I'm one of #BrandonsBuddies, hopefully you will be, too

F*CK CANCER! Yeah, I don't usually use such language as that, but in this case, I'll make an exception. I lost my father and my sister to this dreaded disease, I've trained and rode in a fund-raising campaign when my old and feeble body was barely up to the task, I've donated stories for Shawn Speakman's Unfettered books to help end his medical debt (and reduce the debts of other fellow authors), and now I'm joining with hundreds of fantasy authors to support one of our own.

Brandon Barr is dying. Nothing can be done to stop that fact, but hopefully, we in the fantasy community can help bring a little peace of mind to him, by providing some financial support to the wife and three boys who he leaves behind. So, I've become one of #BrandonsBuddies, and I hope you will, too. How do you do so?

• Why not pick up one (or several) of Brandon's books, Rise of the Seer has just been released at an introductory price of $0.99.
  
• You can join me in donating to Brandon's GoFundMe Campaign it's already raised more than 1/3 of it's $100,000 goal.
  
• You can help spread the word about Brandon, his work, and the horrific situation he finds himself in on Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sites. Please use the hashtag #BrandonsBuddies. 

I've never read any of Brandon's books, but a lot of people have. Brandon is a USA Today Bestselling author, and here's what some people are saying about his stories:

"I’ve read a few books by Brandon, and he never disappoints. His books take you into a new world, but you get pulled in so deeply that you swear you are there. Looking forward to the next release." -- BellaT (Amazon Reviewer)

"Like all of the books by this author this series is captivating, the reader is sucked right into the epic adventures of the heroines. I loved it and highly recommend this book." -- Astrid Rudloff (Amazon Reviewer)

"I couldn't put it down. Love the characters and world that have been created. It's full of great twists and turns. Readers will be drawn into the story from the very first page. Readers who love sci-fi and fantasy will want to add this one to their TBR list." -- Diane (Goodreads Reviewer)

So if you're looking for some great epic fantasy, and want to do some good at the same time, please get yourself a copy of one (or several) of Brandon's books. Not only will you get a great story but you'll be helping one of fantasy's own whos voice will be silenced way too soon.

Assassin Author Roundtable - Today at 2:00 Eastern, 1:00 Central, 11:00 Pacific)

Hey all, I've been invited by the Angel Hayes at Indie Fantasy Addicts to be part of an online event today at 2:00. If you can't attend, I believe it's being recorded so you should be able to see all the happenings at a time of your convenience, and I'll update this post once the video is live.

I'll be joining a number of fellow fantasy authors including Andy Peloquin, JT Williams, Lindsay Buroker, D.W. Hawkins, and Steve Collier. Not entirely sure what all we'll be discussing, but I'm sure it's going to be a lot of fun. So, if you're free, stop on by, and if you're not. Check out the video whenever you get a chance.

Here is a link to the recorded session.

Honored to make the short list

A few weeks ago I posted about the Booknests' Fantasy Award, and how Age of War was picked by a panel to be one of the 50 titles submitted for consideration. The judges included nine popular fantasy blogs (Bookworm Blues, Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Book Review, Fantasy-Faction, Grimdark Magazine, The Fantasy Hive, The Fantasy Inn, The Grim Tidings Podcast, and The Weatherwax Report), three big fantasy imprints (Gollancz, Harper Voyager, and Orbit), and two well-respected agents (John Jarrold and Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky Literary Agency).

What an amazing list with some incredible books, and I was pleased to be included. What I didn't expect was to make the short list. After all,  forty books had to go, and I expected mine would be one of them. But out of some miracle (and thank you to everyone who voted), the book made it to the shortlist.

Once again, I'm including some data from Goodreads (which I've updated from my last post). The odds-on favorite would be Children of Blood and Bone although I won't count out how much people enjoy Brandon Sanderson's work.

Title	Author	Rating	# Ratings	# shelved
A Time of Dread	John Gwynne	4.47	1,031	5,769
Age of War	Michael J. Sullivan	4.47	3,764	18,415
Bloody Rose	Nicholas Eames	4.39	1,750	8,624
Children of Blood and Bone	Tomi Adeyemi	4.28	45,682	183,220
Iron Gold	Pierce Brown	4.26	21,141	72,530
Master Assassins	Robert V.S. Redick	4.18	658	4,466
Oathbringer	Brandon Sanderson	4.63	59,709	142,362
Spinning Silver	Naomi Novik	4.32	15,225	69,506
The Fall of Gondolin	J.R.R. Tolkien	4.08	593	7,812
The Girl In The Tower	Katherine Arden	4.42	17,319	52,275

Voting is open for the next round, and again don't feel obligated to vote for Age of War (you'll just be throwing your vote away, but by all means, vote for whichever book you want to see win.

Lucca Comics and Games Convention Schedule

In general, I don't do many conventions. It's not that I don't enjoy them, but travel can be trying (Robin has had two back surgeries and being on a plane for any extended period of time is painful, and I don't like going anywhere she doesn't come). Plus, unless the publisher is footing the bill, it can be pretty expensive. Don't get me wrong, I love to see fans, but if it's going to cost me several days of writing time and a few thousand dollars...well, you can see why I don't go to many conventions.

But when an opportunity arose to go to the Lucca Comics and Games Convention in Italy...with all expenses paid by my Italian publisher and the convention organizers, how could I say no? Especially when they offered to pay for all of Robin's travel as well.

If you don't know anything about the Lucca festival (I didn't until I was invited), here is a great video that gives you a good idea what we're going to be doing from October 31 - November 4th.

The convention has been described as "the western world's biggest geek meet." It's huge! Over 500 events, concerts, parades, and activities are held in historical buildings and on the streets, taking over the entire city. In 2017 the festival celebrated its 51th anniversary, with more than 50 international guests and about 245,000 attendees. To put that into perspective, Dragoncon (held in Atlanta each year) has about 80,000 attendees, and New York Comic Con has about 130,000. Those conventions are dwarfed when compared to Lucca.

Below is my convention schedule. If you are going to be at Lucca, please drop by and see me at any of these times.

• Wed 10/31 11:00 - 12:00 Signing at the Armenia Booth
• Thur 11/01 11:00 - 12:00 Signing at the Armenia Booth
• Thur 11/01 12:00 - 14:00 Presentation on publishing (self and traditional) at Villa Gioiosa
• Thur 11/01 19:30 - 21:30 Ceremony Night and Gala Dinner at the Giglio Opera House
• Fri    11/02 11:00 - 12:00 Signing at the Armenia Booth
• Sat    11/03 11:00 - 12:00 Signing at the Armenia Booth
• Sat   11/03  16:00 - 17:00 Q&A Public Meeting at Ingelis Hall

If you won't be attending the Lucca Festival, we can still meet up.  I'll be in Florence on 10/30, 11/4, and 11/5 and a little bit on 11/6, and in the town of Lucca starting early on 10/31 and for a little bit on 11/4. Just drop me an email and let me know where and how you want to meet and we'll do the best we can to accommodate you.

We did it--take that price gougers!

If you follow this blog you may be aware of a little mission Robin and I set out on. You see, recently Del Rey put the hardcover edition of Age of Swords out of print, and the third-party resellers on Amazon had a field day, taking the $28 hardcover and jacking up the price to astronomical levels. For instance, on 9/22 the prices for a new copy ran between $100.92 - $191.06.

Now, for the people who had put off buying their copies of Age of Swords, this would mean a hole in their collections, and I didn't want to have that.  So, Robin went to work to rectify the situation.

• Step 1 was getting our hands on as many copies of Age of Swords as we could, which would cut off the supply chain from the price-gougers.  We could do it, but it'd be expensive...nearly $9,000.  But we had to try.

• Step 2 was to run a crowdfunding campaign to raise the cash.  We sold the first three books of the series at a 20% discount and provided people with bonus perks like bookmarks, screensavers, and a new Legends of the First Empire Short Story.  The campaign raised more than $32,000 (more than enough to cover the buying, shipping, and storing of the books. Plus we sold more than 950 books in the process. Woohoo!

• Step 3 was to get the books on Amazon at $28.  We turned to Shawn Speakman at Grim Oak Press (a great guy who've we worked with before on anthologies such as Unfettered, Unfettered II, and Unbound). Shawn already had an Amazon Marketplace account, so we shipped him a bunch of books at $10 a piece giving he a nice profit margin to earn well when people buy the books at the original list price of $28.

And there you have it!  The book is back to $28, readers won't have a hole in their Legends of the First Empire hardcover collection, Shawn will make some cash, we'll make some cash, everyone wins!  Well, except for those poor, poor, price gougers who aren't going to be able to sell their books at those outrageous prices!

My thanks to Del Rey, Shawn Speakman, Robin, and most important to you, dear readers, for helping to get this problem solved. We make a pretty good team!

Epic Fantasy Giveaway: Oct 8 - 18

Hey all, I'm once more partnering up with Fantasy Bridge to be part of an Epic Fantasy Giveaway.  You can enter here. All people who enter will receive 4 ebooks including my short story Professional Integrity.

Title	Author	Shelved by	Rating	# Ratings
The Apples of Idunn by	Matt Larkin	755	3.98	122
A Legacy of Light	Daniel Arenson	1,897	3.78	538
Flight of the Krilo	Sam Ferguson	32	4.23	13
Professional Integrity	Michael J. Sullivan	3,827	4.19	1,805

There will be 1 Grand Prize Winner and 5 Regular Winners. All six of these people will receive the 30 ebooks listed below. The Grand Prize Winner will also receive a $30 Amazon card.

• Darkblade Assassin by Andy Peloquin • The Dragon's Champion by Sam Ferguson • Sevenfold Sword: Champion by Jonathan Moeller  • Dragon Bones by D.K. Holmberg • The Dragon Orb by Shelton and Gillette • The Rogue Retrieval by Dan Koboldt • The Path Of Destiny by Mike Shelton • Dragonvein by Brian D. Anderson • Disappearance of Winter's Daughter by MJS  • Olde Robin Hood by Kate Danley • On Borrowed Luck by TJ Muir • Stormwielder: by Hodges and Bentulan • The Dragon War Trilogy by Daniel Arenson • Banished by Michael Wisehart • A Warden's Purpose by Jeffrey L. Kohanek

• Web Of Eyes by Castle and Bruno • Windsworn by Derek Alan Siddoway • The Dragon's Blade by Michael R. Miller • Darkness Forged by Matt Larkin • A Warrior's Path by Davis Ashura • Reaper's Awakening by Jacob Peppers • Phoenix Descending by Dorothy Dreyer • Innocence Lost by Patty Jansen • Wolves by C. Gockel • The Buried Symbol by Jeffrey L. Kohanek • The Story Master by Vincent Trigili • Salvation's Dawn by Joe Jackson • Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko • Bloodmark by Jean Lowe Carlson • Whill of Agora by Michael Ploof

I really like the fact that there are some great offers just for entering, so everyone is a winner in that respect, but six people will reap even greater rewards. I wish you luck on the drawing!

Voting for 2018 BookNest Fantasy Award

I'm pleased to announce that Age of War has made the long list for the 2018 BookNest Fantasy Award. Voting to create the shortlist will continue from now until Sunday 14th October. Nine popular Fantasy Blogs (Bookworm Blues, Fantasy Book Critic, Fantasy Book Review, Fantasy-Faction, Grimdark Magazine, The Fantasy Hive, The Fantasy Inn, The Grim Tidings Podcast & The Weatherwax Report), three big Fantasy Imprints (Gollancz, Harper Voyager & Orbit), and two well-respected Agents (John Jarrold & Joshua Bilmes of JABberwocky Literary Agency) helped to create the nominees.

All told, there are 4 categories for you to vote on including:

• Best Traditionally Published Novel
• Best Self-Published Novel
• Best Debut Novel
• Best Imprint (Publisher) 

You don't need to vote for my book, but please do go and vote for your favorites.  The full list of nominees in the Best Tradtiionally Publihsed Novel Category is presented here along with some data from Groodreads regarding how many books have been shelved, what people have rated the books, and how many ratings have come in. Any book on Goodreads with a rating higher than 4.3 is truly exceptional, so I highlighted some of those.

Title	Author	Rating	# Ratings	# shelved
A War in Crimson Embers	Alex Marshall	4.14	341	1,007
Age of War	Michael J. Sullivan	4.48	3,507	18,163
A Time of Dread	John Gwynne	4.47	992	5,666
Aru Shah and the End of Time	Roshani Chokshi	4.15	4,384	22,944
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance	Ruth Emmie Lang	4.23	6,428	29,821
Blood and Tempest	Jon Skovron	4.11	329	900
Blood of Assassins	RJ Barker	4.20	451	1,183
Bloody Rose	Nicholas Eames	4.41	1,386	8,181
Charmcaster	Sebastien de Castell	4.34	705	2,448
Children of Blood and Bone	Tomi Adeyemi	4.28	43,536	178,630
Circe	Madeline Miller	4.36	42,200	162,103
City of Lies	Sam Hawke	3.94	528	6,848
Darksoul	Anna Stephens	3.81	895	2,285
Fire Dance	Ilana C. Myer	3.47	1,115	1,392
Foundryside	Robert Jackson Bennett	4.39	1,843	19,432
Furyborn	Claire Legrand	3.89	6,490	59,536
Grey Sister	Mark Lawrence	4.47	7,183	19,112
Iron Gold	Pierce Brown	4.26	20,597	71,528
Jade City	Fonda Lee	4.01	2,355	14,248
King of Assassins	RJ Barker	4.56	194	815
Magic Triumphs	Ilona Andrews	4.63	7,920	27,301
Master Assassins	Robert V.S. Redick	4.19	634	4,411
Oathbringer	Brandon Sanderson	4.64	58,330	140,180
Port of Shadows	Glen Cook	4.21	354	3,751
Quillifer	Walter Jon Williams	3.90	288	1,064
Ravencry	Ed McDonald	4.33	516	1,521
Seventh Decimate	Stephen Donaldson	3.21	614	2,657
Shadowblack	Sebastien de Castell	4.16	1,593	4,237
Spinning Silver	Naomi Novik	4.33	13,882	67,472
Starless	Jacqueline Carey	4.12	1,383	8,901
Tempests and Slaughter	Tamora Pierce	4.12	7,452	39,075
The Bitter Twins	Jen Williams	4.36	228	693
The Deathless	Peter Newman	3.91	131	2,018
The Ember Blade	Chris Wooding	4.18	61	1,812
The Empire of Ashes	Anthony Ryan	4.19	1,122	4,198
The Fall of Dragons	Miles Cameron	4.33	1,652	4,525
The Fall of Gondolin	J.R.R. Tolkien	4.11	413	7,247
The Forbidden City	Deborah Wolf	4.39	18	165
The Girl In The Tower	Katherine Arden	4.44	16,749	51,409
The Infernal Battalion	Django Wexler	4.33	1,869	5,658
The Land You Never Leave	Angus Watson	4.44	25	262
The Last Namsara	Kristen Ciccarelli	4.17	6874	26,818
The Mere Wife	Maria Dahvana Headley	4.15	620	5,365
The Outcast	Taran Matharu	4.24	924	7,515
The Poppy War	R. F. Kuang	4.12	6,483	41,804
The Skaar Invasion	Terry Brooks	4.16	779	2,536
The Tower of Living and Dying	Anna Smith Spark	4.35	82	553
Trail of Lightning	Rebecca Roanhorse	4.17	2,878	18,157
Witchsign	Den Patrick	3.78	94	2,448
Wrath of Empire	Brian McClellan	4.56	2,723	8,459

Ten Years & a Lifetime Ago

Ten years ago on this day, October 1st, 2008, my first novel was released by a small press (Aspirations Media Incorporated) to the thunderous applause of crickets. Well that's not entirely true, the crickets didn't applaud, and if they had, even their scant numbers couldn't produce anything thunderous. Like almost everyone else, they didn’t take notice either. My release “event” was held at the Arlington Barnes & Noble. I expected a crowd, and there were twenty people, but I knew every one of them. Nearly all were from my writer’s group that met in the same bookstore, on that same night, on the same floor, in the same place. And yes, we planned it that way because if we hadn’t, I’d have been alone with my wife wondering if we could smuggle liquor into a bookstore.

The Arlington Writer’s Group, better known as AWG, were quite gracious. They didn’t complain that I had hijacked their space, and they sat quietly listening to my very first public talk, which I can’t remember (such things are often erased from long-term memory for sanity’s sake). More important, nearly everyone bought a book and wanted me to sign their copies. I sat at a rickety folding table, sharpie in hand, as a line formed. I felt absolutely ridiculous. I was pretending to be an author. What got me through the event was that everyone else pretended, too.

That was the first and last line I'd encounter for my signature during the next four years.  The second time, my new publisher literally gave the books away to ensure a crowd. As it turns out, people line up for free stuff.

For years, I considered myself "The Little Engine That Might." I had persistence, some decent stories (at least I thought they were), and most important of all a loving wife that made it her mission to see that I would succeed. Why? Well, it wasn't for money or fame that she worked so hard. It was so I could live a dream I'd had since I was a 13-year-old boy: To be able to write the stories I wanted to tell and hopefully have a few people read and enjoy them as well. It's taken a decade since that first released book (and thirty years and thirteen books prior to that), to get to where I am now, and I think it's safe to say I should upgrade from "That Might" to "Who Did." I've sold more than 1.5M books in the English language (and I have no idea how many in the foreign markets), but I do have dozens and dozens of contracts in so many languages I've lost track. I'm also proud to say that I'm now officially a New York Times Bestselling author. And last week, I had two books on the Washington Post’s Bestseller’s List. 

What a difference a decade makes! And of course, I can't end this post without thanking the most important people to my success. No, it's not my agents, or my editors, or the publishers who have picked me up and expanded my readership (although I am grateful to them as well). But who I'm speaking about is you, dear readers. It's because you took a chance on one of my books, then went back for more, and most important of all, the fact that you recommended them to others. I've always said that it's word of mouth that makes or breaks a book, and in many ways, it's your contributions that have gotten me where I am now (even more so than anything I or Robin have done). So I hope that you, too, share in this 10th anniversary celebration, after all, it's you who have truly made it such a success.