Barnes and Noble's favorite 12 Fantasy Heist Novels

I'm thrilled that when Barnes and Nobel's Sci-fi and Fantasy Blog went looking for "rogues [who] are witty, engaging, and will rob you blind with a rakish wink and a smile" that Royce and Hadrian made their list of twelve favorite heist books with a fantasy twist.  What's even better is the amazing company it's been included with. Here are all of B&N's picks:

Here's a bit about each book and review/rating information from Goodreads. Note: books marked with an * indicate omnibus editions and the review data is a compilation including the individual titles.

Title	Author	Series	Rating	# Ratings
The Adventures of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser*	Fritz Leiber	Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser	3.97	18,852
Artemis Fowl	Eoin Colfer	Artemis Fowl	3.83	422,994
Bridge of Birds	Barry Hughart	Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox	4.29	8,679
Clockwork Boys	T. Kingfisher	Clocktaur War	4.31	1,170
Darker Shade of Magic	VE Schwab	Shades of Magic	4.09	106,284
Holver Alley Crew	Marshall Ryan Maresca	The Streets of Maradaine	3.99	175
The Legend of Eli Monpress*	Rachel Aaron	Legend of Eli Monpress	4.00	20,309
Lies of Locke Lamora	Scott Lynch	Gentleman Bastard	4.30	157,502
Mistborn	Brandon Sanderson	Mistborn	4.44	271,729
Steal the Sky	Megan O’Keefe	Scorched Continent	3.53	434
Theft of Swords*	Michael J. Sullivan	The Riyria Revelations	4.22	64,918
Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn	Tyler Whitesides	Ardor Benn	4.13	39

I know I found some books that weren't on my radar due to this list. I hope you find some new great reads as well.

Age of War goes into its second printing!

We've been fighting a battle with flood waters here on the land, so I've not been online much. But I did get some good news today about how well Age of War is pre-selling. A second printing has been ordered, a good sign indeed especially given we are still more than 2 weeks out from the release date. For those who love first editions, you better get your pre-orders in fast ;-).  I also have some books ordered for direct selling once the book goes live, so I should have some of the first editions as well.  

And thanks, everyone for early support of the work. I'm so glad people are as excited as I am. July 3rd can't come soon enough from where I sit!  Now, if you excuse me I have to go use an excavator to install a huge culvert between the garden and the pool so we don't flood out for a third time !

Last day for Goodreads Giveaway of Age of War ARC

There are just a few hours left for your last chance to get an ARC (Advanced Reading Copy) of Age of War. More than 12,000 people have added the book to their Goodreads shelves and the 94% of the 285+ early rating/reviews have liked the book. All this, and the fact that the vast majority of the reviewers have given it 5 stars makes me cautiously optimistic the book will continue the legacy of Legends series by providing an entertaining read.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Age of War

by Michael J. Sullivan

Giveaway ends May 31, 2018.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

So, if you want to read the book a month before everyone else, sign up for the giveaway and keep your fingers crossed!

Age of War is available on NetGalley

We are just 40 days away from the release of Age of War...that's less than six weeks! And I was just notified that the book has gone live on NetGalley.

Access depends on what type of reviewer you are here's the schedule:

• Available Now: Booksellers, Librarian, and people in the Media
• Available 06/04: Bloogers, YouTubers, and  Book Reviewers

If you've not read the first two books, or have and want some refreshers, recaps are posted.

• Age of Myth recap
• Age of Swords recap

I can't wait to hear what people think!

Summer Listening 2-For-1 Sale: Get the first Riyria Chronicle at 1/2 off!

I'm pleased to announce that The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicle #1) is now on sale as part of Audible's 2-For-1 Summer Listening Sale.

There are a ton of great titles in the sale including 8 terrific epic fantasy tales by the likes of Brandon Sanderson, Robin Hobb, Naomi Novik, Anthony Ryan, and many more.

Here's the full list of epic fantasy (sorted by rating and # of reviews). But there are a lot more titles on the sale, so if you only see one epic fantasy you are interested in, I'm sure you can find another book to round out your selection.

Title	Author	Series	#	Narrator	Rating	# Reviews
Dawn of Wonder	Jonathan Renshaw	The Wakening	1	Tim Gerard Reynolds	4.7	28,834
The Crown Tower	Michael J. Sullivan	Riyria Chronicles	1	Tim Gerard Reynolds	4.7	9,961
The Red Sea	Edward W. Robertson	Cycle of Galand	1	Tim Gerard Reynolds	4.6	7,912
Elantris	Brandon Sanderson	N/A	N/A	Jack Garrett	4.6	5,812
Spellmonger	Terry Mancour	Spellmonger	1	John Lee	4.4	5,212
Fool's Assassin	Robin Hobb	Fitz and the Fool	1	Elliot Hill	4.4	2,757
The Waking Fire	Anthony Ryan	Draconis Memoria	1	Steven Brand	4.4	1,507
Uprooted	Naomi Novik	N/A	N/A	Julia Emelin	4.3	3,239

The sale is only running for a few days so you'll have to hurry. I hope you find something great to listen to.

Creative Writing Career Podcast

Recently I had a lot of fun as a guest on the Creative Writing Career Podcast. Justin Sloan (a prolific writer in his own right) was the host, and we talked on all kinds of subjects that may be of interest to both writers and readers.

So if you want a peek inside my brain (and I can't imagine why you would want that), come on over and check it out.

And thanks to Justin for taking the time to have me on the show.

5 Days and less than $3,000...let's hit this Kickstarter stretch goal!

I love Kickstarters, Shark Tank, and all things entrepreneurial. I have a ton of products from them, and I've never regretted a single purchase. Some have made their goals, others have fallen short, but I always feel good about supporting people who are working hard to make their dreams become a reality.

Recently, an author friend of mine launched his first Kickstarter (in no small part because I dragged him to do it).

He has a following...more than 160,000 books sold to date, is a great story teller (this Kickstarter is for his third major fantasy series), and I believe he'll definitely be in the "writing business" for many years to come. He's one of what I call the professional self-published. Those that release books with the same commitment to quality that the big publishers are putting out.

So, Phil funded almost immediately, and has reached a number of stretch goals, but his most recent goal is one I'm particularly interested in. Phil has rallied some of his self-published friends and for everyone  that backs at the $10 or more level, they'll receive the first book in some really great indie  series.

 

So what books are coming if Phil reaches the next stretch goal?

• Dyrk Ashton's Paternus  
• Davis Ashura's William Wilde and the Necrosed  
• AC Cobble's Benjamin Ashwood  
• David Estes' Fatemarked  
• Ben Galley's Blood Rush  
• Jeramy Goble's Coven Queen 

Like Phil, these authors are absolutely killing it in the self-published space. One of the things that most people outside the business of publishing (and inside it for that matter) is just how successful these authors are -- even though you may have never heard their names. And again, I attribute their success to producing high quality books that stand toe-to-toe with books put out by the big name publishers.

I'd love for Phil to hit this next stretch goal. It has the potential to expose these amazing authors to a larger audience, and I think you'll find some new series to love. Not to mention. It's an amazing deal! For just $10 you can receive 7 ebooks (a $35 value) and if you prefer print or audio versions you can get those at the $25 and $35 levels.

But don't take my recommendation of this Kickstarter on blind faith. Phil has an excerpt of the book (which is fully written, edited, and ready to ship after the Kickstarter closes), posted and you can read the first few chapters now. That way you can "try before you buy."

So, take a look, and if you like what you see, please back Phil's project. Like I said, it's already funded (and written) so the risk factor has been eliminated. But if we reach the next stretch goal you'll be introduced to a bunch of the new indie elite and I'm sure it'll open the door to some great new series for you to dive into.