Interview at the RoundTable Podcast

RTPThe fine folks over at the RoundTable Podcast interviewed me for their “20 Minutes With…” series.  We discuss pulp fantasy, conflict characters, Dungeons & Dragons, travel, Star Trek, and much more.  I had a lot of fun talking the craft and shooting the breeze with co-hosts Dave Robison and Alasdair Stuart. 

You can check the podcast HERE.  Don’t be fooled by the 20 minutes name. We run for 44 minutes and I could have enjoyed chatting with them for hours longer.

Next week I’ll be back for a writing workshop episode.

Enjoy.

 

 

New Store and Some Free Fiction

For those that have been wanting a Tyenee Pendant from my Black Raven stories can find one on this site.  So far I only have the copper pendants.  Depending how they go, I’ll be expanding to Bronze, Silver, and the others.  I did have a few gold pendants made for myself and a few others.  There is one gold left and will be doing some special giveaway for it in the future.

In other news, several years ago I narrated my story The Mist of Lichthafen for the TTA Press podcast, Transmissions From Beyond.  It was a lot of fun.  However, TTA eventually pulled the podcast site down.  So I finally uploaded my recording to YouTube and SoundCloud for people to enjoy.

 

 

For those not familiar with the story, The Mist of Lichthafen was originally published in Black Static Magazine and was my first sale. It’s a heist/horror story, and while it’s technically not a Black Raven story, it shares the same world and themes. Many of the places in Mist of Lichthafen also appear in the Black Raven adventure Thieves Duel.  The quality of the recording is okay.  I wish my mouse wheel wasn’t so loud and there is a moment where I fail horribly as doing a little girl’s voice. But it’s still fun.  

Hope you enjoy it.
 

Mountain of Daggers is Released

I am so very happy to announce that the first collection of Black Raven stories, Mountain of Daggers, has officially released. It’s currently available on Kindle, and other sites will have it soon.  Print editions will be appearing in 10 or so days.

Mountain Cover Front

Six years I’ve waited to say that. And it…felt…awesome.

Ahren has been my favorite character and a close imaginary friend for many years now.  And while the book is technically a collection of short stories, the best way I could really describe it is as Season 1. Sea of Quills (or Season 2) will be coming out this October, and I can’t wait to see what beautiful cover art the team at Ragnarok Publications will have for it.

One year ago I posted a blog about the journey the Black Raven has taken from a single short story to where he is today.  Personally, I find it rather fitting how it worked out after that. 

I want to thank Crystalwizard, Jason Waltz, Joe Martin, and Tim Marquitz for bringing this dream to life. 

Story Inspirations -Venice

I’ve written before about how travel has inspired many of my story ideas.  Now that Mountain of Daggers is just about to arrive, I want to share how much Venice Italy has influenced it.  In fact, if wasn’t for Venice there would be no Black Raven series.  I’d originally written a single story, Birth of the Black Raven, and intended it to be a stand-alone.  Then in February 2006, my wife and I honeymooned in Italy, spending the majority of our time in Florence and Venice.  When I returned, I immediately started writing new adventures, starting with Race for the Night Ruby.

Venice CanalsCanals:  You simply can’t talk about Venice without addressing its most notable attribute.  If a movie is set in Venice, you can be pretty much guaranteed a boat chase (and a moment when a speedboat cuts a gondola in half). The canals have served as the city’s primary means of transportation for a thousand years. And while they’re no longer the open sewers as they were once, you wouldn’t want to take a dip in one. But they’re as beautiful and as haunting as can be imagined. The city of Nadjancia has a canal system like Venice and is the setting for both Race for the Night Ruby and the Ferrymaster’s Toll.

 

 

Venice StreetsStreets:  While the canals are Venice’s best known feature, the streets themselves are a bizarre maze-work of narrow lanes. There are no straight lines in Venice, and trying to walk from one place to another will quickly get you lost, even if you have a map. Many of these streets, even main ones, are so narrow that  I could easily touch both sides at the same time.  You can see this in Race of the Night Ruby.

 

 

 

Masquerade BallsMasks:  Venice is known for its beautiful masks.  They give a sense of mystery. The veils worn in Race for the Night Ruby and The Ferrymaster’s Toll were my own spin on Venetian masks. In 2012 we returned to Venice for Carnival and attended some of the masquerade balls. Shortly after, I wrote Temptation’s Proposal, which centers around a masked ball.

 

Venice Island of DeadIsola di San Michele:  This walled island serves as the city’s cemetery.  The idea of an “Island of the Dead” caused me to write The Ferrymaster’s Toll.

 

 

Venice HorsesHorses of Saint Mark:   These four bronze horses decorate the front of Saint Mark’s Basilica.  They have a facinating history of being looted from Constantinople, then by Napoleopon, and then returned to Venice.  The part that stuck with me most was that they once had ruby eyes (stolen by Napoleon). The idea of a statue overlooking a street with ruby eyes appeared in City Beneath the Kaisers and The Noble Hunter.

 

 

 

 

Of course the single most influential place was the Doge’s Palace, which I dedicated an entire post to.

Venice is one of the most beautiful places that I’ve had the pleasure to visit, and I’m excited to share what stories that that single city has inspired.  I hope you all enjoy them and I hope maybe they’ll inspire someone to visit the city that brought them to you.

-Seth

 

 

Mountain of Daggers Cover Revealed

In February 2008 the Black Raven made his first appearance in Flashing Swords magazine. MikO sketched the very first picture of Ahren in that issue and the feeling of getting to see him for the first time was incredible.  Several very talented artists have drawn and painted him since, but now, seven years later, Alex Raspad has given me the most spectacular of them all.  Between Alex’s beautiful art, and Shawn King’s cover design, I’m proud to reveal the final cover for Mountain of Daggers.

Mountain Cover Front

I love this cover. Absolutely. Love. It.

I want to thank Alex Raspad, Shawn King, and everyone at Ragnarok Publications for this.  They’ve done an amazing job and I look forward to sharing Ahren’s adventures when Mountain of Daggers comes out next month.

Mountain Cover Side

 

 

2014 in Review

2014 was a spectacular year.

Dämoren was released in April and reception was incredible.  I’ve been blown away at how well it’s sold and how many wonderful reviews have been written.  Thank you, everyone.

My wife and I purchased a new house, and I got to experience all the joys of moving, and seeing just how much crap we’ve accumulated over the years before purging it.  The house is great, and no doubt it will provide years of projects, cursing, and trips to the hardware store.

I finished Dämoren’s  sequel, Hounacier, and Ragnarok has signed it. As of now, everything is good for a March 2015 release.

I also wrote three new short stories. Two of which are Valducan tales, as well as a new Black Raven adventure.  So far one of those has sold, and I’m optimistic on the others.

Speaking of the Black Raven, Ragnarok Publications picked up my two Black Raven collections from Rogue Blades and those are both slated for 2015.  The first, Mountain of Daggers, will also be coming out March 2015 (March is going to be a busy month for me, to be sure.)

Campaign Coins is almost done with the Tyenee medallions for my Black Raven release.  Here’s a picture of the final 45mm versions alongside the original 35mm I showed before.

 Tyenee

I’ll be posting up ways to score them as we get a little closer to release date. If reception is good, I hope to make all the different colors from the books available.

I’ve also started writing out the first few parts for the third Valducan novel Ibenus. It’s still in the beginning phases, but everything is coming together pretty smoothly. 

Aside from moving, releasing a novel, and writing a novel, 2014 has also been spent reading.  I read a lot last year.

 My 2014 reading list:

Sword Sisters – Tara Cardinal & Alex Bledsoe
The Black Company – Glen Cook
Nameless: The Darkness Comes – Mercedes M. Yardley
Those Poor, Poor Bastards – Tim Marquitz, J.M. Martin, Kenny Soward
The Ten Thousand Things – Tim Marquitz, J.M. Martin, Kenny Soward
The Devil Rides Out – Dennis Wheatley
Gateway to Hell – Dennis Wheatley
Storm Front – Jim Butcher
Fool Moon – Jim Butcher
No Sympathy for the Wicked – Joseph Albert King
Night of the Long Knives – Fritz Leiber
Hour of the Dragon – Robert E. Howard
Vampire$ – John Steakley
Dune – Frank Herbert
Demon Squad: Armageddon Bound – Tim Marquitz
Apocalyptic Montessa and Nuclear Lulu: A Tale of Atomic Love – Mercedes M. Yardley
The Art of War – Sun Tzu
A Princess of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Gods of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Warlord of Mars – Edgar Rice Burroughs
The Forty First Wink – James Walley
The Dark Tower 1: The Gunslinger – Stephen King
The Dark Tower 2: The Drawing of the Three – Stephen King
The Dark Tower 3: The Waste Lands – Stephen king
The Dark Tower 4: Wizard and Glass – Stephen King
The Dark Tower 5: Wolves of the Calla – Stephen King
Imora – Daniel S. Connaughton
Legion: Skin Deep – Brandon Sanderson

 Overall, 2014 was a fantastic year.  Thank you everyone for all your support. With three upcoming releases, I hope to make 2015 even better.

-Seth

Hounacier, The Black Raven, and Other News

After some unfortunate delays, Mountain of Daggers has found a new home over at Ragnarok Publications and should be coming out this  March. To celebrate the Black Raven’s  appearance, I have a little sneak peek of something the lovely folks at Campaign Coins has been working on with me.

Dagger Sample

 

Look familiar?  If not, here’s another look at the Mountain of Daggers art by Didier Normand.

MOD - Cover art

That’s right!  We’re making Tyenee medallions!

Now the sample above is just a prototype.  We’ve got a couple little tweaks to do before the final version is ready, but that’s pretty much what it will look like. Once they’re ready, and we get a little closer to release day, I’ll let everyone know where to find them and I’ll be giving some away.  For the moment, I can’t easily express how incredible it is to see something that I made up become real.  I love it.

On the Hounacier-front, we’re looking good.  My editor, Tim Marquitz, was pleased with it, and everything appears on schedule for a Spring 2015 release.  I’ll be posting more on this later as things get closer.

In the meantime, this morning I received a wonderful review from author Caleb Pirtle III over at Venture Galleries.  In it he says,

“Seth Skorkowsky has written urban fantasy, to be sure.

But his vision of the genre takes on a whole new look. He sees it with a different pair of eyes, the kind of eyes that Tolkien used when he looked into the mystical troubles strangling The Middle Earth.”

You can read the whole review HERE.

Also, I have a Guest Blog over at RisingShadow.net all about monsters.  So drop by and check it out.

-Seth

Dämoren News and Writing Updates

Damoren Banner 2

Dämoren‘s reception has been outstanding.  I’m amazed at how well everyone has been receiving it.

It spent the past week and a half in three of the Top 100 Amazon categories for Urban and Paranormal Fantasy. It also broke the 1,000th sale mark in 23 days. That’s fantastic! Thank you, everyone.

Reviews and Interviews

The BiblioSanctum said, “Rest assured Dämoren will satisfy all your needs in the action and thrills department, but what I was most impressed with was the world building and unique body of lore Skorkowsky has created, which offered a fresh new take on the angel/demon mythos.”

Self Publisher’s Showcase said, “That Mr. Skorkowsky’s debut release is so utterly consuming, leads me to believe that before too long bookshelves across the globe will be accosting and brutalizing their owners if his name does not reside on their shelves…”

I also recently recorded a podcast interview with Adventures in Scifi Publishing along with some more of the Ragnarok Publications Team. I’ll let you know when that’s edited and released.

Signing Event

I’m also extremely happy to announce that I will signing books at Area 51 Games and Collectibles in Grapevine Texas on Saturday May 10th. If you’re in the DFW area, please come by and check it out.

Writing

On the writing front, everything has been going great.  Jason Waltz of Rogue Blades Entertainment sent me the final cover sketches for Sea Of Quills and I’ll be honest, it is going to look fantastic.  Artist Didier Normand is incredibly talented and I can’t wait to see the final painting.

Hounacier is still coming along.  I’ve broken the 35,000-word mark and things are speeding up.  I’m very pleased with how it’s coming together. 

Lastly, I’ve finally gotten around to making a Valducan Series page on Facebook.  Please drop by and give it a ‘Like’.

That’s all for now.  Thank you for all your support, everyone.

-Seth

Journey of The Black Raven

 

The upcoming release of Mountain of Daggers is a dream come true.  A dream I once feared would never happen.  But like it’s titular hero, it has overcome all obstacles.  In honor of its release, I wanted to share the Black Raven’s journey.

The Black Raven started with a little short story I penned.  Birth of the Black Raven follows a sailor\pickpocket named Ahren who is framed for murder by a nobleman.  Trapped in a foreign city, injured, and unable to speak the language, he finds himself under the care of a crime lord.  Ahren manages a level of vengeance, but the cost is that he’s pressed into the service of the Tyenee, an international crime syndicate.  I intentionally left an open ending to the story, and swore I would never continue it as a series (obviously, I was wrong).

A year or more later, I went to Venice.  While there, I was inspired to write a thieving story, and the Black Raven was the perfect hero for it.  The story would take place years after the first, and Ahren would now be a master thief.  Race for the Night Ruby is still one of my favorite Black Raven adventures.  After it was completed, I had no choice but to continue the series.  I was hooked.

Porvov300dpi4x6My plan was to publish a series of adventures in various fantasy magazines, and anthologies, then eventually publishing a collection.  I submitted Birth of the Black Raven to a few different magazines, but no one wanted it.  Eventually, I submitted it to Flashing Swords Magazine.  The editor, Crystalwizard, sent me a message saying that she loved it, but the open ending (the one that I thought was brilliant) would just leave the reader feeling unfulfilled.  She suggested I either change the ending or write a series.  I told her that I had a series planned and had six stories already.  Intrigued, she requested the second story.  I did, and she sent me a contract almost immediately.  The Porvov Switch was published in Flashing Swords #9 in 2008.  MikO’s illustration of Ahren wasn’t exactly true to how I imagined him, but that didn’t change the joy of seeing my first character illustration.

Reluctant Assassin-color

Flashing Swords purchased six stories total.  The second, The Reluctant Assassin, was the featured story for Flashing Swords #11.  I got to work with artist Johnney Perkins for both the cover and interior picture.  That was a real treat.

Crystalwizard introduced me to editor Jason Waltz to discuss publishing a Black Raven collection after all six stories had hit print.  Things were moving so much faster than I had dreamed, and I was fervently writing out new adventures to fill the collection.

FS12After Flashing Swords #11, the magazine sold to Daverana Enterprises.  After a slow start, issue #12 came out 4 months late.  The interior was poorly laid out, and it wasn’t marketed very well.  Even my contributor’s copy incorrectly has Issue #10 printed on the cover.  That issue contained Race for the Night Ruby, and I was terribly disappointed that my cherished story had such a bad run.

Flashing Swords #13 looked pretty good.  Ahren’s adventure, The Ferrymaster’s Toll, was to be the featured story.  Sadly, Flashing Swords went under before it hit print.  It was a good magazine.  I’ll miss it.

However, I do have a proof image of the cover that never was.  flashswordscovermockup13

Meanwhile, Jason and I continued to plan for our Black Raven Collection under Rogue Blades Entertainment.  I had 13 stories, and we’d decided on the collection’s title.  We chose Mountain of Daggers, which is the symbol stamped on the medallions of the Tyenee. I’d also sold a 14th adventure, The Second Gift, to the Time in a Bottle Anthology.  

Then, at Dragon Con, Jason met with the editor of a large publisher that was interested in a sword and sorcery rogue. Because the larger publisher would be a better opportunity for me, he selflessly pitched Mountain of Daggers to the editor (earning himself my sincere loyalty and gratitude) and they were interested. We sent the editor the first story, they liked it and requested the full manuscript.  Things looked promising.

Two years later, they still hadn’t made a decision on it.  Frustrated, I withdrew the submission at the 24-month mark.  Rogue Blades still wanted it, but said it would be a while before print.  So again, The Black Raven waited.

 And eventually it happened. Jason Waltz sent me a message saying that Rogue Blades was ready to roll with it. We decided that instead of just a single book of 90,000 words, to add the additional Black Raven stories I’d written in the meantime, and divide it into two collections of 70,000 words each.

The joy in seeing Didier Normand’s cover art for Mountain of Daggers was incredible. After four years, I didn’t believe I’d ever see it come.

Mountain Cover 1st Dr

We’ve already reviewed the concept sketches for the second collection, Sea of Quills, and it looks even better than the first.  I can’t wait to see the final version of it.

One of the first lessons I learned in the publishing industry is to be patient.  My very first short story took 30 months from the day it sold to the day it printed.  It’s just the nature of the beast, and I never hesitate to warn other authors that patience isn’t a virtue, it’s essential.

The Black Raven’s journey isn’t a story of setbacks and defeats.  It’s a story of publishing.  Sometimes things move in a whirlwind and the author is racing to keep up to meet deadlines, but most often it’s waiting.  For any new authors out there, please remember that.  Be patient.  It will happen, but it can take time.

-Seth

 

Black Raven Revealed – February in Review

Hi All,

Well, the past few weeks have been extremely busy.  I’ve gone through a couple rounds of Dämoren revisions, and she’s looking pretty good.  There’s more editing and changes left to do, but it’s coming along very nicely.  Of course, novel revisions have eaten into a lot of my normal writing time, but I still found time to knock out Chapter 5 of Hounacier.  I’m about 25% through the first draft, so I’m pretty excited to see it shaping up.

But what gets me the most excited is this…

MOD - Cover artHiya, handsome

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the cover art for Mountain of Daggers, and I think artist Didier Normand did a fantastic job.

Ahren looks great, and that Tyenee pendant…wow.  I mean…WOW!  I love it.

I’m already discussing with a couple places the details for having that pendant made for real.  I can almost promise that myself and my editor, Jason Waltz, will be getting one.  That medallion is just too pretty not to exist.  Pricing, of course, will determine if other medallions will available, and if so, expect some contest prizes. 

The picture seems to be cut off though, doesn’t it?  What’s Ahren doing there?  What’s in his hand? If only the picture kept going, maybe wrapping around the rest of the book, we could see what he’s up to.

Oh wait, never mind, it totally does…

 

Mountain Cover 1st DrIs just a few short moments, three people will need to roll some Saving Throws

 

That picture makes me happy.  It makes me very, very happy.  I want to thank Rogue Blades Entertainment and Didier Normand for making that picture a reality. 

The last update I can give for the month is that last night I outlined my next Black Raven adventure.  Very Lovecraftian.  I can’t wait to start writing it out.

-Seth