Writer's Grove
Year-end roundup
Grateful for y’all for so many reasons, but thinking back to the beginning of the year, a huge horde of you helped save our friend’s life. Ayesha had chronic leukemia and was getting terrible care in Texas, so you donated tens of thousands and she was able to get top-notch care in Denver. Her bone marrow transplant was successful and she’s still here because of you. Thank you.
On the bookish front, thank you for making A Curse of Krakens a USA Today bestseller and telling folks about the Seven Kennings. Finishing an epic fantasy trilogy—an unusual one folks haven’t seen before—was one of my top personal and professional goals, and I’ll always be proud that I Did the Thing. And of course I’m delighted that folks are digging how it ends, because I’m getting some super kind emails and seeing some nice posts here and there, and I’m told the reviews are positive too (Mom lets me know about reviews since I don’t read them, reviews are for readers). If you’d like signed copies of the trilogy (or any of my books), Worldbuilders Market has a bunch and The Poisoned Pen and Mysterious Galaxy have quite a few too, just give those stores a quick google and a call.
Speaking of bookstores—shoutout to all the folks who came to see me on tour and the wonderful bookstores that hosted me. Cheers to the hundred folks who joined me at Cornish Pasty in Scottsdale—like the family that flew down from Alaska! So much fun to hang out. And the seven readers joined me for dinner in Minneapolis were just luminous beings who made me smile. That was a heck of a dinner. WE HAD GOURMET SAUSAGES and a bananas foster that was an architectural marvel of a dessert.
If you dig podcasts, I talked for an hour (and there’s video too) with Adrian and MJ with the SFF Addicts podcast. We talked urban and epic fantasy, A Curse of Krakens, and more, and they have convenient chapters to skip to if something looks particularly interesting. It was a wide-ranging conversation and entirely pleasant.
How about I share a few books that I enjoyed this year? Shoutout to all the brilliant authors out there telling great stories that teach us how to be better humans. I obviously can’t keep up with all the awesome stuff being published, but here’s a selection of what I fed to my eyeballs:
The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
The Bone Shard War by Andrea Stewart
Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
Midnight at the Houdini and Bloom by Delilah S. Dawson
Zero Days by Ruth Ware
Cult Classic by Stephen Blackmoore
Spring’s Arcana and The Salt-Black Tree by Lilith Saintcrow
The Dead Take the A Train by Cassandra Khaw and Richard Kadrey
The Valkyrie by Kate Heartfield
System Collapse by Martha Wells
Regarding that last title—the latest in the absolutely fabulous Murderbot Diaries series—I am so happy to hear that Apple TV is going to develop that series starring Alexander Skårsgaard! For reasons!
1) It’s a fantastic series and if you haven’t read it yet then you need to begin
2) Original SF instead of yet another reboot of old tired stuff? YES PLEASE
3) I am just dang happy for Martha
News from me: I am almost finished with Candle & Crow, the third and final Ink & Sigil book, which will be out next October. I will also have a new Oberon’s Meaty Mystery for you to read in the new year that takes place right before Candle & Crow. It’s called The Chartreuse Chanteuse, and will be one of three novellas you can enjoy in Canines & Cocktails, a themed collection of novellas featuring dogs & drinks that I am publishing with Chuck Wendig and Delilah S. Dawson. Here, you wanna see the cover? It features Oberon and Starbuck, of course, and the golden retriever up top is Gumball from Chuck’s story, and the pit bull is Peach Pit from Delilah’s story.
The Chartreuse Chanteuse is the long-awaited happy-ever-after for Atticus, Oberon, and Starbuck. You won’t want to miss it. Luke Daniels has already narrated the audiobook and I can’t wait to share it with y’all. Stay tuned for more details on the release date!
I will also have a science fiction novella coming out next year, probably the summer, called The Hermit Next Door. That will be my second foray into science fiction. (Did you miss my first? It’s called A Question of Navigation, and while the print edition has sold out, it’s still available in ebook and audio narrated by Luke Daniels.)
Levi is home for the holidays and right this second is sitting next to me reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben. I’m typing this blog and they are reading and we are both snuggled up in blankets and it’s just the best. I wish you and your loved ones a warm and fuzzy season full of hugs and contentment, with that food you dig and that drink that makes you happy, and that 2024 brings you every good thing as we walk this wide and winsome world together.
