Ian Tregillis's Blog

And so we've come to the end: The Liberation, the thoughtful and blood-soaked conclusion to the Alchemy Wars trilogy, is on shelves now!

Here's something that I will never, ever get tired of saying: I have a new book out today!  The Rising, second volume of the Alchemy Wars trilogy, hits shelves and e-readers this morning.

Well, gosh.  It's been a while coming, but today I finally get to say, "Congratulations, you plucky little manuscript.  Today you become a real book!"

Today marks the US publication of THE MECHANICAL, the first volume in my new Alchemy Wars trilogy.  Thursday will mark the UK publication.

My friend Scott Denning, knowing that I am obsessed with helium, pointed me to this piece about helium outgassing from the supervolcano beneath Yellowstone National Park.

I'm not going to lie: I am inordinately delighted by this.  

When it comes to complimenting a writer, it's hard to imagine anything more thrilling than when a reader chooses to become a fictional character.   Perhaps especially when that character is, well, a deranged sociopath.

I never imagined I'd ever see Milkweed cosplay. 

File this one under further examples of why the Milkweed Triptych isn't nearly as fictional as I thought it was.  (Nor is it, apparently, as fictional as we might prefer.)  First it was a sequence of strange parallels between the imaginary work of Dr. von Westarp to create his battery-powered Übermenschen and real-world tDCS research.  Now it's weird linguistic-deprivation experiments of the Middle Ages.

OK.  This is one of those can't-win posts: I hate doing this, but if I don't do it I'll curse myself for failing at yet another incredibly basic task of self-promotion.

Self-promotion is, by leagues, my least-favorite part of being an author.  And of all my failings as a writer, self-promotion is surely the area where I fail most consistently.

Anyway, it's that time of year when people start looking for lists of works eligible for nominations.  So below the cut I've posted a list of my works that were published in calendar year 2013: two novels and a novelette.  

Scott Brick is a legend in the world of audiobook narrators, with over 600 books to his credit.   He's also an enormously talented actor and writer.   So I was over the moon when I heard his audition for the SMTN audiobook.  Within a few sentences, I knew Scott had absolutely nailed the characters and their world.

In fact, when I now go back and reread portions of the book, I hear it in Scott's voice.  He managed to replace the voices in my head with his own—that's… well, phenomenal. 

So imagine my delight when I received a note from Scott thanking me for the opportunity to work on Something More Than Night, and letting me know how much he enjoyed the project.  (And it turns out Scott is an avowed fan of both SFF and noir stories—as Bogart famously said, "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.")

Scott graciously agreed to let me toss a few interview questions his way.   Below the cut, read my conversation with the man who gave voice to Bayliss, Molly, and—oh yeah—the Voice of God. 

My new book, Something More Than Night, makes extensive use of the vocabulary and tropes of the old pulp noir detective stories of the 1930s-1950s.  One character in particular embraces this persona with gusto: Bayliss speaks like no other character in the story.

It was a fun writing challenge to set for myself.  It was also a hell of a lot of work.

By the time my preparations were complete, I had assembled an 80 page slang glossary containing over 750 entries, each with its own contextual example and bibliographic reference. 

Now that the book is out (hooray!) I'm posting the glossary online.

You know what?  I cannot imagine a future scenario where I tire of saying, "So, yeah, hey, by the way, my new book is officially published today."  Because, sheesh, I have to admit it's a fun thing to say.

In fact, I think I'll do it right now. 

My newest novel, Something More Than Night, is officially published today!