Murder at McMurdo, my Antarctic mystery novel, is out now!

Hello again!
I just released my latest book after a long hiatus. It's a bit of a departure from my usual fantasy novels. Murder at McMurdo is a mystery set at the McMurdo Research Station in Antarctica. It's on Kindle Select so if you're a member, you can read it for free. Otherwise it's only $2.99. Below is the blurb.

Mark Collins came to McMurdo Antarctic Research Station to study ice cores, cut down on drinking, and patch up his marriage.
He’s failed. His equipment arrives broken and he’s having an affair with Svetlana, a co-worker who drinks as much as he does. When Mark and Svetlana witness a murder and the wrong man gets blamed, they must solve the crime for themselves or be forced to reveal their affair in order to prove the man’s innocence. The only clue is an Alcoholics Anonymous token. Mark must infiltrate the station’s AA group, where he faces not only danger from the murderer, but some hard truths about his own addictions.

(So yeah, a 12 step cozy mystery in Antarctica, I'd say that's a departure for me!)

Guest Blogging About Fantasy Fiction Over At Sean Mclachlan's Blog

I'm guest blogging over at Sean McLachlan's blog today about Using Real Cultures in Fantasy Fiction. Hop on over and check out that post, and also the rest of his blog, which focuses on writing, the Civil War, Wild West, and travel.

No Medieval Mondays today, but I'll be back on Wednesday with a post for the Norse Gods blogfest. See you then!

The Maze of Mist out now!!!

Well, it's finally here. The Maze of Mist, my latest fantasy novel, is for sale in the Kindle store! For the first month I've priced it at only $3.99, and it's free for Prime members.

Here's the blurb:

When the heir to the throne is treated as an outcast, he has to prove himself before he can rule.

Prince Metis Itxaron is the son of a human father and a goblin mother. As heir to the Twin Thrones, he will some day bear the responsibility of ruling two peoples while protecting the kingdom from the vicious armies of the Bandit Queen and the Elves of the Great Forest.

Instead he spends his time getting drunk and sleeping with the few women willing to look beyond his mixed heritage.

In a desperate attempt to make a man out of him, his parents send him on a secret diplomatic mission to prepare for an upcoming war. What they don't expect is that he will come upon visitors from an unknown land beyond the Sea of Mist, a strange labyrinth of fog that has baffled navigators for all of recorded history.

Metis sees a visit to these new lands as an opportunity to escape his responsibilities and prove himself on his own terms.

Then he discovers that representatives from his kingdom's enemies are coming along for the voyage. . .

This is the second book in the Chronicles of the House of Itxaron series. The first volume is Roots Run Deep. While set in the same world, each title is a standalone novel.

Thanks for everyone who helped me on the cover and blurb. Much appreciated!

Seeking input on my cover and blurb

Hey folks! I'm preparing to release my next book, The Maze of Mist, which is part of the Chronicles of the House of Itxaron series. It's set in the same world as my novel Roots Run Deep but it's not a sequel. Both are standalone books.

Anyway, I've whipped this up on Kindle's Cover Creator. I'm not 100% satisfied with it so I could use some input. Too gray? What other colors could I use that go with the picture? I'm new to the cover design game.

Also, here's a draft of the blurb. Any input will be highly appreciated!

When the heir to the throne is treated as an outcast, he has to prove himself before he can rule.

Prince Metis Itxaron is the son of human father and a goblin mother. As heir to the Twin Thrones, he will some day bear the responsibility of ruling two peoples while protecting the kingdom from the vicious armies of the Bandit Queen and the Elves of the Great Forest.

Instead he spends his time getting drunk and sleeping with the few women willing to look beyond his mixed heritage.

In a desperate attempt to make a man out of him, his parents send him on a secret diplomatic mission to prepare for an upcoming war. What they don't expect is that he will come upon visitors from an unknown land beyond the Sea of Mist, a strange labrynthe of fog that has baffled navigators for all of recorded history. Metis sees a visit to these new lands as an opportunity to escape his responsibilities and prove himself on his own terms.

Then he discovers that representatives from his kingdom's enemies are coming along for the voyage. . .

Coming in July: The Maze of Mist!

Last month I finished my latest fantasy novel, The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. The action takes place twenty years later and follows the adventures of Metis Itxaron, son of the human King Roderick and goblin Queen Kip, as he discovers an unknown continent and struggles with accepting his mixed heritage.

I've been busy with edits and beta reads for several weeks now. The book should be ready to go up on Kindle, Smashwords, etc, in late July. I'm still looking for cover art, though. If anyone out there knows of a good Creative Commons or inexpensive image of an old-style sailing ship sailing through the mist, please mention it here.

This sequel is a standalone novel and you don't have to read the first book to understand the second, although I certainly won't complain if you do! I like loosely knit series like that.

A new historical fantasy novel

Historical fantasy author Sean McLachlan has come out with his latest novel. Called The Quintessence of Absence, it's out now on Amazon, Amazon UK, and Smashwords. The blurb goes:

Can a drug-addicted sorcerer sober up long enough to save a kidnapped girl and his own Duchy?

In an alternate 18th century Germany where magic is real and paganism never died, Lothar is in the bonds of nepenthe, a powerful drug that gives him ecstatic visions. It has also taken his job, his friends, and his self-respect. Now his old employer has rehired Lothar to find the man's daughter, who is in the grip of her own addiction to nepenthe.

As Lothar digs deeper into the girl's disappearance, he uncovers a plot that threatens the entire Duchy of Anhalt, and finds the only way to stop it is to face his own weakness.


Congratulations, Sean!

A nice review of Down in the Dungeon

Checking out my Amazon rankings yesterday I discovered a new review of my roleplaying-game-inspired short story collection Down in the Dungeon. Reader Jack Badelaire had this to say:

"Although this anthology isn't as straight-from-the-gaming-table as I'd first imagined it would be, that's actually a good thing. These are stories inspired by gaming, but not direct copies of gaming sessions, as so many stories of this type often appear to be. The author has done a great job of giving me that nostalgic feeling while at the same time, nothing that strikes me as "only there because D&D mechanics require it". If you're an old-time gamer like myself, give this a try."

He gave it five stars! Awesome!!!

Sale on some great historical dark fantasy

My friend and fellow archaeologist Sean McLachlan has cut the prices of his ebooks until the end of August. Yesterday he turned 43 years young and this is his way of celebrating, sort of like a Hobbit birthday where the guests get the presents.

Sean specializes in dark historical fantasy. His Civil War novel A Fine Likeness has been getting great reviews and is now $2.99 instead of $5.99. His short story collection The Night the Nazis Came to Dinner and other dark tales is reduced from $2.99 to $.99. Now's the time to pick up these books, and don't forget the sale that's on from yours truly!

A quick question to my fellow writers out there. I'm considering getting a Goodreads Author account. Is it worth it?

My next fantasy novel coming soon!

Here's the cover for At the Gates, the next in the Timeless Empire series. It picks up where Hard Winter leaves off and continues Recorro's quest to learn his past while struggling with the dangers of the present. Below is a blurb. I'd love to get some feedback on this blurb before I upload it late this week or early next, so please tell me what you think in the comments section!

In the thirtieth year of my life, I found myself a soldier in two armies about to go to war with each other, and already at war with a third.

We marched across an endless plain, we soldiers of the Baron, loyal human subjects of the Dragonkin and their Timeless Empire. Loyal, I say, but only in name. For within that great army intent on crushing the rebellious cities of Haadsted and Ryksierde marched another army, a secret army, the army to which I owed my true loyalty.

Guest blogging about military fantasy

I'm guest blogging about military fantasy over at Sean McLachlan's Civil War Horror blog. And of course I'm mentioning my new fantasy novel Hard Winter! It's already had two sales in the first 12 hours it's been available! Now if I can only keep up that momentum. . .

Cover and blurb of my upcoming fantasy novel

I just received the cover art for my next fantasy novel from my designer, the talented Jack Wallen of Adorkable Designs. Hard Winter is Book One of the Timeless Empire series.

I've been working on the blurb and will upload the book to Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in a few days. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your opinion of the blurb, which is still a work in progress.

Look for book two of the series, At the Gates, in six weeks!

Here's the blurb for Hard Winter:

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin, magical beings that are half human and half dragon, have ruled the human race for centuries through cruel caprice, but now their authority is being challenged. The eastern territories have broken away, and a grain blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. He is Recorro, a human scribe whose wife has been taken by the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets during moonless nights. No-one knows where the Gatherers come from, or what happens to the people they take, but those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.

Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. His unit is a motley band of desperate commoners, including Granja, a dispossessed farmer, and Ignazio, a holy man in a world that has more faith in magic than the gods. Their unofficial leader is Silone, a charming trickster who turns out to be a member of the Syndicate, an anarchic secret society that has infiltrated the army in order to overthrow the ruling class. Silone lost a son to the Gatherers and presents Recorro with convincing evidence that the Dragonkin are behind the disappearances.

Recorro’s best friend in the unit is Labertino, an aspiring mage who was kicked out of school for lack of talent. Early in the campaign he saves Recorro’s life, which makes Recorro feel protective of the weak and bookish youth. Soon Silone and Labertino come into conflict as the former student shows his loyalty to the Dragonkin and tries to keep Recorro from joining the Syndicate’s revolution.

Fighting against disease, starvation, the rebels, and their own differences, the unit tries to stay alive while everyone around them begins to take sides.

Busy working on three different fantasy fiction projects

As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm preparing two more fantasy novels for publication. Hard Winter and At the Gates, books one and two of the Timeless Empire series, are edited and ready. The covers are being designed at the moment. The artist is incorporating some medieval art into the covers that really sets the mood. Both books will be released in June.

I'm still chugging away on The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep and the second book in the House of Itxaron trilogy. It will be out in late 2012. Each book in the trilogy is a standalone novel but can also be read as a series.

My third project involves fellow archaeologist and blogging buddy Sean McLachlan. We're working together on a collection of short stories tentatively titled The Witch Bottle and Other Tales of Black Magic. That will be out sometime this year but I can't be more precise than that. We both have busy schedules!

Upcoming fantasy releases

It's been some time since I've given you an update on my writing. I'm hard at work on The Maze of Mist, a sequel to Roots Run Deep and the second book in the House of Itxaron trilogy. While all three books in the trilogy will be standalone novels, The Maze of Mist continues the tale of the House of Itxaron into the next generation. It will be released in the autumn of 2012.

You won't have to wait until then to read more of my work, though! I'm publishing the first two books of another fantasy series, the Timeless Empire series, within the next month. More news once I have it! The first two books are titled Hard Winter and At the Gates. Book number three, tentatively titled Occupation, will come out two months later. Here's a teaser:

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin, magical beings that are half human and half dragon, have ruled the human race for centuries through cruel caprice, but now their authority is being challenged. The eastern territories have broken away, and a grain blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. He is Recorro, a human scribe whose wife has been taken by the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets during moonless nights. No-one knows where the Gatherers come from, or what happens to the people they take, but those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.

Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. His unit is a motley band of desperate commoners, including Granja, a dispossessed farmer, and Ignazio, a holy man in a world that has more faith in magic than the gods. Their unofficial leader is Silone, a charming trickster who turns out to be a member of the Syndicate, an anarchic secret society that has infiltrated the army in order to overthrow the ruling class. Silone lost a son to the Gatherers and presents Recorro with convincing evidence that the Dragonkin are behind the disappearances.

Recorro’s best friend in the unit is Labertino, an aspiring mage who was kicked out of school for lack of talent. Early in the campaign he saves Recorro’s life, which makes Recorro feel protective of the weak and bookish youth. Soon Silone and Labertino come into conflict as the former student shows his loyalty to the Dragonkin and tries to keep Recorro from joining the Syndicate’s revolution.

Fighting against disease, starvation, the rebels, and their own differences, the unit tries to stay alive while everyone around them begins to take sides.