Sep 8 2010

ACE ROC Fall Preview and Giveaway

By Jane • Contests/Giveaways • • Tags: ,

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.

Welcome to Ace and Roc's fabulous fall forthcoming books giveaway.

Thanks again to Dear Author for giving me this opportunity to let you know about some of our terrific upcoming titles. As always, there are too many great books for me to mention all of them, so you can look at our site (http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/specialinterests/scifi/index.html) to see everything we publish. Happy reading!

September 2010

QUEEN OF SHADOWS by Dianne Sylvan

Queen-of-ShadowsThis is a brand-new author, starting a brand-new urban fantasy series, so you can get in on the ground floor. It's powerful, dark, and-’what I'm especially looking for these days-’it's different. It's about a musician named Miranda Grey who's struggling to control her psychic ability. She's an empath, and it's slowly driving her mad. After surviving a brutal attack, she encounters the vampire David Solomon, and finds herself drawn into his shadow world. I really enjoyed the fact that David is a sexy computer geek-’because how often do you find those adjectives put together to describe a vampire? David is also the Prime of the South, and when he outlawed killing humans, he ignited a civil war among Austin's vampires (and made himself very unpopular with the old guard, who refuse to control their violent urges). David thinks he's helping Miranda out when he takes her in, but what he doesn't know is that Miranda has the power to change his world as well-

For those who are sensitive to the portrayal of sexual violence, be aware Miranda is raped early on and this attack is the catalyst for her learning to use her powers to defend herself.

Ghost TownGHOST OF A CHANCE by Simon R. Green

Another new series (because I know you love them)! This is also first in an urban fantasy series, but it's a bit more of an ensemble piece (with a nod to Torchwood). I have it on good authority that a very sweet romance develops over the course of the book between one of the characters-’and a ghost.

The Carnicki Institute exists to Do Something About Ghosts. Lay them to rest, send them packing, or kick their nasty ectoplasmic arses with extreme prejudice-

The Institute's operatives are the best of the best: JC Chance: sharp, brave, charming, and almost unbearably arrogant; Melody Chambers: Science-geek techno-wizard extraordinaire who keeps the antisupernatural equipment running smoothly; and Happy Jack Palmer: the telepath with the gloomy disposition, the last person anyone would want navigating through his head.

Their current assignment: investigate a major haunting deep underground at London's Oxford Circus Tube Station. Difficult-’and dangerous-’enough without the added interference of a pair of agents from the infamous Crowley Project whose mission is much simpler: eliminate Chance, Chambers, and Palmer, whatever the consequences-

October 2010

Bayou-MoonBAYOU MOON by Ilona Andrews

This is the next book in Ilona Andrews's Edge series, BUT it is more of a stand-alone, with a new hero and heroine. So no worries-’even if you haven't read ON THE EDGE, you can pick this one up and enjoy it. (If you have read ON THE EDGE, William, Declan's friend and rival for Rose's affections, gets his own story here.) Ilona Andrews has a talent for characterization, description, and incredibly creative worldbuilding, and you're in for a treat with this one.

The Edge lies between worlds, on the border between the Broken, where magic is a fairy tale; and the Weird, where the strength of your magic can change your destiny. BAYOU MOON takes us to a new part of the Edge-’the Mire, a vast swampland between the state of Louisiana and the Weird. Cerise Mar and her unruly clan are cash poor but land rich, claiming a large swathe of the Mire. When her parents vanish, her clan's long-time rivals are the primary suspects.

But all is not as it seems. Two nations of the Weird are waging a cold war fought by feint and espionage, and their conflict is about to spill over into the Edge-’and Cerise's life. William, a changeling soldier who'd left behind the politics of the Weird, has been forced back into service to track down a rival nation's spymaster.

When William's and Cerise's missions lead them to cross paths, sparks fly-’but they'll have to work together if they want to succeed-and survive.

GraveWitchGRAVE WITCH by Kalayna Price

This is clearly the season for debut authors-’GRAVE WITCH kicks off a terrific new urban fantasy series about Alex Craft, a Grave Witch who can speak to the dead. I think one of my favorite parts of this book is the fact that Death himself is one of the love interests (he's visited her off and on since she was young). I admit I've always had a morbid streak (as if my fondness for Edgar Allen Poe and graveyards didn't give me away)-

As a private investigator and consultant for the police, Alex Craft has seen a lot of dark magic. But even though she's on good terms with Death himself-’who happens to look fantastic in a pair of jeans-’nothing has prepared her for her latest case. Alex is investigating a high profile murder when she's attacked by the "shade' she's raising, which should be impossible. To top off her day, someone makes a serious attempt on her life, but Death saves her. Guess he likes having her around.

To solve the case Alex will have to team up with tough homicide detective Falin Andrews. Falin seems to be hiding something-’though it's certainly not his dislike of Alex. But Alex knows she needs his help to navigate the tangled webs of mortal and paranormal politics, and to track down a killer wielding a magic so malevolent, it may cost Alex her life-and her soul.

MasquesMASQUES by Patricia Briggs

I know there's a number of Patricia Briggs fans out there who love the Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega novels, but wish she would also write traditional fantasy again. Guess what: your wish is about to come true. Prepare yourself for the one-two punch of MASQUES in October and WOLFSBANE in November!

MASQUES is Patricia Briggs's very first book EVER. It has been out of print for over ten years, and she's taken the opportunity to write an introduction and revise it for this new edition. (For anyone who's read the original version of MASQUES, she's also written a brand-new prologue, that reveals how Wolf and Aralorn met.) It tells the story of Aralorn, a woman who flees her noble birthright for a life of adventure as a mercenary spy. Along the way, she meets an enigmatic sorcerer who travels at her side in the shape of a wolf. Together, they join the rebellion against the ae'Magi, a foe armed with the power of illusion.

This is a pleasure to read not only for the story, but also for the insight it gives us into Patricia Briggs's creative process and evolution as a writer. A number of the elements she uses in her other books make their first appearance in MASQUES.

November 2010

WolfsbaneWOLFSBANE by Patricia Briggs

And on to part two of the Patricia Briggs traditional fantasy juggernaut. WOLFSBANE is the direct sequel to MASQUES. It's never before been published, though I actually acquired it before MOON CALLED. When the Mercy Thompson series took off in such a big way, we asked Patricia Briggs to hold off on WOLFSBANE to focus on her urban fantasy. It's exciting to finally be able to share this book with you.

For the last ten years, shapeshifting mercenary Aralorn has led a dangerous existence-’a far cry from her noble upbringing. Now, she's returning home under the most unfortunately circumstances: her father has passed away. But when Aralorn and her companion Wolf arrive, the combination of their magic uncovers something wonderful yet alarming-’her father is not actually dead, but only appears so. Yet a dark mist is also very much alive within him-

GHOST TOWN by Rachel Caine

Rachel Caine-Ghost TownThis is the first hardcover in Rachel Caine's young adult Morganville Vampires series. (Although her YA titles are not published by Roc, her adult books are, so I thought it kind of sort of fit here.) The Morganville Vampires series is absolutely wonderful and such fun, with top-notch writing, characters you care about, and a unique world.

Claire Danvers is one of those genius teenagers who go off to college when their peers are still in high school. She actually got into MIT, but her parents thought she was too young to live so far from home, and made her go to a local community college instead. There, she discovers that the small college town of Morganville, Texas is completely run by vampires.

In GHOST TOWN, Claire and the vampire scientist she works with are struggling to restore the system that maintains the town's defenses (and makes everyone who leaves the town limits "forget" about the vampires of Morganville). Claire thinks she's found a solution, but the new system turns out to have unintended (and deadly) consequences: people inside the town start forgetting who and what they are-’even the vampires. When Claire's best friend Eve and her boyfriend Shane start treating her like a perfect stranger, Claire has to hurry and pull the plug on the experiment-’before she forgets how to save herself-and Morganville.

Anne Sowards is an executive editor at Penguin Group (USA) Inc., where she primarily acquires and edits fantasy and science fiction for the Ace and Roc imprints. Some of the great authors she works with include Jim Butcher, Patricia Briggs, Rachel Caine, Anne Bishop, Ilona Andrews, Karen Chance, Jack Campbell, and Rob Thurman. When she’s not reading, she listens to Chinese rap and spends way too much time playing video games. Follow her at http://twitter.com/AnneSowards.

GIVEAWAY Details: Anne is always looking for good music recommendations so in the comments list your top three choices of the following books AND a music recommendation for Anne!

*******

  • QUEEN OF SHADOWS / Dianne Sylvan – 3 finished copies
  • GHOST OF A CHANCE / Simon R. Green – 2 ARCs
  • BAYOU MOON / Ilona Andrews – 3 ARCs
  • GRAVE WITCH / Kalayna Price – 2 ARCs
  • MASQUES / Patricia Briggs – 3 ARCs
  • WOLFSBANE / Patricia Briggs – 3 ARCs
  • GHOST TOWN / Rachel Caine – 3 ARCs
  • KILLBOX / Ann Aguirre – 2 finished copies
  • THE GRIMROSE PATH / Rob Thurman – 3 ARCs
  • TROUBLED WATERS / Sharon Shinn – 2 ARCs
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