THE STORMLORD series (aka THE WATERGIVERS)
is on the Sara Douglass Award shortlist.

This is the inaugural award, in honour of one of Australia’s great fantasy writers, who made it huge on the international stage, and died far too young. It is really an honour to be one of the first writers to be considered for the award, and — win or not — I am truly humbled.

My latest book 

 is on the Aurealis shortlist for the Best Fantasy Novel (as well as on the Ditmar shortlist, as I mentioned on Monday). The difference between these two lists? The Ditmar is a reader voted award, and the Aurealis is a judged award.


This is my ninth shortlisting for the Aurealis for the Best Novel — without ever winning — which I suspect is some kind of record!

In short, this has been a terrific week for me. Will I win anything at all? I doubt it, as the books I’m up against are truly a wonderful selection by the best of Australia’s many talented writers (and in fact, there were many others who missed out, who could so easily have been chosen). It doesn’t matter. To know that judges and readers have loved my work enough to put them on a shortlist is the best compliment I could  have. 

 I would love to be there, to applaud the winners. Unhappily, a very important family commitment/celebration means that I will be unable to attend the awards ceremony, and I really do regret that the two occasions clash. 

 THE DITMAR are reader voted awards, open to Australian authors/artists and voted upon by the Australia National Science  Fiction Convention attendees. 

Last year’s award for Best Novel was the plaque (see pix to the right), which was awarded to  

This year, Book 2 is up —  

and it has been voted on to the short list of five books. The other four are:

• Day Boy, Trent Jamieson 
• Graced, Amanda Pillar
• Lament for the Afterlife, Lisa L. Hannett
• Zeroes, Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti

 My guess for a winner? I reckon it will be Trent’s year this year, but we will see.

 If you are attending the National Convention, or attended last year, be sure to vote.

And don’t forget:
Book 3 will be long in just 8 weeks…

*it tied with with Trudi Canavan’s novel “Thief’s Magic.”

The second book of THE FORSAKEN LANDS is out today.

If you haven’t read book 1, THE LASCAR’S DAGGER, look here for reviews to see if it might interest you. To my intense pleasure, it made “the best fantasy of the year” for one SFF blogger, and featured on a couple of “best-books-read-in-2014” lists compiled by book bloggers.

So what is Book 2, THE DAGGER’S PATH all about? 

Well, half of it is set on the opposite side of the world, in the spice islands of the story. That’s the Sorrel, Saker, Juster and Ardhi thread.


Back in the Va-cherished Hemisphere, those left behind (Fritillary Reedling, Lady Mathilda, Gerelda) have their own horrors to confront. 

Both sides of the known world are under threat, but the threats are very different … or are they linked? The characters have been pushed by the dagger into confronting these dangers, but how they tackle them, and whether they find solutions — that’s up to them.

 

The world of The Forsaken Lands Trilogy

Below are some photographs of some of things and places that inspired me. 


Much of the background of the story has its roots in South-east Asia where I have lived and worked  for most of my life

A morning in tropical rainforest, Malaysia

Pulau Tiga (the original Survivor island of first show)

Sabah — glorious tropical Islands

Sabah mountains

As part of the book includes the journey of getting from one side of the world to the other, I had to pay attention to sailing ships. I went on board every one I find, but the two which offered the greatest authenticity and were more appropriate to the period were two replicas found in Australia:  Dufken, below, from 1606 and the Endeavour from 1770.

Below: officer cabins on Endeavour

Endeavour replica mess

Interior of the Duyfken replica – 1st European ship to Australia

Main crew mess of Endeavour

It’s actually very easy.


Give book tokens or books as presents.
Buy books. For yourself. As presents for others.


Any books. Books for babies and toddlers, so they’ll grow up in a home with books. Books for kids who’ve just learned to read, to give them the feeling of accomplishment. Books for kids, books for teenagers. Fiction. Non-fiction. Picture books, eBooks, real books, graphic novels, how-to books. Biographies, thrillers, whodunnits, fantasies, science fiction novels, horror stories, cookery books, romances, literary novels.


Why would any of that make authors happy? Because it keeps bookstores going, it keeps the publishers alive, it keeps the industry healthy. And it fosters a new generation of readers, and keeps an older generation of readers happy.


Of course, if you want to make a particular author ecstatic, buy their books. 

If you don’t have enough money to buy, then get their books out of the library, read them, blog/tweet/facebook/review them anywhere or everywhere. Tell your friends about them. In fact, we’re actually very easy to please!

THEY FOLLOW WHERE THE DAGGER LEADS

When sailors came to Ardhi’s island home, they plundered not only its riches, but its magic too. Now Ardhi must retrieve what was stolen, but there are ruthless men after this power, men who will do anything to possess it . . .
Sorcerers, lascars, pirates and thieves collide in this thrilling sequel to Glenda Larke’s epic fantasy adventure, THE LASCAR’S DAGGER.

 ‘Outstanding all the way to the last word.’ – Elizabeth Moon on The Lascar’s Dagger

Actually not true. I am rarely lonely, although I do like wandering. It clears the head after being crouched over my computer for hours, trying to write a steady 1,500 (good) words a day in book 2 of The Forsaken Lands.  The title of this one looks like being “The Dagger’s Path“. And I am incredibly lucky to have truly wonderful places to wander into, especially as we don’t have a car. Like these:

Black-winged Stilt striding out…

Ok, so it doesn’t scan. But they are everywhere…growing wild, because this their home territory.

With joey in the pouch