In case you haven’t delved into Selenoth yet, today would be an excellent day to do so, as in honor of the publication of The Last Witchking, Marcher Lord Hinterlands is giving away The Wardog’s Coin on Amazon today and tomorrow.
The Wardog’s Coin consists of two stories set in the epic fantasy world
of A THRONE OF BONES. The title story is about a human mercenary company
which finds itself in the employ of an elf king. Outnumbered and under
attack from an army of orcs and goblins, the Company discovers it is no
longer fighting for pay, but for survival. The second story, Qalabi
Dawn, features a young tribal chieftain, Shabaka No-Tail, who seeks to
find a way to unite the fractious tribes of The People before the
implacable legions of the Dead God invade the desert to carry out their
crusade of total extermination.
In tangentially related news, it looks as if the Arts of Dark and Light have found a second home and will be published in paperback and audiobook editions next year. I’ve been talking to several international publishers who expressed interest in the books, and have found one I believe will complement Marcher Lord very well by providing conventional bookstore distribution while permitting the near-complete creative freedom I enjoy with Hinterlands.
UPDATE: While I’m pleased that the Dread Ilk are not prone to sycophancy, this email from a reviewer concerning Witchking cracked me up, as it reminded me of something another writer said about how I have “just the worst fans”. By which I think she meant that most of you don’t hesitate to criticize when I’ve gotten something wrong or even just phone something in. The sincerity of the pity she was offering was why I didn’t bother trying to convince her that this was actually a feature, not a bug.
“Damn good. Reviewed here.
To be honest, I thought your angel stories sucked, and I’m really shocked at how good your writing has got.”
People sometimes ask how it is that I’m so unfazed by criticism,(1) and conversely, not much affected by praise either. It’s probably thanks to my father. I’ll never forget the phone call I received from him not long after The War in Heaven. “Hey, I read your book! Want me to tell you what was wrong with it?”
The funny thing was that I told him, “no, not particularly” in the full knowledge that it wouldn’t even slow him down for a second.
(1) Actual criticism, you understand. Obviously, I refuse to accept the fake variety that is simply rhetorical combat by other means.