Tag Archives: Nnedi Okorafor

So Many Books from DAW….

We just finished our second week of Worldbuilders, and as I type this we’ve raised $375,000. That’s an amazing amount of money that will help improve the lives of people all over the world.

But Pat!” I hear you cry. “Exactly *how* will this money make people’s lives better? For someone willing to spend eight pages describing how someone makes soap, it seems like you’re being pretty vague here….

Fair enough.

Let’s say you donate $60. That’s enough for Heifer to go into an area and provide education, support, and seedlings. That’s everything a family needs to plant some trees.

If you’re running a small farm, or even a garden, trees are more important than most people think. They provide shade for animals and prevent soil erosion. Many poverty stricken parts of the world have been deforested to a disastrous degree. And you can’t maintain a farm or pasture if the ground itself keeps washing away….

Even better? That cute little girl up there gets to supplement her diet with fresh fruit or protein-rich nuts. The nuts or fruit the family doesn’t use can be sold. Giving a family a small orchard or grove of nut trees is effectively the same as giving them a small business.

And what if you want to grow your business? You actually, literally, grow it. Using the education and tools Heifer provides, people can plant part of what they harvest, not only improving their own lives, but the lives of their friends and neighbors.

That’s what sixty bucks does, folks. It changes people’s lives. Forever.

And when you donate directly to Heifer on the Worldbuilders team page you also get the chance to win thousands upon thousands of books like the ones that DAW has sent us.

Did I mention that DAW sent us a bunch of books? They did. They very did.

* * *

DAW is one of the few publishers that has been involved in Worldbuilders from the very beginning. But this year they’ve outdone themselves…

  • Set of the first 8 books of the October Daye series. All signed by Seanan McGuire.

seanan2

“Action, intrigue, and a dash of romance.” —Jim Hines

All 8 of these are signed, and they’ll get you a really good start on the series. Collectors could love it, and people looking for new books in the name of charity could love it.

twelvekings

“A memorable heroine, a poetically told tale of revenge, and superb worldbuilding make Twelve Kings in Sharakhai a splendid read.” –John Marco

Brad supports us on his own, but as I mentioned before, he’s part of the DAW family now, and everyone at DAW is really excited about his book. So much so that they sent us fully 20 ARCs of it to share with all of you in the lottery.

bookofphoenix

“This is a horrifying, inspiring, painful, joyous book.” —io9

I love Nnedi. She and I were winners in the same Writers of the Future contest, and I’ve always enjoyed her writing. Enough that they put my quote about her books right on the cover here.

I hope the 32 people who win this love it as much as I do.

ancient peace

“The action is solid, and the marines are an entertaining mix of oddballs.” –Locus

nova

“NOVA grabbed me from the first chapter, and never let go. What a ride! Unforgettable, fast-paced and original, this book kept me guessing to the end” –Amie Kaufman

This is a new one, and the author is actually a fellow Wisconsinite. Over the summer my editor, Betsy, came to visit and told me all about her, so I’m happy to see that there are so many copies available in the lottery for all of you lovely people to enjoy.

dentonhill

“Maresca’s debut is smart, fast, and engaging fantasy crime in the mold of Brent Weeks and Harry Harrison. Just perfect.” —Kat Richardson

empire

“Bedford mixes romance and intrigue in this promising debut, which opens the Psi-tech space opera series…. Readers who crave high adventure and tense plots will enjoy this voyage into the future.” —Publishers Weekly

dragonbone

“Sprawling, spellbinding…weaves together a multitude of intricate strands, building to a suitably apocalyptic confrontation between good and evil.”—Publishers Weekly

Let me tell you a story. Just a short one, I promise.

Back in the summer of 1995, I’d been writing my novel for a couple of years. And, to be completely honest, I was feeling a little hopeless. I wasn’t anywhere done with the story I was trying to tell, but my book was already *really* long. (I hadn’t yet realized it would need to be more than one novel.)

Then I read The Dragonbone Chair and it gave me hope. I knew someone out there was publishing big fantasy books. So maybe I had a chance….

Needless to say, this book has a special place in my heart.

  • And Many, Many More!

lottery_vertical

DAW moved offices recently, and in that move, a lot of the staff finally got around to reorganizing their office libraries, which led to boxes upon boxes of books getting donated to Worldbuilders on top of the already substantial traditional DAW donation.

There’s a lot of stuff here, folks. Hundreds of books making up more than 160 prizes. There are standalones, first-in-a-series, new books, old books, and everything in between. And they’re all going into the lottery.

That means anyone who donates at least $10 dollars on our page has a chance to win them. If you were to donate more, say… 60 dollars (enough for some tree seedlings) you’d have six chances to win one of the over 1,000 prizes we currently have in the lottery.

Yeah, we’re giving away a lot of stuff here, and we haven’t even reached the halfway point yet…

Here’s one more link to the donation page if you need it.

Posted in Worldbuilders 2015 | By Pat8 Responses

Delicious Geekery – October 2013

Back in August, we tried something a little new for Worldbuilders. Kevin Hearne and several of his anthology-mates sent us some signed copies of their carnival-steampunk collection, aptly named Carniepunk.

The books were signed by multiple authors, and rather than save them for our end-of-the-year Worldbuilders extraviganza, we decided to throw them up in our online store. We doubled the cover price because they were signed by some cool authors and because all the money goes to charity

… and despite that, the books sold out in just a couple of hours.

Since people were obviously excited about the idea, we’ve decided to make a monthly habit of bringing you some new signed books in The Tinker’s Packs:

Since this is our first month, I tapped a few of my author friends. And, because they’re all awesome people, they jumped right in.

The first to agree was Brandon Sanderson.  His book Steelheart came out a few weeks ago. It’s the first in a new series…

1-Sanderson

Look at it, looming over you like it can write faster than you or something…

Sanderson Signature

Not to mention the fact that his signature is beautiful and flowing and doesn’t at all look like a 4 year old stole a pen from you…

I got a chance to read an ARC of this and loved it even before it went through final edits. My blurb on the back says, “Unfortunately for my ego, Steelheart is another win for Sanderson, proving that he’s not a brilliant writer of epic fantasy, he’s simply a brilliant writer. Period.”

If you want to know more about what I thought, you can check out my goodreads review here.

Or you could just jump right over to the Tinker’s packs and buy it.

These are signed first printings, and we’ve only got ten of them. So, fair warning, they’re bound to go quickly.

And remember, all the money we make in the Tinker’s Packs goes to Worldbuilders, helping Heifer International do awesome things all over the world.

Sustainable Community Development Project for Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Palpa (22-0531-23)

Our second set of books comes from my long-time friend Nnedi Okorafor. She and I go way back to the Writers of the Future Volume 18 in 2002, where we were both bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, newbie writers.

Me-and-Nnedi-730772

Awww… look at me, all young and thin and tiny-bearded.

Both Nnedi and I have both come a long way since then. Her book Zahrah the Windseeker won the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa. And in 2011 Who Fears Death won the 2011 World Fantasy Award for Best Novel.

Her newest book Kabu Kabu just hit the shelves, and she’s been nice enough to send us some copies hot off the press.

Nnedi Signature

In addition to signing, she’s gone the extra mile and decorated them too….

1-photo

As you can see, each of these is signed, dated, and has it’s own individual doodle along the top and bottom of the book. She sent along 10 of these, and we’re putting them up in the store for you.

Fair warning: There’s only nine left because I just bought one. I haven’t read this one yet.

Last we have a lovely donation from Scott Lynch (who I’m doing an event with soon in Lond0n).

It’s the third book in the Gentleman Bastard series: The Republic of Thieves…

Lynch Cover

I’m a huge fan of the first two books in the series, and recently wrote a review of The Lies of Locke Lamora on Goodreads that was so gushy with love that his publisher contacted me to ask if they could use it as promo copy.

Scott went all out on copies he sent us, as you can see if you embiggen the below pictures.

1-Republic

Yeah, he’s a great guy. Because of that, I’ll try not to resent the fact that his handwriting looks like a stylish font.

By strange coincidence, I just started reading my copy tonight over dinner. And honestly, I wish I were still reading it instead of writing a blog post. It’s one of *those* books.

They’re available for sale over here.

*     *     *

We’ve also got one cool non-book thing we’re adding to the store. Something we’ve been saving for pre-christmass.

We’ve got the complete The Legend of Neil DVD series:

Legend of Neil DVDs

If you haven’t heard of Legend of Neil, well… not only do you lose some geek points, but you’re missing out on some of the best geek humor out there.

I’m not just a fan of the show, I bought the t-shirt. (Several copies of the t-shirt, actually.)

patrick rothfuss- Murder shirt

(Note: This is not the best shirt to go through airport security in.)

The series was written and directed by the inestimable Sandeep Parikh who agreed to let us sell the DVD to help raise money for Worldbuilders.

We’ve got some regular DVD’s and some signed by Sandeep, writer/actor Tony Janning, and geek glitterati princess Felicia Day.

We’ve got the DVDs and the posters available for sale individually, or you can buy them together at a discounted price.

We’ve only got a limited number of these, especially the signed ones. Fair warning.

*     *     *

And finally, a piece of news:

The Lauren Zurchin Fantasy Calendar just came back from the printers. That means as of today, we’re no longer doing pre-orders. If you buy one, we’ll be shipping it out to you straightaway.

oliver-updated

The same is true if you’re buying a couple calendars in a combo packs to get a discount. We’re shipping those out immediately too.

So… yeah. There you go folks. Plenty of geek swag you can add to your vasty horde or use to get a jump on your  holiday shopping.

Have fun,

pat

Posted in a billion links, recommendations, The Tinker's Packs, Things I Like, Worldbuilders | By Pat19 Responses

Even More DAW Books

This is a Worldbuilders Blog.

A few announcements before we get to the goods.

Firstly:  Since the blog went up yesterday, we’ve gone from $328,000 to over $363,000.  We blew past the Lockless Box stretch goal and are steadily climbing our way toward the extra $100,000 for Heifer.  That’s the true power you folks have, right there.

Secondly: Our True Dungeon game auctions end tonight (along with many others).  Mary Robinette Kowal and Jim Hines had already agreed to play with us, but we’d like to reveal one more player: John Scalzi.

 

As you can see from his debonair hat and sweet uke, he’s going to be our bard.  If you’re at all interested in hunting lycans while being serenaded by John Scalzi, it would be in your best interest to go bid.

Thirdly: Pat isn’t writing this blog.

I (that is, Amanda) often help Pat out here on the blog.  I help answer a lot of the questions in the comments, and if there’s ever a typo or other error that gets fixed, I most likely did that, too.  When we extended the deadline of the fundraiser, it meant some blogs had to go up while Pat is out at ConFusion.  He’s booked pretty solidly while he’s there, and won’t be able to hole himself up in the hotel to write blogs.  So, he told me it was my turn.

Be gentle.

*     *     *

Our previous DAW blog had tons of books in it.  It had so many books that even they admitted they may have gone overboard – overboard in the most awesome way possible.  So, here in this second blog, you’d think we wouldn’t have very much.  In fact, we struggled to squeeze everything in without it getting unwieldy.  They truly went above and beyond for their donation this year.

No more preamble.  Let’s get right to the books.

  • 7 hardcover sets of Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines, The Silvered by Tanya Huff, and The Dirty Streets of Heaven by Tad Williams.  All copies of Libriomancer and The Dirty Streets of Heaven are signed.

“This enchanting, suspenseful urban fantasy should grab fans of Charles de Lint, Nina Kiriki Hoffman, and Jim Butcher.” – Booklist (starred review) about The Silvered.

  • 6 ARC copies of The Dirty Streets of Heaven.  Signed by Tad Williams.

Just to add to the awesome, DAW sent along some great ARCs, including this one.  Pat has a pretty lengthy review over on Goodreads where he gushes about how great it is, and this prize is extra awesome because they’re all signed.

  • A set of The Book of Ler and The Transformer Trillogy by M.A. Foster.

“Foster will be ranked among the greats…”  – Library Journal

Just so you know, these are both collections of M.A. Foster’s two cornerstone trilogies. That’s right, you get two books that actually contain a total of six novels–you don’t have to hunt for the rest of them.

“Cherryh has created her strongest character and her best novel in a story of space exploration, colonization and war.” – Questar, about Downbelow Station.

“Violette Malan has accomplished that most difficult fusions – she’s given a complex, high fantasy world a very readable contemporary voice.” – Tanya Huff

ARCs have always been cool to me.  I feel like I’m holding something secret, that only really special people ever get to have.  Almost every one I’ve ever held have been for Worldbuilders, or to give to Pat, so I don’t get to be one of those special people.  But now you might.

This is an ARC of a book that doesn’t come out until February.  In case you just can’t wait for the two in the lottery, we’ve decided to auction one off, too.

To bid on this, go to the auction here.

Here’s another ARC which doesn’t come out until March, and they’re all signed to boot.  I was beyond convinced by this review:

“I was captivated by Julie Czerneda’s A Turn of Light. Yep, she used her writerly powers and sucked me right in. Many fantasy novels out there are *about* magic. Few, like Julie’s, embody it.” – Kristen Britain

Six will go into the lottery, but we’re auctioning the seventh over here.

“The settings are well drawn and creative… The characters possess substance, emotions and realistic motivations… Most important, the action and surprises keep coming… this book is almost impossible to put down.” – SCI FI Weekly, about The Helix War.

I’m not going to lie – this might be my favorite prize in this blog just for the all of the cover art.  I mean, I used to tell my students all the time not to judge books by their covers, but… you can when they’re *really* nice.

“With this volume, bestseller Hickman (The Immortals) creates memorable characters and realms of immense richness, while holding the reader enthralled with exhilarating action.” – Publishers Weekly, about Song of the Dragon

“… a terrific entry into the wonderful swashbuckling fantasy world of Mickey Zucker Reichert.” – Midwest Book Review, about Flight of  the Renshai

“I love the way Nnedi Okorafor writes, the precise, steely short sentences like blows to the body, the accumulation of experiences that lean to inspired insights, and the strangeness and beauty of an Africa both imagined and real. Perception, courage, and grace illuminate Who Fears Death.” – Peter Straub

  • Plus, all of these ARCs down here:

(Click to embiggen and read all the titles)

That’s right.  Every single one of those books is an advance reader copy.  You may not realize this, but some publishers are moving away from ARCs.  In this digital age, sometimes it’s not worth it to do an expensive not-even-for-sale print run of a book that may not end up doing well.

But not DAW.  They produce a lot of ARCs.  A lot of *really* nice ARCs.  They really go the extra mile to do right by their authors.

There are a ton of ARCs this year, so simply bask in the glory that is many, many books you can win just by donating via the Team Page.

*     *     *

You only have until Monday, January 21st to donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page. For every $10 you pitch in, you get another chance to win one of these books, as well as thousands of others.

There are a bunch of awesome auctions ending tonight, including tickets to PAX East, two different ways to game with Pat, and some awesome books and art. You can view all of them on our current auctions page here.

If you want to see the other items that have been donated to Worldbuilders, or learn more about the fundraiser itself, you can head over to our main page.

Posted in a billion links, Worldbuilders 2012 | By Amanda7 Responses

100K Blog – Signed Books by Pratchett, Gaiman, and More (and Moore)

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

Okay. I’ve had my holiday break. I’m relatively rested and recharged.  You’ll be seeing more blogs than normal in these next couple weeks. Not just fundraiser stuff, but some other blogs that I’ve been meaning to post for some time.

We hit our 100K target a week or so back. So, as promised, here’s a bonus blog full of books I’m personally adding to the lottery. A lot of these I’ve collected over the last year while attending conventions. Most of them are first editions and signed by the authors.

I’ll be doing another bonus blog when we hit 150K. Which, judging by the look of that thermometer over there, is probably going to happen pretty soon….

Recently someone wrote me an e-mail asking, “What do you do when your life sucks and you don’t want to write any more?”

I replied, “I read Terry Pratchett.”

It amazes me that there are some fantasy readers out there that still haven’t read Pratchett. I can’t fix that for everyone, but one person in the lottery is going to win the chance to read all the Pratchett their geeky little heart desires….

I got to meet Terry Pratchett this year, though only very briefly. In this blog I told the story of how I was lucky enough to get him to sign one book for me.

This was that book. I could probably auction it off for a pretty penny. But I’d rather put it in the lottery where anyone can get it.

Honestly, I don’t have any idea where I got these ARCs. But I figured I’d throw them into the mix, too. Thud! is one of my very favorite Discworld novels.

  • One first edition hardcover copy of The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens. Signed by the author.

“This fast-paced, fully imagined fantasy is by turns frightening and funny, and the siblings are well-crafted and empathetic heroes. Highly enjoyable, it should find many readers.” – Publishers Weekly

“This book has it all: a creepy setting, a deadly curse, reincarnation, spells, witchcraft and voodoo, plus characters that simply will not let the reader put the book down until finished…Who could ask for more?” – VOYA

  • One first edition hardcover copy of Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. Signed by the author.

I’ve already gushed about Nnedi a couple times here on the blog in this last month. So I won’t bother repeating myself. Besides, why would you bother listening to me when Ursula K Le Guin is vouching for her…?

“There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work than in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy epics.” – Ursula K. Le Guin

“Romantic and blood-streaked, and infused with magic so real you can feel it on your fingertips – Deathless is beautiful.” – Cory Doctorow

  • One first edition hardcover copy of A Dance with Dragons by George R. R. Martin. Signed by the author.

“Martin’s love for sophisticated, deeply strange fantasy permeates “Dance” like a phantasmagorical fever dream.” – L.A. Times

“A grand adventure and an inspiration that is not to be missed.” – Kirkus Review

  • One first edition hardcover copy of Ghost Story by Jim Butcher. Signed by the author.

Pat’s Note: I make no bones about my love for Jim Butcher. The Dresden Files is possibly my favorite current series that I’m reading.

“Think Buffy the Vampire Slayer starring Philip Marlowe.” – Entertainment Weekly

  • One first edition hardcover copy of The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. Signed by the author.

How much do I like this book?

Well… last year at House on the Rock, me and my crew dressed up as the ghosts in the book. Because that’s how we roll.

(As you can see, Oot was Bod.)

We almost won the costume contest too….

…but that, as they say, is another story.

The Graveyard Book manages the remarkable feat of playing delightful jazz riffs on Kipling’s classic Jungle Books. One might call this book a small jewel, but in fact it’s much bigger within than it looks from the outside.” – Peter S. Beagle

  • One hardcover copy of The Boy at the End of the World by Greg van Eekhout. Signed by the author.

The Boy at the End of the World is both moving and full of adventure. This remarkable survival story will change the way readers think about themselves and the world they live in.” – Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief

From outrageously funny New York Times bestselling author Christopher Moore and award-winning screenwriter and director Ian Corson, THE GRIFF: A Graphic Novel is about an alien invasion of Earth and the motley crew of humans who save the world—sort of . . .

  • One leather-bound, gold-leaf paged copy of Lamb by Christopher Moore. Signed by the author.

This year when I was at San Diego Comic Con I got to meet Christopher Moore. While I was there, I got lucky and bought two copies of the special gold-leaf edition of Lamb. The first one was for me, of course, but the second one I’ve been holding on to so I could put it in the fundraiser.

It’s a pretty book, gold leaf around the pages. This edition also has the faux leather cover, so it’s extra valuable, as faux are now endangered species and can’t be hunted for their skins any more.

It also has a little bookmark, so you know it’s posh.

All joking aside, this is a great book.Laugh-out-loud funny in places, sweet and touching in others. If you haven’t read any Moore before, this is a good place to start.

*     *     *

Remember, for every 10 dollars you donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page, you get a chance to win these books and hundreds of others.

What’s more, Worldbuilders will match 50% of your donations. So if you chip in before January 31st of 2012, you get a bigger bang for your buck.

To see the other books folks have donated, as well as our auctions, and the items we’re selling in the store, you can head over to our main page HERE.

Posted in Worldbuilders 2011 | By Pat45 Responses

Still More Books from DAW

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

So while I was away at my extended family Christmas, we managed to hit $100,000.

We did more than hit it, in fact. We knocked it down and then kicked it rudely while it was on the ground.

I’ll be getting the 100K bonus blog up early next week. I didn’t expect to need it this soon….

This is our third blog full of books from DAW, my lovely US publisher.

In addition to these books, and the one’s they’ve already sent, when DAW heard we needed Mercedes Lackey’s Unnatural Issue and The Gates of Sleep to have a complete set of the Elemental Masters series (we posted up a partial set in a previous blog) they sent us two lovely hardcover copies.  Likewise for Kristen Britain’s Blackveil from her Green Rider series.

Pat’s Note: As I mentioned in the last blog, Nnedi won the World Fantasy Award for this book just a couple months back. She wasn’t at the ceremony, but I was.

I felt like a proud grampa when the book won. Or maybe some sort of benevolent fairy god-uncle or something. Not only have I known Nnedi since back when we were both newbie writers. Not just because Who Fears Death is one of the few books I’ve actually blurbed. But I kinda helped this book get published, because I introduced Nnedi to Betsy, my editor at DAW.

So yeah. Good book. Enough said.

“Nnedi Okorafor continues her epic journey into literary greatness. She manages to create worlds within worlds, stories that feel timeless, in language and settings we have not seen before.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

  • A first edition hardcover set of: Joust, Alta, and Aerie by Mercedes Lackey.

“It’s fun to see a different spin on dragons…and as usual Lackey makes it all compelling.” – Locus

  • A hardcover set of Green Rider, First Rider’s Call, The High King’s Tomb, and Blackveil by Kristen Britain.

“Kristen Britain’s Blackveil has everything that Green Rider fans could hope for including romance, adventure, humor, time travel, dark magic, entertaining drama, ghosts, prophetic visions, and much more.” – Fantasy Book Critic

  • A set of Green Rider, First Rider’s Call, and The High King’s Tomb by Kristen Britain.

“Britain has written, what I think is, a series which not only compels you to keep reading, but leaves you thinking about it once you’ve finished.” – Fantasy Book Review

  • A first edition hardcover copy of The Diviner by Melanie Rawn. Includes a bookplate signed by the author.

“Melanie Rawn is an amazingly talented writer who is capable of some of the most direct and clearest fantasy writing I’ve had the pleasure of reading in quite some time.” – Book Critics

  • A trade paperback set of: Dragon Prince, The Star Scroll, and Sunrunner’s Fire by Melanie Rawn

“Rawn’s lush world of princes of dragons, sun-born magic, and tangled politics comes to life in this romantic fantasy saga.” – Library Journal

Pat’s Note: Because we’ve got so many books this year, we’re going to start grouping some of them into collections. For example, we’re bundling the next several sets of books together because they’re all first books of series. It’s like a Whitman’s sampler of starter books.

“Easily one of my favorite books of the year.” – Charles de Lint about The Enchantment Emporium

This set has everything: princesses, magic, trolls and aliens. Really, what else could you ever ask for?

Pat’s Note: I really want to read “White Trash Zombie.” You should really click the picture up there to embiggen it so you can get a better look at the cover.

  • A first edition hardcover set of Foreigner series: Foreigner, Invader, Inheritor, Precursor, Defender, Explorer by C.J. Cherryh.

“A seriously probing, thoughtful, intelligent piece of work, with more insight in half a dozen pages than most authors manage in half a hundred.” – Kirkus Reviews

  • An out of print, non-mass market edition of The Silver Metal Lover by Tanith Lee.

Pat’s Note: This is an older, out of print edition of the book.

“This is quite simply the best sci-fi romance I’ve read in ages.” – New York Daily News

Pat’s Note: This is a beautiful copy of one of Dick’s classic stories. Better yet, it’s one of the old, yellow-spine, vintage DAW paperbacks.  It’s a lovely book….

“… a masterpiece of sorts, full of demonic intensity.” – Robert Silverberg

  • A numbered, two-volume hardcover edition of 30th Anniversary DAW Fantasy and 30th Anniversary DAW Science Fiction Edited by Elizabeth R. Wollheim and Sheila E. Gilbert. This set is numbered 52 out of 350.

To celebrate the 30th anniversary of DAW Books, editors Betsy Wollheim and Sheila Gilbert asked each and every author published by DAW thoughout its history if they would like to contribute a new story for a special commemorative anthology.

This is the special edition printing of that collection.

These are gorgeous books that I seriously covet. They’re slipcased, leatherbound, and numbered. Gold leaf and everything. I was thinking of auctioning this off. But I like to keep cool things in the general lottery so anyone can win them, not just folks with the most money….

Thanks for all the lovely books, DAW.

*   *   *

Remember, for every 10 dollars you donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page, you get a chance to win these books and hundreds of others like them.

Plus there’s the whole helping make the world a better place thing. That’s nice, too.

And don’t forget, Worldbuilders is matching 50% of all donations until January 31st. So there’s several good reasons why you’d want to head over to our Team Heifer page and chip in.

Or, if you want to go back to the main page for Worldbuilders, you can click HERE.

Share and enjoy….

Posted in Worldbuilders 2011 | By Pat13 Responses

ARCs from DAW

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

Today we’ve got some more prized donated by DAW, my publisher.

All of these books are ARCs. ARC stands for Advance Reader Copy. They’re the books that publishers print *before* they print the book. They send them to reviewers, bookstores, and other Very Important People in the publishing world in order to give them an early taste of what’s coming out.

They usually don’t print very many of them, and because of that, a lot of times ARCs are actually much rarer than first edition books.

Also, because they’re printed earlier in the editorial process,  they’re almost always based on the uncorrected proofs of the books. So when you read them, you get to laugh up your sleeve at all the author’s typos and generally feel superior.

Some ARCs are have more substantial differences. In the black-bound ARC of The Name of the Wind, for example, there are several chapters that are dramatically different than what showed up in the finished book.

Best of all, some of these ARCs are for books haven’t actually hit the shelves yet. Which means if you win them, you get to be one of the cool kids and read the book before all your friends.

So here we go: ARCs.

“The plot gallops, the mysteries matter, and the secret at the heart of it all just whets my appetite for more.” – Kate Elliott, author of Crown of Stars

“Katharine Kerr creates a host of interesting characters… The setting is fun; Kerr makes great use of San Francisco landmarks… the reader feels like he or she is right there in the city with the characters.” – FantasyLiterature.com

Pat’s note: This one caught my eye when it showed up, and I really wanted to read it. Because the official version won’t be out until March. Not because of short pink skirt. Mostly.

“Seanan McGuire’s Discount Armageddon is an urban fantasy triple threat – smart and sexy and funny. The Aeslin mice alone are worth the price of the book, so consider a cast of truly ORIGINAL characters, a plot where weird never overwhelms logic, and some serious kickass world-building as a bonus.” – Tanya Huff, author of The Wild Ways

“The Gales are an amazing family, the aunts will strike fear into your heart, and the characters Allie meets are both charming and terrifying.” – #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Charlaine Harris

City of the Lost is the best kind of paranormal noir: gritty, breakneck- paced, and impossible to put down. Joe Sunday is a new antihero to watch, and the next installment can’t come soon enough.” – Caitlin Kittredge, author of The Iron Thorn

“The Ninth Circle is an immensely readable book that flows very quickly and draws you in with sharp little hooks that demand you finish the book before you dream of beginning any other.” – Blog Critic

“Lackey combines the intensity of a young man’s agonized coming of age with a tale of love, honor, and sacrifice. Essential for series fans, this title belongs in most fantasy collections.” – Library Journal

“Lackey’s talent for evoking the youthful passions of her heroes and heroines brings life to this creation. Recommended.” – Library Journal

“A nifty combination of police procedural and urban fantasy.” – Charlaine Harris, New York Times Bestselling Author

  • Two ARCs of Alien Proliferation by Gini Koch.

“…great fun, with lots of quirky characters, witty dialogue, a bit of romance, some hot sex, and oodles of action.” – Booklist

One ARC of The Compass of the Soul by Sean Russell. Includes a signed blookplate.

“A strange and beautiful book that offers an unusual depth and nuance of character, set forth in lustrous dialogue and prose the texture of honeyed silk.” – Kirkus Reviews

“Three hundred years in the future, the Tyr, a hivelike alien race, have subjugated the peoples of Earth. Daetrin, an ancient vampiric shapechanger, uses his unique talents to battle the aliens while trying to understand and accept himself. Intriguing plot and excellent characterization combined with good writing … make for an original science fiction romp.” – School Library Journal

“Hauntingly memorable protagonists, high drama, and vivid world-building mark the beginning of what promises to be a magnum opus of the imagination. A priority purchase for fantasy or sf collections.” – Library Journal

“A wonderfully captivating heroic fantasy adventure.” —Terry Goodkind

“This promising debut offers a glimpse of a dusty and wonderful fantasy city through the eyes of three engaging, unconventional protagonists.” – Elizabeth Bear, Hugo Award-winning author

Two ARCs of Foreigner by C.J. Cherryh.

“Veteran sf/fantasy author Cherryh plays her strongest suit in this exploration of human/alien contact, producing an incisive study-in-contrast of what it means to be human in a world where trust is nonexistent.” – Library Journal

Pat’s Note: Not only is this a great book, but Who Fears Death won the World Fantasy Award in October, so this one is extra cool….

“Both wondrously magical and terribly realistic.” – The Washington Post

*   *   *

Remember, you for every 10 dollars you donate on the Worldbuilders Team Page, you get a chance to win everything here, not to mention the hundreds of other books that have already been donated.

What’s more, if you donate before January 31st of 2012, Worldbuilders will match 50% of your donation.

Also, every dollar donated brings us closer to $100,000. Once we hit that, I’ll post up another blog with more personal additions to the fundraiser.

Spread the word…

Posted in Worldbuilders 2011 | By Pat17 Responses

Books from DAW, Penguin, and The Book Scouts.

This is a Worldbuilders blog.

Today we’ve got dozens and dozens of books. Signed books, sets of books, and Advance Reading Copies of books that won’t be published for months.

Let’s start with the ones donated by DAW. They’ve sent so many books that we’re going to start grouping a lot of them together, because listing them separately will take too long.

Some of these are obviously grouped together as books in a series. Others are grouped together by theme.

  • A hardcover set of Shadowmarch: Shadowmarch, Shadowplay, Shadowrise, and Shadowheart by Tad Williams.

“Impressive… packed with intriguing plot twists, this surreal fantasy takes the reader on a thrill ride… The author’s richly detailed world will enchant established fans and win new converts.” – Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Epic fantasy you can get lost in for days, not just hours” – Locus

“With this volume, bestseller Hickman creates memorable characters and realms of immense richness, while holding the reader enthralled with exhilarating action.” – Publishers Weekly

  • A set of Green Rider, First Rider’s Call, The High King’s Tomb and an ARC of the latest book Blackveil by Kristen Britain. Set includes a signed bookplate.

The ARC of blackveil in this set is really cool, as that book won’t be hitting the shelves until Februar, 2011.

“A fresh fantasy.” – Kirkus Reviews

“This outstanding speculative novel is action-packed and fast-moving, and Duane’s lavish, expansive world building already seems eerily prescient.” –  Publisher’s Weekly (starred review)

“…one of the finest current writers of speculative fiction.” – Kirkus Reviews

Nnedi was one of the authors I interviewed last year. And Who Fears Death is one of the few books I’ve actually blurbed.

“Nnedi Okorafor continues her epic journey into literary greatness. She manages to create worlds within worlds, stories that feel timeless, in language and settings we have not seen before…. She is in the passing lane now, and she is starting to pull away. Catch her now.” — Luis Alberto Urrea, bestselling author of The Hummingbird’s Daughter and Pulitzer Prize finalist.

“Both wondrously magical and terribly realistic.” – The Washington Post

“History aficionado and champion fencer Aurelia Kim Murray investigates her taciturn grandmother’s European roots and her own identity in Smith’s sweeping, feminist Ruritanian romance. […] a lively heroine, mysterious ghosts, and a complex and intricate plot always get the action going.” – Publishers Weekly

“Brilliantly detailed worldbuilding and complicated characters makes this an engrossing read.” – Laura Anne Gilman

Here’s a group of three flavors of fantasy novel ranging from demons to Norse sword fighters to ghosts and haunts.

  • An urban-modern fantasy paperback set: The Enchanted Emporium by Tanya Huff and Trolls in the Hamptons by Celia Jerome.

Two modern fantasy books of actual fantasies: running a curiosity shop in a local community which includes the odd witch or dragon, and having one’s character come to life (pretty cool even if your character happens to be a giant red troll…)

Here we’ve got Sci-Fi that runs the gamut from genetically altered humans battling to control their planet, aliens visiting earth, or explorations into the furthest reaches of space.

Yeah. I said ‘gamut.’ You want to make something of it?

Personally, I love the title “Touched by an Alien.”

  • A copy of The Stepsister Scheme and an ARC of Red Hood’s Revenge by Jim C. Hines.

Jim Hines already donated a signed book earlier in the fundraiser. But this set is another chance to be reintroduced to fairy tale characters: warrior princess Talia (Sleeping Beauty), fellow princess-adventurers Danielle (Cinderella) and Snow (Snow White) and the shape-shifting assassin Roudette (Red Riding Hood).


A threesome of detective/gangster novels with more magic, demons and faeries than you can shake a stick at. *

*(Given certain pre-set standards for stick-size and shaking frequency.)

  • A set of sci-fi ARCs:  Conspirator by  C. J. Cherryh and The Wilding by C. S. Friedman. Set includes signed bookplates by C. J. Cherryh and C. S. Friedman.

A winning combination: C. J. and C. S. with two stories of war and diplomacy between races in a grand setting of powerful civilizations spanning worlds.

  • A Valdemar ARCs: Intrigues and Finding the Way by Mercedes Lackey. Set includes signed bookplate by Mercedes Lackey.

“Lackey is a spellbinding storyteller who keeps your heart in your mouth as she spins her intricate webs of magical adventure.”–Rave Reviews

*     *     *

Next we have some lovely books and ARC’s donated by Penguin books.

I hadn’t heard of this book before, but now that I’ve read a little about it, I’m going to have to check it out. I like it when someone takes tired fantasy cliches and puts a clever, thoughtful spin on them…

“Turner’s debut is a massively entertaining and seriously revisionist zombie novel. How revisionist? Well, her characters communicate with each other eloquently (although, to humans, it sounds like a lot of grunts). They remember their past lives. They have thoughts and emotions, and when a new kind of creature, a sort of human-zombie hybrid, appears out of nowhere, they feel fear. The author has taken the familiar zombie clichés and given them a good shake. ” – David Pitt from Booklist (starred review)

This is an ARC for a book that won’t be hitting the shelves until the end of the year. Since the book isn’t out yet, there aren’t many reviews available. But I’m willing to go out on a limb and guess that there’s a griffin in the book….

  • A set of Destroyermen: Into the Storm, Maelstrom, and Distant Thunders by Taylor Anderson.

‘”Taylor Anderson and his patched-up four-stackers have steamed to the forefront of alternative history. All aboard for a cracking great read!” – E. E. Knight, Author of Fall with Honor

“I dipped my toe into Destroyerman: Into the Storm and when I looked up, it was two in the morning.” – S. M. Stirling

*     *     *

This year a few bookstores were cool enough to help out by donating to Worldbuilders too. Here we have a bunch of lovely signed books from The Book Scouts.

  • A hardcover first edition of Worldbinder by David Farland. Signed by the author.

“The Runelords is a first rate tale, an epic fantasy that more than delivers on its promise. Read it soon and treat yourself to an adventure you won’t forget.”–Terry Brooks

  • A hardcover first edition of The Lair of Bones by David Farland. Signed by the author.

“David Farland’s Runelords books are among the best fantasies on the market today. Great characters, a fascinating concept, and some really nasty monsters make each novel a pleasure to read.” – Kevin J. Anderson

  • A hardcover first edition of Five Odd Honors: Breaking the Wall by Jane Lindskold. Signed by the author.

I like this one because it has a golden monkey on the cover. I have simple tastes. That’s all it takes to win me over: golden monkey.

“Fans of Charles de Lint and Jim Butcher will enjoy this intricate, beautifully written urban fantasy and will wait impatiently for the next installment.” – VOYA

  • A set of hardcover copies of Harbingers and Ground Zero, Repairman Jack Novels by Paul Wilson. Both signed by the author.

“Part hard-boiled detective novel, part “Matrix”and all fun, Wilson’s latest and, perhaps, greatest kept me up all night.  A pulse-pounding novel that grips you by the throat and doesn’t let go even when it’s over.” – Eric Van Lustbader, author of The Testament

  • A hardcover copy of The Dark-Eyes’ War by David B. Coe. Signed by the author.

“Coe manages to take several serious, weighty issues, approach them from distinctly different points of view and make you sympathetic toward characters who sometimes act selfishly or viciously.  He absolutely nails the plot and sequencing.” – Romantic Times 

  • A hardcover copy of Rules of Ascension by David B. Coe. Signed by the author.

“This sword and sorcery epic gathers momentum like a runaway moving van.” –  Publishers Weekly

“The consistent excellence of L.E. Modesitt makes him by far the most entertaining of today’s fantasy writers.” – Romantic Times

  • A hardcover copy of To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts. Signed by the author.

“Janny Wurts writes with astonishing energy… it ought to be illegal for one person to have so much talent.” – Stephen R. Donaldson

  • A copy of Traitor’s Knot by Janny Wurts. Signed by the author.

“Wurts is in fine form here, providing endless twists and turns of plot and an artful complexity that is marvelous to behold.”  – Booklist

  • A hardcover copy of Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber. Signed by the author.

“Altogether, there is enough conflict to allow a natural storyteller like Weber to make a large, splendid novel that opens another saga. The saga being Weber’s form of choice and high achievement, hopes for the rest of it are definitely elevated.” – Roland Green from Booklist (starred review)

*     *     *

Remember folks, for every 10 dollars you donate to Heifer International, you get a chance to win these books and hundreds of others like them.

In addition to that, Worldbuilders is matching 50% of all donations made on our Team Heifer page.

For more details, or to see the other books you can win, you can head over to the main page HERE.

Posted in Worldbuilders 2010 | By Pat13 Responses
  • RSS info

  • Visit Worldbuilders!

  • Our Store

  • Previous Posts

  • Archives



  • Bookmark this Blog!

    (IE and Firefox users only - Safari users, click Command-D)