The Final Round

Avempartha won the last fight sending Royce and Hadrian to the final round. In the words of the tournament organizer:

“The dark horse takes the match with a KO victory; only the final match stands between Avempartha and the champion belt.”

Unfortunately, this looks to be the boss round. In the last match-up I was up against Santa Olivia a bestselling novel by a bestselling author. This round Avempartha’s opponent is none other than Palimpsest by Catherynne Valente. In case you haven’t heard, only days ago Palimpsest was announced as one of the finalists in another competition…the Hugo Awards.



Go here to vote for the last time.

Okay, let’s face it, I never expected to clear the first round. I’m still not sure how on earth I got into this tournament. I mean look at the list of books and authors in this competition:

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
The Price of Spring by Daniel Abraham
The Other City by Michal Ajvaz
On the Edge by Ilona Andrews
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
The Judging Eye by R. Scott Bakker
The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
The Sad Tale of the Brothers Grossbart by Jesse Bullington
Turn Coat by Jim Butcher
God of Clocks by Alan Campbell
Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey
Soulless by Gail Carriger
Fire by Kristin Cashore
Regenesis by C. J. Cherryh
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
The Adamantine Palace by Stephen Deas
The Other Lands by David Anthony Durham
Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
A Magic of Nightfall by S.L. Farrell
Wings of Wrath by C. S. Friedman
Gears of the City by Felix Gilman
Hand of Isis by Jo Graham
A Madness of Angels: Or The Resurrection of Matthew Swift by Kate Griffin
The Dwarves by Markus Heitz
Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb
Avilion by Robert Holdstock
In the Valley of the Kings by Terrence Holt
The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff
Buyout by Alexander C. Irvine
The Gathering Storm by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Sandman Slim by Richard Kadrey
I Kill Giants by Joe Kelly and JM Ken Niimura
Twelve by Jasper Kent
City Without End by Kay Kenyon
The Silver Mage by Katharine Kerr
The Red Tree by Caitlin R. Kiernan
The Unincorporated Man by Dani Kollin and Eytan Kollin
Heart’s Blood by Juliet Marillier
Cyberabad Days by Ian McDonald
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
The City & the City by China Mieville
Magic in the Blood by Devon Monk
Hater by David Moody
The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan
Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton
Red Claw by Philip Palmer
Unseen Academicals by Terry Pratchett
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
The Red Wolf Conspiracy by Robert V. S. Redick
Yellow Blue Tibia by Adam Roberts
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
The Ghost King by R. A. Salvatore
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
Drood by Dan Simmons
Silksinger by Laini Taylor
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Finch by Jeff VanderMeer
Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld
The Burning Skies by David J. Williams
Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson
Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding

These are huge names, and impressive books! They are all gone now, and it is down to Palimpsest and Avempartha. That’s just crazy. I feel like I should be punching slabs of meat or running up and down the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

At this point, it no longer matters if I win or lose. I’ve already won. BSC isn’t going to give the winner a trip to Hawaii or big publishing contract. The big reward for me is exposure, and just by making it to the final round I will have obtained the maximum exposure possible. Already hundreds of people who wouldn’t normally know about my books are now at least mildly curious. They might not buy it, but they will remember it as that unknown book by that unknown author that somehow made it to the finals in that little book tournament. And that’s actually a bigger deal than it sounds. When you’re living on breadcrumbs, getting a whole slice is a fortune.

Thanks once more to all of you who supported me and for all the wonderful things you said about the book and the series, and for being my voice when I’m not allowed to have one.