose to her bizarre circumstances. Stripped of her twenty-first century tools, Kendra must use her wits alone in order to unmask a cunning madman.

A Twist in Time
Kendra Donovan Mysteries 2
Pegasus Books, April 11, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 320 pages

When Kendra Donovan’s plan to return to the 21st century fails, leaving her stranded in 1815, the Duke of Aldridge believes he knows the reason—she must save his nephew, who has been accused of brutally murdering his ex-mistress.

Former FBI agent Kendra Donovan’s attempts to return to the twenty-first century have failed, leaving her stuck at Aldridge Castle in 1815. And her problems have just begun: in London, the Duke of Aldridge’s nephew Alec—Kendra’s confidante and lover—has come under suspicion for murdering his former mistress, Lady Dover, who was found viciously stabbed with a stiletto, her face carved up in a bizarre and brutal way.

Lady Dover had plenty of secrets, and her past wasn’t quite what she’d made it out to be. Nor is it entirely in the past—which becomes frighteningly clear when a crime lord emerges from London’s seamy underbelly to threaten Alec. Joining forces with Bow Street Runner Sam Kelly, Kendra must navigate the treacherous nineteenth century while she picks through the strands of Lady Dover’s life.

As the noose tightens around Alec’s neck, Kendra will do anything to save him, including following every twist and turn through London’s glittering ballrooms, where deception is the norm—and any attempt to uncover the truth will get someone killed.

It's time to vote for the 2015 Debut Author Challenge COVER OF THE YEAR! Below you will find the 12 monthly winners in alphabetical order by book title (excluding "the").

Voter for your favorite from the monthly 2015 Winners!

I'm using PollCode for this vote. After you the check the circle next to your favorite, click "Vote" to record your vote. If you'd like to see the real-time results click "View". This will take you to the PollCode site where you may see the results. If you want to come back to The Qwillery click "Back" and you will return to this page.

Voting will end sometime on January 9, 2016 - extended voting due to the end of year holidays.

The Final Results

The June 2015 Debut Covers

Cover by John Coulthart

Cover by Amazing15

TQ:  Welcome to The Qwillery. When and why did you start writing?

PJ:  I started writing in 1995, when I joined my husband in New Zealand while he was producing Hercules: The Legendary Journeys and Xena: Warrior Princess. I had been a movie executive who worked with writers developing material and selling to the studios in Los Angeles, but the cliche promoted back then was producers couldn't write and I honestly believed I couldn't. In addition, I have dyslexia and those silly psychometric tests I was given as a kid said, "Whatever you do, don't become a writer!" Originally, I wrote to stop going crazy from lack of work, since my visa forbade me getting a job in New Zealand. After pitching some ideas to the US showrunners and giving them a writing sample, I was hired as a US employee to write a couple of episodes of Hercules and an episode of Xena, all while I was pregnant with my first child. I had to hide that from the showrunners, since a couple of the producers had a bias against pregnant women. Unfortunately, I had to stop writing for the shows once my son was born, because he was a handful and we both had some health problems. I continued to work in TV/film until I started writing (R)EVOLUTION.



TQ:  Are you a plotter or a pantser? What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

PJ:  I'm a plotter. That comes from my movie and TV training. Structure is everything in the 30 min, 60 min or 120 min formats. The most challenging thing is keeping my butt in my desk chair and getting to the flow state. I have a lot of distractions in my life!



TQ:  You've written for TV and movies. How does this affect (or not) your novel writing?

PJ:  As I said above, structure is everything. I see story as a virtual rollercoaster, so I can see if my ups and downs are calibrated well enough. However, I had to unlearn a dangerous tendency from the TV/film industry and stop making my characters so likable! It's SOP in a TV show, but death in a novel.



TQ:  Who are some of your literary influences? Favorite authors?

PJ:  Trevanian's Shibumi is the greatest genre parody-spy thriller ever. To pull off the trick of having fun with a genre while being so skilled all the genre's elements, as well as such deft wordsmithing is something I can only dream of doing. And Trevanian writes the best literary digressions and snide asides ever -- because they're so true and so un-PC. Alexandre Dumas is the great master storyteller and The Count of Monte Cristo is the best revenge story ever. Hamlet is a distant second. ;-) Also, Dumas had the ability to criticize French politics by placing it in a historical context and demonstrated how difficult it was for normal citizens to survive the political machinations waged by those at the top of the social pyramid. I wanted to put that kind of commentary into the near future to reflect upon our present.



TQ:  Describe (R)EVOLUTION in 140 characters or less. 

PJ:  I'd like to try this twice for fun, if I may:

Powerful group steals bioengineer's tech, leaves him for dead. He becomes more than human to kick their asses, changing humanity forever.

Mass death. Nanobots. Brain-computer interfaces. Oligarchy. Conspiracy. Betrayal. Revenge. Homo excelsior. Kicks ass. Change happens.



TQ:  Tell us something about (R)EVOLUTION that is not found in the book description.

PJ:  The story and the protagonist were deeply inspired by popular music in a feedback loop of creative influence. If it wasn't for the music (which is all listed at the end and I recommend listening to it with the book if you are of a musical bent), I couldn't have written it.



TQ:  Your author bio describes you as a “futurist”? What is a futurist and how did this influence (R)EVOLUTION?

PJ:  A futurist like me (and yes, there are different types) considers different scenarios as possible futures and explains to others what might happen and why, so everyone is prepared. No one knows what the future will be, but we're willing to follow lines of influence (technological, societal, political, etc.) to find the levers of change and anticipate the consequences. I come to futurism through storytelling, because I feel stories make the future more relatable. I could show you a graph indicating the increased use of brain technologies and analyze the possible consequences, but instead, if I tell you a story about that change, you will empathize more and be more likely to internalize the message. I tell the story of cognitive technologies in (R)EVOLUTION to spur discussion as to the use of cognitive technologies and brain-computer interfaces. There are two things to understand: 1) these type of technologies will happen regardless of what you think of them and 2) in my story, my protagonist creates these technologies with little oversight and uses them before they're ready, to save himself and others. The real scientists developing these technologies will work out many of the problems I posit, because of the ethics and protocols in place to create healthy and positive technologies.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for (R)EVOLUTION?

PJ:  The research was endless and still is! I researched all the medical science, technology (nanotechnology, brain computer interfaces, surveillance, etc.), life in Silicon Valley and Stanford, the languages, the history of secret societies in the US, politics, economics, you name it. I'm a generalist, so I knew a little about a lot to begin with, but I wanted to get specifics as correct as possible. Since the sequels are about the unintended consequences of what is wrought in (R)EVOLUTION and will include robotics and artificial intelligence, the research is ramped up to an even higher level, which I didn't think was possible.



TQ:  Who was the easiest character to write and why? The hardest and why?

PJ:  Ruth was the easiest character. She just jumped fully formed into my head. My only difficulty was picking the right Yiddish to use and getting her idiosyncratic vocal cadence right. And I learned from my Yiddish research that my grandmother had quite the potty mouth! It's not surprising though: Yiddish is a very scatological idiomatic language.

Peter was the hardest character. His transformation was complex and it was all too easy to make him too likable at the beginning. Everything hung on whether you bought him as a complex enough character at the start and still stayed with him as he changed into someone you might not like, but you respected and empathized with, regardless of the dark and not-so-human places he went.



TQ:  Which question about (R)EVOLUTION do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

PJ:

Q: Even though it's considered SF, why did you write such a genre-mashup?

A: I love finding the links between things. Life is all about complexity and connections. To tell the story and only stick with the strict rules of a single genre would impede the story I wanted to tell. I couldn't make connections between politics, economics, history, technology, spirituality, and have fun with action adventure in a near future context without breaking a few genre-specific eggs.



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery lines from (R)EVOLUTION.

PJ:  "If hell exists, it will have television news crews stationed in front of the fiery gates to broadcast your arrival."

"'I think we’re livin’ in an age of misplaced religious feelin’. And that’s very dangerous. Instead of bein’ humbled by the unknowable God Almighty, there are a frightenin’ number ’a people who think they’re the Lord’s gun-totin’ sidekick.'"



TQ:  What's next?

PJ:  I'm busy working on the two sequels, (ID)ENTITY and (CON)SCIENCE. They will cover the unintended consequences of Peter Bernhardt's actions. And there are some very big consequences.



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

PJ:  Thank you so much for allowing me to participate. Congratulations on a great website!

TQ:  Thank you for your kind words.

(R)EVOLUTION
Phoenix Horizon 1
47North, June 1, 2015
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 544 pages

Scientist Peter Bernhardt has dedicated his life to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter on the atomic scale. As the founder of Biogineers, he is on the cusp of revolutionizing brain therapies with microscopic nanorobots that will make certain degenerative diseases become a thing of the past. But after his research is stolen by an unknown enemy, seventy thousand people die in Las Vegas in one abominable moment. No one is more horrified than Peter, as this catastrophe sets in motion events that will forever change not only his life but also the course of human evolution.

Peter’s company is torn from his grasp as the public clamors for his blood. Desperate, he turns to an old friend, who introduces him to the Phoenix Club, a cabal of the most powerful people in the world. To make himself more valuable to his new colleagues, Peter infuses his brain with experimental technology, exponentially upgrading his mental prowess and transforming him irrevocably.

As he’s exposed to unimaginable wealth and influence, Peter’s sense of reality begins to unravel. Do the club members want to help him, or do they just want to claim his technology? What will they do to him once they have their prize? And while he’s already evolved beyond mere humanity, is he advanced enough to take on such formidable enemies and win?

About PJ Manney

PJ Manney is a former chairperson of Humanity+, the author of "Empathy in the Time of Technology: How Storytelling is the Key to Empathy," and a frequent guest host and guest on podcasts including FastForward Radio. She has worked in motion-picture PR at Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures, story development and production for independent film production companies (Hook, Universal Soldier, It Could Happen to You), and writing for television (Hercules--The Legendary Journeys, Xena: Warrior Princess). She also cofounded Uncharted Entertainment, writing and creating pilot scripts for television. Manney is a culture vulture and SF geek, and the daughter and mother of them, too. When not contemplating the future of humanity, she is a mother, wife, PTA volunteer and education activist in California.

Twitter @PJManney

John Ayliff

Belt Three
Harper Voyager (UK), June 18, 2015
eBook, 400 pages
Trade Paperback, December 2, 2015

Worldbreakers do not think, do not feel and cannot be stopped.

Captain Gabriel Reinhardt’s latest mining mission has been brought to a halt by the arrival of a Worldbreaker, one of the vast alien machines that destroyed Earth and its solar system long ago. As he and his crew flee they are kidnapped by a pirate to be mind-wiped and sold into slavery, a fate worse than death in this shattered universe.

But Captain Reinhardt is hiding a secret. The real Gabriel Reinhardt died six years ago, and in his place is Jonas, one of the millions of clones produced for menial labour by the last descendants of Earth.

Forced to aid the pirate Keldra’s obsessive campaign against the Worldbreakers in exchange for his life, Jonas discovers that humanity’s last hope might just be found in the very machines that have destroyed it.

Ishbelle Bee

The Singular & Extraordinary Tale of Mirror & Goliath
From the Peculiar Adventures of John Loveheart, Esq., Volume 1
Angry Robot Books, June 30, 2015 (North America and eBook)
     June 4, 2015 (UK Print)
Trade Paperback and eBook

1888. A little girl called Mirror and her extraordinary shape-shifting guardian Goliath Honeyflower are washed up on the shores of Victorian England. Something has been wrong with Mirror since the day her grandfather locked her inside a mysterious clock that was painted all over with ladybirds. Mirror does not know what she is, but she knows she is no longer human.

John Loveheart, meanwhile, was not born wicked. But after the sinister death of his parents, he was taken by Mr Fingers, the demon lord of the underworld. Some say he is mad. John would be inclined to agree.

Now Mr Fingers is determined to find the little girl called Mirror, whose flesh he intends to eat, and whose soul is the key to his eternal reign. And John Loveheart has been called by his otherworldly father to help him track Mirror down…

An extraordinary dark fairytale for adults, for fans of Catherine Valente and Neil Gaiman.

File Under: Fantasy

Tamara Dietrich

The Hummingbird's Cage
NAL, June 2, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

A dazzling debut novel about taking chances, finding hope, and learning to stand up for your dreams…

Everyone in Wheeler, New Mexico, thinks Joanna leads the perfect life: the quiet, contented housewife of a dashing deputy sheriff, raising a beautiful young daughter, Laurel. But Joanna’s reality is nothing like her facade. Behind closed doors, she lives in constant fear of her husband. She’s been trapped for so long, escape seems impossible—until a stranger offers her the help she needs to flee….

On the run, Joanna and Laurel stumble upon the small town of Morro, a charming and magical village that seems to exist out of time and place. There a farmer and his wife offer her sanctuary, and soon, between the comfort of her new home and blossoming friendships, Joanna’s soul begins to heal, easing the wounds of a decade of abuse.

But her past—and her husband—aren’t so easy to escape. Unwilling to live in fear any longer, Joanna must summon a strength she never knew she had to fight back and forge a new life for her daughter and herself….

S. K. Dunstall

Linesman
Linesman 1
Ace, June 30, 2015
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

First in a brand new thought-provoking science fiction series.

The lines. No ship can traverse the void without them. Only linesmen can work with them. But only Ean Lambert hears their song. And everyone thinks he’s crazy…

Most slum kids never go far, certainly not becoming a level-ten linesman like Ean. Even if he’s part of a small, and unethical, cartel, and the other linesmen disdain his self-taught methods, he’s certified and working.

Then a mysterious alien ship is discovered at the edges of the galaxy. Each of the major galactic powers is desperate to be the first to uncover the ship’s secrets, but all they’ve learned is that it has the familiar lines of energy—and a defense system that, once triggered, annihilates everything in a 200 kilometer radius.

The vessel threatens any linesman who dares to approach it, except Ean. His unique talents may be the key to understanding this alarming new force—and reconfiguring the relationship between humans and the ships that serve them, forever.

Judith Fertig

The Cake Therapist
Berkley, June 2, 2015
Trade Paperback and eBook, 304 pages
(Fiction Debut)

A fiction debut that will leave you wanting seconds, from an award-winning cookbook author.

Claire “Neely” O’Neil is a pastry chef of extraordinary talent. Every great chef can taste shimmering, elusive flavors that most of us miss, but Neely can “taste” feelings—cinnamon makes you remember; plum is pleased with itself; orange is a wake-up call. When flavor and feeling give Neely a glimpse of someone’s inner self, she can customize her creations to help that person celebrate love, overcome fear, even mourn a devastating loss.

Maybe that’s why she feels the need to go home to Millcreek Valley at a time when her life seems about to fall apart. The bakery she opens in her hometown is perfect, intimate, just what she’s always dreamed of—and yet, as she meets her new customers, Neely has a sense of secrets, some dark, some perhaps with tempting possibilities. A recurring flavor of alarming intensity signals to her perfect palate a long-ago story that must be told.

Neely has always been able to help everyone else. Getting to the end of this story may be just what she needs to help herself.

Margaret Fortune

Nova
DAW, June 2, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 320 Pages

*36:00:00*

The clock activates so suddenly in my mind, my head involuntarily jerks a bit to the side. The fog vanishes, dissipated in an instant as though it never was. Memories come slotting into place, their edges sharp enough to leave furrows, and suddenly I know. I know exactly who I am.

My name is Lia Johansen, and I was named for a prisoner of war. She lived in the Tiersten Internment Colony for two years, and when they negotiated the return of the prisoners, I was given her memories and sent back in her place.

And I am a genetically engineered human bomb.

Lia Johansen was created for only one purpose: to slip onto the strategically placed New Sol Space Station and explode. But her mission goes to hell when her clock malfunctions, freezing her countdown with just two minutes to go. With no Plan B, no memories of her past, and no identity besides a name stolen from a dead POW, Lia has no idea what to do next. Her life gets even more complicated when she meets Michael Sorenson, the real Lia’s childhood best friend.

Drawn to Michael and his family against her better judgment, Lia starts learning what it means to live and love, and to be human. It is only when her countdown clock begins sporadically losing time that she realizes even duds can still blow up. If she wants any chance at a future, she must find a way to unlock the secrets of her past and stop her clock. But as Lia digs into her origins, she begins to suspect there’s far more to her mission and to this war, than meets the eye. With the fate of not just a space station but an entire empire hanging in the balance, Lia races to find the truth before her time—literally—runs out.

Scott Hawkins

The Library at Mount Char
Crown, June 16, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 400 pages

A missing God.
A library with the secrets to the universe.
A woman too busy to notice her heart slipping away.

Carolyn's not so different from the other people around her. She likes guacamole and cigarettes and steak. She knows how to use a phone. Clothes are a bit tricky, but everyone says nice things about her outfit with the Christmas sweater over the gold bicycle shorts.

After all, she was a normal American herself once.

That was a long time ago, of course. Before her parents died. Before she and the others were taken in by the man they called Father.

In the years since then, Carolyn hasn't had a chance to get out much. Instead, she and her adopted siblings have been raised according to Father's ancient customs. They've studied the books in his Library and learned some of the secrets of his power. And sometimes, they've wondered if their cruel tutor might secretly be God.

Now, Father is missing—perhaps even dead—and the Library that holds his secrets stands unguarded. And with it, control over all of creation.

As Carolyn gathers the tools she needs for the battle to come, fierce competitors for this prize align against her, all of them with powers that far exceed her own.

But Carolyn has accounted for this.

And Carolyn has a plan.

The only trouble is that in the war to make a new God, she's forgotten to protect the things that make her human.

Populated by an unforgettable cast of characters and propelled by a plot that will shock you again and again, The Library at Mount Char is at once horrifying and hilarious, mind-blowingly alien and heartbreakingly human, sweepingly visionary and nail-bitingly thrilling—and signals the arrival of a major new voice in fantasy.

Alyc Helms

The Dragons of Heaven
Dragons of Heaven 1
Angry Robot Books, June 30, 2015
     (North America Print and eBook)
   June 4, 2015 (UK Print)
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 512 pages
Cover by Amazing15

Would you deal with the devil to save the world?

Street magician Missy Masters inherited more than the usual genetic cocktail from her estranged grandfather – she also got his preternatural control of shadow and his legacy as the vigilante hero, Mr Mystic. Problem is, being a pulp hero takes more than a good fedora and a knack for witty banter, and Missy lacks the one thing Mr. Mystic had: experience. Determined to live up to her birthright, Missy journeys to China to seek the aid of Lung Huang, the ancient master who once guided her grandfather.

Lung Huang isn’t quite as ancient as Missy expected, and she finds herself embroiled in the politics of Lung Huang and his siblings, the nine dragon-guardians of creation. When Lung Di, Lung Huang’s brother and mortal enemy, raises a magical barrier that cuts off China from the rest of the world, it falls to the new Mr Mystic to prove herself by taking down the barrier. But is it too great a task for a lone adventure hero?

File Under: Fantasy [ Sins of the Grandfather / Missy and Master / Geek Fu / Little Trouble in Big China ]

P J Manney

(R)EVOLUTION
Phoenix Horizon 1
47North, June 1, 2015
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 544 pages

Scientist Peter Bernhardt has dedicated his life to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter on the atomic scale. As the founder of Biogineers, he is on the cusp of revolutionizing brain therapies with microscopic nanorobots that will make certain degenerative diseases become a thing of the past. But after his research is stolen by an unknown enemy, seventy thousand people die in Las Vegas in one abominable moment. No one is more horrified than Peter, as this catastrophe sets in motion events that will forever change not only his life but also the course of human evolution.

Peter’s company is torn from his grasp as the public clamors for his blood. Desperate, he turns to an old friend, who introduces him to the Phoenix Club, a cabal of the most powerful people in the world. To make himself more valuable to his new colleagues, Peter infuses his brain with experimental technology, exponentially upgrading his mental prowess and transforming him irrevocably.

As he’s exposed to unimaginable wealth and influence, Peter’s sense of reality begins to unravel. Do the club members want to help him, or do they just want to claim his technology? What will they do to him once they have their prize? And while he’s already evolved beyond mere humanity, is he advanced enough to take on such formidable enemies and win?

Sam Munson

The War Against the Assholes
Saga Press, June 16, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
(Debut Fantasy)

Contemporary fantasy meets true crime when schools of ancient sorcery go up against the art of the long con in this stunningly entertaining debut fantasy novel.

Mike Wood is satisfied just being a guy with broad shoulders at a decidedly unprestigious Catholic school in Manhattan. But on the dirty streets of New York City he’s an everyman with a moral code who is unafraid of violence. And when Mike is unwittingly recruited into a secret cell of magicians by a fellow student, Mike’s role as a steadfast soldier begins. These magicians don’t use ritualized rote to work their magic, they use willpower in their clandestine war with the establishment: The Assholes.

Erika Swyler

The Book of Speculation
St. Martin's Press, June 23, 2015
Hardcover and eBook, 352 pages
(Includes 13 illustrations throughout)

"Dazzling...[a] quirky, raucous, and bewitching family saga." --Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead. His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off six years ago and now reads tarot cards for a traveling carnival.

One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep, sent by an antiquarian bookseller who purchased it on speculation. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things, including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned--always on July 24, which is only weeks away.

As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon's family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he get to the heart of the mystery in time to save Enola?

In the tradition of Sara Gruen's Water for Elephants, Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus, and Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian, The Book of Speculation--with two-color illustrations by the author--is Erika Swyler's moving debut novel about the power of books, family, and magic.

P J Manney

(R)EVOLUTION
Phoenix Horizon 1
47North, June 1, 2015
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 544 pages

Scientist Peter Bernhardt has dedicated his life to nanotechnology, the science of manipulating matter on the atomic scale. As the founder of Biogineers, he is on the cusp of revolutionizing brain therapies with microscopic nanorobots that will make certain degenerative diseases become a thing of the past. But after his research is stolen by an unknown enemy, seventy thousand people die in Las Vegas in one abominable moment. No one is more horrified than Peter, as this catastrophe sets in motion events that will forever change not only his life but also the course of human evolution.

Peter’s company is torn from his grasp as the public clamors for his blood. Desperate, he turns to an old friend, who introduces him to the Phoenix Club, a cabal of the most powerful people in the world. To make himself more valuable to his new colleagues, Peter infuses his brain with experimental technology, exponentially upgrading his mental prowess and transforming him irrevocably.

As he’s exposed to unimaginable wealth and influence, Peter’s sense of reality begins to unravel. Do the club members want to help him, or do they just want to claim his technology? What will they do to him once they have their prize? And while he’s already evolved beyond mere humanity, is he advanced enough to take on such formidable enemies and win?