The Fall of Ossard

[Colin Taber]

I'm posting to let you know about my character driven fantasy tale, The Fall of Ossard, which became available on Kindle recently for only 99 cents!

On release back in 2009, this unique novel broke into the Borders (Australia) Top 20. Now, the sequel, Ossard's Hope, is just a month away - edit: Ossard's Hope became available June 2011.

The back cover blurb follows:

"Brave... Innovative... Bold..." - Stefen Brazulaitis, reviewer and columnist, Australian Bookseller and Publisher.

"I stayed up all night!" - Sara Douglass.

"A dark fantasy world that will suck you in" - Newcastle Herald

"A layered tale that breaks all the rules and goes for depth" - Coffs Coast Advocate



Ossard is falling...

Growing up in a city of Merchant Princes, Juvela discovers she can see what others can't. The very currents of the celestial are open to her, and that includes the truths they hide: An escalating series of unsolved kidnappings have been haunting the city-state, leaving its shadows pooled deep with innocent blood.

Has Juvela been cursed with the Witches' Kiss - or perhaps something worse?

Yet, more is to come, for not only has she witnessed an abduction, but she will have to endure a role in the victim's ritual death. For Juvela is about to become forsaken, and that's before she learns the real truth of not just the crimes plaguing Ossard's bloody streets, but the wider world: A world at war, and governed by gods whose highest pleasure is to sup on the taste of death.

[Ann in Arlington]

Welcome to KindleBoards, Colin, and congratulations on your book! 

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[Colin Taber]

Hi Ann,

Thanks for the listing of tips and areas to check out.

I've been looking about and chipping in here and there across the board. There's certainly a lot of different conversations going on - and still more for me to discover!

I'm looking forward to getting some good solid and gritty fantasy recommendations! 

[Colin Taber]

Now only 99 cents!

I'm posting to let people know that we've reduced the price to 99 cents for the Kindle edition to celebrate the imminent release of the sequel, Ossard's Hope (I've edited the opening post and thread title line, the price was $2.99).

If you've never tried the genre or you're a fantasy reader who's getting a little tired of formula fantasy, you might want to download the sample and take this for a spin.

The Fall of Ossard is a layered coming of age tale that chapter after chapter takes you deeper. This is a story of characters, dark happenings and tragedy, not an orphaned farm boy destined to be king while swash buckling. Simply, it's something different.

I hope you sample it and enjoy.

[medicalhumor]

I wish you much success!

Welcome,

Mike Cyra

[Colin Taber]

Thanks Mike, Ossard seems to be off to a good start, which is great to see (and a relief).

Hopefully I'll be receiving the proof for the next book tomorrow. If that all checks out I'll then be arranging for the file conversion to Kindle. I'm also planning on putting my feet up for a few weeks and doing some reading.

My TBR pile of DTB is huge and my Kindle's TBR queue only growing! First off I'll be finishing the Terry Brooks I was reading (but paused on about 6 weeks ago), then it'll probably be on to Rothfuss' A Wise Man's Fear and others.

[Colin Taber]

Just a note to let people know that the sequel, Ossard's Hope, launched on Amazon.com as a DTB a few days ago. The Kindle file is still being formatted, but should be up and available soon. In the meantime, if you haven't already, please consider trying the book that began this unique trilogy, The Fall of Ossard - currently only 99 cents on Kindle!

[Colin Taber]

Here's something worth updating you all on:

Today, Borders (Perth) sold their 205th copy of my first book (and their second last in stock) in its DTB fromat. An amazing tally for just one store! I went in to check if they'd hit 200 only to discover that they'd passed it! They've been great supporters over the past 18 months with displays and signing events, and also, most importantly, reorders. 

[Colin Taber]

Just reporting in to share a link to an interview with Indie eBooks for those who are interested. They asked plenty of questions about the first book in the trilogy, The Fall of Ossard, and also on how I go about writing novel length works. Follow the link and have a squiz. 

http://indieebooks.blogspot.com/2011/06/fall-of-ossard-ossard-trilogy-by-colin.html?spref=fb

I hope you find it useful.

[Colin Taber]

Busy week this week, including an interview with Adventures of a Bookanaut:

http://bookonaut.com/2011/06/colin-taber-on-authors-and-social-media/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Bookonaut+%28Adventures+of+a+Bookonaut%29&utm_content=Twitter


---


I'm also running a promotion for the next 7 days in which I'm giving away 10 copies of The Fall of Ossard (Kindle edition) per day to celebrate the release of the sequel, Ossard's Hope. You just need to post on this thread and private message me your email address so I can gift the ebook via Amazon.

If you're tired of formula fantasy and looking for something a bit different, give this layered coming of age tale a go!


---


Finally, here's a random excerpt (from page 99):

Behind him I noticed that some of the militiamen wore stained shirts. The sour smell of vomit lay as an undercurrent to the sweet reek of decay.

A crowd had started to gather. They'd followed the coaches and suspected why we were here. We’d arrived with a handful in tow, but now scores waited. Some of them wept while most stood in silence. They were waiting, waiting for answers.

Lord Liberigo looked to each of us and then nodded that we were ready.

A priest opened the door.

Six priests led us in while burning incense and chanting the prayer for the dead. The militiamen stayed outside and were glad of it, but many of Lord Liberigo's men who’d accompanied us on the coaches now carried lanterns to light our way. We entered the dusty warehouse like a funeral march, and only to leave a rising tide of mourning behind us in the street.

Bare wooden floors met us, only marred by the remains of broken crates. Cobwebs stretched about, some reaching up to cover the thick beams above our heads. The high roof was barely visible beyond our lanterns' light while the distant walls were also lost to darkness.

Pedro walked beside me, and for the first time since we'd met I found his presence reassuring. In that moment I needed him. We needed each other. All of us in that group did.

The air grew chill, a light mist giving each lantern a soft glow. The sombre voices of the chanting priests left me feeling as though we were crossing from one world into another – perhaps into the realm of the dead. Maybe for those moments we did.  

Something terrible had happened here.

The floorboards we walked upon sparkled with frost.

The priests not already chanting began to recite prayers. They knew, and somehow I did, that the cold mist and dusting of ice remained as an echo of the magic that had been worked here. As if to remind us, the carpet of white crunched underfoot with each of our steps.

Gently, the voices in my head rose in a mournful chorus.

We were close now. It lay just ahead.

The men who carried the lead lanterns of our macabre march were the first to reach the victims. The sounds of their gasps and moans warned us, yet nothing could see us prepared.
 

[DAFAM]

Thank You!!  For the book. I wish u great success

[Colin Taber]

No worries, DAFAM!

I hope you enjoy ! 

[CoffeeCat]

Thank you so much for the book! Looking forward to starting the series.

[Colin Taber]

Hey CoffeeCat,

I hope you enjoy it!

Sales have almost doubled this month as more people discover the series, which is great!

Back here, in Australia, we're just finalising the details of the DTB release of the sequel, Ossard's Hope, along with a signing tour (Ossard's Hope is already out on Kindle). The Fall of Ossard managed to break into the Borders (Australia) top 20 bestsellers not long after its release. This time around, we 'll be working to build upon that success in the realm of bricks and mortar booksellers - and to move beyond with our ebook editions.

In October we should be announcing the release date for Ossard Book 3.

Thanks again for reading!


***edit insert***
The free book give away has now finished, but don't fret as The Fall of Ossard is back to an introductory price of 99 cents!

[Colin Taber]

The Fall of Ossard is back to 99 cents!

The review blog, Best Books, gave this unique coming of age fantasy 4 stars out of 5!

http://bestbooks1.blogspot.com/2011/06/fall-of-ossard-by-colin-taber.html

Ossard's Hope, the sequel, was also reviewed by Best Books - 5 stars!

http://bestbooks1.blogspot.com/2011/07/ossards-hope-by-colin-taber.html

[Colin Taber]

Still here, still selling, but now being out sold by the sequel - crazy times!  

[Tara Maya]

Congratulations!

[Colin Taber]

Thanks, Tara.  

I'm gearing up now for the Australian retail release in a couple of months (of the sequel, Ossard's Hope, which is already available on Kindle). It's still being finalised, but I'm hoping to be doing a four city signing tour across Australia.

I did some signings for The Fall of Ossard when it came out and had a lot of fun, selling enough books that we broke into the Borders (Australia) Top 20 bestseller list. Aside from that, it's always great to be able to meet readers!  

[Colin Taber]

There's a giveaway for The Fall of Ossard at The Week in Rewind!

Check it out if you'd like a copy!

http://www.weekinrewind.com/blog/2011/08/05/giveaway-five-copies-of-the-fall-of-ossard-by-colin-taber/

[Colin Taber]

The giveaway linked to the previous post is finished, so congrats to the lucky winners!

In the meantime, The Fall of Ossard was featured recently on The Indie Books List:

http://indiebookslist.com/2011/08/17/the-fall-of-ossard-by-colin-taber/

Feel free to check it out!

[Colin Taber]

August has been a frantic month as book 2, Ossard's Hope (already on Kindle), goes to the printer for its Australian book shop release. September will also be busy as it ships and details are finalised for signings in Perth, Sydney and a few other cities. To celebrate I'm more than happy to give away some copies of The Fall of Ossard on Kindle (via Amazon's gifting). Fell free to PM me and ask, but also provide an email address (for the gifting). If you've ever been curious about this layered, coming of age tale, now's your chance to get it on Kindle for free!

PS - I'll run with this until the September 8th.

[Colin Taber]

Just an update for those interested:

The Ossard's Hope book signing tour has gone well. I've been through Canberra and Sydney, and as I write this am about one and a half hours from doing my first one in Perth (Hay St Dymocks). We've sold a lot of books, I've met a lot of great people, and I've had a ball.

The store today has had their promotional stock for two weeks, which has been selling at a steady rate, so much so that they've had to restock. At the same time, I've been approached by another 3 bookshops that want to do things in the coming month or two. This whole signing tour thing is becoming quite lucrative, if but exhausting.

The blow by blow commentary of the signings can be found on my Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colin-Taber/156306680488
With the first round of them out of the way, I'm hoping to blog about it in the next few days.

[Colin Taber]

The Fall of Ossard was featured on The Frugal eReader the other day at the 99 cents price.

The price will change soon, so get in while you can if you've been curious or wanting to sample this tale's dark and brooding delights!

http://thefrugalereader.com/2011/10/09/the-fall-of-ossard-the-ossard-trilogy-colin-taber/

[Colin Taber]

Just a note for those who can get in quick, The Fall of Ossard is the subject of a giveaway on The Frugal eReader. Follow the instructions via their link to be eligible to win!

http://thefrugalereader.com/2011/11/12/the-saturday-giveaway-5-kindle-copies-of-the-fall-of-ossard/#comments

Other than that, the signings continue in Australian bookstores to promote the release of Ossard's Hope. I have five more stores to visit before Christmas with a few to follow in the New Year. We'll have visited 16 stores by the time this wraps up, having been to Canberra, Sydney, Perth and the Western Australian South West. Once that wraps up we'll be starting to plan for the release of book 3, Lae Ossard.

[Glynn James]

I do like your book covers.