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    The Riyria Sampler
    The Riyria Sampler
    The Riyria Sampler
    Ebook78 pages1 hour

    The Riyria Sampler

    By Michael J. Sullivan

    4.5/5

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    About this ebook

    Three short stories and an excerpt from the upcoming novel (The Death of Dulgath) provides an introduction to Riyria, a team of rogues featuring Hadrian Blackwater (an idealistic swordsman) and Royce Melborn (a cynical thief). This sampler provides some examples to help the reader determine if the full-length novels are a good fit for their reading preferences.

    The Thieves: Originally, this was a scene written for Nyphron Rising (the first novel in the Rise of Empire omnibus). Eventually, it became the opening of Theft of Swords when Orbit purchased and republished the series as three, two-book volumes. Here is a bit about that story: A band of thieves sets upon two lonely riders in the middle of the night. They had a larger party. They had the element of surprise. There was no reason to be concerned, but they didn’t realize who they were dealing with.

    The Viscount: Originally titled “The Viscount and the Witch,” this was published in the fall of 2011. It was written to provide a gift to my fans after my books were removed from the market to make room for Orbit’s versions. It’s also the seed that later became The Riyria Chronicles, and this short now appears as the second chapter of The Rose and the Thorn. Here is a bit about this short: Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, before even assuming the title of Riyria, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief decides to teach his idealist swordsman partner that no good deed goes unpunished. Will Royce wind up proving his point or be schooled himself?

    The Jester: Originally released in the Unfettered anthology (edited by Shawn Speakman and published by Grim Oak Press), I did something a bit unusual with this short story. Faced with the word count restrictions inherent with anthologies, I wrote what is essentially the climax for what could have been a full-length novel. I throw the reader into the middle of the story and make only brief illusions to what had come before. It’s an interesting experiment and seems to have worked out well based on the high praise it has received. Here is a bit about this story: Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A thief, a candlemaker, an ex-mercenary, and a pig farmer walk into a trap...and what happens is no joke. When Riyria is hired to retrieve a jester’s treasure, Royce and Hadrian must match wits with a dwarf who proves to be anything but a fool. Difficult choices will need to be made, and in the end those who laugh last do so because they are the only ones to survive.
    The Death of Dulgath excerpt isn’t a short story. It’s the opening scene to the new novel, which will be coming out before the end of 2015. Here is a bit about that book.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRidan Publishing
    Release dateMay 31, 2015
    ISBN9781943363032
    The Riyria Sampler
    Author

    Michael J. Sullivan

    Michael J. Sullivan is a three-time New York Times, USA Today, and Washington Post bestselling author who has been nominated for nine Goodreads Choice Awards. His first novel, The Crown Conspiracy, was released by Aspirations Media Inc. in October 2008. From 2009 through 2010, he self-published the next five of the six books of The Riyria Revelations, which were later sold and re-released by Hachette Book Group’s Orbit imprint as three two-book omnibus editions: Theft of Swords, Rise of Empire, and Heir of Novron. Michael’s Riyria Chronicles series (a prequel to Riyria Revelations) has been both traditionally and self-published. The first two books were released by Orbit, and the next two by his own imprint, Riyria Enterprises. A fifth Riyria Chronicle, titled Drumindor, will be self-published in the near future. For Penguin Random House’s Del Rey imprint, Michael has published the first three books of The Legends of the First Empire: Age of Myth, Age of Swords, and Age of War. Grim Oak Press distributes the last three books of the series: Age of Legend, Age of Death, and Age of Empyre. Michael has returned to purely self-publishing roots with the release of his most recent series, The Rise and Fall Trilogy. These books are being published in the current schedule: Nolyn (Summer 2021), Farilane (Summer 2022,  and Esrahaddon (Summer 2023). Michael is now writing Drumindor, the fifth book of The Riyria Chronicles. This will return him to the timeline of Royce and Hadrian, two rogues he hasn’t visited with since the release of The Disappearance of Winter’s Daughter in 2018.  You can email Michael at michael@michael-j-sullivan.com.

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      The Riyria Sampler - Michael J. Sullivan

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