GUEST POST | Karen Miller author of The Reluctant Mage

Breaking up is hard to do.

And so, with this month’s Orbit hardcover release of The Reluctant Mage, book 2 of the Fisherman’s Children duology, I’ve come to the end of the story that began five years ago now with The Innocent Mage.

Actually, truth be told, it began before that. The Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology was bought by HarperCollins Australia in late 2003, with The Innocent Mage being published locally in 2005. But the actual seed of the idea at the heart of the story sprouted some ten or so years before that.

So really, I’ve been living with Asher and Gar and Dathne and Matt and Pellen and Morg for many, many years. And I have to say, finally bidding them farewell when I wrote ‘The End’ on the last manuscript page of The Reluctant Mage was a darn sight more difficult than I’d ever anticipated. And not only them – the Fisherman’s Children duology saw some new characters stride onto the stage – Deenie and Rafel and Charis and Arlin and Ewen and Tavin – and I fell in love with them, too.

It was a wrench saying goodbye to everyone. Such a wrench, in fact, that I kept adding one more scene, one more scene, just a bit, just a bit, because I couldn’t bear to say goodbye! I know them so well, and I care about them so much, it just felt wrong to be walking away. Which might well sound crazy, but you have to be a little bit crazy if you’re going to play this game.

The Mad Hatter’s Michael asked me if these books, these characters, have changed my life … and if so, how.

Well. Let me count the ways!

Before The Innocent Mage was published I was a hungry aspiring novelist, dreaming of reaching a wide audience with this story that had lived inside me for years, never letting go of me even though I tried to let go of it a couple of times. Just getting the nod on the sale, making that first amazing sale, that changed me. It changed my perception of me – I was no longer aspiring, I was pre-published, and my often faltering confidence got an enormous boost.

But even so, there were jitters. Getting a contract is wonderful, but the book actually selling well enough that a publisher will take a risk on you again? That’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax. Publishing is a very odd business, without any rhyme or reason. Basically it’s one big gamble, and all you can do is cross your fingers and wish on an entire galaxy of stars that you’ll be one of the lucky ones.

And I was incredibly lucky. The Innocent Mage sold well in Australia, and as a result was bought for UK publication by Orbit. To my enormous surprise – and great pleasure – The Innocent Mage became the most successful UK debut fantasy novel of 2007. In 2008 it was chosen as one of the titles to launch Orbit US, and again fared extremely well. The follow-up volume, The Awakened Mage, also sold well and my next project, the Godspeaker trilogy, was accepted for publication.

And not just that. Because of those first two Kingmaker, Kingbreaker books I was given the enormous privilege of writing in the Star Wars universe, sold the Rogue Agent series under my pen name KE Mills, was able to go back to Lur with the Fisherman’s Children duology and have recently signed a new deal with Orbit for a 5-book epic fantasy saga called The Tarnished Crown Quintet. I now have the rare luxury of doing what I love for a living – and that’s thanks to The Innocent Mage.

Seriously, there are many, many days when I have to stop and convince myself that yes, this really is my life!
I think I’m a better writer now than when I started, and that’s because being part of the publishing cycle exposes you to a lot of criticism, a lot of feedback, the professional kind, that an aspiring novelist doesn’t get. It also exposes you to reader feedback, and while that can sometimes be a bit confronting it can also really help you develop as a writer – if you can grow a thick enough skin fast enough! Readers have no vested interest in keeping you happy. They’ve bought your book, and with it have purchased the right to say whatever they like about the work, however they feel like saying it! Some of the best writing advice I’ve ever received has been from readers, who were honest and blunt and absolutely right. I owe them a great deal.

Michael also asked me if the characters in my books were like my children. I have to say no, they’re not. If they were I don’t think I could kill so many of them off with such ruthless abandon! To me, characters – and this is all characters, not just mine but the ones other people create, that I love – are totally real people who just happen to live in another dimension. They live, they love, they fight, they make up, make mistakes, make sacrifices, redeem themselves and live happily ever after – or not -- just like the people of Earth do. I just get to eavesdrop on them.




When I start a book sometimes I know the people in it really well from the beginning, like Asher, and sometimes I get to know them through the process of discovering the story. Sometimes they burst onto the stage and sometimes they sneak up on me while my back is turned. There are two new characters in The Reluctant Mage, Ewen and Tavin, and they really did surprise me. Seriously, I just fell head over heels in love with both of them. I’m so hoping everyone else does too.

I said at the start of this ramble that with the publication of The Reluctant Mage I’d bid farewell to the land of Lur and the people who live there … but that’s not quite true. Right now I’m deep in the throes of writing A Blight of Mages, which is a stand alone prequel to the entire saga. It tells the story of Morgan and Barl, who were ultimately responsible for what happened in the four Mage books. It’s a real challenge, but I’m having a lot of fun with it.

The last five years have been such a roller coaster ride, I can’t tell you. I’ve worked harder that I ever have before, even when I had my own business. I’ve known the heights of elation and the utter depths of despair. I’ve met some truly amazing readers, some fabulous, fabulous writers, and been given opportunities it’s sometimes hard to believe I deserve. All because I had an idea for a book.

Life really is very odd … and I love it.


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REVIEW | The Prodigal Mage by Karen Miller
INTERVIEW | Karen Miller author of The Prodigal Mage
Cover Unveiled for Karen Miller's The Reluctant Mage

LOOKING FORWARD | Fantasy Books to Watch for in 2010

Fantasy releases in 2010 are looking to be just as strong as they were in 2009 with Jasper Fforde, Brent Weeks, Karen Miller, and Brandon Sanderson all checking in with new books and 3 out of 4 of those with series debuts.  Debut books are also looking to be strong as well with the much buzzed Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes and Spellwright by Blake Charlton.  If you haven't heard of either author take note and follow their entertaining twitters.  Many UK hits of 2009 from the likes of Adrian Tchaikovsky and Mark Charan Newton are now getting US publications with the former getting 3 books published over 3 months from Pyr. All in all this should be a busy year between this list, my Sci-Fi, UF, Steampunk and Anthology lists. I say bring it on!  I'm sure I'll find a few other gems along the way and keep in mind most publishers have only announced books up until August or September so the end of 2010 rush should have some blockbusters as well.  Martin or Lynch anyone?

JANUARY

Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde - Series Debut
Release Date: December 29th  |  Publisher: Viking

Fforde's books always seem unclassifiable and that is no different with Shades of Grey.  I have read it and will post my review shortly, but let's just say it was just as incredible as Thursday Next only sufficiently different and is without a doubt one of the best dystopian books I've ever read.

Part social satire, part romance, part revolutionary thriller, Shades of Grey tells of a battle against overwhelming odds. In a society where the ability to see the higher end of the color spectrum denotes a better social standing, Eddie Russet belongs to the low-level House of Red and can see his own color—but no other. The sky, the grass, and everything in between are all just shades of grey, and must be colorized by artificial means.

Eddie's world wasn't always like this. There's evidence of a never-discussed disaster and now, many years later, technology is poor, news sporadic, the notion of change abhorrent, and nighttime is terrifying: no one can see in the dark. Everyone abides by a bizarre regime of rules and regulations, a system of merits and demerits, where punishment can result in permanent expulsion.

Eddie, who works for the Color Control Agency, might well have lived out his rose-tinted life without a hitch. But that changes when he becomes smitten with Jane, a Grey Nightseer from the dark, unlit side of the village. She shows Eddie that all is not well with the world he thinks is just and good. Together, they engage in dangerous revolutionary talk.

Stunningly imaginative, very funny, tightly plotted, and with sly satirical digs at our own society, this novel is for those who loved Thursday Next but want to be transported somewhere equally wild, only darker; a world where the black and white of moral standpoints have been reduced to shades of grey.

The Many Deaths of the Black Company by Glen Cook

Release Date: January 5  |  Publisher: Tor

The latest Black Company omnibus comprises of Water Sleeps and Soldiers Live.  I might have to give this series another try.  I read the first book and only thought it was okay, not a close friend is now in love with the series so we'll see.

“Let me tell you who I am, on the chance that these scribblings do survive. . .

“I am Murgen, Standardbearer of the Black Company, though I bear the shame of having lost that standard in battle. I am keeping these Annals because Croaker is dead, One–Eye won’t, and hardly anyone else can read or write. I will be your guide for however long it takes the Shadowlanders to force our present predicament to its inevitable end....”

The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman - Series Debut

Release Date: January 10 (UK) / June 15 (US)  | Publisher: Michael Joseph (UK) / Dutton (US)

'Listen. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers on Shotover Scarp is named after a damned lie for there is no redempt ion that goes on there and less sanctuary'. The Sanctuary of the Redeemers is a vast and desolate place - a place without joy or hope. Most of its occupants were taken there as boys and for years have endured the brutal regime of the Lord Redeemers whose cruelty and violence have one singular purpose - to serve in the name of the One True Faith. In one of the Sanctuary's vast and twisting maze of corridors stands a boy. He is perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old - he is not sure and neither is anyone else. He has long-forgotten his real name, but now they call him Thomas Cale. He is strange and secretive, witty and charming, violent and profoundly bloody-minded. He is so used to the cruelty that he seems immune, but soon he will open the wrong door at the wrong time and witness an act so terrible that he will have to leave this place, or die. His only hope of survival is to escape across the arid Scablands to Memphis, a city the opposite of the Sanctuary in every way: breathtakingly beautiful, infinitely Godless, and deeply corrupt. But the Redeemers want Cale back at any price...not because of the secret he now knows but because of a much more terrifying secret he does not.

++++++++++

FEBRUARY

The Ruling Sea by Robert V. S. Redick

Release Day:: February 16  |  Publisher Del Rey

Sequel to The Red Wolf Conspiracy and publishing as The Rats and the Ruling Sea in the UK. 

The great ship Chathrand''s mission of peace was a lie. Now Thasha Isiq and her allies, including the deckhands Pazel and Neeps, must contrive a way to stop the spies and sorcerers intent on launching a worldwide war. But beyond the island of Simja, where powers hidden even from the treasonous conspirators are massing their forces, the Ruling Sea awaits: the greatest ocean in the world, so large that no other ship can cross it, a sea whose southern reaches border lands unknown. And in the crossing, a still darker terror waits in the belly of the ship to be born.

Horns by Joe Hill

Release Date: February 16 | Publisher: William Morrow

Ignatius Perrish spent the night drunk and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with one hell of a hangover, a raging headache . . . and a pair of horns growing from his temples. Once, Ig lived the life of the blessed: born into privilege, the second son of a renowned American musician, and the younger brother of a rising late-night TV star, Ig had security and wealth and a place in his community. Ig had it all, and more - he had the love of Merrin Williams, a love founded on shared daydreams, mutual daring, and unlikely midsummer magic. Then beautiful, vivacious Merrin was gone - raped and murdered, under inexplicable circumstances - with Ig the only suspect. He was never tried for the crime, but in the court of public opinion, Ig was and always would be guilty. Now Ig is possessed with a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look, and he means to use it to find the man who killed Merrin and destroyed his life. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. It's time for a little revenge; it's time the devil had his due.

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin - Debut / Series Debut
Release Date: February 25  |  Publisher: Orbit

What little I've heard about this series has been wonderful so it will be a must to check out.

Yeine Darr is heir to the throne of the Hundred Thousand Kingdoms. She is also an outcast. Until, that is, her mother dies under mysterious circumstances.

Summoned by her grandfather to the majestic city of Sky, Yeine finds herself thrust into a vicious power struggle for the throne. As she fights for her life, she comes ever closer to discovering the truth about her mother’s death and her family’s bloody history – as well as the unsettling truths within herself.

With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, Yeine will learn how perilous it can be when love and hate are bound inseparably together, for both mortals and gods alike.

++++++++++

MARCH

Spellwright by Blake Charlton - Debut / Series Debut
Release Date: March 2  | Publisher: Tor

Really looking forward to this one, especially after Aidan's wonderful interview with Charlton.

Nicodemus is a young, gifted wizard with a problem. Magic in his world requires the caster to create spells by writing out the text . . . but he has always been dyslexic, and thus has trouble casting even the simplest of spells. And his misspells could prove dangerous, even deadly, should he make a mistake in an important incantation.

Yet he has always felt that he is destined to be something more than a failed wizard. When a powerful, ancient evil begins a campaign of murder and disruption, Nicodemus starts to have disturbing dreams that lead him to believe that his misspelling could be the result of a curse. But before he can discover the truth about himself, he is attacked by an evil which has already claimed the lives of fellow wizards and has cast suspicion on his mentor. He must flee for his own life if he’s to find the true villain.

But more is at stake than his abilities. For the evil that has awakened is a power so dread and vast that if unleashed it will destroy Nicodemus... and the world.

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt 1) by Adrian Tchaikovsky - Debut / Series Debut
Release Date: March 23 | Publisher: Pyr

From what I've heard this does have a Steampunk angle as well, but is more akin to Fantasy, which is why I left it on this list.  The covers for the whole series are looking spectacular. 

The Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art, and now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over.

Books 2 and 3 in the series are going to be published consecutively with book 2 Dragonfly Falling on April 27 and book 3 Blood of the Mantis on May 25.

++++++++++

APRIL

Tome of the Undergates by Sam Sykes - Debut / Series Debut
Release Date: April (UK) / Fall (US)  |  Publisher Gollancz (UK) \ Pyr (US)

This is one of the highest buzzed Fantasy novels of 2010 so far and I hope it lives up to it.  As Gollancz put it:

It is the debut novel from an extraordinarily talented twenty-five-year-old author. Fantasy's next global star has arrived.

Lenk can barely keep control of his mismatched adventurer band at the best of times (Gariath the dragon man sees humans as little more than prey, Kataria the Shict despises most humans, and the humans in the band are little better). When they're not insulting each other's religions they're arguing about pay and conditions.

So when the ship they are travelling on is attacked by pirates things don't go very well. They go a whole lot worse when an invincible demon joins the fray. The demon steals the Tome of the Undergates - a manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates. And whichever god you believe in you don't want the undergates open. On the other side are countless more invincible demons, the manifestation of all the evil of the gods, and they want out.

Full of razor-sharp wit, characters who leap off the page (and into trouble) and plunging the reader into a vivid world of adventure this is a fantasy that kicks off a series that could dominate the second decade of the century.

Fantasy’s newest star has arrived. A manuscript that contains all you need to open the undergates has been stolen. And you don’t want the undergates open. On the other side are countless invincible demons, and they want out. Lenk and his misfit companions have to get it back.

Under Heaven by Guy Gavriel Kay
Release Date: April 27 | Publisher: ROC

Shen Tai is the son of a general who led the forces of imperial Kitai in the empire’s last great war against its western enemies, twenty years before. Forty thousand men, on both sides, were slain by a remote mountain lake. General Shen Gao himself has died recently, having spoken to his son in later years about his sadness in the matter of this terrible battle.

To honour his father’s memory, Tai spends two years in official mourning alone at the battle site by the blue waters of Kuala Nor. Each day he digs graves in hard ground to bury the bones of the dead. At night he can hear the ghosts moan and stir, terrifying voices of anger and lament. Sometimes he realizes that a given voice has ceased its crying, and he knows that is one he has laid to rest.

The dead by the lake are equally Kitan and their Taguran foes; there is no way to tell the bones apart, and he buries them all with honour.

It is during a routine supply visit led by a Taguran officer who has reluctantly come to befriend him that Tai learns that others, much more powerful, have taken note of his vigil. The White Jade Princess Cheng-wan, 17th daughter of the Emperor of Kitai, presents him with two hundred and fifty Sardian horses. They are being given in royal recognition of his courage and piety, and the honour he has done the dead.

You gave a man one of the famed Sardian horses to reward him greatly. You gave him four or five to exalt him above his fellows, propel him towards rank, and earn him jealousy, possibly mortal jealousy. Two hundred and fifty is an unthinkable gift, a gift to overwhelm an emperor.

Tai is in deep waters. He needs to get himself back to court and his own emperor, alive. Riding the first of the Sardian horses, and bringing news of the rest, he starts east towards the glittering, dangerous capital of Kitai, and the Ta-Ming Palace – and gathers his wits for a return from solitude by a mountain lake to his own forever-altered life.

++++++++++

JUNE

Nights of Villjamur by Mark Charan Newton (US) - Series Debut

Release Date: June 1 | Publisher: Spectra

I've been very close to ordering the UK version since I've heard so many good things, but with the US release around the corner I'll wait it out, especially since the sequel City of Ruin is still due out.

Political intrigue and dark violence converge in a superb new action series of enthralling fantasy. An ice age strikes a chain of islands, and thousands come to seek sanctuary at the gates of Villjamur: a city of ancient spires and bridges, a place where banshees wail the deceased, cultists use forgotten technology for their own gain and where, further out, the dead have been seen walking across the tundra.When the Emperor commits suicide, his elder daughter, Rika, is brought home to lead the Jamur Empire, but the sinister Chancellor plans to get rid of her and claim the throne for himself. Meanwhile a senior investigator in the city inquisition must solve the high-profile and savage murder of a city politician, whilst battling evils within his own life, and a handsome and serial womanizer manipulates his way into the imperial residence with a hidden agenda. When reports are received that tens of thousands of citizens are dying in a bizarre genocide on the northern islands of the Empire, members of the elite Night Guard are sent to investigate. It seems that, in this land under a red sun, the long winter is bringing more than just snow.

Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk - Debut / Series Debut

Release Date: June 22  |  Publisher: Pyr

Caim makes his living on the edge of a blade, but when a routine job goes south, he is thrust into the middle of an insidious plot. Pitted against crooked lawmen, rival killers, and sorcery from the Other Side, his only allies are Josephine, the socialite daughter of his last victim, and Kit, a guardian spirit no one else can see. To unmask a conspiracy at the heart of the empire, he must claim his birthright as the Shadow's Son....

The Office of Shadow by Matt Sturges

Release Date: June 22 | Publisher: Pyr

The follow-up to Midwinter should be another fun adventure with some interesting characters that I enjoyed immensely in the first volume.  This time the action focuses on Silverdun, which should mix things up a bit.

Midwinter has gone, but that cold season has been replaced by a cold war in the world of Faerie, and this new kind of war requires a new kind of warrior.

Seelie forces drove back Empress Mab at the Battle of Sylvan, but hostilities could resume at any moment. Mab has developed a devastating new weapon capable of destroying an entire city, and the Seelie have no defense against it. If war comes, they will almost certainly be defeated.

In response, the Seelie reconstitutes a secret division of the Foreign Ministry, unofficially dubbed the "Office of Shadow," imbuing it with powers and discretion once considered unthinkable. They are a group of covert operatives given the tasks that can't be done in the light of day: secretly stealing the plans for Mab's new weapon, creating unrest in the Unseelie Empire, and doing whatever is necessary to prevent an unwinnable war.

The new leader of the "Shadows" is Silverdun. He's the nobleman who fought alongside Mauritane at Sylvan and who helped complete a critical mission for the Seelie Queen Titania. His operatives include a beautiful but naïve sorceress who possesses awesome powers that she must restrain in order to survive and a soldier turned scholar whose research into new ways of magic could save the world, or end it.

They'll do whatever is required to prevent a total war: make a dangerous foray into a hostile land to retrieve the plans for Mab's weapon; blackmail a king into revolting against the Unseelie Empire; journey into the space between space to uncover a closely guarded secret with the power to destroy worlds.

++++++++++

JULY

The Reluctant Mage by Karen Miller
Release Date: July 28  |  Publisher: Orbit

This is really the 2nd half of a long story following the events of The Prodigal Mage in the world that started with The Innocent Mage.

Nine months have passed since Rafel disappeared in the expedition over the mountains. Deenie, now eighteen, starts having disturbing dreams about her brother. She comes to believe he's not dead after all, but is in trouble and needs her help.

She enlists the aid of her friend Charis, and the girls hatch a plan to escape from Lur. They succeed and survive the hazardous journey round the coastline past the mountains. But to their dismay, they discover that the lands beyond Lur are blighted with lawlessness and chaos. The remnants of Morg's consciousness that survived his death splintered at his downfall and sought refuge in whatever bodies could be found to host them.

Throughout their travels and adventures they get some answers about the other lost expeditions, and keep hearing about one fearsome mage whose stronghold is in the blighted near-mythical land of Dorana. Deenie knows this is her brother - and that Rafel is not only in danger, but has become dangerous. If he's not stopped he could become a threat to the whole world. Perhaps even another Morg.

++++++++++

AUGUST

The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson - Series Debut
Release Date: August 17  |  Publisher TOR

The Way Of Kings introduces the three protagonists who will be our windows on the strange and wondrous world of Roshar and the drama about to unfold there:

• Dalinar, the assassinated king’s brother and uncle of the new one, is an old soldier who is weary of fighting.
He is plagued by dreams of ancient times and legendary wars, visions that may force him into a new role he could never have imagined.
• Merin, a highborn young man who has been brought low, indeed to the most miserable level of military slavery, and like Ben Hur must suffer and struggle to survive and rise again.
• Shallan, a naïve but brave and brilliant young woman who will do anything to save her impoverished noble house from ruin.

These are people we will come to know deeply and take to our hearts. But just as important to The Way Of Kings is a fourth key ‘character,’ the unique world of Roshar itself, a richly imagined setting as real as science fiction’s Dune, as unforgettable as epic fantasy’s Middle Earth. Through all the volumes of The Stormlight Archive, Brandon Sanderson will make Roshar a realm we are eager to visit.

The Black Prism by Brent Weeks - Series Debut
Release Date: August 25  |  Publisher: Orbit

The first in a new series from Brent Weeks has me excited.  I do love color magic and I'm anxious to see Weeks's take on it.  There are numerous descriptions around the net that Weeks said are all partially wrong or reveal too much.  If you search my site you'll find some.

++++++++++

SEPTEMBER

The Dark Commands by Richard K. Morgan
Release Date: September 14  |  Publisher: Del Rey

Sequel to The Steel Remains, which I'll finally be cracking sometime in the New Year.

Ringil, Egar and Archeth are back. In a world still cursed by slavery, a corrupt aristocracy and a vicious church, justice is in short supply.

Richard Morgan brings his trademark visceral writing style, turbo-driven plotting and thoughtprovoking characterisation to the fantasy genre, producing a follow-up to his first foray into fantasy, and taking Ringil and Co. on the beginnings of a hopeless quest.

++++++++++

OCTOBER

The Tales of Odd by Neil Gaiman
Release Date: October 4 (UK)  |  Publisher: Bloomsbury

This edition comprised of an entirely new Odd story in addition to the already released Odd and the Frost Giants.  No US date has been announced yet for the new story.

The two stories in this exciting novella follow the adventures of the intrepid young Viking Odd. As a brave and solitary twelve-year-old, in the first tale, he endeavours to free three Norse Gods trapped in the bodies of an eagle, a bear and a fox; then, in the second, a few years older, taller and stronger he sets off on a testing and epic journey to the Holy City of Jerusalem. But of course with Neil Gaiman's wit and style the stories transcend the normal and become humorous, rich and layered tales of a life lived courageously.

++++++++++

Long Leads We Are All Hoping For:

The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch

I've seen July, Aug, and November so until Lynch himself confirms this is in the air.

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

The first draft is done, but much polishing is going on.

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

Yeah...ummm.  Fingers crossed.


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AUTHOR INTERVIEW | Karen Miller author of The Prodigal Mage

Cover Unveiled for Karen Miller's The Reluctant Mage

The Reluctant Mage is the fourth book sent in the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker world after the recent The Prodigal Mage, which was a fantastic read overall.  The cover on this one is a bit ho-hum though.  The coloration isn't doing much, but in this case you could wrap it is old newspaper and I'd still check it out.  Here is the official blurb:

Nine months have passed since Rafel disappeared in the expedition over the mountains. Deenie, now eighteen, starts having disturbing dreams about her brother. She comes to believe he's not dead after all, but is in trouble and needs her help. 

She enlists the aid of her friend Charis, and the girls hatch a plan to escape from Lur. They succeed and survive the hazardous journey round the coastline past the mountains. But to their dismay, they discover that the lands beyond Lur are blighted with lawlessness and chaos. The remnants of Morg's consciousness that survived his death splintered at his downfall and sought refuge in whatever bodies could be found to host them.

Throughout their travels and adventures they get some answers about the other lost expeditions, and keep hearing about one fearsome mage whose stronghold is in the blighted near-mythical land of Dorana. Deenie knows this is her brother - and that Rafel is not only in danger, but has become dangerous. If he's not stopped he could become a threat to the whole world. Perhaps even another Morg.

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW | Karen Miller author of The Prodigal Mage

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AUTHOR INTERVIEW | Karen Miller author of The Prodigal Mage

Karen Miller broke into the fantasy genre with her best-selling Kingmaker, Kingbreak duology consisting of The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage as well as the Godspeaker Trilogy, Rouge Agents series, a couple Star Wars novels, and a Stargate book to boot. This August will see her 11th released that will also be her hardcover debut with The Prodigal Mage(see review here), which takes place years after the events of Kingmaker, Kingbreak. Read below for some good snippets about what is instore. MH: Hello Karen, welcome to Mad Hatter’s Bookshelf. Thank you for taking time to answer our questions. Firstly, can you tell us a little about yourself? KM: Thank you very much for asking the questions! It’s always fun to chat about writing. And it’s great that you love books so much and give writers and readers this chance to connect. As for a little about me, well … by birth I’m Canadian but I’ve lived most of my life in Australia. I live in Sydney and write full time, which for right now is pretty much all the hours in the day and quite a few in the night as well! Crazy work load, all my own fault. When I’m not pounding a keyboard I enjoy working with my local theatre, mainly as a director. Not doing a show this year though, since I’ve been too flat out. I also love film and tv and unwind watching dvds of my favourite dramas. And I travel as often as I can because I love gadding about the world. MH: For those who haven’t dipped their toes into the world of Asher and Daphne, what would you say to prospective readers to whet their appetite? KM: I’d say that if you enjoy traditional fantasy that’s character driven, with themes of love and loyalty and sacrifice and betrayal, with a dollop of humour and a few bucketloads of angst and drama, then you might well enjoy the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology. It’s not a huge, epic kind of fantasy tale ranging over many many lands with a massive cast – it’s quite intimate, and very focused on a small group of people and their lives, their friendships and feuds, and how many so other lives are affected by the actions of a few significant people in key places. MH: What is over the Wall? KM: Ha! You’ll need to read The Prodigal Mage to get an answer to that question. *g* MH: Do we get to learn more about the magical history of Asher's people? And of Gar’s ancestors? KM: That is certainly touched upon, but I wouldn’t say those issues are the focal point of the stories. At least not in the two-part sequel, Fisherman’s Children. I’m also doing a standalone prequel, and some of those questions will be addressed there. MH: Could a person who hasn’t read Kingmaker, Kingbreaker jump into The Prodigal Mage or would you recommend they start with the former? KM Well, they could, of course, but given there are some pretty massive things that happen at the end of Kingmaker, Kingbreaker that are openly spoiled in Prodigal Mage, I’d have to say it’s probably best to read the series in order. MH: What was the moment you felt you had made it as an author? KM: I can’t honestly say I do feel that I’ve made it. I mean, yes, there’s the indescribable elation of being offered that first contract. And then seeing the book in your hands. And then being asked to come back and tell more stories. Getting taken to an inernational level, as I’ve been with Orbit. But I find that the more I do, the more books I write, the more I realise how much I have yet to learn about this storytelling game. I’ve been massively lucky in that the reading public seems to be enjoying my work, but this is a precarious business. I’m afraid that if ever I let myself believe ‘oh, I’ve made it’ then I’ll stop trying to do better, I’ll get complacent, and thereby betray the trust so many readers have put in me. So I’m always looking for the next challenge, to keep myself working hard and learning and growing as a writer. MH: What has it been like being involved in the Star Wars Universe? KM: Truly fantastic. Before ever I was a writer, I was a fan of stories, and a huge Star Wars fan in particular. Fell in love with that story when I was still in high school and saw the original Star Wars film when it was first released. Changed my life. I still find it hard to believe that I’m now writing stories in the galaxy far, far away. It’s an enormous privilege. That means I feel a bit of pressure, too, but it’s a good kind of pressure. I’m aware that not every fan is going to enjoy my take on Star Wars, or want to read the heavily character-driven stories that I write, but I’m okay with that. It’s a big tapestry and there are a lot of different ways of telling a story. The fans who have enjoyed my first Star Wars novel, Wild Space, have been wonderfully supportive and enthusiastic, and I can’t tell you how much that means to me. I’ve just finished the second one, and I’m gearing up to write its sequel, and I’m having so much fun it shouldn’t be legal. I owe the people at Del Rey and Lucasfilm – and Karen Traviss, who helped me get the gig – a huge debt of gratitude for the chance to do this. MH: Have you had an idea for the Star Wars book you felt you couldn't get away with? If so what? KM: Actually no. Insofar as I’ve introduced an element into the next two novels I’m doing, that I thought Lucasfilm and Del Rey might not approve of, but they have. So I’m very pleased! It might prove to be a bit of a pot-stirrer for fandom, but I guess I’ll have to wait and see. As for giving out the details, sorry. No can do. I’d love to tease you, but I have to stay very, very guarded. MH: What has been your favorite book to write so far? KM: Oh, that’s almost impossible to answer. I mean, for the Pinch Me Is This Really My Life? factor it has to be Star Wars. For sheer fun, it’s the Rogue Agent series under my pen name K E Mills. For pushing myself beyond what I thought I could do, it’s Empress, the first book of the Godspeaker Trilogy. For realising just how much I love a group of characters and how much I want them to be happy, even when that’s getting harder and harder, it’s The Prodigal Mage. Each book brings with it its own challenges and its own rewards. I will say, though, that for simply entertaining myself, playing with the cast of characters in the Rogue Agent series is the most amazing way to spend my time. I don’t know where they come from, and I don’t understand where the lines come from, but they open their mouths and start talking and I’m just along for the ride. It’s crazy, in a good way! MH: You seem to be able to write books incredibly quickly. What is your regiment like? How do you keep yourself motivated? KM: Deadlines are remarkable motivators, you’d be surprised. *g* Seriously, right now I have to keep my head down and write lots because I managed to load myself down with a lot of projects. It’s not ideal, insofar as a writer does need to see more of the world than the post office and the supermarket, which are pretty much the only two places I get to these days! That’ll change next year, and then I’ll never be quite so busy again. If I can help it. Because of the workload right now, really, I just write 7 days a week, for as long as I can every day. I try to squeeze in a down day every now to clear my brain, but right now my life is story, story, and then some more story. Not that I’m complaining. I am beyond privileged to be doing this, and I love it so much it scares me. But even when things ease off I’ll always keep myself busy with something because I’m not really one for lazing about. I’ve got to be doing something, creating something. I like to be on the go. I get bored easily. MH: Do you listen to music while you write? If so what? KM: I do. I listen to film and some tv soundtracks, because that kind of music has been written specifically to access the emotions and I write to access and explore emotions, so they’re a good fit. I really enjoy writing to the music of Hans Zimmer, Bear McCreary, John Williams, Phillip Glass, James Horner, Alan Silvestri. Just to name a few! MH: You've done character-driven Epic Fantasy (Kingmaker), Humorous Fantasy (Rogue Agent), and Historical Epic (Godspeaker) what are you going to try next? KM: Well, I have to be a bit cagey because nothing’s been contracted, but I do have in mind a larger, more epicy epic fantasy series spanning a lot of different cultures and countries, with far more scope than I’ve attempted before. See what I mean about always having to challenge myself? *g* Frankly the idea scares the moxy out of me, which is why I really want to do it. Big story, many characters, many story threads. The most ambitious thing I’ve ever dreamed up. Horrifying but exciting. So we’ll have to see. Plus I’m looking to pitch more books in the Rogue Agent series because I adore that world to pieces. And there are many stories to tell. MH: Have you any plans for a sci-fi book outside of established properties such as Star Wars and Stargate? KM: I wouldn’t actually call Stargate and Star Wars science fiction. Not in the strictly classic sense of the genre. I love them, but there’s an awful lot of handwaving going on when it comes to the science part of the equation. And that’s fine by me! I’ve only ever dreamed up one SF story idea, which I tried to pin down as a short piece while I was at Clarion. See, the thing is, if you want to write SF you really should have a clue about science, and I bailed on science when I hit valencies in high school. But it’s a story that still interests me and one day I might get around to telling it. MH: Can you share with us the title to the 2nd Fishman's Children volume and when it is expected to be released? KM: The sequel to The Prodigal Mage is called The Reluctant Mage and it’ll be out next year. Right now I’m fuzzy on actual publishing dates – I’m too busy writing and if I think too hard about actual street dates I freak myself out and that’s not a good thing! MH: On your site you mention there will be a total of 5 books in Asher’s world, but I heard there will only be 2 Fisherman’s Children books. Will there now be 3 or is the last after the events of Fisherman? KM: No, the final book, A Blight of Mages, is a standalone prequel. It will tell the story of Morgan and Barl, and how the whole ugly avalanche got started. I’m really looking forward to getting my teeth into that one. Let’s just say that what folk believe happened isn’t necessarily the way it all went down … *g* MH: What Fantasy/Sci-fi author do you think deserves more attention? KM: I’ll give you one of each. For fantasy, you can’t go past my fellow Voyager/Orbit author Glenda Larke. Glenda is one of the best worldbuilders in fantasy, full stop. She has lived a truly extraordinary life and her experiences and unique perspectives show in every page of her books. And for SF, I have to say Kage Baker. I cannot understand why Kage isn’t celebrated as a national treasure. Her incredibly thought-provoking Company series is some of the best SF out there right now. She’s amazing. Everyone should read her. MH: If you could be any character from any fantasy book who would it be and why? KM: Arwen, because who wouldn’t want to end up married to Aragorn? MH: What are 2 things most people don’t know about you? Do you have a pet monkey you keep sequestered in the backyard? KM: Well, okay. I know how to prepare a stable for a visit by the queen, and I once helped to embalm a dead body. MH: Is there anything else you’d like to say? KM: Just that I am so very, very grateful to the readers out there who have taken a chance on my stories. Books aren’t cheap, I know. And time is a scarce commodity these days. So thank you for trusting me. And thank you for writing to tell me that I haven’t wasted your money or your time. I truly appreciate it. Thank you for reading. Stories make the world go round, at least they make my world go round, and it’s so cool to know I’m not spinning on my own. MH: Thank you for your time. KM: Thank you!!!!

REVIEW | The Prodigal Mage by Karen Miller (Orbit)

Karen Miller is truly one of today's most under appreciated Fantasy authors. She has shown to be more than able to pull off books large in scope while keeping the reader connected to every character and never making the actions appear trite. Miller is also capable of keeping amazing pacing mostly through dialogue, which few authors seem able to do. I was surprisingly impressed with the Kingmaker, Kingbreaker duology upon first reading, which consists of The Innocent Mage and The Awakened Mage, so it is a tall order to continue on in this world but her fans have been calling for it. All of Miller’s strengths have made The Prodigal Mage another of my most anticipated reads for the year and her hardcover debut to boot. If you haven't read Kingmaker, Kingbreaker do so before reading The Prodigal Mage as you cannot appreciate the characters or the world much without the knowledge. Also, you may want to skip the rest of this review as it does make references to major events the happened in earlier books. The Prodigal Mage opens 10 years after the invader Morg was defeated by Asher. Life for the Olken and Doranen alike has been good, but trying as racial prejudice still very much exists between the two. Although they have reached a very uneasy understanding for the most part and have been put on more even ground as Asher is still a prominent and respected political figure. Dathne and Asher are back to their same argumentative ways although they now have two children in tow with son Rafel and daughter Deenie. It was wonderful getting to revisit the quaint language used by Asher, which makes him all the more endearing. However, at times Asher and Dathne and Asher and some of the other characters kept having the same arguments again and again, which grated on me a tad. Yet what Miller does better than most every Fantasy author today is make you care for the characters at every turn. She wants you to understand and empathize with why her characters do and say what they do even if they aren't doing or saying what they necessarily should. Asher still has a tendency to speak his mind, yet now it affects not only himself, but also his family and how they are perceived. Much of the book centers on Rafel and Asher's relationship and how people expect so much out of Rafel because of his lineage. Rafel and Deenie are showing signs of being able to wield Doranen magic like their father. Rafel especially has the potential to be as strong as Asher, yet Deenie's power is more like an affliction since she is hypersensitive to the land and magic. Asher and some other Olken describe a wrongness in the land of Lur with a great change underway. Asher is able to help with the problem with what power he has left and Lur gets a respite for another 10 years, which leads into the other 3/4's of the book. The majority of which is Rafel's coming of age story as he drives to understand and grow his power in ways his father never dared or allowed. Miller clearly has big plans for Deenie, but she comes off feeling like an innocent bystander and needs to come out a lot in the second volume. What most readers of Kingmaker have been waiting for is a journey beyond the mountains that once held Barl’s Wall into lost Dorana. Our prayers are answered as an expedition is sent over the mountains, but just when Miller makes the reveal she pulls her hand back. She gives you just enough to whet your appetite for what is to come. Some readers may not be pleased that there is not a huge amount of action, but this is more of a drama in an Epic Fantasy setting than bloody battles. However, there are a couple action sequences that will keep those readers moving forward. Everything that made Kingmaker great is present in The Prodigal Mage, but unlike the former we'll have to wait a year for the conclusion to all of the build-up, which feels all too far away at present. The cliffhanger ending will have you salivating for the next volume and screaming to know what happens next, which is why some may want to wait until book 2 is published. I give The Prodigal Mage 8 out of 10 Hats. I may be inclined to improve that if the 2nd half of the story can deliver on the action missing from this volume. This is one of those books that are difficult to fully appreciate until the whole story has been told. We’ll have to wait until summer of 2010 for the second Fisherman's Children novel to find out if Miller can deliver a conclusion as good or better than Kingmaker did. EDIT Aug 10, 2009: Orbit US said a July publication is likely for The Reluctant Mage and see my interview with Karen here. Book Link: US Canada Europe

If you're not up for a full fledged re-read check out Grasping for the Wind's reviews of Kingmaker, Kingbreaker book 1 here and book 2 here for a refresher on the prior events.