The Qwillery

Happy Last Monday in January! There are 3 debuts this week: Dead Money by Srinath Adiga; Faye, Faraway by Helen Fisher; and Gutter Child by Jael Richardson.

From formerly featured DAC Authors: False Value (Rivers of London 8) by Ben Aaronovitch is out in Mass Market Paperback; We Could be Heroes by Mike Chen; The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez is out in Trade Paperback; The Hidden Girl and Other Stories by Ken Liu is out in Trade Paperback; A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H.G. Parry is out in Trade Paperback; Brother Red by Adrian Selby; The Mask Falling (Bone Season 4) by Samantha Shannon; and Shades of Allegiance (Anomaly 3) by Sandy Williams.

 

 

 

Debut novels are highlighted in blue. Novels, etc. by formerly featured DAC Authors are highlighted in green. January 26, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
False Value (h2mm)	Ben Aaronovitch	UF - Rivers of London  8
Dead Money (D)	Srinath Adiga	Dys/Th
Stake (h2tp)	Kevin J. Anderson	H
Dealbreaker	L. X. Beckett	SF/AC/CyP - The Bounceback 2
The Queen's Bargain (h2mm)	Anne Bishop	DF/RF - Black Jewels 10
Straight Outta Dodge City (tp2mm)	David Boop (Ed)	DF - Anthology
The Science of Doctor Who: The Scientific Facts Behind the Time Warps and Space Travels of the Doctor	Mark Brake	Science - The Science of
Penric's Progress (h2mm)	Lois McMaster Bujold	F
One Poison Pie	Lynn Cahoon	CM - Kitchen Witch Mysteries 1
The Swallowed Man	Edward Carey	FairyT/FolkT/LM/MR/Hist
We Could Be Heroes	Mike Chen	SH/SF/HU
Faye, Faraway (D)	Helen Fisher	CW/TT
The Spear of Malice	R.S. Ford	F/DF - War of the Archons 3
Empire City	Matt Gallagher	LF
Agency (h2tp)	William Gibson	TechTh/SF/LF - The Jackpot Trilogy 2
The New Improved Sorceress (tp2mm)	Sara Hanover	F - Wayward Mages 2
Pawn's Gambit (Ke)	Rob J. Hayes	F - Mortal Techniques  2
The Vanished Birds (h2tp)	Simon Jimenez	SF/SO/LF
The Only Good Indians (h2tp)	Stephen Graham Jones	H
Breaking Silence (h2mm)	Mercedes Lackey Cody Martin	CF - Serrated Edge 10
The Unspoken Name (h2tp)	A. K. Larkwood	F - Serpent Gates 1
The Hidden Girl and Other Stories (h2tp)	Ken Liu	SF - Collection
The One (h2mm)	John Marrs	LF/GenEng/Dys
Doctor Who: All Flesh is Grass: Time Lord Victorious	Una McCormack	SF - Doctor Who
A Tapestry of Treason	Anne O'Brien	His/LF/CW/AH
A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians (h2tp)	H. G. Parry	HistF/Occ/Sup/FairyT/FolkT/LM - Shadow Histories 1
The Mistress of Illusions (h2mm)	Mike Resnick	F/DF - Dreamscape Trilogy 2
Gutter Child (D)	Jael Richardson	LF
Brother Red	Adrian Selby	DF
The Mask Falling	Samantha Shannon	Dys/CF/UF - Bone Season 4
A Cat on the Case	Clea Simon	PCM - Witch Cats of Cambridge 3
The Expert System's Champion	Adrian Tchaikovsky	SF/GenEng - The Expert System's Brother 2
Mazes of Power (h2tp)	Juliette Wade	SF/AP/PA - The Broken Trust 1
Knight's Ransom	Jeff Wheeler	F/HistF - First Argentines 1
Shades of Allegiance	Sandy Williams	SF/SO - Anomaly 3

January 27, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Shards: A Tor.com Original (e)	Ian Rogers	H

January 28, 2021

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Interpreting Star Wars: Reading a Modern Film Franchise	Miles Booy	HC/SF

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



AB - Absurdist
AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternative History
AP - Apocalyptic
BHU - Black Humor
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CM - Crime & Mystery
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Women
CyP - CyberPunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GothicR - Gothic Romance
GW&CC - Global Warming and Climate Change
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistM - Historical Mystery
HistR - Historical Romance
HistTh - Historical Thriller
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
HU - Humorous
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
M - Mystery
Med - Medical
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
MU - Mash-Up
NF - Near Future
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PF - Paranormal Fantasy
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
PP - Police Porcedural
Psy - Psychological
R - Romance
RF - Romantic Fantasy
ScF - Science Fantasy
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SFTh - Science Fiction Thriller
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SP - Steampunk
SpecFic - Speculative Fiction
SS - Short Stories
STR - Small Town and Rural
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
TTR - Time Travel Romance
UF - Urban Fantasy
VM - Visionary and Metaphysical
WS - Women Sleuths

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

Mike Chen (2019) We Could Be Heroes
MIRA, January 26, 2021
Hardcover and eBook, 336 pages

An extraordinary and emotional adventure about unlikely friends and the power of choosing who you want to be.

Jamie woke up in an empty apartment with no memory and only a few clues to his identity, but with the ability to read and erase other people’s memories—a power he uses to hold up banks to buy coffee, cat food and books.

Zoe is also searching for her past, and using her abilities of speed and strength…to deliver fast food. And she’ll occasionally put on a cool suit and beat up bad guys, if she feels like it.

When the archrivals meet in a memory-loss support group, they realize the only way to reveal their hidden pasts might be through each other. As they uncover an ongoing threat, suddenly much more is at stake than their fragile friendship. With countless people at risk, Zoe and Jamie will have to recognize that sometimes being a hero starts with trusting someone else—and yourself.

Adrian Selby (2016) Brother Red
Orbit, January 26, 2021
Trade Paperback and eBook, 512 pages

From one of the most exciting new voices in dark epic fantasy comes an intensely brutal and brilliantly cinematic novel: the story of a soldier torn between loyalty to her family and her quest to preserve a kingdom's future.

She was their hope, their martyr, their brother . . .

Driwna Marghoster, a soldier for the powerful merchant guild known as The Post, is defending her trade caravan from a vicious bandit attack when she discovers a dead body hidden in one of her wagons.

Born of the elusive Oskoro people, the body is a rare and priceless find, the center of a tragic tale and the key to a larger mystery.

But as Driwna investigates who the body was meant for, she finds herself on a trail of deceit and corruption . . . a trail that will lead her to an evil more powerful than she can possibly imagine.

Also by Adrian Selby:
Snakewood
The Winter Road

C. M. Waggoner (2019) The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry
Ace, January 12, 2021
Trade Paperback and eBook, 384 pages

Sparks fly in this enchanting fantasy novel from the author of Unnatural Magic when a down-and-out fire witch and a young gentlewoman join forces against a deadly conspiracy.

Dellaria Wells, petty con artist, occasional thief, and partly educated fire witch, is behind on her rent in the city of Leiscourt—again. Then she sees the “wanted” sign, seeking Female Persons, of Martial or Magical ability, to guard a Lady of some Importance, prior to the celebration of her Marriage. Delly fast-talks her way into the job and joins a team of highly peculiar women tasked with protecting their wealthy charge from unknown assassins.

Delly quickly sets her sights on one of her companions, the confident and well-bred Winn Cynallum. The job looks like nothing but romance and easy money until things take a deadly (and undead) turn. With the help of a bird-loving necromancer, a shapeshifting schoolgirl, and an ill-tempered reanimated mouse named Buttons, Delly and Winn are determined to get the best of an adversary who wields a twisted magic and has friends in the highest of places.

Happy Tuesday! 

There are 3 debuts out this week:

The First Protectors by Victor Godinez;

We Can Save Us All by Adam Nemett

and

Empire of Sand (The Books of Ambha 1) by Tasha Suri.




From formerly featured DAC Authors:

The Winter Road by Adrian Selby.

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

November 12, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Widow Next Door (e)	L.A. Detwiler	H
The Séance (e)(ri)	Heather Graham	SupTh/GH - Harrison Investigation 4

November 13, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Long Price Quartet: The Complete Quartet	Daniel Abraham	F - Long Price Quartet
Limetown: The Prequel to the #1 Podcast	Zack Akers Skip Bronkie Cote Smith	Mys/Det
The Tale of Cho Ung: A Classic of Vengeance, Loyalty, and Romance	Sookja Cho	LM - Translations from the Asian Classics
Not One of Us: Stories of Aliens on Earth	Neil Clarke (ed)	SF/AC/HSF - Anthology
Vita Nostra	Sergey and Marina Dyachenko	DF
Future Home of the Living God (h2tp)	Louise Erdrich	CW
Death and Daisies	Amanda Flower	PCM - Magic Garden Mystery Series 2
In/Half	Jasmin B. Frelih Jason Blake (Tr)	LF/SF
Death of the Planet of the Apes	Andrew E. C. Gaska	MTI/F - Collection
The First Protectors (D)	Victor Godinez	SF/AC/SO/TechTh/Sus
A Choice of Secrets	Barb Hendee	HistF - A Dark Glass Novel 4
The Lovecraft Squad: Waiting (h2tp)	Stephen Jones	Occ/Sup
Pride and Prometheus (h2tp)	John Kessel	HistF
Terran Tomorrow	Nancy Kress	SF/HSF/GenEng/AC - Yesterday's Kin Trilogy 3
A Rising Moon	Stephen Leigh	HistF/F - Sunpath 2
House of Ashes	Loretta Marion	SupTh/Sus - A Haunted Bluffs Mystery 1
We Can Save Us All (D)	Adam Nemett	LF/CoA/Dys/SH
None of This Is Normal: The Fiction of Jeff VanderMeer	Benjamin Robertson	LC/SF/F/PopCul
Star Trek Shipyards Star Trek Starships: 2294 to the Future The Encyclopedia of Starfleet Ships	Ben Robinson Marcus Reily	PerfArts/SF
The Winter Road	Adrian Selby	F
Bedfellow	Jeremy C. Shipp	DF/H
The Crown Lord	William Sirls	AH/Pol/CulH/Cr
The Sky-Blue Wolves	S.M. Stirling	SF/AP/PA/AH/F -A Novel of the Change 15
Empire of Sand (D)	Tasha Suri	F/HistF.FR/CoA - The Books of Ambha 1
Creatures of Want and Ruin	Molly Tanzer	HistF
The Night Angel Trilogy: 10th Anniversary Edition	Brent Weeks	F - Night Angel
Iron Garland	Jeff Wheeler	F - Harbinger 3

November 15, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Think Yourself Lucky (e)	Ramsey Campbell	H - Fiction Without Frontiers

November 16, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald - The Original Screenplay	J.K. Rowling	F

November 17, 2018

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Spectrum 25: The Best in Contemporary Fantastic Art	John Fleskes	Illustration/SF/F/PopCul

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



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
Cr - Crime
CW - Contemporary Woman
CyP - Cyberpunk
DF - Dark Fantasy
Dys - Dystopian
F - Fantasy
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghost(s)
GN - Graphic Novel
H - Horror
Hist - Historical
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HSF - Hard Science Fiction
Hu - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legend and Mythology
MR - Magical Realism
MTI - Media Tie-In
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Parnormal Cozy Mystery
PerfArts - Performing Arts
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
PolTh - Political Thriller
PopCul - Popular Culture
Sc - Science
SE - Space Exploration
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Space Opera
SocHist - Social History
SocSc - Social Science
SP - Steampunk
SS - Short Stories
Sup - Supernatural
SupTh - Supernatural Thriller
Sus - Suspense
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
W - Western


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

Lucy Banks (2017)

The Case of the Hidden Demon
Dr Ribero's Agency of the Supernatural 3
Amberjack Publishing, October 23, 2018
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 352 pages

Still recovering from the case of a serial killer spirit in Lyme-Regis, Dr Ribero’s agency is soon confronted with an even greater threat: a reckless cult conspiring with an ancient and powerful Daemon to open a permanent spirit door so that spirits have unfettered access to the human realm. Having just witnessed the lethal consequences uncontrolled spirits can have on the unsuspecting, the agency joins forces with several others to prevent the cult from unleashing chaos and ending the world’s fragile protection from dangerous spirits.

Book 1

Book 2

Tristan Palmgren (2018)

Terminus
The Unity 2
Angry Robot, November 6, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 464 pages

Operatives from an advanced alien culture struggle to survive in medieval Italy, in the SF sequel to the astonishing Quietus.

The transdimensional empire, the Unity, has dissolved. Its rulers and agents have been exiled, stranded across a thousand planes of existence. Empires don’t die gladly. The living planarship Ways and Means has ended the Black Death ravaging medieval Europe, but it has bigger plans for Earth. Someone is trying to kill former Unity agent Osia. Spy-turned-anthropologist Meloku becomes a target, too, when she catches the planarship hiding the extent of its meddling. While they fight to survive, Fiametta – Italian soldier, mercenary, and heretical preacher – raises an army and a religious revolt, aiming to split her world in half.

File Under: Science Fiction [ Last Throes | The Saviour | Let It Burn | Crisis of Faith ]

Book 1

Adrian Selby  (2016)

The Winter Road
Orbit, November 13, 2018
Trade Paperback and eBook, 496 pages

A gritty and epic adventure to appeal to fans of Mark Lawrence, Andrzej Sapkowski and Joe Abercrombie – The Winter Road is a fantasy novel which remembers that battles leave all kinds of scars.

The greatest empire of them all began with a road.

The Circle – a thousand miles of perilous forests and warring clans. No one has ever tamed such treacherous territory before, but ex-soldier Teyr Amondsen, veteran of a hundred battles, is determined to try.

With a merchant caravan protected by a crew of skilled mercenaries, Amondsen embarks on a dangerous mission to forge a road across the untamed wilderness that was once her home. But a warlord rises in the wilds of the Circle, uniting its clans and terrorising its people. Teyr’s battles may not be over yet . . .

All roads lead back to war.

For more from Adrian Selby, check out:

Snakewood

Happy Monday!

There are 3 debuts this week:

Terminal Regression by Mallory Hill;

Indelible by Adelia Saunders;

and

Heartstone by Elle Katherine White.



From formerly featured DAC Authors:

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic 2) by V. E. Schwab is out in Trade Paperback;

and

Snakewood by Adrian Selby is out in Trade Paperback;

and

Jeroun: The Collected Omnibus by Zachary Jernigan is out in eBook.



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

January 15, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Champion	Scott Sigler	SF - Galactic Football League 5

January 16, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
In Calabria (e)	Peter S. Beagle	F
Curse the Dark (e)(ri)	Laura Anne Gilman	UF - A Retrievers Novel 2
Staying Dead (e)(ri)	Laura Anne Gilman	UF - A Retrievers Novel 1
Beauty and the Werewolf (e)(ri)	Mercedes Lackey	Gothic/R/FairyT

January 17, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
War Factory (h2tp)	Neal Asher	SF - Transformation 2
Galactic Empires	Neil Clarke (Ed)	SF - Anthology
The Returning	Rachelle Dekker	Dys/SFR - A Seer Novel 3
The Poison Eater	Shanna Germain	F/SF/GenEng
The Rising	Heather Graham Jon Land	Th/Sus/SF
Bigfootloose and Finn Fancy Free (h2tp)	Randy Henderson	F/HU - The Familia Arcana 2
Terminal Regression (D)	Mallory Hill	SF/AP/PA
Jeroun: The Collected Omnibus (e)	Zachary Jernigan	SF - Jeroun Omnibus
Steal the Lightning (e)	Tim Lees	UF - Field Ops 3
Only the Stones Survive (h2tp)	Morgan Llywelyn	HistF/FairyT/FolkT/LM
A Blade of Black Steel (h2tp)	Alex Marshall	F - The Crimson Empire 2
The Fortress at the End of Time	Joe M. McDermott	SF
Summon the Queen	Jodi McIsaac	HistF - The Revolutionary Series 2
Feversong	Karen Marie Moning	PNR/F/P - Fever 9
Phantom Kiss (e)	Chloe Neill	PNR/P/UF - Chicagoland Vampires Novella
Ways to Disappear (h2tp)	Idra Novey	LF
Indelible (D)	Adelia Saunders	LF/MR
A Gathering of Shadows (h2tp)	V. E. Schwab	HistF - Shades of Magic 2
Snakewood (h2tp)	Adrian Selby	F
Empire Games	Charles Stross	SF/Th -  Empire Games 1
Martians Abroad	Carrie Vaughn	SF/CoA
Heartstone (D)	Elle Katharine White	F

January 18, 2017

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Worlds of the Imperium (ri)	Keith Laumer	SF - Brainship 1
The Ship Who Sang (e)	Anne McCaffrey	SF
Decision at Doona (e)	Anne McCaffrey	SF - Doona 1
Half Life: A Post-Apocalyptic Thriller (e)	Scott Nicholson	PA/Th
Scientific Romance: An International Anthology of Pioneering Science Fiction	Brian Stableford (Ed)	SF - Anthology

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - Editor
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
Ke - Kindly only eBook
mm - Mass Market Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback



AC - Alien Contact
AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
CoA - Coming of Age
CW - Contemporary Women
FairyT - Fairy Tales
FL - Family Life
FolkT - Folk Tales
FR - Fantasy Romance
GB - Genre Bender
GenEng - Genetic Engineering
GH - Ghosts
GN - Graphic Novel
H - Horror
HC - History and Criticism
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HU - Humor
LC - Literary Criticism
LF - Literary Fiction
LM - Legends and Mythology
M - Mystery
Meta - Metaphysical
MR - Magical Realism
Occ - Occult
P - Paranormal
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PCM - Paranormal Cozy Mystery
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
Pol - Political
Psy - Psychological
PsyTh - Psychological Thriller
R - Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SFR - Science Fiction Romance
SH - Superheroes
SO - Steampunk
Sup - Supernatural
SupM - Supernatural Mystery
TechTh - Technological Thriller
Th - Thriller
TT - Time Travel
UF - Urban Fantasy
UFR - Urban Fantasy Romance
Vis - Visionary


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

Mishell Baker (2016)

Phantom Pains
The Arcadia Project 2
Saga Press, March 21, 2017
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

In the second book to the “exciting, inventive, and brilliantly plotted” (Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author) Borderline, Millie unwillingly returns to the Arcadia Project when an impossible and deadly situation pulls her back in.

Four months ago, Millie left the Arcadia Project after losing her partner Teo to the lethal magic of an Unseelie fey countess. Now, in a final visit to the scene of the crime, Millie and her former boss Caryl encounter Teo’s tormented ghost. But there’s one problem: according to Caryl, ghosts don’t exist.

Millie has a new life, a stressful job, and no time to get pulled back into the Project, but she agrees to tell her side of the ghost story to the agents from the Project’s National Headquarters. During her visit though, tragedy strikes when one of the agents is gruesomely murdered in a way only Caryl could have achieved. Millie knows Caryl is innocent, but the only way to save her from the Project’s severe, off-the-books justice is to find the mysterious culprits that can only be seen when they want to be seen. Millie must solve the mystery not only to save Caryl, but also to foil an insidious, arcane terrorist plot that would leave two worlds in ruins.

Adrian Selby (2016)

Snakewood
Orbit, January 17, 2017
Trade Paperback, 448 pages
Hardcover and eBook, March 15, 2016

A LIFETIME OF ENEMIES HAS ITS OWN PRICE

Mercenaries who gave no quarter, they shook the pillars of the world through cunning, chemical brews, and cold steel.

Now, their glory days are behind them. Scattered to the wind and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated.

One by one.

A groundbreaking debut fantasy of betrayal, mystery, and bloody revenge.

Samantha Shannon (2013)

On the Merits of Unnaturalness
Bloomsbury USA, April 7, 2016
The Bone Season
eBook, 40 pages

Be aware, my good Reader, that this Pamphlet, no matter how controversial its content, must never fall into enemy Hands.

The most important piece of clairvoyant literature written in the twenty-first century, On the Merits of Unnaturalness is a pamphlet first published anonymously in 2031 by Jaxon Hall, the voyant who would later become the mime-lord known as the White Binder.

Hall was the first to index both known and supposed forms of Unnaturalness, resulting in the classification of the Seven Orders. This controversial piece of literature spread across the voyant underworld like a plague, revolutionising the syndicate but also creating discord in the form of brutal gang wars between the newly divided categories, the scars of which can still be seen today.

Revelatory and subversive, On the Merits of Unnaturalness is a must-read for any reader with a desire to further immerse themselves in the incredible world of Samantha Shannon's The Bone Season.

The Pale Dreamer
A Bone Season Novella
Bloomsbury USA, December 6, 2016
eBook, 78 pages

In the perilous heart of Scion London, a dangerous and valuable poltergeist is on the loose - and it must be caught before chaos erupts on the streets of the capital. Here, the clairvoyant underworld plays by its own rules, and rival gangs will stop at nothing to win such a magnificent prize.

Sixteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working for Jaxon Hall, the most notorious mime-lord in the city. He thinks she is hiding a powerful gift, but it refuses to surface. Maybe this is the opportunity she needs to secure her position in his gang, the Seven Seals…

The Bone Season
The Bone Season 1
Bloomsbury USA, February 7, 2017
Trade Paperback, 560 pages
Hardcover and eBook, August 20, 2013
Trade Paperback, May, 6, 2014

The first pick of NBC's Today Book Club

Featured in New York, USA Today, and Forbes, and on CNN.com.

Enter the world of Paige Mahoney, a gifted clairvoyant, a “dreamwalker,” in the year 2059. Her natural talents are considered treasonous under the current regime. Snatched away to a secret prison, she encounters another race, the Rephaim, creatures who wish to control the powers of Paige and those like her. One in particular will be assigned as her keeper, her trainer. But his motives are mysterious. To regain her freedom, Paige must learn to trust, in the prison where she is meant to die.

The Mime Order
The Bone Season 2
Bloomsbury USA, February 7, 2017
Trade Paperback, 544 pages
Hardcover and eBook, January 27, 2015
Trade Paperback, January 26, 2016

Paige Mahoney has escaped the brutal prison camp of Sheol I, but her problems have only just begun: many of the survivors are missing and she is the most wanted person in London . . .

As Scion turns its all-seeing eye on Paige, the mime-lords and mime-queens of the city's gangs are invited to a rare meeting of the Unnatural Assembly. Jaxon Hall and his Seven Seals prepare to take center stage, but there are bitter fault lines running through the clairvoyant community and dark secrets around every corner.

Then the Rephaim begin crawling out from the shadows. Paige must keep moving, from Seven Dials to Grub Street to the secret catacombs of Camden, until the fate of the underworld can be decided.

The Song Rising
The Bone Season 3
Bloomsbury USA, March 7, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 384 pages

The magnificent new book in the New York Times-bestselling series: a fantastic tale of rebellion and courage against enormous odds.

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.

But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.

Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it . . .

The Song Rising: Collector’s Edition, Signed by the Author
The Bone Season 3
Bloomsbury USA, March 7, 2017
Hardcover, 384 pages

Following a bloody battle against foes on every side, Paige Mahoney has risen to the dangerous position of Underqueen, ruling over London's criminal population.

But, having turned her back on Jaxon Hall and with vengeful enemies still at large, the task of stabilizing the fractured underworld has never seemed so challenging.

Little does Paige know that her reign may be cut short by the introduction of Senshield, a deadly technology that spells doom for the clairvoyant community and the world as they know it . . .

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

Adrian:  I was eight. I wanted to write the longest story my English teacher had ever seen, and it was FIVE PAGES LONG! It was, shall we say, mildly influenced by Star Wars. I drew many spaceships firing many laser weapons, along with many, many explosions. But I knew then I wanted to be a writer.



TQ:  Are you a plotter, a pantser or a hybrid?

Adrian:  Hybrid, I’m probably 80/20 Plotter/Pantser. Serious plotter to start out, lots of prep, bios, background, chapter summaries etc. that give me a good structure. Then as I go, I occasionally see better decisions can be made so I steer course accordingly.



TQ:  What is the most challenging thing for you about writing?

Adrian:  Carving out the time to do it and then needing to ‘switch it on and nail it’ in those hours. Three children and a full-time job make many fascinating demands on me. Opening up the laptop on the 7am commute and trying to write great prose in that bit of ‘me’ time is always a challenge, as is writing at my desk on the weekend while cartoons are blaring… ☺



TQ:  What has influenced / influences your writing?

Adrian:  Great books and my research mainly. Great books educate me on how to tell stories and challenge me to improve my prose. My research obviously informs the stories I tell. Besides that it can be almost anything. Yesterday I watched an episode of the Danish drama ‘1864’ and they introduced a character played by the marvelous actor Søren Malling, and a reference to his backstory gave me an idea for one of my characters. It could equally be a conversation with a mate in a pub that makes me think of a moment I could write between two characters.



TQ:  You are a producer for videogames. How has that influenced (or not) your own writing?

Adrian:  It's influenced me in two ways. Working on a games team mean I’ve seen great games arise from creative collaboration. The lead designer might have responsibility for the game, and may have defined the concept, but its execution is a game of co-operation and invention. This helped a lot when getting feedback from my editors on Snakewood. I’m very comfortable taking critical feedback. The second way it’s influenced my writing has been just the challenge of managing people. This game of invention involves getting the best out of a team, helping them to feel trusted and respected, and hopefully then they feel some passion for the project at hand. It’s all human behavior; co-operation and conflict in challenging settings. Some of it has inevitably helped illuminate what might make some characters good leaders, for example. I’ve seen good and bad leadership in my career…



TQ:  Describe Snakewood in 140 characters or less.

Adrian:  Aged mercenaries of a long disbanded legendary crew race to find the survivors, and the identity of an assassin killing them off one by one.



TQ:  Tell us something about Snakewood that is not found in the book description.

Adrian:  Snakewood is told in a ‘found footage’ style, a collection of reports, interviews and journals with multiple narrators, including the assassin’s.



TQ:  What inspired you to write Snakewood? What appeals to you about writing Fantasy?

Adrian:  I’ve loved epic fantasy since I read The Hobbit at the age of ten. Then I started RPGs with some likeminded mates and it blossomed from there. I always wanted to create my own fantasy world, but the world of Snakewood evolved from my desire to have magic based around a world’s plant life, where imbibing concoctions of plant could make you almost superhuman. But, like any hard drugs, a price is paid for this power, which interested me a lot, so I was drawn to tell a story about old soldiers, damaged by these brews, having to face a threat greater than any in their prime.



TQ:  What sort of research did you do for Snakewood?

Adrian:  I remember one particular Sunday afternoon, when working out the bio for a young abandoned princess, I researched defensive knife fighting techniques and the properties of a good dairy cow. Thank you, Youtube ☺ More generally I researched many aspects of medieval military logistics and tactics, poisons and remedies, the history of trade, sailing, making moonshine, taxation and economics, alchemy, the list goes on and on, a thousand snippets of information about the things I specifically wanted characters to do or know.



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

Adrian:  They were all fairly hard because I’m an inexperienced writer! I found the character Kailen a challenge because he is meant to be a genius, a step ahead of everyone, so it was how to put across that surety and intelligence without him coming across as a bore. The plot thus precludes his actions having the foregone conclusions he expects, so that hopefully keeps him interesting. Gant was also very hard to write, mainly because I wanted to tell his story in a vernacular, as though he wrote it, complete with grammatical inconsistencies and errors. Keeping these ‘mannerisms’ consistent, but not perfectly consistent, especially while ensuring they didn’t bleed into the other narrators’ modes of expression, was a constant challenge.



TQ:  Which question about Snakewood do you wish someone would ask? Ask it and answer it!

Adrian:  “Hi, I’m from HBO, will you let us make an eight episode series of Snakewood?” “Speak to my agent. Quickly!”



TQ:  Give us one or two of your favorite non-spoilery quotes from Snakewood.

Adrian:

“Then a kiss. The lips are the raw end of your terror and love. No steel can toughen lips, they betray more than the eyes when you’re looking for intent and the kiss is for telling them there’s always some way to die.”

“As the hours went by a howling grew in my head, perhaps some infection in my ears. The water chattered as though through a chamber, the damp trees and bushes seemed to be waiting, full of a presence, an intelligence. I could not stop or control this wailing of the things that lived about me, singing their instincts, a discordant orchestration of hunger.”



TQ:  What's next?

Adrian:  I’m working out what’s next as we speak. Watch this space I guess. ☺



TQ:  Thank you for joining us at The Qwillery.

Snakewood
Orbit, March 15, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

A LIFETIME OF ENEMIES HAS ITS OWN PRICE

Mercenaries who gave no quarter, they shook the pillars of the world through cunning, chemical brews, and cold steel.

Whoever met their price won.

Now, their glory days are behind them. Scattered to the wind and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated.

One by one.

A groundbreaking debut fantasy of betrayal, mystery, and bloody revenge. 

About Adrian

Adrian studied creative writing at university before embarking on a career in video game production. He worked for several big-name studios as a producer, before settling down to more conventional work in IT project management. He is a Tolkien fanatic, and online gaming addict, and lives with his wife and family on the south coast of England.

Website  ~ Twitter @adrianlselby

Jacket photograph of woman copyright © 2016 by Jill Wachter;

Jacket stock photography copyright © 2016 by Thinkstock

Cover design by Richard L. Aquan

Cover illustration © Chris McGrath

Jacket art by Cliff Nielsen.

Jacket design by G-Force Design.

Cover photo illustration: Sean Freeman

Cover art by Sam Kenney

Jacket design by Lauren Panepinto

Jacket illustration by David Palumbo

Happy Pi Day and Happy first Monday after Daylight Savings Time starts in the majority of the United States. I'm not a fan of Daylight Savings Time. We spend more months on Daylight Savings Time than Standard Time now. Some of the reasons put forth for this are simply ridiculous and not grounded in reality. I think we should pick a time and just stick to it.  Now back to books.

There are 2 debuts this week:

Snakewood by Adrian Selby;

and

Dissension (An Echo Hunter 367 Novel) by Stacey Berg.


From formerly featured Debut Author Challenge Authors:

The Machine Awakes (Spider War 2) by  Adam Christopher is out in Trade Paperback;

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins is out in Trade Paperback;

Cursed: A Collection of Coveted Short Stories by Shawntelle Madison;

The Daedalus Incident (Daedalus 1) by Michael J. Martinez is out in Mass Market Paperback;

The Last Mortal Bond (Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne 3) by Brian Staveley;

and

Running Down A Dream (The Shattered Ones 3) by Minerva Zimmerman.

March 14, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Your Orisons May Be Recorded: A Tor.Com Original (e)	Laurie Penny	F
The Darkest Whisper (e)(ri)	Gena Showalter	PNR - Lords of the Underworld 4

March 15, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Powers: The Secret History of Deena Pilgrim	Brian Michael Bendis Neil Kleid	SH
Dissension (D)	Stacey Berg	SF/AP/PA - An Echo Hunter 367 Novel
Tomorrow War (h2tp)	J. L. Bourne	Tech/Th - Chronicles of Max 1
Progeny of Vale	Rhett C. Bruno	SF - The Circuit 2
The Machine Awakes (h2tp)	Adam Christopher	SF - Spider War 2
Dark Promises	Christine Feehan	PNR - Carpathian/Dark 29
New Blood	Matt Forbeck	SF - HALO
Smoke and Fire: Part 1 (e)	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Kings
Second Life (h2tp)	Paul Griner	LF/Th
The Phoenix Descent	Chuck Grossart	SF
The Library at Mount Char (h2tp)	Scott Hawkins	CF
Black Wings of Cthulhu (Volume 4)	S.T. Joshi (Ed)	H - Anthology
Blood Oath (e)(ri)	William W. Johnstone	H - Satan Influenced 2
Black Creek	Gregory Lamberson	H
Pieces of Hate	Tim Lebbon	HistF - The Assassins Series 1
Thirty Hours with a Corpse: and Other Tales of the Grand Guignol	Maurice Level S. T. Joshi (Ed)	H
Cursed: A Collection of Coveted Short Stories (e)	Shawntelle Madison	PNR - Coveted Collection
The Daedalus Incident (tp2mm)	Michael J. Martinez	SF - Daedalus 1
Fall of the Dragons: The Dragon's Apprentice; The Dragons of Winter; The First Dragon	James A. Owen	HistF - The Age of Dragons
The Two of Swords: Part 14 (e)	K. J. Parker	F
Robert A. Heinlein: In Dialogue with His Century: 1948-1988 The Man Who Learned Better (h2tp)	William H. Patterson	Biography
Snakewood (D)	Adrian Selby	F
The Last Mortal Bond	Brian Staveley	F - Chronicle of the Unhewn Throne 3
A Man Lies Dreaming	Lavie Tidhar	HistTh/AH
Running Down A Dream	Minerva Zimmerman	UF - The Shattered Ones 3

March 17, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Haunted Heist	Angie Fox	PM - Southern Ghost Hunter Mysteries 3
The Stealers' War (e)	Stephen Hunt	F - Far-Called 3

March 18, 2016

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Man with No Name	Laird Barron	H - A Nanashi Novella
Operation Wild Tarpan (e)	Addison Gunn	SF/PA - Extinction Biome: Invasion 2

D - Debut
e - eBook
Ed - editor
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint


AH - Alternate History
AP - Apocalyptic
CF - Contemporary Fantasy
F - Fantasy
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
HistTh - Historical Thriller
LF - Literary Fiction
PA - Post Apocalyptic
PM - Paranormal Mystery
PNR - Paranormal Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SH - Superheroes
Tech - Technological
Th - Thriller
UF - Urban Fantasy

Adrian Selby

Snakewood
Orbit, March 15, 2016
Hardcover and eBook, 432 pages

A LIFETIME OF ENEMIES HAS ITS OWN PRICE

Mercenaries who gave no quarter, they shook the pillars of the world through cunning, chemical brews, and cold steel.

Whoever met their price won.

Now, their glory days are behind them. Scattered to the wind and their genius leader in hiding, they are being hunted down and eliminated.

One by one.

A groundbreaking debut fantasy of betrayal, mystery, and bloody revenge.