The official launch date

is April 2nd.
Buy very many books, please.

Okay, not so great in just text, but...

An ancient evil... an immortal warrior.



From the sands and cities of the ancient middle-east comes an epic story of bloodshed, love and betrayal. Award-winning fantasy author Michael Ehart spins a tale that echoes with the blood and thunder of the golden age.



Bound by an ancient curse, serving her master in bitter unwillingness, the Servant of the Manthycore must lure the greedy, the unsuspecting and the unwary into the desert to feed the insatiable beast to whom she is bound. Centuries of combat and murder have made her a swordswoman whispered of in the marketplaces, feared in the back-alleys and sung about by the campfires of the caravans. The passing centuries of betrayal and death have stolen her humanity and even her name, leaving only a glimmer of who she once was. Her only hope is to someday meet a greater warrior than she, and so be freed.



Striding across the background of civilization in its youth, in the time of the first great heroes and the cities they built, she becomes more than a woman, and as her legend grows so does her determination to someday be free of the great beast who she serves. Goddesses, bandits, soldiers and kings fall beneath her sword as she fights her way to discover a path to freedom.


Ancient Tomes Press is pleased to announce the release of fantasy author, Michael Ehart's new sword & sorcery epic, The Tears of Ishtar.

Michael Ehart has been at various times all the expected
things: laborer, seminary student, musician, shoe salesman,
political consultant, teacher, diaper truck driver, stand-up
comedian, and the least important guy with an office at a
movie studio. He currently works as a computer security
systems engineer. He made his first sale to a magazine at
age 15, which means he has been writing for nearly 40
years, with the aforementioned occasional breaks for gainful
employment.

Several of the short stories that make up a portion of The
Tears of Ishtar have been nominated for various awards,
including the Million Writers Award and top ten finishes
in the 2007 and 2008 Preditors and Editors poll.

Come with us now as we journey with Ninshi in her quest to free the person dearest to her heart from the great and terrible beast that holds him in thralled - the Manthycore! Will she succeed? Will she survive? Only time will tell if love will triumph over evil!



Read a free preview. Click here.


Special offer on The Tears of Ishtar!

Available only through this special newsletter! The Tears of Ishtar retails for $16.95 plus shipping, but for readers of this newsletter we have a special treat! Don't wait, grab your copy today!


Special Price: $ 12.00
List Price: $ 16.95
S & H: $ 7.50


Click here to grab your copy today!


Quick Links
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Abandoned Towers Magazine
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Robert B. Parker

"Robert B. Parker, who is largely responsible for the rejuvenation in the 1970s of the hard-boiled genre of crime fiction, died today at his desk at his Cambridge, Mass., home, it was reported. He was 77 years old."

If there ever was a great writer in the tradition of Chandler, this man was it. His writing grew stronger and more spare as the years went by. I seldom remember to list him as an influence when asked, but I read every one of his books and learned something about writing from each. The strength of his narrative voice became the equal of a Heinlein or a Hemingway.

So I'll be tipping out a drop of Maker's Mark tonight for the maestro, and saying farewell to my old friends Spenser, Hawk and Jesse Stone. He wrote far ahead of his publication schedule, so it will be awhile before we see the final books. Something to look forward to and slowly savor, knowing that these will be the last bottles of this fine vintage.

New launch date!

We will be launching The Tears of Ishtar at NorWesCon the weekend of April 1-4 --more as I get details.

Cool stuff popping up on the web, including these cool thingies from my publisher:
http://www.zazzle.com/michal+ehart+gifts

Saturday

Saturday with a trip to the waterfront Mariott for their famous breakfast buffet --the breakfast chef has been making waffles and omelets there for 29 years! I consumed far more than was good for me, then zipped back to the con hotel (zipped in a waddling, pleasantly bloated fashion) to my first panel, pros at cons. As sometimes happens, no one showed, so after a suitable time, Bob "RadCon" Brown called us canceled, so Joan Gaustad, Andrew Nisbet, Suzanne Tompkins and after a bit some other folks who wandered in just chatted about cons past until the next panel showed up to displace us.
Next was a flash fiction panel with Ayne Blythe, Ray Vukcevich, and Edward Morris, with fantastic help from the audience from KC Ball, Mr. Green and others. Being on a panel with Ray will earn me huge cool parent points with my oldest soon, who is major fan. The panel itself was one of those near-perfect things, fast-paced, inforrmative, and great audience participation.
My final panel of the day was one that is always a favorite, Ask Dr. Genius. Panelists included Guy Letourneau, Jordin Kare, Dr. Anne Prather, Amy Thomson, and Janet Freeman. This time we were very engineer heavy, so the puns were rapid-fire and thick upon the ground. The *lies* explanations on these panels tend to congeal around themes, this time many references to lost socks in the dryer. The room was packed, and many of us had done various iterations of this panel before in some combination or another, so it was like one of those all-star band concerts, with everyone taking a turn at *promoting a pack of lies* a solo, then jumping back into the resultant chaos.
We sat in a fun and informative panel on Christian SF and fantasy, spent some time wandering the halls, and then to a very cool ultra techno decor Chinese restaurant, then to the room for a quick post-prandial coma before returning to the con to visit parties and the dance. Saw Brenda Cooper in the hallway but didn't get to chat, caught up with Bruce Taylor at the same transitory venue, exchanged hugs with Mary Rosenblum in passing. Many of our long-time con friends we only got to wave at, but at least we got to visit a few minutes with the lovely Judith Hermann at the dance. We gave Nisi Shawl a lift to where she was staying, and made it an early night.

Friday's Con Report

We got up early Friday and arrived in plenty of time in Portland. In fact, we were early enough that our room wasn't ready, so we scooted over to the con where we discovered... registration wasn't ready either. So we killed a little time, got checked in and registered, played phone tag with my daughter, finally made a connection, and while I was dazzling folks in my first panel, Shaharazahd and my daughter got to spend a pleasant hour over some killer ribs in the restaurant.
The first panel was Masked Vigilantes, with Lou Anders and Carl Cook, both properly unserious and great panelists. Lou in particular had some great anecdotes. After, I slid back over to the restaurant and saved my loved ones from over-consumption of pork products by bravely leaping into the fray and gobbling down the remaining ribs. Yeah meat!
Hugs and goodbyes, and another panel, this one on Alternate History and Fantasy, admirably hosted by Mary Hobson, who as always was well-organized, thoughtful, and fun. Cats to be herded other than myself included Alma Alexander, Robin Hobb, and John Alexander. After Robin and I agreed that it was funny that we live 5 miles apart, but can only get together at a con 100 miles away. KC Ball was in the audience, and came up after to say hi, and then we were swept helplessly into the orbit of Camille Alexis, who lodged us in the bar for a couple of hours of wonderfully hilarious conversation, with a steasily rotating cast of interseting people. Dinner was at der Rhinelander, a Portland landmark, where we enjoyed jagerschnitzel and german beer. We made a quick sweep of the parties, and made it an early night, but not before stopping back at the dance to spend a few minutes with Nisi Shawl.

Join Me At OryCon!

Fri Nov 27 1:00:pm Fri Nov 27 2:00:pm Exploring the mystique of costumed vigilantes
Hawthorne Exploring the mystique of Batman, The Phantom, Daredevil and other costumed vigilantes from the golden age of comics and how they have evolved through the passage of time.
Lou Anders, Carl Cook, Michael Ehart

Fri Nov 27 3:00:pm Fri Nov 27 4:00:pm Alternate History Fantasy?
Multnomah Fantasy is often written in a pseudo-medieval society. Some authors bring freshness to the setting by traveling the world, while others go backward, or forward, in time or just adopt technology or lack thereof on a secondary world. Lace and blade, prehistoric, and other choices in fantasy, and how magic fits in, if it even has to at all.
M.K. Hobson, Alma Alexander, Michael Ehart, Robin Hobb, John P. Alexander

Sat Nov 28 12:00:pm Sat Nov 28 1:00:pm Pros At Cons
Morrison How accommodating and accessible should pros be when attending cons? Public relations, marketing, and what conventions and the membership should or shouldn't expect from pros.
Bob Brown, Joan Gaustad, Andrew Nisbet III, Suzanne Tompkins, Michael Ehart

Sat Nov 28 2:00:pm Sat Nov 28 3:00:pm Fiction in a Flash
Alaska Short fiction for a world of compressed time--flash and tweetable micro-fiction. Common pitfalls, quirks, problems and teh awesome inherent in the very short form.
Michael Ehart, Blythe Ayne, Ray Vukcevich, Edward Morris

Sat Nov 28 3:00:pm Sat Nov 28 4:00:pm Ask Dr. Genius: Ad-Lib Answers to Audience Questions
Ross Island No, really, they're real scientists, honest. Bring your science questions, and if they don't have an answer they'll make something up, and it might even be sort of right.
Guy Letourneau, Jordin Kare, Dr. Anne Prather, Michael Ehart, Amy Thomson, Janet Freeman

Sun Nov 29 1:00:pm Sun Nov 29 2:00:pm Comics to the big screen
Weidler The Dark Knight was so awesome. Or was it? Watchmen, Iron Man, Transformers, Wolverine ... has the big screen made them bigger or are the creators and fans gnashing their teeth and tearing their hair?
Sean Wells, Carl Cook, Paul Guinan, Michael Ehart

Sun Nov 29 2:00:pm Sun Nov 29 3:00:pm First Novels: Paths to the Editor Desk
Weidler An author can struggle for months or years before achieving their first success, but even after writing their opus, they can be tripped up by a process which is both entirely new to them and yet critical to their success. This panel describes what an author may experience as they revel in their first success.
M.K. Hobson, Phoebe Kitanidis, Michael Ehart, Elton Elliott


Bold is the moderator, so as you can see, I'll be doing a lot of the ol' okie-doke :)

Counting down to book release

February 14th is not just a day for lovers next year --- it is time for Fantasy lovers, too! No, not that kind of fantasy! That is the date that The Tears of Ishtar releases, and every day is simultaneously a lifetime and too little time.
Just got a great blurb from Mary Rosenblum, which I will post here soon, and one from Steven Barnes, too.
It is wonderful when your favorite writers say nice things!

Here is some excellent linkage

Abandon Towers magazine, which is a)online, so convenient, b)free, so the price is right, and c)chock full of fantasy and sf goodness, so you know you want to go there, is asking folks to share the link to their site.
Here it is:
http://www.cyberwizardproductions.com/AbandonedTowers

I know next chance I have, I'll be adding this one to my blogroll.

Two World Fantasy Nominations for Nisi Shawl!

Congratulations Nisi! Nominated for Best Novella, for "Good Boy" (one of my favorite stories) and for Best Collection for Filter House.
Nisi is a tremendous writer and a stand-up kinda woman. If you don't have Filter House already, what in the world are you waiting for?

Some amazing examples of ancient craftsmanship

From the Bagdad Museum --- this is part of a series of hundreds of slides, without any text. I am guessing from other reading and context that it is a documentation of the artifacts that museum staff hid during the war. This crown is exquisite, but by far not the only item.

If you go through the slideshow, the first few dozen show them opening the vault under heavy guard, and opening the crates. As they unpack them, the wonders grow increasingly eye-popping.

The crown looks to me to be Assyrian. The flowers are lovely, and the angels are recognizable by their four wings, not anything like a modern representation. Are the angels there to protect the wearer, as a symbol of his authority, or just because they are cool?

You can start with the crown and some of the details here: http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/secret/pages/409.htm
or check the whole thing out from the beginning here: http://www.baghdadmuseum.org/secret/pages/000.htm

Clarion West Write-a-thon update

Extra props to Judith Herman for her generous pledge of 50.00! With her Microsoft match this is a contribution of $100.00 to the Clarion West program.

The West African story is really rocking! We are about 3/4 of the way through, and it is filled with action, magic, and a flavor that will have you racing to the end. I saw Nisi this weekend, and both of us are amazed at how much difference there is between our individual voices and what we are ending up with in collaboration.

There are only two weeks to go, so if you haven't already, go to http://clarionwest.org/events/writeathon/Michael+Ehart and make your pledge today!

Thanks!

A good writing week

Or a good week as a writer, more accurately. The week started off with money in the mail, from a couple of different sources. I always like it when I'm paid to write, because the checks come so slowly in this business that the pain of actually haven written anything is long forgotten by the time the money arrives.

Then, there was this: The Lure of a strong first sentance, at Flash Fiction Chronicles. A story of mine used as an example of how to start a story! How cool is that? I am used to being held up as an example, but usually in a more... cautionary form.

This was my first week as a write-a-thon participant for Clarion West, and my word count came fairly easily. If you haven't already pledged, it is only 10 bucks, and you can do it here.

This weekend looks pretty good for finally buttoning up The Tears of Ishtar, and getting it off to the publisher. It will be good to have a little time freed up!

And finally, this: Five New Novelists Every Fantasy Fan Should Know About Nice words indeed!

If you like your fantasy literature with lots of sword fights and godlike beings vying against monsters during an epic age, The Servant of the Manthycoreis for you. The main character is a bold warrior woman. She has grit, spunk and honor, and she could easily hang with the toughest fantasy swordsmen, including Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian. This novel even comes with an introduction by Michael Moorcock, the creator of Elric of Melnibone.

Help me out with the Clarion West Write-A-Thon!

Yes, I have agreed to participate. My pledge is to collaborate with Nisi Shawl (yes, that Nisi Shawl, Tiptree Award, Publisher's Weekly Ten Best of 2008!) on a story set in West Africa. We have set for our goal a 6k word story, done during the six weeks of Clarion West.

How can you help? Easy! I have agreed to try to get 10 people to pledge 10 dollars each in support of Clarion West. All you gotta do is go here and sign up, and lay the tenner on them. Ten bucks? You know you can afford that! Only 10 dollars, 20 halfs, 2 fivers, 40 Quarters, the tenth part of a Benjamin Franklin.

Whattaya waitin' for?

Tears of Ishtar almost finished

I'm at 91k words, with about 5-10k left to write. As always that last ten per cent is the hardest.
But the more I write, the more excited I get. This really is going to be the definitive "Servant" book, with all the things that folks have come to expect from Ninshi and her travels.
And then, on to other things. I will miss them, of course, but it will be good to get away from the bronze age for a little while. So many things have backed up while making this work.
Joe denfar has a new adventure to be written, Yardi seems to want to be a novel, and for way too long I have put aside my strings novel. Much to do, and by the time some of it is beaten into submission I will be ready to revisit ancient Mesopotamia.

My pal Cindy Pon's first book...

Silver Phoenix : Beyond the Kingdom of Xia
was named one of the top ten sf/fantasy reads for youth
in 2009! along with Gaiman's graveyard book and
Pratchett's nation by the American Library Association's booklist.

Congratulations Cindy!

All at once...

I seem to be on the school board.

This was filing week for all the local races, and Szahd was keeping an eagle eye on who was stepping up to the plate. Until Friday afternoon she had no opponent for her desired position on the city council. By Wednesday she knew all the gossip, which incumbents weren't going to file, which would only if no one else did, etc.

So she convinced me to file for school board. And no one else did for that position, which I'm told created a minor stir at the auditor's office, where I am well known for working on other people's campaigns and on Szahd's, and for vehemently insisting I would never run for anything.

Received a number of congratulatory emails this evening, so I guess it is real. Now I really have to learn how to behave like a grown-up. Like Mark Twain said, 'In the first place God made idiots. This was for practice. Then he made school boards." I have also seen that quote with the idiots replaced with jackasses, which seems to add to the melodiousness. Either way, I now am one of them.

Actually, our University Place School District is one of the finest in the state, and it will be a real honor to serve alongside some of the folks who have made it that way.

Writing Short

My article about writing short fiction is up on http://www.everydayfiction.com/flashfictionblog/

Rules for Time Travellers

Makes sense to me. But then, I'm a doctor, not a physicist.

From Discover...

With the new Star Trek out, it’s long past time (as it were) that we laid out the rules for would-be fictional time-travelers. (Spoiler: Spock travels to the past and gets a sex change and becomes Kirk’s... lover.*) Not that we expect these rules to be obeyed; the dramatic demands of a work of fiction will always trump the desire to get things scientifically accurate, and Star Trek all by itself has foisted half a dozen mutually-inconsistent theories of time travel on us. But time travel isn’t magic; it may or may not be allowed by the laws of physics — we don’t know them well enough to be sure — but we do know enough to say that if time travel were possible, certain rules would have to be obeyed. And sometimes it’s more interesting to play by the rules. So if you wanted to create a fictional world involving travel through time, here are 10+1 rules by which you should try to play.

You can read the rest here:

Writing Short

Gay Degani over at Flash Fiction Chronicles has been kind enough to ask me to write a few words about writing flash fiction. Always happy to blather on a bit!

As always, the story is the thing. The best flash carries with it all the things that make any other story work, a beginning, middle and end, a protagonist who changes or makes their surrounding change in a meaningful way, strong dialog, vivid description, and some sort of payoff for the reader. It can be difficult to shoe-horn all of these elements into such a small word-count, but good flash fiction stories generally do.

You'll be able to read the rest in acouple of days here.