Shifted World

Cover reveal – Hunter & Fox

Hold on there Pip, is probably what you are thinking. Did you just jump into the Tardis and head back to 2012?

Well, dear reader, we live in a brand new world of publishing, and since I am *ta DAH* a hybrid writer, I love using all kinds of publishing tools to keep the roof over our head.

I write for New York publishing houses, I jump into small press anthologies, and I produce my own work. Hybrid all the way!

In the dim dark past, when you got your rights back for your writing, there was not much else you could do with it. However, in these wonderful days of diversity and agility, we authors can take these books, spruce them up, adjust the price to how we want, give them new covers, and put them out ourselves.

Thus this brand new cover reveal for Hunter & Fox, with Kindred & Wings to follow. I have added into this edition a short story, Dragonsoul, which I wrote to delve into the history the Shifted Worlds. It’s a little bonus for those of you who might already have the novel.

The ebook is available now, and the print editions will follow once I have Kindred & Wings out. Once again Starla had done a wonderful job of giving me a beautiful cover. I just love the burnished effect.

So click here to buy the ebook, or if you use KU you can read the whole thing.

Boxes of Goodness

Harbinger slice

Two days, two boxes of new and exciting books! It’s always a banner day in a writer’s life, the first time you get to lay eyes and hands on your actual physical book. You slice open the box, lift the lid, and there it is…the thing you loved, hated, struggled with, and finally handed over for so many months…if not years.

I had that experience twice in two days. Yeah…I am still kinda giddy.

Harbinger is coming July 30th and I am having bitter sweet emotions about it. I’m excited to have people let me know what they think of the final book…and thus the series…but I am also sad to be saying goodbye to Sorcha, Merrick and Raed. I may well return to the universe in short fiction, but this is the end of their stories in novel format.

Kindred slic

Kindred and Wings…the second book in Conhaero the ever-shifting world..and my first time with dragons! I always lovedÂ dragons, fairytales and Anne McCaffrey took care of that, but I have always shied away from dabbling with them. Somehow in my head they became too much of a trope for me to deal with them on my own terms. I finally found a way to make a dragon that made him interesting to me. Don’t worry, he is still as powerful and enigmatic as dragons always areâ€”and I hope you love him as much as I do.

It’s so strange to be wrapping up two series in less than two weeks, but I am hard at work on a new series involving monsters and gods, sisters and urchins..and as soon as I have news to share on that front you know I will.

The books are now available for pre-order, and please if you could take the time to review them wherever possible that all helps. It all makes a huge difference to me, my career, and my family. You helped me get here, and I hope to bring you more stories very, very soon. We have many more worlds to go to!

Welcome 2013!

It’s a little late, but I’ve been assessing 2012, and planning 2013 so that takes some time.

2012 was my best year yet as far as financial rewards for writing, but there were some goals that I didn’t reach. I’m not going to get depressed about that, but it comes time to set new ones for the year ahead.

In 2012 Tee and I worked not only on novels, but on getting our own self-publishing business, Imagine That! Studios, as a nice side income stream working for us. ITS is about producing new short fiction, as well as being a way to have our independent novels out there in the wild. It did about seven times better than 2011, but I know 2013 can be even better. I started the year by releasing a project I’d been working on for awhile The Little Clockwork Mermaid, but look for more from ITS in future months.

In 2012 the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences became a Locus Bestseller, and I won a Parsec for the Precarious Child. This year means a new round of awards open up for us. First up is the Sir Julius Vogel Award, which has a special place in my heart because it recognises New Zealand fiction writers. Wrayth, the Janus Affair, and Hunter and Fox are all open to be nominated, the more nominations the better. So if you think any of these deserve to be on the list, please go nominate! Later on there are the Parsecs and the Airship Awards…so we shall see…

And just got word today that the omnibus edition of Geist, Spectyr and Wrayth is shipping. So if you’d like a hardback edition with an awesome cover, then please order away. I am very excited because this is my very first omnibus anything.

As for what I am working on currently…well now is the time to be producing three chapter and synopsis for new series. I have ideas for two. The first whose working title is the Knack, is set in 1920s with a fun new heroine and a dark conspiracy in the heart of England. I’m enjoying pulling together the plot with Scrivener, and making all the character sketches. The second idea I will be constructing a submission package for in February is set in America just after the civil war.

So I am messing about with history again, though I am not ruling out a return to epic fantasy after the saga of Sorcha, Merrick, Raed and the Rossin finish.

Also ahead in 2013 we have the release of several things in the summer. Harbinger, Kindred and Wings, and the clockwork fairytale anthology I am in are all coming out fairly close to each other.

Tee and I are also working on Ministry projects to span the slight gap between book two and three. Look for a Kickstarter in March for a print anthology. We have some exciting authors lined up to write for us, and we think our readers and listeners will be excited too.

Once again though, I would like to thank those readers and listeners for supporting me. You make it possible for me to keep doing what I am doing, and I’m going to work even harder in 2013 to keep bringing you stories.

Kindred and Wings- COVER REVEAL

I hope however you celebrate and whatever holiday you observe, that you had a good time.

I got a little present for you myself. The cover for Kindred and Wings. Yes, the pre-order is live, and the book should be available on 6th August 2013.

Cynthia Sheppard has done a wonderful job of capturing my very first dragon cover! Wait until you see what Wahirangi CloudLord can do. He’s been a lot of fun to write.

Roll on 2013!!

Win the Eye of the Dragon

To celebrate me turning in the first draft of the sequel to Hunter and Fox (which is titled Kindred and Wings), I’ve decided to give away some really neat swag.

Hunter and Fox came out in July this year with Pyr books, under the careful eye of Hugo award winning editor Lou Anders.

The world of Hunter and Fox is inspired by New Zealand, and contains some characters I have had a blast playing with. Oh yes, and slight spoiler….there are dragons…but I bet you won’t see them coming!

RT Reviews said “Ballantine draws readers into a fascinating new world, peopled by characters you will genuinely care about. In this first volume of the Shifted World series, she draws from classic fantasy traditions but makes them wholly her ownâ€¦. Talyn is a heroine to cheer for and treasure.”

The Miami Herald said “Weaving a tale of a world on the cusp of physical and social upheaval, Ballantine tells a story of mighty magics, pacts made and broken, betrayal, sacrifice and redemption. Hunter and Fox is a worthy feat of world-building, with Ballantine cleverly giving new clothes to old fantasy tropes so that those familiar trappings (recognizable only under close scrutiny) come across fresh and wondrous.”

But I would like to hear what you think.

What to do: You get two entries into the drawing by a review of Hunter and Fox. It can be on your blog, Amazon, Goodreads.com, Barnes and Noble.com (or any of the online bookseller sites). And/or you can tweet about Hunter and Fox.

What do you get: When the competition has run its course, I will draw two names to win. I have two wonderful Sightmares from the delightful Dr. Brassy Steamington. I personally have two of these wonderful creations that have been getting lots of comments and love wherever I wear them. They are handcrafted (even the glass eyes) and will get you noticed. If you love dragons, or know someone who does, the craftswomanship on these will blow you away. So two lucky entrants will be getting one of the Sightmares and a personalized and signed copy of Hunter and Fox each. This is open to anyone in the world, since I know how annoying it is to see a cool competition and be in say…New Zealand.

How long do we have: Since I want you to actually read the book, and there may be some of you who haven’t, I am keeping this competition open until December 4th. (Wouldn’t this prize make a great Christmas present?!)

Naturally, if you’ve already read and reviewed it, then you can jump right into this!

So use the Raffelcopter below, and I look forward to hearing what you thought about the book.

a Rafflecopter giveaway