Close
post-featured-image

New eBook Bundles: 11/14/17

Here’s the new ebook bundles that went on sale today!

The Complete Texas Rangers Series by Elmer Kelton

Poster Placeholder of - 4 Elmer Kelton’s award-winning series tells the story of the Texas Rangers, who fought to defend the edges of settlement from Indians and outlaws. This is the story of Rusty Shannon, who joins the Rangers in the wake of tragedy, and Andy Pickard, rescued by Rusty from a Comanche war party.

This discounted ebundle includes: The Buckskin Line, Badger Boy, The Way of the Coyote, Ranger’s Trail, Texas Vendetta, Jericho’s Road, Hard Trail To Follow, Other Men’s Horses, and Texas Standoff.

The The Complete Article 5 Trilogy by Kristen Simmons

Image Place holder  of - 64 The Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police-instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior-instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back. When seventeen-year-old Ember Miller finds herself on the government’s most-wanted list, she faces a choice: Go into hiding… or fight back?

This discounted ebundle includes: Article 5, Breaking Point, and Three.

The John Cleaver Series by Dan Wells

Image Placeholder of - 47

John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

Having grown up helping his mom at the family mortuary, dead bodies are no big deal to John. He likes them. They don’t ask for the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the clarity to recognize that something is frighteningly different about the freshest body on the slab.

For the first time, John must confront a danger outside his own mind, a threat he cannot control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

This discounted ebundle includes: I Am Not a Serial Killer, Mr. Monster, I Don’t Want to Kill You, Devil’s Only Friend, Over Your Dead Body, and Nothing Left to Lose.

The Complete Book of the New Sun Series by Gene Wolfe

Placeholder of  -70 Young Severian, an apprentice in the Guild of Torturers on the world called Urth, has been exiled for committing the ultimate sin of his profession—showing mercy toward his victim.

This discounted ebundle includes: The Shadow of the Torturer, The Claw of the Conciliator, The Sword of the Lictor, The Citadel of the Autarch, and The Urth of the New Sun.

post-featured-image

$2.99 eBook Sale: Article 5

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons The ebook edition of Kristen Simmon’s Article 5 is on sale for only $2.99!*

About Article 5: Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. The Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police – instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior-instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Order Your Copy

kindle nook ebooks.com Placeholder of google play -12 ibooks2 85 kobo

Sale ends September 1st.

post-featured-image

Article 5 eBook is Now on Sale for $2.99

nook-1 ebooks.com-1 google play-1 ibooks2 8 kindle-1 kobo-1

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons The ebook edition of Kristen Simmon’s Article 5 is on sale for only $2.99!*

About Article 5: In Kristen Simmons’s Article 5, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police-instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior-instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Buy Article 5 here:

nook ebooks.com Image Place holder  of google play- 97 ibooks2 29 kindle kobo

Sale ends December 2nd

post-featured-image

Death of Dystopia

Death of Dystopia

The Glass Arrow by Kristen SimmonsWritten by Kristen Simmons

As a writer of dystopian fiction, I’m often asked about the state of the genre—where I see it heading, and if the market is oversaturated.

The problem as I see it is this: dystopian stories (and I’m speaking primarily about young adult dystopian fiction here) hit a wave of popularity several years ago when Katniss volunteered as tribute. This wasn’t the first in the genre (or rather, subgenre, as dystopian stems from science fiction), and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. But the widespread interest in that story seemed to broaden the definition of the genre, specifically in young adult literature, to include a wide range of themes, including, perhaps most notably, an emphasis on romance and an introduction of diverse protagonists. Young adult literature often has a focus on the raw expression of youth—emotions experienced for the first time clashing with the developmental identity crisis involved in figuring out where one fits in the world. Add to that the pressure of choosing a faction (Divergent), an oppressive government (Legend), or the walls literally closing in (Mazerunner) and you’ve got something pretty intense. I see why people are attracted to it. I am.

Let me interrupt this broadcast for a small confession. I am the first to claim my own ignorance on the subject. The Article 5 series is classified as dystopian. My next book—The Glass Arrow—is as well. Did I sit down intent on writing within those specifications? Nope. I wrote the story that came into my head, and was just lucky enough that someone wanted to read it. This means that everything I’ve said thus far could be completely out in left field. Or, I could be like a great many writers who do the same thing: Write the story, and let the people who are good at marketing do their jobs.

So what is the current state of dystopia? And where is it heading? Honestly, I think it’s doing all right. Yes, there has been a huge focus on it in recent years. Yes, there is a strong-voiced contingency who shout Fahrenheit 451! 1984! Brave New World! (I am the one shouting The Handmaid’s Tale and The Road, just for the record.)

Young adult dystopian fiction incorporates a melting pot of issues, topics, and voices, but if you strip it down to its roots, you’ll likely find the following major headings:

  • Problems with the government (too little or too much or much too much),
  • Economic or class issues (no money or an overwhelming divide between classes), and
  • Oppression in some form (in my new book, The Glass Arrow, women are oppressed.)

I’m not a historian, but I think the human race has bumped up against these issues before. I know every single time I turn on the news I see them. Do I think these things will be problems in the future? Yes. Is that bleak? Maybe a little. But I hope we’ll persevere. And that, my friends, is what dystopian literature is all about. Not the ugliness of our world, but the beauty of our resilience. Not the way we despair, but the fight that drives us to survive despite the circumstances.

The Glass Arrow continues on the path forged by The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s a story about female persecution, where women are reduced to their ability to conceive. Aya, the protagonist, is caught, hiding in the mountains, by a hunting party of wealthy men from the city. Like other young adult stories, the pace is quick, the stakes are high, and there is an element of romance, focusing, like in Offred’s story, on the conceptualization of Aya’s identity as a woman in a highly discriminatory world. I cannot live up to Atwood’s greatness, but I’ll tell you this: Aya doesn’t let the bastards grind her down. It is my intention, after all, that this story be about hope.

Writers write about life and truth, despite setting, despite origin, despite genre. We magnify reality through a fictional lens. So do I feel the genre is on its way out? Not really. Even if the name changes, the concepts will still exist, and somewhere, someone will write about them.

Buy The Glass Arrow from:

Amazon Placeholder of bn -16 ibooks2 67 indiebound powells

Follow Kristen on Twitter at @kris10writes, on Facebook, or visit her website.

(This is a rerun of a post that originally ran on February 2, 2015.)

post-featured-image

Article 5 eBook is Now on Sale for $1.99

Article 5 eBook is Now on Sale for $1.99

nook-1 ebooks.com-1 google play-1 ibooks2 69 kindle-1 kobo-1

Article 5 by Kristen SimmonsThe ebook edition of Kristen Simmons’ Article 5 is on sale for only $1.99!*

About Article 5New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don’t come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard for her to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It’s hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Buy Article 5 today:

nook ebooks.com Placeholder of google play -21 ibooks2 29 kindle kobo

Sale ends June 24th.

YA Sweepstakes

YA Sweepstakes
Looking for a great YA read? Here’s your chance to get started on two awesome series! We’ve got five copies each of Article 5 and The Nightmare Affair to give away.

Comment below to enter for a chance to win .

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 or older as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment here beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) May 18, 2015. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET May 22, 2015. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

Where to Find Tor at C2E2

C2E2

C2E2, Chicago’s premier comic and entertainment expo, celebrates its 5th year and once again Tor Books has a great line up of programming! Find our authors at the following panels and events:

Friday, April 24

Get Regency with Mary Robinette Kowal!
Time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
Signing: 5:15PM – 6:15PM | Table 16
Room: S403
Celebrate all things regency with Author/Puppeteer, Mary Robinette Kowal! This month the fifth and final book in the Glamourist Histories, Of Noble Family, goes on sale and we want you to celebrate with us! Come dressed in your best regency attire for a fashion show and costume contest; authentic costume, steampunk, anime or Darth Vader in waist coat and ruffles, we want to see you strut your stuff! Attendees will receive an invitation for two at the off-site publication party, hosted by Tor.

Gallows Humor: Authors on Making Light During the Darkest Scenes
Time: 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM
Signing: 6:15 – 7:15PM | Table 18
Room: S401
Authors: Tim Lees, Wesley Chu, Daryl Gregory
It’s the end of the world as you know it. You are racing towards that last battle, heart in your throat, and someone cracks a joke. (“Get the Cheese to sickbay!”). You stop to laugh, breathe, relax, and breathe for a moment before the tension rachets up and throws you off the literary (not literal!) cliff. Join some of today’s top genre fiction as they discuss the art of integrating humor into horrific scenarios, and how this device elevates a good book into a great read.

Saturday, April 25

WTF is going on?
Time: 1:45 PM – 2:45 PM
Signing: 3-4PM | Table 18
Room: Room S402
Join Nils Johnson-Shelton (End Game: The Calling), Kristen Simmons (The Glass Arrow), T.M. Goeglein (Cold Fury series), Ian Doescher (William Shakespeare’s Star Wars) and Rachel Hartman (Seraphina), Arwen Elys Dayton (Seeker) and Melissa Grey (The Girl at Midnight) as they discuss the art of plotting and creating your world. Whether it be conspiracy theories, intricate mob plots or re-imagining a sci-fi classic, these authors draw the reader in and keep them riveted page after page. Moderated by Daniel Kraus (Booklist).

Ghosts and Grim Tidings: the Latest Trends in Horror Fiction
Time: 4:15 PM – 5:15 PM
Signing: 5:30 – 6:30PM | Table 18
Room: S405b
We’ve all had the experience of staying up all night to read a bone-chilling book…simply because we’re afraid to turn off the light and have the words play against the dark screen of their nocturnal imagination. Join celebrated psychological thriller and horror novelists Alex Gordon, Daniel Kraus, and Daryl Gregory as they discuss the most chilling trends in horror fiction. What truly scares jaded readers? What makes the authors themselves wake up in a cold sweat? Moderated by Ali T. Kokmen.

Sunday, April 26

Out of This World! Science Fiction Authors in Conversation
Time: 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM
Signing: 1:15 – 2:15PM | Table 18
Room: 2405a
Science fiction is mainstream once again and deep space, time travel, galactic cataclysms, continue to draw readers in. Join authors Wesley Chu (The Lives of Tao, Time Salvager), and Mike Shepherd (Jump Universe, Kris Longknife) discuss their inspirations, research, thoughts on future themes and the never-ending race against time! Moderated by Gary K. Wolfe of Locus Magazine.

post-featured-image

TOP SECRET: A Letter from the Resistance

Three by Kristen Simmons

Written by Kristen Simmons

Federal Bureau of Reformation
Archived Record: SECURITY THREATS
Subcategories: INSURGENTS, TERRORISM
Keyword: III
Personal correspondence, found in remains of III resistance stronghold

Becca,

It’s Tuesday night and I can’t sleep. Actually, that’s a lie. I have no idea if it’s Tuesday. Since we found the safe house, the days have sort of started to blend together. All I know is when I got in you were asleep, and I have no idea how to sneak into this kid-sized cot-bed without 1) waking you up, and 2) looking like a total creeper, which would likely lead to 3) getting punched in the face. So I’m sitting on the floor watching you because, let’s be honest, the tough guy black eye thing is more Chase’s style. I’m pretty enough as is.

I keep thinking about that night at the reformatory when you asked me to leave with you when you aged out. Do you remember that? You were waiting for me in the third floor linen closet. It was a Tuesday night – I remember because I always had inventory on Tuesday nights – and now whenever I look at you I think of Tuesdays.

And towels. Because we folded a lot of them after I said yes.

I wasn’t totally honest with you then. If I was, I would have said I didn’t think we should wait. We should have left right then. If I had, everything might be different. I guess I was scared you’d say no. We were good at blending in. We regularly applied our brain wash repellent. In the end it didn’t matter. We ended up together, in another place that feels suspiciously like Ms. Brock’s alter universe. (Good thing I hung on to the brain wash repellent.)

I’m glad you’re sleeping. You need to sleep so you can heal, and this place is going to heal you. I don’t care if they call themselves Three, or Five, or Seven Hundred and Eleven. I don’t care if they have more secrets than the Bureau, or if they look suspiciously cultish with their curtain-clothes dress code. This is the place that’s going to make you better. The doctor here is going help you. And if he can’t, I’ll find someone that will. I promise. I’m not going to let you down again.

I’ve got to go. Long hair or short, crutches or not, you’re beautiful, and I’m going to kick myself if I don’t kiss you right now.

Sean

PS. Don’t eat the stuff that looks like chicken. I’m pretty sure it’s either horse or human.

…………………………

From the Tor/Forge February 17th newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

…………………………

More from the February 17th Tor/Forge newsletter:

Three Nightmares You Can’t Resist

Three by Kristen Simmons The Nightmare Dilemma by Mindee Arnett Resistance by Jenna Black

Heat up your winter by joining three exciting Tor Teen authors for special bookstore events this March!

Tor Books is thrilled to announce the THREE NIGHTMARES YOU CAN’T RESIST tour, featuring three amazing YA titles: Kristen Simmons’ Three, Mindee Arnett’s The Nightmare Dilemma, and Jenna Black’s Resistance. The three authors will be speaking and signing books as they take to the road on a week-long tour.

Join them, and Tor Teen to see the wide variety of young adult fiction that even the most reluctant reader won’t be able to put down.

Three Nightmares You Can’t Resist Tour

Tuesday, March 11: Lexington – Joseph-Beth

Wednesday, March 12: Cincinnati – Joseph-Beth

Thursday, March 13: Dayton – Books & Co

Friday, March 14: Louisville – Carmichael’s

Monday, March 17: Chapel Hill – Flyleaf

object

About the Books and Their Authors
Three
Kristen Simmons
Tor Teen Hardcover ▪ ISBN: 978-0-7653-2960-8 ▪ E-book ISBN: 978-1-4299-4803-6 ▪ On-sale: February 11, 2014

The thrilling conclusion to Kristen Simmons’s post-apocalyptic YA trilogy (Article 5, Breaking Point), set in a future American in which the Bill-of-Rights has been replaced by the Moral Statutes, and young Ember and her boyfriend have been branded criminals. Now, joined up with the resistance movement, they are trying to find a safe place to settle—but they may be coming closer to facing the notorious organization known only as Three. The CW Atlanta has dubbed Simmons: “A true dystopian force.”

Kristen Simmons has a master’s degree in social work and is an advocate for mental health. She lives with her husband, Jason, and their precious greyhound Rudy in Tampa, Florida. She is the author of Article 5, Breaking Point, and Three.

The Nightmare Dilemma
Mindee Arnett
Tor Teen Hardcover ▪ ISBN: 978-0-7653-3334-6 ▪ E-book ISBN: 978-1-4668-0068-7▪ On-sale: March 4, 2014

The second in the new fantastical mystery series that began with The Nightmare Affair, this thrilling series isn’t your typical paranormal YA thanks to the incredible writing chops of author Mindee Arnett and her talents for weaving a riveting story with a cast of compelling and highly-relatable teens. She takes us once again into the world of Nightmares, Sirens, Wizards and Demons at Arkwell Academy—a place very wondrous and strange, but where teens still struggle with some of the same problems as in the real world.

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic and the macabre. Her short stories have appeared in various magazines. Arnett has a Master of Arts in English literature with an emphasis in Creative Writing. She blogs and tweets, and is hard at work on the next novel in the Arkwell Academy series.

Resistance
Jenna Black
Tor Teen Trade Paperback ▪ ISBN: 978-0-7653-3372-8 ▪ E-book ISBN: 978-1-4668-0490-6 ▪ On-sale: March 11, 2014

Resistance is the second installment in acclaimed author of the Faeriewalker series Jenna Black’s new SF romance series, which started with Replica. Black has created a unique near-future world, controlled by corporations, where the rich have technology to return to life as synthetic replicas of themselves. A young man who found himself murdered and reborn as a replica now begins to work with a rebellion movement to overthrow the classist system.

Jenna Black received her Bachelor of Arts in physical anthropology and French from Duke University. She is the author of the Faeriewalker series for teens as well as the Morgan Kingsley urban fantasy series.

Not at New York Comic-Con Sweepstakes

Tor Books is heading to New York Comic-Con!

Image Place holder  of - 82We hope to see many of you there. Stop by Booth #2223 to say hi or to participate in one of our many events and signings.

But for those of you who couldn’t make it out to New York, we wanted to offer you the chance to grab some of the same amazing swag and books that we’re promoting at #NYCC. To enter for the chance to win one of these three prize bundles, leave a comment on this post telling us one fabulous thing that you’ll be doing this week while you are #NotAtComicCon.

Here’s a look at the prize:

Image Placeholder of - 67

And here’s a list of what’s included in each prize bundle:

  • Wheel of Time iPhone cover
  • The Way of Kings quote magnets
  • After the Golden Age by Carrie Vaughn
  • Among Others by Jo Walton
  • Antigoddess by Kendare Blake
  • Article 5 by Kristen Simmons
  • Attack of the Vampire Weenies by David Lubar
  • The Clockwork Sky by Madeleine Rosca
  • Cold City by F. Paul Wilson
  • Dragon Age Asunder by David Gaider
  • Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
  • The Eye of the World: The Graphic Novel: Vol One
  • The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
  • Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson
  • Girl Genius Omnibus Volume One by Phil Foglio and Kaja Foglio
  • Halo: The Thursday War by Nancy Traviss
  • Ironskin by Tina Connolly
  • Johnny Hiro: The Skills to Pay the Bills by Fred Chao
  • Old Man’s War by John Scalzi
  • The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind
  • Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
  • Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear
  • Three Parts Dead by Max Gladstone
  • Vicious by V.E. Schwab
  • The Waking Engine by David Edison
  • The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
  • Wide Open by Deborah Coates
  • Wild Cards I edited by George R. R. Martin

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. A purchase does not improve your chances of winning. Sweepstakes open to legal residents of 50 United States, D.C., and Canada (excluding Quebec), who are 18 as of the date of entry. To enter, leave a comment below beginning at 10:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) Wednesday, October 10, 2013. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET Monday, October 14, 2013. Void outside the United States and Canada and where prohibited by law. Please see full details and official rules here. Sponsor: Tom Doherty Associates, LLC, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010.

The owner of this website has made a commitment to accessibility and inclusion, please report any problems that you encounter using the contact form on this website. This site uses the WP ADA Compliance Check plugin to enhance accessibility.