ASSASSINS’ DAWN, from Stephen Leigh

Tomorrow, May 7, my good friend Stephen Leigh is coming out with a new book.  All right, actually he is coming out with an old book, but chances are it’s new to you.  Stephen has been writing professionally since 1975 — I think he sold his first story when he was, like eight years old.  And he has been producing thoughtful, elegant fiction ever since.

In 1981, he published the first book of his ‘Neweden’ Trilogy, SLOW FALL TO DAWN. It was followed by DANCE OF THE HAG (1983) and A QUIET OF STONE (1984).  These three books are now being reissued by DAW in an omnibus called ASSASSINS’ DAWN.  Briefly, the series is about a guild of “ethical assassins” on a world called Neweden, where assassinations and violence are tolerated. One of the assassins wishes to expand the guild’s reach to other worlds where its peculiar practices might not be so welcome.  For more, please check out Steve’s site.

I should add that Steve is not only a marvelous writer, but is also one of the finest people I have ever met.  I hope that you’ll check out his “new” old books. And while you’re at it, you might want to check out some of his more recent work as well.  Thanks.

Today at Magical Words, Book Identity and THE HOBBIT

Today’s post can be found at
http://magicalwords.net
, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “On Writing: Book Identity, and Why I Didn’t Like THE HOBBIT Movie.” It is about my reaction to the movie adaptation of THE HOBBIT, and the lessons I draw from it for writing. I hope you enjoy the post.

Today at SFNovelists, Three Authors Who Influenced My Career

Today’s post can be found at
http://www.sfnovelists.com
, the group blog on speculative fiction that I maintain along with a group of over one hundred published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  The post is called “Three Authors Who Got Me Started” and it’s about the books I read early on that steered me toward the fantasy genre and a career as a writer.  I hope you enjoy it.

Short Fiction and Worldbuilding at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at
http://magicalwords.net
, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “On Writing: Short Fiction and Worldbuilding.” It’s about the differences between setting a short story in a world that you’ve already established for novels, and setting it in a new universe created just for that story. I hope you enjoy it.

A Post About Short Fiction at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at http://magicalwords.net, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “On Writing: Why I Love Writing Short Fiction.” It’s about the different approaches I take to writing short stories and novels. I hope you enjoy it.

A New Post on Plotting and Pacing at Magical Words

Today’s post can be found at
http://magicalwords.net
, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “Creative Intersections: Pacing and Plotting.” It’s about the steps I take to blend my plot points and my narrative into a story that flows at what I believe to be the correct pace. I hope you enjoy it.

A Book Giveaway: 17 Books by 17 Awesome Writers!

There is a HUGE contest underway.  I’m part of it, and you do NOT want to miss it.  A group of authors — 17 of us in all — are giving away books to some lucky readers.  That’s right:  you have a chance to win 17 books by 17 very talented authors (if I do say so myself), all of them writing in the fantasy or alternate history genres.  (The image link below, and the website link will both say “16 authors,” but we have since added someone.  Trust me:  it’s 17.)  These authors include, among others, Mary Robinette Kowal, David Liss, Kate Elliott, and yours truly, D.B. Jackson (David B. Coe). (I’m giving away signed copies of Thieftaker.)

The contest is called the Ides of March Book Giveaway, because the winners will be chosen on the Ides, March 15.  For every 500 entries, we will give away one set of books; the more people who enter, the more winners!  If you want to enter, go to this site.

And if you’d like to see the books you’re trying to win, check out this very cool graphic:

So visit the site, enter the contest, and good luck to you all!

Two Posts up Today, at Magical Words and SFNovelists

I have two posts going up today.  The first, my usual Monday Magical Words post, can be found at
http://magicalwords.net
, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Kalayna Price, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, and James Tuck, among others.  The post is called “On Writing: Little Things that Yield Big Results,” and about little things we can do to have a big impact on our writing and our productivity.  The second can be found at
http://www.sfnovelists.com
, the group blog on speculative fiction that I maintain along with a group of over one hundred published authors of fantasy and science fiction.  It is called “The Loss of Another Bookstore,” and it is about the changing face of the book business.  I hope you enjoy both posts.

A Post About Opening Lines, and an Invitation to Critique My WIP

Today’s post can be found at
http://magicalwords.net
, the group blog on the business and craft of writing fantasy that I maintain with fellow authors Faith Hunter, Misty Massey, Mindy Klasky, John Hartness, Kalayna Price, and James Tuck, among others. The post is called “Turnabout is Fair Play: Your Turn to Critique MY Work.” In it, I present the opening paragraphs of my current work-in-progress, explain what I hope to accomplish with each paragraph, and then invite readers to critique the passage. I hope you enjoy it.

Good News For Thieftaker

I don’t like to boast.  Really, I don’t.  And because of that, I feel a little funny about this post I’m about to write.  But in the past few days some people at online book reviewing sites have been saying nice things about Thieftaker (written under the name D.B. Jackson), and, well, I thought it couldn’t hurt to draw your attention to them.

Early this week, the WordNerds blog announced the first of their Best of 2012 Awards.  They began with “Best First Book in a Series,” and chose Thieftaker as one of the two winners in the category!  I was pretty excited.

And then today, SciFiChick.com posted their listing of the best SF/Fantasy Novels of 2012, and Thieftaker made the list!

These are not big awards.  I know that.  But it is always nice to be recognized by knowledgeable, well-read people.  I am deeply thankful to both sites for the kind words.  And I am also grateful to all of you for indulging this moment of braggadocio.

I’m done now.