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Back from the excitement of BEA and giving away lots and lots of books. Meet a ton of authors I admire, bookbloggers, librarians and social media folks. Also saw a man with a giant teddy riding in his motorbike sidecar. Ahhh the joy of New York City. Also had some fantastic Russian food, and maybe a couple too many of their fine vodkas.

But I return renewed, ready to finish some series, and start new things.

However first off the block (and slightly earlier than anticipated from me) is Hunter and Fox. This is the book I wrote before Geist, and it will always have a special place in my heart as this was the book Laurie McLean my fabulous agent, read, loved and took a chance on me based on it.

It has been polished to gleaming wonder by Lou Anders and his team, and his a wonderful cover by the talented Cynthia Sheppard.

It’s available in ebook format and trade paperback. I hope you enjoy it, but here’s what other people are saying so far;

 

Maybe it’s the Anthropologist in me, but I couldn’t get enough of the peoples and cultures of Conhaero and the mystery of the White Void from which they came. As I read Hunter and Fox I found myself scrutinizing the details and always yearning for more. Imagine an outdoor market filled with cultures from around the world. The scents, sounds and colors would be intoxicating. Hunter and Fox is all that and more. Philippa Ballantine is easily a master world builder but it’s the richness of her characters too that held my gaze, pulled on my emotions and kept me up all night….It’s like an episode of Game of Thrones,  you’ll be gasping at the end and wondering how the book could end there!

—Amanda Makepeace

Ballantine slowly reveals a complex set of connections through the main characters in her story, while also exposing a rich plot and a coming apocalypse that may shake the fabric of Shifted World. Hunter and Fox takes a past that is haunting the future and twisting their world’s reality, while at the same time letting readers see into the hearts of its characters.

—Snarky Mamma

What I think I love most about this book (aside from the very thorough worldbuilding) is the fact that our protagonist, Talyn the Dark, is really an anti-heroine. She’s not a nice gal. Even she knows that, but she has a goal in mind, and she’ll be hellbent trying to get to that goal. Ballantine took a real risk in making her protagonist such an anti-hero/possibly unsympathetic character (though she does indeed turn out to be the most sympathetic character in the entire book), and I admire her for that.

—Birth of a New Witch

Ballantine draws readers into a fascinating new world, peopled by characters you will genuinely care about. In this first volume of the Shifted World series, she draws from classic fantasy traditions but makes them wholly her own…. Talyn is a heroine to cheer for and treasure.

-RT Book Reviews (4/5 stars: Compelling), June 2012

I find Ms. Ballantine characters to be some of the most believable, memorable, driven characters in fiction today. She is a harsh mistress and one should never become too attached to any of her creations as I personally believe that none of her characters are sacrosanct. Hunter and Fox is no different in this regard. Talyn and Finn and others you will meet between the covers experience more physical and psychological pain than most authors place in a ten novel series. Talyn is by far the darkest of Ms. Ballantine’s heroes to date, and truthfully, it made me love her all the more.

—View from Valhalla