Thanks to commenters Adam and Steph for tracking down the thankfully now active Audible.com pre-order page for the US version of Tower Lord: http://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/Tower-Lord-Audiobook/B00L4IRLG8/ref=a_search_c4_1_3_srTtl?qid=1403229402&sr=1-3. No cover art yet but I assume it’s on its way.
NB. The 73 hour running time must be a typo as Blood Song came in at about 22 hours and whilst Tower Lord is longer, it’s not that much longer.
A small redesign today. In response to a growing number of requests I’ve amended the old ‘Tower Lord: The Frequently Asked Question’ page to include a sample from Tower Lord. Feel free to speculate in the comments about what it all means but remember I won’t be answering any questions on this one. Enjoy.
For those who like their fiction in audio form the pre-order pages for Tower Lord, as read by the inestimable Steven Brand, have now gone up on audible.com and audible.co.uk.
Thanks to Goldsboro Books in London for once again choosing one of my books to offer as a signed first edition. They are now offering 100 signed, stamped and numbered copies of the hardcover UK 1st edition of Tower Lord for £25.00: http://www.goldsborobooks.com/books/tower-lord-book-2-of-ravens-shadow-signed-first-edition-4081.html
They are also offering a limited number of signed Tower Lord 1st editions at £18.99: http://www.goldsborobooks.com/books/tower-lord-book-2-of-ravens-shadow-anthony-ryan-signed-first-edition-4080.html
Goldsboro’s stock of Blood Song sold out in a matter of days last year so you may want to order early to avoid disappointment.
UK cover for Tower Lord courtesy of the fine people at Orbit UK, pre-order link on the books page:
I delivered the finished draft of Tower Lord to my editor yesterday. The final word count, including appendices, came in at a little over 238,000. If you’ve read my previous updates you’ll know I was expecting rewrites to take me up to December but the fact is I simply couldn’t find anything else I wanted to change. I have to stress this doesn’t mean the book is finished, there will inevitably be notes from my editor, probably some future rewrites, plus copy edits, proofs etc, but for now at least, I’m done.
As ever, I have no idea when it will actually come out, since the publisher’s version of Blood Song isn’t likely to appear until next year. But at least those looking forward to the next instalment will have the comfort of knowing there won’t be a decades long wait for it. As for the third book though…
I completed the first draft of Tower Lord approximately ten minutes ago. The word count runs at just over 237,000, which means it’ll probably shrink to the 230k mark after rewrites. On the whole I’m happy with it; no unsightly gaps that need filling or superfluous characters (I hope) but, inevitably, there are some things that need fixing before it’s ready for delivery – plot conflicts, prose-tyding, deciding if I’ve killed off enough characters, that kind of thing.
Currently feeling the anticlimactic fugue state that tends to set in after I finish something. Hopefully it’ll wear off tomorrow. I’ll be taking a break from Tower Lord for the rest of September, Dead Space 2 won’t play itself after all, and it’s usually a good idea to get some distance from a draft before starting rewrites. There won’t be any more updates until I’ve actually finished and delivered to my editor, probably in December, so please accept the following answers to some likely questions:
– No, I don’t know when it’ll be released.
– No, I don’t know when Blood Song will be available in print either.
– Sorry, but I don’t need alpha, beta or proof readers but thanks for the offer.
Oh, must dash, someone’s calling. I think it might be my much-missed friend sleep.
PS. online sales of Blood Song passed the 30,000 mark last weekend. By the souls of the Departed I swear undying gratitude to you all.
The first draft passed the 200,000 word mark today which means I’m firmly in the final straight (insert horse racing metaphor here – not falling at the final hurdle, a last sprint to see me over the line etc).
At the current rate the first draft should be done by mid-September, whereupon I shall reacquaint myself with the phenomena known as sleep (blessed, blessed sleep, my old friend, how I’ve missed you). However, rewrites should keep me fully occupied until December. No-one ever said this would be easy.
