by CM Raymond
Done? Good. Here goes.
When I was a kid, I was in the ever-popular world of dog showing. Have you ever watched the National Dog Show on Thanksgiving Day or seen Christopher Guest’s Best in Show? It’s like that, but a whole lot less impressive. By junior high, I was even handling dogs for other people for pay, which made me a professional dog shower.
Amazing, right?
It also made me not very popular with the ladies (or the guys for that matter). Now don’t get me wrong, I loved showing dogs—just not the social ostracism that came along with it. My boyish good looks (read: awkward) and charm (read: more awkward) just couldn’t seem to overcome the sociological suicide that said dog showing enacted on me as a thirteen-year-old boy.
What it did give me was time. A lot of time. Long drives to shows across the state and an eternally open social calendar meant that Little Chris had a shit-ton of time to read!
In 1987, I was twelve with all this time on my hands. Somehow the stars aligned, and I found the first Dragonlance trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I devoured those books, and then I found more and more and more. The damned things just kept on coming and coming and coming.
They got me through puberty, but eventually girls started to tolerate me, and, well, I never finished the series.
Tonight I asked Lee to guess how many books are in that world.
What do you think? Go ahead, write it down.
Lee guessed twenty-three, then pulled back to fifteen (he’s more conservative than you’d think). He almost fell off his chair (I imagine) when I told him there are currently a hundred and ninety novels in the Dragonlance franchise. Scheisse! That’s a lot of books. It’s one of the biggest built worlds I know of!
Why do I bring up dog showing and dragonlancing?
Well, here’s why: The Age of Magic is getting HUGE! As of this writing, there are fifteen books in the series, and we’re expecting over twenty by Christmas 2017. I have this little goal of being the fastest-growing fantasy world of our day. Why? Not to best Weiss, Hickman, and their pulp-fantasy ilk, but because of you.
The more our readers read our stuff, the more we want to write. My goal is to write really good fantasy fast, so you can keep reading and reading and reading.
Awesome, right?
Well, pan out for a second. Not only is there the AOM with all of our brilliant authors, but this is nestled in the big fat Kurtherian Universe from Michael Anderle’s original series to Paul Middleton and Boris to Craig Martelle and TH Walton to Justin Sloan and Valerie to Ellie and Molly and on and on! The Kurtherian Gambit Universe is an enormous franchise and growing fast.
We’re coming for you, Dragonlance!
And here’s a little secret: next month we start releasing the Age of Madness! (October 2017)
I love this place that Michael Anderle has created. I love our characters. I love the world, and I love the whole universe that is longing for a final redemption. But most of all I love our readers (and dog showing).
So buckle up, friends. The ride is just starting.
Whether you were a dog shower or a bookworm, a geek or a jock, a brain or an outcast, or even a strange combination of all of these, Darkness Rises is dedicated to you!
And now, if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to get to work on book seven. Hannah’s got places to go and asses to kick.
The adventure continues!
Cheers,
Chris
PS: Books are coming fast. We always release them for a short time at $.99. Don’t want to miss a thing? Sign up for our AOM mailing list: http://www.subscribepage.com/Age-of-Magic We keep it spam-free.
PPS: OK, this one is a little sensitive, because having favorite authors in the Age of Magic is like having a favorite kid. So, no favorite kids and no favorite authors.
But I want to take a second in these notes to give a little shout-out to one of the series that, in all honesty, really scratches all my itches. If you haven’t checked out PT Hylton’s Storm Raiders series, you really should.
The characters are amazing, the magic is creative, and the stories REALLY sing. Well, you should read all the series in the Age of Magic, they’re all equally my favorites. But if you haven’t yet, you should really check out Abbey (shhhh…she’s an Arcadian!) and her team on their adventures in a different part of Irth! And PT is really one hell of a writer.
PPPS: One more thing… There’s now a Facebook group for fan fiction in the Kurtherian Universe, if you want to join us there. It hasn’t really gotten off the ground yet (September 2017), but maybe you can help us out with that! https://www.facebook.com/groups/TKGFansWrite/
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written 09/21/17
Thank you! Not only did you get through six books, but NOW you are all the way through both other author notes and you are reading MY little addition to the end.
That’s pretty freaking cool.
I want to riff off of what Chris (CM Raymond) said in his author note:
“Whether you were a dog shower or a bookworm, a geek or a jock, a brain or an outcast, or even a strange combination of all of these, Darkness Rises is dedicated to you!”
Really, I think this is true of all of us who are working in the Kurtherian Universe. That first book Death Becomes Her has created something that many of our readers have called unique in their experiences. Which, considering many of our readers have decades of reading, is a damned honor.
What they say is that we have created not only wonderful stories, but a super-inclusive group of very engaging authors who enjoy reaching out and speaking with the fans.
Many times, I personally get paid a compliment that goes something like this (in the reviews) “I don’t know where Michael Anderle finds these authors, but he has another winner here!”
It isn’t that I find the authors so to speak. But rather, I find good people and we work our tails off to figure our stories and characters and work hard to provide emotional journeys. Occasionally, we miss the mark (which sucks, horribly) and we find out in those same reviews, or personal messages on FB etc. However, generally speaking, you guys and gals are the special sauce which makes this possible. So thank you.
When Chris is talking about the Dragonlance Universe, I didn’t realize how big it was. Like him, I also found the Margaret Wies and Tracy Hickman stories so many eons ago.
Anyone remember Raistlin Majere? How about his fighter brother Caramon?
Those were some awesome stories for me, as well. I believe part of my love of longer books was learned at about that time in my life, with those types of paperbacks that were thick, had small fonts (because I could actually read small fonts at that time) and allowed me to really live (vicariously through long stories) with characters I liked.
Conversely, I found out just how much I didn’t like characters I wanted to root for, to be evil (still looking at you, Raistlin.)
It is rather odd for me to be thinking that so many years ago, two separate guys were reading the same set of stories. One of us was just out of high school, the other was going into high school. They would NEVER meet in real life, but would become friends three decades later and decide they would write fantasy stories.
Because, that’s what geeks do, right?
My piece of this book is dedicated to Chris and Lee, because without them we wouldn’t be able to publish The Age of Magic and sure as hell we wouldn’t be working to create a Universe that is pivotal to the Queen Bitch, and Michael in the future.
Because, everyone wants to come home, sometime.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Michael Anderle Social
Website:
http://kurtherianbooks.com/
Email List:
http://kurtherianbooks.com/email-list/
Facebook Here:
https://www.facebook.com/TheKurtherianGambitBooks/
Also by CM Raymond and LE Barbant:
Steel City Heroes Saga
The Catal
yst
https://www.amazon.com/Catalyst-Steel-City-Heroes-Book-ebook/dp/B01EQRDRTI/
The Crucible
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FX5RO5U/
The Casting
https://www.amazon.com/Casting-Steel-City-Heroes-Book-ebook/dp/B01I60N3AO/
Jack Carson Stories
The Devil’s Due
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Jack-Carson-Story-Book-ebook/dp/B01MRR24I2/
The Devil’s Wager
https://www.amazon.com/Devils-Wager-Jack-Carson-Story-ebook/dp/B01MZJ0JIU/
The Devil You Know (Coming April 2017)
Don’t miss a single release by Barbant and Raymond. Sign up for news and giveaways:
http://www.subscribepage.com/smokeandsteelnews
Come hang out on the Rise of Magic Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/TheAgeofMagic
Website:
www.smokeandsteel.com
Michael Anderle
Kurtherian Gambit Series Titles Include:
First Arc
Death Becomes Her (01) - Queen Bitch (02) - Love Lost (03) - Bite This (04)
Never Forsaken (05) - Under My Heel (06) - Kneel Or Die (07)
Second Arc
We Will Build (08) - It’s Hell To Choose (09) - Release The Dogs of War (10)
Sued For Peace (11) - We Have Contact (12) - My Ride is a Bitch (13)
Don’t Cross This Line (14)
Third Arc (2017)
Never Submit (15) - Never Surrender (16) - Forever Defend (17)
Might Makes Right (18) - Ahead Full (19) - Capture Death (20)
Life Goes On (21)
**New Series**
The Second Dark Ages
The Dark Messiah (01)
The Darkest Night (02)
The Boris Chronicles
* With Paul C. Middleton *
Evacuation
Retaliation
Revelation
Restitution 2017
Reclaiming Honor
* With JUSTIN SLOAN *
Justice Is Calling (01)
Claimed By Honor (02)
Judgement Has Fallen (03)
Angel of Reckoning (04)
Born Into Flames (05)
Defending The Lost (06)
Saved By Valor (07)
The Etheric Academy
* With TS PAUL *
ALPHA CLASS (01)
ALPHA CLASS - Engineering (02)
ALPHA CLASS (03) Coming soon
Terry Henry “TH” Walton Chronicles
* With CRAIG MARTELLE *
Nomad Found (01)
Nomad Redeemed (02)
Nomad Unleashed (03)
Nomad Supreme (04)
Nomad’s Fury (05)
Nomad’s Justice (06)
Nomad Avenged (07)
Nomad Mortis (08)
Nomad’s Force (09)
Nomad’s Galaxy (10)
Trials and Tribulations
* With Natalie Grey *
Risk Be Damned (01)
Damned to Hell (02)
Hell’s Worst Nightmare (03) coming soon
The Ascension Myth
* With Ell Leigh Clarke *
Awakened (01)
Activated (02)
Called (03)
Sanctioned (04)
Rebirth (05)
Retribution (06)
Cloaked (07)
The Age of Magic
The Rise of Magic
* With CM Raymond / LE Barbant *
Restriction (01)
Reawakening (02)
Rebellion (03)
Revolution (04)
Unlawful Passage (05)
Darkness Rises (06)
The Hidden Magic Chronicles
* With Justin Sloan *
Shades of Light (01)
Shades of Dark (02)
Shades of Glory (03)
Storms of Magic
*With PT Hylton*
Storm Raiders (01)
Storm Callers (02)
Storm Breakers (03)
Tales of the Feisty Druid
*With Candy Crum*
The Arcadian Druid (01)
The Undying Illusionist (02)
The Frozen Wasteland (03)
Path of Heroes
*With Brandon Barr*
Rogue Mage (01)
A New Dawn
*With Amy Hopkins*
Dawn of Destiny (01)
The Revelations of Oriceran
The Leira Chronicles
*With Martha Carr*
Quest for Magic (0)
Waking Magic (1)
Release of Magic (2)
Protection of Magic (3)
SHORT STORIES
Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknownworld 01 (7.5)
You Don’t Touch John’s Cousin
Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknownworld 02 (9.5)
Bitch’s Night Out
Bellatrix: Frank Kurns Stories of the Unknownworld 03 (13.25)
With Natalie Grey
AudioBooks
CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL LMBPN BOOKS ON AUDIBLE
Available at Audible.com and iTunes
