Book 2 of the Age of Ire has been revised and is again in the hands of my publisher, Tor Books. The working title is “The Fate of Silent Gods”, but that’s certainly not final. I’m extremely pleased with how the book turned out and with how the story has evolved.
Emrael is forced to move quickly and gamble heavily with his life as he seeks to build a kingdom for himself and his followers. If he doesn’t, he and his loved ones will stand no chance against the mounting forces of the Fallen God.
Jaina, caught between rival political factions in her homeland of Ordena, must choose between old beliefs and new. Will she trust her long-held beliefs, or what she has seen with her own eyes?
Maira similarly finds herself caught between loyalty to her homeland and to her sons. How will she navigate a divide between the Ordenan Empire and the Ire rebellion in the Provinces?
Banron continues his technological research; his brilliant inventions might just prove to be the key to his brother’s success. Elle is solidifying herself as a force to be reckoned with, and we encounter plenty of new characters as the conflict broadens and intensifies.
Alliances shift and not all is what it seems, particularly when the devious Fallen God of Glory is involved. Navigating the ebbs and flows of friendship and war are now a matter of life and death not just for Emrael and his friends, but for an entire budding Provincial kingdom.
Rise of the Mages Audio rights have been reverted to me by Tor, which was very cool of them to do because they legally owned the rights for more time before contractual reversion. My wonderful agent has submitted the rights to various audiobook companies and we are waiting to hear back. If we don’t get an offer we like, I’ll be producing (probably even reading!) the audiobook myself. In the event that you’ve been waiting for the audio version, expect it mid or late 2023.
I don’t have any sort of explanation as to why Tor did not pursue audio, particularly after deciding to print RISE in hardcover and allot a sizable print run – roughly double that of a typical debut print run, though still only half of what they print for books they plan to make big sellers. Yes, that’s really a thing. They’re called “Lead” titles, typically, and my best guess is that each of the Big 5 publishers has somewhere between 1 and 3 debuts that they make a “Lead” in any given year. The rest, well… you probably haven’t heard of most of them.
I suspect that Tor didn’t make an audiobook for the same reason they didn’t bother to send early copies to bookstores, reviewers/influencers, or anybody else (they sent ebook early copies to a few): I naively signed a relatively small deal after a chaotic submission to publishers, for an advance that was something like 1/5th to 1/10th of what publishers pay to debuts they intend to be a true lead title. When push comes to shove with books needing marketing activity, it’s easy to guess which are allocated limited resources. Other books have to earn a lot more money for Tor to break even, and they therefore demand more attention from staff who are held accountable for P&L/profitability. I assume it’s not personal; it’s just business. But that leaves me pretty well on my own. Every review and recommendation from kind readers like yourself mean a great deal to me, as that’s likely to be the primary mechanism by which people even hear about Emrael, Jaina, Ban, and the gang.
If such secrets of the publishing world interest you, my friend Sunyi Dean and I are starting a podcast soon with some other publishing pro friends to shed light on the realities of the traditional publishing world. Watch for the first episode to drop in a month or two! It will get spicy.
Upcoming Appearances: I’ll provide links on Twitter, FB, and IG when I have them, but here is the schedule:
TBRCon: I’m still obligated to keep the panels secret, but I’m going to be appearing with some real powerhouse names at 7 AM PT and 3 PM PT on Sunday January 29th. The panel is free and all online – it’s going to be worth your time.
Boskone: I’ll be on three virtual panels. Friday Feb 17th at 2:30 PM PT, Saturday Feb 18th at 4 PM PT, and Sunday Feb 19th at 10 AM PT.
I’ll do a post soon detailing some happy things that happened in 2022: good books I read, great friends made, a move across the country, and more.
Peace,
Scott
Scott Drakeford 
This is fantastic news. I really can’t wait to see how Emrael develops. His tunnel visioned, ruthless, pursuit of his own priorities in defiance of broader considerations made me want to hit him in the head with a shovel sometimes, even as I totally understood his motivations. I’m interested in seeing how that mentality clashes with the greater responsibilities he has now undertaken.
I’ll be more than happy to lend my review everywhere possible. You’ve created something fantastic, and the more brought to the table ti partake of it the better. Happy new year!
You are the best, Keith. I appreciate your kindness.
For better or worse, I tried to let Emrael be an authentic young adult thrust into a very difficult situation in Rise of the Mages. To me, that meant some bad/rash decisions to go with the good. Maturation is a process, not an inherent attribute in many/most. I hope you’ll like what I’ve done with book 2. Emrael certainly does some growing up, and he’s not the only one.