Anthologies

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    Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology released …

    6 Comments

    CarniepunkToday is release day for the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology that I am participating in along with several other authors. Huzzah!

    My story is called Parlor Tricks and is set in my Elemental Assassin world. In Parlor Tricks, Gin and Bria go to a country carnival in search of a missing girl and find some unexpected sights and danger along the way. My story is about 9,000 words long, and you can read an excerpt here.

    The book is available in print, e-book, and audio book formats through a variety of online retailers, including the following:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    Books-A-Million

    iTunes

    Audible (audio books)

    Here is the anthology description:

    A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals.

    The traveling carnival is a leftover of a bygone era, a curiosity lurking on the outskirts of town. It is a place of contradictions — the bright lights mask the peeling paint; a carnie in greasy overalls slinks away from the direction of the Barker’s seductive call. It is a place of illusion — is that woman’s beard real? How can she live locked in that watery box?

    And while many are tricked by sleight of hand, there are hints of something truly magical going on. One must remain alert and learn quickly the unwritten rules of this dark show. To beat the carnival, one had better have either a whole lot of luck or a whole lot of guns — or maybe some magic of one’s own.

    Featuring stories grotesque and comical, outrageous and action-packed, Carniepunk is the first anthology to channel the energy and attitude of urban fantasy into the bizarre world of creaking machinery, twisted myths, and vivid new magic.

    Pretty cool, huh? This was a fun project to be a part of, and I’m looking forward to reading all of the authors’ stories.

    CARNIEPUNK: PARLOR TRICKS FREE DOWNLOAD

    Carniepunk Parlor TricksTo help promote the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology, Parlor Tricks, my Elemental Assassin short story, is available as a free download. Huzzah!

    The cover for the e-download is shown at right, and it is very similar to the Carniepunk anthology cover above.

    I think this is a really cool promotional idea, and I’m happy that folks will be able to get a preview of the anthology. The e-download also features some short previews of the other stories in the anthology.

    Note that this is available as an e-story only — not in any print or audio versions. Here are some of the sites where you can download the free Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks story:

    Amazon

    Barnes & Noble

    iTunes

     Kobo

    Here’s the Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks description from Amazon:

    Come one! Come all! Witness Gin Blanco — aka the Elemental Assassin, aka the Spider — go toe to toe against the Esmerelda the Amazing’s Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns! Only at The Carnival of Wondrous Wonders!

    A free story from the forthcoming Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and also includes Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells. Samples of all fourteen tales are included to tantalize and to tease. Come to the Carniepunk midway and explore the creepy, mysterious, magical world of traveling carnivals today!

    Hope everyone enjoys the latest Gin short story and the entire anthology. Happy reading!

  • · · ·

    Updated summer release schedule …

    10 Comments

    I’ve got a lot of new stuff coming out this summer, so I thought that I would update everyone on what is coming out and when and share some of the pre-order links. Please note that all of these books/stories are not up for pre-order everywhere yet:

    ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SERIES

    Kiss of VenomJune 3 — Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks — An Elemental Assassin short story — available as a free e-download — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes / Kobo

    July 22 — Kiss of Venom — Elemental Assassin #8.5 e-novella from Owen’s point of view — e-book only — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iTunes 

    July 23 — Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology — Parlor Tricks will be included in the complete anthology — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes 

    Aug. 27 — Heart of Venom — Elemental Assassin #9 — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes 

    Note: Heart of Venom will also be available as an audio book through Audible, although it is not up for pre-order yet.

    MYTHOS ACADEMY SERIES

    June 25 — Spartan Frost — Mythos Academy #4.5 e-novella from Logan’s point of view — e-book only — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    July 30 — Midnight Frost — Mythos Academy #5 —
    Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes / Kobo

    Note: Midnight Frost also will be available as an audio book through Brilliance Audio, although it is not up for pre-order yet. You can also order various formats of the audio book through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.

    FINAL THOUGHTS

    The SpiderWhew! It’s shaping up to be the Summer of Estep. LOL. And I will have one more book out in 2013:

    Dec. 24 — The Spider — Elemental Assassin #10 — Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Books-A-Million / iTunes 

    Note: The Spider will also be available as an audio book through Audible, although it is not up for pre-order yet.

    Hope that everyone enjoys all of the books and e-stories this summer and then The Spider at the end of the year. Happy reading!

  • · ·

    Parlor Tricks (Carniepunk) story available as a free e-download …

    23 Comments

    Carniepunk Parlor TricksI have some cool news to share.

    To help promote the Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology that’s out on July 23, one of the short stories in the anthology is being offered as a free download — and that story is Parlor Tricks, my Elemental Assassin story. Huzzah!

    Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks is available as a free e-download starting today, June 3. The cover for the e-download is shown at right, and it is very similar to the Carniepunk anthology cover.

    I think this is a really cool promotional idea, and I’m happy that folks will be able to get a preview of the anthology.

    Here’s the Carniepunk: Parlor Tricks description from Amazon:

    Come one! Come all! Witness Gin Blanco—aka the Elemental Assassin, aka the Spider—go toe to toe against the Esmerelda the Amazing’s Wheel of Death and some dangerously creepy clowns! Only at The Carnival of Wondrous Wonders!

    A free story from the forthcoming Carniepunk urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and also includes Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells. Samples of all fourteen tales are included to tantalize and to tease. Come to the Carniepunk midway and explore the creepy, mysterious, magical world of traveling carnivals today!

    As I’ve said before, in Parlor Tricks, Gin and Bria go to a country carnival in search of a missing girl and find some unexpected sights and danger along the way. My story is about 9,000 words long, and you can read an excerpt here.

    Currently, I only see the e-story up at Amazon, but it will be available at all of the usual e-booksellers. So if the story is not up at your e-bookseller, then it should be available soon.

    Hope everyone enjoys the latest Gin short story and the anthology when it is published. Happy reading!

  • · · ·

    And the winners are …

    1 Comment

    The three winners of the Carniepunk ARCs are:

    Bethany

    Tiffany D.

    Twiser

    Congrats! You guys have until midnight, EST, Sunday, May 26 to e-mail me or I will pick other winners.

    Thanks again to my editor for letting me host the giveaway and to everyone who left a comment. I’m glad that folks are looking forward to the anthology. It’s been a cool project to be a part of, and I’m looking forward to reading all of the other authors’ stories. Happy reading, everyone!

  • · · ·

    Carniepunk ARC contest …

    62 Comments

    CarniepunkMy editor has generously offered to let me do a giveaway of three ARCs (advanced reading copies) of Carniepunk, the urban fantasy anthology that will be released on July 23.

    Here’s the anthology description:

    A star-studded urban fantasy anthology starring bestselling authors Rachel Caine, Jennifer Estep, Kevin Hearne, Seanan McGuire, and Rob Thurman, and including Delilah S. Dawson, Kelly Gay, Mark Henry, Hillary Jacques, Jackie Kessler, Kelly Meding, Allison Pang, Nicole D. Peeler, and Jaye Wells, whose stories explore the creepy, mysterious, and, yes, sometimes magical world of traveling carnivals.

    The traveling carnival is a leftover of a bygone era, a curiosity lurking on the outskirts of town. It is a place of contradictions — the bright lights mask the peeling paint; a carnie in greasy overalls slinks away from the direction of the Barker’s seductive call. It is a place of illusion — is that woman’s beard real? How can she live locked in that watery box?

    And while many are tricked by sleight of hand, there are hints of something truly magical going on. One must remain alert and learn quickly the unwritten rules of this dark show. To beat the carnival, one had better have either a whole lot of luck or a whole lot of guns — or maybe some magic of one’s own.

    Featuring stories grotesque and comical, outrageous and action-packed, Carniepunk is the first anthology to channel the energy and attitude of urban fantasy into the bizarre world of creaking machinery, twisted myths, and vivid new magic.

    Pretty cool, huh? This has been a really fun anthology to be a part of, and I hope that everyone enjoys it.

    Carniepunk is up for pre-order at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, iTunes, and other booksellers.

    CARNIEPUNK: PARLOR TRICKS

    My story in the anthology is called Parlor Tricks and is part of my Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series. In the story, Gin and Bria go to a country carnival in search of a missing girl and find some unexpected sights and danger along the way. My story is about 9,000 words long, and you can read an excerpt here.

    GIVEAWAY DETAILS

    To enter the Carniepunk ARC giveaway, just leave a comment on this post talking about which story in the anthology you are looking forward to or your favorite author in the anthology.

    The giveaway is open to those 18 and older, U.S and Canada only. The giveaway will run through midnight, May 22, EST. The winners will be announced here on the blog on Friday, May 24.

    Happy commenting!