The Storm via the Unavowed Kickstarter

Recently, I announced "The Cycle Project" which is my current work in progress that is a sequel to the Riyria Revelations. It will pull from all twenty of the books based in Elan. To fill in some important gaps in the overall story arc, I'm going to be publishing some short stories and the first one is called "The Storm." I'm debuting it as part of the Unavowed Anthology released by Shawn Speakman's Grim Oak Press.

Grim Oak Press puts out some of the best anthologies out there. I'm honored to be in several of them including Unfettered, Unfettered II, and Unbound. Not only will it contain my short story, but also shorts from some of the best indie authors out there, many of whom are personal friends. The Kickstarter launched yesterday and there are early-bird discounts for backing within the first 24 hours - so check it out and please pick up a copy.  Here is a link.

The Unavowed anthology features stories by twenty-two (22) short stories. Here is a complete list:

• The Touch of the Eternal by J. A. Andrews

• The Last Ride of Kanashimi by Zack Argyle

• Rival of Ghosts by Dyrk Ashton

• The Old Lie by Ryan Cahill

• My Soul Has Teeth by Sarah Chorn

• The Wanderer by A. C. Cobble

• Lord of Vengeance by Michael R. Fletcher

• The Last Sentinel by Rob J. Hayes

• Sinner's Grave by Kevin Hearne

• Curse These Metal Hands by Ben Galley

• Hild the Humble by Michael R. Miller

• A Mother's Love by Andy Peloquin

• The Power of Perception by J. Zachary Pike

• Fragile Gods by J. D. L. Rosell

• The Unavowed Light-Weaver by Shawn Speakman

• A Darker Talent by M. L. Spencer

• Sails at Dusk by Patrick Swenson

• The Storm by Michael J. Sullivan

• The Darkdancer by Ramon Terrell

• The Parable of the Silk Weaver by R. R. Virdi

• How the Dragons Became Extinct by M. L. Wang

• The Brotherhood of Shadows by Jeff Wheeler
  
  

What's Next? The Cycle

 

A few days ago, we released the ebook of Drumindor to the Kickstarter backers.  In it, I announced what I'm currently writing. But that announcement only went out the 2,200+ people who bought the ebook as an "add-on." For us, this announcement is pretty exciting, so we're going to share it with everyone else here. 

The Cycle Project

With the completion of The Rise and Fall series and now Drumindor, some of you have asked, “What’s next?” And you haven’t just inquired, I’ve received suggestions.

Some of you want to see a story about the First War, others the early years of Royce and Hadrian. Although after the release of The Rose and the Thorn — after seeing how Royce used to be in the old days — I’m seeing fewer requests for that. By far the top request, however, has been for a post-Riyria Revelations book or series. To understand why I’ve resisted this idea you first need to know how I write my books. 

I am not a fan of stories that start out fantastic and then quickly run out of steam with each added installment. Usually, this happens because the author puts all their “best stuff” up front to gain an audience. I don’t do that. When I started writing the Riyria Revelations, I didn’t think any of them would be published, so I wasn’t concerned about making a “big splash” with my initial offering. Instead, I saved all the juicy stuff for the end. As a result, the last book in that series has been the best — by design — mostly because it was the culmination of everything that came before. Knowing I couldn’t top that, I wasn’t about to try. 

The entire notion was incomprehensible. How could I raise the stakes higher than they were? How could I make the climax more dramatic? The series-long plotline had been satisfied and there was simply no way to top Percepliquis. In order to do that I would need a larger, profounder, over-arching plot: something with even greater stakes, more characters, and a bigger bang at the end. Without knowing it, what people were asking me to do would require nothing less than creating a whole new series devoted to the forming of the world and the Novronian Empire. Then it would be necessary for me to write another series linking those books to the Riyria stories. And somehow in doing all that, I must nurture a growing desire — no, a desperate need — on the part of the readers to see how it all turns out.

And that, dear friend, is just crazy. 

A good case could be made that I am not altogether sensible because, of course, that’s exactly what I did when I spent a decade writing the Legends of the First Empire and The Rise and Fall series. This effort, that culminating in the publication of Farilane and Esrahaddon, launched a new contender for the most requested suggestion that has rocketed to the top spot: the desire to know what happens to Turin. 

In one sense this was good, as that was the point after all, to establish a hunger in my readers for something greater. But it’s also like getting everyone’s attention by grabbing the microphone at a wedding. The audience expects you to say something worth hearing, and as it turns out, laying the foundation was the easy part of this challenge. 

The obstacles were overwhelming. I would need to invent new content and seamlessly marry it to aspects of Elan previously known only to myself. I also had to tie up twenty books in a comprehensive bow all while maintaining the established rules and laws of my world — meaning I couldn’t cheat. These pre-established, load-bearing walls that can’t be relocated or removed, would hinder, if not entirely prevent, me from creating my be-all, end-all masterpiece that could challenge Percepliquis for the top spot. Because of this, I didn’t know if what I hoped to do was even possible.

When facing such an insurmountable task, I did what any normal person would do in my situation. I formed a committee of highly skilled experts in the world of Elan and ordered them to deliberate on the feasibility of contemplating such a project. This became The Exploratory Committee and given the necessary requirements to sit on such an esteemed advisory council, the TEC became a committee of one — me.

On February 23rd of the year 2022, The TEC entered the research and development room, and the door was nailed shut. For more than two and a half years the committee has deliberated in secrecy. Recently, however, there have been some leaks — both good and bad. Perhaps the worst is that “The Project” cannot receive a green light until all the required books have been written. I don’t like promising something I ultimately can’t deliver, so I won’t. The best news is that “The Project” has been officially renamed: The Cycle. This wouldn’t have happened if the committee didn’t have a high degree of confidence in the outcome because giving something a name has the power to breathe it into existence.

Since Drumindor may very likely be the last novel I publish for a number of years, we won’t be able to have these little chats for some time. As such, I want to leave you with a means of checking up on the process of The Cycle Project. You can do so by visiting our webpage at bit.ly/the-cycle or by joining the discord server found at bit.ly/cycle-discord. Through these outlets we will endeavor to keep you up to date with any significant developments

DRUMINDOR EBOOK IS AVAILABLE!

 But only if you buy directly from the author.

The ebook of Drumindor will be available through the retail chain starting on October 21st.  But more than 2,200 Kickstarter Backers have received it already.  If you would like to get your hands on the story now, you can do so by doing a "late pledge" to the Kickstarter through our pre-order store. Not only can you get the Drumindor ebook you can also order regular or deluxe hardcovers of the prior books in the Riyria Chronicle series.

Use this link to get your own copy

And here is a bit about the book from the back cover:

He planned to obliterate an entire city.  He thought no one could stand in his way.

But he hadn’t heard of riyria.

When a master-craftsmen dwarf is fired and threatens retaliation, the rogues-for-hire known as Riyria are commissioned to stop him. Traveling to the paradise resort of Tur Del Fur, the two are granted a lavish allowance that, along with an easy task, promises to turn a job into a vacation. Everything would have been perfect except that the disgruntled worker’s last name is Berling, and the target of his wrath is the legendary towers of Drumindor.

Welcome to the fifth installment of the Riyria Chronicles, the eleventh book starring Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater. It’s been over six years since we last saw the pair. We hope you enjoy their latest adventure!

And if you want to talk to other Drumindor readers while you read, then please stop by the Drumindor Discord Server where you can comment on a chapter-by-chapter basis.

Hope to see you there!

DragonSteel Nexus 2024

 

So, last year Robin planned for us to exhibit at Brandon Sanderson's DraongSteel Convention in Salt Lake City. A last minute cold (that could have been Covid) meant that I had to stay home to prevent getting others on the plane sick.

But Robin and my daughter soldiered on and they went there without me. They explained what a great experience it was and how we should sign up again next year.  Well, between Robin's surgery and a bunch of travel (that had been booked more than a year ago (family trip to Bar Harbor and Robin and I going to Scotland for Worldcon), she forget and by the time she went to sign up, the exhibitor spots were all taken.

But, our good friend Shawn Speakman (from Grim Oak Press) had a booth and we politely asked if we could "split it" and he graciously agreed. So . . . we'll be in Salt Lake City from December 4 - 7.  I suspect most of our time will be hanging out int the exhibit hall, so please stop on by and say hello if you are one of the lucky 7,500 people who got tickets to this event before it sold out (I think I heard something like 5 minutes)

But for those who don't have tickets that happen to be in or around Salt Lake City, we can also arrange for a meetup for signing books, or grabbing a drink, or a bite to eat. If you are interested, email michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com with the subject  SEE YOU IN SALT LAKE CITY, an we'll setup a day time that works.

Oh, and related to this. Grim Oak Press is making a hardcover book with short stories from various authors who will be at the convention. It'll make a great "keepsake" and you can go around and get the books signed.  Here's what it looks like:

My friend J.A. Andrews will have a short story in this book, and so will the great Robin Hobbs! I hope to see Robin again, we once shared a dinner with her in the palace of Napoleon's sister. Yes, I kid you not! If you won't be at the convention you can get a copy of this from here.  I didn't have time to write a new short story so I gave Shawn my short called "Traditions" - it's based in Elan but in a time long, long ago. It's the only version of that story in a printed hardcover - so if you like collecting my stuff - that's a great place to do so.

Hope to see in Salt Lake City.

Drumindor recording begins today!

It's been six years since a Royce and Hadrian adventure - SIX YEARS! But the boys are back (almost), as we are reaching the final milestones because recording starts today, and of course it's being narrated by the amazing Tim Gerard Reynolds. You can pre-order it now,  and it'll show up on October 21st. 

What about the ebook, you might ask? Well those who backed the Kickstarter were promised early access so they'll receive it at least a month before it's available through the retail chains (so September 21st or sooner).

Generally speaking, we use the audio recording as part of our proofing process, and sometimes we'll change a word here or there if Tim drops a word, adds a word, or switches two words around if we think the sentence read more naturally than the original.

And what about the hardcover (regular and deluxe)? Well, first things first. We must get the book "locked" which means Tim has to finish the recording (that's scheduled for September 16th), then it'll be laid out (page count determined), which will affect the spine (so that will be adjusted), and then it's off to the printer.  Once they have official files in hand we'll know the press lead time and be able to give you a better idea about when that will be available.  But it probably won't be any sooner than three months from when they get the files.

So, the long wait is just about over, my friends. I can't wait to hear what Tim will do with this new tale.

Nolyn and Esrahaddon Deluxe editions are back in print!

I must admit, I'm a sucker for these beautiful limited editions that Robin has been producing for me over the last few years, and it looks like a lot of you all have enjoyed them as well.  For about the last six months we've had to disappoint people who were looking for Nolyn deluxe editions (or the full set of the deluxe Rise and Fall series) because we sold through both the Nolyn and the Esrahaddon copies.

Well, Robin did a reprint - and we now have a very limited number of copies back in stock (300 for Esrahaddon and 500 for Nolyn).  And since these will be numbered copies you'll be guaranteed a "low number" when ordering.

We changed printers for Nolyn - and have much better quality this time around.  Some of the features of these editions include:

• Signed and numbered
• Faux leather covers with foil stamping
• Hubbed spines
• Smyth-sewn binding
• Ribbon bookmarks
• Optional slipcase

The covers are the books can be seen here:

Don't they look great? That's the artwork of my amazing daughter, Sarah.

So, if you are missing just a single copy or would like to get a full set, you can do so from a special sale page for the series.  You can find it here.

STATUS UPDATE

“They have to be dead. No one has heard a thing in…how long? How long has the committee been in there?”

“Date in my notebooks says February 23^rd, 2022.”

“That can’t be right. That’s a year and half. Check again.”

“That’s what it says or do you now want to argue with ink?”

    “What are they eating in there?”

    “Each other?”

“You say that like it’s a joke.”

“Imagine the smell.”

“This isn’t healthy. Seriously, they could have died. Are we just gonna stand out here? For how long?”

“Are you saying you want to touch that knob and open the door?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“What are you saying?”

“Someone could knock.”

“Knock, huh? Who?”

“You’ve got knuckles.”

“I’d like to keep them.”

“What are we all afraid of? It’s not Darth Vader’s office.”

“No, it’s Rex Uberlin’s. Inventor of evil.”

“Uberlin is a good guy. He’s trying to save the world.”

“Is he?”

“What do you know? Have you heard something? Can you hear them talking in there?”

“That would be really creepy.”

“Why?”

“You realize it’s just him, right? The Committee is just one guy? If I heard multiple voices coming out of there…that would be creepy.”

“Are you shivering?”

“Air conditioning. I forgot my sweater. Always have to wear one in July. It’s crazy.”

“Sure. Crazy.”

“So you gonna do it?”

“Knock?”

“Yeah. Was your idea. You should stand behind your beliefs. That’s what leaders do, they lead. Nothing worth having comes easy.”

“Are you just quoting inspirational posters?”

“Hang in there kitty.”

“If something bad happens will you at least back me up?”

“You mean besides reciting inspirational quotes?”

“You’re pathetic.”

“We cannot become what we want by remaining what we are—Max Depree.”

“Sigh.”

“Did you just say sigh?”

“Extreme sigh. Look, at least promise me you’ll inform others what happened. Tell my story so I can be remembered. That will be enough.”

“Youth is not enough. And love is not enough. And success is not enough. And, if we could achieve it, enough would not be enough—Mignon McLaughlin.”

“You’re getting irritating now.”

“Sorry.”

“Here goes.”

Knock. Knock.

“Wow, you did it twice. Ballsy.”

“Are you backing away?”

“He who fights and runs away may live to fight another day.”

“You’re not fighting, you’re just running. OMG something is being slipped under the door!”

“O-M-G? How old are you?”

“Shut up.”

“What’s it say?”

“Weird.”

“Is that what it says or what it is?”

“It says: That which was new, grew old.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know. But I think it’s a good sign.”

“Why?”

“There’s also twenty bucks and an order for a pepperoni pizza. They’re not dead. And they’re hungry.”