Goodreads Best Fantasy of 2018 (so far)

It's Science Fiction and Fantasy Week at Goodreads, and there is a lot going on for fans of the genre. I'm honored that Age of War has made their Best-Fantasy-of-2018 (so far) list. Here's all 12 titles:

Here's some information for each title, along with links to add them to your shelves:
 

Title	Author	Rating	# Ratings	Release Date	Shelved by
Spinning Silver	Naomi Novik	4.36	8,564	07/10/18	56,737
Circe	Madeline Miller	4.37	33,832	04/10/18	142,949
Wrath of Empire	Brian McClellan	4.57	2,251	05/15/18	7,292
The Poppy War	R. F. Kuang	4.16	4,929	05/01/18	35,577
Grey Sister	Mark Lawrence	4.47	6,255	04/03/18	17,066
Senlin Ascends	Josiah Bancroft	4.27	5,101	01/16/18	26,536
Brief Cases	Jim Butcher	4.43	4,922	06/05/18	13,279
WitchMark	C. L. Polk	4.03	842	06/19/18	6,785
Beneath the Sugar Sky	Seanan McGuire	4.11	7,986	01/09/18	22,750
Burn Bright	Patricia Briggs	4.28	10,913	03/06/18	24,867
Age of War	Michael J. Sullivan	4.51	2,531	07/03/18	16,728
Cast in Deception	Michelle Sagara	4.19	1,600	01/23/18	5,204

What you always like to see.

One of the reasons I write all the books before publishing the first is I want to know where the series is heading, and making each book better than the one that came before seems to be a "thing" with me.  Still, you never know if you accomplish what you set out for until you read something like this:

"Age of War is a phenomenal third installment and this series has only gotten stronger with each progression."

You can read the full review at Powder And Page. 

Views from the Valley

About a year and a half ago Robin built me a "writers retreat." Initially, I thought we would use it on weekends, and for a few months in the summer, but we moved there about a year and a half ago and we've never looked back. Here are some pictures of the amazing place Robin has created.

Amenities at "the land" (as we call it) include: swimming, archery, darts, bocce ball, lawn chess, giant Jenga, drinks and grilling in the outdoor kitchen, bird watching, butterfly watching, relaxing by the pool, relaxing in the pool house, relaxing on the carriage house porch, relaxing on the main house porch, well, relaxing just about anywhere, really.

She added a few extra bedrooms and we've been enjoying hosting writers, readers, friends and relatives out in Luray. "The season" is pretty much wrapped up now, but maybe in the future, we'll open up visits for more people.

Front view of the cabin with the "carriage house" (aka the garage, workshop, and Robin's office) to the left.

An open plan first floor with kitchen, dining room and living room taking up the first half of the house. Through the "secret door" (bookcase) is access to the two guest bedrooms.

The covered side porch sitting area is great for mornings and gets a fabulous view of the sunrise.

The dining table is from "Antique Tables Made Daily." While the construction is brand new the material was cut over a hundred years ago. Formerly the beams in a barn in Pennsylvania, this American chestnut is now extinct. The 1907 blight killed all the trees and even to this day none will live to older than 7-years. Botanists are trying to cross-breed the species, but the original is gone forever.

The front porch sitting area is perfect for the evening with cool breezes and an excellent spot to watch the clouds over the mountains. Late afternoon produces spectacular cumulus creations.

My office, where the "magic happens." Is currently on the second floor, although plans are underway to build me a separate smaller cabin hopefully next year.

The upper floor of the carriage house doubles as a guest quarter and Robin's office. This three-room suite includes the "shipping closet (as seen peaking through the open door. Where packages are assembled and mailed when people buy directly from us. Individual mini-splits contain Marc Simonetti's artwork and allow each room to be individually temperature controlled.

New this spring, the pool area! It consists of a pool house, an outdoor kitchen, a sitting area under the back porch of the carriage house and some places for fun and games.

The bocce ball court is sandwiched neatly between the pool and the back-porch sitting area.

The outdoor kitchen is nestled under the pavilion and has granite countertops and weather resistant cabinets. It features a huge grill, refrigerator, and ice maker for mixed drinks.

The back of the carriage house provides excellent shade when it's too hot to sit next to the pool.

A side view of the main cabin.

The pool house is a great place for playing games, changing clothing, or just sitting and relaxing.

  
A giant lawn chess board provides a little intellectual stimulation while cooling off at the pool.

Early morning looking over the two outdoor sitting areas of the main cabin.

New York Times Bestseller

So, I should have been posting on this sooner, but things have been a bit crazy here as of late.  But Age of War made the New York Times Bestseller list! It came in #9 on the monthly list for audiobooks. Big congratulations to Tim Gerard Reyolds, Del Rey, and Recorded Books who all share in this prestigious accomplishment.

Yes, I saved the complete bestseller list and you can find it here.  Age of War can be found on page 6 under the category of "Audio Monthly Best Sellers." This, added to Age of Myth and Age of Swords hitting the Washington Post's hardcover bestseller list are some of my proudest moments as an author. Thank you all for the continued support of Legends of the First Empire.

Fantasy for Freedom Fighters

Outside of Robin, there is one thing that I cherish above all else: Freedom. I've been fortunate to be born in a country that values this ideal, and I know that I enjoy that privilege because of men and women that serve in our armed forces. Recently, I received a great letter from Daniel D. stationed in Afghanistan, who was writing to tell me that he and some of his friends were really enjoying The Riyria Revelations and The Crown Tower (books he found he found at the USO/MWR).  

Robin came up with the great idea to send Daniel the rest of my work (and a spare set of Revelations in case multiple people want to read at the same time), so we put together a box of books and sent it out.

This got us thinking.  Why not do this on a larger scale? And hence FFFF (Fantasy for Freedom Fighters was born).  Here's how it's going to work. 

1. I earn extra money when you buy directly from me (it cuts out the retailer middlemen), so I'm going to set aside 10% of all my profit from direct sales to buy copies of my books from my publishers and pay for shipping. 

2. If you are a service person stationed overseas (I'm focusing on those overseas rather than domestically because entertainment choices are harder to come by), or have a loved one overseas, and you want them to get a book care package, you can fill out this form to request books. If I don't get enough requests, I'll utilize Books for Soldiers and Operation Paperback and look for people who are requesting fantasy books.

4. I'll keep track of the donations, money raised by book purchases, and packages sent. I'll keep people updated so we can all see how this program is working, and how many service people we are aiding.

And that's pretty much it. I'm excited to see where this whole thing goes.

July Book Cover of the Month

Last night I discovered that Age of War is in a "March Madness" type competition where there are brackets where covers go against one another in rounds. I dedicated my latest book to Marc Simonetti (the cover artist whose amazing work has graced the covers of my last 5 books) and I'd love it if he ended up winning the competition. That said, I want you to vote for the covers that you honestly think are the best ones. So, why don't you head here and vote. I'll keep people posted as the competition continues.

How to get out-of-print Age of Swords hardcovers

I've received a number of emails from people looking for Age of Swords in hardcover.  Well, with the release of Age of War, and because the paperback is now available for this title, Del Rey won't be doing another printing of the larger version, so this book is now officially out of print. As with many books that reach this stage, the resellers are selling their copies at premium pricing (and I receive nothing for copies bought from them).

There were some remaining copies in the warehouse which I'm in the process of procuring. It may take a bit as I have to make some arrangements and have them shipped to me, but Robin is taking orders now on a first come first serve basis, and we should have copies available in about a week. These are not "used" copies the are brand new and we'll be selling them at list price $28.00. So, if you failed to get a copy of Age of Swords in hardcover when they were first released, you can still get them for a short time. Buying from me also means you can have the books signed and dedicated plus we'll throw in an autographed bookmark. You can pre-order your copies here.