This week's New York Times Bestsellers (March 1st)

In hardcover:

Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches maintains its position at number 2. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Dean Koontz's What the Night Knows is up one position, ending the week at number 12.

Karen Marie Moning's Shadowfever is up five spots, finishing the week at number 16.

Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson's Towers of Midnight maintains its position at number 19. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Stephen King's Full Dark, No Stars is up four positions, ending the week at number 25. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Greg Bear's Halo: Cryptum is up four spots, finishing the week at number 28. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

In paperback:

Dean Koontz's Frankenstein: Lost Souls is up two positions, ending the week at number 13.

Patricia Briggs' Silver Borne is down three spots, finishing the week at number 19.

The Dragons Are Coming!

No, I'm not slow on the uptake! But some of us are decent people with jobs, so I just found out about this! =)

Yes, George R. R. Martin's A Dance With Dragons (Canada, USA, Europe) now has an official release date: July 12th 2011!

GRRM made the announcement earlier this morning on Not A Blog.

According to Martin, A Dance With Dragons is a monster of a book similar to A Storm of Swords. I reckon nobody will complain about that!

Hell yeah!!!

The SFF debut of 2011???

Tor Books are pushing this one as the next big thing. Whether or not Peter Orullian's The Unremembered, first volume in The Vault of Heaven series, lives up to the hype and becomes the 2011 SFF debut of the year remains to be seen. But it's no secret that the novel has garnered a lot of rave reviews among Orullian's peers. For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

The gods, makers of worlds, seek to create balance—between matter and energy; and between mortals who strive toward the transcendent, and the natural perils they must tame or overcome. But one of the gods fashions a world filled with hellish creatures far too powerful to allow balance; he is condemned to live for eternity with his most hateful creations in that world’s distant Bourne, restrained by a magical veil kept vital by the power of song.

Millennia pass, awareness of the hidden danger fades to legend, and both song and veil weaken. And the most remote cities are laid waste by fell, nightmarish troops escaped from the Bourne. Some people dismiss the attacks as mere rumor. Instead of standing against the real threat, they persecute those with the knowledge, magic and power to fight these abominations, denying the inevitability of war and annihilation. And the evil from the Bourne swells….

The troubles of the world seem far from the Hollows where Tahn Junell struggles to remember his lost childhood and to understand words he feels compelled to utter each time he draws his bow. Trouble arrives when two strangers—an enigmatic man wearing the sigil of the feared Order of Sheason and a beautiful woman of the legendary Far—come, to take Tahn, his sister and his two best friends on a dangerous, secret journey.

Tahn knows neither why nor where they will go. He knows only that terrible forces have been unleashed upon mankind and he has been called to stand up and face that which most daunts him—his own forgotten secrets and the darkness that would destroy him and his world.

If you want a taste of The Unremembered, Peter Orullian has posted the prologue on his official website. Follow this link to read the extract.

Here are two book trailers produced to promote The Unremembered:





There will be 4 more webisodes set in the world of The Vault of Heaven, so stay tuned for more!

I haven't read it yet, though I plan to do so. It will be interesting to see how well-received Orullian's debut will be. Will it create waves the way Naomi Novik, Scott Lynch, Joe Abercrombie and Patrick Rothfuss' debuts did in years past, or will it fail to live up to expectations? Time will tell. . .

It's cover shoot day!

I'm so excited as today is the day I'll be shooting the cover for my next issue of ::Surroundings:: Guide to Decorative Living with the über talented Michael J. Lee.  When Michael and I agreed to partner on creating cover shots, it was his brilliant idea to select a showroom or store in which we'd do the shoot.  The goal is to create a shot that looks like it's part of a home and tells a story, even though it's not. And we hope that showcasing different showrooms and shops will bring a little publicity their way as well.

So, I'm thrilled that our first dedicated cover shot will be done in the beautiful  Webster & Company showroom at the Boston Design Center.

Webster & Company carries a wide selection of furnishings, fabrics and accessories from designers such as Rose Tarlow, deGournay, Clarence House, Holly Hunt, Lulu DK, Dakota Jackson and more.

So, last week, I spent a couple of hours perusing their showroom to pull together items that I thought would work to create the striking vignette we are looking for. I pulled together three concept groups and sent the images to Michael and was thrilled when his response was "#1!!! LOVE!!!!" as it was my favorite grouping as well.

So, tomorrow we'll be on site with cameras, lighting and some other goodies as well. If you're in the building, please feel free to stop by and get a sneak peak!  We're starting at 10:00!

Images of Webster & Company showroom. 

If you would like my help on your design project, I would love to chat with you! Please email me. Thanks!

 Subscribe to ::Surroundings::

New video interview with Patrick Rothfuss

With The Wise Man's Fear (Canada, USA, Europe) being released yesterday, there is a new video interview with Patrick Rothfuss on Amazon.

It doesn't last that long, but the author discusses Kvothe's narrative, his beard, and his fans.

Follow this link to watch it.

Win a copy of Daniel Abraham's THE DRAGON'S PATH

I have a copy of Daniel Abraham's The Dragon's Path for you to win, compliments of the folks at Orbit! For more info about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.

Here's the blurb:

Summer is the season of war in the Free Cities.

Marcus wants to get out before the fighting starts. His hero days are behind him and simple caravan duty is better than getting pressed into service by the local gentry. Even a small war can get you killed. But a captain needs men to lead — and his have been summarily arrested and recruited for their swords.

Cithrin has a job to do — move the wealth of a nation across a war zone. An orphan raised by the bank, she is their last hope of keeping the bank’s wealth out of the hands of the invaders. But she’s just a girl and knows little of caravans, war, and danger. She knows money and she knows secrets, but will that be enough to save her in the coming months?

Geder, the only son of a noble house is more interested in philosophy than swordplay. He is a poor excuse for a soldier and little more than a pawn in these games of war. But not even he knows what he will become of the fires of battle. Hero or villain? Small men have achieved greater things and Geder is no small man.

Falling pebbles can start a landslide. What should have been a small summer spat between gentlemen is spiraling out of control. Dark forces are at work, fanning the flames that will sweep the entire region onto The Dragon’s Path — the path of war.

The rules are the same as usual. You need to send an email at reviews@(no-spam)gryphonwood.net with the header "PATH." Remember to remove the "no spam" thingy.

Second, your email must contain your full mailing address (that's snail mail!), otherwise your message will be deleted.

Lastly, multiple entries will disqualify whoever sends them. And please include your screen name and the message boards that you frequent using it, if you do hang out on a particular MB.

Good luck to all the participants!

THE CRIPPLED GOD is a hit!

Time was, The Malazan Book of the Fallen seemed to be far behind many bestselling SFF series out there. Though you could see that the books were becoming more and more popular as the years went by, we had to wait till Dust of Dreams for one of the Malazan installments to make it on bestseller lists on both sides of the pond.

Well, I guess that word has finally gotten around, for Steven Erikson's The Crippled God (Canada, USA, Europe) is number 4 on the Sunday Times bestseller list!

Congrats, Steve! =)