Month: October 2013

Welcome to the world, Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts!

~ Tehani
InkBlackMagicsm
Gorgeous cover art and design by the amazing Tania Walker

After a lengthy gestation period (really, REALLY lengthy…), we are absolutely delighted to announce the arrival of Ink Black Magic by Tansy Rayner Roberts!

Special Offer…

To celebrate the publication of Ink Black Magic, we have a super special, limited time discount on the very FIRST Mocklore book, Splashdance Silver! For the rest of 2013, you can get the FableCroft edition ebook of Splashdance Silver from your favourite e-tailer for only $0.99USD! Now, you don’t have to have read Splashdance Silver or Liquid Gold to love Ink Black Magic, but if that appeals to the completist in you, there will never be a better time to buy!

About Ink Black Magic…

Kassa Daggersharp has been a pirate, a witch, a menace to public safety, a villain, a hero and a legend. These days, she lectures first year students on the dangers of magic. The love of her life is missing, presumed dead. All the adventures are over.

But when an evil dark city full of villains and monsters appears from the pages of a student’s sketchbook, everyone starts to lose their grip on reality. Even the flying sheep.

No one is sure who are the heroes and who are the villains, but someone has to step up to save Mocklore, one last time.

True love isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Happy endings don’t come cheap.
All that magic is probably going to kill you.
You really can have too much black velvet.

The Mocklore Chronicles begin all over again with INK BLACK MAGIC…

The details…

Find all the books in-store at Amazon, Kobo, iTunes, Wizard’s Tower Books, Weightless Books and Smashwords.

Don’t pay more than 99 cents for Splashdance Silver (until December 31, 2013), $3.99USD for Liquid Gold and $5.99USD for the ebook of Ink Black Magic!

The print book is in the hands of the printer, if that’s your preference, and will be showing up in bookstores everywhere soon, or you can buy directly from us here! 

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People talking about One Small Step

~ Tehani

OneSmallStepCoverdraftTwo wonderful, comprehensive reviews of One Small Step have appeared in the past week, which is always delightful to see. Thank you so much to the people who take the time to review our work!

Just today, Foz Meadows shared a review of One Small Step at A Dribble of Ink. Among many other very kind words and insightful discussion of the stories, Foz says:

…I found this to be a highly enjoyable, moving anthology of works by Australian women; and particularly for me, as an Aussie expat, the regular touches of Australiana that creep into the stories – references to eucalyptus, kangaroos, wombats and other such Antipodean things – served as a pleasant reminder that my country of origin is ripe for SFFnal interpretation…

and

…as a showcasing of Australian female talent, it’s both an important and extremely worthwhile anthology. Recommended reading for anyone interested in SFF with a feminist bent, and a strong incentive to keep an eye on Fablecroft Press’s output.

Foz looks at each story individually, and I particularly enjoyed these snippets:

…gorgeous writing, strong characterisation and powerful emotional angle…

…an honest, meaningful exploration of love and motherhood…

…an eerie, powerful story about the nature of pain and what it means to be human … the theme, setting and execution all work together to make something truly memorable…

…funny, poignant and breathtaking: a perfect, original story about humanity, agency, the end of the world and what comes after…

Thank you so much Foz!

Also in the past few days, Karen Burnham reviewed One Small Step in The Cascadia Subduction Zone literary journal, saying (again, among many other things focussing on individual stories!):

…There are many rewards inside for those approaching with a mind open to broadening…

…my expectations were blown wide open…

Many thanks, Karen!

New Release: Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart

~ Tehani

We quietly snuck this one out in ebook last week, but with the print version finally showing up at Amazon (and other retailers to follow soon – ask for it at your local bookstore!), we would like to formally welcome to the world Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart!

PathofNightCoverMichael Devlin is the first of a new breed. The way things are going, he may also be the last.

Being infected with an unknown disease is bad. Waking up on a slab in a morgue wearing nothing but a toe-tag is worse, even if it comes with a strange array of new abilities.

Medical student Michael Devlin is in trouble. With his flatmates murdered and an international cabal of legendary man-monsters on his trail, Devlin’s got nowhere to hide. His only allies are a hot-tempered Sydney cop and a mysterious monster-hunter who may be setting Devlin up for the kill. If he’s going to survive, Devlin will have to embrace his new powers and confront his hunters. But can he hold onto his humanity when he walks the Path of Night?

Path of Night is the first of the Night Beast series – we anticipate book 2 will see release in mid-2014.

The first reviews are already starting to come in, with this lovely gem on Amazon:

…action driven, laced with humor…I am hoping that there will be a sequel. –Roger Ross

About the author…

Flinthart Author Photo
Author photo by Joffre Street Productions

Dirk Flinthart is an Australian writer of speculative fiction who lives in northern Tasmania. Notable to date mostly for short stories, he is also the editor of the Canterbury 2100 anthology, (originally published by AGOG! press, re-released in ebook form in 2013 by FableCroft), and has the distinction of sharing a Ditmar award with Margo Lanagan, which he is quite proud of.

Path of Night represents Flinthart’s longest published work to date, and is planned as the first in a series of stories centering around Michael Devlin. The next one is well under way…

We’ve got three copies to give away (internationally) over on Goodreads, or get your copy from your favourite ebook-seller or print retailer!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Path of night by Dirk Flinthart

Path of night

by Dirk Flinthart

Giveaway ends November 15, 2013.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

Supporting diversity in Young Adult fiction

~ Tehani

newtppkaleidoscope-300x196As a secondary school teacher librarian by trade, and a passionate lover of YA fiction by heart, I am frequently asked by other library staff and readers for recommendations of young adult fiction that features protagonists who are not necessarily white, straight or able-bodied. So many of our students and reading clientele experience life through a lens that is different to what the majority of YA fiction presents as “normal”, and it’s just heartbreaking to have so little to offer with a protagonist outside of this range.

I read extensively. I have judged for several Australian awards, both within the speculative fiction field and the general Young Adult and Children’s area. It’s far too rarely I come across a protagonist who is disabled, or queer, or mentally ill, or simply not from a white European background, and I even more impressed when the aspect of “difference” (such as it may be) is not THE plot of the book, but rather is simply an aspect of the character.

It’s possible publishing is improving in this area. We do see more lesbian and gay and other non-straight, non-cis gendered characters in our YA fiction, though more frequently as the “best friend” or other secondary role than the protagonist. We are coming across more inclusion of disability (physical and intellectual) or mental illness in stories, though again, less frequently as the main character. Love it or hate it, television shows such as Glee demonstrate to market forces that non-straight, non-white, non-able bodied characters don’t negatively impact on the popularity of a franchise. And the more books like Eon (Alison Goodman), Pantomime (Laura Lam), Guardian of the Dead and The Shattering (Karen Healey), Nightsiders (Sue Isle),  Hunger (Jackie Morse Kessler), The Interrogation of Ashala Wolf (Ambelin Kwaymullina), Ash (and others, Malindo Lo), Liar (Justine Larbalestier), and Akata Witch (Nnedi Okorafor) that are published and sell well, the more chance there is of more books featuring protagonists other than those who are straight, white able-bodied and mentally well.

And here is a project that aims to do just that. Kaleidoscope is an anthology of diverse contemporary YA fantasy stories. Alisa Krasnostein and Julia Rios are co-editing the anthology, which has a planned release date of August, 2014. Right now, Alisa and Julia are running a Pozible fundraising campaign to make the project happen. If you want to see more diversity in YOUR Young Adult fantasy and science fiction, I recommend it to you.

Call for pitches: Cranky Ladies of History

~ Tehani ~ 3 Comments
Tsaritsa Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia
Tsaritsa Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, who inspired the cranky ladies…

GUIDELINES:

In 2014, FableCroft will publish an anthology of historical short fiction inspired by cranky ladies of history. Co-editors Tansy Rayner Roberts and Tehani Wessely are immediately seeking expressions of writerly interest in submitting to the anthology.

Authors are invited to submit a story pitch detailing story idea/historical personage. We are aiming for a diverse range of backgrounds, nationalities, time periods and reasons for notoriety in the book, and are particularly interested in stories that are firmly grounded in historical fact. We welcome stories that utilise elements known about the lives of the characters, but are not averse to artistic license either.

Some fabulous cranky women of history include (but definitely are not limited to):

Ada Lovelace, Ahhotep I, Amelia Bloomer, Amelia Earhart, Anne Bonney, Annie Oakley, Artemisia I of Caria, Bina Das, Boudicca, Caroline Chisholm, Caterina Sforza, Catherine de’ Medici, Catherine The Great, Daisy May Bates, Eleanor of Aquitaine, Elizabeth Kenny, Fu Hao, Fulvia, George Sand, Grace O’Malley, Gudit, Harriet Tubman, Isabella of Spain, Joan of Arc, Katharine Susannah Prichard, Livia, Lucrezia Borgia, Mary MacKillop, Mary Queen of Scots, Nancy Bird Walton, Nancy Wake, Nellie Melba, the Pankhursts, Rosa Parks, Sarala Devi Chaudhurani, Susan B. Anthony, Tamar of Georgia, Trieu Thi Trinh, the Trung Sisters, Tsaritsa Sophia Alekseyevna of Russia, Vida Goldstein, Vivian Bullwinkel, Zenobia…

From the list, you may note that our definition of “cranky” is rather broad, and stems somewhat more from a tendency to buck societal standards of the era than a true inherent crankiness. Though that’s good too!

HOW TO SUBMIT

Please email to fablecroft@gmail.com a story outline of no more than one typed page that clearly identifies your cranky lady of history and your proposal. In your cover email please use the subject heading CRANKY WOMEN PITCH [your chosen historical figure] and in the body include your own details and a short writing resume.

We will be regularly updating this page with historical women already spoken for, so please check back frequently, and get your pitches in as early as possible.

We are not specifically seeking young adult fiction, but we do want the book to be suitable for a high school audience, which will restrict explicit sex and graphic violence elements.

Open to authors worldwide.

Word count: fairly flexible.

Payment: 1 cent per word, capped at AUD$75.00 + contributor copy of print and ebook. Further royalties will apply for e-book revenue – information about royalties will be provided in contract negotiations with successful authors and is dependent on final book details.

Approximate timeline to publication

October 21, 2013 – December 31, 2013: open to pitches

January 2014: finalise pitch acceptances.

June 2014: deadline for stories to be submitted.

We are particularly looking for original work, but please query to fablecroft@gmail.com if you think you have a suitable reprint story.

FableCroft thanks Liz Barr for her inadvertent prompting of this project idea.

Ink Black Magic is nearly at the printer!

~ Tehani

Liquid Gold Cover LASTThe final book of Tansy Rayner Roberts’ Mocklore series, Ink Black Magic, will be released just as soon as we finalise the very beautiful cover (soon…!). While this book is an excellent standalone novel, it does have ties to Splashdance Silver and Liquid Gold – have you read them yet?

What people have said about the Mocklore Chronicles (some of these reviews are from when the books were first released in paperback, 15 years ago!):

“…made me laugh out loud on a bus full of people…” (Fran, Goodreads)

“…an undiscovered gem in my opinion. Funny, intricate and exciting – Kassa and her band of merry pirates are such a wonderful team of misfits in a world for misfits.” (AlexEatsBooks, Goodreads)

“Magical. Such detail. A bloody blast.” (Lisa Gormley, Goodreads)

“…this is comic fantasy, and very much in the Pratchett vein. There are witches and pirates, eccentric characters, and other odds and ends – the novel even opens with a view of Mocklore from space ala Pratchett. What is important, though, is that Roberts entertains. This kind of fiction depends upon inventiveness and timing – the author has to be able to produce a non-stop flow of new and interesting characters and situations, while never forgetting that the point is to make us laugh. It is something that Terry Pratchett had made his stock in trade, and it’s a skill that Roberts is clearly learning.” (Jonathan Strahan, Eidolon)

“Tansy Rayner Roberts should be a name we’ll be hearing for a long time to come.” (Jonathan Strahan, Eidolon)

New book announcement: “Unbound” by Jo Anderton

~ Tehani ~ 4 Comments

Jo Anderton photoFableCroft Publishing is pleased to announce the acquisition of Unbound by Jo Anderton. Unbound is the final book of the Veiled Worlds series, completing the story of Tanyana and the strange world she inhabits.

Editor Tehani Wessely has been a fan of Jo’s work for several years, and published her debut short story collection in May 2013. Jo has placed several stories with FableCroft in the past and says, “Tehani is a fantastic editor, who has supported and encouraged me from the very beginning of my writing career. I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with her, and FableCroft Publishing, on Unbound.”

The grand city of Movoc-under-Keeper lies in ruins. The sinister puppet men have revealed their true nature, and their plan to tear down the veil between worlds. To have a chance of defeating them, Tanyana must do the impossible, and return to the world where they were created, on the other side of the veil. Her journey will force her into a terrible choice, and test just how much she is willing to sacrifice for the fate of two worlds.

Tehani is very excited to be working on this novel with Jo, which will form part of FableCroft’s fledgling original novel range.

Unbound will be published in early 2014. Watch this space for a pre-order special offer later this year!

Coming Soon: Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart

~ Tehani

Screen Shot 2013-10-09 at 9.50.34 AMWe’re in the final layout/proofing stage of FableCroft’s first original novel release, Path of Night by Dirk Flinthart. This is a very exciting time for us at FableCroft, and we can’t wait to share this book with you! Dirk Flinthart is a favourite author of ours (you might know him from his prodigious short story output, as seen in Epilogue, After the Rain and Worlds Next Door, and his work in the world of New Ceres from Twelfth Planet Press, among many other things!) and it has been a great experience to have him as our first novel author. Path of Night is the first of the Night Beast series, and I guarantee you’ll be wanting more after this!

Michael Devlin is the first of a new breed. The way things are going, he may also be the last. 

Being infected with an unknown disease is bad. Waking up on a slab in a morgue wearing nothing but a toe-tag is worse, even if it comes with a strange array of new abilities.

Medical student Michael Devlin is in trouble. With his flatmates murdered and an international cabal of legendary man-monsters on his trail, Devlin’s got nowhere to hide. His only allies are a hot-tempered Sydney cop and a mysterious monster-hunter who may be setting Devlin up for the kill. If he’s going to survive, Devlin will have to embrace his new powers and confront his hunters. But can he hold onto his humanity when he walks the Path of Night?

Path of Night will be released in print and ebook later this month.

Cover by Adam Branch

Lovely new reviews

~ Tehani

OneSmallStepCoverdraftA couple of lovely new reviews around the ridges recently. 

Mieneke over at A Fantastical Librarian gave a comprehensive look at One Small Step, saying (among lots of other very nice things): “a very strong collection of stories showcasing the talents of eighteen very talented women.”

Tsana at Tsana Reads & Reviews took advantage of our super World Fantasy Awards discount on To Spin a Darker Stair (just $5 including postage anywhere in the world! Ends 31 October!) and very generously then reviewed the book, saying it “punches above its weight class.”

And although this is a little while ago, I wanted to point out Michelle E. Goldsmith’s glowing review of The Bone Chime Song and Other Stories at Vilutheril.Michelle is very definite about her recommendation: “I urge anyone who loves dark, strange and beautifully written stories to read this collection.” Thanks Michelle!