Crown Thief Now Out

Party poppers and silly hats, people!  My second novel, sequel to Giant Thief and second of the Tales of Easie Damasco, is now out to buy in print in the US and in e-book everywhere in the universe.*

Which is undeniably cool, because I'm convinced as I can be that Crown Thief is a fun read for new and returning readers alike.  Picking up from the end of Giant Thief, it isn't long before our titular thieving scoundrel Easie Damasco has discovered that the man he hates most in all the land is now running a significant portion of it - and all that knowledge gains him is a killer beyond compare out to end his miserable life.  As if that weren't bad enough, his only hope for escape lies with Guard Captain Alvantes, who despises Damasco for his countless past misdemeanours, and in a trip to visit the king in far-distant Pasaeda that's bound to end in yet more trouble.  Meanwhile, Damasco's only ally, the gentle giant Saltlick, is too caught up with his own giant-sized problems to help.  Could it be that for once Damasco might have to return the favour?

I don't have many reviews yet to back up my own high opinions of Crown Thief, but the couple there are are enthusiastic enough to do the job: Rebecca Lovatt at The Arched Doorway called it "an engaging, fast paced and riveting tale", while Book Bloggery praised it as "a very enjoyable and fun read that made me chuckle more than than once."

So in theory, things are looking pretty rosy, right?  Only I've been reliably informed by those in the know that conventional wisdom says no one actually buys sequels - even when they tell standalone stories and have been lovingly written with new readers in mind - and therefore that they don't get talked about much or invited to dinner parties.  Now, conventional wisdom probably has a point; I for one would be hesitant to pick up the second book in a series, whatever anyone might promise me, (with the definite exception of free drop bears).  Still, it's a bit of a gloomsome truth to come to terms with on the eve of your second novel coming out.

Therefore, it seems to me that the one thing - or at least, the Damascoesque thing - to do when conventional wisdom tells you your new book is doomed from the start is to ignore the hell out of conventional wisdom.  (Or, in Damasco's case, perhaps try and steal it.)  I have a few long term plans up my sleeve right now - watch this space! - but in the short term I'm just going to ask nicely for your help.  If there's anything you can do that will help spread the word on Crown Thief coming out, it would be great if you could do it.  A link, a tweet, a Facebook share, would all be more than fine.  And if you happen to pick up a copy, please review it, however briefly, somewhere where other people will read it.

Last up, there's a sample you might like to read here, and below are the links to where Crown Thief is currently available (in the US) are where it will be available (from the 4th October) in the UK:

 US Print & Ebook Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com | IndieBound.org  

UK Print & Ebook Amazon.co.uk | Book Depository | Waterstones | WHSmith 



DRM-Free Epub Ebook On-sale September 25th from the Robot Trading Company


* Except, for complicated legal reasons mostly relating to the pastorage of sheep, the island of Bishop Rock.