I chatted at length with Patrick on the SF Signal Podcast. I had a lot of fun and I hope you’ll have a listen. We discussed The Hammer and the Blade, Star Wars, my middle name, and a host of other things.

I blame whiskey and lack of sleep for anything silly that I said. 🙂… Read the rest

Angry Robot Books has posted excerpts from several of their forthcoming releases, including The Hammer and the Blade.  Below is the first fifty pages of the book.  If you’ve been reading the excerpts I’ve been posting over the last several months, you’ve read some of this already, but most of it will be new.

As this is the opening of the novel, there are no spoilers, so please read, and share far and wide … Read the rest

I spent an hour chatting with the most excellent Anton Strout on The Once and Future Podcast. We discussed The Hammer and the Blade, Star Wars fiction, Forgotten Realms fiction, how I got my start writing in the Realms and the galaxy far, far away, differences between writing tie-in and original world fiction, and other writerly and/or geeky subjects. Have a listen.

For my part, I had a blast. Thanks again, Anton.

 … Read the rest

My next novel, The Hammer and the Blade, the first in a series of sword and sorcery stories to be published by Angry Robot Books, will be released in twenty one days. By God, that means it’s time for a top ten list.

And so, here are the top ten reasons you should buy/preorder The Hammer and the Blade.

10. As a fashion accessory, the novel goes extremely well with pants. If … Read the rest

What new releases do we have in June from Angry Robot, in the Forgotten Realms, and in the galaxy far, far away? Let’s have a looksee.

From Angry Robot, we have Night’s Engines, the conclusion of the Nightbound Lands duology, by Trent Jamieson. From the back matter:

Shale is dying. The vast, boiling maelstrom known only as the Roil has pushed humanity to the edge of extinction. The last cities teeter on the verge … Read the rest

Dear Star Wars and Forgotten Realms Readers:

Normally I’d do something amusing here, but I’m just going to play it straight this time.  Well, sort of straight. Here goes:

So maybe you’ve read my Star Wars novels and enjoyed them, or maybe you’ve read my Erevis Cale novels in the Forgotten Realms and enjoyed them. If you did, you probably dug on the characters, the emotional beats, the pacing, the dialog, maybe even the action … Read the rest

In October, Del Rey is releasing Star Wars: The Essential Reader’s Companion, which will chronicle many of the characters who have appeared in Expanded Universe novels over the years.

Here’s a sneak peek at one piece from the book (not sure if it’s final or not), featuring a scene from Deceived:  Aryn Leneer and Zeerid Korr bailing out of Fatman over Coruscant.

It’s always a thrill to see an artist’s interpretation of characters from … Read the rest

The official release date for The Hammer and the Blade (Amazon, BN) is about a month away, but many reviewers have received advance copies and early reviews are popping up around the internet.  My sincere gratitude to those who’ve taken the time to read the novel and write up a review.  It means a lot, and I’m grateful.

I figured it was about time to round up some of these early reviews … Read the rest

If you live the United States and are interested in having a signed paperback copy of Deceived, my Star Wars novel featuring Darth Malgus, then please email me at paulsvantekemp at yahoo dot com.  I’ll mail you one for $10 (that covers the book, tax, and shipping).  You’ll have to pay me via Paypal and I’ve only got twenty copies I can part with, so it’s first come, first served.

In your email, be … Read the rest

I’ve been writing professionally for over a decade. My books have been reviewed many times during that period. Sometimes I’ve read those reviews with pride, sometimes with a smile, or a frown, a sense of bemusement, or an expression of WTF?  I’ve also read lots of reviews of other author’s works. All of that has allowed me to develop a sense of various reviewers’ styles.

So what follows is a non-exhaustive nomenclature of book reviewer … Read the rest