Tag: fantasy

Read the first chapter of Lake in the Clouds!

Lake in the Clouds, Book 3 in my YA fantasy series The Shards of Excalibur, comes out in May from Coteau Books–which means it’s time for a little teaser. Here you go: Chapter 1 for your reading pleasure, just to whet your appetite. Sharp-eyed observers may also note that the title has changed slightly, from …

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Thoughts on the Hugo Awards

The nominees for this year’s Hugo Awards have been announced, and I’m thrilled to see that my editor at DAW Books, Sheila Gilbert, is once again nominee for Best Editor, Long Form. This is Sheila’s third time on the ballot, and here’s hoping this is the year she goes home with the rocketship. That said, …

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Masks shortlisted for two Saskatchewan Book Awards

Each year the Saskatchewan Book Awards honour the best books by Saskatchewan authors, and I’m pleased to announce that the 2015 shortlisted books include Masks, in two categories: Young Adult Literature (self-explanatory) and Regina Book Award (for the best book by a Regina author). The books are judged by out-of-province judges, and the stated criteria …

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Cover art reveal: FACES, Book 3 in The Masks of Aygrima

Just got this from DAW Books today: it’s the cover art for Faces, Book 3 in my Masks of Aygrima trilogy, written as E.C. Blake. It builds on the previous two covers and reveals, appropriately enough, Mara’s face for the first time. I like it a lot! How about you? Like the first two covers, …

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I’ve turned in Faces, Book 3 of The Masks of Aygrima, to DAW!

                      Early this morning I sent off Faces, Book 3 in The Masks of Aygrima, to Sheila Gilbert, my editor (and co-publisher with Betsy Wollheim) at DAW Books. I’m quite pleased with it–I hope she is, too! We’ll be discussing it at World Fantasy Convention in Washington, D.C., early in …

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New publisher Rebelight to bring out my YA fantasy “Blue Fire” in 2015

I’m pleased to announce that new publisher Rebelight, based in Winnipeg, will bring out my YA fantasy (they’re calling it “voltpunk”) Blue Fire in Spring 2015. The picture is me signing the contract. Don’t know how they’ll describe it, but here’s how I described it in my query letter: The Kingdom of the Twelve Cities …

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The Space-Time Continuum: Space Opera

Here’s the latest instalment of my regular column on writing science fiction and fantasy from Freelance, the newsletter of the Saskatchewan Writers Guild… “Space opera” is an odd-looking term: after all, as the marketers for the movie Alien might have (but fortunately didn’t) put it, in space, no one can hear a tenor scream a …

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Four stars for Shadows from Night Owl Reviews

Four stars for Shadows from Pamela Robinson at Night Owl Reviews, who, interestingly, had not read Masks–though she intends to go back and do so now! In Shadows, by E.C. Blake, I found a world filled with magic and special people. Mara Holdfast is an intriguing main character. The author weaves a journey for her that many will connect with. …

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Cover art reveal! The Lake in the Clouds, Book 3 of The Shards of Excalibur

I’ve been very happy with the cover art for the Shards of Excalibur books from Coteau Books, and the cover art for Book 3, The Lake in the Clouds, which I’ve just received, is no exception. Pretty, isn’t it? Better get the book written, though. A good cover is important, but it’s also important there …

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See you at Word on the Street Saskatoon!

I’m really looking forward to being a featured author at Word on the Street in Saskatoon on September 21. I’ll be part of a panel (along with Arthur Slade, Sean Cummings, and Jefferson Smith) called Other Worlds on the Prairies, focusing on writing science fiction and fantasy, which will be (appropriately enough) in the “Brave …

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Another nice review of Masks: “a great page-turner and a fantastic start to an exciting new series”

T.E.J. Johnson gives a rousing review to Masks: “The novel is fast paced and Mara gets herself in and out of a million-tangles as she falls from a high-born Aygriman citizen, to concentration-camp prisoner to unmasked rebel…I would thoroughly recommend this novel; it is a great page-turner and a fantastic start to an exciting new …

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Another satisfied Shadows reader: SciFi Chick

SciFi Chick, who loved Masks, also enjoyed Shadows: “Full of suspense, mystery, magic, and a bit of romance – the intensity builds to a climactic ending. And as before, I look forward to the next in this incredible fantasy series.” Read the whole thing.