June Is (was) Audiobook Month

Well, here it is the last day of June and I haven't mentioned audiobooks at all like I was supposed to, and we all know whose fault that was . . . that's right, my assistant Peter.

June is audiobook month! There are lots of audiobook-related posts on Twitter with the hashtag #JIAM. There have been contests, some of which are still going on. If you like audiobooks, check it out.

I know many fans enjoy the performances of Michael Kramer and Kate Reading on the Wheel of Time audiobooks. Did you know that Michael Kramer also voiced the audiobooks for the Mistborn trilogy? They're unabridged and available from Audible.com and via iTunes. And remember how last year Tor.com previewed the second chapter of the audiobook of THE GATHERING STORM? Well, at least one of the upcoming previews of THE WAY OF KINGS on Tor.com is going to be in audio form, and Wheel of Time audiobook fans should be pleased with who you hear reading the chapters. The Stormlight Archive series will also be available via Audible and iTunes as well as on CD.

Most of my other books are also available in audio form. There's an unabridged recording of ALCATRAZ VERSUS THE EVIL LIBRARIANS. Both WARBREAKER and ELANTRIS are available in two different forms—traditional unabridged readings and full-cast dramatizations. The unabridged readings are from Recorded Books and are also on Audible and iTunes. The dramatizations come from Graphic Audio and are available as audio CDs, mp3 CDs, and mp3 downloads. (They also have an international store.) Graphic Audio editions aren't completely unabridged in that they don't have dialogue tags (he said/she said) since the characters are voiced by different actors, and some description is replaced with sound effects, but aside from that you won't miss any words. Their tagline is "A Movie in Your Mind," and if you're an audiobook fan it's an experience you should try out.

Updates, THE WAY OF KINGS ARC Giveaway, Tour

In the most recent Writing Excuses podcast episode, Dan and I are joined once more by James Dashner and Julie Wright to talk about "mating plumage": book covers, titles, and first lines. Again, this episode was recorded at CONduit with the help of Dungeon Crawlers Radio.

The MISTBORN 3 annotations are now all online, finishing with a wrap-up post on the whole series. WARBREAKER annotations are now going up, starting with one on the book's dedication. If you're not sure about this whole annotation thing, I'll be posting an explanation soon.

Tor has announced the book tour for THE WAY OF KINGS. I'll also be adding all the signings to my Events page and clearing up a few details such as: Which Barnes & Noble in Orlando? Which Powell's in the Portland area? I'll probably post the full details tomorrow.

Tor is also doing a giveaway of 40 copies of the uncorrected advance reading copy (and when it says uncorrected, it means it!) of THE WAY OF KINGS via GoodReads. Last I checked, 601 people had entered. That's still better odds than most contests. Now, Tor only has distribution rights for the U.S., which means this contest is restricted to U.S. residents. I'm considering ways for my non-U.S. fans to have a chance to get their hands on a copy.

And if you've been following me on Twitter or Facebook, you know that today I finished writing the final chapter (or rather, the last chapter I had left to write, which is not right at the end of the book) of TOWERS OF MIDNIGHT. Now it goes off to Team Jordan for feedback, and I start into the revisions that will be required before the book can go into production less than two months from now. It's going to be tight, but we'll pull it off.

Special prices on signed WARBREAKER & Mistborn trilogy, plus Grammar Girl Giveaway & Updates

As many of you know, I offer on my website signed hardcovers of books that have been out for a year or so, since by that time the paperback is available and the hardcover is more difficult to find in stores. Well, WARBREAKER has now been out for a year (and the paperback has been out for almost three months), so I've put it up in my store here. I've also put up the whole Mistborn trilogy again (though without the Steel Alphabet Medallion that I threw in with the holiday bundle we offered last year). Both WARBREAKER and the Mistborn trilogy have a special price until the release of THE WAY OF KINGS: $20 for WARBREAKER and about $70 for the Mistborn trilogy. After August 31st, WARBREAKER will go up to cover price and the Mistborn trilogy will go up to about $75. This year I'm not going to be signing in quite so many cities as I did last year, so if you like signed books this may be a good way for you to get them. Of course it's best to come to one of my signings and support the bookseller hosting me by buying my books there, but I know that's not an option for everyone.

Mignon Fogarty, who runs the excellent Grammar Girl podcast (and wrote the accompanying book), who I met at the Superstars Writing Seminar a few months ago, is having a contest with copies of MISTBORN as prizes—she's giving away two books each week for the next four weeks. She's calling it a "conversion story" contest—to enter, send in a story about how you got someone excited about Grammar Girl. The best eight entries will win. Of course, this means that not only would you need to already be listening to the Grammar Girl podcast (which you should be doing) but that you'd also have to have convinced someone else to start listening. Very crafty, Mignon. Anyway, to enter, send your conversion story to contest@quickanddirtytips.com—the sooner the better.

In the most recent Writing Excuses podcast episode from our run at CONduit while Howard was away, Dan and I are joined by James Dashner and Julie Wright for another of our brainstorming episodes. People often ask writers where we get our story ideas, and many of them come from throwing random things together as we do here. Check it out.

And tomorrow the final MISTBORN 3 annotation goes up on the website. (Last week annotations for the final chapter and the epilogue went up—again, full of spoilers!) On Thursday the WARBREAKER annotations should begin; I'll be doing another post about them then.

Breaking into the YA Market & MISTBORN 3 Annotations

In this week's Writing Excuses podcast, Dan and I were joined at CONduit by Robison Wells (who happens to be Dan's brother) and Janci Patterson (who happens to be an alpha reader of mine as well as a former student). Both have recently signed YA book deals, so this episode talks about how to break into the young adult market. (Like the previous podcasts from CONduit, this one was also recorded by the Dungeon Crawlers Radio folks. Thanks, guys!)

This week's MISTBORN 3 annotations finish up the penultimate chapter of the book. The first one covers [enormous spoiler removed] and the second covers [yet another spoiler removed]. If you haven't read the book, don't read these annotations—and go get the trilogy! There's a handy paperback box set of the trilogy available (and the story is finished at the end of the third book). We'll also be returning a signed trilogy bundle to my store very soon, most likely later this week.

If you didn't catch the WAY OF KINGS preview last week, head over to Tor.com to read the first three chapters. This is not the last preview they'll be hosting, but it will have to tide you over for a few weeks. We're also working out final details of the book tour and how to order numbered copies. Stay tuned.

Preview THE WAY OF KINGS on Tor.com

Today Tor.com has put up the first of several previews for THE WAY OF KINGS. Since the book won't be in stores until August 31, you can guess there will be more goodies in the coming months. Stay tuned.

The preview chapters will eventually make their way to the library section of my site, but Tor.com has them exclusively for a while (maybe until after the book's release?). They do want you to register before you can read the chapters. I've also written an introduction posted there, and there's an index page keeping track of all relevant posts. Check them out.

Robert Jordan Memorial Scholarship applications, updates

The folks over at TarValon.net let me know that applications for next school year's scholarship are now being accepted. It's a $500 scholarship open to all undergraduate students attending an accredited college or university, and the recipient is chosen based on their essay on the topic "How I plan to use my studies to become a Servant of All." If you're interested in applying, please visit TarValon.net.

Dan Wells and I recorded five episodes of the Writing Excuses at the recent CONduit convention, with the help of our friends at Dungeon Crawlers Radio (since Producer Jordo was elsewhere and we are by no means audio recording experts). Howard Tayler was away at a different convention, so instead we were joined by a rotating crew of luminaries. First up were L.E. Modesitt (of the Saga of Recluce and many others) and Dan's brother Robison Wells (whose book VARIANT comes out from Harper Teen in 2011). We recorded one episode on writing practical fantasy and then recorded a Q&A episode where we covered military SF, action sequences, foil characters, time scheduling, and dialogue. Check them out.

We're closing in on the end of the MISTBORN 3 annotations. Up first are the chapter 80 annotations that discuss Demoux's love life and testing the Mistfallen and the aftermath of the kandra Resolution. Then comes the huge climax chapter—and if you haven't read THE HERO OF AGES, please don't read these annotations, since they're full of spoilers! This one's a four-parter, and the first two parts cover prophecy and [redacted] and Human plus the trope of using the ultimate hidden weapon. I hope you've enjoyed the last few years of Mistborn annotations, because they're almost done with. In three weeks they'll all be up, and then my assistant Peter will start queuing the WARBREAKER annotations.