International Authors' Day Giveaway

I was honored to receive an email from Jenn at Book Reviews and Giveaways that not only was I her "favorite author" but that she wanted to feature me for a blog hop for International Authors' Day.  Part of the hop involves free giveaways of the work the bloggers love the most, and I was more than happy to participate.

For those who aren't familiar with blog hops...it's when a bunch of bloggers get together to feature a particular event or theme.  This one is organized by Lynn Thompson and will run from July 14th - July 18th. Here are a small sampling of participating blogs:

Kristen Taber Book r3vi3w Tours Butterfly on a Broomstick Reader's Muse My Devotional Thoughts

Ryshia Kennie Her Ladyship's Quest Stacy Joy Netzel Daniel R. Thorne Crissi Langwell

Njkinny's World of Books Book Reviews & Giveaways Penny's Tales Theresa M. Jones Amy L. Peterson

There are many more, and I wish I could list them all, but the list is just too long. But let's focus on Jenn's entry.  Here is part of what she had to say for her post:

My favorite genre is Fantasy. My first taste was playing games based on Dungeons & Dragons and I fell in love. I’ve read quite a lot in this genre, with several series or authors I really like. My favorite author has to be Michael J. Sullivan. His writing always feels like you are right there with the characters. You can feel what they are going through and you connect with them on so many levels. You find yourself caring what happens and experiencing emotions as though they were your closest friends. The descriptions are perfect. Never too much, never too little. You can visualize what he describes like it is being painted right before your eyes. I love how he can take so many plot threads along with the main plot and weave them expertly through more than just one book. You can’t help but stay up late just to read another chapter.

Jenn is running a "raffle copter" to giveaway one of my stories, but I was so thrilled to be part of this that I'm offering three of my short stories, not just to a single winner - but for anyone who signs up. Here is what I'm providing from this link.

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WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH? Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap…and what happens is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive. NOTE: This short story was originally published in the Unfettered Anthology edited by Shawn Speakman.

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THEY ATTACKED TWO RIDERS. THEY THOUGHT IT WOULD BE EASY. THEY WERE WRONG. A band of thieves set upon two lonely riders in the middle of the night. They had a larger party. They had the element of surprise. There was no reason to be concerned, but they didn’t realize who they were dealing with. NOTE: This was originally published as the first chapter of Theft of Swords (Book #1 and Book #2 of The Riyria Revelations), so for those who have that book...you already have this story.

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WILL ROYCE TEACH HADRIAN OR BE SCHOOLED HIMSELF? Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief decides to teach his idealist swordsman partner that no good deed goes unpunished. But who is really the student and who is the master? NOTE: This short story was the seed that became The Riyria Chronicles, it eventually found it's way in Chapter 2 of The Rose and the Thorn.

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I know that people on my site have probably already read these shorts, in one format or another...but I thought I should mention it in case you have friends/family that you want to introduce to Royce and Hadrian for free.

Thanks Jenn, and all the bloggers participating on the blog hop.  It's so nice to have a day (or three) devoted to authors and I'm honored to be included.