Ask the Author: Courtney Schafer
Answered Questions (7)
Courtney Schafer
Hi Darren, the original publisher for the first two books of the Shattered Sigil series only holds the rights for North America, which is why the ebooks aren't sold outside of US/Canada. However! I hold the international rights and have made my own ebook versions, so if you live in Australia, I can sell you an ebook for book 1 (Whitefire Crossing) direct and for cheaper than the US price, too :). If you'd like to get one, email me at courtney (at) courtneyschafer (dot) com and we can arrange the sale.
Courtney Schafer
Paul, thanks so much for asking. I'm guessing you live outside of North America, since Tainted City is readily available in ebook form through all major sales channels in the US & Canada. The publisher of Tainted City and Whitefire Crossing only holds North American rights, so they do not sell the ebooks of those two novels overseas. (They used to sell DRM-free versions through Baen's ebook store, which were a great deal and available to all, but to my dismay that is no longer the case.) However, I have made my own e-versions that I am allowed to sell direct to international readers. Cost is $7 USD and I have mobi, epub, and PDF available. I usually have people send me the $ either through paypal or as an Amazon gift card. If you email me at courtney (at) courtneyschafer (dot) com, we can work out details. (Some folks have asked why I don't put my own international versions up on Amazon UK. It's because I would first need to pay for new cover art & design, and I don't yet have the funds and time to get that done.)
Courtney Schafer
It's lovely to hear you'd like more! I am at least writing several Shattered Sigil short stories (some of which have turned into novellas, even!), but these will be from the POV of various secondary characters like Cara, Ruslan, etc. (I promised these as part of my Kickstarter for the Labyrinth of Flame. They'll go to backers first but then I'll put them out for general readers.) Also I just signed on to do a Lizaveta short story for the "Evil is a Matter of Perspective" anthology which is going to be kickstarted in June. (Honored to be invited to the anthology because it's got a great author line-up!) Once I finish all the short stories I intend to write something totally new, with sea magic and spies and a south sea island sort of setting. But I don't rule out returning to Dev & Kiran sometime in the future! They were so much fun to write.
Courtney Schafer
Hi! Always lovely to see another fan of Memory, Sorrow & Thorn. I feel like the series doesn't get mentioned nearly as often as it should, these days, when people talk about the greats of the genre. Anyway! I'm of course very pleased that you'd like to give my books a try. What I have written so far is one completed trilogy, the Shattered Sigil series, which lies somewhere on the scale between epic fantasy and sword and sorcery (I like to call it adventure fantasy). First book is The Whitefire Crossing, and that's the best place to start. Fair warning, it's not grand in scale like MS&T--only 2 POV characters, tight focus on their personal struggles/goals--but as the trilogy continues, the stakes increase and the scale of the story widens (though still only 2 POV characters throughout the trilogy). Ironically, relevant to the thread you reference, both Mark Lawrence and Janny Wurts loved it enough to give me blurbs. :) In any case, if you give Whitefire a try I hope you enjoy it--and if not, no worries.
Courtney Schafer
FUTHER EDIT: Unfortunately the trade paperback edition is no longer available for sale through regular channels (the printing company got bought out & no longer does print on demand). I do have some copies from the original print run that I am willing to sell direct, but the caveat is that I live in New Zealand and international shipping is very expensive.
EDITED TO ADD: The trade paperback edition is now available at US Amazon and Seattle Book Company (which ships internationally).
OLD ANSWER: I don't yet have a firm date for a general print release, since I still need to finish working out the distribution agreement. (The company that printed the copies for the Kickstarter has a PoD arm and I am hoping to arrange printing & distribution through them, as their quality is very good & they work with Amazon & the major print distributors.) BUT, if you don't want to wait for me to sign a distribution contract, I do have some extra copies from my Kickstarter print run that I'm happy to sell directly - email me at courtney (at) courtneyschafer (dot) com if you're interested, and I'll let you know cost & details.
EDITED TO ADD: The trade paperback edition is now available at US Amazon and Seattle Book Company (which ships internationally).
OLD ANSWER: I don't yet have a firm date for a general print release, since I still need to finish working out the distribution agreement. (The company that printed the copies for the Kickstarter has a PoD arm and I am hoping to arrange printing & distribution through them, as their quality is very good & they work with Amazon & the major print distributors.) BUT, if you don't want to wait for me to sign a distribution contract, I do have some extra copies from my Kickstarter print run that I'm happy to sell directly - email me at courtney (at) courtneyschafer (dot) com if you're interested, and I'll let you know cost & details.
Courtney Schafer
Unfortunately, Audible decided not to buy #3 - I guess the series hasn't been selling well enough in audiobook. They referred me to their ACX program, where authors can hire narrators and produce the audiobook themselves, but that requires time and money I don't have at the moment. (Pretty much every penny from the Kickstarter will be needed for the production and shipping of the physical books.) I still hope to do an audiobook some day, but that day may not come soon. Sorry! Wish I had a better answer for you.
Courtney Schafer
So glad you're enjoying the series! After my publisher nearly went bankrupt & got bought out, I have decided to put out the final book (The Labyrinth of Flame) on my own. As soon as I finish revising my current draft, I will be running a kickstarter to fund the production work. I've hired the same cover artist as for the 1st 2 books, and plan on making both electronic and physical editions of this book match in look and quality to the previous in the series. The kickstarter may happen as early as October, but it depends on how fast I can finish my revision. I'll need some time after the kickstarter for the book to go through editing, layout, & production, but basically I'm hoping to have it out to readers sometime this winter, or spring at the latest. I have a mailing list for people interested in receiving updates on release information - if you would like to be on it, email me at courtney (at) courtneyschafer (dot) com.
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