Roarke and Riordan turn seven today. Among the gifts they’ll get are a pair of Ultrasaber lightsabers. But we won’t just give them to the boys. Oh no! First, we will make them scurry around the house for our amusement, as follows:
A note taped to the TV will read:
Weapons await the brave and true, lighted blades of green and blue. To find them, however, you must follow each clue. Seek now the closet, … Read the rest
Every time someone proposes raising taxes on the top earners in the country, Fox News hurriedly trots out the “half the people in this county pay no taxes” statement. What they mean, of course, is that half the country, after deductions and credits, pays no federal income tax. Those folks do, however, pay payroll tax, state income tax, sales tax, tax on personal property (like car registration), etc., but that’s beside the point for purposes … Read the rest
So, I’ve been thinking about book openings lately (you know, since I’ve got books to write :-)).
You’ve all heard the book openings are important, have to hook the reader, you won’t get a second chance, etc. And that’s all true, though I think it’s sometimes overstated a bit, in that I think readers will stick with you for a while, even if a book’s opening doesn’t contain bang-zoom-wow.
In any event, I try to … Read the rest
I thought I’d post some thoughts on my quarterly WotC royalty statement, as I sometimes do.
First, I expected some significant fallout from the Borders bankruptcy, but that didn’t happen. In fact, this was a very strong quarter for sales, the strongest in recent memory (of course, ‘strong’ here is a relative term; I’m just a midlist writer). Next quarter might be different, however, with Borders now liquidating.
The Twilight War
How about another mini-excerpt from Riptide
Not for the first time, he wondered how much of recent events the Master had foreseen, how far into the future the Master’s foresight extended. It was as though the Master had a recorder on the eye of fate, and through it saw and anticipated events like no one else.
Despite himself, Wyyrlok felt awed by the Master’s power.
Indeed that is Wyyrlok I contemplating Darth Krayt.
Earlier … Read the rest
Looks like you can now pre-order the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMORPG. And if you order the Collector’s Edition, you’ll get a few extras, including a cool looking statue of Darth Malgus (I want).
And if you don’t know who Malgus is
In answer to a question raised on Facebook yesterday: Yes, indeed, the stories of Egil and Nix take place in the same world in which my New Dineen short stories are set. “Huzwha?” you ask. “What are these New Dineen short stories of which you speak?”
Well, the New Dineen short stories are Confession, The Spinner, and Stillborn, stories I’ve published previously in various venues. Confession and The Spinner are still available … Read the rest
As you can see from the press release here, I’ve signed a two book deal with Angry Robot Books. The books, entitled The Hammer and the Blade, A Tale of Egil and Nix and A Discourse in Steel, a Tale of Egil and Nix, both feature a pair of wily, somewhat shabby, but very likeable tomb-tappers-rogues-knaves-footpads named Egil (a burly, brooding priest of the Momentary God) and Nix (aka, Nix the … Read the rest
Dave Seeley, the artist who did the cover for my next Star Wars novel, Riptide
I don’t think it’s in my budget at the moment, but hey, if you love Star Wars, have a fondness for Jaden Korr, have $5Kish burning a hole in your pocket, and want a … Read the rest
A signal boost for my friend, onetime editor, and writing guru Phil Athans, who’s doing a webinar for Writers Digest University. The webinar is entitled, How to Sell Your Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Full details are here, but here’s a brief description:
What you’ll learn: