Philippa Ballantine - Author

Award-winning Author of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk

Blog

Jobbing Writer

typewriterI admit I have been a bad little blogger!

I was good at the beginning of the year, with lots of rants, but with so many channels of social media, I confess somehow blogging sometimes falls down my radar.

Thinking about it, I guess it is because writing is what I do all day long to keep the roof over our head, doing more writing sometimes slides down the priority list! Also, as per usual there are a thousand things to do.

Much like my post about the time involved in audio-editing, I thought I’d give a glimpse through a crack in the door of my writing world.

Here’s a sample of what I have been doing since last we spoke

Promotion (oh yes, this takes time)

The Ministry Initiative, our Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences roleplaying game, made its debut to backers of the Kickstarter.

The announcement of the next Ministry Protocol novel, the Diamond Conspiracy release date. It’s coming in March 2015! No cover art as yet, but that will come.

Blogtours. The talking about Dawn’s Early Light continues…but we made USA Today’s HEA!

Sidelines

Worked on production of an audiobook with Lauren Harris being the voice talent. See my post on that over at One-Stop Writer Shop

Worked on production of the audiobook of Ministry Protocol

Worked (and continue to do so) on the production of an audiobook of Weather Child

Working with Peter Woodworth on the villains supplement for the Ministry Protocol.

Working on and maintaining all the various social media channels. Keeping them full of interesting content is important these days.

Working on promoting and building our business of helping independent authors over at One-Stop Writer Shop

Writing

Submitted a proposal for two new Ministry books.

Submitted two proposals for new series.

Working on my project codename Deadly Hollywood

Working on another Aroha Murphy story for another multi-cultural steampunk anthology.

 

Phew! So I hope, dear reader you understand the scope of being a jobbing writer. It is exhilarating, exhausting, and I love it.

But from now on I’ll try and stay on the blogging rails!

Cover Reveal – Geisterzeichen

GeisterzeichenI love German covers…there I said it. Though some of the exact details are occasionally a little astray, there is something about the movement and feel of the cover that I love.

Today I found online the image of the fourth and final Book of the Order, or Die Runen der Macht which is due out in February 5th, 2015.

The designers managed to get both Sorcha, with her newly tattoed arms and flaming hands, as well as the Rossin and Merrick in the midst of a portal. But look…what is beyond that? Terrible, terrible things…

Die Grenze zwischen der Welt der Lebenden und dem Reich der Toten wird immer durchlässiger, und die Magierin Sorcha Faris ist eine der Wenigen, die noch verhindern können, dass es zur Katastrophe kommt. Verfolgt von den Schatten ihrer Vergangenheit, soll sie den Angriff gegen die finsteren Horden anführen, die die Menschheit zu überrennen drohen. Doch dazu muss sich Sorcha eine Macht zunutze machen, die ihren eigenen Untergang bedeuten könnte.

If you like you books in German, then you can pre-order on Amazon.de

Personally I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

Mechanical Wings

Another offering from my short story collection.

This time it is the novelette, Mechanical Wings. If you buy directly from this site, then I get the most percentage from the sale, but this story will be available on all the usual e-book platforms as well.

Hope you enjoy this story that I had a lot of fun writing.

 

Mechanical WingsMechanical Wings by Pip Ballantine

A novelette of steampunk and magic, from one of the minds behind the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences.

Based on Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairytale Wild Swans, this is the story of Eleanor and her quest to save her beloved brothers.

When the beautiful Faine Escrew marries Eleanor’s father, she, her brother’s and the flying City of Swans are thrown into danger. Even worse, she is sent away by her new step-mother, and discovers her brothers have been locked in mechanical swans, and only she can save them.

This impossible task demands everything from Eleanor, and only her wits and determination can save those she loves.

First appeared in the anthology Clockwork Fairy Tales.

$1.99 (includes both .mobi and .epub formats)Buy Now

Bang for your buck

Often I get asked which method of buying my books send the most money back to me. For awhile I didn’t have much of an answer.

All ebook platforms are pretty much the same, give or take a few cents. Also with recent controversy surrounding Amazon, there are some of my readers who are not happy to buy from that platform.

I’ve been thinking of selling direct from this website and the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences one for awhile, and after a bit of research I found Gumroad.com. This site has been around for awhile, and has become popular with all sorts of independent creatives.

So now all the links on this site, and the other ones Tee Morris and I operate will be turning in that direction. Our work will still be available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all the places you might expect to find them, just here, you will find our own product.

So let me know what you think. To purchase you just need a credit card (since I also know some people have a problem with Paypal) and it is a secure link through Gumroad.

 

Weather Child CoverWeather Child by Philippa Ballantine

From the writer of Books of the Order and the
co-author of the Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences comes a
new historical fantasy about two lovers separated by magic
and circumstance.

Never alone. Never apart.They are the Awakened, a unique breed of people in a remote corner of the world. Faith is one of these gifted carriers of the Seraphim; and in return of her unconditional love, her Seraphim grants her powers of
incredible potential.

But not all carriers embrace their blessing. Jack loathes being an Awakened. He never asked for it, his Seraphim keeping him alive even in spite of his desire to die. Not even a great war could rid him of this curse.

Now a magician of incredible ability and a walking dead man must find a way to work together to save the Seraphim.
Someone covets the power of the Awakened, and will not stop until that power belongs to him.

$2.99 (includes both .mobi and .epub formats)

Buy Now

Balticon- Where to find me

BalticonBalticon is our home convention. It’s where a large number of podcasting friends gather, and this year it’s going to be amazing to have Mark Jeffrey, Scott Sigler, Chris Lester and Dan Sawyer from the West Coast attending.

It’s rather like a large family reunion. Last year we didn’t go because we got an offer to go to a new convention (to us at least) in Detroit. But this year, you’ll find both myself and Tee Morris in attendence at the Hunt Valley Inn, in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

Here’s where you can find me on panels and such, but I will also be meandering around all weekend. If you are looking for books, then Tee and I will have copies of Ministry Protocol to sell and sign, while I will have Weather Child, Chasing the Bard, and Digital Magics.

  • Reading: Friday 6:00 PM – 6:50 PM, Pimlico
  • Collaborative Writing Saturday 08:00 AM – 08:50 AM, Chesapeake
  • The transition: Experiences of New Media authors moving to the mainstream literary world Saturday 4:00 PM – 4:50 PM, Derby
  • Cowry Catchers Support Group, Saturday 8:00 PM – 8:50 PM, Derby
  • Cthulhu out of the Hat: Writing Prompts for the Deranged, Sunday 2:00 PM – 2:50 PM, Parlor 1026
  • Moments and Mechanics in History & their Potential in Steampunk, Monday 10:00 AM – 10:50 AM, Salon C
  • Readings from the Cthulhu Hat, Monday 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Tennis Courts
  • The Shared Desk Livecast (Panel) (Participant), Mon 12:00 PM – 12:50 PM, Chesapeake

Even if we’ve never met before, do come up and say hi if you’re a reader or a listener. That’s one of the cool things about cons, is meeting new people. It’s also one of the nice things about smaller cons, having that chance to spend sometime with folks who have the same interests as you.

So see you all at Hunt Valley!

Book signing…the uncertain beast…

2012-09-02 12.22.53Ah book signings….

Before you get your first book on the shelf you imagine how it will go; a long line of adoring readers, all clutching your books to their chest with eyes agleam in delight…

It can be that, and oh it can be the complete, weird opposite.

Full disclosure, book signings and I have an up and down relationship. It didn’t start off on the best foot either.

I was in a beautiful chain bookstore, right in the heart of downtown back in 2006. I was signing with my friend and fellow DragonMoon Press author, Tee Morris, and I was super excited.

I was in America for the first time, and I had no idea what to expect…which was probably a good thing.

First off, we had been plonked right by the cafe up on the third floor, oh yes…and this was a Monday. Apparently the manager thought we would ‘catch the lunchtime crowd’.

I’m not sure if he was deluded or just clueless, because the majority of people that we saw were either just there for their coffee, or had no idea what a book or a writer was.

This was also the first time that I had even meet Tee, and since we were sharing signing space, I began to suspect that he had paid some of the people off.

Because they were just that weird.

A man approached us with an offer. He had come up with an idea (I suspect it was awesome!) and if we wrote the book he would kindly give us 50% of the proceeds. (HINT: Ideas are cheap, writing a book ain’t) We also got a lovely lady that told us her cats were dictating her book to her.

Not. One. Sale.

After a few years and another ten book contracts, you’d think book signings would have improved…not so much.

Having just got back from Des Moines, Iowa, Tee and I actually had a pretty good book signing. We were of course signing with legendary SFWA Grandmaster, Joe Haldeman.

But wait…I know you’re thinking ‘so that’s the way to do it…do book signings in groups…’

Nope, that isn’t a guarantee either. I’ve been at a book signing where there was eight authors, all sitting near the coffee dispensary, and not one of us sold anything in two hours….except for maybe an expresso. I’m kidding—the people all looked rather annoyed we were there.

Perhaps the store didn’t advertise enough?

They usually do the same amount. Flyers. Banners.

Maybe independents are better?

About the same ratio actually.

Surely conventions are better?

Depends. If you are at a media con you’re not as likely to move books. Literary conventions are more likely to be successful.

The one certain thing I my experience is that I have never had a bad experience signing in a bookstore where a community exists in tandem with it. Reading groups are a prime example. If you can get that support then you are far more likely to have a fun and successful book signing.

Also events where people go to meet authors and buy books are usually pretty solid. The Frederick Book Festival. Authors After Dark. Steampunk Unlimited. All these have been great events for Tee and I.

No one wants to sit twiddling their thumbs behind a desk, but then again when you do, it makes for good stories.

Aside from that…it is also nice to get out of the house now and then…