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Wild Cards Pubdates

February 2, 2016 at 12:30 pm
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HIGH STAKES — the third and concluding volume in the current Wild Cards triad, and the twenty-third volume in the overall series — will be released by Tor in hardcover on AUGUST 23.

This one is another full-on mosaic novel, its storylines completely interwoven to make for a six-way collaborative novel. The participating writers, and their featured characters, are:

David Anthony Durham — Marcus (Infamous Black Tongue) Morgan
Stephen Leigh — Barbara (Babel) Baden
John Jos. Miller — The Midnight Angel
Melinda M. Snodgrass — Francis Xavier Black, NYPD
Caroline Spector — Michelle (the Amazing Bubbles) Pond
Ian Tregillis — Mollie (Tesseract) Steunenberg

Other favorites, old and new, will also appear: Hoodoo Mama, Carnifex, Lohengrin, the Recycler, Earth Witch, Jonathan Hive, Tinker, and many many more.

Be warned: this one is not for the faint of heart. This is our horror book, and things get pretty horrible. Mayhem and madness and murder, oh my. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Oh, and on other Wild Cards fronts — on March 30, a new original WC story will be available on Tor.com. “Discards,” by David D. Levine, is the origin story of his Brazilian ace, the Recycler… who will be appearing again in HIGH STAKES. But meet him first on Tor.com.

Down & Dirty Once Again

September 30, 2015 at 8:20 pm
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Heads up, Wild Card fans. Tor’s reissue program continues next month with the release of a nifty new trade paperback edition of DOWN & DIRTY, the fifth volume of the original series. The official pubdate is OCTOBER 27.

As with the previous Tor reissues, DOWN & DIRTY will sport a brand new cover by the amazing Michael Komarck, one of field’s finest artists (REMEMBER HIM when nominating next Hugo time). The featured character is Leanne C. Harper’s Bagabond.

Have a look.

Or can preorder the book from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Wild-Cards-V-Down-Dirty/dp/076533559X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1443558598&sr=1-1 or from your favorite local bookshop and/or online retailer.

The lineup for this one:
“Only the Dead Know Jokertown” by John Jos. Miller
“All the King’s Horses” by George R.R. Martin
“Concerto for Siren & Serotonin” by Roger Zelazny
“Breakdown/ Takedown/ What Rough Beast” by Leanne C. Harper
“Jesus Was An Ace” by Arthur Byron Cover
“Blood Ties” by Melinda M. Snodgrass
“Addicted to Love” by Pat Cadigan
“The Second Coming of Buddy Holley” by Edward Bryant
“The Hue of a Mind” by Stephen Leigh
“Mortality” by Walter Jon Williams

Enjoy.

POP! More Wild Cards

December 4, 2014 at 3:51 pm
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There's another brand new, original, never-before-published Wild Cards story up on Tor.com.

This one is by Walter Jon Williams.  The star (well, she'd say she was, at least) is Pop Tart, last seen in INSIDE STRAIGHT and the first season of AMERICAN HERO.  The art, of course, is by the amazing John Picacio.

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Check it out at

http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/11/prompt-professional-pop

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More Wild Cards Goodness

November 19, 2014 at 1:00 pm
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The last few months have passed in such a blur that I forgot to shout out the new Wild Cards story on Tor.com.

This one is by Carrie Vaughn, entitled "Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza."   The illustration is by the amazing John Picacio.

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An untold tale of Earth Witch in the aftermath of the events of the first Committee triad,  "Nuestra Señora de la Esperanza" is all new and original, published here for the first time.

You can check it out at http://www.tor.com/stories/2014/10/nuestra-senora-de-la-esperanza-carrie-vaughn

Check out Carrie's other books as well.

 

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Back to Jokertown

November 5, 2014 at 10:28 pm
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There's trouble brewing on the mean streets of Jokertown once again.

You can read all about it in LOWBALL, the latest volume in the Wild Cards series of mosaic novels, released in hardcover by our friends at Tor on November 4, and now available at your local bookstore or your favorite online retailer.

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The cover is once again by the amazing Michael Komarck, featuring David Anthony Durham's character IBT, aka Infamous Black Tongue.

The table of contents:

“The Big Bleed,” by Michael Cassutt, starring STUNTMAN,
“Those About to Die,” by David Anthony Durham, starring INFAMOUS BLACK TONGUE,
“Galahad in Blue” by Melinda Snodgrass, starring FRANCIS XAVIER BLACK of the NYPD,
“Ties That Bind” by Mary Anne Mohanraj, starring MICHAEL STEVENS of the NYPD,
“Cry Wolf” by David D. Levine, introducing THE CARTOONIST,
“Road Kill” by Walter Jon Williams, starring GORDON THE GHOUL,
“Once More, for Old Time’s Sake” by Carrie Vaughn, starring EARTH WITCH, CURVBALL, DRUMMER BOY, and JOHN FORTUNE,
“No Parking… “ 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 is  the second volume in our Jokertown triad, and the twenty-second in the overall series.  And no, before someone asks, you don't need to start at volume one… though volume one is pretty swell.   INSIDE STRAIGHT (volume eighteen) and FORT FREAK (volume twenty-one) also make great entry points for a new Wild Carder.

The twenty-third volume, HIGH STAKES, is in the works.

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The Ice Dragon coming out today with New Art

October 21, 2014 at 8:00 am
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Today Tor is releasing THE ICE DRAGON back out into the wide world with brand new art by LUIS ROYO.

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This message was brought to you by the Minions of Fevre River.

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Return of the Ice Dragon

July 30, 2014 at 4:01 pm
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My children's book THE ICE DRAGON — actually an illustrated and edited version of a short story that I wrote back in the 70s — has been out of print in the US for some time, as a number of my readers have informed me over the past year.

That's because Tor was preparing an entirely new edition, which I'm now thrilled to be able to announce.

Same story, but ALL NEW ARTWORK.  This edition of THE ICE DRAGON will be lavishly illustrated by award-winning fantasy artist LUIS ROYO.

Have a look at the cover:

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The new ICE DRAGON will be flying to a bookstore near you on OCTOBER 21 of this year!

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The Jokers Are Back

February 11, 2014 at 11:01 pm
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September 15, 1946 was the first Wild Cards Day, the day that Jetboy met Dr. Tod in the skies over Manhattan, and the wild card virus was released onto an unsuspecting world.

September 15, 1986 was the 40th anniversary of that fateful day, and a pretty eventful 24 hours in its own right.  The triumphs and tragedies of that day were chronicled in JOKERS WILD, the third volume of the Wild Cards series… and the first of our "full mosaics."  Back in 1986, when we wrote the book, we were experimenting with a form that no one had ever attempted in SF and fantasy before.  Seven writers, seven characters, seven stories… all woven together into a fully collaborative novel, wherein the whole (we hoped) was more than the sum of its parts.

And let me you, editing this one was a bitch and a half.  But well worth it.   My writers complained a lot, as did I, but the readers love the result… and so did we, after a bit of time to reflect.  So the Wild Cards series has continued to feature fully-interwoven mosaic novels ever since, albeit usually only once every three books or so, since the process of hammering these out is exhausting for all concerned.

February 11, 2014 is the day that JOKERS WILD, first of the full mosaics, was reissued by Tor books in trade paperback.  It's been out of print and unavailable for longer than I care to think about, but now once more it is available at your local bookstore, or from your favorite online bookseller.  Never looked better either, dressed up as it is in a spectacular new cover from Michael Komarck.

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The featured writers (and their characters) this time around are yours truly (Hiram Worchester), Lewis Shiner (Fortunato), John Jos. Miller (Wraith, our new cover girl),  Edward Bryant (Sewerjack), Leanne C. Harper (Bagabond), Melinda M. Snodgrass (Roulette), and Walton Simons (Demise).

(I should mention: some Wild Cards books are good entry points to the series, but this is not one of them.  JOKERS WILD is the culmination of our first triad, so you probably read WILD CARDS and ACES HIGH before tackling this one).

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Ebook Sale!

October 15, 2013 at 2:52 pm
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For a limited time only, Tor is offering the ebook of INSIDE STRAIGHT — first volume of the "next generation" of Wild Cards books — for only $2.99.

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/10/george-rr-martin-inside-straight-sale-ebook

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If you've never sampled Wild Cards, here's your chance.

The promotion will last until November 1.

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The Princess and the Queen

August 31, 2013 at 10:21 am
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The final story in DANGEROUS WOMEN will be my own, a 30,000 word novella entitled "The Princess and the Queen," a history (somewhat abridged) of the Dance of the Dragons, as set down by a maester of the Citadel.

Tor.com has  uploaded a sample to their site.  You can find it here:

http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/07/dangerous-women-george-r-r-martin-excerpt

Enjoy.

(The full 80,000 word account of the Dance will eventually appear in a book, as yet untitled, that we're calling the GRRMarillion).

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