Posts Tagged ‘give away’
Hello friends! Yesterday the “Esen the Web Shifter” party began with Who and What Esen Is, the Big Idea behind her, how much fun Julie Czerneda had with writing the Web Shifter trilogy (and oh yeah, a big huge give away for the entire trilogy!), and more!
Today, I can finally talk about the gorgeous new cover art for Julie Czerneda’s newest Esen e-novella The Only Thing to Fear, and her forthcoming hardback Web Shifter novel that begins a new series, Search Image! I’m too excited to talk straight, so I’m just going to let Julie Czerneda take over and talk about the most Esen cover art ever, Phil the bust, nervous diplomats, and most exciting of all, a brand new Esen novel that starts a brand new series! oh, there’s another give away too!!
Esen’s Here!
By Julie Czerneda
Cover Art by Matthew Stawicki, novella release date: Sept 4th
Esen has been featured on every cover, but until now, not as herself. Behold Esen-alit-Quar the Web-being in all her blue blobness, courtesy the talents of Matthew Stawicki!
My information for Matt was, to be honest, sparse. A blue teardrop. Not anthropomorphic. No cheerful chubby belly. No arms, face, toes, nose . . . he did it! Esen’s perfect. I love this cover. I love how she’s there, taking it all in — in this form, her senses aren’t ours. They are potent. You’ll see.
What’s inside The Only Thing to Fear? A special e-novella from DAW Books that resumes Esen’s adventures shortly after the end of Hidden in Sight. (You really should read that one, if you want to get the whole OOMPH, plus meet Busfish—and Changing Vision, because there are Ganthor in an art gallery. I can’t help myself, I love them all and want you to as well.)
In this e-novella, you meet a new character, Evan Gooseberry, diplomat-in-training. Evan’s working through his fear of almost everything, determined to make the universe a better place, but why do aliens have to have SPIDERLEGS? Poor Evan faces a crisis in his first posting and only Esen-alit-Quar can help save the day. During street theatre and glittersweat.
But wait . . . there’s more!
I’m delighted to share with you the spectacular cover for Esen’s new novel, new series, and first hardcover! Toss the Glitter!
photo credit Roger Czerneda Photography
My friends, it is my honor to be hosting Julie Czerneda today (and tomorrow!). Julie’s science fiction starts with biology, asks a wild biology “what if” question, and fills the answer with science, more science, humor, aliens, and fantastic characters. Way back when, she wrote a science fiction trilogy featuring the shape shifter Esen. Esen discovers humans, and well, erm, to tell you anymore would spoil the best parts! This trilogy was recently lovingly reprinted in trade paperback, and there’s a new novella coming out this autumn, and OH YEAH a whole new Esen novel, also out this autumn!
Today and tomorrow feature Give aways! Cover reveals! Behind the scenes! Inside jokes! but before we get to all that goodness:
Julie on Amazon
Julie’s fan page on Facebook
About the author:
For over twenty years, Canadian author/ former biologist Julie E. Czerneda has shared her curiosity about living things through her science fiction, published by DAW Books, NY. Julie’s written fantasy too, the first installments of her Night’s Edge series (DAW) A Turn of Light and A Play of Shadow, winning consecutive Aurora Awards (Canada’s Hugo) for Best English Novel. Julie’s edited/co-edited numerous award-winning anthologies of SF/F, most recently SFWA’s 2017 Nebula Award Showcase. Out this fall is an all-original anthology written by fans of her Clan Chronicles series: Tales from Plexis. Her finale to that series, To Guard Against the Dark, was released in 2017. This fall will also see the return of her most beloved character, Esen the webshifter, in Search Image.
Esen’s Back!
by Julie Czerneda
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Fans of her Blobness! New-to-her Readers!
It gives me the biggest of grins to mark the return and perhaps introduce to you my favourite character of all, Esen-alit-Quar. Esen for short, Es in a hurry or between friends.
In honour of the occasion, we’re throwing a two day cover release party! Thanks, Andrea! Thanks DAW Books!
Today, I’ll tell you a bit about Esen and why she’s so beloved. And fun. And remarkable.
Tomorrow, you’ll see, for the very first time, not one, but TWO NEW COVERS! Really, it’s almost too much fun. Nah. There’s never too much fun.
Here’s a sneak peek.
But wait, there’s more! GIVEAWAYS! Details below, but my thanks to DAW Books for not only keeping Esen’s stories in print, but in doing these gorgeous Trade Editions, released just last year! In stores all over.
Cover art by Luis Royo
So Who Is Esen? Or What?
Short answer? A blob of blue, shaped like a teardrop. Who happens to be a semi-immortal shapeshifter. Who has really good intentions…but is working on her life skills.
Writing Esen’s attempts to protect life in the universe–or at least keep it civil–makes me happy and always has. As it turned out, Esen made you happy too, dear readers. I’ve received more feedback and love from you for the Dear Little Blob than for all my other work combined.
Cover art by Matthew Stawicki www.mattstawicki.com
Why, hello fellow bloggers and book reviewers! Please raise your hand if you’ve ever participated in a blog tour. Keep your hand up if you’ve received an e-mail from me about a blog tour I’m putting together (last week, maybe?), or a scifi-month project, or some other “I came up with this great idea at 4am!” project I have in mind that I’m asking/begging you to be a part of. A couple of hands still in the air? Some of you have even planned your own projects, inherited them, or played around with blogging community projects until you found the one that works best for you.
If you raised your hand, thought about raising your hand, or want to raise your hand sometime in the future, this amazing #allthefeels guest post from Julie Czerneda is for you.
#ImNotCryingYouAre
Also? This is just the beginning! Follow #GuardAgainstTheDark on twitter for all the blog tour goodness, while I sit back and relax. 😉
photo credit: Roger Czerneda www.photography.czerneda.com
Thanks For That!
This post is going up during my third official Tour d’Internet, aka that thing authors now do before a book comes out called a “Blog Tour.”
It’s work. A post, be it a short essay like this or an interview, takes time to write (and edit, and let sit for a day or more to be sure it’s good enough, and possibly be shared with a trusted few first to be SURE it’s good enough…etc.). It’s work—and time—for the blogger hosting it as well. There’s formatting, scheduling, emails to anxious authors (is it good enough?), not to mention what comes afterwards. Oh yes. It’s not just about the post. As Michelle Sagara informed me, with some urgency, shortly after my first few blog posts went up, “It’s all about the comments, you know. You need to be there and answer them.”
I did?
I did. And do. However, the presence of comments? Is because the bloggers take more of their time to invite people to come and see the post. They moderate. (I envision the horrors kept from the public commentary section.) Since this is a tour, they even share the blog posts of OTHER BLOGGERS.
Thanks for that, by the way.
It’s the part that makes me feel most at home. That sharing. That joy to be part of a wider event. It reminds me of conventions and fandom. It reminds me of the great community that exists in science fiction, fantasy, and I’m sure horror, though those people are Very Scary. (Not really, some of my dearest friends write horror and don’t at all expect me to read it. Thanks for that too.)
I hadn’t thought, during what becomes a wild and hilarious stint of odd, rarely sequential tasks to promote my new book—most often, by pure chance, at the worst time to be doing anything but writing the NEXT one, especially digressing on the internet—to find blog tours such a joy-filled, inspiring process. Yet it is, because of you. Those who read these things. Who comment. Yes, hopefully you’ll win something, but you’re reading this because you’re willing to give me some of your precious time and attention.
Coming this summer from Apex Books is MARS GIRLS, a YA adventure set on everyone’s favorite red planet. Written by award winning author Mary Turzillo, Mars Girls follows the frantic and frenetic adventures of Nanoannie and Kapera. Both girls understand the dangers of living on Mars, but still, life isn’t easy when you’re just a couple of Mars Girls! Click here to preview the first chapter of the book.
What others are saying about Mars Girls:
“Mary Turzillo has crafted an extraordinary tale of teenaged adventure on a harsh planet. Heroines Nanoannie and Kapera use bravery and ingenuity to survive on a vividly imagined future Mars.”
—Brenda Cooper, author of Edge of Dark“Mars Girls delivers real-feeling characters in a fast-moving, exciting space adventure.”
—Kij Johnson, author of The Dream-Quest of Vellitt Boe“Great fun! A rollicking adventure across a uniquely imagined Martian landscape.”
—S Andrew Swann, author of Dragon Princess
And what would a blog tour be without a giveaway? Make sure you scroll all the way to the bottom of this post to get entered in the give away for a free e-book of Mars Girls. Mary Turzillo and Nanoannie and Kapera have been blog touring all over the blogosphere, head on over to these other posts to read reviews, interviews, and more!
Blue Book Balloon reviewed Mars Girls
Interview and give away at Dab of Darkness
The Journey to Mars Girls guest post at The Grimdark Files
Review at Rapture in Books
Review at Cedar Hollow Horror Reviews
Interview and give away at Books, Bones, and Buffy
10 Bad Habits reviewed Mars Girls
Unlikely Friends Driven Together by Disaster, a guest post and giveaway at Ardent Attachments
Would You Go To Mars? Guest post at I Smell Sheep
Religions on Mars, according to Mary Turzillo Guest post at Skiffy and Fanty Show
Women Write About Comics interviews Mary Turzillo, the original Mars Girl
Why I Wrote Mars Girls guest post at Frank Errington’s Blog
Frank Errington reviewed Mars Girls
Wow, that’s quite a trip around the blogosphere!
The tour ends here, at Little Red Reviewer, with an interview with Mary Turzillo. This may be the end of the blog tour, but it’s just the beginning of Nanoannie and Kapera’s adventures out in the wild. If this book looks like something you or someone you know would enjoy, head over to Apex Books or Amazon to order yourself a copy.
About Mary Turzillo:
Mary Turzillo’s 1999 Nebula-winner,”Mars Is no Place for Children” and her Analog novel, AN OLD-FASHIONED MARTIAN GIRL, are read on the International Space Station. Her poetry collection, LOVERS & KILLERS, won the 2013 Elgin Award. She has been a finalist on the British Science Fiction Association, Pushcart, Stoker, Dwarf Stars and Rhysling ballots. SWEET POISON, her Dark Renaissance collaboration with Marge Simon, was a Stoker finalist and won the 2015 Elgin Award. She’s working on a novel, A MARS CAT & HIS BOY, and another collaboration with Marge Simon, SATAN’S SWEETHEARTS. Her novel MARS GIRLS is forthcoming from Apex. She lives in Ohio, with her scientist-writer husband, Geoffrey Landis, both of whom fence internationally.
Let’s get to the interview!
Andrea Johnson: Who was your favorite character to develop and write in Mars Girls?
Mary Turzillo: It’s hard to choose. Nanoannie is a more complicated character than she at first seems, since her desires and enthusiasms are so conflicted. She wants adventure, but now that it’s happening, she’s rather it had more designer suit-liners and fantasy boyfriends, and fewer slightly burned hands, slimy kidnappers, and unwanted real-life lovers. She seems all surface, but despite her silliness, she has backbone.
But I’m also rather fond of Cayce. He’s such a player. In fact, I like him so much that I gave him a cousin by the same name in an upcoming novel, except the cousin is younger and a rather nice guy.
AJ: Without giving any spoilers, can you tell us which scene was the most fun to write? Which scene was the most difficult to write?
MT: It’s hard to talk about scenes very farther into the novel with out giving out spoilers, but here goes. Out of context I’m not giving too much away.
I enjoyed writing everything in the novel. If I didn’t enjoy a particular scene, it meant I’d just have to ditch it, because if I didn’t like it, how could I expect the reader to enjoy it? But my favorite was, curiously, Kapera doing her EVA. I researched space-walks thoroughly, and I even have a mug from Kennedy Space Center of the cooling radiators on the International Space Station. I wanted to show her courage and ingenuity and the fact that she persisted.
The hardest passage to write was Marcus’s account of what really happened at Smythe Pharm, because the plot had gotten pretty complicated by that time. I also had to get inside Marcus’s mind. I’m writing about him in another novel, a prequel to this one, and he’s an interesting, tortured soul with a strange background. He’s been a criminal and also a devoted family man. This is all background, but it had to be subtext.
It’s time for another Blind Date with a Book give away! but this time, they are all Vintage science fiction books!
I’ll tell you a little about the book, but not the title or the author, and you get to decide if the book is worth a blind date! Here’s how the give away works:
- put in the comments what number book(s) you’re interested in. put #1, #2, etc. You can enter for more than one.
- if WordPress doesn’t prompt you to enter your e-mail address, please give me some way to get a hold of you, such as twitter, e-mail, facebook, or to use a contact page on your website
- Give away ends on Friday Jan 27th, with winners being announced shortly thereafter
- due to the costs of international shipping, unfortunately this is a US only give away. I love you everyone else, I just can’t afford to mail things to you!
Ermagerd I’m such a nerd, I typed up the descriptions on my circa 1940 typewriter.
So, we’ve got a big party going on today! I’m part of the blog tour for the release of Julie Czerneda’s The Gate to Futures Past (book #2 in the Reunification series! Part of the huge finale for the Clan Chronicles!), I’ve got some epic guest posts below, and there’s an even more epic US / Canada give away from DAW books!
About the The Gate To Futures Past:
Betrayed and attacked, the Clan fled the Trade Pact for Cersi, believing that world their long-lost home. With them went a lone alien, the Human named Jason Morgan, Chosen of their leader, Sira di Sarc. Tragically, their arrival upset the Balance between Cersi’s three sentient species. And so the Clan, with their newfound kin, must flee again.
Their starship, powered by the M’hir, follows a course set long ago, for Clan abilities came from an experiment their ancestors—the Hoveny—conducted on themselves. But it’s a perilous journey. The Clan must endure more than cramped conditions and inner turmoil.
Their dead are Calling.
Sira must keep her people from answering, for if they do, they die. Morgan searches the ship for answers, afraid the Hoveny’s tech is beyond his grasp. Their only hope? To reach their destination.
If you’re just joining us, check out my review of The Gulf of Time and Stars (eek! spoilers!), and Julie’s chat with cover artist Matt Stawicki about the beautiful cover art.
I’ve talked plenty about how much I enjoy Julie’s work. So to celebrate this newest Clan Chronicles book, I got a bunch of friends together, and asked them to talk about how much they enjoy Julie’s work. Why do a blog tour post when you can have a big Julie Czerneda Appreciation Party instead, right? RIGHT. So let’s party!
The next book in Julie Czerneda’s Reunification trilogy, The Gate to Future’s Past, is coming out in September, and I’m super excited to reveal the cover art and talk more about the series all day today. What’s the gist of the Clan Chronicles, and the newest trilogy in this career spanning series? I’m glad you asked!
The Clan Chronicles is set in a far future with interstellar travel where the Trade Pact encourages peaceful commerce among a multitude of alien and Human worlds. The alien Clan, humanoid in appearance, have been living in secrecy and wealth on Human worlds, relying on their innate ability to move through the M’hir and bypass normal space. The Clan bred to increase that power, only to learn its terrible price: females who can’t help but kill prospective mates. Sira di Sarc is the first female of her kind facing that reality. With the help of a Human starship captain, Jason Morgan, himself a talented telepath, Sira must find a morally acceptable solution before it’s too late. But with the Clan exposed, her time is running out. The Stratification trilogy follows Sira’s ancestor, Aryl Sarc, and shows how their power first came to be as well as how the Clan came to live in the Trade Pact. The Trade Pact trilogy is the story of Sira and Morgan, and the trouble facing the Clan. Reunification will conclude the series and answer, at last, #WhoAreTheClan.
And what will be the fate of all.
With stunning cover art by Matt Stawicki, the artwork brings together an epic story told over the course of nearly twenty years.
Julie chatted with Matt Stawicki about incorporating earlier artwork, capturing Sira’s emotions, and more. Let’s see what they said!
Ta da! Here it is. The wonderful work of Matthew Stawicki, revealed at last. I’ve been waiting to share this cover with you for the better part of a year, for it was complete well before the book.
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Pardon? you say. How can that be?
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Remember the bricks? This image was one of them, firmly in my mind since I started writing This Gulf of Time and Stars.
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Book #2, Sira, meeting her destiny. Triumphant!
Or is she?
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That’s the magic of an image like this. Knowledge morphs impact, grants new meaning and alters perspective. What you think you see now, before reading The Gate to Futures Past, will change once you have.
Blind Date with a Book (give away)
Posted on: April 3, 2016
it’s been how long since I did a blind date with a book give away?? that’s way too long. let’s do it again!
here’s how it works:
- All these books are new. Some of them I’ve read, some are ARCs that got mailed to me that I’m passing on. Some won’t be available in bookstores for months yet.
- Due to the cost of shipping, this give away is for US only. (if you survived doing your taxes, you deserve a little give away, right?)
- let me know in the comments which book(s) you’re interested in, and yes, you can request more than one. To be eligible, you *must* specify your choices (None of this lazy “they all look good!” stuff), by referring to the wrapping paper color, or one of it’s descriptors, or something useful. If we don’t already know each other, please leave me a way to reach you – twitter, e-mail, etc.
- this give away will close in two weeks, on Sunday April 17.
Winners will be announced in late April. Chances are, by the time these books get mailed out, I will have forgotten which title was under what wrapping paper.
alright, enough with the rules, let’s see those books!
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Flowers wrapping paper
Magical Realism!
Vivid Characters!
Artwork that comes alive!
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Blue Wrapping Paper
Steampunk-ish
Possible Alien Technology
Pirates!
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Bsdf
Birds Wrapping Paper
Adventure!
Old Timey Hollywood
Circus Shows!
Detective’s Dilemma
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Black & White wrapping paper
This is exactly what it sounds like: a surprise bundle of SciFi/Fantasy/Horror novellas. Super awesome grab bag!
Isn’t that just some gorgeous cover art?
Want your favorite Apex Magazine stories bound in a dead-tree (or virtual dead-tree) volume? Want one-stop-shopping for surreal, strange and shocking fiction? Gotcha covered!
Whether wandering down endless stairwells, searching for answers in the desert, or reaching out to the stars, for more than six years Apex Magazine has entertained readers with stories that are strange, beautiful, shocking, and surreal. Now, for the first time, editors Jason Sizemore and Lesley Conner are collecting the award winning and nominated stories, those chosen by readers as Story of the Year, and their own personal favorites into one anthology.
A Veil that wipes the experiences of war from soldiers’ memories. A witch who faces down both God and the devil to save a soul. A swaying dance that crosses the galaxy to transmit a message. A vampire caught in a web of politics and law by his responsibility to his family. Within this collection, you will find 21 stories that explore what it means to love, to regret, to be human.
With stories by Ursula Vernon, Ken Liu, Rachel Swirsky, Sarah Pinsker, Rich Larson, and more, Best of Apex Magazine: Volume 1 brings readers some of the best stories Apex Magazine has published so far.
Some of my favorite stories made it into this very special anthology, including “Remembery Day”, by Sarah Pinsker (seriously, my husband and I still talk about this story!), “Going Endo” by Rich Larson, and “If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” by Rachel Swirsky.
And you can win a copy! I’ve got one print copy to be given away to someone in the US, and a digital copy for anyone who lives on planet Earth (or at least has an e-mail address here). This giveaway closes on midnight, Eastern Time, on Saturday Feb 20th. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is, should I make you do something funny? Leave a comment telling me something delicious you like to eat. Make sure you leave me some way to get a hold of you (e-mail, twitter, etc), and let me know if you are the US or in a country that has a better tax system and better schools and probably better healthcare, so that I know to set you up with the print copy or the e-book copy of Best of Apex Magazine Vol 1.
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Bradley Beaulieu, author of the Lays of Anuskaya (The Winds of Khalakovo, The Straits of Galahesh, and The Flames of Shadem Khoreh) is about to release a brand new epic fantasy novel called Twelve Kings in Sharakhai. The first in a new trilogy, Twelve Kings in Sharakhai follows the story of Çeda, a young woman who flaunts the laws of immortal kings and finds herself drawn towards the secrets of her own origins. A sprawling, complex story in a vibrant and richly drawn world, the new novel hits bookstore shelves on Sept 1st. Click here for a preview.
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Brad was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about the new series. Also, I’ve got not one, but two copies of this book to give away to two lucky readers! See the fine print at the bottom of this blog post for details.
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Let’s get to the interview!
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Little Red Reviewer: This is the second time you’ve written of ships that don’t sail on the water. In your Lays of Anuskaya trilogy, the multi-masted ships sail the winds. And in Twelve Kings, the ships sail the dunes of this desert land. It’s even possible to surf over the dunes. For this non-ocean environment, what made you decide that ships with sails should be the primary method of long distance travel?
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Bradley Beaulieu: What made me decide on ships? Well, when it comes down to it, I just love ‘em. I’ve taken several sailing tours on tall ships on Lake Michigan, a few out of Milwaukee harbor and once out of Navy Pier in Chicago. I think it’s such a cool time in our history, the age of sail, being trapped in such a tight community for weeks or months at a time, then stopping in a new, unexplored land, then hopping back to go back to the place you know. I’ve got a very romantic view of it, I’ll admit.
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And, well, I also just wanted to weird the world up a bit. I wanted some unique aspects to the great desert in which Sharakhai sits. I wanted there to be a unique flavor to the commerce of the world, how people communicated over long distances, and so on. It’s essentially the same reason I did it in The Lays of Anuskaya, though the specific incarnations of ship travel, as you mentioned, are different. It’s been a lot of fun exploring this aspect of the world. (And I’ve yet to have a really rousing ship-to-ship battle, but believe me, that’s coming!)
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LRR: I love the world of Twelve Kings in Sharakhai. This is a desert culture, so staying protected from the sands and winds is a big deal, as is ensuring water and food supplies, and the clothing and activities of the characters reflect this. The terminology has an Arabic feel, with characters wearing turbans, thawbs, and hijabs, and visiting the bazaar. Can you tell us about the research you did the ensure the terminology and contextual activities matched the world and culture you built within the novel?
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the Little Red Reviewer 
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