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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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Curveball Is Here

January 16, 2013 at 1:32 pm
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And Bugsy too.

For those of you jonesing for your Wild Cards fix, Daniel Abraham’s brand new never-before-published “When We Were Heroes” is now available on Tor.com. Cover art by John Picacio, Hugo winner and all-around great artist.

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You can download and read it for free here: http://www.tor.com/stories/2013/01/when-we-were-heroes

Then you can run right out and buy every Wild Cards book you can get your hands on.

Don’t worry, we’re making more. (Books and stories both).

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Curveball Is Coming

January 5, 2013 at 12:21 pm
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And she’s bringing Bugsy with her. (Well, maybe not intentionally, but it’s hard to keep Bugsy out).

For all you Wild Cards fans out there who are tired of waiting for the next book… we have a little treat coming to tide you over, a brand new original never-before-published Wild Cards story, not part of any previous anthology or mosaic novel.

It’s called “When We Were Heroes,” it’s by Daniel Abraham, it features Curveball and Bugsy.

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Look for it (not yet, but soon, soon) on Tor.com — as an ebook, natch. For the moment, that’s the only way it will be available. Eventually we hope to collect this story and a few other Wild Cards originals in an actual paper book, but that will probably be a few years down the line, when we have enough material.

That’s the “cover” up above, by the amazing Hugo-winning John Picacio, and my, ain’t it swell?

Elsewhere in the Wild Cards universe, the JOKERS WILD reprint is in Tor’s pipeline, we’re adding two new stories to the ACES ABROAD reprint that will follow (as we did for volume one), LOWBALL is edging closer to delivery, and we’ll be moving right on to HIGH STAKES after that. We have more Wild Cards originals coming up on Tor.com too, so keep an eye on that site.

UPDATE: Just got some new information from my friends at Tor.

“When We Were Heroes” will debut on the Tor.com website on JANUARY 16, at 9 AM (Eastern). The ebook version will be available for purchase “about a week later.”

Also, the JOKERS WILD reissure has been scheduled for February 2014, as a trade paperback.

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Flying High with Wild Cards

August 5, 2012 at 12:41 pm
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I’ve got all sorts of good news for the Wild Cards fans reading this.

LOWBALL, the twenty-second volume in the overall series, and the second part of the current triad that began with FORT FREAK, is almost complete, and should be going in to Tor very shortly. I will be sure and let you know when a publication date is announced. My thanks to my friend and co-editor Melinda Snodgrass for helping me bring this one home.

And the story continues. I’ve just signed contracts with Tor with the next Wild Cards book, a full-on mosaic to conclude the triad. This one will be titled HIGH STAKES.

Tor’s reprints of the first three volumes of the original series have also done very well (well, WILD CARDS and ACES HIGH have done well, JOKERS WILD is still forthcoming), so I am thrilled to announce that we will be continuing with those as well.

We’ve just signed for four more volumes. New Tor editions of ACES ABROAD, DOWN & DIRTY, ACE IN THE HOLE, and DEAD MAN’S HAND will be coming your way during the next few years, probably as trade paperbacks. And to make things even more interesting, we will be adding three brand new original stories to ACES ABROAD, just as we did for Tor’s reissue of WILD CARDS, volume one.

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And Wild Cards readers outside the US are going to have plenty to read as well. After far too long, we finally have a new deal in the United Kingdom, where Gollancz/ Orion will be publishing British editions of WILD CARDS, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, INSIDE STRAIGHT, BUSTED FLUSH, SUICIDE KINGS, FORT FREAK, and LOWBALL.

Wild Cards will be invading France as well. We’ve just closed a deal with J’ai Lu for French translations of the first six volumes in the original series: WILD CARDS, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, ACES ABROAD, DOWN & DIRTY, and ACE IN THE HOLE. (More foreign deals are in the offing but I will hold off on those till the contracts are signed).

We’ve had a long strange run with Wild Cards… but from all appearances, we’re only getting started. If you haven’t tried the books yet, what are you waiting for?

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ACES HIGH Is Here

December 21, 2011 at 11:34 am
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Tor’s trade paperback reissue of ACES HIGH, with its kickass Michael Komarck cover, was released yesterday. Look for it today at a bookshop near you.

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Wild Cards eBooks

November 16, 2011 at 6:39 pm
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Tor has just announced a special holiday sale on the electronic editions of four Wild Cards ebooks. From now until December 14, ebooks of the three Committee books and the reissue of WILD CARDS volume one (with! extra! added! content!) will be only $2.99.

Details can be found here:

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/11/wild-cards-ebooks-now-299

If you’re an ebook reader who has yet to sample the Wild Cards series, here’s your chance to get a taste. I’d recommend that you start with either WILD CARDS (where it all began) or with INSIDE STRAIGHT (first of the “next generation” books, and a great intro to the world). But hell, at that price, you can buy all four for less than the price of a pizza.

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Coming Soon

November 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm
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The latest Wild Cards reissue from Tor Books will be out in time for Christmas.

Now available for pre-order via Amazon, B&N, or your favorite local bookstore is volume two in our long-running Wild Cards series, ACES HIGH, scheduled for publication on December 20. No new stories this time around, alas, but the new edition will feature another spectacular cover from Michael Komarck, this time starring Pat Cadigan’s character Water Lily.

ACES HIGH features stories by Roger Zelazny, Melinda M. Snodgrass, Victor Milan, Lewis Shiner, Walton Simons, John J. Miller, Pat Cadigan, Walter Jon Williams, and yours truly. (Actually, it includes two stories by me, a Turtle story and the Jube interstitial). The old gang’s all here, almost — Fortunato, Dr. Tachyon, the Great and Powerful Turtle, Demise, Walter Lily, Yeoman, Modular Man, Cap’n Trips.

Make it a Wild Cards Xmas, and join the fun.

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Coming to Comicon

July 19, 2011 at 4:19 pm
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I’m off to San Diego tomorrow morning, for comicon.

Tickets have been sold out for months, alas. But for you lucky 150,000 who will be lucky enough to get in, here’s my current schedule of signings, panels, and other public events.

THURSDAY, JULY 21

10:00 am – 12 noon Daniel Abraham and I will be signing copies of the FEVRE DREAM graphic novel at the Avatar booth (#2701),

12 noon – 1:00 pm EPIC FANTASY panel, rm 6A

1:30pm – 2:30 pm The panelists from Epic Fantasy will be signing in autograph area AA1

3:00pm – 4:00 pm The GAME OF THRONES panel, an hour long discussion of the HB0 series with showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss and actors Lena Headey (Cersei), Peter Dinklage (Tyrion), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys), Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Nicolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime). I’ll be moderating.

4:30pm – 5:45pm The GAME OF THRONES cast and I will be signing posters at the Warner Brothers booth #4545.

FRIDAY JULY 22

10:00 am – 11:00 am I will be signing copies of the DOORWAYS graphic novel at the IDW
booth (#2643)

3:00 pm – 5:00 pm John Picacio and I will be signing copies of the 2012 Ice & Fire calendar in the autograph area, AA 21 I will also be signing A DANCE WITH DRAGONS and my other Ice & Fire books during this appearance.

SATURDAY JULY 23

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm I will be signing A DANCE WITH DRAGONS, the other Ice & Fire books, and anything else you care to bring in the autograph area, AA 18.

5:00pm – 6:00 pm Tor Books will be giving away complimentary copies of INSIDE STRAIGHT at their booth, and I’ll be on hand to sign them, along with Melinda Snodgrass, Daniel Abraham, Carrie Vaughn, and other members of the Wild Cards crew. We’ll also be glad to deface FORT FREAK and any other Wild Cards books you care to present to us.

SUNDAY JULY 24

10:30 am – 11:30 am WILD CARDS panel. Half a dozen of your favorite Wild Cards writers will assemble to talk about the past, present, and future of the long-running shared world series in the field.

12:00 noon – 1:00 pm The Wild Card panelists will adjourn to AA1 to sign your books.

Later that afternoon, I will heading over to Mysterious Galaxy for my signing there, but that’s offsite, and not an official part of the SDCC schedule.

A couple of notes about the signings:
1) as on my tour, I will be autographing your books, but I won’t be able to inscribe or personalize them (unless by some chance you catch me at a slow time when there’s no line),
2) many of these signings are keyed to particular books and projects. At Avatar, I’ll be signing FEVRE DREAM, at IDW it will be DOORWAYS, for Tor WILD CARDS. The place to get your DANCE WITH DRAGONS signed is at the big general signings on Friday and Saturday. We’ve scheduled me for four hours of signing between those two days… so please, respect my other publishers and DO NOT ask me to sign your Ice & Fire books at the booth signings. Those are meant to promote my other projects.

[[AFTER THE CUT IS NSFW. ]]

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Of course, there are certain things I am always willing to sign.

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Signing Tomorrow!

July 8, 2011 at 6:36 pm
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For the New Mexicans out there… I will be signing copies of the new Wild Cards mosaic novel, FORT FREAK, tomorrow at Page One Bookstore. The signing starts at 2:30 pm and will run till about 5:00 pm, depending…

Also on hand to deface your copies of FORT FREAK will be my assistant editor Melinda M. Snodgrass (Franny Black), John Jos. Miller (Father Squid), and Victor Milan (Ratboy and Flipper). Other Wild Cards contributors may also drop by… and if they do, Page One will have copies of the earlier books in the series for them to scrawl in.

There will also be a brief presentation about Wild Cards, and a Q&A session.

For more details about the signing, check out the Page One website at
http://www.page1book.com/

I should stress that this is a Wild Cards signing. NO COPIES OF DANCE WITH DRAGONS WILL BE ON SALE! I may be able to autograph some of your Ice & Fire books, if time permits, but probably not more than one, and only with a purchase of FORT FREAK. And in the talk and the Q&A session, we’ll be talking about Wild Cards, not the new Ice & Fire book or the HBO show. Sorry, but to let GAME OF THRONES take over the session would not be fair to the other writers.

So drop on in to Page One, and pay a visit to Fort Freak.

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WARRIORS Wins Locus Poll

June 29, 2011 at 10:30 am
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I’m delighted to announce that WARRIORS, the gigantic cross-genre anthology that I co-edited with my old friend Gardner Dozois, has won the Locus Award as the Best Anthology of 2010.

The award is given by LOCUS magazine, the PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY of science fiction and fantasy, and is decided by an annual poll of of the magazine’s readers. You can check out the full results on Tor.com here: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2011/06/announcing-the-2011-locus-award-winners

Gardner and I are very proud of WARRIORS, our tilting-at-windmills attempt to smash down some genre barriers, and we’re thrilled to see it cop this prize over some terrific competition, all of them pure SF and fantasy. My thanks to all our contributors, who helped make the book what it is. Without them, WARRIORS would be… well, a big book of blank pages. And thanks as well to Tom Doherty, Patrick Nielsen-Hayden, and all the other folks at Tor.

In other categories, Neil Gaiman took home the prize for Best Short Story for “The Thing About Cassandra,” originally published in another of the anthologies that Gardner and I have edited, SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH. Congratulations to Neil. A well deserved award for a great story.

In novella, my own contender “The Mystery Knight” was among the finalists, but lost out to Ted Chiang’s “The Lifecycle of Software Objects.” Tough competition, that. Congratulations to the winner… and don’t worry, Dunk & Egg will have other chances in the years to come.

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