Affinity Bridges are Go! • 22 September 2008 • The SnowBlog
Affinity Bridges are Go!
Sometimes I'm not sure whether it was a blessing or a curse that the first book we ever published turned out to be a total, runaway bestseller. Ach, what am I saying. Of course it was a blessing - without it we wouldn't be here. But it did make me think 'Ha, this publishing lark is great! Hellooo easy street!' and so on. Turns out that it's a wee bit trickier than our original experiences would have had us believe. But heck - at least when we're doing well we know that we deserve it! And for the first time since Adept, I have that runaway bestseller feeling again - with The Affinity Bridge. I can't describe the feeling of logging in to Vista (our comedically archaic sales and stock management system run by LBS) on a Monday morning and seeing that another 150-250 copies have been magically ordered, and then have that happen again on Wednesday, and Friday, too. It seems so effortless - and yet I know how many things have to be arranged and stacked up just so to make this happen. One of those things is cover design (and yes, as you know, I'm particularly proud of The Affinity Bridge's cover design. Have I shown you the sequel's? Here you go:)
Then there's the hard work of the author. George Mann is not coming to authorship from a standing start: he progressed through the ranks of bookselling and now heads up a major SF / Fantasy publishing house - and has put the hundreds of hours in in getting to know every face in his sector. Lucky for Snowbooks, it's resulted in lots of doors being opened and some amazing reviews:
"An enormous pile of awesome" Chris Roberson, World Fantasy Award finalist and Sidewise Award Winner.
"Mann's imagination has clearly run wild in this quirky and well realised version of the world, and this is no bad thingIt's fun, it's exciting, and Mann has a very agreeable hand that's easy to appreciateHe has a sharp talent for writing and a surplus of enthusiasm for the genre..." SCIFI Now
"The author does a superb job of recreating nineteenth century London...a thoroughly engaging storyExcellent world building; captures the Sherlock Holmes feel; never a boring passage. Bottom line: A hugely entertaining book. 4.5 out of 5." SF Signal.
"I absolutely loved it" Lou Anders
"Fans of Alan Moore's work will likely enjoy Mann's depiction of Victorian asylums, slums, aristocratic soires and things that go bump in the night." Strange Horizons
"Automata, clattering railway carriages, hansom cabs and 'pea soupers', gas lit streets and the doffing of caps, gruff policemen, mad scientists, arrogant industrialists, sances, pentagrams, addictions to laudanum and a few ravening zombies...Mann is at the forefront of the new generation of UK genre movers and shakers." SFRevu.com
a science fantasy novel that should appeal to lovers of both genres... one of the biggest surprises of the year and I cant recommend the book enough. Fantasy Book Critic
The Affinity Bridge is a carefully plotted and entertaining steampunk mystery, and Sir Maurice Newbury and Veronica Hobbes emerge as engaging characters readers are likely to want to see againa desire the publisher promises to fulfill with a sequel, The Osiris Ritual, announced for 2009. F. Brett Cox, SciFi.com
Then, of course, there's the quality of the writing. We wouldn't have these reviews were it not for the fact that the books is an absolute corker.
And finally but probably most importantly, there's the response from the retailers to our stellar sales team of Susie and Lesley, which has been outstanding, supportive, exciting and totally heartwarming. I heart you all (especially Michael Rowley who, you'll note, we're practically naming our first born after, since he will be named Rowan Michael Barnes).
All of which means that TAB is currently in the Top Ten in the whole SF and Fantasy category in the whole of the UK, and at about number 900-950 in the UK's top 1000. Not bloomin' bad, eh?
So I'm particularly looking forward to Christmas, as you can imagine, and hope that these very good early sales continue!
Emma
Sometimes I'm not sure whether it was a blessing or a curse that the first book we ever published turned out to be a total, runaway bestseller. Ach, what am I saying. Of course it was a blessing - without it we wouldn't be here. But it did make me think 'Ha, this publishing lark is great! Hellooo easy street!' and so on. Turns out that it's a wee bit trickier than our original experiences would have had us believe. But heck - at least when we're doing well we know that we deserve it! And for the first time since Adept, I have that runaway bestseller feeling again - with The Affinity Bridge. I can't describe the feeling of logging in to Vista (our comedically archaic sales and stock management system run by LBS) on a Monday morning and seeing that another 150-250 copies have been magically ordered, and then have that happen again on Wednesday, and Friday, too. It seems so effortless - and yet I know how many things have to be arranged and stacked up just so to make this happen. One of those things is cover design (and yes, as you know, I'm particularly proud of The Affinity Bridge's cover design. Have I shown you the sequel's? Here you go:)
