Clay and Susan Griffith

Vampire Empire Giveaway: Adele's Talisman!

2012-01-21T11:16:00.000-05:00

Just in time for Valentine’s Day! The perfect gift for your true love. Or for you!

We are hosting a Vampire Empire contest! Win a replica of Adele’s geomancer talisman. It can protect your loved one from vampires, or show your adoring affection to the vampire of your dreams.

To win this talisman, just leave a comment on our blog along with your email. We’ll select a random winner on February 7^th.

Good luck to all the participants.

Even Pet thinks it’s swell to play with!

Feel free to spread the word and repost! And don't forget to like us on Facebook in order to keep up with all the convention dates and news!

The chain shown may vary.

Goodreads Giveaway

2011-12-08T21:18:00.001-05:00

You can win a book! And then another book!

We are giving away an autographed copy of The Rift Walker and The Greyfriar on Goodreads. Go to the link and find out how to enter and win.

The giveaway runs through January 2, 2012.

Go here to find out how to win Vampire Empire on Goodreads!

On the Nile with The Rift Walker

2011-11-26T14:55:00.001-05:00

The Heart of Adele's Home

Much of The Rift Walker takes place in Egypt, specifically along the Nile River. So we decided to share some historical shots of the area that will give you a flavor of the region. Remember, however, that Equatorian Egypt is more developed industrially in many places, particularly around Cairo, than these paintings and photos from the 19th century will show. But you'll get a sense of what Adele and Greyfriar saw on their long, hot journey up the Nile.

Plus, we just love historical travel shots.

View of Giza across the Nile

More modern Cairo riverfront

Cairo city scene

Landing at Abu Simbel
by David Roberts

Entry to Abu Simbel
by David Roberts

If you've read The Rift Walker, we hope you can imagine Adele and Greyfriar in some of those scenes.

Here's What We Did in NYC

2011-10-07T21:33:00.001-04:00

Vampire Empire State of Mind

We recently visited New York for a few readings/signings of The Greyfriar and The Rift Walker. We had events at a bar in Brooklyn, a restaurant in Times Square, a gallery in SoHo, and a radio station on Wall Street. We were all over the city. It was a busy couple of days, but very exciting. Hopefully we got the word out about Vampire Empire to some people who didn't know about it before.

We love New York. Even without special events, it's fun just to walk around the city.

Times Square

Enjoying a good book in Madison Square Park

We made several stops at bookstores around NYC to sign stock and then a few stops in NYC landmarks such as The Algonquin Hotel and Keen's Steakhouse.

Barnes&Noble 5th Avenue

Drinks at the Algonquin with Sean Lough

Then it was out to The Way Station in Brooklyn. We haven't spent much time in Brooklyn, and this was a fun neighborhood bar with a steampunk/Dr. Who theme. The crowd was small but enthusiastic. One couple came all the the way from New Jersey (no small feat) in complete steampunk regalia.

So cool!

Reading at The Way Station

After The Way Station, we jumped the Q train for Times Square where the Science Fiction Writers of America were holding their annual gala at Planet Hollywood. There we ran into Jim Freund, co-ordinator of the NY Review of Science Fiction and host of Hour of the Wolf (WBAI, 99.5 FM). We met some new people, as well as running into some old friends.

Tuesday included more walking around NYC until the our scheduled reading at the SoHo Gallery for Digital Arts, sponsored by the New York Review of Science Fiction. This was a terrific event, organized by Jim Freund, and the guest host was the wonderful Margot Adler. You may know Margot as a long-standing commentator on NPR or as the author of the classic book on modern paganism, Drawing Down the Moon. She was one of the earliest supporters of The Greyfriar, so it was a thrill to finally meet her. She spoke about reading over 180 vampire novels, and put her finger on the exact nature of why vampires continue to resonate in our modern world. Her theme was that vampires of any era reflect the fears of that age. In our time, vampires speak to our struggle to act morally in the world while still being predators. We read a little from The Greyfriar and The Rift Walker. And then Margot interviewed us and fielded questions from the audience. It was great!

Us with Margot Adler

Susan chatting with Chris Claremont!

Margot speaking

Probably arguing

Jim Freund

Then finally, Wednesday night (or Thursday morning), we were guests on Jim Freund's Hour of the Wolf radio show. We could have taped an interview, but we wanted to do it live. And originally, it was supposed to be 1:30 - 3:00 am. But it ended up being 12 midnight - 3:00 am. Three hours of live radio! Turns out it was very easy. Jim was an amazing pro and it was over before we knew it. You can listen to part of the show here.

Clay ready for broadcast magic!

Then it was over and off to the airport.

It was a wonderful trip. And we must say thank you to our friends, June and Sean Lough, who got us where we need to be on time and made the entire trip so much fun.

Sean & June

New York to be annexed into Vampire Empire

2011-09-18T20:03:00.003-04:00

Kick Off Your Halloween Season in NYC with THE RIFT WALKER.

Oct. 3, 8:00 pm: Reading at The Way Station. 683 Washington Ave., Brooklyn. This is a bar with a steampunk/Dr. Who vibe in a bustling Brooklyn neighborhood north of Prospect Park. We will be reading from The Greyfriar and The Rift Walker.

Oct. 3, 8:00 - 11:00 pm: SFWA Reception, Planet Hollywood at Times Square. We hope to attend this free event (admission is limited) if we can make it after The Way Station reading.

Oct. 4, 7:00 pm: New York Review of Science Fiction Readings Series, SoHo Gallery for Digital Art, 138 Sullivan Street. Guest Host: Margot Adler (NPR commentator, author of Drawing Down the Moon).

Oct. 6, 1:30 - 3:00 am: The Hour of the Wolf, (WBAI 99.5FM), host Jim Freund. Live radio interview and call-in show.

We are very excited for a couple of busy days in New York promoting VAMPIRE EMPIRE and meeting readers and writers.

DragonCon 2011, part 1

2011-09-08T20:21:00.008-04:00

The Happiest Place on Earth...if you like weird stuff...

DragonCon is a convention dedicated to popular culture held in Atlanta, GA every year over Labor Day weekend. While steamy Atlanta in early September isn't always that pleasant as a destination, no other convention can beat DragonCon's content. Not ComicCon. Not WorldCon. Not nobody. If you like science fiction/fantasy books, movies, television, and games, you owe yourself at least one trip to DragonCon. We've been many times before, and this year was the best time we ever had.

We arrived early this year because last year's registration process was an absolute nightmare. This year was a dream by comparison. We were excited by Susan's fortune cookie on our first night in town.

Your hard work is about to pay off.

We stayed in the Westin, which hosted the Alt. History track, but wasn't in the Hyatt/Marriott/Hilton interconnected hive of activity. It was nice to be out of the beaten path, but also bummed to be cut off from the heart of the con.

Susan on Plotting panel

We participated in a number of panels on several tracks -- Writing, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Alternate History, Young Adult. They were all great, and we loved meeting our fellow panelists as well as fans afterward.

There were two central themes to this DragonCon for us. One was hanging out at the Pyr Books booth, participating in autographings, meeting fans, selling books (both ours and others), and working with the Pyr editorial/marketing folks: Lou Anders. Rene Sears. Jill Maxick. Lynn Pasquale. Gabrielle Harbowy, and other Pyr authors: Jon Sprunk. Andrew Mayer. Ari Marmell. Erin Hoffman. Sam Sykes. James Enge (we didn't get a photo of James!). We've said it several times, but being a part of Pyr is like being a part of a family. We truly love all those guys, and respect their work. Creatively, it's like being in the legendary Marvel Comics bullpen in the 1960s. All these fiercely creative and smart people working hard to build their own titles, as well as the Pyr brand. It's really amazing, and amazingly fun.

Jill Maxick, Lou Anders, Lynn Pasquale
Pyr braintrust

Lou Anders, Rene Sears
Mirror Mirror takeover?

Ari Marmell, Andrew Mayer

Erin Hoffman, Jon Sprunk

Sam Sykes, Lou Anders (stylin')

The other significant theme was our event with James Marsters. Regular readers of our blog will know that James Marsters (best known as Spike in Buffy the Vampire Slayer) will be voicing the audio version of The Greyfriar, and the entire Vampire Empire trilogy. On Sunday night, we appeared with James at a ticketed event where he read the first chapter of The Greyfriar. Then we all participated in a Q & A. The questions were excellent, focused on the writing process and the world of Vampire Empire. James was a genuinely nice man, and also completely invested in the project. He was totally conversant on characters and plot. Sitting there hearing him read those words we have lived with for so long was a surreal experience. He was fantastic.

Clay (too serious), James Marsters (so good), Susan (in coma of joy)

Oh, okay, there was a third theme. Enjoying the party. Our editor, Lou Anders, loves to hang out and drink beer and talk books. He also loves to surround himself with his writers, and other writers. He likes writers, and that's a great thing for an editor. We spent every night dining and drinking and watching the incredible show that is DragonCon After Dark. The cavernous lobby of the Marriott Marquis is like another world.

We'll write and show more of that world in another post soon.

When it's over, you're exhausted and ready for a little reality. But after a day or two, you start thinking about DragonCon next year.

Dance of the Dragoncons

2011-09-01T11:45:00.001-04:00

We are in Atlanta and gearing up for Dragoncon! Today was registration and we were fearing the worst after last year's four hour debacle on line. But after only waiting in line for an hour, we zipped right through. Well, Clay did. I got stopped and sent over to "Solutions" where there was another long line for people lost in the system. But even that moved quickly, and soon we were through to go roost at Starbucks. All in all, a VAST improvement. Here's a shot at how fast the lines were moving compared to the standstill traffic of last year.

Also, Susan's fortune cookie at dinner last night cheered us immensely (Clay ate part of his fortune, so that negates his). "Your hard work is about to pay off. Congratulations." You can't get a better omen than this. We hope to meet a lot of our fans this weekend. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for all of you. Thank you!

Book Review: Shadow's Son by Jon Sprunk

2011-08-28T11:12:00.000-04:00

There are a slew of rogue books out there. You know, the kind where the main character is an assassin archetype. Maybe it’s part of my Warcraft upbringing, but I love rogues. They have that immediate sense of mystery and danger, the bad boys of the hero archetypes. I can’t help myself, I’m drawn to them and stories about them. Some are good. Some are not. It is a delicate balance to have a character that kills for a living, but also make him sympathetic and likeable. Jon Sprunk’s debut novel, Shadow’s Son, delivers such a hero.

Caim is a man adrift in the adopted city of Othir. He is an assassin whose greatest asset is his control of the shadows he inhabits, giving him the ability to literally slip into darkness to avoid detection. Working for hire, mainly against those with low morals or on the edge of being malevolent, Caim remains just shy of doing something reprehensible. He lives among the poor because mercenary work is not glamorous or rich unless you work for the government. And Othir’s government is corrupt, as Caim discovers when he is hired to eliminate a wealthy, prominent citizen. Only the job turns out to be a set up engineered by a rival with lofty ambitions. Forced to run, Caim takes Josephine, the daughter of his target, in order to save her. Soon our hero is drawn into the political upheaval of the city and forced to step out of the shadows and take a stand.

From there, things go from bad to worse as Caim struggles to clear his name, keep Josephine alive, and find out why the shadows he controls are tainted with an evil that frightens even him. We don’t learn much about this evil in this first book, but it’s obvious it will play a major part later in the series.

One thing that sets Shadow’s Son apart is the presence of Caim’s lifelong companion – an ethereal being called Kit whom only he can see. I love the interactions between these two. She is a sprightly character who is a spitfire and clearly a woman of her own mind. Kit’s ghostly reconnaissance, combined with Caim’s shadow control, makes him formidable. Unfortunately, Caim occasionally takes her friendship for granted.

With Kit being intangible, it isn’t long before Caim starts falling for Josephine. I will admit I was unsure about Josephine at the start. She was spoiled and screamed a lot, but by the end of the tale, her transformation was definitive and sad. The reader feels her pain. She loses her family, her wealth, and her entire way of life. She is dragged to the pit of hell and then stands up in the face of it. Josephine has great potential. Hopefully she’ll never return to being the damsel in distress as she was throughout most of this book, and will become a powerful ally for Caim as he unravels his past.

But it is definitely the mysterious relationship between Kit and Caim that draws my attention. Kit seems to know secrets about Caim, which frustrates him greatly because she remains elusive on those matters. There are times when she vanishes, much to Caim’s annoyance, but she always returns just at the right moment (sometimes a bit too conveniently!). Kit is a wonderful character. I’m as desperate to learn more about her as I am about Caim’s past and powers.

I found myself drawn in by the characters and the well-choreographed fight scenes. The world of Othir was politically rich and full of intrigue as it underwent a rebirth through the course of the novel. However, our characters are destined for another place, and perhaps another realm, which I am just as eager to discover. Bring on the Shadows!

Shadow’s Son is a high-energy fantasy story, brimming with clandestine action, sinister shades, and a hint of romance. But it also welcomes back the heart and soul of character to the dark, murky world of assassins.

The second book in the series, Shadow’s Lure, is out now in stores and I will soon have a signed copy in my hand thanks to Dragon*Con. I look forward to reading it and seeing where Jon Sprunk takes these intriguing characters.

The artwork is by the incredibly detailed artist, Michael Komarck, and below you can find the fabulous book trailer for the newest novel.

Follow Jon on his blog, and on Twitter and Facebook.

Autographed Vampire Empire!

2011-08-11T21:27:00.004-04:00

Want The Greyfriar or The Rift Walker signed by us, but can't get to one of our appearances?

Buy THE GREYFRIAR or THE RIFT WALKER through Quail Ridge Books and Music (in beautiful Raleigh, NC) and you can get them autographed and even personalized, at NO EXTRA CHARGE. Quail Ridge Books offers gift wrapping and shipping.

This is NOT a limited offer. You can do it now. You can do it for Halloween. You can do it for Christmas. You can do it for Arbor Day next year.

1. You order.
2. We autograph.
3. They ship.
4. It's easy.

Call QRB toll-free at 1-800-672-6789.
Or use the links on the right hand column...

We love anybody who sells books, but We Support Independent Bookstores!

We will be appearing at Quail Ridge Books on September 15th.

The Voice of Greyfriar

2011-08-03T19:50:00.000-04:00

James Marsters to narrate the audio version of The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire

Buzzy Multimedia announced that the narrator of The Greyfriar audio book, and the Vampire Empire series, will be the great James Marsters, best known for playing Spike in the wildly popular tv series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel!

Here's the press release.

Needless to say, we are VERY excited. Marsters is a skilled stage and screen actor, and a wonderful voice talent. He has done a fantastic job narrating Jim Butcher's Harry Dresden series, and we can't wait to see what he does with The Greyfriar and the next two books in the series too. We are gratified that he would choose our books to reunite himself with vampire fiction.

Hmm. Throw a cowl on this guy, and he is The Greyfriar. But don't worry, this doesn't mean Greyfriar will start playing poker for kittens.

Relationships and words

2011-07-19T18:42:00.000-04:00

Being a couple is tricky.

The question we get asked most is "How does a couple write together?"

You could easily ask "How do two individuals do ANYthing as a couple?" It's not an easy question. And it's not an easy thing to do. But we do it anyway.

We recently wrote a blog for the Romance Writers of America chapter in Birmingham, AL that talks about writing together, being a couple, and creating characters who are couples.

Here's the link if you want to read it.

Library Journal sez: The Greyfriar is good steampunk

2011-06-21T22:48:00.001-04:00

The Greyfriar and Mark Hodder's Spring Heeled Jack get buzz.

It's always wonderful to get good reviews. And it's really heartening to have a respected source like Library Journal include us in their list of steampunk books for librarians to use in creating a collection for this booming subgenre.

Griffith, Clay & Susan. The Greyfriar. Pyr. (Vampire Empire, Bk. 1). 2010. ISBN 9781616142476. 301p. pap. $16. FANTASY
It was only a matter of time before a steampunk vampire novel was published. Thankfully, the first one is well written and entertaining. The story starts in 1870, when vampires conquer the north and send human elites to the south; it picks up again in 2020, when Princess Adele of the Equatorian Empire becomes lost in vampire territory. Alone with the mysterious Greyfriar, Adele becomes the driving factor behind a final war between humans and vampires. It is a testament to the writing skill of the Griffiths that they were able to take something so overdone as vampires and make it feel fresh. Fans of Cherie Priest will gobble up this book and its forthcoming sequels.

And this for our Pyr Books friend:

Hodder, Mark. The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack (Burton & Swinburne in). Pyr. 2010. ISBN 9781616142407. 373p. pap. $16. SF
This is big, meaty steampunk, set in the mid- to late 1800s, featuring historical figures (e.g., Richard Burton, Charles Darwin, and Florence Nightingale) in new roles, lots of steam-driven science (including my favorite: velocipedes), and crazy mutated creatures. Hodder's fast-paced and lively writing will keep readers of all levels engaged. There is coarse language, but this would work well in a YA collection, too. That Hodder brings the story full circle at the end is an impressive feat. Winner of the Philip K. Dick Award for distinguished original science fiction paperback; a sequel, The Curious Case of the Clockwork Man, has also been published.

The read the entire list.

Comic-Con International!

2011-06-17T22:53:00.001-04:00

We are appearing on a panel.

Vampires and Others

Saturday, 5/23/11

1:45 - 2:45

Room 6A

Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood)

Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson)

Nancy Holder (Crusade)

Linda Thomas-Sundstrom (The Golden Vampire)

S.G. Browne (Fated)

Clay and Susan Griffith (Vampire Empire)

Autographing to follow.

We are stoked! I just hope we remember we're there to speak, not just get autographs from our fellow panelists...

The blurb!

2011-06-10T21:51:00.000-04:00

Marjorie M. Liu, NY Times bestselling author of the Dirk and Steele series and the Hunter Kiss series.

Marjorie was one of the earliest supporters of The Greyfriar, and now she has provided a blurb for The Rift Walker. And we couldn't be happier. Not just because the blurb is great, but because Marjorie really gets the heart of the book, and the series. While The Rift Walker has a bit more humor than The Greyfriar, it is still a similarly intense adventure set against a desperate clash of nations, species, and moralities. But, first and foremost, it is exciting, exhilarating, romantic adventure.

We can't encourage you strongly enough to read Marjorie's books, if you haven't already. She is the master of paranormal adventure and romance.

Another cool thing about Marjorie is that she writes comics (which we do too), including the dark, sexy X-23 and Daken: Dark Wolverine for Marvel Comics.

Check out Marjorie's website and her wonderful, enticing work.

It Came From Beneath the Sea...Again

2011-06-01T19:49:00.000-04:00

It rises!
Finally.

We started writing this book in summer 2007. Now, it's coming out. That's how the comic business works sometimes.

Congratulations to Chris Noeth, Todd Tennant, and letterer extraordinaire, Nikki Foxrobot, who did a lot to save the project.

The graphic novel got a terrific review on Ain't It Cool News. Being constant readers of AICN, we were surprised and delighted to see the book reviewed there.

Here's a couple of quotes:

"Clay and Susan do a great job of capturing the tone of those old films where science was wonky and quips were lobbed back and forth like hand grenades."

"Everything about this story screams old school and if you're a fan of the way movies used to be, then you have to pick up this homage to the classics."

"Though films such as IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA are often made these days, it's apparent with the creators behind this comic book sequel that there is love and respect for the original that can't be duplicated in today's Hollywood."

Those words mean a lot. We are old movie buffs. Clay particularly is a Ray Harryhausen fanatic. This project was very important to us, and we are extremely proud of the script. We are thrilled it is finally coming out in June, and that it's being appreciated for what it is -- a loving homage to Ray Harryhausen's creativity and imagination, but with our own peculiar twist.

Hope everyone reads it and enjoys it.

BookExpo America 2011 meets The Rift Walker

2011-05-26T16:36:00.002-04:00

BookExpo America was an eye opening experience for us. It was our first BEA and we had always assumed it was for the bookselling industry. Far from it. The advent of blogging and the web has opened the door for so many others to become a part of the event, making if feel very down to earth.

We hadn’t expected such crowds and enthusiasm at the autograph session either. Our lane was filled and we signed the entire hour! What we loved the most was personally meeting the bloggers who helped spread the word about “The Greyfriar”. Thank you all for the wonderful reviews and your tireless efforts.

Without a doubt the Prometheus booth had a colorful and dynamic artwork display. The Rift Walker and the slew of other upcoming Pyr covers caught the attention of everyone who walked past the booth. Not to mention they had a very comfy couch! We even signed the remaining books as we lounged. All we needed was a beer in hand and we would have felt right at home.

It was a great event and we will definitely be adding BEA to our list of conventions for next year.

Steampunk World's Fair 2011

2011-05-23T10:53:00.000-04:00

Despite the prevailing grey skies in New Jersey we had our one sunny day so far at the Steampunk World’s Fair. The venue was packed! We were amazed at the large number of attendees. At this rate they will need a bigger hotel next year.

The costumes were fabulous and inventive as well. What thrilled us was the number of variations of steampunk present. Everything from Russian Steampunk to Rajahs to WW2. It’s exciting to see the genre branch out beyond their British Victorian roots. You know how we love to mix things up! Aside from bringing great costume diversity we think it will allow the genre to endure for a long time to come. There were a wide range of folks of all ages, young and old, and that too is the mark of longevity.

We participated in two panels. The first one was Mixing Genres in Steampunk Literature with CJ Henderson, and the second was Writing Alternate History. Despite a room malfunction and having to hold the panel in the lobby, we made the best of a bad situation. The participants were eager and raised excellent questions. Hopefully we left them with some direction for their own stories.

Thanks to all who came up and expressed their love of The Greyfriar! It meant a great deal to us.

Now it’s off to Book Expo America on Tuesday. We’ll be signing autographs at Table 25 at 10:30 am on May 24. We’ll probably also be hanging out at the Pyr booth before and after too (Table #4566). Hope to see you there!

Behold "The Rift Walker" Cover

2011-05-10T16:02:00.000-04:00

Gaze upon the cover art for Vampire Empire, Book 2! The artist, Chris McGrath, has outdone himself! We love the colors and the mood the art sets for the tone of the novel. And the figure of Greyfriar is just...well...damn.

We would love for you to tell us what you think! We know it's hard waiting until September for this to be in your hands, so we promise to give you what we can between now and then. Stay tuned!

Till then, here's the details:

Princess Adele struggles with a life of marriage and obligation as her Equatorian Empire and their American Republic allies stand on the brink of war against the vampire clans of the north. However, the alliance’s horrific strategy for total victory drives Adele to abandon her duty and embark on a desperate quest to keep her nation from staining its hands with genocide.

Reunited with her great love, the mysterious adventurer known to the world as the Greyfriar, Adele is pursued by her own people as well as her vengeful husband, Senator Clark. With the human alliance in disarray, Prince Cesare, lord of the British vampire clan, seizes the initiative and strikes at the very heart of Equatoria.

As Adele labors to bring order to her world, she learns more about the strange powers she exhibited in the north. Her teacher, Mamoru, leads a secret cabal of geomancers who believe Adele is the one who can touch the vast power of the Earth that surges through ley lines and wells up at the rifts where the lines meet. These energies are the key to defeating the enemy of mankind, and if Princess Adele could ever bring this power under her command, she could be death to vampires.

But such a victory will also cost the life of Adele’s beloved Greyfriar.

The Rift Walker is the second book in a trilogy of high adventure and alternate history. Combining rousing pulp action with steampunk style, the Vampire Empire series brings epic political themes to life within a story of heartbreaking romance, sacrifice, and heroism.

Listen! Can you hear vampires?

2011-05-04T19:31:00.000-04:00

A Big Announcement. But not THAT one...

Yesterday we said we'd have a big announcement on May 10th. And we will.

But THIS big announcement came along today. And it's big. In fact, HUGE.

We have an agreement for the Vampire Empire trilogy to be turned into audio books. Buzzy Multimedia won the rights, and we are very excited. Buzzy already produces the audio version of Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs, among others. We are proud to join the company that creates the audio books for two of the greatest names in Urban Fantasy.

We don't have any information on release dates or narrator yet. But go to Buzzy Multimedia's website and discuss. Also, check out their variety of cool sci-fi/fantasy products.

Big Announcement Coming...

2011-05-03T20:17:00.000-04:00

On May 10th.

A Week from Today.

We'll have an announcement.

An exciting announcement.

Honor or Love

2011-05-01T12:23:00.001-04:00

Following your duty or your heart?

The Royal Wedding got us thinking about Adele, and how her life as a princess isn't such a fairy tale. With a world on the brink of war, she is torn between duty (marrying a stranger to win an alliance) and true love (running away with the man she cares deeply about).

Does she give up her kingdom or her lover?

We're running a little poll, both here and at our Facebook page.

How would you handle this dilemma? What should Adele do?

A Wedding Day in England. What if....

2011-04-29T12:21:00.000-04:00

London was a charnel house.

There were many accounts of nineteenth-century London as it had been before the vampires came. The young princess had been amazed by descriptions and pictures of the city's grandeur. It had been the center of art and science and technology, the center of the world. Now it was the heart of a cadaverous kingdom.

The ramshackle airship descended, approaching the spires and domes and the horrid slate grey blocks of buildings. Adele saw dark mounds scattered on the avenues, streets, and alleys. The city’s wide circles and narrow courtyards were heaped with bones. Nearly all the glass windows in the city were smashed, except, amazingly, some of the stained glass of Westminster. Green grass sprouted through the cobblestones while lush vines grew without restraint, hiding edifices and obscuring the statues of the formerly great humans. The airship glided over the collapsed roof of Parliament. Dark figures clung to the outside of the ivy-choked ruins of the Big Ben clock tower and rose into the air like blowflies from a cadaver. Adele’s heart raced with terror and despair to see so many.

The airship leveled off over sprawling, decrepit Buckingham Palace. A lone figure ascended from the roof of the palace and seized the shrouds of the airship with amazing grace and swung aboard. It was Flay.

Just a glimpse of what London is like in Vampire Empire.

Schattenprinz

2011-04-24T18:23:00.000-04:00

Our first foreign cover!

Here's the cover of the German edition of The Greyfriar. Well, it's the same cover with the same great art by Chris McGrath. But we have a new title: Schattenprinz (Shadow Prince). That's a pretty cool title! The German-language edition should go on sale late 2011.

Heyne Verlag: our German publisher.

The Greyfriar has already been sold to publishers in Korea, Italy, and Poland. And hopefully there will be more foreign translations to come.

Greyfriar, You're Wanted on the Set.

2011-04-08T08:46:00.000-04:00

Who Would You Want to Play Greyfriar in a Vampire Empire movie?

We have another question up on Facebook. Go there and display your casting couch panache. Or post your idea here!

https://www.facebook.com/vampireempire

Are you a Flay?

2011-03-30T20:29:00.000-04:00

Which Vampire Empire character resonates with you most?

We've got a little survey going on our Facebook page

www.facebook.com/vampireempire

Go there and give us your answer. Or respond here if you wish!

The Internet is like a party with different groups of your friends

2011-03-28T22:48:00.000-04:00

Sometimes they stay in different rooms and don't mix.

The interesting thing about the internet (other than hilarious pictures of talking cats) is all the ways to connect with people. And just like the real world, you make different friends in different places.

For instance, some people follow Vampire Empire through this blog. Others use Goodreads. And even others found us on Facebook. Plus various other ways. We have different numbers of friends or followers or fans on each of those sites. There's likely some cross-over where the same reader comes to this blog, likes the Facebook page, and is a friend on Goodreads, but there are also plenty who don't move between the sites.

There's no great profound revelation here. We were just thinking about making contact with our readers in better ways. We're making plans for cool stuff in conjunction with The Rift Walker coming out in September, and we want to make sure we're reaching everyone with an interest in Vampire Empire.

We hope to launch a new website before the new book comes out, and to continue to update this blog with book info, and general thoughts about writing and pop culture. We would tell anyone who wants more immediate updates and info to go to our Facebook page and hit the Like button:

www.facebook.com/vampireempire

We want our friends in the kitchen to talk to our friends hanging out by stereo. Mingle.

I Think Green TV and I Are Through

2011-03-18T21:27:00.001-04:00

And We Had Such a Good Thing Going...

This is from Clay. Susan recuses herself from anything I'm going to say.

I watched a lot of the live 4-hour Destination: Truth episode from Ireland on St. Patrick's Day. No, I wasn't too drunk to change the channel. I did switch over frequently to check scores in the NCAA tournament. But I always switched back.

I said four hours. Four Hours. FOUR HOURS.

Josh and crew are stunned anyone is still watching.

Josh and his crew of professional truth-seekers spent 4 hours wandering through some places in Ireland...I wasn't paying much attention...it was a castle or a forest or something. I think they were looking for a banshee. A banshee? Really? A BANSHEE?!?! Or ghosts. Or kelpies. Or whatever the hell it was. All I know is, it was night time. Because they used the green thing. Oh yes, the wonderful green camera.

It's right behind me, isn't it?

So Syfy showed 4 hours of green night-vision close-ups of Josh and his people and grainy green shots of castles or forests or something. Lots of asking questions to the spirits and listening for something ... anything. So what did Destination: Truth find?

Nothing.

What do they ever find? Nothing.

Josh has got the sweetest gig on the planet. These guys travel all over the world investigating monsters. Or at least, they used to. Apparently they ran out of local monsters, so now they basically copy Ghost Hunters, another green-screen show (although their green screen is a little more grey). They never find anything except a bigger budget to keep doing it.

But I watch it. Or I used to. I once was a frequent viewer of Destination: Truth and Ghost Hunters. Do I believe in ghosts and monsters? Not really. Do I want to believe? Sorta. I'm a horror buff, and I'd like to think weird things are out there.

Have these shows come close to proving it? NO.

Josh is ripping off our schtick.

Has Destination: Truth or Ghost Hunters ever found a shred of evidence that would convince even the least skeptical person? NO. People who used to believe John Edwards: Crossing Over wouldn't buy the evidence on these two shows.

They turn up garbled sounds that sound exactly like garbled sounds, but they claim sound like words. They show photographs of shadows that look like shadows, but they claim are disembodied figures. Josh hears noises in trees or sounds in the bushes. Those noises COULD be a monster. Or it could be a bird, or a squirrel.

Oh My God! Was that a noise! It was!

So why do I watch?

I don't know. I don't watch as much as I used to, but as I said, I tuned in to a lot of Josh's FOUR HOUR live broadcast from Ireland. For some reason, I'm mesmerized by the green screen. I want something to show up, to walk by, to jump out. Please let SOMETHING happen. Please GOD these people can't waste more of my time and their network's money, can they? They have to find SOMETHING at SOME POINT!

Why am I still sitting here?!?!?

It must be the green screen. If they shot every tv show in luminescent green, I would watch it.

But now, they pushed it too far. On St. Patrick's Day, Josh promised me a lovely first class vacation to Ireland, but when I got there I found I was booked me into a crappy hotel where my wallet was stolen and all my tour vouchers were invalid. Oh, did I mention it was FOUR HOURS?

That's it! I am done with you and your emerald-colored promise of the unknown. Screw you, green tv!

The local convention in a global media world.

2011-03-07T18:26:00.000-05:00

David and Goliath

We attended StellarCon in High Point, NC this past weekend, and it got us thinking about the place of the smaller, local convention in fandom. StellarCon isn't the smallest of cons; it's more of a medium-sized convention. We have no idea of attendance numbers, but it is small compared to the giants like DragonCon and ComicCon.

Conventions like StellarCon don't have the glitz and buzz of the super media events, but the local cons have a charm that you can't replace with seizure-inducing displays by gaming companies or panels complete with sneak preview footage of the latest upcoming blockbuster. Don't get us wrong, we LOVE the giant cons, but the local cons are about the fans. Fans who attend those local cons have an opportunity to meet and interact with both pros and other fans with an intimacy that doesn't often exist at the super cons. You can get your books signed without waiting in line for hours. You can ask a question and get an answer. You don't have to plan your whole day around standing in line to get in a particular panel. You can buttonhole people in the hall and chat. In fact, the pro guests are very available because a lot of the fans are really there to hang out with their friends, not monopolize the guests.

And since local cons tend to get their guests from the writing world, most of the programming is about writing and publishing. Movies, tv, and gaming haven't taken over the local con scene. These gatherings are first and foremost about reading. And that is really cool. People talk books. People buy books. People carry books around like they mean something to them.

There's room for both types of cons. We just hope that the smaller local convention stays around. They certainly seem to be thriving. There are new cons popping up every year. Some work, some don't. But there seems to be no shortage of people anxious to create their own con. They don't seem to care that ComicCon and DragonCon are out there. They must know that someone will always come along to fight the giant.

The Rift Walker: Vampire Empire Book 2

2011-02-08T18:22:00.000-05:00

The title is out there.

We were hesitant to reveal the title, but our editor Facebooked it, so here it is. We are making final edits, and then the manuscript will go into production. Publication is expected in September 2011.

The story will take you to new societies (both human and vampire) and show you much more of the world made by the Great Killing. But at its heart, the book is a story about characters (both human and vampire), the ones you came to love in The Greyfriar, and new ones too. As with the first book, it's a pulp adventure story with romance, steampunk style, dark fantasy angst, against a background of epic politics and war. Oh, and vampires.

We're very excited about the new book and we hope that if you liked The Greyfriar, you will love The Rift Walker.

Places of Vampire Empire

2011-01-25T21:45:00.001-05:00

Prince Gareth's home -- Edinburgh Castle

In the second installment of some visual bits of Vampire Empire, we decided to share some wonderful old pictures of a wonderful old city. Edinburgh. Prince Gareth lives there, high above the Old Town, in the ancient castle.

We love Edinburgh because we were married there in Greyfriar's Kirk (hence the name of the book and the hero). We'll post shots of Greyfriar's Kirk and kirkyard later, but now we're focusing on Edinburgh Castle.

The city is both lovely and grim. The historical heart of Edinburgh retains much of the architecture of the 19th century (and centuries before too). Most of the photos posted below come from the wonderful www.capitalcollections.org.uk from the City of Edinburgh. Check it out for more old portraits of that city.

Edinburgh Castle over Cowgate

Edinburgh Castle from the Grassmarket

Still looks the same, except in color.

The Places of Vampire Empire

2011-01-22T17:09:00.001-05:00

Princess Adele's Home -- Alexandria

From time to time, we want to show you some of the images that inspired aspects of The Greyfriar and the entire Vampire Empire series. In addition to our own travels, we studied a lot of old photos and engravings, and poured over 19th century travel books, to get a sense of how Victorian cities looked and felt. Fortunately, the Victorians loved cameras and most of them couldn't wait to write books about their travels.

We'll start with some images of Alexandria, Egypt, the capital of the Equatorian Empire. These photos are from the late 19th or early 20th centuries. They aren't intended to depict the city exactly as it would appear in The Greyfriar, but they give a sense of that wonderful old city during the Victorian Era, which was the starting point for the Alexandria of our book.

Weekly Book Chat for "The Greyfriar"

2011-01-19T12:06:00.001-05:00

Bitten by Books is discussing our novel “The Greyfriar” at their site this week. Feel free to drop on in and leave a comment. We may be doing the same! If you have any pressing questions about the novel, now’s the time to ask! They also have a few topic questions already posed which will generate some lively conversations.

1.) This book combines several very intriguing elements: vampires, alternate history, action, adventure, and steampunk. Which of these aspects did you enjoy the most in the novel, or is it too difficult to choose?

2.) How do you like Adele as a main character? Would you have made any different decisions than she did?

3.) Would you want to live in Gareth’s kingdom under his protection, or would you rather take your chances with the other human populations in the southern areas, and why?

4.) favorite characters?

And don’t forget to use spoiler alerts for those who may not have read the book yet and experienced some of the secrets for themselves!

We look forward to hearing what everyone thinks.

http://www.bittenbybooks.com/?p=35079

Bull Spec Magazine

2011-01-13T19:29:00.000-05:00

Remember Turning Pages?

One of the most interesting and exciting things to come out of our home Triangle area in the last year is Bull Spec Magazine. It is a real life print magazine devoted to "speculative fiction" (what we old types still call science fiction/fantasy, but maybe the new term encompasses a wider range than SFF). Bull Spec is the brain child of Samuel Montgomery Blinn, a Durham resident and editor. There have been 4 issues so far, and more to come.

Sam is a tireless promoter of young, and not so young, writers. Even more, he understands the natural isolation of writers, and works to bring writers and editors and artists together as a community. We've attended several events he has hosted and have always been amazed by his selfless interest in others' work. His magazine eagerly publishes unknowns, as well as established writers. He also publishes poetry. He pays money to these writers, not just comp copies.

He does this expressly from an extreme love of speculative fiction and the people who write it because, believe it or not, editing and designing a print magazine is not the fast lane to riches. The magazine biz has always been a tricky and perilous life, but in this age of e-stuff, start-up print magazines are rare and wonderful things. And Bull Spec is a wonderful magazine.

If you live in the Triangle area, you can find it at select independent bookstores such as The Regulator in Durham, Flyleaf Books in Chapel Hill, and Quail Ridge Books & Music in Raleigh. There may be other brick and mortar sources which I hope folks will comment on. You can order it online. You can subscribe.

Buy Bull Spec.

Stan "the Man" Lee

2011-01-06T20:23:00.002-05:00

One of My Big 3

(From Clay --)

Stan Lee received a star on Hollywood Boulevard. He is 88 years old. He is a genius.

Not because (he claims) he created Spider-Man or Fantastic Four or X-Men or any of Marvel's menagerie. Everyone knows the creative process is collaborative, particularly in comics, and all those great characters owe as much to Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko and many others, as they do to Stan. What Stan did was create Marvel, at least to me. During my childhood, he was the face and the voice of Marvel. His corny hep-cat lingo made Marvel comics fun, even while the books themselves were often relatively dark, or at least darker than the Distinguished Competition of the day. He was the guy on "Stan's Soapbox." He was guy with the 'Nuff Said! and Face Front! and all that wonderful blather. He was the guy that made Marvel feel like a clubhouse full of exciting, amazing characters and creators...and he was inviting me to be a part of it.

THAT was Stan's genius. The creation of Marvel as an idea.

Stan Lee was one of the formative figures of my life...as a writer and a creator. He's one of the Big 3 who shaped my childhood. I've been privileged to meet all of my Big 3, and I'll write about the others at some point in the future. But this is about Stan.

I've met Stan a few times; mainly brief handshakes at conventions. But the first time was the most interesting. It was back in the late 1980s, during the first trip Susan and I made to DragonCon. The entire convention was housed in the Atlanta Hilton in those days. One evening we were waiting for an elevator in the lobby with the mob, and I looked over and saw a guy standing by an elevator, by himself, not surrounded by a crowd, not talking to anyone. I said to Susan, "That's Stan Lee."

This was during the era when Stan was at his lowest ebb of popularity with fandom. He had come off very badly during Jack Kirby's battles with Marvel. The King was a fan favorite; he was the man standing up to the big soulless corporation that stole people's creativity. Stan was seen as a company man and a glory hog, who selfishly cast a shadow over the role that others had played in the foundation of Marvel. He was an old man whose best days were behind him, and who was either forgotten or despised by comic fandom.

But he was still Stan "the Man" to me. And he was standing completely alone in the Atlanta Hilton. So we went over and introduced ourselves. He gave us that Stan Lee grin and we all talked for awhile. He's one of those guys who created a persona over the years and can play that character at the drop of a hat. No matter who he really is, in public he is always Stan "the Man". With the smile and the corny phrases and the wild gestures.

Then after a few minutes, the elevator came. We shook hands and he took off. That was it.

In the years after that, Stan recovered his place in fandom and has become the Grand Old Man of comics. I've seen him several times since at conventions, but I never saw him alone again. He always had an adoring entourage. And now he has a star on Hollywood Boulevard. Nice.

But I'll always remember him from that night standing alone waiting for an elevator. And for just those few minutes, I had Stan "the Man" Lee to myself.

Be Ormon

2010-12-31T17:43:00.000-05:00

He's on the tv, so you can trust him.

One of our closest and scariest friends, Ormon Grimsby, host of the wildly popular Monster Creature Feature, is having a contest. If you win, you get a book. (It's not The Greyfriar, although we should get a give-away going with Ormon.) It's Bride of the Reaper by Charles Romalotti.

But the best part is, the contest allows (in fact, requires) YOU to be like Ormon. He has a super cool Ormon Grimsby mask online. Download. Print. Wear. Then take a picture of yourself in weird, interesting places wearing your very own Ormon mask.

And if you've never seen Monster Creature Feature on the television or the interwebs, do so.

Comedy is easy, Blogging is hard

2010-12-30T21:39:00.000-05:00

We Don't Have That Much to Say!

We've been doing some blogging recently.

Not here though.

At other people's sites. Since the publication of The Greyfriar, we've written a lot of guest blogs at book sites. We've covered subjects such as vampires and steampunk and alternate history and writing as husband and wife. Just this past week, we've been doing a back-and-forth blog with fellow Pyr author Jasper Kent at Babel Clash, sponsored by Borders Books. And we did a "Take 5" article for the really cool sci-fi/pop culture site suvudu.com.

The take home message is -- blogging is hard. At least, saying something interesting in an interesting way is hard. It gives us great admiration for those people who blog frequently in a professional, thoughtful manner. Whew! Who's got time?!

Take Jasper Kent, our blog partner at Babel Clash...the guy shoots out tightly organized and well-reasoned articles about real topics on very short notice. Impressive. While it takes us forever to type up some glib chitchat about choking Peter Cushing. Maybe we just suffer from a bad case of "who in the world wants to hear what we think about anything?" And there is something to be said for that attitude; it keeps us from spouting off about every issue that crosses our minds just because we have access to a keyboard and the internet.

Still, there are so many people out there putting out fantastic blogs with great information and intriguing opinions. They keep up a killer schedule, posting new content with a speed that would by the envy of 24-hour news networks. They must be really fast typists, in addition to being very strong thinkers. We admire people who can wrangle their ideas into a creative presentation...frequently and on short notice.

We can spend an hour arguing about where to go for lunch. And still not come to a conclusion.

Short and Sweet

2010-12-21T22:58:00.000-05:00

"The Greyfriar was awesome. I cried. There were cats."

That line is a small part of a very nice review on The Reader Eclectic. But we love that single line.

We are thrilled that our book is having such a strong emotional impact on readers. We've had reviewers talk about crying. They've talked about hugging the book. They've talked about being depressed that the book was over, or that there wasn't a sequel to begin immediately.

We are overwhelmed that Adele and Greyfriar (and the cats, apparently) are touching so many people's hearts.

Thank you to everyone.

Check out the entire review on The Reader Eclectic.

The Greyfriar - Best Vamp Novel 2010

2010-12-16T20:37:00.001-05:00

Thanks to the VampChix blog!

Michele Hauf has a terrific blog for all things vampire and paranormal. She was one of the earliest supporters of The Greyfriar, and we are thrilled she picked our book for this honor.

Check out her blog.

Morlock Ambrosius Free for the Taking. If you dare!

2010-12-16T10:13:00.002-05:00

For all those folks looking for a great sword and fantasy hero, with as many dark flaws as heroic gusto, this is the man for you: Morlock Ambrosius. To me, he's the Dark Aragorn, a Dúnadan, a wanderer who finds trouble whether he wants it or not.

I was a fan of the fabulous fantasy author, James Enge, even before I became involved with Pyr. The Blood of Ambrose caught my eye on the table and the series is a must read for me now. It harkens me back to my pulp days when I was reading fantasy novels like Conan. Those stores were all self contained. I could read them in any order and I was guaranteed a fun romp with exhilarating adventures. James Enge has adopted a similar style.

Now Pyr is offering a free eBook in honor of publishing their 100th title and to my delight and yours, it's a short story of Morlock! So please take advantage of this great author and fantastic character.

http://pyrsf.blogspot.com/2010/12/free-epub-novelette-celebrates.html

Susan

First foreign rights sale

2010-12-13T22:32:00.000-05:00

South Korea publisher to translate Vampire Empire trilogy.

We are very excited by our first foreign sale. Human & Books of Korea has bought the rights to The Greyfriar, as well as Books 2 & 3 in Vampire Empire. We're looking forward to seeing our books published in other languages in other parts of the world. We're unsure of the publication date yet, but thanks to Human & Books, and we hope the trilogy performs well for you in Korea.

Quatermain delayed

2010-11-30T21:27:00.000-05:00

Now set for Spring 2011 Release.

We were disappointed to hear Bluewater Comics had decided to delay the publication of our Quatermain graphic novel, originally scheduled to ship this week, until early/mid 2011. Bluewater hopes to have new graphic novel distribution lines set up by then, which will give the book greater exposure.

We were mainly disappointed that comics fans are going to have to wait to see Patricio Carbajal's fantastic artwork.

But you won't have to wait too long...our issue of Vincent Price Presents will be out in December. More on that later.

Meanwhile, check out Pat's blog.

A Signing at Flyleaf Books

2010-11-22T18:58:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at the signing on Friday night! Despite the fact that both Clay and I were recovering from colds and our voices were still not quite up to par, the reading went off without a hitch. Our husky voices probably only contributed to the menace of the villains!

Flyleaf Books made us feel very welcomed, and its venue is so large for an intimate space. The folks who came out to see us enjoyed the event, and there were even some unique questions about the world of Vampire Empire. Luckily we had the answers. Also, there were new faces in the crowd, which heartened us that the book is indeed finding a following out there thanks to the buzz on the Internet. To our delight, even the steampunk community was represented!

Thanks to everyone who came out to see us!

e-Greyfriar

2010-11-21T19:49:00.002-05:00

Vampire Empire delivered mysteriously through the aether

This woman is no doubt enjoying The Greyfriar, which is now available on Kindle. This is our first ebook, and it's pretty cool. Of course, Clay is still a paper book guy. The internet is great for research, but for just flat-out reading, he hasn't made the turn to ebooks yet. Susan has. She owns an ebook reader and is much more forward thinking. It is pretty nice to have your books available on your phone or e-reader or laptop, if you don't happen to have your copy in your bag.
Greyfriar Kindle edition

Steampunk/Vampire Event

2010-11-15T20:56:00.000-05:00

Flyleaf Books
752 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
919-942-7373

We will be at Flyleaf Saturday night, Nov. 20, at 7:00 pm talking about steampunk and vampires and The Greyfriar. We encourage attendees to come in costume!

Come Meet Us

2010-11-11T17:32:00.000-05:00

Quail Ridge Books and Music
3522 Wade Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27607
800-672-6789

November 12, 7:30 pm

We'll be reading from The Greyfriar, talking about Vampire Empire, and signing books. If you are in the area, please come by and say hello. If you can't make it, call Quail Ridge to reserve an autographed book.

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Hollywood Treasures

2010-11-03T23:02:00.001-04:00

This is a new show on Syfy. It's about a guy who owns a high-end Hollywood auction company who seeks out rare gizmos, props, and art associated with movies. It's sort of a geek version of Antiques Roadshow, and it could be better than it is. Unlike Antiques Roadshow, it's more about the host finding good stuff for "his" auction house rather than surprising normal people with the value of their unknown treasures, which is the joy of AR. Most of the people he deals with are professional collectors who already know what they've got and are just hoping to make a killing. Plus, the buyers at the auctions don't generate much sympathy either. There's no tension or real vicarious thrill in watching some guy drop hundreds of thousands of dollars on a Lost In Space prop. Obviously that just means that guy has hundreds of thousands of dollars to waste anyway.

But they did a bit on one show with Stan Lee and original artwork from FF #12. Of course, like all reality tv, it could've been a complete stage job. Still...outside the argument about whether Jack or Stan did most of the work, I want to believe there was a little wistfulness in the aging Stan as he flipped those old pages with original margin notes that he and Kirby did SO many years ago in the Silver Age of Marvel.

Staged or not, for those of us who lived through the great Lee-Kirby years at Marvel, and who have been lucky enough to work in comics, it was a cool moment.

The Greyfriar is on the way!

2010-11-01T23:41:00.000-04:00

Shipping from the printers

The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Book 1 is finally in boxes and moving to bookstores across America! The book shipped on Oct. 28 and we hope will show up on book shelves this week.

We can't tell you how excited we are. We have loved every minute of our relationship with Pyr Books and Lou Anders, editorial director. The publicity people, headed by Jill Maxick, have been great. Our technical crew -- Peggy Deemer and Deanna Hoak -- are pleasant and professional. And, of course, the beautiful cover by artist Chris McGrath and Grace Conti-Zilsberger makes us happy every time we see it. And we thank our agent, Ann Collette, for her confidence.

We've been thrilled with the reviews, which you can find linked on this blog and on our Facebook pages, and on Pyr Books website. It's nice when readers seem to get what you're going for.

So thanks everyone who contributed to this day.

A New Review

2010-11-01T23:23:00.006-04:00

Rob Will Review

Here are excerpts from a new review that of the The Greyfriar:

"Let’s face it. There is a lot of steampunk fiction coming out right now, and of course, a dizzying amount of vampire fiction, and pretty much every new novel in either category claims to reinvent its genre. Every now and then, however, a book comes along that actually does. Clay and Susan Griffith’s The Greyfriar, the first installment of their new Vampire Empire series, may not be the first novel to blend steampunk and vampires, and it may be composed of numerous recognizable plots, and yet it manages to recalibrate the old stories and tropes with such genuine ingenuity and seeming effortlessness that it never fails to feel anything less than utterly original and dazzlingly new. The Griffiths use pre-existing mythology–vampiric and otherwise–playing off our expectations in such a way that the twists and the manner in which seemingly unconnected threads ultimately connect prove to be legitimately surprising.

I decided to read this novel, because I found the synopsis on the back cover intriguing, but it didn’t quite prepare me for how deeply in love with this book I would fall. It has elements of alternate history, steampunk, war, politics, satire, adventure, action, graphic novel, romance, horror, suspense, and more, and yet all of these well-worn elements join together in a manner that is completely unique. The pacing is perfect, the character development stunning, and the narrative twists and turns superb. It also has an appealingly sly sense of humor that manages to infuse even its darkest sections with humanity and warmth. It succeeds on every level and seems to invent whole new ones. If you’ve grown tired of vampires and/or steampunk, The Greyfriar is the paradoxical cure for what ails you–a vampire steampunk novel that makes both genres feel shiny and new again."

Radio is Hard...

2010-10-28T20:12:00.001-04:00

...but at least we didn't have to wear make-up.

We were on The State of Things (WUNC 91.5FM) today. It was an interesting experience. We've done interviews before, as well as panel appearances at conventions, but when there's a microphone in front of your face and that red light goes on, and an incredibly smooth, professional host starts talking in a well-modulated radio voice, you begin to realize just how unprepared you are for communication media.

Frank Stasio is a gracious host and an excellent interviewer, thanks to his natural curiosity and intellect, as well as a very well prepared staff. We did our best to answer his questions. Even though we were talking about our own book, it can be hard to dig up just the right answer at the right time. Add to that the natural hesitation in the voice, the "ums" and "ahs" and "you knows" that fill everyday conversation (but not professional radio chatter), as well as Susan's tendency to ramble when nervous and Clay's tendency resort to saturation bombing with sarcasm...and you could have a perfect storm of radio disaster.

But disaster was averted. We did fine, as far as we can tell anyway. And it was actually fun once it got started. The host was great and enormously helpful to the nonprofessionals.

Now we can do it again without fewer nerves and less uncertainty.

Listen to Clay and Susan on The State of Things

New Review

2010-10-20T22:03:00.001-04:00

Library Journal says:

Griffith, Clay & Susan Griffith. The Greyfriar. Pyr: Prometheus. (Vampire Empire, Bk. 1). Nov. 2010. c.320p. ISBN 9781616142476. pap. $16. FANTASY
A massive attack by vampires in 1870 drives humans lucky enough to survive the invasion to the tropics, where the hot climate proves intolerable for the vampire clans. When Princess Adele, heir to the Equatorian Empire—formerly the British Empire—travels north to meet with her American suitor, Senator Clark, to cement relations between human powers, a vampire ambush results in her capture. The appearance of a mysterious vampire hunter known only as Greyfriar, who assigns himself the task of rescuing the princess, rouses many questions as to the mystery man’s true purpose. Blending vampire fiction with steampunk and romance, this trilogy launch by the married authors possesses a seductive charm and tells a rousing tale of adventure. VERDICT A change of pace from standard vampire fiction, this should find a sizable readership among fans of fantasy romance as well as the vampire and steampunk genres.

Appearances

2010-10-13T22:53:00.004-04:00

2 Bookstore Signings Scheduled

Quail Ridge Books & Music
Raleigh, NC
Nov. 12, Friday, 7:30 pm
This is a special place for us because Clay used to work there. One of the finest independent bookstores on the East Coast, with the best events coordinator known to man!

Flyleaf Books
Chapel Hill, NC
Nov. 20, Saturday, 7:00 pm
This is a wonderful independent store in beautiful Chapel Hill. We hope to get a steampunk flavor to this event by calling on the strong steampunk community in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area.

Please come out and see us at one of these events. We hope to have other bookstore signings scheduled in the region and even beyond. And, of course, in 2011, we'll be hitting the convention circuit too.

Going to the printer!

2010-10-10T20:20:00.001-04:00

There will soon be pages between this beautiful cover layout by Grace M. Conti-Zilsberger, who took full advantage of the lovely painting by Chris McGrath.

Pyr's fantastic marketing department, led by the tireless Jill Maxick, added some enthusiastic cover blurbs from Marjorie Liu (NY Times bestseller), Margo Adler (NPR commentator and bestselling author), and R.T. Book Review (one of the top review sources for paranormal, adventure, and romance).

Less than a month and we'll have the book in our hands!

It's Halloween!

2010-10-03T23:09:00.002-04:00

We love Halloween, which is probably no surprise to anyone. We have 4 projects being published over the next couple months and they involve vampires, lycanthropes, giant monsters, demons, and ghosts.

So naturally Halloween is our favorite holiday.
But in addition to our own work, we want to mention a couple of friends who do wonderful Halloweeny work!

First, Belle Dee Bilbrey is a fantastic pop artist who specializes in very stylized cartoons, usually with a horror or Halloween theme. Check out her website.
Doo Wacka Doodles

Also, ORMON GRIMSBY, our personal undertaker to the nearly deceased, is planning a Halloween Eve bash in Raleigh, NC. It will be a wild night of music, monsters, and drinks...and it's in 3-D! This Grand Guignol a-go-go will be held at King's in Raleigh, NC on Oct. 30. If you don't believe me, check out the website. Ormon Grimsby's House of Halloween Hullabaloo

This will be the best Halloween ever!

Return with us now...

2010-09-20T22:10:00.000-04:00

...to the thrilling days of Radio Drama!

Our new graphic novel -- Allan Quatermain and the Lord of Locusts -- will be published in Nov/Dec by Bluewater Comics.

Then it will be adapted into a radio drama by Colonial Radio Theatre.

Really?

Yes. Our script was always the stuff of old radio drama -- rugged heroes, evil villains, mysterious locales, and slambang action. But we never thought it would become a radio drama. Colonial Radio Theatre has adapted several previous Bluewater Comics into audio dramas, and now they're doing Quatermain. That's a new one for us!

Producer Jerry Robbins says: "I am very excited to get the chance to record this amazing graphic novel as a radio drama. We had a hit with our production of the original KING SOLOMON'S MINES in 2008, and this story is every bit as exciting and adventurous."

Thanks. We can't wait to hear it. (Too bad you can't get Pat Carbajal's beautiful artwork on the radio!)

Check the info at Bluewater's website.
Pre-order Quatermain at Amazon.

Vincent Price coming in December

2010-09-16T19:45:00.000-04:00

The House of the Raven

Vincent Price Presents #26
December
Bluewater Comics

We wrote it.
Patricio Carbajal drew it. (He's REAL good!)

Vincent Price as a 1930s gentleman detective/magician.
It's a self-contained 1-shot story.
Magic. Demons. Werewolves. Dinner parties. Lederhosen.

Bluewater Comics

DragonCon 2010

2010-09-07T19:18:00.001-04:00

It was a blast!

Here we are signing ARCs of The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Book 1 at the Pyr Books booth. They were free! And man, they went fast!

The folks from Pyr -- Lou, Jill, and Rene -- were professional and personal. We loved all of them. It was also great to meet our fellow Pyr authors like Sam Sykes, James Enge, Jon Sprunk, Andrew Mayer, Mike Resnick, Erin Hoffman, and Ari Marmell. The Pyr panel was jam packed and a lot of fun. We felt like we were part of the Marvel Bullpen during the high Silver Age!

The buzz on The Greyfriar was fantastic. Everywhere we went, people told us they couldn't wait for the book or had already pre-ordered it. Thanks to everyone out there for supporting the book!

And more, we heard a constant stream of praise for Pyr Books and our editor Lou Anders. Authors who had published multiple books with other houses treated us like gold because we were associated with Pyr and with Lou. It was pretty impressive to witness the respect for Lou and the label he's helped build among everyone in the genre. We felt honored to be a part of Pyr.

Oh, and we met this guy.

Remember What We Said About the Fun Part?

2010-08-29T18:11:00.001-04:00

We said that editing a full manuscript was the best part of writing.

Well, forget that.
It's getting done. But we've had more fun than this.

November Gets Graphic

2010-08-18T23:06:00.000-04:00

Two...count 'em...TWO graphic novels go on sale in November!

For some reason Bluewater Comics has decided that November is perfect to publish two comics we wrote over the last couple of years. Both of these books were originally intended to be 4-issue mini-series, but for various reasons, they've become stand-alone graphic novels.

Quatermain has art by the wonderful Patricio Carbajal.

It Came From Beneath the Sea...Again has art by Chris Noeth (first half of the book) and the very original and unusual Todd Tennant (second half of the book).

With The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Bk 1 and now these two books coming out in November, plus Vincent Price Presents #26 in December, everything we've written in the last 3 years is coming out in one big splash!

Christmas gifts for the WHOLE FAMILY!

DragonCon schedule GROWS

2010-08-11T19:20:00.004-04:00

New panels added...more to come?

Friday 11:30 am New Voices in Steampunk/Alternate History
Friday 1:00 pm Collaborations
Friday 7:00 pm Pyr Books Panel
Friday 10 pm What Makes a Book Sexy?

Saturday 10:30 am Pyr Books Booth

Saturday 3:30 pm Pyr Books Booth
There will be a number of Advanced Reader Copies of The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Bk. 1 available!

Sunday 9 am Stroll with the Pyr Stars
Sunday 5:30 pm Out of the Coffin: Open vs. Closed Supernatural Systems

Now Comes the Fun Part

2010-08-01T21:11:00.001-04:00

First Draft of Vampire Empire: Book 2

We just printed out the entire first draft manuscript of our second Vampire Empire novel. Now we begin RE-WRITING! There is nothing more fun than editing a manuscript, recognizing problems and fixing them, cutting the fat, sharpening the narrative, tightening the themes. Perhaps after reading 3 or 4 drafts, you might tire of your own words. But the first complete read-through is great fun when you see the spots that work, but not so fun when you see the spots that don't!

And, yes, we edit on paper. We simply have to have the words on a sheet of paper, with pen in hand, to really get a feel for it. The people who make ink for printers make a lot of money off of us.

Triangle Area Freelancers

2010-07-29T21:16:00.000-04:00

We had a great time with TAF Wednesday night at Loco Lou's Coffee House. They were very nice and asked a lot of interesting questions about collaborating and writing different genres and media. We hung around for the rest of the meeting and were really impressed with the group as a whole. They were supportive and genuinely interested in the various projects of the members whether it was a published book or article or idea for something down the line. Fiction. Nonfiction. Books. Magazine articles. They covered a lot of territory. We'd recommend anyone in the area who is looking for a writing group that's friendly and effective take a look at TAF.

www.triangleareafreelancers.org

Talking About Writing as a Team.

2010-07-25T22:57:00.001-04:00

The Triangle Area Freelancers
Wednesday, July 28, 7:00 pm
Loco Lu's Coffee Shop

We're looking forward to speaking to the Triangle Area Freelancers this week. We're going to give our take on how to collaborate and still satisfy your own personal creativity, while avoiding divorce or severe injury. Writing is generally a solitary pastime so the most common question we get at conventions is "How do you write together?" We've been working together for nearly 15 years and it has worked so well that neither of us would completely trust anything we wrote solo now. The fact is, all writing is collaborative on some level, unless you just write material and stuff it in your desk drawer, never to be seen again. If you can't take constructive input, you won't get far. So we're looking forward to fielding questions about how to write together and stay married, as well as discussing how to split your creativity and time to publish across different media -- books, comics, etc.

Thanks to TAF for inviting us. And for writers in the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area, take a look at the Triangle Area Freelancers if you're looking for a writing group.

www.triangleareafreelancers.org

ComicCon 2010 Special Offer

2010-07-22T09:19:00.001-04:00

One SDCC freebie you can't miss!

If you're heading out to San Diego for the annual insanity of ComicCon, you can get a piece of The Greyfriar: Vampire Empire Book 1. Forget waiting in long lines for disappointing glimpses of Brangelina or Scott Pilgrim or Tron or Thor or Green Lantern. Head straight to the freebie table and grab your very own Vampire Empire postcard! That's right! FREE postcard! Complete with lovely Chris McGrath cover art.

We're not there, but our postcard is! Now that's a con premium you will tell your friends about.

You're welcome, San Diego.

It Came From Beneath the Sea...Again!

2010-07-18T23:14:00.000-04:00

Our newest graphic novel is the official sequel to the classic Ray Harryhausen movie: It Came From Beneath the Sea.

This book has been years in the making (due to unavoidable delays), but it's finally here (almost). This whopping big 90-page comic will be published in November by Bluewater Comics. Chris Noeth pencilled the first half and Todd Tennant the second. They have different art styles, but that makes it a really cool book.

The story takes place in the modern era, but it's deeply rooted in the beloved giant creature fear films of the 1950s. It has equal parts humor and blood-curdling monster action.

It can be pre-ordered at Amazon.
It Came From Beneath the Sea...Again

DragonCon 2010

2010-07-08T20:56:00.008-04:00

We'll Be There!

We're going to DragonCon in Atlanta over Labor Day weekend to talk about THE GREYFRIAR: VAMPIRE EMPIRE Book One and all things steampunk, vampire, alternate history, and dark fantasy.
Our schedule will grow, but as it stands now:
Friday, Sept. 3:
9:00 am: Stroll with the Pyr Stars (this MAY be Sunday morning)
11:30 am: New Voices in Steampunk/Alternate History
7:00 pm: Pyr Books Panel

DragonCon is the biggest science fiction/fantasy convention in the USA (if you don't count ComicCon) We're talking 25,000+ crazed fans and the greatest costumes on the convention circuit (and that includes ComicCon). If you've never experienced DragonCon, you won't believe it. If you have experienced it, you know what we're talking about.

ReConstruction 2010

2010-06-28T21:32:00.001-04:00

NASFiC: North America Science Fiction Convention in Raleigh, NC
Aug. 5 - 8

We'll be attending ReConstruction at the Raleigh Civic Center from August 5 thru 8.

Whenever WorldCon convenes out of the U.S. (it's in Australia this year) there is an American-based convention for those who can't make it overseas. This year it's in our hometown of Raleigh!

We'll be doing a couple of panels and generally promoting Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar. We also hope to accept the Chesley award for Best Art Director for our editor at Pyr, Lou Anders.

Check it out: www.reconstructionsf.org

Lou Anders garners more nominations!

2010-06-07T21:38:00.003-04:00

Chesley nominee for Best Art Director

This nomination is well deserved. Nobody has better covers than Pyr Books (just take a gander at Chris McGrath's beautiful cover for Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar). The Chesley is given by the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists at ReConStruction in Raleigh, NC in August. Unfortunately, Lou cannot attend. Plus, he's up for a Hugo and won't be at that award ceremony either because he'll be at DragonCon (along with us!) during Worldcon. We have various side bets (to be paid in beer) that he will win the Hugo. Now we'll owe even more beer when he wins the Chesley. How much beer could he possibly drink anyway?

While Lou may wish he was at ReConStruction and Worldcon when he wins, it will only add to his fearsome legend that while other editors in the industry are partying at Worldcon, Lou is at DragonCon talking to fans about Pyr's books. That's why he's the hardest working man in science fiction/fantasy.

Congrats, Lou!

Vampire Empire in the Big Apple

2010-05-26T20:52:00.002-04:00

We're at Book Expo America...sort of.

Here's a shot of Book Expo booth belonging to Prometheus Books (Pyr Books' parent company). You'll notice among all the wonderful posters the cover for VAMPIRE EMPIRE: THE GREYFRIAR prominently displayed. You may also notice it doesn't look exactly like the version we posted below. They used a poster with an earlier version of the cover; the beautiful finished version by Chris McGrath wasn't quite complete in time for the Fall/Winter catalog promo. Still, that's awfully cool!

We would love to do BEA one year, but alas, our book cover made it before us.

Thanks, Pyr, for the top row!

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2010-05-04T18:44:00.004-04:00

We have a cover!

This lovely work of art is by the talented Chris McGrath, best known for his work on Jim Butcher's Dresden Files. The layout is by Grace M. Conti-Zilsberger. And the whole thing was overseen by our editor (Hugo nominee) Lou Anders. We can't wait to see it staring out from bookstore shelves everywhere in November 2010.

Thanks, Chris, Grace, and Lou! Beautiful job.

We are so excited to see our hero and heroine, The Greyfriar and Adele, in the moody kirkyard of Greyfriars in Edinburgh. That's Edinburgh Castle looming in the background.

We were married in that very church and have many wedding photos in the same churchyard...none quite so foreboding as this cover shot though.

You can pre-order from Amazon:

A Cover is Near!

2010-04-21T20:34:00.001-04:00

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

We should be seeing the cover for our new novel very soon. We're not sure if we can reveal anything about it yet, including the artist, but he's a very high profile cover artist in the fantasy publishing world. We've seen early drafts and we are VERY excited to see the final version!

Lou Anders is the art director for Pyr Books. He has an eye unlike anyone else in the business. Pyr's covers are always stunning. Lou believes that good covers sell books. We like that.

Congratulations Lou Anders

2010-04-05T17:24:00.000-04:00

Pyr Books Editorial Director Nominated for Hugo Award

Lou Anders, the Editorial Director at Pyr Books, and our editor for VAMPIRE EMPIRE, has been nominated as Best Editor -- Long Form in this year's Hugo Awards. The Hugo is the top science fiction prize in the industry and winners are named at the World Science Fiction Convention in September (this year in Sydney, Australia). Lou will be at DragonCon in Atlanta this year and we promised to buy him a beer when he wins...or two beers should he lose.

Come on, Lou! WIN!

Comics Signing

2010-03-10T19:37:00.003-05:00

Chapel Hill Comics
Saturday, March 27th
1-3 pm

Meet us at Chapel Hill Comics!
We will be signing our new comic Political Power: Nelson Mandela from Bluewater Comics.
If you've never been to Chapel Hill Comics, this is your chance. It's a great independent shop with a terrific selection of indy and mainstream books. The staff there knows comics!

Look forward to seeing you there.

Chapel Hill Comics website

Vincent Price Presents

2010-02-20T00:13:00.000-05:00

Patricio Carbajal!

Are you kidding me! How good is this art!?!

This is the splash page from our upcoming issue of Vincent Price Presents from Bluewater Comics. It's not colored, but it's so good we almost wish the book was black and white. The artist is Patricio Carbajal and he is fantastic! Holy Cow! Even we want to read this...and we wrote it!

Sometimes in comics you get to work with artists who thrill you. They make your scripts better than you thought they could be.

So good, Pat!

PYR Opens Its Doors Wider

2010-02-17T17:43:00.002-05:00

PYR Books Now Accepts Unagented Manuscripts.

Congratulations to Lou Anders, Executive Editor at PYR, for opening the doors of his prestigious science fiction/fantasy house to writers without agents. Since the beginning of time, one of the highest hurdles for upcoming professional fiction writers is the fact that so many major publishers won't review submissions if they don't come through a literary agent. So PYR's decision means that more writers have a chance to get their manuscripts in front of the eyes of professional editors.

PYR may find some gems among the tons of rock that will pour over the transom. And for some writers, even if their work is rejected, perhaps a nice word from a PRY editor will spur them to keep working or may even help them get the attention of an agent.

And the best part is, as we mentioned to Lou, maybe now we can find a suitable home for our well-thumbed first manuscript, which we kept secret from our agent. It's a 500,000-word epic fantasy that combines Lord of the Rings with Remembrance of Things Past, but with kittens. It's called The Whiskeriad (vol. 1). Oddly enough, it's still unsold! Are you listening, Rene at PYR!

Please consult PYR's Guidelines www.pyrsf.com before submitting your masterpiece (although it can't match The Whiskeriad).

Kolchak: The Night Stalker

2010-02-03T23:16:00.001-05:00

Our newest Kolchak story from Moonstone Books

Available February 10.

Our story is paired with a Phantom story that both fit into a big metaplot involving renegade KGB agents. But our Kolchak piece also works as a creepy little stand-alone story.

We're always excited to write the adventures of Carl Kolchak, one of our favorite characters of all time.

www.moonstonebooks.com

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2010-01-24T18:44:00.002-05:00

Steampunk World's Fair -- May 14-16, 2010

We'll be attending the Steampunk World's Fair in Piscataway, NJ. We'll be reading from VAMPIRE EMPIRE: THE GREYFRIAR and talking about writing, alternate history, and steampunk. The book won't be out by then, but we'll have the cover at least! We're very excited to see everyone there!

http://steampunkworldsfair.com

PYR Books is SFReview's Publisher of the Decade

2010-01-09T13:15:00.003-05:00

And PYR is only 5 years old!

Now that's pretty good.

Another reason we're happy to be with PYR Books and with Lou Anders is the growing awareness that PYR is the home of quality fantasy and science fiction, and that Lou has an eye for good stuff. We hope VAMPIRE EMPIRE adds to that success in 2010 and beyond.

Way to go Lou!

SFReview.net

Vincent Price Presents

2009-12-19T15:03:00.001-05:00

The House of the Raven

We just turned in the script for our stand-alone issue of Bluewater Comic's Vincent Price Presents anthology title.

Now we wait for the fantastic art by Patricio Carbajal.
Check out the sample!

Triffids!

2009-12-19T11:39:00.001-05:00

Another Day of the Triffids!

Walking plants that spit poison combined with a global catastrophe that leaves most of Earth's population blind. John Wyndham wrote the book in the 1950s. Although most people remember it more as a technicolor movie with Howard Keel. Do yourself a favor -- read the book. Do yourself another favor -- read all of Wyndham's books.

Anyway, there's a new BBC version of Day of the Triffids.

Check some out at SF Signal.

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2009-12-15T20:41:00.003-05:00

Steampunk Going Mainstream?

Whether you call it steampunk or neo-Victorian or Victorian fantasy, it's an established and growing fantasy trend...even a creative lifestyle choice. VAMPIRE EMPIRE: THE GREYFRIAR has strong steampunk elements, so we were really interested to see the culture getting some publicity in a major media outlet like TIME magazine...

Time magazine Steampunk article

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2009-12-11T13:53:00.002-05:00

Lou Anders Speaks!

Check out PYR Books editor Lou Anders on a podcast interview. He talks about all of PYR's upcoming titles, including our own Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar. It's all good stuff about some great books. He talks about VE about halfway through the interview.

Lou Anders speaks!

Political Power: Nelson Mandela

2009-12-10T20:44:00.001-05:00

Here's the cover of our upcoming bio comic on Nelson Mandela. It's part of Bluewater's Political Power series. We were thrilled to write this book. Clay is a professor of African history, and the opportunity to teach a new audience about Mandela's importance as one of the great political/social figures of the 20th century is a great opportunity and, although it may sound corny, an honor.

Capturing such a man in a 22-page comic is also a sizable challenge! Obviously, we couldn't cover every event in his 91+ years of life, so we had to find a significant narrative thread and follow it from boyhood to the present. We're very happy with the story we came up with.

Art by the marvelously talented Pablo Martinena.
On sale February 2010.

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2009-12-08T20:34:00.001-05:00

PYR Books Announcement...

Lou Anders, the wonderful editor at PYR Books, announced an avalanche of great new titles coming from PYR in 2010. We are delighted to be included, and we're very excited by the company. There's a lot of swashbuckling pulp adventure, alternate history, and steampunk grittiness mixed with dark political allegory and romance. Or romance and dark political allegory, if you prefer it in that order.

Here's the link to PYR's blog.

Allan Quatermain returns!

2009-12-06T19:45:00.003-05:00

Allan Quatermain and the Lord of Locusts.

We wrote it.

Patricio Carbajal pencilled and inked (and colored this page!) He's great!

4-issue series from Bluewater Comics in 2010.

Nothing Says Merry Christmas like Cows, Samurais and Ticks!

2009-12-05T08:46:00.000-05:00

New England Comics is publishing their entire catalog in a series of gigantic phonebook-sized volumes. We wrote some of them including the entire run of Man-Eating Cow, the entire Paul the Samurai regular series, several issues of The Tick Karma Tornado, a number of the specials, and our The Tick: Days of Drama 6-issue series is included in The Tick Color Specials vol. 2.

Go to www.newenglandcomics.com or FINER comic shops near you!

Vampire Empire: The Greyfriar

2009-12-05T08:29:00.000-05:00

We have just completed final edits to the first book in our new VAMPIRE EMPIRE trilogy -- The Greyfriar. The book will be published by PYR Books in late 2010.

It is dark fantasy alternate history with steampunk elements as well as politics and action and romance.

We'll talk more about this book, and the second book in the series as we go on.