New Author Spotlight: Tom King

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Tom King! His debut novel is A Once Crowded Sky.

Here's the cover copy:

The superheroes of Arcadia City fight a wonderful war and play a wonderful game, forever saving yet another day. However, after sacrificing both their powers and Ultimate, the greatest hero of them all, to defeat the latest apocalypse, these comic book characters are transformed from the marvelous into the mundane.

After too many battles won and too many friends lost, The Soldier of Freedom was fine letting all that glory go. But when a new threat blasts through his city, Soldier, as ever, accepts his duty and reenlists in this next war. Without his once amazing abilities, he's forced to seek the help of the one man who walked away, the sole hero who refused to make the sacrifice--PenUltimate, the sidekick of Ultimate, who through his own rejection of the game has become the most powerful man in the world, the only one left who might still, once again, save the day.

If you like superhero novels (and 1 graphic novel), here are some you might want to check out:

Trance by Kelly Meding (Pocket Books)
Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines (Crown Publishing)
Leaving Megalopolis by Gail Simone and Jim Calafiore (Kickstarter Project I supported, which I assume will be on sale once the delayed kickstarter copies have been printed and sent out.)

New Author Spotlight: Liesel Schwarz

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Liesel Schwarz!

Her debut novel is:

Here's the cover copy for A Conspiracy of Alchemists:

In a Golden Age where spark reactors power the airways, and creatures of Light and Shadow walk openly among us, a deadly game of Alchemists and Warlocks has begun. When an unusual cargo drags airship-pilot Elle Chance into the affairs of the mysterious Mr Marsh, she must confront her destiny and do everything in her power to stop the Alchemists from unleashing a magical apocalypse. Combining the best elements of nineteenth century gothic fiction with contemporary Steampunk, adventure, romance and the supernatural, Liesel Schwarz has crafted a truly exceptional debut, the first book in The Chronicles of Light and Shadow trilogy.

The second book in the series, A Clockwork Heart, comes out August 13th.

Check out her books if you enjoyed any of the following:

The Falling Machine by Andrew Mayer (PYR Books)
Agatha H and the Airship City by Phil & Kaja Foglio (Night Shade Books)
The Doomsday Vault by Stephen Harper (Roc)
Soulless by Gail Carriger (Orbit)

New Author Spotlight: Sharon Lynn Fisher

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Sharon Lynn Fisher!

Her debut novel is:

Here's the cover copy for Ghost Planet:

A world in peril. A bond deeper than love.

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world - a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these “ghosts.” She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet.

Reincarnated as a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy - creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone - oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love - Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence.

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man she loves.

Check out these other books if you enjoy a little romance with your alien encounter stories:

New Author Spotlight: Rhodi Hawk

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Rhodi Hawk!

She has written:

Here's the cover copy for A Twisted Ladder:

Psychologist Madeleine LeBlanc has spent her whole career trying to determine the cause of her father''s schizophrenia. She always felt that if she could unravel the disease's origins, she could cure the man who left her and her brother, Marc, to practically raise themselves on the Louisiana Bayou. When Marc takes his own life, Madeleine embarks on a shocking journey into her family's history-fraught with dark secrets, conjured demons, and a powerful relative who puts Madeleine's own life and property in peril. The only way to she can save herself is to face the ghosts of the past, the dangers of the present, and the twisted ladder that links them all together.

Check out her books if you enjoyed any of the following:

The Hollow City by Dan Wells (Tom Doherty Associates)

Audrey's Door by Sarah Langan (HarperCollins)

Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman (Berkley Trade)

New Author Spotlight: Steve Bein

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

 Today's spotlight shines on Steve Bein!

He's written and published several short stories and his debut novel is:

Here's the cover copy:

As the only female detective in Tokyo's most elite police unit, Mariko Oshiro has to fight for every ounce of respect, especially from her new boss. But when he gives her the least promising case possible—the attempted theft of an old samurai sword—it proves more dangerous than anyone on the force could have imagined.

The owner of the sword, Professor Yasuo Yamada, says it was crafted by the legendary Master Inazuma, a sword smith whose blades are rumored to have magical qualities. The man trying to steal it already owns another Inazuma—one whose deadly power eventually comes to control all who wield it.

Mariko's investigation has put her on a collision course with a curse centuries old and as bloodthirsty as ever. She is only the latest in a long line of warriors and soldiers to confront this power, and even the sword she learns to wield could turn against her.

Mr. Bein's book is pretty unique, but I found some comparison titles going a bit outside traditional SF/F channels.  So if you like his book you might enjoy some of the following.

Crossfire by Miyuki Miyabe (Kodansha International)
Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn (Riverhead)
Deathnote, Volume 1 by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata (Viz Media)
The Ring by Koji Suzuki (Vertical Inc.)

New Author Spotlight: Kameron Hurley

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Kameron Hurley!

She's written numerous short stories and the Bel Dame Apocrypha trilogy:

God's War won and was nominated for several awards, so if you haven't picked it up yet, maybe the synopsis will intrigue you:

Nyx had already been to hell. One prayer more or less wouldn t make any difference...

On a ravaged, contaminated world, a centuries-old holy war rages, fought by a bloody mix of mercenaries, magicians, and conscripted soldiers. Though the origins of the war are shady and complex, there's one thing everybody agrees on--

There's not a chance in hell of ending it.

Nyx is a former government assassin who makes a living cutting off heads for cash. But when a dubious deal between her government and an alien gene pirate goes bad, Nyx's ugly past makes her the top pick for a covert recovery. The head they want her to bring home could end the war--but at what price?

The world is about to find out.

This is where I'd mention books similar to God's War so you know if it's a book that would interest you (beyond what the synopsis gives away).  Unfortunately, despite having read the book and wracking my brain for months, I can't come up with anything even remotely similar to compare it too.  The book is fascinating but brutal and based loosely on middle eastern culture.  It's science fiction with bug based magic.  It's got a seriously kick ass heroine who's been to war and back.  It's unique.

If you've read it, what did you think of it?  And if you know a comparison title, please share it in the comment section.

New Author Spotlight: Isaac Marion

OK, I know New Author Spotlight is for authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres, and this author has 4, but as the first 3 were self-published and his 4th is now a film, I'm spotlighting him anyway. :)  Oh, and he's written a ton of short stories too.

Today's spotlight shines on Isaac Marion! His books are:

The Inside, The Hungry Mouth (a book of short stories), Warm Bodies
(Note: I know there are only 3 books there but I've been unable to discover what the 3rd self-published title was.)

Here's the cover copy for Warm Bodies:

R is a young man with an existential crisis--he is a zombie. He shuffles through an America destroyed by war, social collapse, and the mindless hunger of his undead comrades, but he craves something more than blood and brains. He can speak just a few grunted syllables, but his inner life is deep, full of wonder and longing. He has no memories, noidentity, and no pulse, but he has dreams.

After experiencing a teenage boy''s memories while consuming his brain, R makes an unexpected choice that begins a tense, awkward, and stragely sweet relationship with the victim''s human girlfriend. Julie is a blast of color in the otherwise dreary and gray landscape that surrounds R. His decision to protect her will transform not only R, but his fellow Dead, and perhaps their whole lifeless world.

Scary, funny, and surprisingly poignant, Warm Bodies is about being alive, being dead, and the blurry line in between.

Check out these other books if you like zombie romances:

The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer
Breathers by S. G. Browne
Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel

New Author Spotlight: Lee Collins

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Lee Collins!

His debut novel is

• Dead of Winter published by Angry Robot books

Here's the cover copy...

Cora and her husband hunt things - things that shouldn''t exist. When the marshal of Leadville, Colorado, comes across a pair of mysterious deaths, he turns to Cora to find the creature responsible, but if Cora is to overcome the unnatural tide threatening to consume the small town, she must first confront her own tragic past as well as her present.

Check out his book if you like western fantasy novels, like these:

• Bloodlands by Christine Cody (Ace)
• Blood Riders by Michael P. Spradlin (Harper Voyager)
• A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files (ChiZine Publications)

New Author Spotlight: Alex Hughes

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Alex Hughes!

Her debut novel is Clean published by Roc.
   
 Here's the cover copy...

A RUTHLESS KILLER- OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND   I used to work for the Telepath's Guild before they kicked me out for a drug habit that wasn't entirely my fault. Now I work for the cops, helping Homicide Detective Isabella Cherabino put killers behind bars.  

My ability to get inside the twisted minds of suspects makes me the best interrogator in the department. But the normals keep me on a short leash. When the Tech Wars ripped the world apart, the Guild stepped up to save it. But they had to get scary to do it-real scary.  

Now the cops don't trust the telepaths, the Guild doesn't trust me, a serial killer is stalking the city-and I'm aching for a fix. But I need to solve this case. Fast. I've just had a vision of the future: I'm the next to die.

Check out her book if you're interested in novels with telepaths and/or addictions:

• Catspaw by Joan D. Vinge (Tor Books)
• State of Decay by James Knapp (Roc)
• Personal Demons by Gregory Lamberson (Medallion Press)

New Author Spotlight: Col Buchanan

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Col Buchanan!

His books are:

• Farlander
• Stands a Shadow, both published by Tor.

Here's the cover copy for Farlander:

The Heart of the World is a land in strife. For fifty years the Holy Empire of Mann, an empire and religion born from a nihilistic urban cult, has been conquering nation after nation. Their leader, Holy Matriarch Sasheen, ruthlessly maintains control through her Diplomats, priests trained as subtle predators.

Ash is a member of an elite group of assassins, the Roshun, who offer protection through the threat of vendetta. Forced by his ailing health to take on an apprentice, he chooses Nico, a young man living in the besieged city of Bar-Khos. At the time, Nico is hungry, desperate, and alone in a city that finds itself teetering on the brink.

When the Holy Matriarch's son deliberately murders a woman under the protection of the Roshun; he forces the sect to seek his life in retribution. As Ash and his young apprentice set out to fulfil the Roshun orders, their journey takes them into the heart of the conflict between the Empire and the Free Ports . . . into bloodshed and death.

Check out his books if you like tales of assassins, subversive religions or conquering empires, like these:

• The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks (Orbit)
• The Left Hand of God by Paul Hoffman (NAL Trade)
• Lamentation by Ken Scholes (Tor Fantasy)

New Author Spotlight: Sharon Lynn Fisher

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Sharon Lynn Fisher!
Sharon's debut novel is:

• Ghost Planet, Published by Tor

Here's the cover copy:

Psychologist Elizabeth Cole prepared for the worst when she accepted a job on a newly discovered world—a world where every colonist is tethered to an alien who manifests in the form of a dead loved one. But she never expected she'd struggle with the requirement to shun these "ghosts." She never expected to be so attracted to the charming Irishman assigned as her supervisor. And she certainly never expected to discover she died in a transport crash en route to the planet. 

As a ghost, Elizabeth is symbiotically linked to her supervisor, Murphy—creator of the Ghost Protocol, which forbids him to acknowledge or interact with her. Confused and alone—oppressed by her ghost status and tormented by forbidden love—Elizabeth works to unlock the secrets of her own existence. 

But her quest for answers lands her in a tug-of-war between powerful interests, and she soon finds herself a pawn in the struggle for control of the planet…a struggle that could separate her forever from the man that she loves.  

Check out her book if you like alien first encounter stories with romance, like:

• Touched by an Alien by Gini Koch (DAW)
• Triptych by J.M. Frey (Dragon Moon Press)
• Solaris by Stanislaw Lem (Mariner Books)

New Author Spotlight: Christopher Buehlman

New Author Spotlight is a series designed to introduce authors with up to 3 books in the different SF/F subgenres.

Today's spotlight shines on Christopher Buehlman!

Winner of the 2007 Bridport Prize in Poetry and author of several plays, his novels are:

• Those Across the River by Christopher Buehlman (Ace)
• Between Two Fires by Christopher Buehlman (Ace)

Here's the cover copy for Those Across The River:

Haunted by memories of the Great War, failed academic Frank Nichols and his wife have arrived in the sleepy Georgia town of Whitbrow, where Frank hopes to write a history of his family's old estate-the Savoyard Plantation-and the horrors that occurred there. At first their new life seems to be everything they wanted. But under the facade of summer socials and small-town charm, there is an unspoken dread that the townsfolk have lived with for generations. A presence that demands sacrifice.  

It comes from the shadowy woods across the river, where the ruins of the Savoyard Plantation still stand. Where a long-smoldering debt of blood has never been forgotten. Where it has been waiting for Frank Nichols…

Check out these other books if you like horror novels about things lying in wait in old houses:

• A Twisted Ladder by Rhodi Hawk (Tor Books)
• Black Creek Crossing by John Saul (Ballantine Books)
• Neverland by Douglas Clegg (Vanguard Press)