Philippa Ballantine - Author

Award-winning Author of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk

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Editing and proofing and conferences OH MY!

Busy, busy as usual with me, but time for a quick catch up post.

I’ve learned a new skill…well at least the basics…InDesign! I helped my darling husband, Tee Morris out with some ebook design for the Ministry Protocol. He however did the more complicated print design. It’s interesting the two different approaches. Print is set in stone, with ebook you have to keep it relatively simple, just to take into consideration the different hardware people will be using to read them.

We just got the proof of the print copy, and I’m in the process with Tee of checking it over. It’ll need a couple of tweaks, then another proof, but after that we should be good to go. It is going to be a very pretty book though from this first round!

Protocol proof

We also got the second round of edits for Dawn’s Early Light, and it’s exciting to see the book take shape into something awesome. I really want to get this out into people’s hands. Don’t forget you can totally pre-order it.

Also I am editing Weather Child, and totally handing it over to Tee Tate my go-to freelance editor today. The cover image is being shot by the damned talented Alex White, and I hope to get it out for all your Christmas buying needs.

But we did manage to have some fun this month. Tee and I both attended Authors After Dark in Savannah. It is a wonderful convention for a writer to attend, because you get a lot of quality time with readers. We took a group of charming readers out to lunch at the Pirate House. Wonderful place and wonderful company. We also got to hang out with Delilah S Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber some of our authors from Ministry Protocol. So all in all a great weekend! Next year it is in Charlotte and I highly recommend it.

Not done yet!

Oh yes, and we won an award. Tales from the Archives won a Parsec award for best anthology/magazine. This makes for three Parsecs in total for the podcast, and three Parsecs between Tee and I (one each, and then one together). It makes for a nice round number. Thanks to Kregg Steppe who picked up the award for us since it was presented at DragonCon.

Think that is the last of it…but I’ll try and keep more atop it.

Ministry Protocol- COVER REVEAL

A busy week rolls on, but this is an announcement I have been dying to share!
The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences novels are a multi-award winning steampunk series, which tells the story of the government agency committed to keeping citizens safe from the strange, the unusual, and the bizarre.

In a very successful Kickstarter in July, the Ministry Initiative was funded, allowing the creation of both a roleplaying game and a brand new anthology.

Ministry Protocol: Thrilling Tales from the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences is a collection of short stories that will take readers across the Empire and all over the world, revealing new facets of familiar characters and introducing new agents, allies, and enemies from the Ministry’s colourful history.

The authors of this globe-spanning anthology include Delilah S. Dawson, Leanna Renee Hieber, Alex White, Jared Axelrod, Tiffany Trent, Peter Woodworth, Jack Mangan, JR Blackwell, Dan Rabarts, Lauren Harris, Karina Cooper, and Glenn Freund from The League of S.T.E.A.M.

And one of the Ministry’s creators, Tee Morris, presents the origin story of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences itself.

Look for the ebook coming in August, with signed print editions to follow.

Feast your eyes on the cover art from the Ministry renaissance man, Alex White, and spread the word about the anthology by entering the giveaway.

Ministry Protocol

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kindred and Wings: RELEASE DAY

Kindred and WingsAnother week, and another series. Kindred and Wings is the sequel to the first book I got my agent with…so it’s dear to my heart.

It’s also the first time I found myself able to play with the concept of dragons, as well as a whole buffet of mythological creatures.

You can now buy it at your favourite brick and mortar, or online Amazon — Barnes & Noble — Kobo — Mysterious Galaxy

Apparently the first book, Hunter and Fox was well received…

Writing in a rich prose style, Philippa Ballantine has created some memorable characters who must explore who they are and decide what they can become. It all builds to a wonderful cliffhanger ending and I’ve already ordered my copy of the next in the series.
—San Francisco Book Review

[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….a recommended read for any fantasy fan.
—Miami Herald

and Kindred and Wings already has some wonderful feedback already

With all the details the author gives, I commend her vast imagination of a world that you are convinced could exist. There is enough detail to make it work.
—Books and Things

…ultimately this book boils down to personal conflict, and it’s at this level that the author’s abilities really shine.  The scene in the castle where Finn first encounters the shade of his mother, or when Kelanim is in the chapel of wings, not a word is wasted.  The sense of being there, of visualizing what was happening, was particularly strong.
—Adventures Fantastic

Here’s the blurb to entice you

On the back of the dragon Wahirangi, Finn the Fox flees the world he has known. As he sets out to find the brother he never knew of, he still holds in his heart the memory of the Hunter. He has denied his love for her, but he cannot deny it forever. In the halls of the Last Believers, Talyn begins to uncover her own mysteries, but her lust for the death of the Caisah is still strong and clouds her vision. She must choose her path, as the Seer of her people or as the assassin of the overlord. Meanwhile, Byre, Talyn’s brother, must venture into the fiery world of the Kindred, to rebuild the pact that his ancestors made. He will risk everything he is as he forms a new pact that will change his people forever. Dragons and myths will be reborn, as the Hunter and her Fox face each other once more.

So please, go buy the book, and help spread the word. More sales the more I can keep writing, and the more worlds I can build for us all to explore.

 

Harbinger RELEASE DAY

Harbinger cover by Jason ChanYes, today the book is out in the wild. The final book of the Order, with Sorcha, Raed and Merrick facing off against those that would tear the Empire apart. It also has a final kicking cover by Jason Chan.

Pick it up at your local brick and mortar, or at Amazon, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, or Mysterious Galaxy

I will also have a limited number of signed copies available on my Square Market.

WARNING: Slight spoiler ahead if you haven’t read the previous three books!

 

 

The Deacons of the Order are all that stand between the wicked spirits of the Otherside and the innocent citizens of the Empire. They are sworn to protect humanity, even when they cannot protect themselves…

After the Razing of the Order, Sorcha Faris, one of the most powerful Deacons, is struggling to regain control of the runes she once wielded. The Deacons are needed more desperately than ever. The barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead is weakening, and the Emperor has abandoned his throne, seeking to destroy those he feels have betrayed him.

Though she is haunted by the terrible truth of her past, Sorcha must lead the charge against the gathering hordes of geists seeking to cross into the Empire. But to do so, she will need to manipulate powers beyond her understanding—powers that may prove to be her undoing…

Don’t forget to review it and talk it up. The series may be over, but I have another in the works that my wonderful agent is currently pitching…yes, the writing rolls on!

All Squared Up

I love to travel around to conventions. It’s not only lots of fun to go new places, but I love meeting readers and listeners…and I love signing things.

Being a librarian still in my heart, it makes me smile to think of my autographed books on people’s shelves.

However, it is a sad fact that not everyone can make it to a convention, and I can’t be everywhere—so people often ask for a way to get books signed. I have used Paypal before to arrange selling signed copies, however, it has always been a bit of a finagle, of what I have in stock, or some people don’t like using paypal…

Well Tee and I have taken to using the Square when we go on conventions, so we can be our own little bookstore and don’t have to rely on the convention to have a book seller. It’s been neat and handy, but then I found out the Square folks are now running an online marketplace where you can sell stuff directly.

So I’ve set up a little store, where I can keep track of the stock I have, and those that are yearning for signed copies can get hold of them easily. I will even personalise them for you. They really make excellent gifts 🙂

Naturally, availability is based on what I have on my shelf, but I do always try and keep 5-10 copies of my own work in the house.

The only downside is Square does not do international sales, however email me if you are outside the US borders and I will still do the same deal, it’s just that shipping will be a little more.

The link is under Store above, but for now you can click on this handy dandy Square button and go there directly.

square_online

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 loved 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 are—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!