It’s February, which means a new monthly excerpt from The Hammer and the Blade (B&N, Amazon, Powells), the first novel of my forthcoming sword and sorcery series featuring Egil and Nix, and published by Angry Robot books.

For those just joining the fun, previous excerpts can be found here, here, and here.  They’re all about one-thousand words or so, just bits to give you a feel for the … Read the rest

Angry Robot has posted a sneak peek at the cover art for The Hammer and the Blade.  You can read the whole post here (and they have a higher res image) but I’m posting the art right here, too.

To say that I love, love, love this would be an understatement.  It captures Egil and Nix exactly. My thanks to the artist, Richard Jones, whose portfolio you can see on his website.

Egil, … Read the rest

It’s January, which means another excerpt from my sword and sorcery novel, The Hammer and the Blade, forthcoming from Angry Robot Books (June 2012).  Previous excerpts are available here and here. The book is available for pre-orders at online retailers, and such pre-orders are, of course, much appreciated.

As always, the purpose of the excerpts is to give you a feel for the tone of the book, the voice of the characters, and … Read the rest

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my editors at Angry Robot Books have allowed me to post monthly excerpts from my forthcoming sword and sorcery novel, The Hammer and the Blade, and I’ll be doing so through to the book’s release.  The first excerpt can be found here.  The second one is below.   This hasn’t been through final editing, so typos and awkwardness are mine.

In choosing the excerpts, I’m simply looking … Read the rest

Yesterday’s post about my forthcoming sword and sorcery novel, The Hammer and the Blade, had a very positive response.  My sincere thanks.  You all rock.  The response was so positive, in fact, that my most excellent editors at Angry Robot Books have authorized me to post an excerpt from the novel.

So, let me introduce you to Egil of Ebenor and Nix the Quick, late of Dur Follin.  I think this bit, which joins … Read the rest

You already knew that I signed a deal with Angry Robot Books to write two sword and sorcery novels featuring a pair of down at heel tomb tappers, adventurers, and loveable scoundrels named Egil and Nix, right?  I pray you already knew that.  Please tell me you already knew that.  🙂

If you didn’t, please go read the announcement and then come on back.

So, if you’ve enjoyed either my Erevis Cale stories or my … Read the rest

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