James Enge's Blood of Ambrose has arrived!

James Enge's Blood of Ambrose is now in stock at Amazon,and at B&N.com. Brick and mortar stores will soon follow!

“James Enge writes with great intelligence and wit. His stories take twisty paths to unexpected places you absolutely want to go. This isn't the same old thing; this is delightful fantasy written for smart readers.”—Greg Keyes, New York Times bestselling author of The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series

Behind the king's life stands the menacing Protector, and beyond him lies the Protector's Shadow...

Centuries after the death of Uthar the Great, the throne of the Ontilian Empire lies vacant. The late emperor's brother-in-law and murderer, Lord Urdhven, appoints himself Protector to his nephew, young King Lathmar VII and sets out to kill anyone who stands between himself and mastery of the empire, including (if he can manage it) the king himself and his ancient but still formidable ancestress, Ambrosia Viviana.

When Ambrosia is accused of witchcraft and put to trial by combat, she is forced to play her trump card and call on her brother, Morlock Ambrosius—stateless person, master of all magical makers, deadly swordsman, and hopeless drunk.

As ministers of the king, they carry on the battle, magical and mundane, against the Protector and his shadowy patron. But all their struggles will be wasted unless the young king finds the strength to rule in his own right and his own name.

User Generated Book Tours

Sarah Lacy, for Business Week, in an article entitled, "Book Publishers: Learn From Digg, Yelp—Even Gawker:"

"The conventional wisdom in publishing is that book tours no longer work. I agree, insofar as tours are confined to bookstores. The sad truth is that bookstores are declining in relevance. There are exceptions, of course, but even stores that draw big crowds for an author will struggle to reach the wide community of people interested in a particular author.

I'm learning this firsthand through what I'm calling my User Generated Book Tour, announced on my blog on a whim. My only rule: I'd go to 10 cities (not including San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York) based on response and enthusiasm. With few exceptions, I've held no bookstore events."

I think that "bookstores are declining in relevance" is a little harsh. And a little premature, especially in light of the way the independents are being linked to both the shop local and the green movements. But I'm intrigued by the idea of taking the tour beyond the traditional venues, and using the internet to dictate where that is.

Thoughts?

io9.com and Borderlands Books

If I was on the fence about Gawker's new io9.com blog, this piece on Borderlands Books has put me over the edge. This kind of support for /shout out to independent booksellers is fantastic. And Borderlands is the perfect store to kick it off. When I lived in San Francisco, I made a point of going weekly, and really miss the readings there.

But I wasn't really on the fence, after reading this from editor Annalee Newitz: “We don’t see it as a niche entertainment site. We see it as a pop culture site. So much of our mainstream culture is now talked about and thought about in science-fictional terms. I think that’s why people like William Gibson and Brian Aldiss are saying there’s no more science fiction because we are now living in the future. The present is thinking of itself in science-fictional terms. You get things like George Bush taking stem cell policy from reading parts of Brave New World. That’s part of what we are playing with. We are living in world that now thinks of itself in terms of sci-fi and in terms of the future.”

Book Spotting: The Blade Itself & River of Gods

So, here's how the busy editor spends his weekends. There are two Barnes and Nobles within driving distance of me, and I check them frequently to see Pyr books on the shelf there (and see how they move). So I was very gratified to see two faced out copies on the new books shelf of the new trade paperback edition of Ian McDonald's River of Gods, as well as four copies of Joe Abercrombie's debut fantasy The Blade Itself. (Sometimes I can tell when my brother has been there before me, as he frequently faces out Pyr books when he spots them, but this time he verified that the B&N faced the RoGs out on their own initiative.)

However, at the 2nd B&N, the two copies of The Blade Itself they had weren't faced out. Now, the busy editor who loves his authors would have just turned the books faced out quickly if he could, but the shelf in question was packed so tightly that you couldn't slide a credit card between any two books. I looked, and there wasn't any space to be had anywhere on the whole bookcase. In fact, the only space at all was on the next bookcase to the left. So, with one eye on the lookout for store staff and the other on my two year old (who was busy with his own creative reshelving behind me in the westerns section), I restocked an entire bookcase and a half. Most books I've ever moved before and the fastest I've ever done it. Whew! Now, go forth and do likewise.

Book Spotting: Keeping It Real

Okay, staring today, April 10th, and running for the next two weeks, Justina Robson's Keeping It Real (Quantum Gravity, Book 1) should be appearing on front-of-store paperback display tables in every Borders Books in the US. After which, Justina's hot sci-fantasy will join four other titles for a Pyr end cap display, which itself will run from 4/24 to 5/28, again in every Borders nation-wide. The other books in the display are Fast Forward 1, Crossover, Breakaway, and Bright of the Sky, with the possibility of Brasyl joining in late if it's received in time. (It is just back from the printers, so fingers crossed.)

Unfortunately, I myself happen to live in a state without a Borders (gasp!). We do have a Waldenbooks, but I don't know if they are included in this promotion and I'm not driving over an hour to find out. So, reports of sightings of Keeping It Real in the wild - as well as the subsequent end cap display - greatly appreciated. I'd love to see photos of the display as well, and will happily post any such pictures here. Thanks!

Update: I've just learned that a corresponding promotion is going on right now at B&N's "Top 150" stores - front table display space from this past April 10th thru next Monday. The store here not being in their top 150, I can't see that either -though they did have 6 copies of the book on hand when I last went in. Reminder, you can read three chapters from Keeping It Real online here.

Dreamhaven Needs Your Love

Greg Ketter's Dreamhaven Books is one of the best genre bookstores in America, and Greg is a hell of a good guy. I've only been in Minneapolis once, so I've only been to Dreamhaven once, though I was very impressed, and walked out with a gorgeous set of the Phoenix House editions of The Cornelius Quartet and A Cornelius Calendar. But I see Greg at conventions all the time.

Via Neil Gaiman's blog, I've just learned that Dreamhaven had a break-in, which not only took some cash but did some real property damage. They are really hurting right now, so buying a book or two off them could really help. They could use the love.