Cover Reveal for The Red Sword #2

If you haven't picked up The Red Sword yet, it's still on its early release special price as of this post. Only 99¢, and it's enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, too, so you can even grab it for free if you are enrolled in that program.

The release of the second book, The Black Shield, is scheduled for the first week of October, so there's not long to wait. Sign up for my mailing list, and you'll get an alert when it's released.

Meanwhile, here is the cover for The Black Shield! A bit of a hint as to what you might expect to find in the last two books of the series. :)

Griffins, Wizardry, and Magic Swords

I'm back in the epic fantasy saddle with my new release. Magic swords, wizardry, griffins, dark sorcery -- all the elements of an epic fantasy story. The first book of the new trilogy has already released, and I'm pretty excited about it. The second is done and ready to go, and the last book of the trilogy just went off to my editor.

I can't give exact release dates on the last two books of the series yet, but they'll all be out within a few months, so there won't be long to wait. Meanwhile, I'm launching at only 99¢ to give my readers an early look. After two weeks, it goes to its regular price.

At only a buck, and FREE if you're in Kindle Unlimited, I hope you'll give The Red Sword a shot. As always, I like hearing from my readers, so drop me an email when you're done and let me know what you think.

The Year of Counting Souls

An American nurse behind enemy lines in World War II. A Japanese soldier with a secret. And a tough, lovable rogue of a street dog.

I'm excited about my new historical novel, The Year of Counting Souls. As always, Lake Union has given me a great cover, and I'm excited to see what my readers thing of it. I think it's one of my best, but you tell me what you think. I always like getting reader feedback!

Back Into the Void

I'm not sure if the void refers to my new sci-fi project or to the lack of oxygen on this blog, as it seems to apply equally.

Since my last post I've written four novels and published two, with two more books on pre-order, and another two still waiting for a home. I've got another WWII novel written, about an American nurse in the Philippines, but I don't yet have a contract for that. I'm hopeful, though, as reviews and sales of my two previous historicals are solid, albeit not spectacular.

If you follow my writing--and I'm super grateful to those readers who like my stuff enough to cross genre boundaries with me, from fantasy to sci-fi, to historicals and thrillers--here are the two most recent releases.

Victoria Crossing: Two young Irish immigrants claw their way up in 1850s New York City.
The Sentinel: A return to the Starship Blackbeard series, as the humans fight off a brutal alien threat.

The Sentinel is the first book of a new trilogy (check out the awesome covers by Lorenz Hideyoshi!), with all three books to be released this summer. It has been a fun project.

The Crescent Spy

My new historical novel, The Crescent Spy, is officially available for sale. I really loved writing this book and its boiling cauldron of tension playing out in the Civil War.

From the Booklist revew: 

Tense battle scenes, cutthroat newspaper politics, and a mysterious backstory complete for attention in the prolific Wallace’s latest.

 And from the Historical Novel Review:

The battle scenes are sharp and realistic, the descriptions of river life and New Orleans vivid, and her growing attraction to Frank adds spice to this engrossing novel.
 
I'm a little late on the announcement, as I was in Ecuador. Now that I'm back, I'm in the thick of things and writing again. I've finished initial work on The Red Sword, which will make readers of The Dark Citadel happy. There's some question as to who will be publishing it, so I have no official announcement yet. I've also started work on another historical novel set in WWII, this one taking place during the capture of the Philippines by the Japanese in 1942.

Writing Update

Hello my small but loyal cadre of blog readers. Sorry I haven't been updating this recently, but it has been a crazy summer, full of travel and promotion and trying to keep my head above water on various projects.

So what am I working on? First of all, Rebellion of Stars releases next week. It's the final book in the series, and it will be exciting to wrap up the saga of Captain Drake and his rebellious crew. We're not done with them, by any stretch, but I've got work to do before I pick up again, and this will resolve the big story with Admiral Malthorne. I really like how it turned out.

As for future releases, two more historicals are on their way. The first, Crescent Spy, is already available for pre-order. The second, Victoria Crossing, won't be out until summer, as it's wending its way through my publisher's editorial system. It will be exciting to see what Lake Union does with it. I've been very happy with how they've handled things so far, and I love my LU editors, cover people, and publicity department.

But if all that other stuff is done, what am I writing? Well, I don't want to share that with you, but let's say that one group of readers is likely to be very happy, and another will have their hopes disappointed. Until I can clone myself or stick to one genre, that's likely to be the case going forward. Sorry about that, but I hope you'll branch out from what you usually read and give some of my other stuff a try if you haven't already.

Crow Hollow

It's finally pub date! I've had a great early lift for Crow Hollow thanks to a great promotion through Amazon's Kindle First program, which allowed Amazon Prime members to get the book in the month before release. Now, it's time for the book to stand on its own.

This was an unusual book to write. At times, it felt like I was writing a fantasy novel, with the setting almost medieval, a clash of two alien cultures (Puritan and Native American), and a need for me to research old weapons and other technology.

Other times, the characters felt not so different from what you might find in the Righteous series. I wrote eight books for Thomas & Mercer set in desert polygamous sect of Blister Creek, and came to know those characters as well as those in my own family. The religious background of my Puritan and Quaker characters of Crow Hollow is very different, but at the same time, religion infuses everything they do. It is the reason for their entire community. That part felt very comfortable.

The truth is, I loved writing this book. Okay, I love writing all my books, but this one was especially enjoyable. You know that feeling you get when you read a historical that transports you so far away that you're disoriented putting it down and returning to the 21st century? I felt that way for days and weeks at a time. It was winter, and my house in New England was blanketed with heavy snows. I would light a fire at the stone fireplace every evening when I'd finished my writing and think about my stories and setting.

It's still early, but early reviews on Crow Hollow are promising. As a writer, there's nothing more wonderful than having your favorite work become a favorite with your readers.