Memory War Pre-Order

With just 10 weeks to go before the release of Memory War, I'm sure plenty of people will want to know how they can get their copy. For those of you who'll be attending the launch, or don't want to order from Amazon, you can order copies directly from me, if you wish.

Almost time...

The price per copy will be €13. I can arrange for free delivery in Ireland if you can't make it to the launch, but still want a signed copy. Outside of Ireland, I would have to charge an additional €5 for delivery.

All payment can be made via PayPal, and I'll just need your email address to send the invoice.

Please note that you'll need to pay the invoice in advance to secure a copy. I may have some spare books to hand at the launch, but I can only give a guarantee for prepaid copies.

You can place your order by email.

Sign up for the Memory War Blog Tour

It's that time again, when I need the help of bloggers to get the word out about my latest book. It's time to prepare for the Memory War Blog Tour!

Although Memory War is out on Kindle in August, the blog tour will be running in September, to coincide with the release of the print edition and the official launch party.

As this is the end of the series, expect to see the most revealing articles yet on how The Memory Wars came to be, what the series means to me, and where I'm going from here. There'll be music discussions, character profiles, excerpts, interviews, and revelations about the Memoryverse.

If you'd like to take part, post a message here, or get in touch with one of the following methods:

• Email
• Facebook message
• Twitter

I'll get back as to you as soon as possible to arrange a date in September. All you have to do is let me know if you'd prefer to host an article, review, or interview, make sure it's up on your date, and let everybody know on the day.

Casting Contest - Enter to win a signed copy of Memory War

It's getting closer and closer to the release of Memory War, and to help celebrate I'm running a casting contest.

How will this work? Come up with a list of actors and actresses you would cast as the characters in the Memory Wars trilogy, if it were being made into a movie, and send them to me, wither with a brief explanation of why you think this would be a good cast, or a note to say which of their previous performances made you think of them for the part.

I'll select one of these cast lists and post it here. The winner will receive a signed copy of Memory War.

The closing date for submissions will be July 15th, and the winner will be announced on July 24th.

The Mirror of Her Power

Today I'm shilling for my friend and fellow Irish fantasy author, R.F. Long.

Ruth was kind enough to launch Silent Oath for me last year, and this year the first book of her Magicians series hits the shelves:

Magic and desire -- the magicians are among us.

Mia’s life as a bike messenger has a few perks, mostly the glimpses she gets of the hot and mysterious Balthazar. But while making a delivery to his home, a strange bracelet attaches itself to her arm and everything changes. Balthazar is a magician, and Mia is fated to be his apprentice.

Only Balthazar doesn’t want an apprentice. The last time he tried to share his life and his power with someone it ended in ruin. He won’t risk that again. But magic and lust are intricately connected, as are the fates of magicians and their apprentices. The desire that ignites between the two of them is more than he’s prepared for, and maybe it’s more than just desire.

When Balthazar’s former apprentice, a powerful and dangerous sorceress returns with vengeance on her mind, he’ll have to join forces with Mia, or risk losing her forever. Along with his last chance of redemption.

R. F. Long always had a thing for fantasy and romance. The combination was bound to cause trouble. In university she studied English Literature, History of Religions and Celtic Civilisation, compounding the problem.

She writes all kinds of fantasy and paranormal romance (The Scroll Thief, Soul Fire, the Tales of the Holtlands series).

She lives in Wicklow, the Garden County of Ireland, and works in a specialized library of rare and unusual books. But they don’t talk to her that often.

Want to read Memory War before everyone else?

We're about three months from the official launch of Memory War, the final chapter in Nathan Shepherd's story.

With the Kindle edition out on August 13th, and the hard copy available from September 2nd, I need people to provide early reviews to post on Amazon.

If you're interested, give me a shout. The only requirement is that you get the book read and reviewed before August 13th. If you have your own blog, you can post the review there, so long as you also post to Amazon as soon as the option is available.

I'll only be offering a limited number of copies, so get it while you can!

It's Not a Contest

I've spent a lot of time lately watching people speak up about issues that matter to them, and then get interrupted or outright shut down because someone else wanted to bring up a different issue. Whether it's because the other person felt hard-done-by for not having their concerns addressed, or was actually trying to discredit the original point by highlighting a bunch of exceptions and case examples to disprove it, the effect was always the same. People wound up arguing over what to complain about, instead of discussing how to solve problems.

I'm really quite tired of watching people have to defend their right to want to protect themselves. Tired of the fact that, after surviving mistreatment and even full-on abuse, people who've found the strength to speak up are still being put down by people who ostensibly claim to be on their side. Tired of the fact that, when people who aren't affected have the decency to speak up in support of those who are, they're treated like the enemy by those who don't understand how insidious and subtle oppression and prejudice really are.

I previously spoke about learning to take a message and spread it your own way, if you really want to help, as many of these interrupters claim. Today I'm adding to this with a simple statement.

It's not a contest.

The biggest motivator I see when people interrupt articles talking about domestic abuse or rape culture is people wanting to point out that "these things happen to too. 

Of course, the OP never stated that they didn't happen. They just didn't happen to include those particular issues when they were writing their article or recording their video. This is perfectly normal behaviour. When making a case or speaking about against something, you stay on-topic. You don't meander off into topics that, while still important, are not necessarily relevant in this instance.

Or, to put it in other terms, you don't kick out your plumber while he's fixing your sink just because your tv stops working.

When someone has the strength to stand up and speak out, they make themselves a target for people who genuinely believe that it's wrong to speak out. People who believe that women who dress a certain way are asking for it when they're groped. People who believe that if someone has passed out from drinking too much, whatever is done to them is fair game. People who believe that we should feel sorry for a young man who's career is ruined because he was convicted of rape.

Why should those strong, brave people also have to worry that people who claim to be their allies are also going to target them?

These people, and I hope I can include myself among them, deserve to be heard. They have the right to make their case and be engaged on the topic fairly. They do not deserve to be shouted down because someone else would rather discuss a different issue.

It's not a contest to see who's being hurt the most. We're supposed to all be in this together.

Let's start acting like it.