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A Taste of Danger

July 24, 2013 at 2:54 pm
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DANGEROUS WOMEN, the latest huge crossgenre anthology from Gardner Dozois and me, is scheduled for hardcover release on December 3.  But you can get an early taste of danger…

Dangerous Women

Tor.com is going to be running a series of short excerpts from some of the stories in DW.  The first of them just went up.  It's a teaser from Brandon Sanderson's novella, "Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell," and you can find it here:

http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/07/dangerous-women-brandon-sanderson-excerpt

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Dangerous Women Coming

June 1, 2013 at 4:35 pm
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Take home a dangerous woman this Christmas.

DANGEROUS WOMEN, the latest big cross-genre anthology from Gardner Dozois and yours truly, has been scheduled for a December 3 release in hardcover, according to Amazon. (I assume that is correct. The date has not actually been confirmed for me by anyone at the publisher, but presumably ’twas Tor who gave Amazon their date. Sometimes, alas, the author is the last to know).

The cover looks like this (again, according to Amazon, who apparently know more than we do):

91EWTSOg1IL._SL1500_

(I know, I know, some of you will not like the cover. Honestly, I am not a huge fan of the all-typographic approach myself, but it seems to be the lot in life for writers who reach a certain level of success, the thought being that the writer’s name will sell more copies than any artwork, no matter how splendid. And DANGEROUS WOMEN contains stories by a LOT of brilliant famous award-winning bestselling writers, ergo the desire to trumpet their names. All understandable. Being an old fanboy at heart, however, I love great SF and fantasy art, and would have preferred to depict some actual dangerous women on the cover… but this one, I must concede, will probably sell better).

DANGEROUS WOMEN is our biggest anthology yet… yes, even more massive that WARRIORS (though still well short of the length of my fantasy series), with another all-star lineup. The table of contents will look like this:

INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
SOME DESPERADO, by Joe Abercrombie
MY HEART IS EITHER BROKEN, by Megan Abbott
NORA’S SONG, by Cecelia Holland
THE HANDS THAT ARE NOT THERE, by Melinda Snodgrass
BOMBSHELLS, by Jim Butcher
RAISA STEPANOVA, by Carrie Vaughn
WRESTLING JESUS, by Joe R. Lansdale
NEIGHBORS, by Megan Lindholm
I KNOW HOW TO PICK !˜EM, by Lawrence Block
SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FORESTS OF HELL, by Brandon Sanderson
A QUEEN IN EXILE, by Sharon Kay Penman
THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR, by Lev Grossman
SECOND ARABESQUE, VERY SLOWLY, by Nancy Kress
CITY LAZARUS, by Diana Rowland
VIRGINS, by Diana Gabaldon
HELL HATH NO FURY, by Sherilynn Kenyon
PRONOUNCING DOOM, by S.M. Stirling
NAME THE BEAST, by Sam Sykes
CARETAKERS, by Pat Cadigan
LIES MY MOTHER TOLD ME, by Caroline Spector
THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN, by George R.R. Martin

The Abercrombie is set against his RED COUNTRY backdrop, the Holland gives us Eleanor of Aquitaine, Jim Butcher returns us to Harry Dresden’s world, Lev Grossman contributes a tale of life at Brakebills, Steve Stirling revisits his Emberverse, Diana Gabaldon’s story features Jamie Fraser of OUTLANDER fame, the Spector is a Wild Cards story featuring Hoodoo Mama and the Amazing Bubbles, and mine own contribution… well, it’s some of that fake history I have been writing lo these many months, the true (mostly) story of the origins of the Dance of the Dragons. The stand-alone stories, not part of any series, feature some amazing work as well. For those who like to lose themselves in long stories, the Brandon Sanderson story, the Diana Gabaldon story, the Caroline Spector story, and my “Princess and Queen” are novellas. Huge mothers.

You can preorder DANGEROUS WOMEN here:
http://www.amazon.com/Dangerous-Women-George-R-R-Martin/dp/076533206X

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The ROGUES Are Coming

May 13, 2013 at 12:32 pm
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Gardner Dozois and I have just delivered the completed manuscript (well, e-manuscript, it being 2013 and all) for our latest big cross-genre anthologies, ROGUES, to our editor at Bantam Spectra.

Once again, we’ve got a really kickass lineup of contributors, and some terrific stories.

The table of contents:

George R.R. Martin !œEverybody Loves a Rogue! (Introduction)
Joe Abercrombie !œTough Times All Over!
Gillian Flynn !œWhat Do You Do?!
Matthew Hughes !œThe Inn of the Seven Blessings!
Joe R. Lansdale !œBent Twig!
Michael Swanwick !œTawny Petticoats!
David Ball !œProvenance!
Carrie Vaughn !œThe Roaring Twenties!
Scott Lynch !œA Year and a Day in Old Theradane!
Bradley Denton !œBad Brass!
Cherie Priest !œHeavy Metal!
Daniel Abraham !œThe Meaning of Love!
Paul Cornell !œA Better Way to Die!
Steven Saylor !œIll Seen in Tyre!
Garth Nix !œA Cargo of Ivories!
Walter Jon Williams !œDiamonds From Tequila!
Phyllis Eisenstein !œThe Caravan to Nowhere!
Lisa Tuttle !œThe Curious Affair of the Dead Wives!
Neil Gaiman !œHow the Marquis Got His Coat Back!
Connie Willis !œNow Showing!
Patrick Rothfuss !œThe Lightning Tree!

This one was an enormous amount of fun. We’re got something for everyone in ROGUES — SF, mystery, historical fiction, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, comedy, tragedy, crime stories, mainstream. And rogues, cads, scalawags, con men, thieves, and scoundrels of all descriptions. If you love Harry Flashman and Cugel the Clever, as I do, this is the book for you.

If there’s any bloody justice, some of these stories will contend for awards.

(And it’s one more monkey off my back, hurrah, hurrah)

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LOWBALL Done & Delivered

April 12, 2013 at 4:23 pm
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Another monkey off my back…

This time it is a hideous mutant joker monkey. LOWBALL, the twenty-second volume in the ongoing Wild Cards series of shared world anthologies and mosaic novels, is finally complete, and has been delivered to our editors at Tor.

The lineup this time:
!œThe Big Bleed,! by Michael Cassutt, starring STUNTMAN,
!œThose About to Die,! by David Anthony Durham, starring INFAMOUS BLACK TONGUE,
!œGalahad in Blue! by Melinda Snodgrass, starring FRANCIS XAVIER BLACK of the NYPD,
!œTies That Bind! by Mary Anne Mohanraj, starring MICHAEL STEVENS of the NYPD,
!œCry Wolf! by David D. Levine, introducing THE CARTOONIST,
!œRoad Kill! by Walter Jon Williams, starring GORDON THE GHOUL,
!œOnce More, for Old Time’s Sake! by Carrie Vaughn, starring EARTH WITCH, CURVBALL, DRUMMER BOY, and JOHN FORTUNE,
!œNo Parking!¦ !œ by Ian Tregillis, starring RUSTBELT.

Special thanks this time around to Melinda Snodgrass, who stepped in heroically to help with the editing on this one when I was being crushed beneath the weight of other deadlines. I could not have pulled this puppy together without her.

LOWBALL will likely be released by Tor in hardcover in summer, 2014. More details when I have ’em. Our main man, Michael Komarck, is already hard at work on another spectacular cover.

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October on Mars

February 13, 2013 at 2:26 pm
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Music: Those Were the Days
Gardner Dozois and I have just learned that Bantam has scheduled our all-original retro-SF anthology OLD MARS for release on October 8 of this year. The anthology will feature fifteen original, never-before-published short stories and novelettes about Mars, story notes and author intros by Gardner, and an introduction by yours truly.

The setting will NOT be the real (but somewhat boring) post-Mariner Mars, but rather the Mars thatwe all loved as kids, the one with the canals and the dead cities and the myriad marvelous Martians.

Old Mars cvr rev

((Gotta love that retro rocket ship. I sure do)).

Here’s the lineup of stories and contributors:

RED PLANET BLUES (Introduction) by George R.R. Martin
MARTIAN BLOOD, by Allen M. Steele
THE UGLY DUCKLING, by Matthew Hughes
THE WRECK OF THE MARS ADVENTURE, by David D. Levine
SWORDS OF ZAR-TU-KAN, by S.M. Stirling
SHOALS, by Mary Rosenblum
IN THE TOMBS OF THE MARTIAN KINGS, by Mike Resnick
OUT OF SCARLIGHT, by Liz Williams
THE DEAD SEA-BOTTOM SCROLLS, by Howard Waldrop
A MAN WITHOUT HONOR, by James S.A. Corey
WRITTEN IN DUST, by Melinda Snodgrass
THE LOST CANAL, by Michael Moorcock
THE SUNSTONE, by Phyllis Eisenstein
KING OF THE CHEAP ROMANCE, by Joe R. Lansdale
MARINER, by Chris Roberson
THE QUEEN OF NIGHT’S ARIA, by Ian McDonald

Gargoo and I had a lot of fun putting this one together, and I hope you folks will have as much fun reading it. So circle October 8 on your calendars. Old Mars is lovely in the fall.

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A Dangerous Delivery

January 22, 2013 at 3:18 pm
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The women are coming, and they’re armed and dangerous.

Gardner Dozois and I have just delivered our latest massive crossgenre anthology, DANGEROUS WOMEN (originally FEMMES FATALE), to our editors at Tor. This one is our biggest yet… yes, even more massive that WARRIORS (though still well short of the length my fantasy writers), with another all-star lineup of bestselling and award-winning contributors.

The table of contents will look like this:

INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
SOME DESPERADO, by Joe Abercrombie
MY HEART IS EITHER BROKEN, by Megan Abbott
NORA’S SONG, by Cecelia Holland
THE HANDS THAT ARE NOT THERE, by Melinda Snodgrass
BOMBSHELLS, by Jim Butcher
RAISA STEPANOVA, by Carrie Vaughn
WRESTLING JESUS, by Joe R. Lansdale
NEIGHBORS, by Megan Lindholm
I KNOW HOW TO PICK !˜EM, by Lawrence Block
SHADOWS FOR SILENCE IN THE FORESTS OF HELL, by Brandon Sanderson
A QUEEN IN EXILE, by Sharon Kay Penman
THE GIRL IN THE MIRROR, by Lev Grossman
SECOND ARABESQUE, VERY SLOWLY, by Nancy Kress
CITY LAZARUS, by Diana Rowland
VIRGINS, by Diana Gabaldon
HELL HATH NO FURY, by Sherilynn Kenyon
PRONOUNCING DOOM, by S.M. Stirling
NAME THE BEAST, by Sam Sykes
CARETAKERS, by Pat Cadigan
LIES MY MOTHER TOLD ME, by Caroline Spector
THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN, by George R.R. Martin

The Abercrombie is set against his RED COUNTRY backdrop, the Holland gives us Eleanor of Aquitaine, Jim Butcher returns us to Harry Dresden’s world, Lev Grossman contributes a tale of life at Brakebills, Steve Stirling revisits his Emberverse, Diana Gabaldon’s story features Jamie Fraser of OUTLANDER fame, the Spector is a Wild Cards story featuring Hoodoo Mama and the Amazing Bubbles, and mine own contribution… well, it’s some of that fake history I have been writing lo these many months, the true (mostly) story of the origins of the Dance of the Dragons. The stand-alone stories, not part of any series, feature some amazing work as well. For those who like to lose themselves in long stories, the Brandon Sanderson story, the Diana Gabaldon story, the Caroline Spector story, and my “Princess and Queen” are novellas. Huge mothers.

This one took longer than we thought it would, mostly because of me (mea culpa), but Gardner and I think you’ll find that it was worth the wait. Some terrific tales await you. No pubdate yet, of course… this bulletin is hot off the press… but as soon as we get word from Tor, you guys will be the first to know.

((Hurrah! Another monkey off my back!!))

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The Mystery Knight Rides Again

October 25, 2012 at 2:28 pm
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If you’re one of the sad unfortunates who missed the third Dunk & Egg novella when it appeared in WARRIORS, the big cross-genre anthology I co-edited with Gardner Dozois, here’s another chance to read “The Mystery Knight.”

Demon anthologist John Joseph Adams is reprinting the novella, along with lots of other swell stories by the likes of Ursula K. Le Guin, Patrick Rothfuss, Tad Williams, and other kickass epic fantasists.

Epic-final-682x1024

Check out JJA’s site for more info on EPIC: http://www.johnjosephadams.com/epic/

Meanwhile, I will get back to work on the fourth Dunk & Egg novella (as yet untitled), which is scheduled to appear in DANGEROUS WOMEN aka FEMMES FATALE aka The Next Giant Cross-Genre Anthology by Martin and Dozois))

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Martians, Come Back

August 24, 2012 at 12:06 pm
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One more down and done and in the pipeline.

OLD MARS, a new anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories about Old Mars (not the real post-Mariner Mars, but the one we all loved as kids, with the canals and the dead cities and the various flavors of Martian) is complete, and has been delivered to our editors at Bantam.
When we know the publication date, you will too.

The anthology will feature fifteen original, never-before-published short stories and novelettes, story notes and author intros by Gardner, and an introduction by yours truly. Here’s the lineup:

RED PLANET BLUES (Introduction) by George R.R. Martin
MARTIAN BLOOD, by Allen M. Steele
THE UGLY DUCKLING, by Matthew Hughes
THE WRECK OF THE MARS ADVENTURE, by David D. Levine
SWORDS OF ZAR-TU-KAN, by S.M. Stirling
SHOALS, by Mary Rosenblum
IN THE TOMBS OF THE MARTIAN KINGS, by Mike Resnick
OUT OF SCARLIGHT, by Liz Williams
THE DEAD SEA-BOTTOM SCROLLS, by Howard Waldrop
A MAN WITHOUT HONOR, by James S.A. Corey
WRITTEN IN DUST, by Melinda Snodgrass
THE LOST CANAL, by Michael Moorcock
THE SUNSTONE, by Phyllis Eisenstein
KING OF THE CHEAP ROMANCE, by Joe R. Lansdale
MARINER, by Chris Roberson
THE QUEEN OF NIGHT’S ARIA, by Ian McDonald

Gargoo and I had a lot of fun putting this one together, and I hope you folks will have as much fun reading it.

And now… fasten your seat belts and rev up those rockets, boys and girls, we’ll be blasting off for OLD VENUS next… arrival scheduled for about a year from now.

(We make no promises about OLD URANUS).

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Monkeys on My Back

June 23, 2012 at 2:57 pm
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This is for those who complain I never blog about my work. (I do, but not often. I prefer to announce when something is finally done, rather just endless reiterations of “I am working on X, I am working on Z,” and I am never going to be one of those “I wrote three pages today” writers. Sorry, that’s not how I roll).

One little monkey off my back:

THE LANDS OF ICE AND FIRE — also known as “the map book” — is now DONE AND DELIVERED, and scheduled for publication at year’s end.

Monkeys remaining on my back? Lots o’ them:

THE WINDS OF WINTER. Also known as “Son of Kong.” Working on it. Lots to do.

THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE. The concordance. Elio and Linda are my partners on this one, a compendium of the history and legends of the world of Westeros. A coffee table book, lots of gorgeous art from such talents as Ted Nasmith, Justin Sweet, and others. Making good progress on this one of late, lots of great historical stuff that I think my readers will enjoy. Never before revealed details of Aegon’s Conquest, the War With the Faith, The Dance of the Dragons, the Paramours of Aegon the Unworthy, etc.

Poul Anderson story. An original short story for the Poul Anderson tribute anthology. Way, way overdue, but I am getting to it.

Dunk & Egg #4, An original novella of Dunk & Egg. Working on it. Hope to have it done by worldcon. It’s scheduled to be published in

DANGEROUS WOMEN. A huge crossgenre anthology that Gardner Dozois and I are doing for Tor. Largely complete, except for Dunk & Egg. Well, we’re waiting for three rewrites, but my own story will likely be the last one in, then we can move this one to “done and delivered.”

LOWBALL. Volume twenty-two in the Wild Cards series. Working on that one with Melinda Snodgrass, my co-editor. Late, but almost done, a few last sections remain to be completed.

OLD MARS. Original anthology for Bantam, coedited with Gardner Dozois. Three-quarters done, a few stories still due in, three or four rewrites in progress. Not due quite yet.

OLD VENUS. The sequel to Old Mars. Well back in the pipeline, not due for a year.

ROGUES. Big crossgenre anthology I am doing with Gardner Dozois. One story already in, several in progress, but there’s lots of time on this one too.

So there we are…

No more monkeys, please. Don’t write to me with any tempting offers or cool new projects. I am practicing saying No.

No, no, no, no, no. Sorry, can’t, pass, no way, count me out, too busy, no, no, no, thanks but no thanks, no thanks, no thanks.

I love my monkeys, but I have enough.

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Two for the Edgar

January 20, 2012 at 11:20 am
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VERY cool…

The finalists for this year’s Edgar Awards have just been announced, and I was thrilled to learn that two of the stories from DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS, the fantasy/ mystery anthology that Gardner Dozois and I edited for Penguin, have been nominated for Best Short Story.

The nominees are:
“Lord John and the Plague of Zombies,” by Diana Gabaldon,
and
“The Adakian Eagle,” by Bradley Denton.

The Edgar Awards, named after Edgar Allen Poe (that famous Baltimore Ravens fan), are the mystery equivalent of the Nebula, awarded annually by the members of the Mystery Writers of America. It’s quite a coup for a fantasy story to be nominated.

A full list of this year’s Edgar nominees can be found here:
http://www.theedgars.com/nominees.html

Congratulations to Brad and Diana. If you’d like to check out their stories, you can find DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS on Amazon, or (I hope) at your favorite local bookshop. Lots of other good stuff in the book as well.

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