I thought I had a dead cert for the giveaway lined up for this week – a signed copy of Sarah Pinborough’s Charm, but apparently I have wait until next week when it actually comes out. BOO.

So if it has to be a book that comes out this week, then, as I discovered to my surprised, *I* have one of those. Yes, the King’s Assassin is now out in paperback. However, I’ve been offered a signed copy of The Crimson Shield. I was thinking of putting them both in the pot and letting people choose but then I was thinking I might not much like how that panned out… So: This week’s giveaway is a signed copy of the Crimson Shield by Nathan Hawke. Next week Charm (hopefully). Then maybe a set of the whole thief-taker trilogy.

According to the Goodreads description, Nathan Hawke doesn’t really exist and is actually me. I figured I’d best promote him then so here’s a link to the only review I can find.

I don’t really have any other news this week, at least not that I can share. Some more words. They happened.

Usual deal – comment on this post before July 13th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Given that The Crimson Shield is (apparently) largely a book about blokes hitting each other with swords and axes, we’ll play Weapon Supermarket this week (first commenter has to come up with a weapon beginning with A (axe would seem a good start), second commenter has to point out a weapon beginning with B, etc). For Charm, next week (if I get it), we can play Rude Supermarket…

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

I have this feeling of being on a roll now. The last three choices for these giveaways seem to have gone down well and so I’m going for a banker this week: Saladin Ahmed’s Thrown of the Crescent Moon.

Here’s a link to the SFX review and the Kirkus Review. It’s had a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly and I do believe it might have won an award just recently (Locus Best First Novel

I don’t really have any news this week. Some words. They happened.

Usual deal – comment on this post before July 6th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Since it’s one of mine, I’ll sign and line it of you like. Since I’m on time with getting this one up and since there were SEVERAL complaints last week when I didn’t make life difficult, we’re going to play Fantasy Supermarket again (first commenter has to point out something fantasy-related beginning with A, second commenter has to point out something fantasy-related beginning with B, etc). I’ll vary it, before anyone complains, just not this week.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

Another week, another novel, another collaboration project with the ever-patient Mr Smith although I can’t really talk about this one yet (again! Arrgh! Because I really want to and this has been in the pipeline for months. But no contract, no talk. Mrmph). I have spent much of last week being a short female bounty hunter from the thirty fourth century, which turned out to be rather more fun than being a grumpy SAS sergeant who thinks he’s Rees from Person of Interest but so far utterly lacks any of the charm or charisma. I am also discovering a penchant for smug sarcastic spaceships.

So this week’s freebie is Wolfhound Century by Peter Higgins which was one of my personal favorite reads from last year. It’s a wonderfully atmospheric espinonagey politically thrillery thing but what really sets it apart is the setting that feels so like an alternate inter-war Russia that you don’t really notice that it never actually says so and yet has giants, space-angels (I think), sentient rain and sentient forests. And it’s gloomy and broody and rains all the time and I like that sort of thing. Something Graham Greene might have written except after the first draft he got smacked round the head by a sentient walking hut and it was rewritten in a Siberian forest by Baba Yaga. There’s a bit of an undercurrent of quantum uncertainty and the overlapping of many worlds too. And then just when you’re really getting into it, some bastard (and I think I have to point a finger at the author here) shows up with a garotte and practically executes the novel mid-sentence, calls that an ending and we all have to wait until Spring next year for the next installment. Nevertheless, this is SF that sits beside Dune for me. It was wonderful. You can visit Peter’s site here.

Usual deal – comment on this post before June 29th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Last week’s game was fun but I’ll just take comments this week since I’m late in putting it up. I’m not entirely sure about the edition I’m offering here since it will come direct from Gollancz – it may be a US ARC. The story inside is the same.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I have cleared my backlog – they’re all in the post!

The Crimson Shield went down a bit better than Hostage to Pleasure. Nathan Hawke has a website now, which he didn’t when the giveaway started. It has this interactive map thing that makes me kind of envious and want to stop working on paid stuff and put up an interactive map of the dragon realms. But hey ho . . . Mortgage, kids to feed, etc., etc. This week, meanwhile, has been spent writing scenes for the SF collaboration with Gavin Smith; except it’s been one of those weeks where every single word sucks and what I seem to have produced is 15000 words of rancid cat barf. <le sigh>

So this week’s freebie – back to one of my own: The Black Mausoleum: Gone are the political machinations and the wheels within wheels (don’t worry, they come back in Dragon Queen) – this is much more about survival and a rag-tag band of characters who really can’t stand each other. Probably the best cover in the series too. Signed and lined to the luck winner, of course.If you read it and like it, please tell people about it, post an amazon review or on Goodreads. Something like that.

Usual deal – comment on this post before June 24th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Since it’s one of mine, I’ll sign and line it of you like.

This week we’re going to play Fantasy Supermarket. First commenter has to point out something fantasy-related beginning with A, second commenter has to point out something fantasy-related beginning with B, etc.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far. Recent winners, I owe you a particular apology – I have stack of parcels due to go to the post office. Later today, I promise!

News? What news? I’m still mucking about with some historical fiction and for a while I am no longer a fantasy author – no more of that until after the summer holidays. Turns out that neither I nor Lord Grimdark made it into Glamour magazine’s “If you like Game of Thrones. . . ” article possibly on account of being too much like Game of Thrones and not enough like . . . Well, like Hostage to Pleasure, I suppose. Oh, and the Black Mausoleum and subsequent dragon books apparently won’t be coming out in the US via Roc but via Trafalgar (whoever they are) but when I have a clue what that means I guess I’ll elaborate.

So, poor old Hostage to Pleasure possibly wins the prize for least loved giveaway I’ve ever done. I hereby try to redeem myself. I have for you an ARC (not often I get hold of those any more) for the first of Nathan Hawke’s Gallow trilogy coming out this summer. I hope this is more to your liking out there because I gather it’s really f**king rare. You’ll have to put up with the possibility of it having a slightly pre-read look but I’ll be as careful with it as I can before I give it up (he says, looking at the chocolate fudge smear on the screen here…)

So yes: An ARC: The Crimson Shield by Nathan Hawke, not out until 7th July. If it’s popular I’ll see if I can get a couple from the first print run to give away. If it’s *not* popular then I’m going to sulk and give away nothing but copies of Hostage to Pleasure until July :-p

Usual deal – comment on this post before June 16th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy. I’ll even let you off playing the Supermarket game for another week.

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

I’m still quite taken with The Blood Juggler.

The proof for Dragon Queen is back with Gollancz. That was about 36 hours work 241443 words for any who care. So about twice as long as The Adamantine Palace and not much more than half the length of A Storm of Swords. Every book I write feels like it’s the best book I ever did and absolutely marvelous when I send it back after editing. Come the proofs, when to more books have gone in since, the shine has gone. Every time it’s the same – the book I’m just about finished writing is always the best one yet. I suppose it has to be that way but it’s happened enough times that the pattern’s pretty obvious. So, yeah… Dragon Queen… Best Stephen Deas book evaaar… maybe… Oh just go form your own opinion and never mind me.

Just for fun I’ve sent in an SF novel too – a bit of space opera, a good dash of cyberpunk nostalgia, plenty of sex and an severe attack of Tourette’s. The next couple of weeks are back to the historical novel and something else that I can’t talk about yet but REALLY REALLY WANT TO. Also we need to talk about Rude Supermarket.

This week’s free book needs little introduction, I suspect…

Usual deal – comment on this post before June 1st  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy. No challenge this week but now that I’ve been introduced to Rude Supermarket, there may be a more interesting one coming up…

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

So this week is being spent slaughtering all the spurious commas in Dragon Queen and discovering that, when you let a seven-year-old read your proofs, you a) discover that you wish you hadn’t let him read the opening battle scene or that it didn’t have quite so many entrails scattered about it and b) you might have thought you had a character called the Bloody Judge (remember him, King’s Assassin readers?) but actually you’ve got one called The Blood Juggler. I’m quite taken with The Blood Juggler . . .

Apparently the Adamantine Palace gets a mention in Glamour magazine in July. Yes, that bewildered laughter is mine. Yes, I’ll post a scan of it if/when I track it down once it’s out. And the short story for WFC suddenly behaved itself after I changed the gender of one protagonist and merged two secondary characters into one. Editing 6k words you can do these things…

So this week’s freebie, The Black Mausoleum: Gone are the political machinations and the wheels within wheels (don’t worry, they come back in Dragon Queen) – this is much more about survival and a rag-tag band of characters who really can’t stand each other. Probably the best cover in the series too. Signed and lined to the luck winner, of course.If you read it and like it, please tell people about it, post an amazon review or on Goodreads. Something like that.

Usual deal – comment on this post before May 18th  and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Since it’s one of mine, I’ll sign and line it of you like.I’ll set a voluntary challenge this week, after my trials at historical fiction last week: the best or most memorable or simply favourite anachronism you’ve come across in film or book?

Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

I gave away a copy of Jack Glass by Adam Roberts a few weeks back and that seemed quite popular and then it went and won, oh, some award or other . . .  So I’m going to do it again, and again with a really big cover picture because it’s SO pretty and ALSO won an award. So there you go, a book that won two awards on the same day and it’s Adam Roberts so it’s guaranteed to be clever.

[1] Exciting bonus goodies occasionally available but not guaranteed to be exciting. But I have T-shirts if you really make me laugh.

The Black Mausoleum was release in its small paperback form last week and I have copies to give away. This week on Twitter (@stephendeas) I’ll be playing a game of Name-That-Tune in which I quote lyrics from obscure songs that I listened to while writing The Black Mausoleum and its sequel, Dragon Queen. The first person to reply with the correct song title wins a copy of the book.

As usual, the competition is open worldwide although international deliveries may take a little time and will require a phone number (not my rule).

I’ll post the name of the songs on Twitter once they’re guessed and maybe even a little about them. I’ll be running this from the 19th March until the weekend or until I run out of books to give away.

The second draft of The Black Mausoleum III: The Splintered God is done and I have written a memo to myself to write simpler plots in future. The Black Mausoleum is coming out in paperback soon and I have printed copies now, more than I know what to do with, so guess what’s up for this week’s giveaway…

The Black Mausoleum was a deliberate change of approach over the previous dragon books. Gone are the political machinations and the wheels within wheels – this is much more about survival and a rag-tag band of characters who really can’t stand each other. Probably the best cover in the series too. Signed and lined to the luck winner, of course.

You know, if you read it and like it, or read it and don’t, please put up a little something on Amazon. I try not to let the 1 & 2-star reviews that are basically a protest about not being able to get the book on Kindle in the US get to me, but actually they’re starting to. And if you know of anyone who does that, please point out that the only people who notice are the author, who has absolutely no say in what gets released in what form and what country and when, and the other potential readers. So if you like a series and you’re grumpy about it not being available, mail the publishers direct – they have the power and they don’t read amazon reviews.

Rant over…

Usual rules apply – comment here to be entered and I’ll pick a winner at random on Saturday 10th. Competition (as usual) is open worldwide. Outside Europe I ship by surface mail to keep the costs down so please be patient.

Here’s a thing not to do: Write 80% of the first draft of something, go and do a stack of other things for three months, then come back and try to write the last 20% imagining you still know everything that was going on and understand the characters. . . Anyway, the first draft of The Black Mausoleum III: The Splintered God is almost done now. The Black Mausoleum II: Dragon Queen is apparently coming out in August now (Not My Fault this time!), and it’s been a while since I put up a precious original Black Mausoleum title, so here goes. There probably won’t be another copy going up for quite some time.

The Black Mausoleum was a deliberate change of approach over the previous dragon books. Gone are the political machinations and the wheels within wheels – this is much more about survival and a rag-tag band of characters who really can’t stand each other. Probably the best cover in the series too. Signed and lined to the luck winner, of course.

Usual rules apply – comment here to be entered and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday evening. Competition (as usual) is open worldwide. Outside Europe I ship by surface mail to keep the costs down so please be patient.

This week I’ve been playing The Witcher II, so I’m going to give away a Witcher book: The Last Wish. Big Witcher fan here.

Usual deal – comment on this post before December 1st and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. No challenge this week. Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

Dragon Queen editing is done and the MS is back with Marcus at Gollancz to check on some revisions to the last couple of chapters before it goes to the copyeditor. Then back to the ghostwriting project I can’t talk about an then, if there’s time before the copy-edits come back, some work on some the Very Sekkrit Sodium Hydride project – some website freebies for the summer.

[1] Exciting bonus goody not guaranteed to be exciting. Actually it’s often a postcard. Which is pretty lame.

The King’s Assassin is officially out and that’s a trilogy officially done, a series officially finished, and if any of you were hoping for some more of Berren then. . . then read the book. All of it. Right to the end. There’s still  a freebie novella up on the Gollancz blog – a prelude to The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice. I’ll put a PDF up here shortly.

This week I’m giving away a Gollancz Masterworks copy of Olaf Stapledon’s Last and First men. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. In order to enter, comment on this post before the 28th October. Your challenge this week is to tell me why, in my rapidly advancing years, I should either take up or not take up playing Ice Hockey

(or just comment anything you like, really).

You can be as rude as you like. The gods of random don’t care. If you make me laugh I might send an exciting bonus goody your way[1]. Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, so far.

[1] Exciting bonus goody not guaranteed to be exciting. Actually it’s often a postcard. Which is pretty lame, but not as lame as used chewing gum. So it could be worse, right…?

I have a bit of a problem. I’m looking at my shelf of books to give away and there’s Altered Carbon up there, which I haven’t read, and Sharps, which I haven’t read, and I’m NOT giving either of those away, and then there’s a couple more but my editor is holiday and so is the other Gollancz editor and I CAN’T RESUPPLY!

So you get one of mind again. A choice this time: The Thief-Taker’s Apprentice or, if you’ve already read that, The Warlock’s Shadow.

It’ll probably be a trade paperback edition. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. The thing with the Hyperion giveaway made me laugh and was far too much fun not to do again. So, inspired by a truly god-awful carnal scene from a best-selling author that I recent had to listen to being read allowed (if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know what I’m talking about), only comments will be accepted beginning:

“The absolute worst euphemism for sex/something related to sex that I ever came across was…”

You can be as rude as you like as long as you’re not libelous. The gods of random don’t care. But if you make me laugh I might send an exciting bonus goody your way[1]. Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well,so far.

[1] Exciting bonus goody not guaranteed to be exciting

Yes, yes, there’s been a gap in the usual service and it’s not like I was really trying to get the bidding going on The Twelve (sorry to all those who weren’t the lucky winner).

Today’s offering is Hyperion by Dan Simmons, hard SF meets the Canterbury Tales. I’ve read and rate very highly both this and it’s sequel (quite a different book). Didn’t get on with the third one in the series so much.

This is the hardback Gollancz 50th anniversary edition. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Slight difference this week is that only comments that complete one of the following sentences will  be accepted:

“I ran out and bought The Black Mausoleum when it came out last week because…” OR

“I totally didn’t run out and buy The Black Mausoleum AT ALL when it came out last week because…” OR

“What is this Black Mausoleum of which you speak? Do I look like I care? Just shut up about it and gimme…”

You can be as rude as you like. The gods of random don’t care. But if you make me laugh I might send a bonus goody your way. Although, though no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well,so far.

Continuing the theme of the undead, I have an ARC of Justin Cronin’s The Twelve to give away. Given the trumpets and fanfares that heralded its predecessor, The Passage, I’m guessing this is going to be a major release when it comes out in October, with possibly even slightly more attention, shelf-space, bloggage and window displays than my own The King’s Assassin that comes out at much the same time [1]

This is an ARC – that’s an advance uncorrected review copy for anyone who didn’t know that, so it hasn’t been proofread. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Surprisingly no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, but it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. The record stands t two and a half months…

[1] I’m tempted to offer a sweetie to anyone who actually manages to find a physical copy of it for sale in an actual bookshop, but never mind…[2]

[2] The King’s Assassin, that is. Not The Twelve. I haven’t got that many sweeties.

Adam Roberts. Dickens. Zombies. What’s not to like?

This is the hardback edition. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Surprisingly no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, but it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually. Well, mostly.

Next up will be an ARC for The Twelve by Justin Cronin. I’ll put that up some time on Wednesday.

Officially The Black Mausoleum comes out in the UK on the 16th August. However I have one copy to give away and this time I’m going to let the competition run for a whole week on account of being on holiday for the week. Usual rules apply – comment here to be entered and I’ll pick a winner at random on Friday evening. Signed and lined and dedicated as per the winner’s request. If demand is particularly high then I might run another competition later in the year but I don’t have too many of these to give away at the moment.

Competition (as usual) is open worldwide. Outside Europe I ship by surface mail to keep the costs down so please be patient.

In other news, lots of stuff is happening and I can’t talk about any of it. More books have been delivered. The fourth manuscript of 2012 is almost finished. Various ghostwriting projects are under discussion and also a rather interesting proposal for an SF series. But I have been missing my dragons, and the planning work for Prince of the Storm-Dark starts next week, with the writing in anger due to start as soon as the school holidays end. At which point I might have something interesting to say again…

Next week I have an ARC of Justin Cronin’s Twelve to give away. You have been warned.

Nomnomnom, look what came through the post yesterday…

I’ll put one copy up for grabs next week. Meanwhile two other dragon books to give away again:  another pair of The King of the Crags and The Order of the Scales as one lot. That’s the UK editions and I will sign and line them if you want. Perfect for anyone who got The Adamantine Palace[1] but never got around to the others, and yes, I still have several more to give away because I need to clear space for when the new covers come out. You haven’t seen the new covers? Go see the new covers.

Usual rules – comment here and I’ll randomly select someone to get the books.

If anyone was following my MOPNOWRIMO projects earlier in the year, the one I did in February has been delivered and the one I did in May, which I still distinctly remember sucking like a Dyson[2], is well into its second re-drafting and still turns out not to be so bad at all. Although I say that having not actually written the ending yet. You know that thing where you should always push on to the very end before you rewrite? <hangs head in shame>. I will do it tonight. I will try.

[1] To be clear: The books I’m giving away this time are parts two and three of a trilogy. The Adamantine Palace is part one.

[2] Previous attempts at eliciting Dyson spam yielded nothing AT ALL. Still getting tutus.

An SF classic that I haven’t read and for which I get perpetual grief. Everything suggests I would probably like it, so maybe said grief is justified.

This is the Gollancz SF Masterworks edition. Usual deal – comment on this post and I’ll randomly select a lucky victim for a free copy of the book. Surprisingly no one has yet complained about how long it takes me to get to the post office and post things, but it can take a while and if you live abroad then it can take even longer. Sorry about that, but they do get there eventually.

Lord of Slaughter didn’t go down as well as I thought it would either, but I guess Rivers of London made up for that…  Any, more of my own books to give away now:  another pair of The King of the Crags and The Order of the Scales as one lot (again). That’s the UK editions and I will sign and line them if you want. Perfect for anyone who got The Adamantine Palace[1] but never got around to the others, and yes, I still have several more lots to give away because I need to clear space for when the new covers come out. You haven’t seen the new covers? Go see the new covers.

As a reminder, by the way, here are the old ones. Usual story – leave a comment on this posts if you’re interested in two free books and the gods of random will make their choice come the weekend. Also also, have I mentioned the new covers?

Yes, I realise that if you came and looked last time around then you have, you commented, and really, you’re not about to look yet again. From those who are becoming regulars, comments along the lines of yes, yes, just gimme the goddamn books already will be received in a spirit of tolerance…

Also see, look, a new review: Blood and fire. A must for dragon lovers everywhere. Antipodean SF reviews The Order of the Scales.

If anyone was following my MOPNOWRIMO projects earlier in the year, the one I did in February has been delivered and the one I did in May, which I still distinctly remember sucking like a Dyson[2], is well into its second re-drafting and still turns out not to be so bad at all. Although I say that having not actually written the ending yet. You know that thing where you should always push on to the very end before you rewrite? <hangs head in shame>. I will do it tonight. I will try.

[1] To be clear: The books I’m giving away this time are parts two and three of a trilogy. The Adamantine Palace is part one.

[2] Previous attempts at eliciting Dyson spam yielded nothing AT ALL. Still getting tutus.