Category Archives: Writing
Ebooks now 50% off!
My publisher ChiZine is selling all their ebooks at 50% off until Sunday, March 15th, to make up for the technical difficulties as they switch ebook distributors for Kindle, etc.
Get The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, the first book in the Cross series, for $5.
Get The Dead Hamlets, the sequel to The Mona Lisa Sacrifice, for $5.
That’s right, you can get each book for less than the price of a Starbucks drink. And they’re better for you than that Starbucks junk. Well, better for your body. The books are probably kind of harmful for your mind….
Awwww
My two Peter Roman books are like best friends on the charts. I can’t wait to see how they get along with the third book!
Some more review love
I was happy to see a nice review of The Dead Hamlets in the Vancouver Sun, one of my hometown papers. Actually, it’s a nice review of the Cross series, so that’s even better. My favourite line: “Come for the chase scenes and the grave-digging, stay for the literary references, strewn like candy thrown from a parade.” He’s right — I am having a great time writing these books!
We have a winner, may his soul rest in peace
The dice have spoken and there’s a winner of the Black Quill giveaway contest I held to publicize my new novel, The Dead Hamlets. I will be dispatching the dreaded Quill and a free copy of the new book by undead courier, post-haste. I won’t speak the winner’s name here for fear of summoning various unnatural things, but rest assured that he was most instrumental in getting word of the new book out. So blame him for all the ails the book causes in the world.
I had a great deal of fun with the contest, and I’d like to thank everyone who took part. Thanks for helping promote the new novel — it certainly needs all the help it can get in these uncertain times for the publishing industry.
The Dead Hamlets is featured on The Hook
I had the distinct pleasure of kicking off The Hook, a new guest post feature on Alex Shvartsman’s site. Alex is the author of Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma, which is perhaps the best title for a book ever. And it’s only $5 and change on Kindle! Why are you still reading this and not buying the book?
Anyway, Alex just launched The Hook, which lets writers explain why they opened their books the way they did. So click the link to find out why I began The Dead Hamlets on a dark and stormy night!
Thanks, Alex!
There’s a long tradition of dark and stormy nights in the theatre — lots of blackouts and thunder sound effects. The first stage directions of Macbeth, for instance, are “Thunder and lightning.” So I was hinting at the subject matter of my book in its opening lines. Shortly after that initial scene, I have Cross stumble into a theatre full of the dead — at which point things really get dark and stormy!
Finally — some value for your dollar
Hey, I think the third Cross novel is the first of my books to break the 100,000 word mark. I’m really starting to ramble in my old age!
Sweet, sweet 16
Hey, my new book, The Dead Hamlets, hit No. 16 on Amazon.ca’s Contemporary Fantasy list. That’s probably as high as it’s going to get. There’s no way I’m beating How (Not) to Kiss a Were-Bear. That book’s got crazy ratings! It’s free if you’re on Kindle Unlimited, too, so go and get it if you’ve ever fantasized about were-bears. Hey, I’m not judging.
You can still win The Dead Hamlets
Hi all. Just a reminder that you can still win a free copy of The Dead Hamlets through two giveaways. The Black Quill giveaway runs until the end of February. Just mention The Dead Hamlets in a social media post and tag me, and you’ll have a chance to win a copy of the book — and the mysterious Black Quill! What is the Black Quill? Well, you’ll have to read the book to find out the answer to that dangerous question.
My Bookish Ways is also hosting a giveaway of The Dead Hamlets for U.S. citizens. Just four days left!
Good luck and good reading!
Oh, my bookish ways
Hey, I’m interviewed over at My Bookish Ways. It’s one of my favourite sites, so I was pretty happy to wind up there. I talk about how my new novel came to be, reveal how I dealt with writing about Shakespeare (turn him into a wizard, of course!), and give shoutouts to some of my favourite writers. Bonus feature: If you live in the U.S., you can win a copy of The Dead Hamlets.
I asked myself what I would do if I was immortal, and that’s how Cross became a drunken, thieving, self-loathing liar with murderous tendencies who tries to do right by his friends.
The reckoning continues!
Hey, The Dead Hamlets continues to rock on Amazon. It just hit No. 42 on the Contemporary Fantasy bestsellers list. It’s beating out Haruki Murakami and Jim Butcher. I’m going to enjoy that while it lasts, and I expect it to last about 8 seconds.
Thanks again for reading and buying the book!
peter darbyshire 