First things first, today is a crazy busy day in the world of all things bookish for me. So, before I get onto the real meat of this post, let me show you a few other things that are going on today.

1. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to interview one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Bear, on the Adventures in SciFi Publishing podcast. Give it a listen here.

2. A new Special Needs in Strange Worlds is posted, featuring a guest post by author Alex Hughes. She was kind enough to write a little bit about how she created a character with an addiction problem. Check it out here.

3. I not-a-reviewed The Goblin Emperor. Check it out here.

Now, onto business.

I don’t typically post stuff like this, and I don’t typically post giveaways for books I haven’t read yet, but I broke my own rules for this series. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Strout, and I’ve heard about this series, so I figured it was time to take a chance on something new.

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Urban Fantasy author Anton Strout is pleased to announce the third and final installment of his Spellmason Chronicles, INCARNATE, coming to readers’ bookshelves and e-readers on September 30th from Penguin/Ace Books. Like the two previous books in the series, ALCHEMYSTIC and STONECAST, the book will focus on spellmason Alexandra Belarus, who has the ability to give stone life-like qualities, and Stanis, the centuries-old gargoyle who has sworn to protect her. At the end of STONECAST, readers were left at a point of high tension with lots of questions still unanswered. INCARNATE promises to deliver answers by way of a fast-paced adventure with all the action and snarky humor Strout’s fans have grown to love.

HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

When Alexandra Belarus discovered her family’s secret ability to breathe life into stone, she
uncovered an entire world of magic hidden within New York City—a world she has accidentally thrown into chaos. A spell gone awry has set thousands of gargoyles loose upon Manhattan, and it’s up to Lexi and her faithful protector, Stanis, to put things right.

But the stress of saving the city is casting a pall over Lexi and Stanis’s relationship, driving them to work separately to solve the problem. As Stanis struggles to unite the gargoyle population, Lexi forges unlikely alliances with witches, alchemists and New York’s Finest to quell an unsettling uprising led by an ancient and deadly foe long thought vanquished.

To save her city, Lexi must wield more power than ever before with the added hope of recovering a mysterious artifact that could change her world—and bring her closer to Stanis than she ever thought possible…

Born in the Berkshire Hills, Strout currently lives in the haunted corn maze that is New Jersey (where nothing paranormal ever really happens, he assures you). He’s the author of the Simon Canderous urban fantasy series and the Spellmason Chronicles, both for Ace Books, as well as many short tales published in anthologies by DAW Books.

In his scant spare time, Strout is a sometimes actor, sometimes musician, occasional RPGer, and the world’s most casual and controller smashing video gamer. He currently works in the exciting world of publishing, which he assures is as glamorous as it sounds.

Follow Anton Strout on Twitter and visit his website to learn more about his work.

You can find the Spellmason Chronicles on Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

ALCHEMYSTIC

STONECAST

INCARNATE

Click on the cover for more information about this book.

As a nice bonus to all you fine folk out there, Strout is offering up one copy of the first book in this series, Alchemystic, to one lucky winner. 

Here are the rules: 

1. To enter, leave a comment under this post. 

2. Contest is open to U.S. residents only (Sorry, rest of the world). 

3. You have until midnight Mountain Time on Wednesday, May 7 to enter.

4. A winner will be randomly chosen and contacted on Thursday, May 8. 

Good luck to all who enter!