Sales Cover for FEAR THE STARS

Been discussing the cover for book four with my publisher lately, and they sent me this yesterday. I'm quite happy with it. This continues the aesthetic of the series (an aesthetic I'm definitely here for, by the way; I've loved each of the covers so far, and this one is no exception), the yellow/gold really pops, and I can't say I mind the Brandon Sanderson quote either--I'm grateful he was kind enough to take the time to read my books and say some nice things about them.

So another phenomenal sales cover, one that will represent a (hopefully) phenomenal book. I can't wait to get it into everyone's hands!

For now, you can pre-order it here.

RIP MoviePass

This is old news for me, but I wanted to say that I cancelled my MoviePass back in September. It was a bittersweet day: bitter because at one point in time MoviePass had been such a delightful, awesome product for me, and it no longer was that delightful, awesome product; and sweet, because dealing with the MoviePass company, app, and CEO had become increasingly difficult and annoying, and the idea of just dropping it sounded wonderful.

So I did. (And, fortunately, had no trouble cancelling my subscription, as many other people reported.)

For the most part, I'm happy about that decision. I certainly miss seeing so many movies, but because of the new (and constantly changing and unclear) rules of MoviePass--and the fact that I've been finishing books, having babies (erm, have I not mentioned that yet? It's a thing. I'll tell you more about it later.), etc.--I wouldn't have seen that many movies, at least through MoviePass, recently anyway.

If you're unfamiliar with some of the craziness surrounding MoviePass, check out this timeline.

And, while I'm sure the video below is not literally accurate, it certainly captures the emotional essence of the MoviePass struggle.

Sigh. Sweet MoviePass, you were fun while you lasted. And while you were sane.

2018 Whitney Award Nomination

Some good news: Blood Requiem was recently nominated for a Whitney Award!

It always makes me happy to hear one of my books is up for an award, and this is no exception. Also, because this award is given by a committee, there's no need for me to campaign for it, which sounds rather relaxing tbh. I can just sit back and cross my fingers.

In other news, I'm making some significant progress on prewriting for my next project. I won't say too much about it right now, but I should be able to move into writing the first draft very soon. My goal is to finish at least a draft of the first book in the new trilogy by early next year. Right now that's certainly looking possible, and another reason to cross my fingers!

🤞

BLOOD REQUIEM Part 1 Now Available on Graphic Audio

Part 1 of Graphic Audio's adaptation of Blood Requiem is out today!

I'm very pleased with Graphic Audio's adaptations of my books. Their cast and crew do a wonderful job, producing high quality audio stuff with a full cast, soundtrack, and sound effects. It's a very different experience from a regular audiobook, but one I highly recommend. Check it out! Follow the link above to listen to an audio sample if you're not yet convinced.

AND it looks like they're running an early Black Friday deal--it's plastered across the top of their website, but you can get 25% off by entering the code!

And, of course, check out their adaptations of the previous books in the Chaos Queen Quintet:

Duskfall

Dark Immolation Part 1

Dark Immolation Part 2

The Dawn of Artificial Superintelligence (YouTube series)

As I've mentioned earlier this year, one of my big research topics lately--as I gear up to start writing a brand new trilogy--has been Artificial Superintelligence. I've been reading books, following AI research institutions, watching documentaries, and generally absorbing anything on the topic I can.

A few months ago I came across this YouTube series, which explains the topic pretty well--and relatively concisely. Check it out if you're interested in a crash course on ASI. There is supposedly a fourth part in the pipeline, and I'll post that here as well as soon as it pops up.

Also, as far as my brand new trilogy goes, I'm almost done with the pre-writing and should be moving on to start the first novel in the trilogy just in time for a slightly belated NaNoWriMo. So, that's exciting :-).

A lot of other things have been going on for me in the past month or so, which I will likely post about in the future, but for now, life is good, and I'm excited about my next project.

World Fantasy 2018

Hey folks! It's been a busy October--more on that later, perhaps--but I'm actually at an airport right now waiting for my flight to Baltimore, MD for the 2018 World Fantasy Convention. I'll be participating formally in two panel items, both on Friday:

Noon (Maryland Ballroom): Mary Shelley, Genius
In which, I assume, the fellow panelists and I will discuss the greatness that is Mary Shelley! Easy peasy, that.

8-10PM(ish) (Maryland Ballroom): Mass Autograph Reception/Signing Thingy
In which I join dozens (hundreds?) of other authors as we all gather to sign books and have conversations with fans and any random passerby who dares pass by, so to speak.

Otherwise I'll be writing in various places (working on a new project), hovering around the bar, and generally hanging out for the weekend. If you'll be there, come converse with me!