Author Archive

Thieves, Scoundrels, and Demon Seeds

The time has come. . . Orbit is once again presenting you with three books in three months. So from October to December if you’re hungry for your fix of adventure fantasy, please run or log online to get these three new fantasies from Rachel Aaron.

But if you’re super lucky, you might be able to get one for free! Rachel is giving away 20 copies of The Spirit Thief here.

Eli Monpress is talented. He’s charming. And he’s a thief.

But not just any thief. He’s the greatest thief of the age – and he’s also a wizard. And with the help of his partners – a swordsman with the most powerful magic sword in the world but no magical ability of his own, and a demonseed who can step through shadows and punch through walls – he’s going to put his plan into effect.

The first step is to increase the size of the bounty on his head, so he’ll need to steal some big things. But he’ll start small for now. He’ll just steal something that no one will miss – at least for a while.

Like a king.

We also have a few awesome quotes in for The Spirit Thief:

“A romp of a lighthearted fantasy starring an absolutely darling rogue.” – Publishers Weekly

“Wry humor, engaging characters and full-tilt action plus an inventive twist on magic make for an exciting adventure.” — Gail Z. Martin

“Witty, smart, snappy, sassy, fast, furious and let’s not forget fun… Rachel Aaron isn’t so much knocking at the door as kicking it down.” — Tom Holt

“The Spirit Thief is a delightfully giddy romp of a novel.” — Karen Miller

Read the first two chapter of The Spirit Thief here.

IAIN M. BANKS in conversation in Sydney 6 October

Known for his literary novels, science fiction and personal politics, Iain M. Banks will be in conversation LIVE in Sydney via Skype on 6 October for the release of his new novel SURFACE DETAIL published by Orbit.

As he rarely travels by plane,  technology will bridge the vast distance between the UK and Australia and enable Banks to talk to the Sydney audience while sitting in the Little, Brown office in London. Three cheers for technology!

Date: Wed 6 October

Time: 6pm for 6:30pm

Cost: $10/$7 conc

Venue: Gleebooks, 29 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe

Bookings: (02) 9660 2333

Prepare to Gland Woot

Iain M. Banks fans take note — SURFACE DETAIL is out in October, and here’s what you need to know: General Systems Vehicles, Special Circumstances, Orbitals. Plus Unfallen Bulbitians, Smatter, Hells and Intagliates.

For those of you who have no idea what we are talking about, don’t worry.  It is never too late for you to join the Culture. You can start with SURFACE DETAIL.

Read the first chapter here.

In advance of the book’s release, it appears that the Culture is tweeting ship names. Or perhaps it’s an Iridian ruse. Whatever the case, it’s probably worth following. @_TheCulture_

Jennifer Rardin

With great sadness, we report that our author Jennifer Rardin passed away on Monday, September 20th. Our heart goes out to her family and friends.

Loups-Garous vs. Wolves

A long time ago, when the Moorehawke Trilogy (UK | US | Fr) was still just a book-foetus in my fuddled noodle (I was working on something else at the time) I began playing with the idea of the Loups-Garous.

On the Wolves' Tail - a scene from THE CROWDED SHADOWS

When the story first took shape in my head, the Loups-Garous were just humans. Members of a well structured organisation of men who travelled out from central bases of operation (compounds in the Russias, the Moroccos and Europes) and made a rich living from banditry, mercenary activities and (of course) the trading in slaves. I had wanted them to embody a callous disregard for the welfare of others, and a lack of respect or loyalty to anything other than their own kind. Originally they simply adopted the name Loups-Garous as a tribal title, and used the legend of the werewolf as a guise in order to terrorise the isolated villages and communities from whom they kidnapped their supply of slaves. But I couldn’t resist pushing it further, and eventually they became Wolves – their greed and cruelty now taking on a physical aspect as well as a behavioural one. (more…)

Mini Moorehawkes at Saturday’s Launch

mini moorehawke books!
mini moorehawke books!

How awesome are these little mini books? They were made as a gift for me by a very talented fan called Nyukkaa (that’s me holding them). They’re real books! With beautiful, traditionally bound pages and proper covers and everything. She presented them to me at my Irish launch party on Saturday and folks could not stop touching them. (Seriously! I had to finally rescue them. I was so afraid they’d be destroyed.)

Nyukkaa (aka Anna) had bound each stack of books with tiny threads of twine and wrapped them into a teeny tiny string-bound paper parcel. It was almost criminal to unwrap it! I am going to treasure these and protect them in a little glass case.

Thanks Nyukkaa. You rock!

UNconventional: Worldcon & Me

Opening Ceremony; Photo: J Horlor

Those of you who read my pre-Worldcon post on Marianne de Pierre’s blog, will know that even getting there was a big deal for me. Although a long time avid reader of scifi-fantasy (SFF) and lover of shows such as Babylon 5, Buffy and Firefly, I am still something of a moss gatherer by nature and not unhappy with the quiet life of study and garden, manuscripts and books . . .  But the opportunity to attend the 68th Worldcon, or Aussiecon4, in Melbourne seemed just too good to miss—and I am so glad that I did go!

Firstly, it was fabulous to get together with so many other people who love SFF as much as I do. My very first panel was “Eowyn and Sam, Underappreciated Heroes in The Lord of the Rings” and of course, the hall was full (I mean: LoTR!), with both audience and panelists all enthusiasts for the topic. I know I had a great time, because I was pretty much in Fantasy heartland territory, but I got the feeling everyone else was enjoying themselves as much as I was. And when all’s said and done, it’s a pretty easy topic to roll with.

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Worldcon photos from last weekend!

Aussiecon4, the World Science Fiction Convention for 2010, was held in Melbourne, Australia last weekend. Check out some photos from the convention on the Orbit Australia Facebook page, you’ll be able to spot lots of Orbit authors including Trudi Canavan, Marianne de Pierres, Kate Elliott, Trent Jamieson, Helen Lowe, Charles Stross, Gail Carriger and more! Stay tuned for even more photos uploaded soon, but in the meantime visit the first ones here

Orbit Hugo Reception Party - Aussiecon4

Two New York Times Bestsellers!

This week we had two New York Times bestsellers!

Gail Carriger hit the New York Times mass market paperback list at #20 for Blameless!

Brent Weeks’ The Black Prism is on the hardcover list for his second week at #29.

Congratulations to both Gail and Brent!