Poseidon and Cleito now available everywhere!

Ok. So maybe that’s a slight overstatement. But thanks to the incoming presidential administration, facts no longer matter, right? What matters is that you say things with conviction. And exclamation points!

From Trump Headquarters: Andrew J. Peters’ Poseidon and Cleito just made its worldwide release, and it’s going to be big. Really big. That’s what I’m hearing. I don’t know for sure, but it could be the biggest fantasy release in history, ever. All I’m saying is that’s what people are telling me. It’s a spectacular story. Maybe the most spectacular story ever written at any time, anywhere in the world. Are you ready for it? Because I’m telling you: this is really amazing, and you don’t want to miss it!

Nielsen Bookscan Fact-checker: Actually, initial reports from Poseidon and Cleito’s early release on Kindle Exclusive suggest modest sales. It’s true the book went on sale in December at some of the largest retailers in America, including BN.com, iBooks, and Kobo, but to say it’s available “everywhere” is an exaggeration and therefore inaccurate.

Trump Headquarters: Crooked Nielsen Bookscan is totally biased! Such nasty people! They’ll say anything to get attention for their failing company. Losing subscribers by the millions. Weak! Sad!

Yes, I’m writing a press release for my latest book using split personalities, and I could be descending into madness. But you know what? That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t buy the book!

In case you haven’t heard, Poseidon and Cleito is a re-imagined portait of the man who became one of the most important gods in classical mythology, and an illumination of his wife who was relegated to the margins. My earlier works (The Seventh Pleiade and Banished Sons of Poseidon) were concerned with the last days of Atlantis. Poseidon and Cleito explores the origin of the legend, and since the action takes place several thousand years earlier, you certainly do not need to have read the other books.

Now, what are the critics saying? Kirkus calls the book:  “A fresh twist on an old sea myth, complete with magic, intrigue, and plenty of old-school adventures.” From an Amazon reviewer YouThere: “Peters successfully delivers a richly detailed and intriguing version of the origins of Poseidon and Cleito. Highly recommended for fans of Greek mythology and vivid storytelling.”

No word yet from the New York Times or Booklist, but hey, it’s early.

You can pick up the book for the very reasonable price of $5.99 from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo or iBooks.

And…if you missed out on Poseidon Week this past August, here’s some extras and backstory about the book!

It’s #PoseidonWeek at andrewjpeterswrites.com

Visual inspiration for Poseidon and Cleito

Exclusively for #PoseidonWeek: An excerpt from the story

#PoseidonWeek: Poseidon through the ages

 

 

 

 

RELEASE DAY! The City of Seven Gods

You may have noticed I’ve been quite busy here. I’ve been talking up the Kindle Exclusive release of Poseidon and Cleito from EDGE Science Fiction and Fantasy, and now I’m switching gears to let you know about another title, just released today at retailers worldwide by Bold Strokes Books.

thecityofsevengods_poster-postcardHow about that? It’s a big month for me, and I’m doing my best to keep up with it!

I wrote The City of Seven Gods as somewhat of an adult companion piece to The Seventh Pleiade and Banished Sons of Poseidon. The setting is similarly ancient world, though the sources of inspiration roamed a bit farther, and farther back in history, to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Africa.

The story is also a departure from the Atlantis legend, which may come as a surprise (yes, I do write about other things besides Atlantis from time to time). I was inspired by the grandness and religiosity of the great cities of the ancient world like Ur and Babylon and Alexandria, and I wanted to expore what life may have been like during a time of nascent, cosmopolitan living, lavish religious iconography, and huge divisions between the rich and poor. The story follows two men of minor status finding their way through that world.

Here’s the back cover blurb:

Kelemun was bought from his peasant parents to tend the inner sanctum of the house of Aknon, where wealthy men pay mountain sapphires to behold the beautiful servants of the god. Chosen to bring offerings to Caliph, Kelemun captures the fascination of the young prince Praxtor who has never been denied anything his heart desires.

Ja’bar was hired to roughhouse wayward proselytes for the high priest Aknon-Horheb. In Qabbat’lee, it’s good paying work for a Stripeling, a jungle savage in the eyes of the city natives, and if he’s stingy and stays out of trouble, it will buy him a plot of river land.

But the splendor of Qabbat’lee is a mirage disguising a grotesquerie of corruption. When Kelemun and Ja’bar’s threads of fate entwine on a night of chilling betrayal, their only hope for redemption and survival may lie in one another.

The City of Seven Gods kicks off a new series called The Lost Histories, which will chronicle the lives of an ancient people in a world where men are bought and sold, religious cults vie for wealth and power, and civilizations clash. I’m presently tucking into the manuscript for Book 2. All this month look for giveaways and inside-the-story features here and at blogs like Queer Sci Fi and The Novel Approach. And, if you want to pick up the book right away, I posted the handy buy links below. When you buy at the publisher’s webstore, you can bundle your purchase for extra savings.

BSB_TriangleindieboundAmazon_logo-8BNlogo

Pick up Poseidon and Cleito for just $2.99 through this weekend

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Brought to you by the fabulously handsome Chris Hemsworth (or, I guess I should say his lovely public domain gif), this jaw-dropping announcement:

Just through Sunday, August 28th, you can buy my upcoming release Poseidon and Cleito at Amazon for the ridiculously low, pre-order price of $2.99!!

That’s like nothing. You probably spend more on your morning coffee. Next year, if you’re a New Yorker, you’ll probably spend more on a subway trip. It’s less than a 16 oz. package of Nutter Butter cookies at Walmart. Nutter butters make for a great snack while reading the story by the way.nutter-butter

So, how can Amazon afford to offer the book at such a low price, you might be asking? I have no idea. I’m not an economics major. I’m hardly versed in e-book marketing, and christ knows it feels like a chunk of my heart is being carved out with a scalpel when I think about the years it took me to write the book all costed out at the price of a medium-sized Tupperware container. But my guess is it has something to do with Amazon looking at the long-range gains if lots and lots of people buy the book and tell their friends, generating a tidal rush of buyers that will make them tons of money when the price goes up to $5.99 on August 29th.

What I see is a win/win situation. I mean, you probably don’t care about the fat cats at Amazon getting richer. So why not buy their product for three bucks less and really stick it to them?

Maybe that was a bit crass. Truly, the reason you should buy Poseidon and Cleito is it’s a great story about a man who becomes known as the god of storm and sea and his wife who the Greeks conveniently left out of his legend because, let’s face it, if you think male writers tend to be sexist today, that’s nothing compared to the way misogynists like Plato and Sophocles treated women back in the day. Do you like stories with strong female characters? Do you like revisiting legends from a totally different point-of-view? Do you have an e-reader and an extra $2.99 laying around the house? If you answered yes to any of those, Poseidon and Cleito is the book for you.

Now how about a little more Chris Hemsworth?

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In closing, buying Poseidon and Cleito for the crazy, early release price of $2.99 may just be the most important thing you do this year. I mean, I’m not saying there aren’t a lot of big things going on in the world, like presidential elections and global warming and economic uncertainty. But why not take a little break from all of that unpleasant stuff and immerse yourself in an amazing adventure story? You’ll be contributing to adult literacy. You’ll impress people with your reading cred when you can drop into conversation: “Yeah, I happen to be reading a really excellent book too.”

I guess what I’m saying is you can’t afford not to buy Poseidon and Cleito at this amazing, early release price. As the great Ted Cruz said at the Republican Convention: “Vote your conscience. E-books matter!” OK, maybe he didn’t say that last part. But do you care?

Poseidon & Cleito Book Cover published by EDGE-Lite 2016

New title imagines Atlantis as real world prehistory

via GIPHY

So here’s a press pinata I’m bursting open today. My new title Poseidon and Cleito is on sale for a special pre-order price of $2.99 at Amazon, with delivery to your e-reader on August 29th. Thereafter, it’s on early release from Kindle Exclusive for $5.99 and available EVERYWHERE on December 5th.

My suggestion: use the three bucks you save to get a nice, grande iced coffee from Starbucks.

How about a look at the cover?

Poseidon & Cleito Book Cover published by EDGE-Lite 2016

Nice, right?

Are you a book blogger, reviewer, or Goodreads user? Drop me a line, and I’ll send you an e-ARC to take a look at: ajpeters@andrewjpeterswrites.com. You can add the title to your Goodreads shelf here.

Here’s the publisher’s press release to tell you about the story:

Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy is pleased to announce the release of Andrew J. Peters’ fourth book Poseidon and Cleito, the story of how Poseidon became Poseidon and an intriguing portrait of the woman who Plato mentioned as his wife.

In the tradition of David Gemmell and Guy Gavriel Kay, Peters reimagines a well-known mythological character from a human perspective while illuminating a minor, female figure who was relegated to the margins by writers of the age.

Says Peters, “I consider Poseidon and Cleito my most ambitious book to date. Everyone knows Poseidon. It’s almost sacrosanct to break from the canon in portraying him. But I’ve always been curious about the origins of myths and the possibility that men became gods through the passing down of sagas that were embellished over the centuries. Similarly, I wanted to give a voice to a character who the Greeks didn’t tell us much about. Why didn’t Plato have more to say about Poseidon’s wife Cleito, other than putting her name in as a place-keeper in his very detailed account of the history of Atlantis?”

With rich description of its prehistorical setting, Poseidon and Cleito is parts speculative biography, a complex love story, and an action-adventure seasoned with a touch of fantasy. Peters plans to launch a series from this first book in his Atlantis saga.

“Poseidon and Cleito explores the Atlantis story from its early years,” Peters says. “It’s a kingdom that lasted for many centuries, and this first book provides some hints of what led to its demise and erasure from history. A mysterious magical element is introduced that will be developed more in future installments.”

The book is available through Kindle Exclusive through November, with worldwide retail release on December 5th.

Peters is best known for his portrayal of gay characters in mythic fantasy via The Seventh Pleiade, a 2014 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention, and his 2015 title Banished Sons of Poseidon. Both took inspiration from the Atlantis legend.

Says Peters, “I guess I’ve become an Atlantologist like Lewis Spence and Edgar Cayce. I’m drawn to conspiracies.” On writing a book with heterosexual characters and relationships, he says he was undaunted. “In a way, Poseidon and Cleito is a prequel to my earlier work, and I handled the material with the same subversive approach, though not with the specific intention of ‘queering’ popular mythology. That didn’t feel right for this particular story. But there are gay supporting characters and bisexual supporting characters. I don’t think I’ll ever write a story in which queer characters don’t exist.”

Cover reveal: Poseidon and Cleito!

Before I run off to a group va-cay in Mykonos, Greece, to celebrate my 15th wedding anniversary–thank you very much, I thought I’d share this big news.

The cover art is done for my upcoming title Poseidon and Cleito!!

And here it is:Poseidon & Cleito Book Cover published by EDGE-Lite 2016

I am pretty much in love with it, and hope you will be too. The book is coming out from Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy and will be available for pre-order August 15th, for sale by Amazon exclusive November 20th, and available everywhere December 5th.

I go dark on social media from July 1st through July 10th, with the possible exception of posting a photo or two on Facebook or Twitter. We’ll see. I may be too relaxed to even do that. 🙂