Here’s me signing books at Ottawa’s Prose in the Park last week. I met some super interesting fellow authors and thoroughly enjoyed chatting to readers about the Embodied trilogy. Thanks to all those who came out!
yalit
Awesome review!
Authors never read reviews of their books. No way, Jose. Not in a million years. But if ever they totally by accident stumble upon one, they sure hope the review looks like this one, that appeared today on the Silver Dagger Scriptorium website.
New author website!
Thanks to the wonderful tools provided by Squarespace and a wee bit of time on my part, I now have a new author website! (And, judging by this photo, a bunch of old-school tech devices lying around in my office…)
As you’ll see, this site is all about my JB Dutton nom de plume, since I’ll be putting more focus over the next 12 months on other stories that feature the Embodied, as well as my dreadpunk series that will also be published under JB Dutton. I’m sending John B. Dutton out on a sabbatical and I hope he thoroughly enjoys it!
My first book tour!
Rather like one of my favourite literary characters, Don Quixote, I shall put on my suit of armour tomorrow morning and embark on a chivalrous quest, riding my trusty steed.
Okay, fine, just like the man from La Mancha, I’m letting my imagination get the better of me. But tomorrow morning I will drive my daughter to camp in my trusty Subaru and THEN… I shall be visiting the first of many stops on a month-long virtual tour of fantasy and science fiction book blogs.
Blog tours are a great way for a Young Adult author like me to get in touch with new readers and share some information about my books, my life and my writing. A tour is the online equivalent of travelling to a bunch of book stores across North America doing interviews and signing sessions.
During the tour, I’ll be promoting the new Embodied trilogy special edition ebook collection, which is out tomorrow. As the name suggests, it’s a 3-in-1 version of the entire series. But that’s not all! The reason it’s a special edition is that it also includes deleted scenes (basically an alternate ending) from Diamond Splinters, as well as a brand new foreword with author insights and a fun quiz/treasure hunt. As a bonus deal, for the duration of the tour, the trilogy ebook’s retail price is 20% off ($7.99 instead of $9.99).
Here’s the full tour schedule with details of what you can expect at each stop along the way. Thank you to the awesome Roxanne Rhoads at Bewitching Book Tours for organizing the whole thing. More dates may be added along the way. Now to grab my sword and shield…
July 11 Spotlight Share My Destiny http://sharemydestiny.blogspot.com July 12 Interview Deal Sharing Aunt http://dealsharingaunt.blogspot.com/ July 13 Interview Roxanne’s Realm http://www.roxannerhoads.com/ July 14 Interview and review Happy Tails and Tales Blog http://happytailsandtales.blogspot.com July 15 Spotlight 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, and Sissy, Too! http://3partnersinshopping.blogspot.com/ July 18 Interview Fang-tastic Books http://fang-tasticbooks.blogspot.com/ July 19 Spotlight Lisa’s World of Books http://www.lisasworldofbooks.net/ July 20 Spotlight Zenny's Awesome Book Reviews https://zennysawesomebookreviews.wordpress.com/ July 22 Interview Urban Fantasy Investigations http://urbanfantasyinvestigations.blogspot.com/ July 25 Guest Blog/Top Ten List The Creatively Green Write at Home Mom http://creativelygreen.blogspot.com/ July 27 Interview Sharon Buchibinder http://sharonbuchbinder.blogspot.com/ July 28 Spotlight JeanzBookReadNReview http://jeanzbookreadnreview.blogspot.co.uk/ July 29 Review Romance Authors That Rock https://pratr.wordpress.com/ August 1 Spotlight and review The Silver Dagger Scriptorium http://silver-dagger-scriptorium.weebly.com/ August 2 Interview The Violent Vixen theviolentvixen.blogspot.com August 3Interview Diane’s Book Blog http://dianes-book.blogspot.com August 4 Interview House of Books http://www.house-of-books.com August 5 Spotlight Ramblings of a book nerd www.booknerdramblings.com August 8 Spotlight T's Stuff http://teresanoel.blogspot.com/
I said it would be out next month. I lied.
It’s what fiction writers do, see? We lie. And the paperback version of Diamond Splinters is already available from Amazon right here even though I promised it would be out next month.
Next up, a single-volume collection of the entire trilogy. Promise…
Diamond Splinters for Nook, Kobo and iPad (or iPhone, obvi…)
For most indie authors, all the focus is on Amazon. Kindle sales account for somewhere around 85% of all ebooks. Of course by no stretch of the imagination can Apple possibly be considered “the little guy”, but people don’t only buy apps and songs from iTunes, they buy books too. In Canada, where I live, the Kobo ereader is a surprisingly popular device for the consumption of digital literature, and it’s pretty much the equivalent of Barnes & Noble’s Nook in the US.
So… with only three days to go until the release of Diamond Splinters, it’s time to give a shout-out to the other platforms.
Here’s a link to the book for iOS devices:
Fancy a Nook book full of Diamond Splinters? Here you go:
And last but by no means least, here’s where you can find the final book in the Embodied trilogy for Kobo:
If you like science fiction with a big dash of urban fantasy, or are a fan of Doctor Who’s blend of soft sci-fi, extra-terrestrial feels and savvy female characters, then I think there’s a good chance you’ll love all the books in the Embodied trilogy.
Call for beta readers!
The Embodied trilogy of urban fantasy-science fiction YA novels is almost complete. As you can see in the image below, I’ll be revealing the name and cover of book 3 on April 4th. I’m now looking for beta readers for the entire trilogy, which includes new editions of books 1 and 2: Silent Symmetry and Starley’s Rust.
So… the first 50 people who sign up for my mailing list or email me (johnbduttonauthor@gmail.com) will receive a FREE ebook of the entire Embodied trilogy to read and give feedback on if they have any.
This is a very cool opportunity for fans of the genre who haven’t read the first two novels to catch up, and for followers of the series to get in on the action before the thrilling conclusion is released to the general public.
Thanks!
A great way to start a trilogy
From now until the end of November, book 1 of the Embodied trilogy of Young Adult fantasy-sci-fi novels, Silent Symmetry, is priced at only 99 cents or 99 pence for the Kindle ebook. (Due to international currency shenanigans, the book is $1.32 in Canada.)
But there’s more! This weekend, subscribers to my eNewsletter will be receiving a special coupon code for 33% off the second ebook in the series, Starley’s Rust. So sign up by clicking here – it takes about 15 seconds – and you’ll receive hot-off-the-press news about my upcoming work in your inbox every couple of months, plus exclusive offers like this.
Silent Symmetry has received some great independent reviews, with people saying things like, “I’ve never read about such mysterious creatures before and this book had that and more,” “I loved the natural way the author wove the tale, interlaced with questions resolving and mysteries uncovered. Even the ending left questions begging for a sequel,” and “I would recommend it, not only to my young adult friends, but my adult friends as well.”
The paperback version of Silent Symmetry. Click on the image to go to the ebook’s Amazon.com page.
Starley’s Rust has received acclaim from Broken Pencil Magazine: “Dutton is in his element crafting together a sci-fi adventure with a good blend of sincerity and humour that, without such a fine balance, can be the downfall of any YA fiction,” and CM Magazine: “Imaginative concepts, and well-written … this trilogy should appeal to readers looking for an unusual thriller. Four stars out of four.”
The mysteriously untitled final novel in the trilogy is with my editor right now and will be out in early 2016.
An agent query letter that brought home the six-figure bacon!
Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency has kindly shared the query letter by author Scott Reintgen that convinced her to sign him. I’m guessing Scott was already pretty happy about that. But when Kristin brokered a mid-six-figure deal with Crown Books for Young Readers for Scott’s debut science fiction young adult trilogy, he must have been ecstatic.
Use the link above to read the full query letter that Scott sent Kristin and with one click on the Send button propelled his career into the stratosphere!
Hot Frankfurters!
Here’s the Publishers Weekly scoop on the hot titles and authors being represented by literary agencies at the upcoming Frankfurt Book Fair.
By KJohansson (Own work) [GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or FAL], via Wikimedia Commons
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