The Qwillery

This is the thirty-ninth in this new series of updates about formerly featured Debut Author Challenge authors and their works published since their last update. The year in parentheses after the author's name is the year that author was featured in the Debut Author Challenge.

Part 1 here	Part 11 here	Part 21 here	Part 31 here	Part 41 here
Part 2 here	Part 12 here	Part 22 here	Part 32 here	Part 42 here
Part 3 here	Part 13 here	Part 23 here	Part 33 here	Part 43 here
Part 4 here	Part 14 here	Part 24 here	Part 34 here	Part 44 here
Part 5 here	Part 15 here	Part 25 here	Part 35 here	Part 45 here
Part 6 here	Part 16 here	Part 26 here	Part 36 here	Part 46 here
Part 7 here	Part 17 here	Part 27 here	Part 37 here	Part 47 here
Part 8 here	Part 18 here	Part 28 here	Part 38 here	Part 48 here
Part 9 here	Part 19 here	Part 29 here	Part 39 here	Part 49 here
Part 10 here	Part 20 here	Part 30 here	Part 40 here	Part 50 here

This is the thirteenth in a series of updates about formerly featured Debut Author Challenge authors and their 2015 works published since the last update and any upcoming works for 2016. The year in parentheses after the author's name is the year she/he was featured in the Debut Author Challenge.

Part 1 here	Part 11 here
Part 2 here	Part 12 here
Part 3 here
Part 4 here
Part 5 here
Part 6 here
Part 7 here
Part 8 here
Part 9 here
Part 10 here

Happy Monday.  Fall is upon us here. It's cooled down, but it's not too cold. It's time for apple picking! I hope that you pick up some terrific books this week.


I'm not going to say much about the latest kerfuffle regarding authors, reviews, bloggers, types of blogs, etc. Let me just say that The Qwillery is my blog. I will post the sorts of things that I want to post. Finally, authors are welcome to post comments at The Qwillery and engage in polite discourse. And politeness is something I expect of everyone.


This is a very full release week with many debuts. You may find a printable PDF shopping list for this week's genre releases here.






There are 7 debuts this week:

Celtic Moon (Celtic Wolves 1) by Jan DeLima;

Charming (Pax Arcana 1) by Elliott James;

The Spirit Keeper by K. B. Laugheed;

A Cold Season by Alison Littlewood (US Debut);

Harrowgate by Kate Maruyama;

Vicious by V. E. Schwab (Adult Debut);

Sleepless Knights by Mark Williams (US Debut); and

The Scroll of Years (Gaunt and Bone 1) by Chris Willrich.


And from formerly featured Debut Author Challenge Authors:

Corroded (St. Croix Chronicles 3) by Karina Cooper;

Shadow's Curse (Imnada Brotherhood 2) by Alexa Egan;

The Plague Forge (The Dire Earth Cycle 3) by Jason M. Hough;

All is Fair (Split Worlds 3) by Emma Newman; and

Prince Thief (Tales of Easie Damasco 3) by David Tallerman.



September 23, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Corroded	Karina Cooper	SP/HistF - St. Croix Chronicles 3

September 24, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Doctor Who: Cyberman Bust and Illustrated Book		SF - Doctor Who
War of the Worlds: Global Dispatches	Kevin J. Anderson (ed)	SF - Anthology
Torchwood: Another Life (h2tp)	Peter Anghelides	SF - Torchwood
Chasing the Shadows (ri)	Keri Arthur	UF - Nikki and Michael 3
Torchwood: Exodus Code	John Barrowman Carole E. Barrowman	SF - Torchwood
The Daylight War (h2mm)	Peter V. Brett	F - The Demon Cycle 3
The Incrementalists	Steven Brust Skyler White	UF
The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight (h2mm)	Jack Campbell	SF - Lost Stars 1
A Calculated Life	Anne Charnock	SF
Doctor Who: Sting of the Zygons (ri)	Stephen Cole	SF - Doctor Who
Doctor Who: The Krillitane Storm (ri)	Christopher Cooper	SF - Doctor Who
King Breaker	Rowena Cory Daniells	F - King Rolan's Kin 4
Celtic Moon (D)	Jan DeLima	UF - Celtic Wolves 1
Betrayer (tp2mm)	Aaron Dembski-Bowden	F - Warmhammer: Horus Heresy
Shadow's Curse	Alexa Egan	PHR - Imnada Brotherhood 2
Doctor Who: Hunter's Moon (h2mm)	Paul Finch	SF - Doctor Who
Autumn Whispers	Yasmine Galenorn	UF - Otherworld 14
Soul of Fire	Laura Anne Gilman	UF - Portals 2
Deep in Crimson	Sarah Gilman	PNR - Return to Sanctuary 2
Let the Dead Sleep (h2tp)	Heather Graham	Su/M - Cafferty & Quinn 1
The Night Is Forever	Heather Graham	PNR - Krewe of Hunters 11
Midnight's Temptation: Part 3	Donna Grant	PNR - Dark Warriors
Doctor Who: The Slitheen Excursion (ri)	Simon Guerrier	SF - Doctor Who
Peaches for Monsieur le Cure: A Novel	Joanne Harris	F - Chocolat Trilogy 3
The Small Hand and Dolly	Susan Hill	Gh
A Study in Silks	Emma Jane Holloway	SP/M - Baskerville Affair 1
The Plague Forge	Jason M. Hough	SF - The Dire Earth Cycle 3
Bound by Night	Larissa Ione	PNR - MoonBound Clan Vampire 1
Charming (D)	Elliott James	UF - Pax Arcana 1
Pirates of the Outrigger Rift (Kindle e serial)	Gary Jonas Bill D. Allen	SF
Carrie (ri)	Stephen King	H
Doctor Sleep	Stephen King	H - Salem's Lot 2
'Salem's Lot (ri)	Stephen King	H - Salem's Lot 1
The Spirit Keeper (D)	K. B. Laugheed	R/Mystical
The Dark Need (Kindle e)	Stant Litore Lee Goldberg Williams Rabkin	H - Dead Man 20
A Cold Season (D - US)	Alison Littlewood	H
Torchwood: Trace Memory (ri)	David Llewellyn	SF - Torchwood
The Dead Run	Adam Mansbach	UF
Harrowgate (D)	Kate Maruyama	H
Freedom's Challenge (e 1st)	Anne McCaffrey	SF - Catteni 3
Star Trek: The Fall: The Crimson Shadow	Una McCormack	SF - Star Trek
Father Gaetano's Puppet Catechism: A Novella (h2tp)	Mike Mignola Christopher Golden	H
Seven Forges	James A. Moore	F
All is Fair	Emma Newman	F - Split Worlds 3
On Midnight Wings	Adrian Phoenix	UF - Maker's Song 5
Torchwood: Into The Silence (ri)	Sarah Pinborough	SF - Torchwood
Doctor Who: Winner Takes All (ri)	Jacqueline Rayner	SF - Doctor Who
Doctor Who: The Deviant Strain (ri)	Justin Richards	SF - Doctor Who
Mirror, Mirror	J.D. Robb Mary Blayney Elaine Fox Mary Kay McComas R.C. Ryan	FT/R - Short Stories
The Hungry Dead: Midnight and Escape from the Living Dead	John Russo	H
One Lucky Vampire	Lynsay Sands	PNR - Argeneau 19
Vicious (D - Adult)	V. E. Schwab	Superheroes
Still Life with Shape-Shifter (h2mm)	Sharon Shinn	PNR - Shifting Circle 2
A SEAL Wolf Christmas	Terry Spear	PNR - Heart of the Wolf 12
Phoenix Rising (tp2mm)	Ryk E. Spoor	F
Stonecast	Anton Strout	UF - Spellmason Chronicles 2
Prince Thief	David Tallerman	F - Tales of Easie Damasco 3
Empire of the Blood: Omnibus	Gav Thorpe	F - Empire of Blood Trilogy
Hunter of Sherwood: Knight of Shadows	Tony Venables	F - Hunter of Sherwood 1
Kiss of Death	Debbie Viguie	PHR - Kiss Trilogy 3
Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion: Razor's Edge	Martha Wells	SF - Star Wares
Sleepless Knights (D - US)	Mark Williams	F
The Scroll of Years (D)	Chris Willrich	F - Gaunt and Bone 1

September 25, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
The Windsor Faction: A Novel	D. J. Taylor	AH

September 28, 2013

TITLE	AUTHOR	SERIES
Swarm	Lauren Carter	Ap
Voyage of the Fox Rider (ri)	Dennis L. McKiernan	F - Mithgar
The Mallet of Loving Correction	John Scalzi	Collection from Whatever

D - Debut
e - eBook
h2mm - Hardcover to Mass Market Paperback
h2tp - Hardcover to Trade Paperback
ri - reissue or reprint
tp2mm - Trade to Mass Market Paperback


AH - Alternate History
Ap - Apocalyptic
F - Fantasy
FT - Fairy Tale
Gh - Ghosts
H - Horror
HistF - Historical Fantasy
M - Mystery
PHR - Paranormal Historical Romance
PNR - Paranormal Romance
R - Romance
SF - Science Fiction
SP - Steampunk
UF - Urban Fantasy

What are the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Authors up to in 2013 and beyond?  This is the twelfth in a series of posts.





Anne Lyle

The Prince of Lies
Night's Masque 3
Angry Robot Books, October 29, 2013 (US/Canada)
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Elizabethan spy Mal Catlyn has everything he ever wanted – his twin brother Sandy restored to health, his family estate reclaimed and a son to inherit it – but his work is far from over. The renegade skraylings, the guisers, are still plotting – their leader, Jathekkil, has reincarnated as the young Prince Henry Tudor. But while he is still young, Mal has a slim chance of eliminating his enemies whilst they are at their weakest.

With Sandy’s help, Mal learns to harness his own magic in the fight against the guisers, but it may be too late to save England. Schemes set in motion decades ago are at last coming to fruition, and the barrier between the dreamlands and the waking world is wearing thin…

File Under: Fantasy [ Princes in the Tower | Revenger's Tragedy | Much Ado | Boys Will Be Boys ]

Megan Powell

No Love for the Wicked
Magnolia Kelch 2
47North, August 13, 2013
Trade Paperback and Kindle eBook, 268 pages

It’s taken six months, but supernaturally gifted Magnolia Kelch finally seems to have her surging powers under control. Then she arrives home to find a group of strangers in her beloved farmhouse, and that control is immediately put to the test. Magnolia quickly learns that her “guests” are actually part of the Network—not from the task force headed by her mentor, Thirteen, but a second group, led by British agent Colin St. Pierre.

Unfortunately, Theo, a Network agent who shares an intimate connection with Magnolia, doesn’t trust Colin as a new commander. When team missions collide, Magnolia finds herself in the middle of Network infighting, asking herself who among those closest to her truly has her best interests at heart.

But an even greater threat lies on the horizon. Intent on tracking down the source of Magnolia’s powers, a familiar enemy resurfaces with a plan—one that is far more sinister than the Network has ever seen.

Cecy Robson

A Cursed Moon
A Weird Girls eNovella
Signet, December 3, 2013
eNovella

Bren is a cocky, brash hound of a werewolf who loathes the idea of belonging to Aric’s pack—much less finding a mate. But Bren’s hotheaded behavior lands him in the doghouse when he defies Aric’s authority in front of his pack, bringing up a sore subject that’s bound to make the Alpha wolf’s blood boil…

Luckily for him, no one can stay mad at Bren and his wild charm for long. And when some frightening ghosts launch a hostile paranormal takeover, Bren will team up with Celia Wird to take down the evil ghouls before they hurt someone they both love…

Includes a preview of the upcoming Weird Girls novel Cursed by Destiny!

Cursed by Destiny
Weird Girls 3
Signet, January 7, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

Celia Wird and her three sisters are just like other 20-something girls—with one tiny exception: they're products of a backfired curse that has given each of them unique powers that make them, well, weird…

Celia’s a girl in trouble. Her heart is bound to Aric, but he is a pureblood were who must deny her or risk condemning his species to extinction. And that’s just her love life. She’s also been called to take down a group of demon terrorists looking to overthrow the paranormal world. (No pressure.)

In order to bring them down, Celia must ally herself to Misha, the master vampire who has made no secret of his desire for her.

And if that weren’t enough misfortune for one girl, a clairvoyant’s prediction could destroy Celia and Aric’s love for good. The only way to protect the world from unbridled supernatural terrorism is for Celia to bind herself to her destined mate. And that doesn’t appear to be Aric…

Simone St. James

Silence for the Dead
NAL Trade, April 1, 2014
Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

“Portis House emerged from the fog as we approached, showing itself slowly as a long, low shadow....”

In 1919, Kitty Weekes, pretty, resourceful, and on the run, falsifies her background to obtain a nursing position at Portis House, a remote hospital for soldiers left shell-shocked by the horrors of the Great War. Hiding the shame of their mental instability in what was once a magnificent private estate, the patients suffer from nervous attacks and tormenting dreams. But something more is going on at Portis House—its plaster is crumbling, its plumbing makes eerie noises, and strange breaths of cold waft through the empty rooms. It’s known that the former occupants left abruptly, but where did they go? And why do the patients all seem to share the same nightmare, one so horrific that they dare not speak of it?

Kitty finds a dangerous ally in Jack Yates, an inmate who may be a war hero, a madman… or maybe both. But even as Kitty and Jack create a secret, intimate alliance to uncover the truth, disturbing revelations suggest the presence of powerful spectral forces. And when a medical catastrophe leaves them even more isolated, they must battle the menace on their own, caught in the heart of a mystery that could destroy them both.

Joan Swan

Shatter
Phoenix Rising 4
Kensington Brava, December 31, 2013
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

For seven years, Halina Beloi has been in hiding. But she's never forgotten Mitch Foster, the long, lean man she had to leave behind. Until, that is, Mitch shows up with a list of questions and a 9mm in his hand.

All Mitch knows is that Halina broke his heart and disappeared. But new information has surfaced implicating her as a player in the deadliest game of Mitch's life. This time, he's not letting go without answers. Now terror, danger and heat will fuse them together or shatter the future. . .

David Tallerman

Prince Thief
Tales of Easie Damasco 3
Angry Robot, September 24, 2013 (US/Canada) and eBook
Mass Market Paperback and eBook

Altapasaeda, capital of the Castoval, is under siege by its own King.

Far to the north, rebels have set a bastard prince up as a figurehead.

Yet again, Easie Damasco finds himself roped into a desperate scheme to preserve the Castoval, And kidnapping the Prince seemed like such a good idea at the time…

Michael R. Underwood

Celebromancy
Ree Reyes 2
Pocket Star, July 15, 2013
eBook, 400 pages

Fame has a magic all its own in the no-gossip-barred follow-up to Geekomancy. Ree Reyes gets her big screenwriting break, only to discover just how broken Hollywood actually is.

Things are looking up for urban fantasista Ree Reyes. She’s using her love of pop culture to fight monsters and protect her hometown as a Geekomancer, and now a real-live production company is shooting her television pilot script.

But nothing is easy in show business. When an invisible figure attacks the leading lady of the show, former child-star-turned-current-hot-mess Jane Konrad, Ree begins a school-of-hard-knocks education in the power of Celebromancy.

Attempting to help Jane Geekomancy-style with Jedi mind tricks and X-Men infiltration techniques, Ree learns more about movie magic than she ever intended. She also learns that real life has the craziest plots: not only must she lift a Hollywood-strength curse, but she needs to save her pilot, negotiate a bizarre love rhombus, and fight monsters straight out of the silver screen. All this without anyone getting killed or, worse, banished to the D-List.

On The Qwillery's radar:

Shanghai Sparrow by Gaie Sebold out in April 2014

and

Cateveiro (The Osiris Project 2) by E.J. Swift out later this year.

I'm thrilled to share the covers for two of Angry Robot Book's Fall 2013 titles: All is Fair by Emma Newman and Prince Thief by David Tallerman. 




All is Fair
Author:  Emma Newman
Series:  The Split Worlds 3
Publisher:  Angry Robot, September 24, 2013 (US/Canada) and eBook
       October 3, 2013 (UK)
Format:  Trade Paperback and eBook
Cover:  Sarah J Coleman, CIA

In love and war nothing is safe.

William Iris struggles to keep the throne of Londinium whilst hated by his own court and beset by outsiders, while Cathy discovers the legacy of her former governess. But those who dare to speak out about Society are always silenced. Sometimes for good.

While trying to avoid further torments from the mercurial fae, Sam finds himself getting tangled in the affairs of the Elemental Court. But an unexpected offer from the powerful and enigmatic Lord Iron turns out to be far more than Sam bargained for.

Max and the gargoyle are getting closer to uncovering who is behind the murder of the Bath Chapter and the corruption in London and Max finds the gargoyle’s controversial ideas harder to ignore. Can he stay true to his sworn duty without being destroyed by his own master, whose insanity threatens to unravel them all?

File Under: Fantasy [ Grotesquerie | The Throne of London | Elementary, My Dear | Among Many Thorns ]

Prince Thief
Author: David Tallerman
Series:  Tales of Easie Damasco 3
Publisher:  Angry Robot, September 24, 2013 (US/Canada) and eBook
       October 3, 2013 (UK)
Format:  Mass Market Paperback and eBook
Cover:  Angelo Rinaldi, Artist Partners

Altapasaeda, capital of the Castoval, is under siege by its own King.

Far to the north, rebels have set a bastard prince up as a figurehead.

Yet again, Easie Damasco finds himself roped into a desperate scheme to preserve the Castoval, And kidnapping the Prince seemed like such a good idea at the time…

What are the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Authors up to now and in 2013?  This is the fourth is a series of posts.






Simone St. James

An Inquiry into Love and Death
NAL Trade, March 5, 2013
Trade Paperback and eBook, 368 pages

In 1920's England, a young woman searches for the truth behind her uncle’s mysterious death in a town haunted by a restless ghost…

Oxford student Jillian Leigh works day and night to keep up with her studies—so to leave at the beginning of the term is next to impossible. But after her uncle Toby, a renowned ghost hunter, is killed in a fall off a cliff, she must drive to the seaside village of Rothewell to pack up his belongings.

Almost immediately, unsettling incidents—a book left in a cold stove, a gate swinging open on its own—escalate into terrifying events that convince Jillian an angry spirit is trying to enter the house. Is it Walking John, the two-hundred-year-old ghost who haunts Blood Moon Bay? And who beside the ghost is roaming the local woods at night? If Toby uncovered something sinister, was his death no accident?

The arrival of handsome Scotland Yard inspector Drew Merriken, a former RAF pilot with mysteries of his own, leaves Jillian with more questions than answers—and with the added complication of a powerful, mutual attraction. Even as she suspects someone will do anything to hide the truth, she begins to discover spine-chilling secrets that lie deep within Rothewell…and at the very heart of who she is.

Elisabeth Staab

Prince of Power
Chronicles of Yavn 2
Sourcebooks, January 8, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

The second installment of Elisabeth Staab's paranormal romance series follows Tyra, a vampire soldier who is nearly killed on the battlefield while fighting the vicious wizard clan. When she awakes from her injuries, she discovers that the man who saved her life is none other than the Master Wizard's son, Anton. They are inexplicably drawn to each other, but Tyra knows this mysterious wizard is hiding a violent secret. She is unsure of whom to trust, who to believe, and where she belongs. Is Anton really in love with Tyra and out for revenge on his father? Or is he only pretending to love her so that he can kill her and steal her powers?

Jillian Stone

The Moonstone and Miss Jones
Phaeton Black, Paranormal Investigator 2
Brava, September 25, 2012
Trade Paperback and eBook, 320 pages

A master of paranormal deduction—and paramour seduction—Phaeton Black has a knack for bumping into things that go bump in the night, from ghoulies and ghosties to long-leggedy beauties…

Mooning For The Moonstone

Barely escaping the clutches of a succulent succubus, Phaeton Balck returns to London only to get sucked into another unearthly scheme. Professor Lovecraft has been tinkering with the secrets of life and death, replacing body parts with the latest mechanical marvels. To succeed, he needs to tap the power of the fabled Moonstone—and he needs Phaeton’s help. Of course, Phaeton would prefer to investigate the more interesting body parts of Miss America Jones. Perhaps, bringing his lady friend along for the ride won’t be to too much trouble…

Shanghaied In Shanghai

The bewilderingly beautiful and bountifully gifted daughter of a Cajun witch, Miss Jones is always up for an adventure, especially with Mr. Black as her traveling companion. But when Phaeton is mysteriously shanghaied in Shanghai, America thinks he’s run out on her. Stranded in the Orient—and steaming mad—she’s prepared to look under every stone for the missing detective. The case has put them both in the most compromising positions, but this time, Miss Jones is on top and Mr. Black is at the bottom…of a truly infernal plot.

Joan Swan

Blaze
Phoenix Rising 2
Brava, Deptember 25, 2012
Trade Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

With a man like him, every mission becomes personal…

Ever since FBI agent Keira O’Shay started tracking a young boy named Mateo, she’s felt a connection even her empathic abilities can’t explain. She needs to save Mateo from the cult leader holding him hostage. Nothing can interfere with that—not even the reappearance of Luke Ransom, the hot-as-hell fire captain she’s regretted walking out on for three long years.

Losing Keira left Luke vulnerable—in every way. When they were together, the powers each possesses were mysteriously enhanced. But it’s the sexy, surprising woman beneath the tough exterior that Luke’s really missed. Even if she betrayed him utterly. And even if agreeing to help her uncover a government conspiracy means watching his life and his heart go up in flames again…

David Tallerman

Crown Thief
Tales of Easie Damasco 2
Angry Robot. September 25, 2012 (US/Canada)
October 4, 2012 (UK)
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 416 pages

From the Tales of Easie Damasco…

Meet Easie Damasco: Thief, swindler and lately, reluctant hero.

But whatever good intentions Damasco may have are about to be tested to their limits, as the most valuable – and dangerous – object in the land comes within his light-fingered grasp.

Add in some suicidally stubborn giants, an old enemy with dreams of empire and the deadliest killers in two kingdoms on his heels, and Damasco’s chances of staying honest – or even just surviving – are getting slimmer by the hour.

File Under: Fantasy [ Run Easie Run | A Big Help | Not again! | Prince of Thieves ]

James R. Tuck

Spider's Lullaby
Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter Novella
Kensington, June 26, 2012
eBook, 79 pages

He lives to kill monsters. He keeps his city safe. And his silver hollow-points and back-from-the-dead abilities take out any kind of unnatural threat. But between this bad-ass bounty hunter and rescuing the most helpless of victims stands the one evil he can’t defeat…

For Deacon Chalk, loyalty is worth dying for. And now that something has taken were-spider Charlotte’s un-hatched children and one of his closest friends, he’ll tear up the human and supernatural underworlds to find them. But with his allies stripped away by an invincible Yakuza hit man and time running out, Deacon must face down the most ancient of demonic entities. And his last hope means surrendering to the inner darkness waiting hungrily to consume him …

Blood and Silver
Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter 2
Kensington, August 7, 2012
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

He hasn’t met a monster yet that could give him a scare. With ice in his veins, silver hollow-points in his chambers, and an innate ability to rise from the dead, what’s to fear? The answer may be something he doesn’t want to face…

Deacon Chalk normally has no trouble telling innocent victims from real monsters. So protecting an abused pregnant were-dog is a no-brainer…until a vicious lycanthrope leader and his brotherhood target Deacon, other shape-shifters, and any humans in their way. Suddenly, Deacon is outnumbered, outgunned, and unsure who—or what—to trust. The only edge he has left is a weapon hungry for his soul and his most savage impulses. And using it will exact a price even this hell-raising hunter fears to pay…

Blood and Magick
Deacon Chalk, Occult Bounty Hunter 3
Kensington, March 5, 2013
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 352 pages

Taking out hellish creatures—not a problem. Armed with blessed silver hollow-points and the ability to manipulate magick, he’s ready for anything—except betrayal he never saw coming…

Deacon Chalk knows the biggest danger in fighting monsters is becoming one. Just another day at the office for your friendly neighborhood occult bounty hunter. If keeping three helpless were-dog children safe means battling a malevolent trio of witches by any means necessary, so be it. If that means partnering with a ruthless government agent to stay one step ahead of the allies and friends he must now suspect, he’s not going to cry about it. The only way Deacon can save humans and shape-shifters alike is to embrace a power beyond his imagining, putting his team at stake—and his soul on the line…

Royal Street (Sentinels of New Orleans 1) by Suzanne Johnson (signed) - Ended February 22, 2012 - Read the Guest Blog here.


Question:  Have you read a book set around a natural disaster, or what’s your favorite book set in New Orleans?

Tanya1224 who said...

I have not read any books yet set around a natural disaster but I have read a few that take place in New Orleans. In The Night Huntress series by Jeaniene Frost cat and Bones are there a lot. I went there to visit and loved the place. I was very sad when Katrina hit...I know that had to have been awful. Thank you for the contest.




Sentinel's Heart or Red's Wolf by PJ Schnyder (ecopy/winner's choice) - Ended February 24, 2012 - Read the interview here.


Question:  Which genres or subgenres (for novels/novellas/short stories) do you like to read?

ML who said...

My favorite genre is paranormal romance. I'm also a fan of urban fantasy and historical romance. Recently I've discovered steampunk and found that I enjoy that as well. I enjoy sticking with favorite genres and branching out and reading new things as well.




Giant Thief (Tales of Easie Damasco 1) by David Tallerman - Ended February 26, 2012 - Read the guest blog here.


Question:  What is you favorite fantasy movie?

Tim who said...

I love this story, especially the after note about walking into a room and Labyrinth is playing on the TV.

The question is an easy one for me to answer, except it's not a single movie. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are my favorite fantasy movies. Peter Jackson brought these amazing books to life without making too many drastic changes and the result is magic.




The Last Night (The Burning Earth 1) by Nico Rosso (ecopy) - Ended February 27, 2012 - Read the Guest Blog here.


Question:  Who is your favorite motorcycle riding hero?

icha who said...

christian bale in batman dark night..and jack pallas from a something about you (julie james)




Fever (Phoenix Rising 1) by Joan Swan - Ended February 28, 2012 - Read the interview here. US/CANADA ONLY.


Question:  Who is your favorite bad boy from novels, film, TV?

BookAttict who said...

The list of my fave bad boys is long! (Yep, I got a "thing" for bad boys!) Aside from the "usual suspects" Malkolm from Blood Rights by Kristen Painter (House of Comarre series) and Nightshade from Michelle Sagara's Chronicles of Elantra series are definitely on my short list though!

The original winner, Barbara, had already won a copy of Fever and a new winner was chosen.




Tempted by Blood (Sweetblood 3) by Laurie London (signed) - Ended February 29, 2012 - Read the Guest Blog here.


Question: Do you have a favorite TV show, movie, website, etc that deals with
paranormal phenomena?

Barb P who said...

Hi Laurie! I guess that I'm showing my age, but one of my favs was Dark Shadows! I have all of the episodes on DVD. I can't wait for the new movie (Johnny Depp YUUUMMM!). I also love shows like Grimm, Supernatural etc. Love your books and congrats on the new release!




White Horse by Alex Adams (3 Advanced Reader Copies) - Ended March 2, 2012 - Read the Guest Post here.

ARC Cover is slightly different!

Question: What is/are your favorite apocalyptic movie(s), comics or novel(s)?

1. erin who said...

OMG... this book sounds awesome!!! Immediately added to my new release wishlist! But I like the UK cover much, much better. The US version is very misleading...

I love post-apocalyptic books and movies. And if they have zombies and mutants etc. so much the better! My fav so far as been: movies - any Resident Evil and Book of Eli, TV - Walking Dead, and books - The Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant and The Passage by Justin Cronin.

Thanks for the great post and giveaway!


2. Vivien who said...

I absolutely LOVE Mira Grant. Life as We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer is a great one.


3. Spaz who said...

Great post and I love the book summary. This is going on my wishlist whether or not I win the giveaway.

Favorite post-apocalyptic stuff... lately I really liked the setting of The Passage by Justin Cronin though I felt the book dragged quite a bit. I look forward to The Twelve.

But all-time? It's Stephen King, but no, it's not The Stand. It's the Dark Tower books. While the Dark Tower didn't have some singular causal event, the world (multiverse) is clearly falling to pieces.




The winners have been notified and have until 11:59PM on Saturday, March 10, 2012 to respond or The Qwillery will very randomly choose a new winner.

Thank you!

Please welcome David Tallerman to The Qwillery as part of the 2012 Debut Author Challenge Guest Blogs. David's debut, Giant Thief, was published on January 31, 2012 US/Canada.



     One lesson I learned during the writing of my first novel Giant Thief is that you don't always realise your own influences.

     Whatever I was consciously considering, as random as some of the elements I deliberately threw in were, I don't remember thinking much about the movie Labyrinth. Not that it would have been so strange if I had, since it's one of my favourite fantasy films of all time. I'd cheerfully describe it as a masterpiece, and probably will before this post is out. But the gritty yet humorous Crime / Fantasy adventure I had in my head was a thousand worlds away from Jim Henson's delirious, often silly, always brilliant Muppet-featuring masterpiece.

     (Well that didn't take long.)

     Although ... truth be told and now that I think about it, one small similarity did occur to me fairly early on. When I was trying to visualise my protagonist Easie Damasco riding on the shoulder of Saltlick, the giant he'd just absconded with, where could my mind go but to Sir Didymus? Because let's face it, the sight of an insane fox creature mounted on a cowardly Old English Sheepdog takes all the biscuits when it comes to images of things riding on other things.

     As major, conscious influences went, though, it was only when I started trying to come up with concept images for the cover that the first major similarity hit me. How best to describe Saltlick? He wasn't your typical, monstrous giant. In character and appearance both, I had something quite different in mind. Not quite so tall but broader, considerably nicer, a creature of few words but more than capable of picking the right ones at the right time, kind of like ... well ... a lot like a shaved version of Labyrinth's good-hearted monster Ludo.

     That was it, though - as far as conscious influences went. But realising those two was enough to set my mind ticking for unconscious ones. Had a little bit of Labyrinth's Sarah fed into my tough, well-intentioned but sometimes perhaps a little self-deluding heroine Marina Estrada? Was the reason I was determined to have some humour in the mix a hangover from reading too many Terry Pratchett books, or did it perhaps have more to do with the way Labyrinth (and for that matter other classic fantasy films of the time) undercut their more serious themes with heavy doses of comedy?

     Then there's Easie Damasco himself.

     At time of writing, Damasco has already been compared with Shakespeare's Autolycus (by Adrian Tchaikovsky) and Jack Sparrow (by SFX magazine), not to mention my friend Bill Brennan describing him bizarrely as "a cheerful Raskolnikov." But no one has as yet pointed out how much he has in common with Labyrinth's treacherous, stature-deprived, morally see-sawing hero / villain Hoggle.

     So I'll do it myself. Because both have a magpie's interest for gewgaws, which often gets the better of their interest in people. Both are almost blinded by their cynicism and their sure belief that everyone is just as self-interested as they are. Both have a conscience, but also a staggering capacity to ignore it. And, however minor or tenuous some of these influences may have been, I've no doubt that Hoggle's relationship with Sarah fed into Damasco's with Saltlick. Labyrinth toys mercilessly with our instinct to like Hoggle despite his multitudinous flaws, and our urge to trust him just as Sarah wants to trust him. Even as he lets her down, we want to believe the next time will be different. So it goes with Damasco and Saltlick. Damasco is a charming but outrageously flawed individual, and he's the only hope Saltlick has of ever returning home - if he can just stop behaving like a weasel for long enough.

     Anyway, my point here isn't that I've written a colossal rip-off of Labyrinth. I'm hopeful I haven't written a colossal rip-off of anything! No, my point is that a) Labyrinth is a brilliant movie, and a fantasy classic that maybe doesn't always get the credit it deserves and b) like I said at the start, you don't always know your own influences - and discovering them can come as quite a shock.

     However, in the interests of not looking like a big plagiarist, here are some of Labyrinth's vital ingredients that definitely don't appear even slightly in Giant Thief:

     There are no muppets. At no point does David Bowie appear, with or without padded underwear. There are neither goblins nor babies. Nobody sings or narrowly avoids a dunking in the Bog of Eternal Stench. At no point does anyone remove anyone else's head.

     Actually ... no, wait...

     Damn it!


Afternote:

     I wrote most of this piece on the train to Prestatyn, heading for the SFX 2012 Weekender.

     I'd barely arrived and hooked up with my roommate-to-be Lavie Tidhar when I ran into the Angry Robot team who, along with a couple of old friends, were drinking in a quiet corner of a large room being used as a combination cinema / bar. And barely had Angry Robot co-editor Lee Harris popped the cork on the champagne he'd smuggled in to celebrate Lavie and mine's book launches, but what should start playing on the screen?

     Yeah, that would be Labyrinth.

     Sometimes, life is very strange.


About Giant Thief

Tales of Easie Damasco 1
Angry Robot Books
January 31, 2012 US/Canada, February 2, 2012 UK/RoW
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 400 pages

Meet Easie Damasco, rogue, thieving swine and total charmer.

Even the wicked can’t rest when a vicious warlord and the force of enslaved giants he commands invade their homeland. Damasco might get away in one piece, but he’s going to need help.

Big time.

File Under: Fantasy [ Big Trouble | Deception | Saltlick's City | Hang 'im High ]

About David
From David's website

David Tallerman is the author of around a hundred short stories, as well as comic scripts and poems, countless reviews and articles and at least two novels. Many of these are already available in print, online and in podcast. Others are due to appear over the next few months - including the first of those novels, Giant Thief, to be published through Angry Robot in early 2012 with two sequels following close on its heels.

Not liking to be pinned down, David's work ranges from gruesome horror to comic fantasy, from political science-fiction to tales about mechanically assisted grizzly bears battling Nazi dolphins on the moon.

He's been writing off and on since he was about six, drawing comparisons to Enid Blyton in those early days, but thankfully less so recently. And he's been writing pretty much flat out since around 2005, having realised he enjoys it a lot more than any of the other jobs he's tried his hand at.

Most of his remaining time is eaten up by his regular employment as an itinerant IT Technician, and whatever's left he spends reading books, watching films, hiking, drinking wine and failing miserably to grow bonsai trees.

The photograph was taken near Robin Hood's Bay, which is somewhere behind the camera- person. There are some seals basking off to the left. If you've never seen a seal up close then you should really try to, they're awesomely weird looking creatures.

David's Links:

Website
Blog
Twitter


The Giveaway

THE RULES

What:  One commenter will win a copy of Giant Thief (Tales of Easie Damasco 1) from The Qwillery.

How:  Leave a comment answering the following question:


Please remember - if you don't answer the question your entry will not be counted.

You may receive additional entries by:

1)   Being a Follower of The Qwillery.

2)   Mentioning the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter. Even if you mention the giveaway on both, you will get only one additional entry. You get only one additional entry even if you mention the giveaway on Facebook and/or Twitter multiple times.

3)   Mentioning the giveaway on your on blog or website. It must be your own blog or website; not a website that belongs to someone else or a site where giveaways, contests, etc. are posted.

There are a total of 4 entries you may receive: Comment (1 entry), Follower (+1 entry), Facebook and/or Twitter (+ 1 entry), and personal blog/website mention (+1 entry). This is subject to change again in the future for future giveaways.

Please leave links for Facebook, Twitter, or blog/website mentions. In addition YOU MUST leave a way to contact you.

Who and When:  The contest is open to all humans on the planet earth with a mailing address. Contest ends at 11:59pm US Eastern Time on Sunday, February 26, 2012. Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 years old or older to enter.