Finally, I got around to an awards eligibility and recommendations list which includes things by other people, so here it is:

My stuff:

–The Red Scholar’s Wake (Gollancz in the UK, JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. in the US) is eligible for Best Novel.

–Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances from JABberwocky Literary Agency, Inc. aka “the murderbirds go babysitting” is eligible for Best Novella.

–“Sword of Bone, Hall of Thorns” in The Sunday Morning Transport, is eligible for Best Short Story.

If you enjoyed my work, I would love if you nominated it for awards: these always help visibility, and it’s been a rough few years in terms of that (thank you not thank you divorce, pandemic and the apparent implosion of twitter, sigh).

Both The Red Scholar’s Wake and Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances are on the BSFA longlist, and voting for that closes Feb 19th; meanwhile, Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances is on the Nebula Recommended Reading list. Voting is this way for the BSFA, and this way for the Nebulas.

-The artwork by Alyssa Winans (UK cover of The Red Scholar’s Wake) is eligible for Best Artwork, and it’s notably on the BSFA longlist. Would love to see that one recognised because Alyssa has been doing stellar work. See above for the voting link.

Things I liked from last year:

–“12 Things A Trini Should Know before Travelling to A Back In Times Fete ™”, RSA Garcia (Strange Horizons, short story): time travelling, slavery, and a sharp look at the dangers of the past.

-“can i offer you a nice egg in those trying times”, Iori Kusano (Uncanny Magazine, short story): portal stories, PTSD, and grief. Short and powerful.

–“Lily the Immortal”, Kylie Lee Baker (Uncanny Magazine, short story): simulations after death, bittersweet and poignant.

-“Papa Legba has entered the chat”, DaVaun Sanders (Fireside, short story): police brutality, technology and old dark magic.

–“Elsewhere, Elsewhere”, L. Chan (Giganotosaurus, short story): time magic, timeless love and timeless betrayals.

-The Sunday Morning Transport ed Julian Yap and Fran Wilde is eligible for Best Semiprozine. If you’d like to see what they publish: aside from my own “Sword of Bone, Hall of Thorns“, you can check this Yoon Ha Lee story they published last year which I absolutely loved.

Would also recommend checking out Sara A. Mueller’s The Bone Orchard for Best Novel which is court intrigue + Gothic decadence + whodunit!

 

I’m delighted to be taking part in this year’s Read for Pixels’ fundraiser, which aims to fight violence against women. The fundraiser just went up, and I’m offering a Parisian Bundle, which will let you curl up with The House of Shattered Wings, good food, and a print of gorgeous artwork by Likhain, featuring Françoise and Berith, two characters from The House of Binding Thorns (a Fallen and her mortal lover). You can also get a Skype call with me if you’re so inclined. And there are plenty of goodies from the likes of Laini Taylor, Mary Robinette Kowal, Michelle Sagara…

This weekend only, author Karen Rose is matching all donations up to $4000, so now’s the time for donating if you want to!

To support the fundraiser, I’ll be taking part in Read for Pixels’ Google Hangout on Sunday March 19th, 4pm Paris Time. I’ll be reading from my forthcoming The House of Binding Thorns: ruined and decadent Paris, magical intrigues, dragons in human shape, and kissing and stabbing (not necessarily in that order :p), and taking questions about my writing.

More info here, and access details to the livestream channel here.

Tor.com has published an excerpt of The House of Binding Thorns (chapter one, to be more specific). In which we return to the House of Hawthorn, its Fallen head Asmodeus, and to alchemist and angel essence addict Madeleine–aka “character in deep trouble” ^-^

Read Chapter One Online!

More book info here (coming your way April 2017 from Roc in the US and Gollancz in the UK/RoW!)

First reviews of The House of Binding Thorns are coming in… And Publishers’ Weekly gave it a starred review!

“Meddling gleefully in the affairs of devils and dragons, this affective sequel to 2015’s The House of Shattered Wings touches the heart as often as it cuts throats (…) Having fully crafted her world, de Bodard is now completely in control: she can move swiftly from gentle poetic touches to bloody Grand Guignol gestures, and she sure-handedly holds the reader by exposing the vulnerabilities and needs that drive even the seemingly all-powerful figures of rebel angels and ancient serpents to surrender to a higher collective power.”

Full review here.

More book info here! Coming quite soon now (sayth the author, hiding under the bed).

So, as promised, the giveaway results…
Congratulations to Clare Henry (who won the ARC), Asha Bardon (who won the HoSW paperback), Chesley Cox, Donna Kelly, Margo, Keith Manuel and Joanne Burrows (who won a set of House of Binding Thorns promo cards).

And also as promised: the food most people would miss in a post-magical-war Paris would seem to be viennoiseries (pain au chocolate and croissant) and cheese. I was really impressed by the Vietnamese food ones–some classics such as banh mi and pho, but also things like bun vit mang or nom hua chuoi! And nope, probably not happening in a post apocalyptic Paris, they’ve got enough trouble finding the fish sauce already °_°

Thank you very much for taking part, it was fun to read everyone’s entries 🙂

Should you want more info on House of Binding Thorns, it’s here. And, hum, if you didn’t win the ARC but happen to want to pre-order here are the links (again, I know it’s hard and not everyone can afford to buy, but it does help the book. It’s very much appreciated if you do preorder, and I should be able to announce the preorders rewards a bit later–hopefully early next year, with my publishers’ blessing)

Buy now

And here’s the Pinterest board for the book!

Follow Aliette’s board House of Binding Thorns on Pinterest.

And as promised, here’s the giveaway for one ARC of The House of Binding Thorns: ruined and decadent Paris, Fallen angels, alchemists, a dragon kingdom under invasion, and backstabbing aplenty! Open anywhere in the world–I’d of course much appreciate it if you could review the book on goodreads, for instance, (it does help the author *sheepish grin*).

I’ll close it next Thursday, and probably post some highlights of the food question as well.

Here are the promo cards:

(the HOUSE OF BINDING THORNS ones have got a random quote from the book at the back, the HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS ones come with both US and UK covers and have a pull quote)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The multi-award winning author of The House of Shattered Wings continues her Dominion of the Fallen saga as Paris endures the aftermath of a devastating arcane war…

As the city rebuilds from the onslaught of sorcery that nearly destroyed it, The Great Houses of Paris, ruled by fallen angels, still contest one another for control over the capital.

House Silverspires was once the most powerful, but just as it sought to rise again, an ancient evil brought it low. Phillippe, an immortal who escaped the carnage, has a singular goal—to resurrect someone he lost. But the cost of such magic may be more than he can bear.

In House Hawthorn, Madeleine the alchemist has had her addiction to angel essence savagely broken. Struggling to live on, she is forced on a perilous diplomatic mission to the underwater Dragon Kingdom—and finds herself in the midst of intrigues that have already caused one previous emissary to mysteriously disappear…

As the Houses seek a peace more devastating than war, those caught between new fears and old hatreds must find strength—or fall prey to a magic that seeks to bind all to its will.

For more information go here.

Buy now

And if you need more idea of what you’re in for, here’s the Pinterest board for the book:

Follow Aliette’s board House of Binding Thorns on Pinterest.

The dragon has decided, being Chinese, that it wants to hoard knowledge rather than gold.
Ok, ok, not much knowledge there unless you count a dark fantasy Gothic thriller as knowledge (I’m sure you’ll learn lots of things about Paris :p).

I’ll be setting up a giveaway but that’ll have to wait until next week as the house is currently in the throes of plague (aka norovirus plus laryngitis, a combo I heartily don’t endorse).

For more info about the book, go here.

And if you’d like to pre-order:

Buy now
(like last time, pre-order and/or buy in the first week after release and you’ll get something–I can’t give details yet but there will definitely be a reward to make it worth your while. Pre orders help me, the author, too, because they tell the publisher that readers are enthusiastic for the book and obviously I want to keep my publisher happy!)

Just a quick note that the UK paperback edition of The House of Shattered Wings is now out, and can be found in all good bookshops. This is the “gold foil” edition which also includes an exclusive short story, “The House in Winter”, set twenty years before the story and which, though standalone, sets up characters and situations for the standalone sequel The House of Binding Thorns (it’s in the manner of easter eggs: not compulsory to have read before reading book 2, but very nice to have!).

I’d obviously be really very grateful if you felt like checking it out/signal boosting/reviewing on amazon or goodreads, book sales having the importance they have, especially in the first few weeks after release… (I would normally have set up more promo stuff, but I have had literally zero energy for the past three months, for, er, obvious reasons *cough* newborn *cough* said newborn is doing fine but sleep remains an elusive thing, alas).

Buy Now

So we’re having a good holiday, albeit one that turns out to have no internet connection (I’m typing this on someone else’s very limited 3G allowance)… But you know, there’s sea, sand, sun (not a lot), wind (lots), and entirely too many buckwheat pancakes. And edits (which are nearing their end) on The House of Binding Thorns, the sequel to The House of Shattered Wings. 

And, also, the UK cover for The House of Binding Thorns! (involves more foil :p)

The House of Binding Thorns continues the epic story of the fallout of the war in heaven that saw the angelic Great Houses of Paris assaulted and torn apart by mistrust and betrayal in The House of Shattered Wings. Among the ruins of Paris the Great Houses, shaken to their foundations, now struggle to put themselves back together, as powerful forces, gods and angels, men and demons, begin to circle the once unassailable Houses.

So… backstabbing, diplomacy and ancestral magic in a decayed and dangerous Paris — you know you want this!

If you’ve read The House of Shattered Wings: yes, this will be focused on the House of Hawthorn, and will have a bunch of returning characters, notably angel essence addict Madeleine — and a bunch new ones too, a Houseless Annamite with a link to powerful, unusual angel magic and a kick-ass dragon prince with a talent for getting into major trouble.

The House of Binding Thorns will be out in April 2017 (we’re on track for finishing revisions soon, when I can finally be convinced to pry my hands from this manuscript and declare it done!): stay turned for more info (I don’t have the UK buy links yet, at least not firmly enough for me to feel confident to send you to them!)

Praise for the previous volume in the series, the award-winning The House of Shattered Wings:

A fantastical spy thriller that reads like a hybrid of le Carré and Milton, all tinged with the melancholy of golden ages lost.

Publishers Weekly (Starred Review, Top 10 Autumn SF/Fantasy/Horror Pick)

It’s a whirlwind, it’s heartbreaking, and it’s one of the best fantasy novels of 2015.

Jessie Potts, RT Book Reviews (RT Top Pick for August Fantasy)

THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS is a Gothic masterpiece of supernatural intrigues, loves and betrayals in a ruined and decadent future Paris — wildly imaginative and completely convincing, this novel will haunt you long after you’ve put it down.

Tim Powers, author of The Anubis Gates

THE HOUSE OF SHATTERED WINGS exists in a rich, evocative Paris that is thick with magical history. Pathos and beauty intertwine in a novel filled with longing.

Mary Robinette Kowal, Multiple-Hugo award winning author of the Glamourist Histories

 

An intense, beautiful, brutal journey written with an eye for the stunning, vivid detail and the cruel demands of duty, loyalty, and leadership. Its portrait of a ruined Paris ruled by fallen angels is one I won’t soon forget.

Kate Elliott, author of the Spiritwalker Trilogy

So, I just got those shiny things from Gollancz:

This is the UK paperback edition of The House of Shattered Wings, which includes “The House, in Winter”, an exclusive short story set twenty years before the book, during Asmodeus’s coup in House Hawthorn (yes, that’s the first paragraphs of said short story in the last picture). And will you look at all this shiny foil 🙂

To celebrate, I’m giving away 5 (signed) copies: all you have to do is enter below. Open worldwide, I’ll pick a winner in a week’s time. If you win I would obviously love it if you left a review on amazon/goodreads (which do help a lot), but that’s not an obligation, I know this is a large time investment!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The paperback is out in the UK on July 28th: you can preorder if you don’t win, or if you want to give me money *grin*

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And the synopsis, sorry:

Paris in the aftermath of the Great Magicians War. Its streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell, and the Seine runs black, thick with ashes and rubble. Yet life continues among the wreckage. The citizens retain their irrepressible appetite for novelty and distraction, and The Great Houses still vie for dominion over France’s once grand capital.