mrockwell | A NEW CONTEST FOR THE NEW YEAR!

Writing

You know what I like? Getting emails like this from editors:

"I like it. A lot. The titles may change as we go forward, but the outline itself is wholeheartedly approved."

So, while I still can't tell you about my new project, now you at least know that my editor loves it, heh. Hopefully I'll get to spill the beans soon!

In the meantime, with the completion of my Tales of Sand and Sorcery collection, I'd really like to raise the profile of my Shaala and Kij stories a little. I know a lot of you have told me you really like them, so I decided to try an idea I've seen other authors using with some success.

Tales of Sand and Sorcery won't be commercially available as a print collection. I'm hoping Musa will make it available as an ebook at some point, but for now, the only way you can get a copy of it (once it's back from the printer) is through me, at cons, as contest prizes, etc. As a reminder, it includes these stories:

"Shaala, Made of Stone",
"The Jade and Honey Harlot",
"Both",
"Shaala and the Sea of Dried Tears",
"Unmade",
"Shaala and the Tiger's Daughter",
...and a brand new novella not available anywhere else, "Shaala and the Harlot Queen of Sumarkesh."

All of those stories are currently available as individual ebook titles, except for the novella, which is ONLY available in the print collection.

I'm really proud of these stories, and they're not something you see every day - sword & sorcery with strong female protagonists in an Arabian-flavored setting. I'd like more people to get the chance to enjoy them, and that's where you all come in. Right now, the stories don't have a ton of reviews. So, if you've read the stories and liked them, I'd like to ask you to post a review somewhere - Amazon, Goodreads, B&N, your own blog, wherever. Once I reach 60 total NEW reviews for the six stories that are already out (not 60 for each, mind you, but some combination of reviews for all the stories that equals 60 total), I will pick 5 random reviewers to receive signed copies of Tales of Sand and Sorcery, which, again, contains all 6 previously published stories, plus a novella not available anywhere else. The only caveat is that you have to contact me and let me know you've posted the review (providing a link to it would be nice, too). One review = one entry, so if you review all 6 stories, that's 6 chances to win.

Is this paying for reviews? None of the other authors who've done it seem to think so, and I don't, either (obviously, or I wouldn't be doing it). It's just a) encouraging people who read and enjoyed the stories to let other people know about them, so they can read and enjoy them, too, and b) giving fans of the stories a chance to read another one they probably won't be able to get anywhere else. Seems like a win-win to me. YMMV, of course, but the solution to that is simple - if you don't agree, don't enter.

Anyway, the contest will be open until the requisite number of total NEW reviews is reached. Some of the stories already have reviews - those won't count toward the 60-review total, but if you posted a review before the contest started, just let me know about it and you'll still be entered to win a signed copy of the collection. And this doesn't men I'm looking for fake reviews, either. In fact, considering the prize is MORE Shaala and Kij stories, if you didn't like or didn't read the ones already available, why would you bother to enter? (Well, unless you're a masochist, in which case, carry on, I suppose.)

Questions? Comment below or send me an email/FB message/tweet and I'll try to answer. In the meantime - happy reviewing!

Everything Else

Yeah, I got nothin'. Sorry.