Audible's 5-star listens

Each year around this time Audible.com takes a look at their titles and highlights those with a significant number of 5-star ratings.  I'm pleased to announce that once again I have a title (The Crown Tower) that has made two of these lists:

• The Best of Everything - which, not surprisingly covers all categories of books
• Sci-fi & Fantasy - which, surprisingly, I got the #1 spot

In 2011, Theft of Swords made the same two lists - which really bowled me over. Lists like this, as well as the Goodreads Choice Award (where The Crown Tower was also picked), are especially gratifying because they are selected based on a bunch of readers raising their hands as saying, I really like this book. 

So I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who read, listen, and provide a good rating or review of the musing I write.  Also, since this is an audio accolade, I have to once again provide a tip of my hat to the exceptional work of Tim Gerard Reynolds who did the narration.

Yesterday, I just finalized a deal with Audible.com to release a free edition of The Jester.  For those that don't know, this was a Royce and Hadrian short story that I created for the Unfettered Anthology to help pay off the extensive medical bills that Shawn Speakman incurred when he was fighting his second bout with cancer.  The audio rights for the full anthology were bought by Audible and they, wisely, tapped Tim to do that recording...so look for that soon.  But for those that want a taste of the magic that Tim has given to my works, you can listen to him perform my other short story, The Viscount and the Witch. Even if you have read the short as a standalone, or as the second chapter of The Rose and the Thorn, you'll sure to enjoy this version.  Oh, and feel free to skip past the first 4 1/2 minutes as that is just ramblings from me ;-)

Have you heard?

If you haven't heard one of the Riyria stories as read by Tim Gerard Reynolds you're really missing out on something special. Tim is without question the "Voice of Riyria" and once you hear him act out the various characters, you'll never be able to read the books again without hearing his portrayal in your ears.

Over two years ago, I wrote a little short story called The Viscount and the Witch. At the time, it was a little present to my existing readers to act as a bridge between my self-published books being pulled from the market and the Orbit books starting to ship.  Since then, I've used Viscount as a free introduction to my stories...to give people a taste to see if they might want to read the rest. Nowadays, it is quickly growing into obsolesce--mainly because it was incorporated as a chapter in The Rose and the Thorn. In fact, the whole Riyria Chronicles series has grown from its tiny seed.

I've always loved this short story and, as I already mentioned, Tim's reading of my books. So after recording The Rose and the Thorn, I asked my audio book producer, Recorded Books, if I could have a copy of chapter two. They were kind enough to agree. I also went up to their studios in New York and recorded a brief  introduction (4 1/2 of the total 45 minutes) in case you were ever curious as to what I sound like...which I'm sure everyone is ;-). We are still working on how (and if) we can get this posted for free on sites such as audible and itunes, but in the meantime, I can certainly make it available here. Just hit the Listen Audio button and it will bring up a control in a new window.

Oh, and if you would prefer to download the file (to put on your ipod or kindle) just right click on the control then select "Save video as..." Yeah, I know it's not a video, but you will get a MP3 file that you can put on any device you desire.

Even if you've already read the short story, I encourage you to give this version a listen. Tim has a way of making me sound much better than I am. Oh, and if you do enjoy the listen, please send a tweet to @KanshoReynolds (add the hashtag #vatw) to show him your appreciation. I'd love to see him flooded with praise for the wonderful job he did on this and all of my books. Happy listening!

Last day to win limited edition copies of Hollow World

It's still 131 days until the release of Hollow World, but four lucky people will be mailed signed limited-edition hardcovers tomorrow. This means you have a chance to join the nearly one thousand people who are already reading the novel (because they participated in the Kickstarter). The Kickstarter backers paid $75 for these editions, and as there are only 250 of them in existence, they will become collector items. If you're not yet familiar with Hollow World, here's a bit about the book:

The future is coming...for some sooner than others     Ellis Rogers is an ordinary man who is about to embark on an extraordinary journey. All his life he has played it safe and done the right thing, but faced with a terminal illness he's willing to take an insane gamble. He's built a time machine in his garage, and if it works, he'll face a world that challenges his understanding of what it means to be human, what it takes to love, and the cost of paradise. Ellis could find more than a cure for his illness; he might find what everyone has been searching for since time began...but only if he can survive Hollow World. “This is a clever and thought-provoking story, with loads of interesting ideas, some adrenalin-pumping action and plenty of humor...overall an entertaining read with Pax being one of my favorite characters of the year.”  — Pauline M. Ross, Fantasy Review Barn

There are two ways to enter:

• Goodreads - open to US, Canada, and the United Kingdom 
• My parallel giveaway - open to all countries

If you live in a place where you can enter in both...feel free to do so.  For those outside the specified countries, you'll actually have two ballots entered in my drawing  (the software that takes the poll will determine what country you are from). This way everyone will have two chances to win.

Even if you've read Hollow World, or have your own print copy, I encourage you to enter. The books will arrive in time for holiday gift giving so you might just get a nice present for a friend or loved one.