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Category: Exhortations to BUY

Take It As Read

Published by Tim Pratt on March 5, 2013

We’re deep into the last day of my Kickstarter for Bride of Death, so if you were thinking of becoming a backer, now is the time. Every time I look at the Kickstarter page I am filled with joy and delight at the generosity of my readers — and the power of crowdfunding to make art compatible with financial necessities. What I’m trying to say is, thank you, and hurray.

The new issue of Apex Magazine is out today, with my looong story “The Fairy Library” free to read, and an interview with me (mostly about my new collection), and also many good things by people who are not me, like the awesome Rachel Swirsky and the equally but differently awesome Will Alexander.

I am doing another Ask Me Anything at Reddit Fantasy this Thursday, with Richard Lee Byers — we both write Pathfinder Tales fantasy novels, so I imagine there’ll be a lot of questions and answers about those, but as the name implies, we can be Asked Anything. Do drop by. Speaking of Pathfinder Tales, here’s a sample chapter for my new novel Liar’s Blade, with a fantastic illustration of one of my favorite characters from the book.

Life is very very busy, with readings to do and stories to write (with deadlines that are nearly upon me) and Life Stuff and a very full calendar… but it’s good. I am happy and productive.

Regarding Certain Fictions

Published by Tim Pratt on February 13, 2013

Here are some things:

I sold a story! “Ghostreaper, or, Life after Revenge” will appear in a future issue of Eclipse Online. I’ve admired the stories editor Jonathan Strahan has published in the magazine (and in the anthology series before that), so I’m pleased to be part of it. The story is a novelette about a modern guy who gets a magical spear from a trickster figure of uncertain intentions and proceeds to mess up his life in interesting ways.

I also sold a story, “Secrets in Storage,” co-written with Greg van Eekhout, to a Lovecraftian anthology. About five years ago Greg wrote an opening and asked me if I could do anything with it. I added a bit, and we batted it back and forth, but it stalled out and never came to anything, sitting unloved and unread for years. Then, when I was asked to do a Lovecraftian story, I realize how Greg’s opening could be a launching point for just such a piece, and dragged it out of cold storage, worked on it, made Greg make it better, and sent it off. A dead story, resurrected (but, of course, that is not dead which can eternal lie; that goes for old story fragments as well as elder gods).

We’re down to the last few days for the Glitter and Madness Kickstarter. Take a look! It would be a fun anthology. My story will be set in the abandoned ice skating rink in Berkeley, a bit of decaying real estate called Iceland (which is also a portal to a Hell of ice, a la The Inferno), at a monster skate party, of sorts. Give ’em a little if you can. They’re still a bit short of hitting their goal.

My own Kickstarter, for novel Bride of Death, is going beautifully — it’s nearly 150% funded with 20 days to go. Another $665 and we unlock original cover art by the great Lindsey Look, who did the cover for Grim Tides. And if it goes over that level, I’ll come up with additional incentives. (And, you know, buy my kid extra souvenirs at Disneyland when we go for his spring break.)

I’m reading Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic: The Thirteenth Rib by David J. Schwartz (one of my favorite writers; hell, one of my favorite people). It’s a serialized novel, and you get all the installments for a mere one-time $1.99 payment. Pretty sweet deal.

Lately I’ve ripped through the Spellman Files series by Lisa Lutz — quirky mysteries (sort of) set in contemporary San Francisco. They’re charming books, driven by a great narrative voice, that of thirtyish former juvenile delinquent Izzy Spellman, who works for the family business as a private investigator. The PI details are pretty realistic, which means the stakes are way lower than you find in most mysteries — in reality, PIs don’t investigate murders; mostly they follow cheating spouses and do background checks. So most of the drama comes from the interpersonal relationships, among a group of chronically nosy, secretive, suspicious people with boundary issues and a willingness to use blackmail and other means to achieve their goals — but who nonetheless love one another very much. Not the sort of thing I usually read (I prefer my mysteries bleak and violent and hardboiled), but great comfort reading.

Intangible Tangibles

Published by Tim Pratt on January 16, 2013

Hey, the Antiquities and Tangibles e-book is available for sale! There are links in the sidebar over there on the left to a couple of popular online bookstores. The print version will be along soon, from Merry Blacksmith Press. (Actually it seems it’s already available from Amazon. I haven’t gotten my copies yet, but I’ll send ’em out to Kickstarter backers as soon as I do.)

Big excitement in the PrattShaw household. My wife Heather Shaw, who has been working 44 hours a week for the past couple of years (one full-time job and one part-time, which is brutal to sustain — I don’t know how she did it on top of her freelance writing/editing), has quit her part-time job. That will give her one free day a week, which she’s going to use to focus on writing fiction. (Those of you who’ve read her fiction know that’s reason to rejoice.)

Of course, this does mean our income is taking a bit of a hit; it was a part-time job, but a well-paying one. So I’ll be hustling up some extra writing work — and I hope you’ll all help me spread the word when I launch my Kickstarter for the next Marla Mason novel, Bride of Death, next month. (Speaking of: very exciting. I am doing research and writing notes and jotting down scene fragments and bits of dialogue. It’ll be fun.)

Worldbuilding, Interview, Xmas Story

Published by Tim Pratt on December 19, 2012

Here are some things that are somewhat me-related:

I’ve put a Tuckerization in my next Marla Mason novel up for auction to support Patrick Rothfuss’s Worldbuilders fundraiser, which supports Heifer International, helping people in need build better lives for themselves. You can bid on the Tuckerization here, and have your name (or a name of our mutual agreement) appear in the next novel, Bride of Death.  (I usually offer Tuckerizations for $300 or so when I do a crowdfunded book. Surely we can get to that amount at least, for charity?)

Pat blogs a bit about the fundraiser, and lists some of the other Tuckerization auctions, over on his website.

In more me-centric news, the first part of a long interview with me is up at Sense of Wonder.

And in half-about-me news: my wife Heather Shaw and I collaborated on a holiday story, “Catching the Spirit,” for Podcastle. Go listen! It’s about weaponized generosity and viral good cheer.

 

Big! Book! Sale!

Published by Tim Pratt on October 29, 2012

You see the piles of books in that photo? That’s just a small selection of the tottering heaps of my books I have in the house. They make for good insulation, I’m sure, but I wouldn’t mind getting rid of a few, ideally making some money to buy Officeboy Xmas presents in the process.

Here’s where you come in: Buy my books! (They make great gifts. Even if just for yourself.)

You can get signed and/or inscribed copies for cover price (I’ll round up to destroy any stray pennies), plus $4 shipping per book for mass market paperbacks and $6 each for trade paperbacks/hardcovers.

Shipping costs for the US are included in the listed price. For shipping outside the US, add an extra $6 to the listed price.

Write to timpratt at gmail dot com or post in the comments here saying what you want and telling me if you want them signed and/or personalized. I’ll do the math and tell you what you owe me and where to send the PayPal money. First-come, first-served, which is why you should comment or e-mail instead of just sending money — I’d hate for you to pay for something that sold out. (First-time comments are moderated here, so don’t worry if your comment doesn’t show up immediately.)

I’ll run the sale for one week, from Monday October 29th until Sunday November 4.

Here’s what’s available. First editions, unless otherwise noted.

Marla Mason series:

Mass-market paperback of Blood Engines, $11 (19 copies available)

Mass-market paperback of Dead Reign, $11 (9 copies)

Mass-market paperback of Spell Games, $11 (10 copies)

Trade Paperback of Broken Mirrors, $20 (2 copies)

I also have eight or ten copies each of rare Marla Mason story chapbooks Shark’s Teeth and Snake & Mongoose, which I’ll sell for $8 each (shipping included).

Standalone novels:

Hardcover of The Constantine Affliction (as by T. Aaron Payton), $33 (16 copies)

Trade paperback of The Strange Adventures of Rangergirl, $18 (11 copies)

Trade Paperback of The Nex, $14 Sold out!

Mass-market paperback of Forgotten Realms: Venom In Her Veins, $12 (20 copies)

Mass-market paperback of Pathfinder Tales: City of the Fallen Sky, $14 (12 copies)

Collections/Anthologies

Trade paperback of anthology Sympathy for the Devil (edited by Tim Pratt), $22 (4 copies)

Paperback of poetry collection If There Were Wolves, $14 (2 copies)

Trade paperback of collection Little Gods, $20 (Not the first edition that includes the poems, but the more attractive offset edition) (12 copies)

That’s it. Make your wishes known.

Briarpatch Audiobook for Your Listenings!

Published by Tim Pratt on August 27, 2012

The audiobook of my novel Briarpatch is now available at Audible, read by the inimitable Dave Thompson of Podcastle fame. Yay!

This has been in the works for a while. Much thanks to Dave for his excellent voice work, and to my agent Ginger Clark for getting things rolling and then shepherding the whole process along. (There are plans to do a Rangergirl audiobook in the not-too-distant future, too.)

I’m down to 48 hours remaining in my collection Kickstarter for Antiquities and Tangibles. Pay $10 and you get the new collection e-book — and a special backers-only exclusive, my Complete Stories, which will be a pretty prodigious hunk of electronic wordage. (Pay more and get that stuff, and other stuff too.)

The Deep Woods

Published by Tim Pratt on May 8, 2012

Good news! I can now announce that my fantasy novella/short novel The Deep Woods will be published by the great British small press PS Publishing. I’ve been a fan of PS since I first read Geoff Ryman’s V.A.O. a decade ago, and have been hugely impressed by their publications over the years — especially their dedication to publishing novellas, which are one of my favorite forms in the genre, but hard to find homes for. I’ve wanted to work with them for ages, and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity. This book is one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, and I’m glad it’s going to see print, especially since PS can be relied upon to produce beautiful editions. The book should be out in spring 2014.

In other book news, the e-book of my science fantasy adventure The Nex is still free to download at Amazon, but this is the last day. Tell your friends. Unless they hate free stuff.

The Nex: Now Free!

Published by Tim Pratt on May 4, 2012

Yes, I know, my novel The Nex (a weird short science fantasy where every chapter provides either a new spectacle or a new revelation) has been free, posted in its entirety on my website. But now you e-book readers can get it in handy Kindle format for free too, at least for the next few days. (It’s my lowest-selling e-book, which saddens me, as I love it. So I am experimenting with promotional possibilities.)

Get The Nex for free!

And if you like The Nex, you might consider the sort-of-a-sequel short story “We Go Back” (also free to read) with the same narrator, and a short story about supporting characters Howlaa and Wisp, “Dream Engine (likewise free!).

Reading in Berkeley this Sunday

Published by Tim Pratt on March 13, 2012

I’ll be reading and blathering at Other Change of Hobbit (my neighborhood bookstore, and one of the great specialty science fiction shops around) this Sunday, from 4-6 p.m., with Claude Lalumière and Camille Alexa. (Other people are reading from 2-4, as you can see if you go to the website — it’s an all-afternoon extravaganza!)

Other Change has had some financial problems lately — they were closed for the past few months — so this event is meant to bring in some traffic and help them keep the doors open. Please come! Tell your friends. They have great books (new and used) and cute cats. What more can you ask?