All right, I’ll admit, I’ve kind of harped on the subject that, at least for me personally, 2015 has been a really good year. I’m immensely happy that Thorn of Dentonhill and A Murder of Mages have been released to the world, and they’ve received the praise that they have. I’m thrilled that I’ve been privileged to share the story of Maradaine with readers, and that I’m going to continue to share it with you next year and beyond.
It’s not about the money, or the reviews– though those things are nice, don’t get me wrong– but purely the fact that I get to do this and share my dreams with all of you.
I’m honored.
I’ve talked about how David Eddings was an early influence on me, but the big thing for me was how energized I was reading The Belgariad. That summer I was working at an ice cream shop in the mall, and when I picked up Pawn of Prophecy, I read through it in one night. The next day, before I went to work, I stopped at the book store across the hallway from the ice cream shop and got Queen of Sorcery and Magician’s Gambit with the last of the money I had before the next paycheck. I tore through those in two days. With payday still a day away, I bought Castle of Wizardry with handful of loose change. Mostly dimes. After I got paid, I bought Enchanter’s End Game and the three books of The Mallorean that had been released, and tore through that as well. Slightly a week after first picking up the first book, I had binged through the existing canon and was now hungrily waiting for months before Sorceress of Darshiva was to be released.
This is my little wish for the future– years from now, when there are far more Maradaine books on the shelves, there will be someone who will discover Thorn of Dentonhill and tear through it, and then get each book that follows as quickly as Amazon drones will bring them (or whatever delivery method is appropriate in the future) in a mad frenzy until they’ve consumed it all, and thus are waiting impatiently for whatever I have next. That’s the person I’m writing for.
Not that I don’t love all of you you took a chance on me this year, when I was an unknown quantity. It’s because if you that I get to keep going. If you’re reading this, you’re probably in that crowd, and I am very grateful to each and every one of you.
And I did get a mention on Tenacious Reader’s End-of-Year list, as one of her top Debut authors of 2015!
Now that 2015 is almost over, and we have to look to the future. Included in that: Publisher’s Weekly reviews The Alchemy of Chaos!
Hopefully, that’s a small taste of what’s to come.