A seat at the big kids' tables

For those who have been "with me" over the years, you know that when I started out I considered myself "the little engine that might." Well, more than a decade goes by, fifteen books are released, and soon you are counting the sales in millions of copies sold rather than a few thousand. It's all quite surreal, and I have to grudgingly admit that the "might" has to change to "did."

I'll admit that when I hit the New York Times Bestsellers List, I thought that would be the peak. But there is one thing that still alluded me.  You see, even though I realize I've achieved so much, I still know that few people have heard of me or my books. Which is fine. I've reached heights that I never thought possible, and I have nothing to complain about.

But someone recently told me that my Riyria Revelation books have appeared on the 50 Best Fantasy Books of All Time List (compiled by the folks at the NerdMuch? site). I'll admit, every time one of these lists comes out I look (just to see) but year after year, list after list, there is no mention of my work. This is one of the reasons I know I'm still working my way up the ladder. But seeing my books there (especially in the company it has been added next to) makes me feel like I'm making it to the "big kids" table. I still probably won't sit down, but at least I won't feel self-conscious about standing with my tray in the same room as the others.

As always, I know this type of success is not just because of what I did, but it's due to all you generous readers who have supported me over the years. So please consider this accomplishment as a joint project, because it's by buying the books, and telling others how much you enjoyed them, that the series has such staying power. So take the time to congratulate yourself as well. Together we keep doing great things.

$5 Crown Tower Audiobook - now through Aug 4

Have you read the Riyria Revelations but not Chronicles? Or maybe you are into the Legends of the First Empire series, but haven't yet tried a Riyria tale? Well, if you are an audio-listener, now is a great time to dive into the Riyria Chronicles as The Crown Tower (Book #1 of the Riyria Chronicles is on sale for just $5)!

I hope you pick up a copy, and if you like the read, please let us know!

Top 10 Audiobooks - 6 for 6

We are so honored that audiobook listeners flock to our new releases in droves. Since 2015, every single release of my books has hit Audible's Top 10 bestseller list in its debut week, including last week's Age of Legend. That's amazing, especially when you consider there are 61,000+ fiction titles on the site. How can I not be happy with that! So, thank you, audio listeners, for bringing us to the top of the charts so many times.

• #9 The Death of Dulgath  (Dec 15, 2015)
• #6 Age of Myth (May 9, 2016)
• #1 Age of Swords (July 28, 2017)
• #8 The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter (Dec 8, 2017)
• #3 Age of War (July 8, 2018)
• #6 Age of Legend (July 12, 2019)

Here is the full set of books that hit the bestseller list:

 

Title	Author	Narrator	Ratings	Released
The Adventures of Tom Stranger, Interdimensional Insurance Agent*	Larry Correia	Adam Baldwin	4.2 (13,414)	05/24/16
Screwball*	Simon Rich	Scott Aiello & Beck Bennett	4.3 (3,105)	07/04/19
Proof of Love*	Chisa Hutchinson	Brenda Pressley	4.6 (3,132)	07/04/19
Where the Crawdads Sing	Delia Owens	Cassandra Campbell	4.8 (86,249)	08/14/18
Under Currents	Nora Roberts	January LaVoy	4.7 (1,049)	07/09/19
Age of Legend	Michael J. Sullivan	Tim Gerard Reynolds	4.7 (1,010)	07/09/19
Alter	Jeremy Robinson	Luke Daniels	4.2 (770)	02/02/19
Legion versus Phalanx	Myke Cole	Alexander Cendese	4.4 (293)	12/04/18
The Pact	S.E. Lynes	Tamsin Kennard	4.1 (462)	02/27/18
City of Girls	Elizabeth Gilbert	Blair Brown	4.6 (4,373)	06/04/19

*One of July's Free Audible Originals

Ask Me Anything!

Today on /r/fantasy I'll be doing an "Ask Me Anything," which if you've never been to one before it's a kind of Q&A where I'll talk about my books, publishing, or anything you want to chat about.  So please stop by and say hello, or better yet...ask me something!

Today's the day! Age of Legend Officially released

If you've not picked up a copy you can get yours from any of these fine retailers:

• My Online store (features DRM-free ebooks and signed hardcovers)
• ebooks on Amazon (US | UK | Canada | Germany | Australia | France | Spain | Italy | Netherlands | Japan | India | Brazil | Mexico
• Other ebook retailers: B&N Nook | Apple | Kobo | Smashwords
• Audiobooks on Audible (US | UK | Canada)
• Hardcover: Amazon (US | UK | Canada | Germany) | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Book Depository (free international shipping) | Chapters/Ingigo | Indie Bound

Also I'll be doing an "Ask Me Anything" on reddit's /r/book site. So drop by and say hello, or ask me a question!

2 days until Age of Legend Releases, how are things going?

I can't believe the date for Age of Legend is finally so close. While it seems as if it has taken forever, it also seems as if it's already been out for ages (because so many people have read it as part of the Kickstarter campaign). I'm so thrilled people have been enjoying the read and are looking forward to Age of Death (Feb 4, 2020) and Age of Empyre (May 5, 2020).

So, how has it gone so far?  Well, in some respects it's hard to tell because getting preliminary numbers isn't easy, but we do know some things such as:

• 1,391 hardcover sold via the Kickstarter
• 49 hardcovers sold directly via our website
• 5,144 hardcovers shipped to retail stores (Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Millon | Book Depository)
• 2,415 ebooks sold via our Kickstarter
• 3,020 ebooks pre-ordered through Amazon US
• 615 ebooks pre-ordered through foreign Amazon stores (UK | Canada | Germany)
• 45 ebooks sold directly via our website
• 7,000 audiobook preorders
• No sales data yet for ebooks on Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords

My Riyria printed returns are 6% - 8%, and we've seen about 10% - 12% on the Del Rey hardcovers. If we take a really conservative estimate and assume 22% returns that would mean we've already sold 15,679 copies across all formats! And that doesn't even count all the other sites that I have zero data for at the moment.

Here's the breakdown for those that like graphs:

I'm thrilled with this kind of early support for the books, and Robin and I thank you all. And if you haven't picked up your copy, maybe you could use the links above to grab one. Also a reminder that hardcovers bought from our site are signed, and ebooks bought from our site or DRM-free and can never "disappear" if the retailer later removes them from the store.

Thanks again!

No, I'm not trying to cheat on Robin, nor am I any of these other things.

I've had a few emails recently asking "what's up" with my match.com profile where I mention being divorced and looking for love. The people writing to me have pointed out that (based on this site and other conversations) I "seem" happily married, but they question if I'm trying to have a relationship on the side. Well, I can assure you there is no trouble in paradise in the love department of Team Sullivan.

In this particular case, it is a different author named Michael Sullivan, and you might be surprised to know there are quite a few of us. There are, in fact, so many authors named Michael Sullivan, that when I first started publishing, I considered using a pen name, and over the years a few more have popped up.

In some ways, it'd be really cool if all these Michael Sullivan's were me, because not only would I be a fantasy author but I'd also be...

• The author of more than a hundred advanced math textbooks
• An expert on Chinese art
• A sports expert
• A wine and beer expert
• Savy when it comes to international politics
• I'd know a lot more than I do about elections, social welfare, and public policy
• A history buff with knowledge of everything from the secret love affairs of presidents to Orville and Wilber Wright.
• I'd also have a few more novels under my belt.

So, exactly how many authors are there with the name of Michael Sullivan? To be honest, I don't know for sure because not all of the books have been "gathered" under individual profiles on sites like Amazon and Goodreads. But based on some recent research done by Robin...it's A LOT!

I think the one that I'm confused with the most often is Michael John Sullivan (for the record my middle name is James). He writes Christian-based novels and is probably best known for Necessary Heartbreak although some of his other books include An Angel Comes Home, Everybody's Daughter, and the Greatest Gift. I think I've earned him a bit of cash over the years because if you look at the "Also boughts" of Necessary Heartbreak you'll see all my books listed, which is likely a result of people reading one of my books, going to look for more by me, and finding his. If you're "that" Michael J. Sullivan and you are reading this...you're welcome.

Michael John, isn't the only novelist that shares my name. Here are some other novels which I'm pretty sure were all written by different Michael Sullivans, and their only books released so far.

• Fort Drake Island
• Runner's Dawn
• Forgotten Flowers
• In This Living Body
• Indianersommer
• The Girl in the Second World
• Fulfillment - It's All about Power 

Unlike Necessary Heartbreak, it doesn't appear that any of these books are being mistaken as books I've written.

The one who has probably sold the most books (maybe even more than I have) is the author of a huge number of textbooks on mathematics including Trigonometry, Calculus, Algebra, and Statistics. Seriously there are hundreds of these books, and if they are required reading at a number of Universities, that Michael Sullivan has done very well. For the record, I can't multiply 8 by 7. Seriously, I don't know the answer. I'd need a calculator.

The Michael Sullivan I'd like to meet the most is the one who has written so many books on Chinese Art. It's a topic I know nothing about, but he obviously does and I'm sure I would be riveted as he poured out his passion for the subject over a glass of wine. Some of his titles include

• The Arts of China
• Modern Chinese Art
• The Three Perfections: Chinese Painting, Poetry, and Calligraphy
• The Meeting of Eastern and Western Art
• Symbols of Eternity: The Art of Landscape Painting in China
• Wang Huaiqing
• A Short History Of Chinese Art
• Modern Chinese Artists: A Biographical Dictionary
• Chinese Art; Recent Discoveries
• Chinese Landscape Painting: In the Sui and Tang Dynasties
• The Night Entertainments of Han Xizai: A Scroll by Gu Hongzhong
• Studies in the Art of China and South-East Asia (Volume I and II)
• Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes, and Jades in the Collection of Sir Alan and Lady Barlow
• Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China.

There are a few more art books by Michael Sullivan(s) but I don't think these two titles came from the guy I just mentioned: Windows Into the Light: A Lenten Journey of Stories and Art and Windows Into the Soul: Art as Spiritual Expression.

Going back to wine...there is another Michael Sullivan who has written a few books on wine and beer including The 30 minute Wine Expert and The 30 Minute Beer Expert: A Concise Guide for Beer Lovers. He also seems to be a bit of a "foodie" as he's also written The 30 Minute French Cuisine Expert, 30 Minute Paleo Diet Expert: Become Healthy by Eating Naturally, Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, Sleep Like a Baby (and also 5 Minutes To Paleo Heaven and 20 Minutes To Paleo Heaven for those who think 30 minutes is too much time). He's also written The 30 Minute Atkins Diet Expert, The 30 Minute hCG Diet Expert, The 30 Minute Intermittent Fasting Expert, and Crock Pot Magic. To work off all that booze and food he's also written 30 Minute Kettlebell Expert to get some exercise. Maybe he can prepare a meal for me and the Chinese Art Michael and pick all three of us out a good wine.

Then there is the sports expert Michael Sullivan. He has written Sports Great Shaquille O'Neal, Chris Mullin: Star Forward, Sports Great Barry Bonds, Sports Great Darryl Strawberry, Mark Messier: Star Center, Top 10 Baseball Pitchers, and The New York Rangers Hockey Team.

Another Michael Sullivan has been spending his life trying to get kids to read more, especially boys. His books include Fundamentals of Children's Services, Serving Boys Through Readers' Advisory, Raising Boy Readers, Connecting Boys with Books: What Libraries can do, Connecting Boys with Books: Closing the Reading Gap, Connecting Boys with Books: Volume 6 (I'm going to assume there is a volume 3, 4, and 5 to go with those other 3). I "think" he is also the author that has written a number of children stories including The Sapphire Knight, Escapade Johnson and Mayhem at Mount Moosilauke, Escapade Johnson and the Coffee Shop of the Living Dead, Escapade Johnson and the Witches of Belknap County, Escapade Johnson and the Phantom of the Science Fair. 

Another Michael Sullivan who is a children's author wrote The SockKids Say NO to Bullying, The SockKids Help Ben Franklin, The SockKids Go Dancing, The SockKids Meet Lincoln, The SockKids STOP A Bully!, and Nick Knitley and The SockKids: Surviving The Oddly Strange Town of Millbottom.

I'm pretty sure there is another children's author named Michael Sullivan who wrote Skipper's Busy Day, Oliver's Happy Day, and Kitty's Outdoor Day.

There is a book called The Alliance by Michael Sullivan which is about kids with unnatural powers at a school called Rosemond School for the Gifted. I'm not sure if this is a book by the other four children authors I found or not.

I've never written a book about my mom, but a pair of brothers (Michael and Larry) have, and it's called Raising Mama: A Memoir. 

A lawyer named Michael Sullivan wrote a book called Adopt the Baby You Want. He may or may not be the same lawyer who contributed with a few others in writing the International Human Rights Law Sourcebook. 

Oh, and another Michael wrote a biography. It's called The Fairhaven folktales of Dirty Dan Harris and it's about the storyteller Daniel Jefferson Harris of the Puget Sound area of Washington State, USA, who lived from 1826 to 1890. I'm pretty sure Of Gentle Thought is an autobiography of a poet named Michael Sullivan.

I'm not a technology expert but one (or more) Michael Sullivans is/are because he/they released books such as Detour: The Truth about the Information Superhighway, Make Your Scanner A Great Design And Production Tool, Webmaster Strategies, and Netscape Suitespot Bible.

I'm not a particularly religious person (spiritual yes, religion, not so much) but this Michael Sullivan obviously is. He wrote four books: My Little Book Of Prayers: Female Saints, My Little Book Of Prayers: Male Saints, My Little Book of Prayers: Mary, and My Book of Catholic Prayers. There is another Michael Sullivan (or maybe it's the same one) who wrote What He said, about Christ and His disciples.

I've never lived in New York (only visited) but I'm sure the Michael Sullivan who wrote So You Think You're a New Yorker: What Every Knowledgeable New Yorker Should Know probably lives there.

There is a philosophically minded Michael O'Sullivan (close enough) that studied Ludwig Wittgenstein's Philosophical Investigations and wrote a book on it.

Likewise, Vernacular Sonnets of Giuseppe Gioachino Belli was penned by an expert on this satirical poet from the late 1700's to middle 1800's, which was definitely not me ;-)

There is a Michael Sullivan who has studied immigration and the political challenges facing the United States because he wrote a book called Earned Citizenship on that subject.

At least one, and maybe more, Michael Sullivan's is very interested in social policy, society, and the law. Here are several books I found on the subject (I have no idea if they were all written by one or multiple people: Sociology And Social Welfare, Modern Social Policy, The Politics Of Social Policy, Introducing Social Policy, Power In Contemporary International Politics, and Legal Pragmatism: Community, Rights, and Democracy

Then we go into some "deep dives" on "very specific" subjects. I have no idea how many Michael Sullivans penned these titles:

• A Comparative Analysis Of Drop Outs And Non Drop Outs In Ontario Secondary Schools
• Cambodia Votes: Democracy, Authority and International Support for Elections 1993-201
• Relativization in Ojibwe 
• The Development of the British Welfare State and Democracy
• The Physiology of the Digestive Tract of Elasmobranchs 
• The Trees of San Francisco
• Fish of Alberta 
• Studies in Soil Catalysis
• A Beneficial Organic Constituent of Soils 
• 101 Easy Ways To Increase Business With Boomerplus Clients 
• How to Win and Know It: An Effects-Based Approach to Irregular Warfare
• American Adventurism Abroad: Invasions, Interventions, and Regime Changes since World War II
• Writing the Dead: Death and Writing Strategies in the Western Tradition 
• Building Saugerties: Understanding a Historic Success in Economic Development
•  Sexual Minorities: Discrimination, Challenges and Development in America
• Measuring Global Values: The Ranking of 162 Countries 
• Cutting Through the Red Tape: Top Ten Things All Florida Disability Applicants Should Know
• The State of Florida v. You: the Accused's Guide to Defending a Florida DUI Charge 
• Cyberquake: How the Internet Will Erase Profits, Topple Market Leaders, and Shatter Business Models
• Pain Management: Practical Applications of the Biopsychosocial Perspective in Clinical and Occupational Settings 
• Pauley's Guide - A Dictionary of Japanese Martial Arts and Culture 
• House Divided: Bridging the Gap in Reformed Eschatology - A Preterist Response to When Shall These Things Be 
• In Search of a Perfect World: A Historical Perspective on the Phenomenon of Millennialism and Dissatisfaction with the World as It Is 
• Rapid Acquisition of Mine Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicles 
• Security Force Assistance: Building Foreign Security Forces and Joint Doctrine for the Future of U.S. Regional Security
• Defense Acquisitions: Measuring the Value of DoDżs Weapon Programs Requires Starting with Realistic Baselines
• Defense Acquisitions: DoD Must Prioritize Its Weapon System Acquisitions and Balance Them with Available Resources 
• Defense Acquisitions: DoD Could Achieve Greater Commonality and Efficiencies Among Its Unmanned Aircraft Systems 
• Joint Strike Fighter: Strong Risk Management Essential as Program Enters Most Challenging Phase 
• Countering Terrorism and WMD 
• Selling Your PR Firm MasterClass & Workbook: A Step-by-Step Owner's Guide From Decision to Closing 

There seem to be one (or some) psychiatrists or psychologist who share my name based on these titles:

• Relationships in Chronic Illness and Disability 
• Dual Diagnosis: Counseling the Mentally Ill Substance Abuser
• Understanding Depression and Addiction
• Understanding Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Addiction 
• Treating Addicted Survivors of Trauma

While I enjoy history, there are other Michael Sullivans that are better experts on certain subjects than I am. Some examples:

• A Fatal Passion: The Story of the Uncrowned Last Empress of Russia
• Cavalry In The Shenandoah Valley Campaign Of 1862: Effective, But Inefficient
• The Vietnam War: A Study in the Making of American Policy,
• Presidential Passions: The Love Affairs of America's Presidents: From Washington and Jefferson to Kennedy and Johnson
• Affairs of state: The true, untold stories of the illicit love lives of the presidents of the United States
• Orville and Wilbur at the Airport

I don't know much about international politics, but at least one Michael Sullivan does because he wrote: International Relations: Theories and Evidence.

There is a Michael Sullivan that works in the Federal Emergency Management Agency who wrote, Your Thrift Savings Plan. 

And at least one is an expert on teeth because he penned the 2013 edition of Illustrated Handbook of Clinical Dentistry.

Poetry isn't something I specialize in, but at least one Michael Sullivan fancies that medium. I found two books of poems: A Lyrical Salute to a Mentally Wounded, Disabled American Veteran: A Lifetime of Lyrics and Poetry and the other one is Think of the Day We Saw the Centipede Castle: A Love Story in Poems

I'm not a Hollywood mover or shaker be. He wrote There's no people like show people: confessions of a showbiz agent.

I think at least one Michael Sullivan is an archeologist, based on The Cave Temples Of Maichishan, House of Sun, and The Desert is Green

Not Our Day to Die: Testimony from the Guatemalan Jungle was a book written by a Michael Sullivan who has experience with ferrying people and transporting medicine, crops, and supplies in South America. Definitely not me.

So how many Michael Sullivans are authors? As you can see, it's hard to tell. And I'm sure there are some that Robin failed to uncover. But wouldn't it be cool if I DID write all those books? I'd certainly be more well-rounded than I am. I think I'm going to pick up a copy of The Physiology of the Digestive Tract of Elasmobranchs and put it on my shelf just so people who visit will think I wrote it.

Oh, and in case you are wondering WHICH of these Michael's is looking for love on match.com? It's the children's author who writes the SockKids books. He lives in the New York City area and went to St. John's University.