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.

Dreaming of Blister Creek

I had a dream last night that I was driving down from the Ghost Cliffs into the Blister Creek Valley. I'm vague on what I was hoping to do in Blister Creek, but I think I was trying to warn Jacob and Eliza of some emerging threat. It's almost like after eight books and all these years, my subconscious is saying "Hey, you'd better hurry and come up with the next book in the Righteous Series or you're going to miss your deadline!"

There is no longer a deadline to miss.

A view of the Ghost Cliffs, looking north from the valley.


The Ghost Cliffs don't exist, of course, and neither does the valley or the town. If you drive south from Panguitch, Utah on Highway 89, you'll find some interesting high desert scenery, but not Blister Creek. But I can certainly picture the place in my mind: the red rock maze of Witch's Warts, the neat, grid-like streets with their sprawling houses, the temple spire rising from the heart of town, the cemetery on the hill to the south. To the north, the red rock of the Ghost Cliffs, with forbidding mountain ranges framing the valley to the east and west.

I'll bet a few of you can picture it, too.

More Updates!

Not much blog action these days, it's true, but that's because I'm writing furiously to try to keep on top of all of my projects. I worked so hard on new books last year that I thought I might take it a little easier this year, but that's not to be.

It's all good, though, since this is because the Starship Blackbeard series is off to a good start. I'm only one step ahead of my readers, working at the moment on the second draft of book #3 of the series, Dreadnought. The books where you have all the time in the world come when nobody is much paying attention. I've been there, and it's not too much fun. I'll take anxious readers any day.

I've also been writing this series around other projects. Most notably, I'm about to publish the final book of The Dark Citadel series, War of Wizards, and I'm really happy how this turned out. As a reader, there have been times when it seemed like the writer got bored of the series and mailed in the last book(s), and I never want to do that. I'm still really close to the book, so it's hard to say for sure, but I think this is my favorite book of the series, and I like how it turned out enough that I'd really like to write another trilogy set in the same world. I just need to sell a few more books of the existing series so I can justify it financially.

Also, I've got two historicals scheduled to come out with Lake Union this year, and I had so much fun writing these that I've been turning over another idea for a historical that I'm going to tackle the first moment I have some spare time.

On to the next!

Lords of Space is back from my editor with the final corrections. Meanwhile, War of Wizards, the last book of the Dark Citadel series, is about to head out the door. I'm sure keeping my editor busy.

Meanwhile, I just heard from my dev editor at Lake Union that my Civil War novel is in edits and that will be coming back to me soon, too. I'm really excited about both of my Lake Union books, but of course with a more traditional publisher, the process moves a little slower. For example, my May, 2015 release, Crow Hollow, was finished about a year ago, and the Civil War book was finished in the summer. But I do love writing historicals. There's nothing like the feeling of immersing yourself for months at a time in a single historical period of time. I come out of my writing every day feeling almost like a time traveler.

Take a look at the original cover art for Lords of Space. Lorenz is doing a fantastic job. He's currently at work on the cover for book #3, and I can't wait to see it. I don't want to give spoilers, but I'm sure people who have read the first book have a good idea of what scene this will be representing.

Blood of the Faithful

Today is the official release date of the last book of the Righteous series, Blood of the Faithful. I have so many people who have been following me since the beginning on this long, strange journey. I have a lot I want to say about the book and the series in general, but nothing without massive spoilers! So that blog post will have to wait a few weeks until people are caught up. For now, I have mixed feelings. Blister Creek and its people have been such a part of my life over the last several years that I feel at least as sad to be finishing as I am happy.

Meanwhile, there's no getting off the treadmill. Not until someone offers me that million dollar contract, anyway. It's probably better this way. I never get to the end of the year and wish I written less. And I certainly didn't write less in 2014. I was working furiously on these two historicals for Lake Union when the year began, and even more furiously to get Starship Blackbeard off the launching pad at the end.

I've got to keep writing every single day or my readers will wander away to find someone else, all eleven of them. I'm joking (probably, hopefully). There are enough of you to keep the heat on and food on the table, for which I am very grateful.

Starship Blackbeard

My two existing series (The Righteous and The Dark Citadel) will be wrapped up in the first couple of months of the year, so it's time to start something new. The first book of Starship Blackbeard is now on pre-order, written and waiting publication. I've got a rough draft of book two finished, and a rough outline for book #3, so this thing is serious.

It's got pirates! And spaceships!  

This project has been a little bit of a secret as I've worked on it. I've been writing some dark stuff with the end of the world aspect of The Righteous Series, and the final climax of the fantasy series, and I wanted to do something fun. Of course I can't resist digging into characters, either, so it's not pure brain candy, but yeah, it is a little bit.

You can grab this book on pre-order now, and book #2 should be available in February, right before War of Wizards, the last book of The Dark Citadel.

Hell's Fortress Live and Available

Those of you who have been patiently (or not!) awaiting the next book in the Righteous series need wait no longer. Hell's Fortress has been officially released into the wild. Early feedback is positive, and I hope you enjoy reading it.

After this, only one more book to go!

Some Fun New Projects

After eight books with Thomas & Mercer, I've officially signed with T&M's sister imprint, Lake Union, to do two historical novels. Crow Hollow is set in 1676 Massachusetts in the aftermath of King Philip's War and will be published next May. The Crescent Spy takes place in New Orleans during the Civil War. No official date on that release yet, but it looks like November, 2015.

My new acquiring editor is fantastic, and they've given me my old dev editor, which is great. It's exciting to be trying some new stuff and maybe expanding my readership a bit. But I'm going to miss the team at T&M and hope to eventually do more books with them.

Those books are both written already. I'm currently working on the fifth book of The Dark Citadel Series, War of Wizards (you can preorder that here), and something that's a bit of a change of pace for me. I don't want to talk too much about that yet.

Wolves of Paris in Audio

One of my favorite books, The Wolves of Paris, has just come out in audio. I've been fortunate to have the extremely talented narrator Rosemary Benson do both this book and The Red Rooster in audio. She does a great job with the voices of both male and female characters, and her work has a certain gravitas that lends itself to historical work. Check out the sample!

Transitioning

We're only a few weeks out from the release of the next book of The Righteous Series, Hell's Fortress, and only a few more months after that until the final volume comes out. I'm excited about how they turned out. The last book, especially, is one of my favorites in the series.

It's funny how I'm feeling a let down that's mixed in with the enjoyment of having finished the story. After eight books, these people feel almost real to me, and seeing their story end is more difficult than I expected. I could almost walk through Blister Creek blindfolded; it feels as real to me as the actual small town I grew up in.

Meanwhile, I've been hard at work on other projects. I've signed up with Thomas & Mercer's sister imprint, Lake Union, for Crow Hollow, my historical set in Colonial New England. My acquiring and developmental editors have been really excited about the book. Lake Union might be taking on my Civil War Novel, as well. No official word on that, yet.

Beyond that, response to the fourth book of the Dark Citadel has been strong. I'm working on the fifth book, War of Wizards right now. Check out the cover. It's pretty cool. Sales are still nothing super thrilling, but they've picked up little by little, which I really appreciate. Instead of just a labor of love, it feels like something that won't be a financial sinkhole relative to other projects. That definitely makes it easier to pick up the pace of the writing.

The crazy thing is that this series will be wrapping up shortly, too, and I'll have more time to turn to other projects than I have in a long time. I've been managing to slip in side projects, but I've had to work around obligations.

The Warrior King

I've received a few emails from readers, so I know that Amazon has been doing a good job of getting the word out about the fourth book of The Dark Citadel Series, but in case you haven't seen it yet, here is where you can pre-order The Warrior King. I'd love to put up a pre-order page on B&N and iTunes, but the final book has to be loaded for that to happen and the book is still in drafts and won't be ready until pretty close to the release date.

The final book of the Righteous Series is delivered and with my developmental editor. This is not Hell's Fortress, being released this fall, but is scheduled for February, I think.

By the time summer rolls around I will have written four books in nine months, so I'll be taking a little R&R/research. I'm going to fill a longtime dream and travel to Ireland for three weeks. I'm hoping that traipsing around all those castles and ruins will give me some inspiration for the fantasy books as well as recharge the creative batteries.

Once I get back I've got a couple of different projects to attack and hope to finish 2014 as the most productive year ever.

Update on Writing Projects

Now that I'm a few weeks past the release of The Gates of Babylon, I've settled back into my writing routine. I've received a few emails lately wanting to know what I was working on next.

I have a good solid draft of the book I was working on over the winter, a historical thriller set in Boston in 1676. That was fun and different to write. I've also done three chapters and an outline of a Civil War spy novel that has been a lot of fun to work on. Both of these projects are being shown to my publisher for a project to work on after The Righteous series concludes next year. They said they were interested in historical stuff, so I jumped right on it. I read about 1,800 pages of Civil War stuff in two weeks and my head is about to burst.

Now I've got to pivot back to working on the eighth, and final book of The Righteous series. I should finish that in June. Book #7, Hell's Fortress, has a rudimentary page up on Amazon (no cover yet). That book is all finished with only a final round with my copy editor/proofreader before it's done.

After I finish the final book of The Righteous series, I'm going to swing back to my fantasy series again. Sales have picked up a little bit. Nothing to write home about, but it no longer feels like a fool's quest. I'm going to try to finish it in two more volumes, but I might need one more after that, depending on how things go. My head is bursting with ideas, and it's mainly a question of staying focused.

The Gates of Babylon Release

I'm excited that book #6 of The Righteous series, The Gates of Babylon, is finally available. I know a lot of my readers have been anxiously awaiting the continuation of the story, and early reviews are very encouraging. The story takes a bit of a new direction and while I felt good about it, I'm also too close to the story to be the best judge. I'm glad to see readers are also connecting.

If you're looking to give The Righteous series a try, the first book is currently only $2.99 for the Kindle. Where's the risk in that? :)

I've been asked a few times about the length of the series. There will be two more volumes. Book #7, Hell's Fortress, is already finished and in edits with my publisher. It has a release date of October and both my agent and editor have been really excited about it, so I'm hopeful my readers will also connect. I'm currently working on the final volume of the series (exciting, but a little sad, too), which I believe will be called Blood of the Faithful. My goal is to bring us in with as strong of an ending as I am capable of writing.

Of course, I won't suddenly stop writing. I have a bunch of other projects to work on, including a couple of historical thrillers, more books in the fantasy series, and hopefully, two more books to turn The Wolves of Paris into a trilogy. I just need a few more readers so I can justify it financially.

Be a Character in The Righteous Series

Here he is, the youngest member of the Compound, drawing the name of one lucky reader who will be arriving in Blister Creek at the end of the world. I'm getting ready to start work on the final book of the Righteous Series (don't worry, the other two are done and on their way!), and offered members of my new release mailing list the chance to become a named character in the series. I was surprised and pleased by the response, with over a hundred people offering themselves up as sacrificial victims.

The winner is Whit McQueen. Sounds like an ex-military guy to me, boots worn from hoofing it across the Southwest as civilization coughs up blood. Hungry, desperate. I haven't quite figured out how he'll end up in Blister Creek, or what he'll do when he gets there.

This was kind of fun. I think I'll do it again in the future.