Tag Archives: Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son

Announcing a Contest

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WarGod-600

I received the official word from Audible.com that Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son is available in audiobook format (I know some of you were already aware of this fact). What you didn’t know is that they also just sent me some one-time codes for a free copy of the audio version. More than I can use, actually, so rather than let them go to waste, I thought I’d try to give some of those who read this blog a shot at one.

I haven’t done many of these, but a contest seemed the fairest way, so if any of you are interested, let’s have one. Below the next paragraph is the “official” description of the book at Amazon, or B&N, etc. Some of you may have even seen it, but what you might not know is that the listing contains a typographical error. That is, a rather important word is spelled wrong. I’ve been assured that it will be corrected, but you know how these things work—once it’s on the internet, the genie is out of the bottle. Chances are it’ll always be there, somewhere.

So here’s what I’ll do—to the first person who spots the mistake and sends me an email (you know how to translate this: ogresan(at)gmaildotcom )correctly identifying the error, I will send a free coupon code good for one copy of the audiobook version of Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son, marvelously narrated by Brian Nishii, along with instructions for using that coupon (not complicated, but for those who aren’t familiar with Audible.com, probably helpful). I’m not going to claim that there is ONLY one mistake in the listing, but keep in mind that I am looking for a very specific one, and the decision of the judge–me–is final:

“The Abe clan and its allies are in full rebellion. When the Emperor’s greatest military leader, Yoshii, is targeted for assassination by magic, it is up to the newly sober Lord Yamada and his exorcist associate Kenji to keep the young man alive long enough to put down the uprising before the entire country is consumed by war. Yamada knows how to deal with demons, monsters, and angry ghosts, but the greatest threat of all is one final assassin, hidden in a place where no one—especially Lord Yamada—would ever think to look.”

There and Back Again

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IMG_0402I apologize for missing last Monday’s post, but I was on the road to our new home to take care of some prep before we take full possession. The house itself is that white edifice to the left of your screen, After thirty-three years the place where I made my living (and enabled my writing) closed down, putting me “quite at my leisure,” as Mr. Bennet might say,

So here’s the thing–we decided to leave. Most of my immediate family had moved out of state already, and with few ties to hold us, we decided to do the same, on the theory that I can be unemployed anywhere, so we might as well be somewhere we want to be. We chose upstate New York, trading brutal summers for brutal winters. I never said it was the smart thing to do. It probably wasn’t. It was, however, the necessary thing to do for reasons I won’t bore you with. We’re going to make it work.

View from Rte 167

View from Rte 167

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View from our back patio.

View of the Mohawk From Downtown.

View of the Mohawk From Downtown.

I did manage to get a little writing done on the new book. All this has been quite a disruption, as you can imagine, but I’ll get it done. In the meantime, here’s some comment from Publisher’s Weekly on The War God’s Son:

“… With a refreshingly conversational narrative, Parks captures the different facets of Japanese mythology and visions of the supernatural. Lord Yamada is a complex and entertaining protagonist, and his personal battles, whether with demons or his relationships with women, are compelling. Parks creates a rich world, further proving that in this series, nothing is as it seems. Suspenseful and often thought-provoking, Parks’s work is a delight to read. (Oct.)”

Stalking the Wilds with Cameraphone, No Gun

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The War Gods Son-BNSpotted for the first time this Saturday in the wild (meaning the new books section of our local Barnes & Noble) Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son. I’m not sure if seeing a book you’ve written appear on the shelves of an actual bookstore will ever get old. Libraries and Bookstores were my temples, my sacred places all through childhood and youth. To have my own place there, right between Peter Orullian and Sarah Pinborough, makes me feel like maybe, you know, I belong there. Or rather my work does. It’s the work that counts. Besides, I’d feel awfully cramped on that shelf.

 

New York on My Mind

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Snow-Jan-2014Probably the worst thing about moving is trying to be two places at once. Physically I’m still in Mississippi. Most of the packing is done, most of the painting is done. The last thirty+ years of our lives reside in boxes in storage, just waiting. If nothing odd happens, in less than two weeks I’ll be making the trip up to New York to close on the new house. Mentally, at least half the time I’m already there. There’s a lot to do before we can move in and part of the reason I’ll be there is so I can be be working on that, but that’s later. Mentally I go over and over it all, trying to plan the best strategies for getting it all done as quickly as possible.

And all that is just half the battle. The rest is realizing that neither of us has much clue as to how to survive a winter—a real winter, as opposed to the cooling-off period we’re more familiar with– and have we taken leave of our senses? Probably, but still going. Helpful people have been helpful—snow boots, yes, warm overcoats, yes. Gloves. Snow tires. What a concept. Oil furnaces. Pellet stoves. Clearing the ice berms. How to shovel snow. Where to shovel it to. What has to be shoveled. What doesn’t.

Factor in that Yamada Monogatari: The War God’s Son will be hitting the stores right around the time I’ll be hitting the road.

Zen says “Be Here Now,” and I ain’t. A good bit of the time I’m a thousand miles away. Which is unfortunate, since there’s still a good bit to do here before I’ll even get a chance to work on everything there. It’s disrupting and stressful and I’m not sure how much longer I can keep it up. If all goes well, the time will run out before I do. Here’s hoping.

The War God’s Son – Update

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WarGod-600The official publication date is set for October 13th, just a couple months away. Here’s a link to the Prime Books web page for the book, including a description and an excerpt from the book and list of places where it can be pre-ordered. The Audible.com edition should be out at the same time, or close enough for jazz.

As the writer, I remember mostly how much work it was to get it done the way I wanted it done, the way I believed–and now I know I was right–it should have been done. As a reader, I think it’s a lot of fun, and we get much deeper into Yamada’s story. I can’t wait for it to come out.