News Post: Southern California Tour so far
The first official event of book tour starts tomorrow with a reading at Mysterious Galaxy. Stop by if you’re in town. I came down to LA a few days earlier to stay with my sister and play super uncle to the Cutest Niece Ever. Sister is an inspiring therapist at a school for the disabled. She had asked me to come and read to her class and talk about coping with a disability. Somehow, when I was on the plane flight down, my audience grew from her class to a school-wide assembly. Public speaking always gives me a bit of the jitters, but usually in that good way. But somehow talking to a hundred odd learning disabled students made my hands go cold. The next morning when Inspiring Therapist Sister was driving me to her school, she noticed I was acting odd.
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: Dude, you’re being quiet.
BLAKE: Am I?
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: Yeah.
BLAKE: Oh.
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: You’re freaking me out.
BLAKE: Why?
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: The only time when you’re not talking is when you’re A) near death with sickness or b) nervous.
BLAKE: Yeah, I’m nervous about speaking to all the LD kids.
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: Don’t you routinely talk to a gaggle of fancy pants Stanford doctors.
BLAKE: Yeah, but if you bore the doctors they don’t start whispering to each other about sneaking out to the parking lot to get high.
INSPIRING THERAPIST SISTER: You sure about that?
In fact, my anxieties were unfounded. Seems most the jitters were a recall from my own years in special ed. The kids appreciated the reading and got really involved in the discussion afterwards about the book and about disability in general. They kept me around for an hour after wards chatting, signing books, binders, even one kid’s backpack. Afterwards we picked up the World’s Cutest Nice from preschool and ran around with her and my sisters dogs in the park. It was a wonderful day and a wonderful way to kick off the tour.
Ancillaria
I’m very excited to report that my agent has entered negations for a French translation of Spellwright. Oh la la!
I’m very proud that Locus magazine gave Spellwright a thoughtful review, from which we have a wonderful excerpt:
[Spellwright’s] setting is evocative, the wizards’ school occupying only a small part of a city built and abandoned by a long-gone species; the magic system is intriguingly different, with the concept of cacography providing a truly distinctive twist…a solid first novel, with some impressive world-building.
Between Two Books reviews Spellwright and gives it 9/10:
“I was easily won over by [Charlton’s] beautiful style, his colourful characters and his unique magical system. When I turned the last page of Spellwright, I was left with wanting more.”
Just Off the Shelves also really enjoyed the book.
“Blake Charlton’s first book accomplishes the hat trick of character, story, and magic system that any good fantasy must hit to earn my personal affection and I already can’t wait for the next one.”
Debuts and Reviews came up with a wonderful metaphor for the book:
“I loved being able to read a story with such a classic genre plot without feeling like I’d read this book a hundred times before. It’s like painting a beige room red—it’s the same room, but with a whole new look entirely. Spellwright is a wonder-filled and exciting read, and I’m very much looking forward to the next book.”
Ken and I over at Neth Space had some fun with a short, pity Questions Five Interview after he reviewed Spellwright:
[Spellwright‘s] greatest strength is in the creative magic system that Charlton crafts and homage to a more traditional-feeling epic fantasy. There are a few bumps along the road and larger annoyances, but the overall result is positive and full of potential.
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