Category Archives: Female Fantasy Authors

September 21, 2016 · 6:19 am

Bonza Day (as we say here in Australia)

I came home from the shops (which is a bit of a trek now that I live in the wilds of Tasmania) to find a note in my letter box saying there were parcels to pick up from the post office. I thought it would be the possum trap we’ve ordered.

Here I digress…

Over winter the possums have eaten the bark of several of the fruit trees and then they ate two little azaleas that I planted. I thought azaleas would be safe since they haven’t eaten others. I was wrong. So it wasn’t the possum trap (in case you are worried, we intend to drive down to the river which is part of a national park and let the possum go so it will be a pig in mud, rather than making a pig of itself in our garden).

The parcels were… drum roll … my copies of Solaris Classic KRK, All FOUR books.  I was expecting book one but I should have realised Solaris would send all four books since they were being printed together, so they could be released a month apart.

The updated covers look terrific. Here they are on the kitchen table. Kudos to Clint Langley for the wonderful artwork.

krkr_4_frontcovers

You’ll notice on book two there’s a sticker letting people know that Garzik’s novella, The King’s Man, is included at the end of book two. Great news, for all those readers who contacted me wanting to buy a print version.

And then I turned the books over and discovered the layout artist had done something really clever. Ta Da!

krk_all4_backcovers

They’ve used silhouettes from the front covers. Very graphic, very nice. So kudos to the graphic designer at Solaris for this!

And now I’m all set up to do the GoodReads giveaway for book one which starts on the 24th of September and runs until the 30th of November. (Will see if I can add a link to the giveaway when it goes live). Must get to work on all the blog posts I promised as well.

See here where the Fantastical Librarian interviewed me. Thanks to the lovely Mieneke.

 

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July 25, 2016 · 6:44 am

This is one thrilled writer

I’m honoured to learn that my King Rolen’s Kin series is going to be the launch series of the new Solaris Classics line.  Had to pinch myself twice when I read this.

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KRK is the series that was a finalist in the Inaugural Sara Douglas Fantasy Series Award. There were 55 series entered in this award so the judges deserve kudos for their efforts.

The Solaris Classics line will be printed in what we call a trade paperback here in Australia and they have rejigged Clint Langley’s lovely covers.

Solaris Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Oliver commented:

“Solaris has now been going for almost eleven years, and I felt that it was time to take stock: to look back over the hundreds of titles we’ve published and to champion the very best of this fiercely independent, innovative and wide-reaching imprint.

Solaris Classics highlights the titles that have shaped our imprint over the years, the titles that have brought widespread critical acclaim, commercial acclaim, and demonstrated the breadth of our publishing vision. Fantasy has been at the core of what we do from the very beginning, and it continues to be a genre that we invest in, constantly looking for new voices while championing the writers that have seen us go from success to success.

Rowena’s King Rolen’s Kin series shows traditional fantasy at its best. This is engrossing, exciting story-telling, designed to immerse the reader in a world of intrigue, magic and political machinations. Rowena’s series will be the vanguard of what I hope to be a series demonstrating the very best in independent genre publishing.”

Rowena Cory Daniells’ King Rolen’s Kin series will be published by Solaris from September 2016.
Naturally, I am delighted, if a little overwhelmed by this. The KRK series has had a good response from readers, ranging from, Curse you, I was up all night reading your book and now I have to go to work, to My husband has dyslexia and doesn’t like to read. He finished  your books in a week, which is a record for him. And then there was one of my students (I used to teach multimedia narrative at UNI), who told me he gave my book a nine out of ten. High praise indeed!
The books will be coming out a month apart, which makes them easy to find. Now I have to knuckle down and work on my secret projects. I have two on the go but one has top priority. It is good to be writing again.

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March 25, 2016 · 11:37 pm

Major Squee

Legends 2, where 'The Giant's Lady' appears, and the actual Aurealis Award for best fantasy short story

Legends 2, where ‘The Giant’s Lady’ appears, and the actual Aurealis Award for best fantasy short story

 

When I heard in February that my work had been shortlisted for two Aurealis Awards I was both delighted and surprised. In Australia the Aurealis Awards are our Big Thing.

 

Here are the short listed stories for the fantasy section:

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press)

“The Jellyfish Collector”, Michelle Goldsmith (Review of Australian Fiction Vol. 13 Issue 6)

“A Shot of Salt Water”, Lisa L Hannett (The Dark, TDM Press)

“Almost Days”, DK Mok (Insert Title Here, FableCroft Publishing)

“Blueblood”, Faith Mudge (Hear Me Roar, Ticonderoga Publications)

“Husk and Sheaf”, Suzanne Willis (SQ Mag 22, IFWG Publishing Australia)

 

And here is my KRK series rubbing shoulders with some of the best in the field.

SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD

The Chronicles of King Rolen’s Kin [The King’s Bastard (2010), The Uncrowned King (2010),The Usurper (2010), The King’s Man (2012), King Breaker (2013)], Rowena Cory Daniells (Solaris Press)

The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile(2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)

The Lumatere Chronicles [Finnikin of the Rock (2008), Froi of the Exiles (2011), Quintana of Charyn (2012)], Melina Marchetta (Penguin Random House)

Sevenwaters [Daughter of the Forest (2000), Son of the Shadows (2001), Child of the Prophecy(2002), Heir to Sevenwaters (2009), Seer of Sevenwaters (2011), Flame of Sevenwaters (2013)], Juliet Marillier (Pan Macmillan Australia)

The Laws of Magic [Blaze Of Glory (2007), Heart Of Gold (2007), Word Of Honour (2008),  Time Of Trial (2009), Moment Of Truth (2010), Hour Of Need (2011)], Michael Pryor (Random House Australia)

Creature Court [Power and Majesty (2010), Shattered City (2011), Reign of Beasts (2012)], Tansy Rayner Roberts (HarperVoyager)

 

Being shortlisted ‘made my day’.

Then, when Marianne and I were asked to co-host the awards I was both touched and honoured.  I figured I hadn’t won either award and this didn’t surprise me, not with such a strong field. Co-hosting the awards was a chance to ‘glam up’ for an evening and catch up with the friends I only see once a year. (Or in this case I haven’t been out in the ‘real world’  for over two years).

Here I am doing my Marilyn imitation (as a mother of six my life is not at all glamorous)

Here I am doing my Marilyn imitation (as a mother of six my life is not at all glamorous)

 

When I track down from photos (my camera has died) I’m going to do a separate post about the awards ceremony and the fun we had. But right now I’d like to say the things I didn’t say when I was so gobsmacked by winning the award.

I’d like to thank the team who organise the award for all their hard work. There was 55 entries (over 200 books) in the Inaugural Sara Douglas Fantasy Series Award and over 100 short stories in the fantasy section. I’d also like to thank Ian Whates for inviting me to submit to Legends 2, Stories in honour of David Gemmell. 

 

 

The full list of Aurealis winners is below. Many of these people are my friends and I am delighted for them. Others are up and coming writers and I wish them all the best with their careers. It is an honour to be included in such a talented group.

 

The Winners of the 2015 Aurealis Awards

 

By ventureadlaxre on

aurealis2016

Congratulations to all the winners of the 2015 Aurealis Awards!

BEST CHILDREN’S FICTION

A Single Stone, Meg McKinlay (Walker Books Australia) 

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL / ILLUSTRATED WORK

The Singing Bones, Shaun Tan (Allen & Unwin)

BEST YOUNG ADULT SHORT STORY

“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST HORROR SHORT STORY

“Bullets”, Joanne Anderton (In Sunshine Bright and Darkness Deep, AHWA)

BEST HORROR NOVELLA

“The Miseducation of Mara Lys”, Deborah Kalin (Cherry Crow Children, Twelfth Planet Press)

BEST FANTASY SHORT STORY

“The Giant’s Lady”, Rowena Cory Daniells (Legends 2, Newcon Press)

BEST FANTASY NOVELLA

“Defy the Grey Kings”, Jason Fischer (Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Firkin Press)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION SHORT STORY

“All the Wrong Places”, Sean Williams (Meeting Infinity, Solaris)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVELLA

“By Frogsled and Lizardback to Outcast Venusian Lepers”, Garth Nix (Old Venus, Random House)

BEST COLLECTION

To Hold the Bridge, Garth Nix (Allen & Unwin)

BEST ANTHOLOGY

Bloodlines, Amanda Pillar (ed.) (Ticonderoga Publications)

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

In The Skin of a Monster, Kathryn Barker (Allen & Unwin)

BEST HORROR NOVEL

Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)

BEST FANTASY NOVEL

Day Boy,Trent Jamieson (Text Publishing)

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL

Illuminae, Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Allen & Unwin)

SARA DOUGLASS BOOK SERIES AWARD

The Watergivers [The Last Stormlord (2009), Stormlord Rising (2010), Stormlord’s Exile(2011)], Glenda Larke (HarperVoyager)

THE CONVENORS’ AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE

Letters to Tiptree, Alexandra Pierce and Alisa Krasnostein (Twelfth Planet Press)

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March 24, 2016 · 9:07 am

Squee

Only one sleep until the Aurealis Awards. And there’s an added reason to frock up. Marianne and I are going to be EMCeeing the awards.

This is a particular thrill for us as it is the 21st Aurealis Awards  night and the 20th anniversary of the Vision Writers group. 20 years ago Marianne and I escaped our families on Father’s Day (we have very patient husbands) and met at the very first Vision Writers group meeting.

After discovering that we had 9 children between us and that were both eager to pursue our dream of becoming published authors we buddy-ied up, going to workshops and events together.

 

Here we are hanging out at Melbourne Convention

Here we are hanging out at a Melbourne Convention

There were many times we were all set to go to Brisbane Writers Festival event then one of us would have to cancel because of a sick child.

Here we are at a Supanova event

Here we are at a Supanova event

Through the ups and downs of writing, getting rejected, writing some more, finding an agent and getting published we supported each other. Twenty years later, dozens of books and with our kids all in their twenties now, we have become the ‘establishment’ LOL.

Honestly, it is an honour to be asked to EMC the awards.

If you’re in Brisbane and you’d like to come to the Aurealis Awards tickets are available here.

And the national SF convention CONTACT is on in BrisVegas over the Easter weekend. You can find out more about CONTACT here. This is the place to be if you are interested in the genres of science fiction, fantasy and horror this weekend.

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February 17, 2016 · 11:53 pm

Whoot Aurealis Award Shortlist

Had some lovely news yesterday. I heard from the Aurealis Awards organisers. Drum roll…

My story, The Giant’s Lady, that appeared in Legends 2, edited by Ian Whates, is a finalist in the Fantasy Short Story section. A big thank you to Ian for inviting me to submit to this anthology in honour of David Gemmell.

GEMMELL+COVER2d (2)

And, another drum roll…

My series, The Chronicles of King Rolen’s Kin, is a finalist in the Inaugural Sara Douglas Fantasy Series Award. This award was named after Sara Douglas who sadly passed away from cancer. There were 55 series entered in this section so I am really honoured to find my work in the shortlist with these wonderful authors.

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A big thank you to the team of hard working volunteers who make the Aurealis Awards possible.

And congratulations to everyone on the shortlist. The full list can be found here.

 

 

 

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June 3, 2015 · 10:48 pm

Author Copies Squee Day

It can take a year to write a book then several years to get published.

With the Fall of Fair Isle the trilogy was written late 90s early 2000s, published, then it drifted into obscurity. People would turn up at events with well-worn copies asking me to sign them, or more often desperate to find a copy of the third book which had sold out.

Now the trilogy has been republished by Solaris and was released in March. It took ages for my copies to reach Australia and then I was flat out with family emergencies (it has been a horrible 18 months) so I only got around to unpacking the box today.

After all the time and effort we poor authors put in you can see why opening a box of your new books is one of the things we look forward to. Apparently, so does my cat.

Here I’ve opened the box and set it up for a nice picture. (not too much household mess in the background LOL)

FOFbox1

 

Then one of the kids interrupts me. There’s a minor emergency, an assignment is due today and we’ve run out of paper.

Disaster averted, I come back to find Sassy cat inspecting the box. You know boxes have a fatal attraction for cats.

FoFbox2

 

‘What?’ she says.

FoFbox3

 

‘Yup, this is the spot. Think I’ll have a nap right here.’

 

FoFbox4

 

Mind you this is the cat who sheds everywhere and being white, she leaves a noticeable trail of fur.

So there you have it. My big girl squee day and the cat steals the show.

 

PS. A big thank you to Clint Langley for the cover and to Solaris for releasing the book as an omnibus. Readers can get the whole trilogy in one big door-stopper!

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August 30, 2014 · 8:37 am

Off to Comic Con

This weekend I’ll be unpacking my boxes of books (no photos, my office is too messy, hangs head in shame).  Must get everything ready for Brisbane Comic Con next weekend, September 6th and 7th. I’ve done several Supanovas (always lots of fun). This time I thought I’d do comic con.

If you come to Comic Con you’ll find me in Artist Alley. Look for the beautiful pull-ups based on Clint Langley’s artwork.

Here I am at Supanova with Lindy from ClanDestine Press.

Here I am at Supanova with Lindy from ClanDestine Press.

 

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August 4, 2014 · 10:28 pm

Fall of Fair Isle cover squee

banner test

 

Solaris have sent me the Fall of Fair Isle cover, artwork by Clint Langley. (Release date: March 2015) This is an omnibus reprint of my original trilogy, which was published 1999 – 2003.

FINAL_THE FALL OF FAIR ISLE

 

This trilogy is set 600 years after The Outcast Chronicles:

3covers72dpi copy

And tells the story of Imoshen, named after Imoshen the First of Fair Isle. When her island is conquered she must find a common ground with the invading Ghebite general, Tulkhan, to save her people from oppression. To add to her troubles, her betrothed who she believed dead, has survived. Like Imoshen, Reothe is a throwback to the original T’En and he is determined to win back his island home and the woman he loves.

The story is both intimate and epic. Unlike many books The Fall of Fair Isle starts after the great battle and follows Imoshen’s struggles as she maneuvers to preserve the peace without compromising her ideals.

For a long time it was hard to get copies of book three of the trilogy, now thanks to Solaris it will be released with a brand new cover that captures the intrinsic conflict, one woman’s battle to preserve her people’s way of life.

 

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December 9, 2013 · 8:19 am

Christmas Deal for Besieged

adventpromoSolaris are doing an Advent Calendar. I had never heard of this before. They’re offering discounted e-books d one a day until Christmas.

Turns out the e-book Besieged will be available for 98p on Monday the 9th of December, their time. It’s after 6 pm here in Brisbane, Australia now, so I figure it is Monday morning in the UK.

Here’s the link if you’re interested in a bit of Christmas reading.

(Like the picture? I had to clean the kitchen bench and take the decorations off the Christmas tree to set it up)

 

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November 12, 2013 · 11:47 am

Fall of Fair Isle

I can now talk about what is happening with my original trilogy, Fall of Fair Isle. (Back when it first came out the trilogy didn’t have a name but readers may remember it as The Last T’En).

Solaris Books, will be releasing the trilogy as an omnibus print edition, due for publication mid 2015, and it will also appear in e-book editions. This trilogy was not released in the UK and the third book was very hard to get so it will be lovely to have a new edition with (I hope) a wonderful cover by the talented Clint Langley, who did such a good job on The Outcast Chronicles.

3covers72dpi copy

 

The Fall of Fair Isle tells a more intimate tale than The Outcast Chronicles. It begins where most fantasy books finish – after the great battle.

After the Ghebites invade Fair Isle, Imoshen (named for her ancestor, Imoshen the First) is the last surviving member of the royal family. She has to work with General Tulkhan, the Ghebite invader,  to save herself, her people and her way of life. Hers is a matriarchal society, his is a patriarchal society where the men can take three or four wives. The Ghebites fear the T’En, who they regard as closer to animals than True-men.

As for the T’En, when Imoshen the First led her people to this land, she told them to take partners from the locals, so that they would blend in and be accepted. The T’En inter-bred with the original inhabitants of Fair Isle, who were descended from the Ancients (a race of mystical beings) and their blood was diluted until there are very few pure T’En throwbacks. Six hundred years of this has changed the way the T’En gifts are expressed in full-bloods and half-bloods and much knowledge of old T’En lore has been lost. (They call the mystic plane, death’s shadow).

At the core of the trilogy is an exploration of gender politics, as Imoshen and Tulkhan try to find common ground. Despite their differences, they fall in love. To add to the complications, before the invasion Imoshen was betrothed to Reothe, the last of the T’En males. She broke her vows to him, to bond with General Tulkhan. Furious, Reothe leads the rebels in a bid to retake Fair Isle and claim Imoshen. She has to choose between Reothe, who wants to restore the T’En and create a new Golden Age and Tulkhan who is the best of True-men.

 

 

 

 

 

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