A tale told by a troubadour

Now, don't fret that I'm going to start trying to flog you something every week. I know that last time it was Megara's Kickstarter project, following on from my Frankenstein gamebook app and before that the Binscombe Tales, but it was Halloween(ish) - and I only mentioned the last of those because I sincerely believe it's a work of genius and I want everybody who likes weird fiction to get to hear about it.

Today's book isn't spooky at all. It's a rollicking adventure story by Jamie, packed with his trademark humour and (of course) all told in a deftly engaging and understated authorial voice that makes the brothers Grimm come across like strident fairground barkers.

This one has been out on Kindle for a while, but I've gradually come to accept that Fabled Lands fans may not have embraced the digital age with quite the same enthusiasm as the mass of the reading populace. An outrageous generalization, I know, but in case it applies to you, take heart; for here is the paperback version of Jamie's Harkuna-set novella The Lost Prince.

The review on Amazon expresses exactly what I like about this book:

"As you read you can almost see an accomplished troubadour stalking around a hushed tavern as he spins and embroiders his tale... The type of book that would grab and carry any reader, involve him or her, and wrap up with a flourish."

If you know somebody of around 8-12 years who's into fantasy, this would be a perfect gift. Just saying. (I'm English, so hard sell just isn't in my blood.)

Okay, next time I'm not even going to mention any of our current projects, I promise.


 +++STOP PRESS+++
 I just got back from a week in Cornwall to hear the news. Jamie's book Dark Lord: The Teenage Years won the Roald Dahl Prize. (I would have known a bit sooner if I'd thought to take my phone along.) It's the culmination of a lot of hard work by Jamie, and as the first of our new cross-media properties from the Spark Furnace, a great vindication of the business plan and creative direction we took a few years back. The judges' decision was unanimous, and they ought to know what they're talking about, so while you're picking up a copy of The Lost Prince, I advise taking a look at Dark Lord too.

Our Valentine's present to you

These Kindle giveaway offers (for Frankenstein's Legions and Abraxas) have been proving popular, and I'm still too snowed under with work on my Frankenstein interactive novel to be blogging regularly, so here's a new free promo. The Kindle book in question this time is The Lost Prince, a fantasy adventure novel for 8-12 year-olds by Jamie Thomson (author of the best-selling Dark Lord: The Teenage Years - as if you needed to be told that).

The Lost Prince is set in the world of Harkuna and closely parallels our Fabled Lands books. You can find it on Amazon UK here and US here, and it's free from Saturday Feb 11 to Wednesday Feb 15 inclusive, starting midnight LA time. Here's an extract:

"Gasping back tears of horror and anger, Varren shimmied his way down the well. In the circle of light above his head three ugly, scarred, war-bitten faces appeared, staring down at him. One of them was readying his crossbow. Varren released his grip and fell straight down into the water. A crossbow quarrel whooshed into the water next to him. He hauled himself out, and into a side tunnel just above the water level. He’d used this way in and out of the castle for years. He hurried off down the tunnel, the sounds of battle fading away behind him."

Other news in brief: I've been reading the first part of Frankenstein on iPad, and a very beautiful piece of work it is by developer/design outfit Inkle Studios, who we're planning to do more with in the very near future. I'm also told by Spirit Entertainment that their version of The War-Torn Kingdom will be out on Android, Kindle and Kindle Fire in a little over a month's time, and there should be more platforms following after that. And Jamie is currently going through the proofs for the US edition of Dark Lord, coming out from Bloomsbury later in the year. They changed cricket to baseball, would you believe? (Dirk's favourite ballgames are head hurling and scythe hockey, so he probably won't mind.)

The Lost Prince on Kindle

News of Jamie's latest fictional masterwork tomorrow, but in the meantime Fabled Lands fans may want to pick up a copy of his fantasy novel on Kindle: US here and UK here and Europe here. (That isn't actually the cover image above, the resolution on the original art not being high enough for Kindle, but a nice design all the same combining Megara's inspired artistic élan and Jamie's... er, instinctive design sense.) The blurb will give you the general idea:

THE DAY THAT TRAGEDY STRUCK

Gasping back tears of horror and anger, Varren shimmied his way down the well.

In the circle of light above his head three ugly, scarred, war-bitten faces appeared, staring down at him. One of them was readying his crossbow.

Varren released his grip and fell straight down into the water. A crossbow quarrel whooshed into the water next to him.

He hauled himself out, and into a side tunnel just above the water level. He’d used this way in and out of the castle for years. He hurried off down the tunnel, the sounds of battle fading away behind him...

It's written for kids age 7 years and up and, while it doesn't have the laugh-out-loud humor of the Dirk Lloyd books, it's still a ton of rip-roaring fun. And I'm not just saying that because Jamie has a broadsword at my throat.

Faith and begorrah

A special offer for St Paddy's Day: we're giving away the PDF version of Jamie's first FL novel The Lost Prince for free. Or you can buy the print copy if you don't have enough dead trees already. Both right here.