Set Sail for #Stormwrack in A Daughter of No Nation!

(null)It can be tricky to know what to say about a book on its birthday, particularly if it is not the shiny debut of a series. I don’t want to spoil Child of a Hidden Sea for anyone who hasn’t read it yet, after all. Even so, I want to say a few things about where the story picks up in A Daughter of No Nation.

It has been six long months. Sophie Hansa is at home, trying as best she can to prepare herself for what she hopes will be a not too distant return to the world of Stormwrack. She’s attempting to learn skills that mesh with Age of Sail technology, to ensure that she’s fit, healthy, and ready to face a range of physical and mental challenges. There’s endurance training. Knot tying. Re-upping her CPR. Astral navigation. Memorizing everything from A Standard Book of British Birds to simple experiments from the history of science. As the book opens, that’s what we where we find her.

Anyway, I thought it might be fun to right now invent a rundown on what everyone else has been up to:

Bramwell Hansa, for example, is as intrigued by Stormwrack’s existence as Sophie herself. Is it an alternate Earth? A future one? Why does magic seem to work there? Wait… seem? Clearly it does, but how? He’s been been working with his sister on the data they have gathered so far, teaming up develop research plans for any future expeditions. Because, you see, they have to know.

My first impulse was to say that it all been rather nose to grindstone for poor Bram–that he hasn’t been dating. But I think all of you who keep telling me how much you love Bram will agree he could use a nice fellow in his life. Six months, though… he can’t have had anything too dramatic going on, or his sister would have noticed, and cared, and talked it to death. He’s not in a relationship when the book opens, and there’s nothing about recent drama in A Daughter of No Nation. So… was it all science and no play? Did Bram meet someone–have it flare and then fizzle? You tell me. I’m open to to anything, as long as it’s consistent with Bram’s character and what I’ve got on the page.

Sophie’s half sister, meanwhile, definitely isn’t getting any. Come on, guys–Verena’s so young! Anyway, she’s got a huge unrequited crush on a certain tasty ship’s captain, and she’s not about to let that go anytime soon. Also, she’s adjusting to her new job. It’s a big job and she’s completely inexperienced, so naturally, a few mistakes have been made. Good thing the boss isn’t a hardass, right? She is? Well, that’s awkward…

As for the Nightjar crew and Captain Parrish, I’ve got to tell you that they have been having a rough time of it. They lost someone important to them in the first book, as you may remember, and the past half year has served both as a mourning period and an upheaval. Life and work go on, as they must, but the rhythms are changed, and not everyone’s able to dance to the new beat. In fact, the medic and the bosun have both thrown up their hands and quit.

So for Garland and Tonio in particular, things feel precarious. That’s how it is when you lose the people who matter most to you. The ground crumbles underfoot. Everything in life is, simply, harder.

Finally, there’s the Fleet’s chief Duelist, Judge-Advocate Clydon Banning of Sylvanna, legal eagle and sword fighter extraordinare. He isn’t even faintly bereaved. Someone died? Did I kill them? No? Then why are we discussing this, exactly?

Cly has been a busy busy boy. He has taken a leave of absence, dug deep into a bunch of musty legal codes and old lawsuits, and even reviewed his will. He has demanded and earned the equivalent of a higher security clearance from his government, and then elbowed his way into the club of higher-ups holding onto Stormwrack’s most tightly guarded secrets. Put another way, he has obliged the Convene of Nations to tell him about the existence of Earth. Now he is considering how he might best exploit this newfound knowledge… and Sophie, inevitably, will be the key to all his plans.

Do you have a favorite Stormwrack character who’s not included in this roundup? Let me know and I’ll give you a hint about what they’ve been up to.

Second books aren’t always about charm. Sometimes they’re about rolling up your sleeves, raising your fists and damnwell plunging your characters so deep into the dip you might never get them out again. A Daughter of No Nation has tall ships, sirens, man-eating cats, teenage con artists in love, dryads, slaves, leech attacks, tedious dinners with frightful cousins–because danger has many flavors–a really nasty kudzu infestation and the resurrection of a dead conspirator on Issle Morta, island of the judgey monks.

Doesn’t that all just kinda scream holiday gift?

Seven short sleeps until Sophie sets sail…

(null)One short week! It’ll surprise none of you to hear that I am spending a lot of time right now doing interviews and writing guest blog posts as I gear up for the release of my fourth novel, A Daughter of No Nation.

There’s going to be a launch on December 5th at 3:00 p.m. at Bakka-Phoenix Books… let me know if you need more details. If you are in Toronto, or can get here, you’re most cordially invited.

Three other things of the book:

  • Tor.com, as you may recall, has an excerpt up for your free reading pleasure.
  • Kirkus Reviews praised both the main character, Sophie Hansa and the worldbuilding on Stormwrack. “Fans of Stormwrack will welcome another chance to set sail with Sophie.
  • Publisher’s Weekly liked it, saying “Dellamonica expands on promising worldbuilding and delivers a fantasy tale of messy family politics and social justice with plenty of action and suspense.

Sale! “Losing Heart Among the Tall” to Tor.com

"The Glass Galago"

“The Glass Galago”

I am pleased to announce that Christopher Morgan at Tor.com has bought the fourth of The Gales, a story called “Losing Heart Among the Tall,” which tells the story of how Gale Feliachild and Garland Parrish convinced Gale’s sister, Beatrice, to hide a certain powerful object that plays a big role in the conspiracy at the heart of Child of a Hidden Sea.

This fantastic news comes hard on the heels of receiving my beautiful Richard Anderson cover art for the third of The Gales, “The Glass Galago,” which will be out early next year.

I thought I’d celebrate by running down the list of every last one of the fictional things I have on the Tor site, available to anyone who’s interested for absolutely free.

So! A Daughter of No Nation will be out in 13 daysand you can read an early chapter of the book here! This novel is the sequel to Child of a Hidden Sea, and here’s the excerpt for that.

The Gales, meanwhile, are prequels to the above two novels. First in order is “Among the Silvering Herd,” and the second is called “The Ugly Woman of Castello di Putti.”

Moving on to a completely different series, you can check out my sexy novelette, “Wild Things,” which is a tie-in to the world of my award winning first novel Indigo Springs and its sequel, Blue Magic.

Last but by no means least, I have two stand-alone works: a time travel horror story called “The Color of Paradox” and my ever-popular ‘baby werewolf has two mommies’ story, “The Cage,” which made the Locus Recommended Reading List for 2010.

A Daughter of No Nation – First Look!

(null)Even as I wend my way toward Saratoga Springs and the World Fantasy Convention, Tor.com is running an excerpt from A Daughter of No Nation. This is your very first chance to get back aboard the sailing vessel Nightjar, captained as always by the impossibly upright Garland Parrish and his intrepid crew.

If you haven’t been to the world of Stormwrack before now, and this taste persuades you to try a little more, Child of a Hidden Sea is on sale for $2.99 in all the major ebook retailers. Or check out the first two of The Gales, “Among the Silvering Herd” and “The Ugly Woman of Castello di Putti.”  (A third Gale story is in the works, folks–it’s called “The Glass Galago” and will be out in early 2016.)

Some of you may also remember that I ran a draw in October, for a copy of CHS or any one of my previous books. I have rolled a many-sided die (once a gamer, always a gamer) and thereby chosen a winner, but contacting her has proven tricky so I’m going to hold off on announcing a name for now.

Child of a Hidden Sea $2.99 ebook and things you can win!

By way of a tasty appetizer for the release of ​A Daughter of No Nation, my marvelous publisher Tor Books has put the e-book edition of ​Child of a Hidden Sea on sale in all digital formats: Kindle, iBook, B&N Nook, Kobo and Google Play. Feel like spreading the word? Here’s a Tweet:

A second appetizer course will be coming your way shortly, in the form of an excerpt from the new book, which will be out December 1st.

Meanwhile, don’t forget that Goodreads giveaway. The odds are currently about one in a hundred for you to be one of five lucky winners who’ll get advance copies of the novel. And I’m running a contest for a copy of your choice of my first three novels. You can still get in on both draws- details are here!