The cave gryphons warn that when you travel deep beneath Belamuria, you should move in groups of no fewer than twenty, and you should never listen to the whispers that tell you to stray from the path…
If you’re a patron at the audiobook tier, you have access to the audiobook today! Go check the post to get your copy =]
The audiobook is currently going through the individual stores’ Quality Assurance departments, so they’ll be up soon. Kobo is up for preorder, Audible and everywhere else it might be a few days.
Amazon’s paperback will be approved soon. For other stores, there was an issue to fix, and the new proofs are in the mail. As soon as they arrive, if they’re good, the paperback will show up in other stores and the hardcovers and large print editions will show up everywhere (even Amazon).
Pridelord releases on Thursday! Of course, I wouldn’t want to show off the interior art early, but… maybe it’s time for a little game of Who’s That Gryphon?
The first interior art piece showcases one of the more unusual denizens of the Emerald Jungle. Known for their sharp beak and swooshy tail, they first appeared in The Crackling Sea, where they dampened the threshold to Nighteyes’ home. Go on, take your best guess. Who’s that gryphon?
I get a lot of emails asking about when Pridelord will be ready, and while the answer is still “soon,” for patrons, the answer is… well, right now =] Patrons at the $3 and up level can grab the ebook edition as of yesterday.
The retail version will go live after the audiobook and print editions are ready. James Scott Spaid is recording the audiobook as we speak, and I just got the final back cover copy and spine dimensions over to Jeff Brown. Soon as Jeff finalizes the cover print files, proofs will be on their way.
Because this book is so long and our printer’s max length is ~930 pages, Glenn and I have been polling fans at conventions who buy the large print editions, and you were all pretty clear: you did not want the font size reduced for any reason on the small print. In fact, for many of you, you’d given up on large print because it wasn’t large enough, and getting to see the GryphIns large print editions is what made you buy them. So we had to make the tough decision to divide the large print edition into parts one and two, around 550 pages each. It was a tough call as we definitely didn’t want people who need (or just enjoy) large print to have to pay more, but I appreciate all the input. And, for what it’s worth, that means that both parts are larger than Crestfall or Eyrie. Pridelord is a bigger than both combined!
I usually devote my time to working on the next book, but in this case, I’m listening to Pridelord’s audiobook as it gets recorded to help cut down on the production time. At the latest, when the audiobook gets finalized, there’ll be a two week preorder window. If things are going smoothly, it might be sooner. As promised, though, the audiobook, print editions, and ebook will release at around the same time. (Audible’s their own beast, so sometimes they release it early and sometimes their strict quality control standards take longer to approve a book.) Patrons in the audiobook tier will get the audiobook as it goes into final proof-listening, then the final version will be available after if you want the retail version.
All-in-all, it’s good to have this book ready to go. 2023 was a wild year without any GryphIns releases, and I’m glad it’s through. Things are still a little rough here (my husband is coming out of all his Long Covid complications, but he’s not at 100% yet). I’m at a point where my entire life isn’t just Covid stuff, though. Not that I ever stopped writing (Saberbeak is almost 40k written), just that I write much faster when my stress level is lower.
And with a book as long as Pridelord, it could have been four romance or cozy mystery novels, which would’ve filled up that 2023 roster nicely =] But I write epic fantasy, and those run long.
That said, while Pridelord needed to be long, the themes and stories that come next lend themselves more into normal length books. I’d considered trying to finish the series with just two more books, both extra long, and it feels forced. So the series may run a little longer, but instead of these 4x-normal-sized novels, they’ll be more like normal Starling-sized novels. It just may take a few more to finish up than expected.
Now, it’s time for me to curl up on the couch and watch the Lou Diamond Phillips episodes of Psych with Glenn, then get some sleep. When I’m not listening through Pridelord’s audiobook, though, I’ll be working hard on Saberbeak. Life’s not quite normal enough that I’d risk putting up a preorder page, but I have dreams of it releasing in December. Who doesn’t want to curl up with a nice warm Hatzel and read gryphon books over the winter? (Sorry, Australians, I know that’s your summer!)
The much-anticipated sixth Gryphon Insurrection book is now available! Sea monsters swim through luminescent waters, armies march south upon the unsuspecting Ashen Weald, Tresh’s investigating into a lost fishing village sends her careening into Younce, and Blinky the owl gryphon hides a secret in the sunken eyrie.
Every character who was a part of (or wronged by) the Crackling Sea Eyrie makes an appearance, along with a few new faces. And because everyone wants to find out what gryphons may show up, here’s a taste: -Andean mountain cat gryphons -Flamingo opinici (they’re not happy about Crestfall) -Ivory-billed woodpecker opinici -Royal spoonbill opinici -Canada lynx + grey owl gryphons
Just to name a few!
If you have friends who like gryphons that you’ve been wanting to get into the series, Eyrie‘s ebook is free this month in the US and UK as part of the Hello Books fantasy promotion (and ~99 cents everywhere else). You can see what Hello Books is doing here:
And if they’re more of an audiobook listener than an ebook reader, Eyrie is now available on Audible and anywhere audiobooks are sold (plus libraries)!
I sometimes get asked about the best store for supporting authors, and the answer is always whichever one works best for you, the reader/listener. But since I get asked this often enough, I thought I’d mention that Authors Direct gives most of the earnings directly to the author.
Narrator James Scott Spaid did a great job on Eyrie, and he’s hard at work on Ashen Weald as we speak. I know a lot of gryphon fans have been asking for audiobooks for years now, and I’m so glad to see my series in audio.
With Crackling Sea out in the wild, I’m taking a week off, then I’ll be back to do the final checks on Opinicus (#7) and get started writing Pridelord (#8). In the mean time, I think I’ll curl up on the couch with my spouse and a cat, catch up on my reading, and watch the snow fall.
