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Really enjoyed doing a signing at Tucson Festival of Books. It’s one of the largest book festivals in the country. 150,000 people descend on Tucson.
And thankfully, the end of the pandemic appears to be here at last.
A Peak at My Latest Books
Dread Child
Book 1 in The Dreadmark Covenants
The birthmark on a young boy’s arm;
is it just a smudge of discolored skin,
or a harbinger of Armageddon?
Epic fantasy at its best
Young Ket and his mother are simple bondservants at Castle Glenmoore. To him, the birthmark on his arm is just a smudge of discolored skin. But the wizard Kainborne sees in it the Dreadmark, a portent of both evil and greatness. With his mother murdered, and him kidnapped by Kainborne’s assassin, Ket must survive the enemies about him. But can he survive the Dreadmark?
Coming in 2023
Tranquility Lost
A Commonwealth Re-Contact Novella
The Devastation is a swath of star systems 400 light-years across in which something unknown exterminated all human life about four centuries ago. A Commonwealth survey ship on a routine mission finds a habitable planet in one of its systems, and for the first time in recorded history a planet in the Devastation is inhabited by living humans, not decayed corpses. But the crew of the ship goes berserk, and barely escapes the system with their lives. The Commonwealth now wants disgraced re-contact specialist Jack Strand to go in under cover, to blend into the medieval culture there and find out what is going on. Jack would prefer to pass on the job, but they don’t give him any choice in the matter.
The Thief of Val D’Ossa
. . . his lover the Harlot, plus the Witch, and her Apprentice
Book 1 in The Deck of Chaos
The paths of chaos lead only to damnation.
Jaxon is the son of an impoverished nobleman. When Jax was sixteen years old his father died, and his older stepsister and stepbrother threw him out on the streets of Val d’Ossa to fend for himself. The city was not kind to a young boy, especially one who is a little bit pretty, and to endure he learned some brutal lessons.
Nine years later he has survived by being a thief, for which he has a very unusual talent he calls his instinct. An agent of an anonymous noble house wants to hire him to steal a valuable figurine, but Jax wants nothing to do with the politics of the noble houses.
Can Jax and his lover, the beautiful prostitute Maelleen, survive the machinations of the High Noble Houses? And what of the Witch who rules the city of Val d’Ossa? She is reputed to maintain control over the High Noble Houses by sorcerous incantations and demon manifestations at the Witch Palace. If the High Nobles are involved then so is she, and Jax desperately wants to avoid any involvement with the evil, old woman.
A Hymn for the Dying
Book 1 in The Blacksword Regiment
For most, the dying part is hard.
For some, the living part is harder.
At sixteen years of age, Mathius’s life is focused on scrounging bits of food in the midst of a five-way civil war on the planet Novalis III. Two government factions and three rebel factions are all trying to kill one another, and the civilian population is caught in the middle. If Mathius doesn’t find food, he and his father, mother and sister will go hungry for the day, a not unusual occurrence. Mathius must also avoid the rebel factions, who frequently kidnap young boys and force them to become soldiers.
Will the Commonwealth of Allied Systems intervene? And what of the Blacksword Regiment, the elite soldiers of the Commonwealth Security Corps? Will they sweep in and make everything right? And then there is the Kelk Supremacy, a race of strange humans that evolved for a thousand years in isolation on a far planet. Why does Mathius keep seeing signs that the Kelk are somehow involved in the unrest?
A Dirge for the Damned
Book 2 in The Blacksword Regiment
Damned if I die today,
Cursed if I live tomorrow.
Nikaela Vreekande joins Kristdokar’s clandestine operation to identify those responsible for the tragedy on Novalis III, and the incident on Reisenar. Lieutenant Colonel Katrine Primatov meets with Thordahl and Brynjar on Norandyne to establish covert lines of communication between the Kelk Supremacy and the Commonwealth. John Mathius travels to Trafalgar to attend O-School, and all seems well. But there are those in the Commonwealth and the Supremacy who would prefer that John and Nikaela fail, or barring that, they would see them dead.
A Prayer for the Fallen
Book 3 in The Blacksword Regiment
Pray not for those who fell before,
and grieve not for those yet to fall.
After John and Nikaela are rescued from the rogue warship Sycorax, Katrine Primatov has only a lone hunter-killer to back her in the remote Sarkovie system, and she is faced with a Kelk force of overwhelming firepower superiority. The Kelk decide to take John and Nikaela back to Viktorkinde, whether Katrine likes it or not. With no choice in the matter, she accompanies them, and the three are reluctant guests aboard the Kelk heavy cruiser Konigsborge. But the Kelk are quietly at war among themselves, fighting their own battle against superstition and irrationality. John and Katrine begin to learn the roots of their hatred of the Blacksword, and Nikaela does what she can to help them.
A Requiem for the Forsaken
Book 4 in The Blacksword Regiment
Forsaken, damned and dying,
a bad day all around.
The diplomatic mission has arrived at Viktorkinde, but something big is up. Katrine and John need to figure out what’s up before the shit hits the fan.
Upcoming Events
So much has changed in the last two years it’s unbelievable. It appears the pandemic is finally finished, though I lost a couple of friends whom I will miss. But thankfully, no great tragedies for me and mine. In 2023 we’re looking forward to seeing our friends again FACE-TO-FACE.
This year, other than the Tucson Festival of Books, everything is happening in the last half of the year. I was planning on attending NASFiC in Winnipeg, but getting there from Tucson involves three flights, two connections, and about twelve hours of travel. I was really looking forward to seeing Winnipeg, but regretfully will not make it.
I’m looking forward to seeing my old friends and meeting new friends at BuboniCon and CokoCon.
October and November are going to be busy with World Fantasy in Kansas City, TusCon in Tucson, and LosCon in LA.
I hope all of you out there, and your friends, colleagues and loved-ones, are healthy and well. After a pause from writing, I’ve just finished Dread Child, the first book in a new coming-of-age epic fantasy. I’m also close to finishing Dread Spirit, the second book. There’s more information at the top of this page.
Do get out, but stay safe, stay well.
Jim
BuboniCon
August 25–27, Albuquerque, NM
I have not previously attended BuboniCon, and I’m really looking forward to it.
Here’s a link to the web site. And here’s my panel schedule:
Panel Schedule for BuboniCon:
Date/Time/Loc |
Title/Participants |
Description |
25 Aug 2023 Friday 7:15–7:50 PM Salon G |
35 Minutes With J.L. Doty J.L. Doty |
TBD |
26 Aug 2023 Saturday 11:00 AM - Santa Fe |
Laser Weapons: Reality or Myth J.L. Doty |
|
26 Aug 2023 Saturday 2:00 - 3:00 PM Salon E |
Space Funding: Public Vs Private Craig Butler, J.L. Doty, Loretta Hall, Christopher Marsh. MOD: Wil McCarthy |
|
27 Aug 2023 Sunday 10:00 - 11:00 AM Salon E |
Ask A Scientist: Probing Questions Ness Brown, J.L. Doty, Carolyn Kay, M.T. Reiten, Ian Tregillis. MOD: Courtney Willis |
|
27 Aug 2023 Sunday 2:30 - 3:30 PM Salon E |
The Multiverse As Science And/Or Philosophy Ness Brown, J.L. Doty, Jim Sorenson, Ian Tregillis. MOD: Kelly Robson |
CokoCon
September 1–4, Tempe, AZ
I have not previously attended CokoCon, but I have a lot of friends there that I run into every year at TusCon. And I’m looking forward to making a few new friends.
Here’s a link to the web site. And here’s my panel schedule:
Panel Schedule for CokoCon:
Date/Time/Loc |
Title/Participants |
Description |
1 Sep 2023 Friday 4:30 - 5:30 PM Fiesta 2 |
Publish or Self-Publish? K. A. Bledsoe, Bruce Davis, J. L. Doty, Seanan McGuire |
There are many avenues to publication, the advantages or disadvantages between them are constantly shifting, and the traditional wisdom is changing rapidly. In our panel, we break down the pros, cons, and perceptions to help determine what is right for you. |
2 Sep 2023 Saturday 2:00 - 3:00 PM Dealers Room |
Autographing J. L. Doty, SD Simper |
|
2 Sep 2023 Saturday 6:00 - 7:00 PM Fiesta 2 |
How science influences SF stories Bruce Davis, J. L. Doty, Gideon Marcus |
A discussion on how science has influenced classic SF and how current science informs both current ideas and even writing styles and presentation. |
3 Sep 2023 Sunday 11:30 - 12:30 PM Coronado |
How to write Romance into your stories J. L. Doty, Cynthia Ward, Jenn Windrow |
Romance has its own tropes, and a Romance novel must satisfy certain formulaic requirements. But how do you include romance in SF&F? Can you do sexy romance, or should you stay with sweet? |
4 Sep 2023 Monday 11:30 - 12:30 PM Coronado |
Gender identity in AIs Bruce Davis, J. L. Doty |
A discussion of why gender identity in AIs is, or could be, problematic in speculative fiction. |