Last year, The Winds of Khalakovo nabbed the Debut of the Year from Pat’s Fantasy Hotlist. Pat pinged me shortly after and asked if an ARC for The Straits of Galahesh was available. I said of course an ARC was available and promptly arranged for one to be sent with Night Shade’s publicist. Truth is, though, I’ve been biting my fingernails ever since. Authors are always looking for high marks, but those marks also set up high expectations for the next novel. You want to do better each time. So I was, well, not worried, exactly, but anxious about how Pat would respond to Straits.

Well, Pat finished up his read of Straits and just posted it on the Hotlist. Let me excerpt just a few paragraphs from the full review.

In addition, I’m not sure Bradley P. Beaulieu sat down and had a beer with George R. R. Martin at a convention in between books, but it looks as though he became fond of creating living and breathing protagonists that readers care about, only to kill them off when you least expect it. Indeed, The Straits of Galahesh features a body count that both GRRM and Joe Abercrombie would approve of. At one point I was left wondering who the hell would be left to make it to the third volume!

I had a bit of a chuckle at this. GRRM is one of my literary heroes. And while I don’t focus on body count, I’m not shy of it. This is a world in flux, and conflict is part and parcel of the story, and à la Glen Cook and GRRM himself, I want it to be muddy and bloody when death does come. I want it to have impact, and I don’t want to sugar coat it.

Interestingly enough, I have to give my editor, Ross Lockhart, a hat tip here. One of the characters who dies does so in a rather spectacular way at the tail end of a windship battle. He didn’t die a very spectacular death in the first draft. I had meant it to be a statement the senselessness of war, but Ross pointed out, correctly, that that’s a pretty crappy way for a hero to die. And damned if he wasn’t right. Fiction makes a different sort of sense than reality, and in this case it meant the character’s death should mean something to the plot, to the other characters, and perhaps even to himself. In a way, his death ended up being a statement about his own views on life, and I’m very glad I ended up changing it. (If you’re not sure who I mean, ask me at a con sometime. We’ll chat.)

And then this:

Dark, ambitious, complex, populated with a great cast of characters that leap off the pages, The Straits of Galahesh is just what the doctor ordered if you are looking for a quality read that’s different from everything else on the market today. The Winds of Khalakovo turned out to be one of the very best SFF works of 2011. Somehow, Bradley P. Beaulieu has raised the bar even higher for this sequel, making The Straits of Galahesh a “must read” speculative fiction title for 2012.

As I said above, we’re always looking to get better, and while I felt that I had, thinking you did is not the same as reader response. I’ve been very gratified by the reviews so far, in that they’ve all said that Straits takes a strong step forward, and I’m elated that Pat’s high expectations were met as well.

Click here to read the full review.

The latest review of Winds goes to Battle Hymns. Overall, a very nice review.

The setting here is a unique one. The place names and character names give The Winds of Khalakovo a distinct Russian feel, and the windswept archipelago geography is pretty cool too. I gotta give Beaulieu credit, he definitely found his story a unique setting without pushing epic fantasy readers too far outside of their usual European-like setting comfort zone. That said, there were a lot of the same elements that we see played out repeatedly in the genre at play here as well. Beaulieu does play with and challenge a few of these norms though, especially in terms of his female characters, and I for one was greatly pleased. Personally, I’d love to see more authors do the same thing as Beaulieu has done, but push the normative boundaries even further.

That’s a pretty gratifying paragraph. I was certainly trying to upend the notions of female roles in the societies I was portraying in Winds, not to such a degree that it was simple gender bending, but in a way that brought a new and interesting take on the power structures of this pseudo-medieval society.

Ryan expressed some trouble with the action scenes. Sarah Chorn at Bookworm Blues and a few other reviewers mentioned that their confusion might have resulted from the 3D space involved in the windship battles. Perhaps it was. Or perhaps I made things a bit too chaotic. I’m curious to see what people think of those types of scenes in The Straits of Galahesh.

In any case, my thanks to Ryan for the read and review. Click here to read the full review.

Sarah over at Bookworm Blues recently reviewed The Winds of Khalakovo, calling it a book worth paying attention to and me and author worth noting.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the review:

Beaulieu has written an incredibly complex novel filled with rich cultural detail and plenty of symbolism. In fact, many reviewers have compared The Winds of Khalakovo to Steven Erikson’s Malazan novels in world building, meaning that readers might often have to go back to catch details they might have previously missed. This complex world building is a huge undertaking on the part of the author and could possibly serve to delight readers. Regardless of how you crack this egg, having your debut book compared to Steven Erikson’s Malazan books is one hell of an accomplishment. For fans of complex worlds and books that set an impressive foundation for an incredibly promising epic fantasy series, you need look no further than The Winds of Khalakovo. Despite its flaws, it’s a book to pay attention to written by an author worth noting.

You can read the review in its entirety over at Bookworm Blues.

The Straits of Galahesh Giveaway continues, and the response so far has been great! There's still another week to go to win one of the great prizes: a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet (winner's choice), a Kindle Touch or Nook Simple Touch (winner's choice), a rare signed ARC of The Straits of Galahesh, and sets of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh. Click here for more information, including how to enter.

But I also want to let everyone know that Night Shade is sponsoring a giveaway through Goodreads. They're giving away FIVE copies of STRAITS (Canada and US only). Click here for the entry form over at Goodreads.

Good luck if you decide to enter!

Far Beyond Reality, the relatively new review site from Stefan Raets, has a brand new review of The Winds of Khalakovo. The review, which you can read in its entirety here, is quite complementary. Here's my favorite part:

The Winds of Khalakovo is a debut that merits your attention. The way Bradley Beaulieu focuses on the emotions of his characters in the midst of political turmoil is reminiscent of Robin Hobb or even George R. R. Martin. The world-building, especially the spirit realm of Adhiya and the way supernatural and historical events affect the present, makes this novel read like it would fit neatly into one of Steven Erikson’s Malazan tomes. Those aren’t bad names to be compared to for a debut author.

I adore Robin Hobb, and anyone who knows my knows that one of my exemplars is GRRM. I've tried the first book in Erikson's Malazan series, but have yet to break my initial resistance to a new (really long) series to go farther than that, but I've heard great things about his writing and will one day soon read them.

That isn't what I want to talk about, however. Toward the end, Stefan says:

Whatever the case may be, The Winds of Khalakovo delivers enough material to fill more than one novel. The book is actually split in two parts, with the first one ending on a spectacular climax. Part two is so full of crazy escapes and wild battles, on windships and cliffs and in the dark, often described at length and in great detail, that it all gets to be a bit much towards the end. The tension is there, but it’s maintained at such a high pitch for so long that it becomes numbing after a while. I loved the first part of this novel, getting to know the fantasy world and the characters, but part two simply wore me down. The main issue with The Winds of Khalakovo, like with many debut novels, is that the author has crammed so much material in this first book that I was simply exhausted towards the end. Possibly it would would have worked better as two separate novels.

I just finished writing an article on "Tension on Every Page" for the SFWA Bulletin, an idea I was first introduced to in Donald Maass's excellent book, Writing the Breakout Novel. The notion here is that every page should be filled with tension of some kind. As simple as that idea is to express (and I do believe it's one of the keys to great fiction) it's really hard to execute properly. In the article, I talk about the notion of varying levels of tension and varying types of tension. I won't repeat the article here. Suffice it to say that finding a pleasing landscape of tension while painting real characters living in a real world is the thing I work hardest at, and it's also the thing that's most difficult to pull off.

I don't care to judge my own book. It's out in the world and it is what it is. But Stefan brings up something very interesting that all young writers should be aware of. And that's what I want to talk about: this notion of too much tension. To a young writer, this may seem silly. How can a book have too much tension? This is something that's admittedly hard to do—and perhaps I was a victim of my own mantra; something I'll ponder in the weeks to come—but one of the traps is using the same type of tension too often. As Stefan says, too much tension produces numbness.

The first house I ever bought was about twenty yards from an elevated train track. The house shook lightly when the trains came by, and the sound of it was incredibly loud at first. I would wake up at night when they barreled through. I would get annoyed by the interruption when they rumbled by during the day. But eventually I came to accept it. And then I kind of liked it. And then I HARDLY EVEN NOTICED THEY WERE COMING BY. The mind is really good at adjusting to things that are the same. Our danger senses relax and begin looking for other threats, because it's identified THIS ONE as non-threatening.

And so it is with fiction. Too much tension numbs the reader. Interestingly enough, Stefan not only identifies the problem, he also reveals one of the remedies: "The way Bradley Beaulieu focus on the emotions of his characters in the midst of political turmoil…"

This—the focusing on the emotions of characters even in the midst of tension—is one of the primary tools in the writer's toolbox when you feel like things are ramping up too high. Easing away from action or suspense or dread will naturally lower the ambient level of tension, but it will subtly draw the reader to the reason why they care. And why is that? Because they care about the characters themselves. This literary "stepping away from tension" will act as a reset of sorts, a recalibration, so that when the tension resumes, they are reoriented to the stakes of the characters' efforts.

Let me be clear, though, lest you fall into a trap. Don't take this to mean that these "lower tension" scenes (not low tension, but lower tension) should not contain tension themselves. They should. It will just be of a different type. Think of Frodo on his long journey toward Mount Doom. There are times when he and Sam talk about The Shire and how their lives used to be. They lament for their younger, simpler selves. This kind of scene isn't laced with tension, but it certainly creates a longing within the reader, and it plays foil to the other, higher-tension scenes that tend to bracket them.

I'm running into these very problems now with the third book in The Lays of Anuskaya series. I'm writing a sequence that's building toward the end of the book, much like I did in Winds, but it's feeling very helter-skelter right now. I know it's one of the weak points in this early draft, even with the high tension that's present. Why? Because tension in and of itself is not enough. Tension must rise and fall. The various incarnations tension takes must change constantly.

Lest they become "numbing after a while."

Although the release of Straits is still a few weeks out, I now have in my hot little electronic paws a PDF teaser for The Straits of Galahesh. It contains the prologue and the first eleven chapters, plus a short synopsis of The Winds of Khalakovo.

Download The Straits of Galahesh Teaser Here

I also just released an interactive map for The Lays of Anuskaya. Within it, you'll find Easter eggs that will give you more chances to win in The Straits of Galahesh Giveaway. I, along with Night Shade Books, am giving away a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet 1st Prize, a Kindle Touch or Nook Simple Touch 2nd Prize, and copies of The Straits of Galahesh, including a rare ARC as the 3rd Prize. Take a look at the Giveaway Page for all the details, including how to enter!

And one last reminder: The Winds of Khalakovo is now free on Amazon.com. Just click this link and you can "Buy" it for free!

I'm very excited to announce a giveaway in promotion of The Straits of Galahesh, which is now less than a month from release. In order to help spread the word, I, along with Night Shade Books, am running a contest with a top prize of a Kindle Fire and a second prize of a Kindle Touch, plus other books giveaways, including a rare ARC of The Straights of Galahesh! 13 prizes in all!

Read on for the details, click here to enter, and please, spread the word.

What can I win?

One 1st Prize of a Nook Color Tablet or a Kindle Fire! Winner's choice!

One 2nd Prize of a Nook Simple Touch or a Kindle Touch! Winner's choice!

One 3rd Prize of a Signed ARC of The Straits of Galahesh! Note that VERY FEW of these were printed. I have only two, and the other is earmarked for next year's Worldbuilders drive. So this is the one and only ARC that I'll be giving away.

Five 4th Prizes of a SET of SIGNED TRADE PAPERBACK editions of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh!

Five 5th Prizes of a SET of the ELECTRONIC editions of The Winds of Khalakovo and The Straits of Galahesh! (Electronic editions can be delivered in epub, mobi, or pdf formats.)

Ok, I'm sold. How do I enter?

By clicking here and filling out the form so I know how many bonus points to give you.

You mean I can get more than one chance to win?

That's right! There are a metric ton (yes, a ton!) of ways to increase your chances of winning.

Here's a list of the bonus points you get (50 possible points in total) by helping to spread the word about The Straits of Galahesh:

Wait a sec. If I review Winds, does it need to be positive?

Absolutely not. I'm only looking to spread the word, and more reviews helps. And if you've already entered a review, by all means, include the link. Those will count too!

Ok, can I just do a rating and not a review?

Not for this contest, no. (Though I'm of course happy to receive any feedback on those sites.)

Where can I see the cool interactive map to find these easter eggs you speak of?

Click here to open the new interactive map for The Lays of Anuskaya. The easter eggs (three of them) are hidden around the map, possibly in a sub-map, possibly on the main map. Click around, explore, have fun, and when you find the easter eggs, they'll give you a code to include in your contest entry submission form. (Please, no spoilers in the comments. Mentions of the Easter Egg locations will be deleted.)

When does the contest start?

Today, March 13th, 2012

When does it end?

On Release Day for The Straits of Galahesh: April 3rd, 2012 at midnight, Eastern Standard Time (GMT -5). Winners will be notified by April 6th, 2012.

How is the winner chosen?

When the contest ends, I will create a spreadsheet with everyone's entries and their point totals. I will then use a random number generator via random.org to choose the winners of the giveaway.

When will I get my loot?

Prizes will be sent out within two weeks of announcing the winners.

Anything else I should know?

This contest is open to the U.S. and Canada only. You must be 18 or older to enter. Only one entry per household.

Not interested in the contest?

Fair enough, but if you have a moment, please spread the word. One of your friends might like to enter!

How do I enter again?

By clicking here and filling out the form so I know how many bonus points to give you.

Today is a very exciting day. I'm finally ready to unveil the interactive map project I've been working on these past few weeks. You can click the map below to go to the page, which you can also find under the Lays of Anuskaya menu on the menu bar above.

Within the map, you'll also find an Easter egg or two (or three). These have been placed there in anticipation of the The Straits of Galahesh Giveaway, which you can find more about here. (Please, no spoilers in the comments. Any mention of the Easter egg locations will be deleted.)

For those who are interested, I'll be adding a new post in the coming weeks that talks about how I created the map. In the meantime, explore, enjoy, and thanks for spreading the word!

Ah, awards season. What would they be without (a) a few gentle reminders to vote and (b) a note or two about what you can vote for? Lest your award season, and in particular the Hugo Awards, feel incomplete, here are the wee little projects that I can offer up for your kind consideration.

Best Novel

My, ahem, modest epic fantasy, The Winds of Khalakovo, came out last year in April and is eligible for the Best Novel category.

Best Novella

Late, late, late last year (December 23rd, to be exact) I released a dystopian sci-fi thriller with Stephen Gaskell called Strata. Releasing so late in the year was a tactical error on our part. We were trying to catch the avalanche of e-book sales as everyone got a new e-reader for Christmas. Had we been thinking, at all, we would have delayed a week to give our little story a bit more time for awards varied and sundry.

Still, Steve and I are both terribly proud of this tale of a social unrest on a solar mining platform. We hope you agree, and we’d be grateful for your vote in the Best Novella category.

Best Fancast

It is apparently my year for collaborations, because I also started up a podcast with friend and fellow writer, Greg Wilson called Speculate. I think it’s a really fun podcast with a unique approach to our shows. We generally do triptychs for a given work of specfic literature (an anthology, magazine issue, or novel). The first show is a reader response, the second is an interview with the author and sometimes editor, and the third is a discussion of writing technique based on what we read. It’s a great way to dig a bit deeper and to learn more from guests than you might on other shows, and we’re proud of that.

And, please forgive me for a moment as I put in a plug for Greg. I like to think that I do ok on the show for a guy that had no radio/podcasting experience before starting the show. Greg, however, is REALLY good at doing these podcasts. He’s got a voice cast in the back rooms of the radio hall of fame, he asks incisive questions, and he’s always light on his feet. Just listen to one show and you’ll see what I mean.

If you decide to vote for us in the Best Fancast category, you have our heartfelt thanks.

So, that’s it, my friends. Thanks for listening, and thanks for your votes, even if they weren’t for us.

Ok, this is pretty cool. The Winds of Khalakovo has been entered into Book Spot Central’s 6th Annual Book Tournament! There are four brackets, and Winds has been placed, appropriately, in the Middle Earth bracket:

Middle Earth Bracket

1. The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
2. Leviathan Wakes by James S.A. Corey
3. Snuff (Discworld #39) by Terry Pratchett
4. The Magician King by Lev Grossman
5. Reamde by Neal Stephenson
6. The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham
7. The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
8. The Cold Commands by Richard Morgan
9. Dead Iron by Devon Monk
10. White-Luck Warrior by R. Scott Bakker
11. A Discovery of Witches by Deborah E. Harkness
12. Prince of Thorns by Mark Lawrence
13. Winds of Khalokovo by Bradley Beaulieu
14. The Plain Man by Steve Englehart
15. The Sentinel Mage by Emily Gee
16. The Neon Court (Matthew Swift #3) by Kate Griffin

Are you not amused!?!?

And look, by Mars’ sharp spear, I’m up against such heavyweights as Joe Abercrombie’s The Heroes (1st seed, natch), Lev Grossman’s The Magician King, and R. Scott Bakker’s White-Luck Warrior! Still, I hope with your help I can make a little noise.

Voting starts March 12th. I’ll be sure to let you all know when Winds steps onto the amphitheatre floor.