Epic Fantasy to Watch Out For

As with the other reading lists, this is merely a sampling of new authors writing epic fantasy. They are listed in no particular order.

Peter Brett - Warded Man (Painted Man in the UK)
Matthew Sturges - Midwinter
Brandon Sanderson - Mistborn, Well of Ascension, Hero of Ages
Brian Cullen - Seekers of the Chalice
Patrick Rothfuss - Name of the Wind
Daniel Abraham - A Shadow in Summer, A Betrayal in Winter
Russell Kirkpatrick - Across the Face of the World, In the Earth Abides the Flame, The Right Hand of God
Brian Ruckley - Winterbirth, Bloodheir
Gail Martin - Summoning, Blood King, Dark Haven
Joe Abercrombie - The Blade Itself, Before They are Hanged, Last Argument of Kings
Tom Lloyd - Stormcaller, Grave Thief
Adrian Tchaikovsky - Empire in Black and Gold, Dragonfly Falling
Chris Evans - A Darkness Forged in Fire
Stephen Deas - Adamantine Palace
Keri Sperring - Living With Ghosts

A. J. Hartley - Author Interview

Novels: Act of Will
What Time Devours
Mask of Atreus
On the Fifth Day

Website: www.ajhartley.net

> Pitch your newest novel?

ACT OF WILL is about Will Hawthorne, a young actor/playwright in a vaguely Elizabethan world, who falls foul of the authorities and winds up taking refuge with a group of principled adventurers who are trying to identify and defeat and mysterious army of murderous horsemen. Will is a wry, cynical guy with none of the usual hero skills, a smart mouth, a deep skepticism concnerning unselfish virtue, self-sacrifice and magic. The book is his journey into meeting some of these things head on in situation which, I hope, readers will find both funny and thrilling. From what I'm hearing back, it particularly appeals to readers of Terry Prachett.

> What are your favourite three books?

Hmmm. Tricky. My favorite "books" are probably all Shakespeare plays, and I would probably want to add Philip Larkin's poetry collection The Whitsun Weddings, but I'm guessing you want novels so I'll say (somewhat arbitrarily) Neil Gaiman's NEVERWHERE, J.K. Rowling's HARRY
POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS and Kingsley Amis's LUCKY JIM. I know that's a pretty random list...

> In the books you’ve written, who is you favourite character and why? Or what character is most like you?

Hmmm. I like Deborah Miller a lot (MASK OF ATREUS) but I have to admit that Will Hawthorne (ACT OF WILL) is probably more like me. In fact I suspect, if readers were honest, he's like a lot of us... sarcastic, self-involved, cynical, even a little cowardly, but with a kind of moral compas burried inside somewhere deep down. Very deep down...

> What was the first novel (published or unpublished) that you wrote and how long did it take to write it?

My first novel was an Agatha Christie style murder mysery with literary pretensions. I started it when I was 19 and finished it in about a year. It was terrible. I revised it a few years later and made it less terrible but just as unsellable.

> If you still have one, what’s your day job? If you don’t, how long did it take before you could support yourself only on your writing?

I still have (by choice) a day job. I'm a Shakespeare professor, specifically a performance theorist and critic. I work as a theatre director and dramaturg and most of my scholarly publications are about modern performance issues concerning Renaissance drama.

> What is your university degree in?

BA, MA and Ph.D all in English literature though I'm now in a theatre dept.

> When and where do you write?

Mornings, as soon as I can get the house to myself. I need privacy and total silence, and I have a dedicated study for the purpose.

> What is something you didn’t know about the publishing industry before you had your first book published?

Lots of things, most of them depressing. I didn't know that the vast majority of books get no real marketing budget at all, the tiny number of massive names getting the bulk of the promotional resources. Not that I'm bitter.

> Do you have any advice for hopeful authors?

Never quit, but take the word of people you trust seriously.

> How many rejection letters did you get for your fist novel or story?

Too many to remember. I wrote 8 novels over 20 years before one was
published.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

Hey girls, can't get your significant other to read Pride and Prejudice because it's too girly and boring? Well, here's a version they'll pick up AND enjoy. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is the original story, minus some of the boring bits, with, you guessed it, zombies added in by Seth Grahame-Smith. You know how Elizabeth practices the piano in the original? In this one she practices fighting techniques in the family dojo. Some of the things that go unexplained in the original (why the militia's stationed nearby and why Netherfield's vacant at the start of the novel) are explained in this version. And while the ending's quite different (I won't spoil it for you) the gist of it's the same, and could raise the opportunity of DISCUSSING Pride and Prejudice with your man. Which you can then brag about to all your girl friends who are disappointed that THEIR guy won't read the book (or watch the movie or mini series with them).

Science Fiction and Fantasy Books Coming in June 2009

Hardcover:
Twisted Metal - Tony Ballantyne
Naamah’s Kiss - Jacqueline Carey
Rift in the Sky - Julie Czerneda
Cloud and Ashes: Three Winter’s Tales - Greer GIlman
Star Wars: Fate of the Jedi: Omen - Christie Golden
Primeval: Fire and Water - Simon Guerrier
Green - Jay Lake
Haze - L.E. Modesitt Jr.
White is for Witching - Helen Oyeyemi
Warbreaker - Brandon Sanderson
Overthrowing Heaven - Mark L. Van Name
Julian Comstock - Robert Charles Wilson

Trade Paperback:
The Edge of the World - Kevin Anderson
Rise of the Terran Empire - Poul Anderson
In Ashes Lie - Marie Brennan
World’s End - Mark Chadbourn
The Ghosts of Blood and Innocence - Storm Constantine
Medicine Road - Charles de Lint
The Better Mousetrap - Tom Holt
Black and White - Jackie Kessler
Pereat Mundus - Leena Krohn
Of Berserkers, Swords and Vampires: A Saberhagen Retrospective - Fred Saberhagen
The Dog of the North - Tim Stretton
Phantasm - Phaedra Weldon
The Hanging Mountains - Sean Williams

Mass Market Paperback:
Ink and Steel - Elizabeth Bear
Orphan’s Triumph - Robert Buetner
Kushiel’s Mercy - Jacqueline Carey
Eve of Destruction - S.J. Day
The Immortal Prince - Jennifer Fallon
The Demon Redcoat - C.C. Finlay
Daemons are Forever - Simon Green
Magic the Gathering: Artefacts Cycle I - Jeff Grubb
Death’s Head Maximum Offense - David Gunn
Valor’s Trial - Tanya Huff
Forgotten Realms: City of the Dead - Rosemary Jones
Street Magic - Caitlin Kittredge
Hawkspar - Holly Lisle
Swordplay - Denise Little, Ed.
Light of Heaven - Dabid McIntee
Juggler of Worlds - Larry Niven and Edward Lerner
City of Souls - Vicki Petterson
The Dark Ferryman - Jenna Rhodes
Greywalker - Kat Richardson
Mark of the Demon - Diana Rowland
Crossover - Joel Shepherd
Dragon Lance: The Forest King - Paul Thompson
Stargate SG1: Valalla - Tim Waggoner
Null-a Continuum - John Wright