Happy Book Birthday to L.X. Beckett! GAMECHANGER is out in the world and ready to be snorfled up! Those of you who listen to my First Cup of Coffee Podcast will remember L.X. from a guest interview back in July. I’ve got the book on my Kindle and can’t wait to read it!
It’s become something of a tradition here on my blog for me to share my RITA® Award scores each year. Here’s my post from 2018, which summarizes the previous few years. I think it’s important to share this information, so that there’s greater transparency in what the scores shake out to be for various books. Of course, I totally respect that some people prefer to keep their scores private, but that’s not a thing for me, so I’m happy to hang them out there.
I entered three books this year – the max I could enter – and for those who say we should only enter one book, our best book from the year, I totally did not expect THE DRAGONS OF SUMMER to be the one that finaled. I think it’s impossible to predict these things. So much depends on which judges you get. Read on for more!
So, these are the scores for THE DRAGONS OF SUMMER, which was a finalist in the novella category. As you can see, it finaled with an average score of just over 9, on a scale of 1.0 to 10.0, with 1.0 being the lowest (poor) and 10.0 being the highest (excellent). (If you’re doing the math at home, remember that the highest and lowest scores are dropped.) So, yeah – Judge 4 *really* didn’t care for the novella. Did it deserve a score 4.5 points below the next lowest score? Opinions are subjective, but that’s a marked gap.
Here are my scores for my Fantasy Romance novel, THE ARROWS OF THE HEART. It got an average score of 8.3, which put it in the top 25% of scores in that category, which means it came pretty damn close to finaling! As you can see, however, Judge 4 Did Not Like. (And no, it’s not the same judge as for DRAGONS – it’s just a coincidence.) And look, they also marked it as not a romance. I get one judge saying this on my Fantasy Romances pretty much every year. I think it’s because some readers have rigid ideas about what romance should be. Also, I do think some judges score out of spite. As impossible as it may be to believe, there are people out there who don’t like me. I know, I know – but it’s true! I’m very interested to see if the new measures RWA is taking to track judges and how they score over time will eliminate some of these kind of wildly different scores.
Finally, I entered my rock star Contemporary Romance SHOOTING STAR, just because I wanted to see how it would do. This book has just never gone the way I thought it would. We couldn’t sell it to a trad publisher, so I self-published it. And it turns out those trad folks predicted well – lol! It has never sold well. Though it does get really good reviews. It scored here much better than I thought. Interestingly, it didn’t get the hate score, but it also didn’t get any love scores. High mediocre, maybe? But I was happy to get this much validation for it.
So, thoughts? Questions? Comments? Hit me up! And any of you who entered and feel the urge, go ahead and share your scores in the comments 🙂
THE ARROWS OF THE HEART won an award! I’m also telling a story today about how men and women talk differently about their pain. Also the continuing saga of THE FIERY CITADEL revision, and how being an auditory learner affects how my brain recalls words.
Wow – today is a busy day! First off, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has partnered with Storybundle to produce the 2019 Fantasy Story bundle. Our theme is “kick-ass heroines” and there are tons – with all varieties of ass-kicking abilities – for your reading pleasure. It includes my own THE ARROWS OF THE HEART and 15 other books!
Welcome
to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Fantasy StoryBundle of
2019! We’re pleased to be working with StoryBundle to bring you some amazing
stories this year, both from bestselling authors and bright stars on the rise.
It was
a real pleasure reading the submissions from SFWA members this year and, as
every year, we had a rough time narrowing the selection to just a few books. We
think you’ll be delighted as there is something for everyone in this great
bundle.
SFWA is
over 50 years old and its membership consists of professional writers and
publishing professionals from around the globe. It administers the Nebula
Awards each year, and so very much more. Check out the SFWA website at sfwa.org
for information on genre writing, the field, and other services.
If you
want to know more about other SFWA offerings, sign up for our quarterly newsletter, which features new and
backlist releases from our members in the area of fiction, games, and other
offerings.
Some of
the highlights in this bundle are:
• The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy. What do you
do when your boyfriend is an animal? Really. An animal.
• The Twenty-Sided Sorceress, Books 1-3 by Annie Bellet.
Gamer. Nerd. Sorceress. After twenty-five years fleeing from a powerful
sorcerer, a mostly-human woman is finally safe – if she can resist using her
magic. Or can she?
• The Dragon Blood Collection, Books 1-3 by Lindsay
Buroker. A dashing Pilot, a comely Sorcerous and smart mouthed Soulsword all
come together in a world intent on killing them.
• Radiance
by Grace Draven. A marriage between alien kingdoms – and two “spares”
who find beauty in each other, and that heroism comes in many forms.
• Ashwin
by Kit Rocha. Can a genetically manipulated soldier be a hero? A healer finds a
way to love a man without feelings—and fight for brightness in a dark world.
• The
Raven and the Reindeer by Ursula Vernon. An enthralling remix of a classic
fairy tale, with a practical heroine who follows her heart to a very different
ending.
The
SFWA Fantasy bundle only runs for three weeks, so don’t hesitate. It’s a great
deal with a ton of terrific fiction just waiting for you click the button. We
had a great time reading every book in this bundle. So should you.
For
StoryBundle, you decide what price you want to pay. For $5 (or more, if you’re
feeling generous), you’ll get the basic bundle of five books in any ebook
format—WORLDWIDE.
The Twenty-Sided Sorceress – Books 1-3 by Annie Bellet
Ashwin by Kit Rocha
Blade
& Rose by
Miranda Honfleur
Amaskan’s Blood by Raven Oak
Genrenauts – The Complete Season One by
Michael R. Underwood
If you
pay at least the bonus price of just $15, you get all five of the regular
books, plus SEVEN more!
Radiance by Grace Draven
The Arrows of the Heart by Jeffe Kennedy
The Raven and the Reindeer by T. Kingfisher
Blood Dragon – Books 1-3 by Lindsay Buroker
Al-Kabar by Lee French
The Glass Gargoyle by Marie Andreas
Catching Echoes – Reconstructionist Series Book 1 by
Meghan Ciana Doidge
This
bundle is available only for a limited time via http://www.storybundle.com. It allows easy reading on
computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via
file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats
(.epub and .mobi) for all books!
It’s
also super easy to give the gift of reading with StoryBundle, thanks to our
gift cards – which allow you to send someone a code that they can redeem for
any future StoryBundle bundle – and timed delivery, which allows you to control
exactly when your recipient will get the gift of StoryBundle.
Why
StoryBundle? Here are just a few benefits StoryBundle provides.
Get
quality reads: We’ve chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in
one convenient package.
Pay
what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much
these fantastic books are worth. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine!
You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
Support
authors who support DRM-free books: StoryBundle is a platform for authors to
get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and
for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books
on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing
wrong with ditching DRM.
Give to
worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their
proceeds to the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America!
Receive
extra books: If you beat the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!
StoryBundle
was created to give a platform for independent authors to showcase their work,
and a source of quality titles for thirsty readers. StoryBundle works with
authors to create bundles of ebooks that can be purchased by readers at their
desired price. Before starting StoryBundle, Founder Jason Chen covered
technology and software as an editor for Gizmodo.com and Lifehacker.com.
For
more information, visit our website at storybundle.com, tweet us at @storybundle and like us on Facebook.
Also, if you get my newsletter, you’ve already seen that we revealed the cover of ORIA’S ENCHANTMENT, the long-anticipated (read: took forever for me to get to it) next installment in the Sorcerous Moons series. There’s no preorders for this one, but it should go live by Monday, January 28, 2019. We’ll send a newsletter out as soon as we know at least the Amazon link is live. If you haven’t subscribed, you can here. Or just watch my social media and I’ll try to post those retailer links as I have them.
And now, for the cover, see below!
ORIA’S ENCHANTMENT coming January 28(ish)
Finally, I’ve mentioned elsewhere, but maybe not here, that the Sorcerous Moons books will be translated into French! And today my French Publisher, Alter Real, revealed the cover for the translation of LONEN’S WAR, which has very neatly become LA GUERRE DE LONEN. And the cover is super cool.
This has been a busy week for me! Funny how things work that way. Always with the cycles, the waxing and the waning.
Not only did THE ARROWS OF THE HEART – the next novel in The Uncharted Realms – release on Tuesday, October 9, but we revealed the cover of SEASONS OF SORCERY on Thursday, October 11. SEASONS OF SORCERY is a fantasy anthology I’m doing with Amanda Bouchet, Grace Draven, and Jennifer Estep. It releases November 13 and you can preorder on some retailers now!
My novella in the collection is THE DRAGONS OF SUMMER and is told from Harlan’s point of view, in the aftermath of THE ARROWS OF THE HEART.
THE DRAGONS OF SUMMER BY JEFFE KENNEDY
As unofficial consort to the High Queen, former mercenary Harlan Konyngrr faces a challenge worse than looming war and fearsome dragons. His long-held secrets threaten what he loves most—and he must make a choice between vows to two women.
As for today’s topic? We’re asking this week if we type two spaces or one after a period. This is an easy answer for me, because I’m not a freaking dinosaur. Come on over anyway!
As the Twelve Kingdoms and their allies are drawn toward war, a princess cast aside must discover a purpose she never dreamed of…
Karyn af Hardie behaved like a proper Dasnarian wife. She acquiesced, she accepted, she submitted. Until her husband gave her a choice: their loveless, unconsummated royal marriage—or her freedom. Karyn chose freedom. But with nowhere to run except into the arms of Dasnaria’s enemies, she wonders if she’s made a mistake. She wants love, security, a family. She can’t imagine finding any of it among the mercurial Tala.
Worst of all is Zyr. The uninhibited shapeshifter is everywhere she looks. He’s magnetic, relentless, teasing and tempting as if she’s free to take her pleasure where she wishes. As if there isn’t a war rising before them, against a vile and demanding force far stronger than they. But with Karyn’s loyalty far from certain, Zyr offers her only chance to aid the defense—a dangerous gambit to seek out a land not seen in centuries, using clues no one can decipher. Together, they’ll have every opportunity to fail—and one chance to steal something truly precious…
