Close
post-featured-image

24 Audiobooks to Match Your Travel Time

Fourth of July weekend is almost here and that has us thinking about SUMMER VACATION! We’ve planned our trip and packed our bags. The car is gassed up and ready to go. But here’s the hardest part: what audiobook are we going to listen to on the drive?

If we’re having this problem, we’re assuming you are too. So we decided to put together a list of recommended audiobooks of varying lengths. Whether it’s a short train ride or a long flight with transfers, here are 24 audiobooks that will help make the journey memorable!

(more…)

Fantasy Sweepstakes

Fantasy Sweeps

Looking for a great fantasy read? Here’s your chance to get started on two awesome series! We’ve got five copies each of A Natural History of Dragons and Shades of Milk and Honey 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 11:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) March 16, 2015. Sweepstakes ends at 12:00 PM ET March 20, 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.

Tor Books Announces Programming for ALA Midwinter 2015

Image Placeholder of - 72

Join us at the American Library Association’s 2015 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago starting January 30th. Stop by booth #4515 during the Exhibit Hall open hours (see below) for book giveaways, galleys, tote bags, posters, bookmarks, and much more!

OUR EVENTS:
“The Future According to Tor & Griffin: New Titles for Teens & Young Readers”
Saturday, January 31, 2015 – 11:30am to 12:30pm
A title presentation by Tor Teen, Starscape, and St. Martin’s Griffin at the Book Buzz Stage on the Exhibit Hall Floor.
Join Talia Sherer (St. Martin’s Griffin) and Ali Fisher (Tor Teen/Starscape) as they present a stellar selection of must-shelve fiction for teens and young readers. Visit us in the Macmillan booth (#4613) and the Tor/Forge Books booth (#4515).
Add this event to your calendar here.
More info in SLJ Teen.

Meet the Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Saturday, January 31, 2015 – 2:00pm to 2:30pm
Kowal will be signing copies of Shades of Milk and Honey, book one in the Glamourist Histories series, at the Tor/Forge Books booth #4515.
Add this event to your calendar here.

MEETING LOCATION:
McCormick Place West Convention Center
2301 South Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive
Chicago, IL 60616

EXHIBIT HALL OPEN HOURS:
Friday, January 30th exhibits are open: 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Saturday, January 31st exhibits are open: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Sunday, February 1st exhibits are open: 9:00am – 5:00pm
Monday, February 2nd exhibits are open: 9:00am – 2:00pm

See you in Chicago!

post-featured-image

Throwback Thursdays: Odd Historical Facts

Welcome to Throwback Thursdays on the Tor/Forge blog! Every other week, we’re delving into our newsletter archives and sharing some of our favorite posts.

A lot of our authors spend considerable amounts of time researching for their books. Often, they stumble across weird and interesting facts that stick with them. Mary Robinette Kowal is no different, and when her book Shades of Milk and Honey came out in August of 2010, she wanted to share some of the odd historical facts she discovered. To celebrate the release of her new book, Valour and Vanity, enjoy this blast from the past, and be sure to check back every other Thursday for more!

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette KowalBy Mary Robinette Kowal

When one decides to write a historical novel, even if it is a fantasy, one must brace oneself for copious amounts of research. Research which feels as though it will never end. The curious thing about all this research is that much of it does not show up on the page. While writing Shades of Milk and Honey, set in an alternate England in 1814 I learned a number of things which surprised me. Here are a few my favorites.

What it means when a letter was crossed.

In Jane Austen’s day, sending letters was expensive and you were charged for the number of pages. The way to avoid a hefty postage fee was to write the letter, then turn the page 90 degrees and write across the previously written lines. (Trivia note: I had a reference to a crossed letter in Shades of Milk and Honey but cut it because it was too hard to explain and the fact that it was crossed wasn’t important to the story.) Curious about what a crossed letter looked like? Here’s an example from Miss Austen herself in the Morgan collection.

There is no such thing as a left shoe.

Until about the 1850s, left and right shoes were identical. Only by wearing them would the shoe begin to acquire a left and right shape. When Louis XVIII was fleeing Napoleon in 1815 he said, “…it’s my slippers that I regret most… Nobody understands what it means to lose slippers that have taken the mold of one’s foot.” While footwear is important, he might perhaps need to work on his priorities.

How to turn the table.

A formal dinner was a lengthy affair lasting several hours and had very rigid etiquette tied to it. Typically served in several courses, each course would consist of dishes already set upon the table. Gentlemen would be assigned to escort a lady to dinner, seating her on his right. He would help the lady with dishes and would converse with her during the first course. After the first course, all the dishes would be removed and replaced. A gentlemen would turn and converse with the lady on his left and vice versa. If you were pinned with an unfortunate conversationalist as a dinner partner, you couldn’t wait to turn the table.

Hello is not a word.

I am going to let you know a shameful thing. I slipped when writing Shades of Milk and Honey and use “Hello” in the first chapter of the novel but it’s not a word in 1814. I had rooted it out everywhere else and didn’t notice this one until recording the audio book. In 1814, the word “halloo” was most often used to call hounds. “Hullo” was usually an expression of surprise. Although “hello” is recorded as early as 1830, it didn’t become a standard greeting until the invention of telephone. To greet someone during the Regency one says “Good day” or perhaps “Good evening.”

object

There’s more information about the novel and the people behind the trailer at https://www.ShadesOfMilkAndHoney.com/trailer.

This article is originally from the August 2010 Tor/Forge newsletter. Sign up for the Tor/Forge newsletter now, and get similar content in your inbox twice a month!

post-featured-image

Odd historical things I learned while writing Shades of Milk and Honey

Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette KowalBy Mary Robinette Kowal

When one decides to write a historical novel, even if it is a fantasy, one must brace oneself for copious amounts of research. Research which feels as though it will never end. The curious thing about all this research is that much of it does not show up on the page. While writing Shades of Milk and Honey, set in an alternate England in 1814 I learned a number of things which surprised me. Here are a few my favorites.

What it means when a letter was crossed.

In Jane Austen’s day, sending letters was expensive and you were charged for the number of pages. The way to avoid a hefty postage fee was to write the letter, then turn the page 90 degrees and write across the previously written lines. (Trivia note: I had a reference to a crossed letter in Shades of Milk and Honey but cut it because it was too hard to explain and the fact that it was crossed wasn’t important to the story.) Curious about what a crossed letter looked like? Here’s an example from Miss Austen herself in the Morgan collection.

There is no such thing as a left shoe.

Until about the 1850s, left and right shoes were identical. Only by wearing them would the shoe begin to acquire a left and right shape. When Louis XVIII was fleeing Napoleon in 1815 he said, “…it’s my slippers that I regret most… Nobody understands what it means to lose slippers that have taken the mold of one’s foot.” While footwear is important, he might perhaps need to work on his priorities.

How to turn the table.

A formal dinner was a lengthy affair lasting several hours and had very rigid etiquette tied to it. Typically served in several courses, each course would consist of dishes already set upon the table. Gentlemen would be assigned to escort a lady to dinner, seating her on his right. He would help the lady with dishes and would converse with her during the first course. After the first course, all the dishes would be removed and replaced. A gentlemen would turn and converse with the lady on his left and vice versa. If you were pinned with an unfortunate conversationalist as a dinner partner, you couldn’t wait to turn the table.

Hello is not a word.

I am going to let you know a shameful thing. I slipped when writing Shades of Milk and Honey and use “Hello” in the first chapter of the novel but it’s not a word in 1814. I had rooted it out everywhere else and didn’t notice this one until recording the audio book. In 1814, the word “halloo” was most often used to call hounds. “Hullo” was usually an expression of surprise. Although “hello” is recorded as early as 1830, it didn’t become a standard greeting until the invention of telephone. To greet someone during the Regency one says “Good day” or perhaps “Good evening.”

Shades of Milk and Honey (978-0-7653-2556-3 / $24.99) by Mary Robinette Kowal will be available from Tor Books on August 3, 2010.

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cL5WQ978JM]

There’s more information about the novel and the people behind the trailer at https://www.ShadesOfMilkAndHoney.com/trailer.

…………………………

From the Tor/Forge August newsletter. Sign up to receive our newsletter via email.

…………………………

More from our August newsletter:

…………………………

Related Links:

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.