Awesome Authors…Part 2

We talked a bit last week about some of the authors who joined us this year by donating their books for us to include in our lottery. Well, here’s a few more names that you might recognize, and if you don’t, you just might find a few favorite series to add to your list!

Robert V.S. Redick

Robert, apart from being a fantastic author and all around nice guy, has joined us before, donating manuscript critiques, and of course, his books. He also does all sorts of other things. When he’s not writing, he’s a consultant with the Center of International Forestry Research and has worked for Oxfam as well as the International Development, Community & Environment Program at Clark University. So he’s no stranger to nonprofit work, and we guess it makes sense that he found us! Thanks for joining us again this year, Robert!

Rachel Dunne

Rachel has been writing steadily since her debut novel, In the Shadow of the Gods, came out last year. This past summer, her followup, The Bones of the Earth, hit the shelves, and her third novel is coming out next summer. Her books are thick and unforgiving (in the best way), presenting a cruel world where twins are reviled and the gods may or may not actually exist. We’re proud to claim her as a fellow Wisconsonite, since honestly, if you don’t have a fundraiser to run, writing books about trapped gods and morally grey anti-heroes is a great indoor activity you can use to stay warm.

Gregory D. Little

Writing isn’t rocket science, but if you write science fiction, it probably helps. Greg kind of does both, though we’re not sure exactly what sort of real-life science is echoed in Unwilling Souls, where the souls of the dead are used as a power source. We’re not sure how such a nice guy can write such rich, dark stories, but we’re not going to argue as long as he keeps doing it.

R.K. Syrus

R.K. Syrus sent us a copies of Sienna McKnight, and this book looks delicious! Crazy futuristic tech, superpowers, lots of running around, and one of our favorite details: a strong heroine as our desperate and flawed main character. One of the dangers of running the fundraiser every year is how quickly our reading lists grow, and the New Praetorians series is just too tempting to pass up.

Jane Barlow Funk & Steve Boivie

If parallel worlds are more your speed, Jane Barlow Funk & Steve Boivie have you covered. They donated a few copies of their book, The Pendant Path, which features main characters caught up in old magic, dealing with their own issues a world away from each other until those worlds are bridged by a seemingly ordinary family heirloom.

Kai Herbertz

We love a story where the odds are all against the main characters, and we’re intrigued to try out a fantasy novel written by a game designer. Kai Herbertz donated a few copies of his novel Age of Torridan, which features a knight suddenly thrust into the antagonistic eye of some of the most powerful people in the land by an attack on the outpost he was supposed to be working at. An attack by ancient demons. Aw, yiss!

Martha Wells

Martha Wells has been with us for years of fundraisers (and stretch goals!), and she sent us some cool stuff this year. Martha’s writing is always solid, thoughtful, and full of some of the most realistic, grounded characters we’ve ever read in fantasy. She sent us a good variety of stuff this year, including a few copies of All Systems Red, her Star Wars novel Razor’s Edge, and the Complete Raksura series, which is a whole collection of awesome.

Intisar Khanani

In the Sunbolt series, Intisar Khanani brings together a bunch of individual elements we’re always happy to see–strong female protagonist, magic-wielding orphan, corrupt, powerful people, and far-reaching sociopolitical unrest–and elevates them all with Intisar’s phenomenal storytelling and pacing. It’s everything we want in a book at a breakneck pace.

William Alexander

Will has joined us for a few years now, even kicking in some stretch goals along the way. But he always donates books, and we’re always happy to see them. This year he sent A Properly Unhaunted Place, as well as Ambassador and its sequel, Nomad. So if you want amazing ghost stories or amazing science fiction, all told with Will’s contagious excitement, we’ve got you covered!

Ernest Cline

Ready Player One’s movie is on the horizon, but don’t wait until March! We’re a little biased here, but we tend to be those Book Is Always Better people, and Ready Player One is an office favorite. We blame Pat for that. Ernie has been wonderful since RPO came out, donating copies of it and Armada over the years so we can distribute them to our supporters and get more people hooked.

Brenda Cooper

So many returning authors! Brenda has also been on board for years, donating her books and her time, since she’s always on board to do a read-and-critique or read to her dogs. Brenda spends a lot of time in the future, and her work is always deep and well thought-out. This year, she donated some of her top-tier science fiction for our lottery, and we’re a little jealous of everyone who gets a copy…

Brian McClellan

Brian’s Powder Mage series is a heady mix of fantasy and history, set around the French revolution, but involving magic, intrigue, and plenty of action and high stakes! He’s been donating books to us for a while, and every year he has more titles to donate. If you like your action historical, or your history a bit more action-y, or even if you just want more magic in real life, definitely tackle Brian’s Powder Mage series. We hope you win one of his books, because it’ll knock your socks off.

You’ll be able to find all their books (and so many more) in our Lottery Library, where you can browse by author, title, donor, or even prize type, if you’d like to see what sort of games and other cool stuff we have to give away.

Thank you everyone for bringing some of our favorite stories to life, giving us fantastic worlds and amazing heroes to fall in love with, and allowing us to escape “normal” life for a while. And, not to put to fine a point on it, thanks for helping us raise money for Heifer International!