To Blackfyre Keep hardcovers are here. To celebrate the release of the fourth novella in The Seven Swords series, I’m holding a signed copies giveaway for existing subscribers to my mailing list and anyone who subscribes between now and midnight GMT on November 8th.
Three lucky winners will receive a signed limited edition hardcover of To Blackfyre Keep. The giveaway is open to all subscribers worldwide. Winners will be chosen at random and notified on November 9th – check your spam folders to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize.
For those of you waiting for the audiobook, I’m told it’s now slated for release by Audible on December 6th, once again narrated by the incomparable Steven Brand.
I’m aware that readers outside the US are currently unable to buy the eBook on most platforms. I’m assured by Subterranean Press that they are working on distributing the ebook to international platforms. I’ll post updated links when I have them. In the meantime, non-US readers are able to buy the ebook direct from the Subterranean Press website.
Full details of this novella are on the book page.
The Martyr – Book Two of the Covenant of Steel – will be released in the US on June 28th and the UK on June 30th. To celebrate I’ll be running a giveaway for my mailing list subscribers. On June 20th, existing subscribers will receive an email with a link to click in order to enter the giveaway, so make sure you sign up to the list before then if you want a chance at winning a signed, lined and dated UK edition hardcover. Runners up prizes will include signed paperbacks and bookplates.
Note for subscribers – please ensure you check your spam filters on the 20th to make sure you don’t miss out on the giveaway.
Winners will be chosen and notified on June 27th.
To pre-order The Martyr, check out the links in the book page.
Check out The Pariah, book one in this series, here.
For more Covenant of Steel talk, check out this interview I did for Forbidden Planet TV. (https://youtu.be/T8gtRI44vM4)
And finally, for anyone who wants to make sure they get their hands on a signed hardcover of The Martyr, signed special limited editions are still available (for now) from Goldsboro Books and The Broken Binding.
The standalone version of my novella Fire Wings is now available in ebook and illustrated print editions. The illustrations are courtesy of Kevin Goeke who also painted the terrific cover illustration. Check out more of Kevin’s work on his website.
The illustrated paperback edition is currently stuck in Amazon’s labyrinthine bureaucracy – I’ll update you when it becomes available.
Book description:
For centuries the Sentinel Eyrie has stood watch over the Maw, the foul lair of the Voice and its monstrous servants. Long have the dishonoured and the damned journeyed to the Eyrie in search of restored honour.
Shamil, disgraced warrior from the southern desert, has journeyed to the Eyrie seeking redemption for a terrible crime. To earn it he must win the trust of a Great Wing, one of the mighty birds that carry the sentinels into battle. But such trust is not easily won, and the Voice is rising…
Fire Wings is a soaring fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Raven’s Shadow trilogy.
Sample interior illustrations from the print editions:
Fire Wings was originally published in the now sadly discontinued Deep Magic Magazine and takes place in the same world as my short story The Hall of the Diamond Queen. Although Fire Wings can be read in isolation, if you want the full back story to the tale of the Wraith Queen Sharrow-Met, The Hall of the Diamond Queen is available free to subscribers to my mailing list. It can be found in the Unbound anthology published by Grim Oak Press.
To mark the occasion I’m running a mailing list give-away for five signed Fire Wings hardcovers. To enter, join my mailing list before midnight GMT on May 17th. Existing subscribers are automatically entered. The giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. The winners will be chosen and notified on May 18th.
The Pariah – Book One of The Covenant of Steel – will be released next week. To celebrate I’m running a signed books giveaway for my mailing list subscribers. If you’re not already a subscriber please sign up here by midnight GMT on August 23rd to have a chance of winning.
Prizes as follows:
Three first-place winners will receive a signed, lined and date UK hardcover edition of The Pariah.
Four second-place winners will receive a signed, lined and date US paperback edition of The Pariah.
Five third-place winners will receive a signed bookplate for The Pariah.
The giveaway is open to all subscribers, not just those in the UK and US. Winners will be randomly chosen and notified on August 24th.
For the benefit of ebook readers and audiobook listeners The Map Room has now been updated with the map from The Pariah.
Anyone who would like a second chance can also enter the giveaway being run by my publisher Orbit. In addition to a signed book, the lucky winner will also receive an exclusive print of the cover illustration by Jaime Jones (https://www.artpad.org). No purchase necessary.
I’ll be having a video confab with RJ Barker, author of the excellent maritime fantasy The Bone Ships, on August 24th. To sign up for the event and pose questions please go here.
And finally, Das Schwarze Lied – the German edition of The Black Song – will be released on August 21st. Thanks to my German publisher Hobbit Presse and translator Sara Riffel for making this happen. Thanks also to Federico Musetti for yet another spectacular cover illustration – check out more of his work on Artstation. More details on the Hobbit Presse website.
July 31st 2021 will mark ten years to the day since I first published Blood Song on the Smashwords self-publishing site. For a more detailed version of my pro-writer origin story check out my essay ‘The Long Overnight’ on the Penguin Blood Song page (scroll down to the ‘Author Essay’ bit). Suffice to say, a lot has happened since. One decade, eight (soon to be nine) published novels, a bunch of novellas, and over a million books sold later, I think it’s fair to say I owe it all to that one click of the mouse ten years ago. Funny old world.
On July 31st members of my mailing list will be given the chance to enter a draw for a rare 1st edition, signed, lined and dated US hardcover edition of Blood Song. One second-place winner will receive a signed US edition mass market paperback. Five third-place winners will receive signed Blood Song bookplates. All winners will also receive one of these snazzy Pariah bookplates provided by Orbit and signed by me.
Songs of the Dark – Short Fiction from the World of Raven’s Shadow will be released in special edition hardcover by Subterranean Press in December. I thought I’d let you have a preview of my interior illustrations for A Duel of Evils, the first story in the collection. I’ll be revealing the other illustrations prior to release so check back for updates.
In other news, I was intending to wait until mid-December to run the giveaway for signed hardcovers of The Kraken’s Tooth, the second volume in my Seven Swords novella series. However, given the current state of postal services around the world I though it best to run it now to give winners a chance of receiving their prize before Christmas (for those that celebrate it – other mid-winter festivals are available).
I have five signed hardcover copies of The Kraken’s Tooth to give away to members of my mailing list. Existing members are automatically entered. If you’re not a member and would like a chance to win one please join the mailing listbefore midnight GMT on 22nd November. Winners will be chosen at random and notified on 23rd November (remember to check your spam folders to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize).
I’m told that Subterranean still has some copies of The Kraken’s Tooth hardcover available for purchase. Please note that these can only be bought direct from the Subterranean Press website.
Just a quick post to let you all know that on 4th September I’ll be running a quickie mailing list exclusive give-away for five signed, lined and dated copies of the US hardcover edition of The Black Song to mark the one month-aversary of its publication.
In order to enter you have to be a signed-up member of the mailing list – sign up here. I’ll be sending out an email to subscribers on 4th September with a clickable link for those who want to be entered into the draw, so make sure you check your spam folders to ensure you don’t miss out. Winners will be chosen at random and notified on Monday September 7th. The give-away will be open to all mailing list subscribers, not just US residents.
In other news – it transpires that I totally missed the publication of the Italian edition of The Wolf’s Call in April – Il richiamo del lupo (La spada del corvo #1) is now available, published by Fanucci Editore. Click here for the Amazon.it link, but I’m assured it’s available in all good bookshops, COVID restrictions permitting. (If anyone knows the name of the cover artist, please let me know so I can credit them).
Finally, a reminder that The Kraken’s Tooth – the second novella my ‘Seven Swords’ series from Subterranean Press – will be released on 30th September and is available for pre-order here: https://subterraneanpress.com/krakens-tooth.
If you order before the release date you have the added bonus of being entered into a draw to win an original signed illustration by me and you won’t have to send me emails complaining about the price of hardcovers on eBay after Subterranean have sold out.
The ebook and audiobook editions of The Kraken’s Tooth will also be available when the hardcover is released.
In nine days The Black Song – Book II of The Raven’s Blade Duology – is released in the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. To mark the occasion I’m holding a giveaway for existing subscribers to my mailing list and anyone who subscribes between now and midnight GMT July 29th.
Five first place winners will receive a UK hardcover first edition of The Black Song.
Five second place winners will receive a UK trade paperback edition of The Black Song.
All books will be signed, lined and dated (with a personalised dedication if requested). Winners will be chosen at random and notified on July 30th. The giveaway is open to all mailing list subscribers not just those in the UK. Be sure to check your spam folders on the 30th to make sure you haven’t missed out on a prize.
The US edition of The Black Song will be released on August 4th. I was hoping to include US editions in this giveaway. However, as my author copies haven’t arrived yet (I assume to ongoing COVID related botheration), I’ve decided to run a second giveaway for US edition after the release on August 4th.
Please note that the Goldsboro Books special signed and numbered hardcover edition of The Black Song has now sold out. Thanks to everyone who purchased and commiserations to those who missed out.
Win a signed paperback of Slab City Blues: The Collected Stories.
I’m happy to announce I’ve teamed up with sci-fi authors Glynn Stewart, Christopher Ruz, Daniel Willcocks, and Matt Ward to do a SF/F raffle giveaway for FREE signed paperback copies of The Ragged Blade, Starship’s Mage, Slab City Blues: The Collected Stories, Dawn of Chaos, Cynetic Wolf, and Death Donor.
Very excited to be working with some of the heavy-hitting indies in the space to offer up some late-night, award-winning distraction in these challenging times.
The contest will be running from June 1st-10th. No purchase necessary.
NOTE: By entering the sweepstakes, you are expressly giving each participating author permission to add you to their email newsletter. You are free to unsubscribe at any time.
Just hop over to mattwardwrites.com/raffle and enter your email to register. Then, on June 11th, one lucky winner will be chosen to receive free signed copies of each of the books. And to keep things interesting, five runner-ups will also be selected to get free electronic copies because everyone loves free books, right?
Interested? Again, just hop on over to mattwardwrites.com/raffle before June 10th and enter your email to register.
In other news, I’m delighted to report that my upcoming novella The Kraken’s Tooth has received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly – ‘Ryan masterfully combines vivid characterization and understated worldbuilding in the stellar second fantasy novella in his Seven Swords series.’
The Kraken’s Tooth will be released in September 2020 by Subterranean Press in special limited edition signed hardcover and ebook. Pre-order here: https://subterraneanpress.com/krakens-tooth
The 26 signed and lettered copies have now sold out. However, you can still pre-order one of the 1000 signed limited editions. These might sell out too so order soon to make sure you snag one. Pre-orders for the ebook will appear closer to the release date.
