The Crown Tower (The Riyria Chronicles) by Michael J. Sullivan

Book Preface

About the author

Michael J. Sullivan is one of the few authors who have successfully published through all three routes: small press, self, and big six. His Riyria Revelations series has been translated into fourteen foreign language markets, including German, Russian, French, and Japanese. He has been named to io9’s Most Successful Self-Published Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors list as well as making #6 on EMG’s 25 Self-Published Authors to Watch list. As of January 2013, his books have appeared on more than sixty-five “best of” or “most anticipated” lists, including:

Fantasy Faction’s Top 10 Most Anticipated Books for 2013

Goodreads Choice Awards Nominees for Best Fantasy in 2010 and 2012

Audible’s 2012 5-star The Best of Everything List

Library Journal’s 2011 Best Books for SF/Fantasy

Barnes & Noble Blog’s Best Fantasy Releases of 2011

Fantasy Book Critic’s #1 Independent Novel of 2010

Like many authors, Michael’s journey to publication was a long one. In his twenties he became a stay-at-home dad and wrote while his kids were napping or at school. He completed twelve novels over the course of a decade, and after finding no traction, he quit writing altogether. During the next decade, stories continued to form, but he never put any of them down on paper. He finally relented and started writing again, but only on the condition that he wouldn’t seek publication. He decided to write the stories that he wanted to read and expected to share them only with his family and close friends. His wife, Robin, had other plans.

After reading the first three books of The Riyria Revelations, she became dedicated to getting them “out there.” Since Michael refused to jump back on the query-go-round, she took it upon herself and after more than one hundred query rejections, she finally landed an agent. After a year of submissions, without any interest, she switched to querying small presses and The Crown Conspiracy was signed to Aspirations Media Inc. They later signed the second book, Avempartha, but when they lacked the funds for the print run, the rights reverted and Robin started releasing the books at six-month intervals through her own imprint. When foreign language deals started to come in, she hired Teri Tobias to pick the right publishers and negotiate the deals. By the publication of the fifth book, Robin asked Teri to try New York again and the series received a much different reception. Out of the seventeen publishers they approached, almost half expressed interest and in less than a month, a deal was signed with Orbit (fantasy imprint of big six publisher Hachette Book Group).

After finishing The Riyria Revelations, and while waiting to evaluate the reaction to the series, Michael wrote two stand-alone novels: Hollow World (a science-fiction novel) and Antithesis (an urban fantasy). Work on these was temporarily suspended because of the public’s demand for more Royce and Hadrian stories. In response, Michael wrote the two prequel novels (The Riyria Chronicles), which have been sold to Orbit. The Crown Tower will release in August 2013 and The Rose and the Thorn in September 2013. Find out more about the author at www.riyria.com.