Happy Monday, ya’ll
We are pleased to announce that the book is available in trade paperback version as well as E format. Preorder at Amazon | and BN
If you are a librarian or an indie bookstore, we have the Ingram info for you: Ingram specific ISBN is: 978-1641970402. We are not sure when it will pop up, but should be soon.
As far as the audio edition, it is in the works but could take a few more weeks, however, when we get a firm date we will make an announcement on the blog and social media.
In other exciting news, we won the Alpha Showdown 2018 Thank you guys so much, we hope everyone had fun.
Iron and Magic comes out tomorrow. Here is a snippet for you.
***
One look at Deputy Armstrong and it was clear he was some sort of law enforcement, Elara reflected. He was in his thirties, short, but stocky and hard, with short blond hair, a clean-shaven square jaw, and sharp eyes. He held himself in a relaxed way that was almost casual, but she had no doubt that if a threat appeared, he would act fast and probably without thinking.
The other deputy, about fifteen years older, gray haired and white, was beginning to get thick around her middle, but had the same kind of look to her: calm but alert. The forensic mage, a black man in his mid-twenties, looked slightly bored. Veterans. The only outlier in the group was the third deputy sheriff, a man who was barely twenty and clearly out of his depth.
And Hugh worked them like they were butter.
“No, we haven’t heard from them,” he said, his face suitably concerned. “I wasn’t even aware there was a settlement that way, but I’m new to the area. Honey?”
“Sometimes people come to the woods to get away from the world,” Elara said. “You said it was a small settlement?”
“That’s what the trader said,” Deputy Armstrong confirmed. “He didn’t go in, but he could see some houses from the road. The gates stood wide open.”
She turned to Hugh, concern on her face. “Couldn’t be dire wolves. There would be bodies.”
Hugh grimaced. “I don’t like it. Those aren’t your usual woods. There is strong magic there.”
So he’d noticed. She wasn’t sure why that surprised her. Someone with the kind of power he had would sense the arcane air within the forest.
“I tell you what, Deputy,” Hugh said. “Let me reinforce you. I don’t like you riding all the way there by yourself.”
Armstrong thought about it for a whole three seconds. “If you’re offering, I won’t turn it down.”
Nicely done. “I’ll come as well,” Elara said. “We have experienced healers and a couple of good seers. If we find survivors, we can administer first aid.”
Hugh gave her a look so besotted, she almost pinched herself. “Excellent. Give us fifteen minutes, Deputy. We pack light.”
#
“So you’re newlyweds?” Dillard, the female deputy, asked.
“Yes.” Elara nodded.
They’d been riding for two hours now. The Old Market wasn’t far, but the terrain slowed horses to a walk. Hugh and Armstrong had pulled ahead a few yards and were talking about something. She strained to listen, but only caught random words. Something about the advantages of ballistae. Deputy Chambers, the youngest of the four, was following them and hanging on every word. Behind them twenty Iron Dogs and eight of her people rode in a column, two abreast. Sam, in his new Iron Dog uniform, rode directly behind her. He trailed Hugh like a lost puppy who finally found someone to love and she had no doubt everything he said would be related to her husband word for word.
“That’s a good man you have there.”
Elara almost choked on her own breath. “Yes, he is. A good man.”
“He looks at you like you walk on air.” Deputy Dillard smiled. “Sometimes you get lucky, and it lasts past the first year.”
“Are you married?”
“I’m on my second one. My first husband died.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“He was a good man. My second husband is a good man too. But he doesn’t look at me like that.”
Hugh shifted in his saddle. Bucky turned and pranced over to her. Hugh turned him again, matching her horse’s stride. “Hey.”
“Hey yourself.”
“I missed you,” he said.
Quick, say something sweet back… “I missed you too.”
“Maybe I could steal you away from Deputy Dillard for a bit?”
“Oh, go on, you two lovebirds.” Deputy Dillard waved at them.
Elara nudged Raksha, and the dark bay mare stepped out of the column and pulled ahead with an easy elegance only Arabian horses possessed. Bucky stomped the ground next to her, clearly trying to look impressive.
Hugh reached over and held out his hand. The entire column was behind them, watching. She gritted her teeth and put her hand into his.
“Oh look, my skin isn’t smoking,” Hugh murmured.
“You’re overdoing it with the PDAs.”
“We’re newlyweds. If I threw you over my shoulder and dragged you into the woods, that would be overdoing it.”
The image flashed before her. “Try it. They won’t even find your bones.”
“Oh, darling, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble finding my bone.”
She tried to jerk her hand out of his, but he was holding her tight and she couldn’t yank her fingers out without making a scene. “Sure thing. I think I packed a magnifying glass.”
He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers.
“You’ll pay for that,” she ground out.
“Mmm, are you going to punish me? Kinky girl.”
Insufferable ass. Elara let a tendril of her magic slither from her fingers and lick his skin. He didn’t let go.
They caught up with Armstrong and Chambers. Chambers was looking at them wide-eyed.
“Don’t worry, Deputy,” Hugh winked at him. “I’m just trying my wife’s patience with public displays of affection.”
“Ignore him,” she said, smiling. “He has no boundaries.”
“I’m only human,” Hugh said.
Yes, you are.
A dark shape rushed through the woods and Sharif emerged on the road, his eyes shining with the telltale shapeshifter glow. Deputy Chambers grabbed for the vial on his belt.
“The road is clear,” Sharif reported. “Empty palisade. The scents are old.”
Chambers let go of the vial, and she glimpsed the pale-yellow substance inside. The color was almost gone. Opportunity.
“Your wolfsbane has soured, my friend,” Hugh said, letting go of her.
Ah! He saw it too.
Chambers startled.
“He’s right,” she said, holding out her hand. “Here.”
Chambers unclipped the vial from his waist and handed it over. She unscrewed the top and smelled it. Barely any scent. “Sharif, would you mind?”
The werewolf took the vial and held it to his nose. “Tingly.”
“Thank you,” she said, taking the vial back.
“Potent wolfsbane should’ve sent him into a sneezing fit,” Hugh said. “A strong wolfsbane has a deep orange color.”
“It should be stored in a dark container in a cold place,” Elara added. “Until you’re ready to use it.”
“Sadly, the stuff they issue us is barely yellow to begin with,” Armstrong said.
“We’re the biggest producer of wolfsbane in the region,” Elara said.
“We can cut them a deal, can’t we, honey?” Hugh asked.
“I’m sure we can.” They would take a loss on it. It didn’t matter. The contacts and good will at the county level was worth more than all their wolfsbane put together. “How much are you paying per gram now?”
“We pay five hundred per half-pound,” Armstrong said.
She waved her hand. “We can do better than that. We will supply you with premium quality wolfsbane at six hundred per pound.”
Armstrong blinked. “We don’t want to take advantage.”
“Call it law enforcement discount,” Elara said.
“Look,” Hugh said, his face somber. “One day things could happen, and I may not be here when they do. My wife might be in danger. My future children. My people. When that day comes, I’ll count on you to ride out here just as you’re doing now and uphold the law. You can’t do that if you’re dead. Let us fix this small thing for you. It’s the least we can do to help.”
Wow, he was good. If she didn’t know better, she would’ve believed every word. What a “good” man I’ve got there. Elara almost rolled her eyes.
“I’ll have to run it by the chain of command,” Armstrong said.
“The wolfsbane will be ready to go when you are,” Elara said.
The road turned. The empty palisade loomed ahead.
Wow! It’s fantastic. Can’t wait for tomorrow. Thank you
+1 Thanks for the update — Just ordered the dead tree copy. Can’t wait for it to arrive. YEA❗️?????
+1
Congratulations to you both! Wishing you mega mega sales and continued best wishes on your collective health, family, and writing.
Awesome thank you
oh my goodness this is going to be great!! thank you for the snippet! This book as been pre-ordered since it was available to do so!
omg idk why my pic is so huge! It’s so obnoxious!!!!
but you look lovely so don’t worry 🙂
You look very nice. 🙂
Yes, no worries Danielle. Nice photo. 🙂
@Danielle – was your intention to have an avatar with your comment? If so, the site uses gravatar. For me, gravatar is part of my personal wordpress account too. So if I sign my comments here by my name, email address, and wordpress website link it pulls in the avatar. Not sure how it works for folks without their own wordpress accounts.
And hey at least it’s a good photo! Not something derpy like this:
This is brilliant! I can hardly wait for Tuesday. Hurry up, my clock, and strike midnight already!
It’s true, the e-book comes out at 12.01. Yes!!
And if you live on the West Coast, you get the ebook around 9:30ish Pacific Time. Love Amazon for that!
Alas, over here in Maritime Canada we won’t see it till 3 in the afternoon.
I do not know how it works for Mexico City. 🙁
Since I’m lying in bed (or on the sofa) with a bad cold and nothing to do but sleep and read, I’m looking even more forward to your book than I usually do…
I almost envy you because you have an excuse to stay home to read it. ?
I envy you too, but I hope you feel much better.
Do not envy me. While it might be nice to have more time for reading it isn’t worth it: my throat is sore enough to prevent me from eating and I barely manage drinking the recommended sage infusion with honey. Also the pain keeps me from coughing which probably isn’t all that good for my lungs considering that I actually have a cough…
So, no I don’t recommend it.
Get well soon. I know all about the cycle of throat hurts—can’t swallow food/drink—chest hurting—can’t cough (or can cough but in pain due to hurting chest)—repeat due to my mold allergy. It’s horrible. 🙁
If you can breath in steam (warm or cool) with some menthol in it, it may help with the congestion in the lungs. I know that swiping Vicks vaporub (or an equivalent of it) under my nose helps my nasal passages and lungs out.
Yea, mold allergy here too… It sucks, doesn’t it?
Me, three, and yes, yes it does. Taking Zyrtek, gargling warm saltwater and drinking hot tea by the pot I’m used to, but I’m trying the saline nose spray for the first time. It helps quite a bit, but oh, my it’s gross!
I agree, Bentje, if it gets into your chest, breathe lots and lots of steam. And keep over-hydrated. Even if you can’t cough it up, _don’t_ let the gunk dry out.
Yes it does. Mine is genetic (yep…my mom had this too), so it’s a huge whammy on me (I learned the hard way when I was in my teens…horrible…sick for a week).
I agree with Shannon…drink, drink, drink. It flushes out all the gunk and takes out as much histamine as possible. I take dye-free Benedryl before I go to bed. If it’s really bad, then I take Allegra before I go to bed. They both knock me out (even though Allegra says it’s non-drowsy) since my body is very sensitive to drugs of any kind. Sleep is the best medicine for your body. If possible, take Advil for the pain.
If you have a cold, not allergies, Zyrtek, or any other antihistamine might not be a good idea. Those medications thicken nasal secretions and if you are already congested that doesn’t help. Decongestants and expectorants will make it easier to get rid of the nasty stuff keeping you from breathing. (I can’t take decongestants because of my blood pressure, but an expectorant helps.)
If it’s allergies, take whichever type of antihistamine works best for you religiously, and perhaps also a decongestant.
Thank you so much, I am more than ready for the release!
Congrats on the paperback news. The snippet is fabulous. Thank you. The magnifying glass remark was hysterical. Love that it was aimed at Hugh. Just a little over twelve hours!!!
Thank you again.
I agree!!!!
? + ? + ? = ?
Wow! I could not say it better.
Just snuck a peek at Amazon.
The Kindle edition is currently:
#1 in Books > Romance > Paranormal
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Witches & Wizards
#1 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy > Romantic
? ? ? ??
I can’t wait to read this book! (of course that is my response to e v e r y t h i n g you write)
Lol can’t wait this is going to be great!
*squeeeeeeeee*
Literally bouncing up and down at my desk because this snippet reinforces my impatience for June 26th! Thank you!
And for August 28, and November 3. 😉
Thanks you guys/gal. I am so excited/nervous/
giddy for tomorrow. Can we just fast forward through today?
Haha
So good!
Soon my precious
Ok, ok. Maybe I will like Hugh. I know Elara is fantastic
Waiting is so very hard.
+1
Yes! Kate won the Alpha Showdown again!! I’m so happy!!
This snippet is really good, as always ?
But I really can’t get used to the idea of Hugh redeeming himself. Or to the idea of Hugh married ?
So very happy Kate won! I want to be her when I grow up. I already have her knees. Am impressed that you took the Missus out to lunch AND a yarn shop, that is definitely keeper category. Good sales for tomorrow’s release.
It’s already the 26th on my side of the world and I’m obsessively checking my Kindle app every few seconds to see if the ebook download is now available. LOL
I should not read this book while eating. I almost spit my lunch out when I read Hugh calling Elara “honey” and the whole “lovebirds” section (including the bone and magnifying glass remarks).
Can’t wait to read the rest of the book! Bring it on. Oh, and Hugh? Game on. ?
ONE MORE DAY!!!!!ONE MORE DAY!!!!!ONE MORE DAY!!!!!ONE MORE DAY!!!!!ONE MORE DAY!!!!!…. (continue chanting) So excited! Thank you for the snippet!
That was certainly fun, thanks!! Looking forward to the release of the ebook tomorrow. May not get much done at work while sneak-reading it. I love Mercy, but I love Kate better! Congrats on winning the showdown.
You mean Mercy Thompson from P. Briggs, I’m a fan myself.
:/
Can’t we just love everyone without podium placements?
Much as I’m a fan of Kate, I’m not about to elbow Mercy out of the way. After all, she makes brownies. Kate makes sausages. While I can appreciate a good sausage (hur hur) brownies wins out every time!
I am happy that I can buy it tomorrow but probably won’t be able to get away to read it. Visiting relatives this week and since I have a car and no job I was volunteered as the babysitter for the week. 🙁
Ugh, been there, done that, know the feeling. You’ll probably also end up having to share a room with Nana. Which will probably be for the best as she’ll probably not snore as loud as some of the other adults, plus the elderly usually don’t need to sleep as long, so she’ll be up and at it at 4.30am leaving the room to you for at least a little while. At least you probably won’t have to share with any of the men, coz farts.
Whatever happens, if they have tea for adults and children separately, don’t allow yourself to be talked into having tea at the table with the kids. It’s one thing to be asked to babysit, it’s quite another to be treated as a child yourself. Have to draw the line somewhere, dammit!
I’m going to end my single woman’s rant now and toddle off to find some chocolate. Have fun with the fam. o/
So I’m going to be useless tomorrow ….,
So I preordered this, thinking I will give Hugh a chance. And now, I am glad I did.
Just when I get antsy waiting for the next Maud/Arland instalment, you give me (us) this. Thank you
Just pre-ordered. clock tick faster!
Were you able to fix the name problem in the dead tree edition?
Counting the minutes until it pops into my Kindle. If I could take tomorrow off to read it all day, I would. Wonderful snippet, thanks!
When you first considered writing this book, I was so skeptical of the concept I didn’t bother to pay attention.
Since then,,,, the snippits and comments have gotten me hooked.
One more day, and I’ll have the e-version, and in a week or so the paperback should be here as well.
I’m so glad you didn’t pay any attention to the nay-sayers like me. 🙂
Love it, and I’m off to check into the dead tree version.
Paperback ordered! *happy wobble* Now I will plant another tree to replace the pulp used. 🙂
Ordered both – can’t wait ? thanks for all your hard work ?
Oh cheesus crackers, I cannot wait.
Dear AL,
You role my brain.
Hugh acting besotted. ?
autocorrupt strikes again!
role = broke
I wonder how badly Kate defeated Curran? And what would his Twitter reaction be? ?
She crushed him. She got 79% of the vote. Not just his Twitter reaction — imagine the hard time Jim, Raphael, Mahon, Eric, and the other males will give him.
BTW, that was a hint, Gordon… 😉
Not to mention the Mercenary Guild making comments. I can hear it now:
“Curran…Curran got beaten by Daniels?! I don’t believe it!”
“So…Curran’s going to let Kate be the alpha at home????? This I gotta see!”
“Woohoo! Daniels won! Whoops…sorry Curran….something went down my throat wrong. Cough, cough, cough….”
And so on.
*giggle-snort* These guild comments are great Patricia! I’m not as creative else I’d keep this ball rolling. Hopefully someone else will add more….hint, hint.
Merc1: “Considering he’s a lion, you’d think he wouldn’t be pussywhipped”
Merc2: “It’s not that surprising: in the wild male lions laze about and the females do all the hunting.”
Merc3: “There’s a reason you morons don’t have girlfriends. You think he’s gonna get some loving if he beats her?”
Merc4: “Puhlease. He let her win.”
Merc5 the newbie: “She must have been PMS’ing”
Merc6: “Newbie, shut up. She’s a 100% bitch all the time.”
Merc7: Waves over at the female staff in administration, smiling. Newbie just got guaranteed all the really miserable job assignments, wading through sewers would be the least of his worries. “She is our pain in the ass. She is a wily, persistent, survivor.”
Love it (including the quote)! 😀
Here could be another one:
Merc8: Oh come on…enough with the PMS jokes. Pull up the big boy pants, and just admit that Daniels is the number one badass around here. The numbers prove it.
Alternative Merc5 the newbie comment: “Here kitty, kitty.”
This would be the point the other mercs start running away, very very fast.
All the mercs love Curran. And would love to tease him. However, they’re not usually suicidal. Lol
I would run too if I heard a mercenary say that in Curran’s hearing. 🙂
Merc9: “Brown nosing, kiss ass, what are you hoping for, a bonus?” She rolls her eyes. “She’s not going to fall for your ego-stroking attempts to get into her purse strings. And anyway, it’s the tight fisted accountant you want to kiss up too.”
LOL! All you are so good.
Merc8 (in response to Merc9): Nope…no way…I am not going to make kissy face with the tight fisted accountant! Did you see who is guarding the accountant?! No nightmares for me. Go right ahead if you want to make kissy faces to the money man. It’ll be your funeral.
She snorts ” I don’t swing that way, and anyway, cupcakes manage nicely. Momma always taught me the way through a mans heart is his stomach. And it’s TRUE fewer ribs, but the angle is bad to kill them. Daddy was s chef and taught me feed employees so they can’t run.”
😀 I just hope Ilona and Gordon are reading our mercenary conversations. He-he-he!
Curran “She can ride me any day of the week, but the weekend’s my turn”.
or
Curran “You think I’m complaining…?”
..coz Curran’s a real man who doesn’t need to have his soles kissed to know he’s the king of the castle.
;P
…Just my take on it, anyways…
Loved the snippet!! Yay for tomorrow release! Congrats for Kate winning alphas!
Thank you for the snippet ;It was a fun glimpse into the book! Im excited to read it and the to dive into the comments with the BDH!
Also, Congratulations on Kate Daniels winning the Alpha Challenge and on you newest Best Seller! Team IA is sweeping the awards! Yay!!
That Hugh is not my favorite is to say little, the character that you created managed to awaken bitter feelings every time he appeared in KD series, that speaks of how incredibly well you build and give him life. But he is also an intelligent man, that is, a bad guy who should be afraid, thinking about this and seeing from the point of view of how he grew up and was raised, I am very intrigued about how he is going to develop in this new book and I love seeing how his co-protagonist is equal or more, you just have to see the exchange between it in this snippet. Thank you for this and for all that you give us.
Just one day!
The Hugh on the cover is very handsome, but his long hair does not allow him to see his face completely, I do not remember if it is part of the description of the authorlords (I will check in the books) but I always imagine something like this image.
The behind-the-scenes video from the cover shoot that the authors posted a few months back may be much more to your liking, Vetita!
See https://ilona-andrews.com/the-horde-has-spoken/
Ahhhhhhh!!!! Omg!!!! It’s so awesome I can hardly wait!!!
Wonderful and appreciated. 105 degrees with too much work. Now I’m smiling. Hehehe.
An excellent piece from your book, Thank-you. I can hardly wait until tomorrow. I have pre-ordered the kindle version and will be stalking until it is downloaded.
WAITING for dead tree copy,ordered from Amazon. they said arrive tomorrow.
Kate’s book will come later.
And kate is victorious
I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Fabulous. My only complaint is it comes out mid day which means I have to wait until I get home to read it tomorrow! Thanks for the snippet. Congrats on winning the Alpha Showdown.
Congrats to Kate. She had very worth competition.
Ordered the paperback, too. For some reason I thought I had already ordered it, but I guess it wasn’t available until now. I pre-ordered the Kindle as soon as it went up, so I’ll start reading that in T-minus 10 hours 31 minutes.
Ordered as soon as I saw your posting. Thanks, Gordon, for letting us know!!!
Hope you had a restful weekend!!!
Thank you.
Can’t wait for this book to hit my Kindle! *dancing in place* 😀
Oh my god this is going to be so much fun. Good job I’m off work this week or I’d be tempted to hide somewhere so I could read the whole book. ?? ?
So excited for this book. I am starting to get the feeling that I don’t really know what I’m getting ready to experience with this book and that I am standing on a precipice and the AL’s are not gonna push but blast me over the edge.
I love every series from the AL’s and have become extremely picky in what I read anymore. Would rather just reread their books instead of most other books. But now am thinking because Hugh is such a different main character, I have no idea where the AL’s are taking us at midnight tonight, but can’t wait. Gonna be hard to work tomorrow after no sleep lol
Will try to get a good nights sleep tonight because I will get off work at 5, home at 525, sandwich for dinner, pit stop, then it’s me, the sofa, and this new book!
This is gonna be sooo much fun! Kindle preorder should hit round about 10 pm tonight and I”m supposed to have the PB edition Wednesday, just in time for a reread.
Do kindle versions come early? I preordered mine but I thought it would be delivered at midnight?
Midnight Eastern time, so Mousewynn is probably on Mountain time. I think that’s the name of the time zone between Central and Pacific. Or the Canadian or Mexican equivalents. Do those countries use the same time zones?
Pacific daylight time – 3 hours behind Eastern daylight time.
Her. Just realized the countdown clock must be set to noon Central time instead of midnight Eastern.
My copy should be coming any second now.
Any second.
Come on, Amazon. Mama needs a new book.
*Heh, not her.
Amazon, you’re killing me. Gimmegimmegimme
Understand completely.
usually it releases in all us timezones at the same time, so for some, it is early.
Or midnight Australian time. I just finished it. It’s awesome! Thanks authors
Is it going to be sold at Chapters?
If I found the correct Chapters website, it is available through them in kobo ebook format. Couldn’t see if the paperback is going to be available through Chapters. (I’m not familiar with website, it may be there or maybe will be there.) Good luck book hunting!
I’m chuckling in my office as I read this. Thanks for the sneak peak!
Pretty sure I’ll be up reading late tonight!
Hope your day is good and the pre release jitters don’t drive you crazy!
Weeee! Heading over to Amazon to buy right this second!!!
My daughter made her conditions for university AND this book will be in my hot little hands tomorrow. Life is good.
Congratulations on having a University bound daughter!
Thank you!
Yeah! My daughter found the paperback on Amazon yesterday and ordered it! My tablet is waiting for the Kobo preorder tonight!
I already bought it. Waiting is so hard one more day come on clock move.
Me to!
Have ebook on pre-order. Hope it downloads at 12:01a.m. but by countdown clock it’ll be available around noon. We’ll see… Thanks about the audio update-I’ll keep my eye on the blog for when it’s available.
That was better than I thought it would be. Yes I had my reservations!
Considering Hugh was the so-called Boogie man in the closet during the KD book series, can you really blame us.
I do believe I’ll get this one after all.
Thanks
Don’t worry Ilona everything will be fine..
You’ve had too many stress balls thrown your way lately without recovery.
I would gladly lend you some of my ‘tension tamer tea’.
What’s that saying……. “slow down and smell the roses “.
Get Gordon to massage your shoulder muscles, loosen them up.
Most people haven’t a clue how tense they are the majority of the time.
Take some deep breaths, drop your shoulders and roll them.
If it’s not too hot tonight where you live, walk around outside and watch the stars (sit in a chair or throw a blanket on the ground, lay down, just look and marvel at their beauty).
Order of ‘ Iron and Magic’ complete. Will download to Kindle after Midnight.
I’ll get to listen as I work.
yep… that is my plan. I will listen while working and then try and control my tendency to lose sleep while I do a binge read.
Savor and enjoy are the words mumbled to myself.
(rarely works.. haha)
Just checked it out on Amazon and there is already a 5* review posted.
I’m not sure I can wait until the audiobook is out before I cave and get the ebook…
Yes, 99% of the time I wait for the audiobook. I just got all excited and couldn’t this time. Got the kindle ebook pre-ordered. IA is my favorite writing team so if I’m going to buckle, it’s going to be for something they write. I need a good night’s sleep tonight but I’m not sure I’ll get it. Love, love, love them.
Wheeeee! We are down to hours instead of days!
What a lovely birthday gift! I wish you success in your sales 🙂
Used the ISBN and was already showing at my indie bookshop. Have now bought the paper version and it’ll show in a week. Not sure I’m gonna wait til then and may just get it on kindle.
Congratulations on the Showdown. Glad Mercy was the second place winner as she is also a favorite of mine.
And thank you for posting snippets all the time. I remember it used to be the author slaving away in solitude with never a mention of the new work until it was released. Now you share your work as it happens and the process, and let us have whole books for free. Thank you very much.
Oh, I can’t wait. I am bouncing in my seat.
For once my middle of the night insomnia will be useful. The book should download automatically to my Kindle and then I will start to unparent my children for the day!!! 🙂
+1
Haha also me. But I started reading while making dinner. They got fed. And eventually got put to bed. I had to put it down to read them a chapter of their book. Then I stayed up reading instead of all the other things. Yay for release day and unparenting.
Just past midnight here in Germany and the book already downloaded while I was still reading the snippet, can’t believe my luck! Guess I now will be rather tired but really happy with this amazing story when my alarm goes off later this morning.
Thank you so much for this book and all the effort you put into its creation and hopefully you’ll get a tidal wave of love and support from every happy reader in return.
I already have ordered your book and will get it tomorrow on my kindle. How about the “Innkeeper”?
Thank you so much for the snippet! Can’t wait for my pre-order to arrive! 🙂
I took tomorrow off so I can relax and read all day. I’ve been so excited the past few days~ Can’t wait!
Ditto. Stay up late to read the book. Sleep in. Read again.
Got it ordered. I can’t wait until it gets here. You know the first time I heard about this book a few years ago, I thought you posted that it was a joke idea to give Hugh his own book. So, I didn’t expect for it to actually be written. The next thing I knew I was seeing updates on the book. So, maybe I was hallucinating about the post that it was a joke or maybe my memory has gone. I wasn’t sure how you were going to pull it off. After all, Hugh D’Ambray is not everyone’s favorite character. But I must say I am LOVING the idea that Hugh has met his match. Of course, I am sure Hugh would have said that Kate was his match, but she always outclassed him and he was the only one who didn’t realize that.
Nope. It was an April Fools joke. But the BDH ( Book Devouring Horde) insisted that it happen. And now it is happening. ?
Thanks for explain the abbreviation. Some times I feel so old have to ask my kid what they mean sometimes.
The BDH sort of evolved in the blog comments, so your kids wouldn’t know what it means.
Usually you would be right but I sort of introduced my whole family to site two summers ago. When I couldn’t check the site I would have kids sit and refresh so when new stuff was posted I would know right away.
That is pretty cool to know the authors listen to their readers like this. Without the BDH I would not have this book to enjoy. I’ve read the snippets and I am SO looking forward to getting my hot little hands on the whole thing!
One part about the snippet really confused me. I.ve reread it multiple times and can.t make sense out of it. English is not my first language so can anybody explain to me this part:
#Sam, in his new Iron Dog uniform, rode directly behind her. He trailed Hugh like a lost puppy who finally found someone to love and she had no doubt everything he said would be related to her husband word for word.#
Who is the he of #he said#? And if he rode directly behind her, he can.t trail hugh? I.m very confused.
I’m fairly certain that’s a typographical error. They probably meant ‘she said’, referring to Elara, instead of ‘he said’. As in Sam would report everything that Elara says back to Hugh.
Replace ‘he’ with Sam and it works. If Elara would talk to Sam, everything Sam said would be about her husband…
If there is any sort of error, it’s combining he thoughts into one sentence and omitting the “and if Elara would talk to Sam,” everything he said would be related back to her husband.
That last bit about the wife, kids and people… I actually believe he isn’t posing “protect the future” idea. You don’t get such high functioning followers he gets with out taking care of his people.
*posing. Meant pretending.
It’s five past midnight here in England and Iron and Magic has hit my Kindle. Thank you author lords! I’m going to be very tired at work but it’s going to be worth it… ?
Time to move to Europe. Just for today.
Sigh. 8:30 am in my time zone but No Kindle book yet. ? This has always been my problem with Kindle in my country, I have to wait for US time. (As compared to Google books it drops exactly at midnight). Ah well, 4 or 5 hrs to go I guess.
Horrible shitty day, weather wise, here in not so sunny New Zealand and guess what I am going to be reading for the duration of today!!??
Chores are done, fire is roaring, phone is OFF, the hot chocolate is poured and my feet are up. Yay I’m in my happy place. 8-)))
I was not sure if a whole book about Hugh was a good idea. What was I thinking? Of course it is a good idea, but only if IA writes it!!! How can you redeem an unredeemable character? By having his horrible parts removed by the “man” who made him and then set him on an almost impossible task to save others. He sure wouldn’t just save himself! Curious to see if he at some point will encounter Kate and/or Curran?
Talk about a teaser
I have to know how that came about
I have to know what they find
I have to know how close to the beginning
how near to the end
I just want to read hughes story
& how elana copes, decides, thinks
I totally forgot I had Amazon Prime and free shipping so I will get my tree book Thursday, yee pee!
One of the advantages of being on this side of the International Date Line is it is already Tuesday here in Australia and Iron and Magic was there waiting when I woke up this morning. I hummed and hahhed about starting it because I was one of those who hated Hugh. Well I’ve just finished it and WOW! The Authorlords have done it again. Yes he’s a jackass (as promised in the blurb) but Elara is no shrinking violet and somehow, despite both of them being capable of terrible actions, they complement each other. The Authorlord’s skill (and smarts) is evident in that they didn’t gloss over the elephant in the room for many of the BDH (Aunt B’s death) but dealt with it. It’s a terrific story and while the end is more HFN than HEA, knowing we have Magic Triumphs and 2 more Iron Covenant stories to come I look forward to seeing more of Hugh and Elara. Congratulations to the Ilona Andrews writing team on another winner!
Ok.. i bought the book… (I actually planned my flight on release day..) Can we please have our chapter of innkeeper…please….my oc is caught in a loop of friday is innkeeper day, if they dont say another day then.monday is innkeeper day… im worthless for all the checking of the website..
Who hoo! Amazon released it! Now off to read and probably stay up all night, I’m sure by morning will be tired but worth it
I got mine just now!!! So excited :’D
Just got mine, so excited!!
iBooks messaged me that the book was ready and it won’t download. We had two power outages tonight and maybe the cell tower is screwy? Rural Georgia doesn’t need the Shift to destroy all tech. (I drove to town near the tower, rebooted, and it still won’t load. I may need a sword.)
Here it is an hour later and I drove to campus for good WiFi and still it won’t download. Apple will pay for this.
It’s out. I have been reading for an hour. Yea. Thank you Ilona and Gordon.
All right, I’m starting it up!
Can’t wait to see what is it exactly about this White Warlock that the Witch Oracle is so against.
Also, Hugh – usually I enjoy a good shift of perspective when it comes to characters but this time is more difficult because he killed Mauro. Mauro had me with his curtsy and Hugh doesn’t get a pass for that, so I hope Elara kick his sorry ass 🙂
Wow! I’m not the only person who thought about Mauro and how Hugh killed him! Until now, all I read about are other people commenting about Hugh killing Aunt B (which is actually not accurate, IMO), with no one paying any attention to Mauro…
Kindred soul 🙂
Mauro was awesome, first with the dog and later with the curtsy – several pages of appearance yet I so missed him when he died.
Yes, exactly! 🙂
Ordered in a couple for Waterstones at Piccadilly. Hopefully they will arrive by next week. If they sell, we’ll keep re-ordering. Can’t speak for any other branches…
i’m afraid i’m not patient enough to wait for the audio, lol
Loved the book! It was delivered to my Kindle at 12:16, and I just finished it. Thank you.
OK I just sat up until 345am to read this and I gotta go to work tomorrow. IT IS SO DAMN GOOD!
I do like the fact that the counter’s still showing 9 hours and I’m through it already. I was going to save it for a train ride tomorrow, then saw it on kindle this morning. I was also going to go to the gym before work… what can I say, no self-discipline! It is definitely worth the lack of gym-honed muscles! Thank you so much Ilona and Gordon, it’s fantastic.
Yessss. It was everything. Thank you.
Got it, read it. It’s excellent!
Congratulations on another fabulous work!
Ok, I admit it. I stayed up all night reading it as I just couldn’t wait for a certain sister to show up but instead gasped when ….
a certain **** gasped his surprise at Hugh’s blood magic. Methinks Kate’s got a cousin she never knew about? Maybe it’s me but I saw so much of Erra in Hugh and I never made THAT connection before.
I loved Elara!!! She’s got a wicked sense of humor, even MORE wicked than Kate hehehehe at the crepes epilogue.
Wow, can’t wait until Magic Triumphs as we got way more insights into Roland than I expected.
Also how Roland found him. Yesssssss loves loved loved it.
I was thinking along the lines that the part where the people become slaves when their blood is mixed with Roland’s were lied to. That it is possible for them to be set free and still gain from having had the blood mixed. That Roland is putting the lie forward because he gains from keeping them under his thumb. Just one more tell that Roland isn’t the all-powerful, all-bestowing god that he prefers to give the impression of. Sort of in line with how he’s experimenting with divine beings/powers – it’s like he wants to be a divine himself. The elephant, that (was it a lion or tiger that Curran ate, I forget) in Roland’s base outside Atlanta, Saiman, Christopher.
Happy Hugh Day! My whole family is very excited, especially the new mother who spends a lot of time with the babe in arms and her kindle in hand!
Thanks to Ilona and Gordon!
I got to read a review copy, and have bought the Kindle edition, AND …..
Arriving Thu, Jul 5
Track package
Iron and Magic: (The Iron Covenant Book 1) (Volume 1)
Andrews, Ilona
Sold by: Amazon.com Services, Inc.
$15.99
Buy it again
Just finished reading Iron and Magic in Germany.
LOVE it!!!!!!!
Thank you so much!
Read it, loves it. You two are amazing and I love how you’ve written this book.
+1 x 1000
OMG. AL’s are awesome! What a great book. Devoured it. Gonna be a little tired today but so worth it! Gotta reread this asap! ???
+1
I’ve finished it already, so good! It was released earlier in Australia it seems. I can’t wait for the discussion thread, I have so many theories.
Arrived earlier today in the UK. I am going to exercise supreme self control and finish the book I am currently reading. Knowing it is there will build the anticipation even more than the countdown clock. Thank you, thank you and thank you.
Great transition from vilian to fractured hero. MADE me stay up until 0330 EST. Thank you.
So yesterday Barnes & Noble said only the digital version was available; today it says “Temporarily Out of Stock Online” and gives no price for the paperback. Help?
On Amazon I’m seeing
Kindle-$ 5.99 and Paperback-$15.99
My I suggest a new browser window. Or if you are living in Europe… Sorry, can’t help. Good luck!
Oh my god, that was fantastic.
That book, that man, i would totaly help her.
26-06-2018, 4.15pm in germany, tired and happy
Thank you
I hope you are well,
Nevertheless my main reason for posting is that l’ll like to know if I may able to read Inkeeper “soon or far far away” in the future. I don’t like the refresh routine and the lack of news is distracting. Please let us know when you can (it’s less cruel, for me at least, to write “we won’t post more chapters anymore” than to keep expectations up day after day for nothing)
Thank you in advance. Best wishes ?
Whatever, dude. We’ll get an update when we get one. They don’t owe us a thing.
OMG!!! Loved it! I hope there is another one. I agree with another comment, the progression from villian to fractured hero was perfect, love you guys.
Oh and just to comment on something else.
Thank you so much for doing the innkeeper series, regardless of your busy schedules and life events in general. I appreciate whenever you post, whether it’s weekly, biweekly or monthly. I know you don’t have any obligation to do it or to keep to a “set schedule”. Again thank you!
Just loved this book. I had 180-odd term papers to grade & the only reason I got through it was knowing the second half of this glorious book was waiting for me.
To build on Catherine’s point, your work is wonderful. I’m always overjoyed to open up my tablet and find a launch/announcement of a new amazing book, an Innkeeper excerpt or a post about anything from yarn to kid1/2’s latest (mis)adventure. It’s a lovely break from the grind and I don’t care if it’s once a week or once a whenever-I-have-the-fancy. It’s lovely to know there are wonderful people behind the worlds that I love and the majority of us get that the blog and excerpts are a privilege and not some entitled right. But, people. #facepalm #sigh
Also, was I the only one who cracked up as Elara dished it out down the phoneline?
The book hit my Kindle app last night. I managed to stop just before the last couple chapters to get some sleep, and finished it this morning.
“When Doves Cry” happened to come up in my playlist as I stopped. I wouldn’t quite nominate it as Hugh and Elara’s theme song, but it’s … interestingly close.
It’s a great book. I wondered how the Authorlords would turn Hugh from antagonist to protagonist, and now I have the stellar answer.
Thank you, great job.
I’m half way through and I’m trying to slow myself down so it doesn’t end too soon. I’m still not sure if I like Hugh but I’m loving the story so far.
Love it, I just got back from work and get to read your book! It’s such a treat. BTW, I just glanced past amazon (couldn’t remember wether I ordered the e-book or dead tree version) and in the German Amazon you’re the Nr.1 bestseller in foreign language romance books. Go BDH!
Enjoyed the booked very much. Didn’t think it was possible that I’d like any of your work more than Kate’s series, but on the strength of this first book, it looks like a possibility with the Iron Covenant series. I hope you reap hefty rewards from this adventure in self-publishing because it would be well-deserved.
There is a paragraph in chapter 14 that starts with ‘”There are prohibitions against doing evil,”‘ … and ends with ‘Doesn’t matter what Tribe.”‘ Part way through something has gone wrong with the text with the letters seemingly missing and a few of them typed in the same space as other letters. All I got was ‘”…piloting undead dsir , bri hó , cah n and sickness. …”‘ All the spaces and mixed up letters appear in the same line on page. I’m reading the novel on a 1920×1080 monitor, kindle for PC, 3 columns per screen page. It looks like some kind of formatting issue just with that one line.
There appears to be some sort of auto correct in this comments section. When I was detailing the line that was mixed up it had a lot more spaces in it.
Mine reads: The Navajo believe that humans are meant to be in harmonyn and piloting undead disrupts that harmony, bringing about hóchxcó, chaos and sickness.
I guess we must look up what hóchxcó means
Sounds like some kind of Incan death deity.
Either that, or some kind of kinky oral sex based on hopscotch. How that would work I have no idea.
Note on the spelling, I could not get the letters right: The last o looks like a small version of the upper case Q; an o with a squiggle tail, but also with an accent over the top, situated a bit higher than the one over the first o. Might not be significant.
There’ s not a capital H, as would probably be the case if it were a name, so maybe this word just means chaos and sickness.
Perhaps a type of strong liquor? Would explain the chaos and sickness…
There’s a little description in Wikipedia about the Navajo term.
Excerpt from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navajo_medicine#Illness
“Illness can also be brought on by malevolent practitioners of negative medicine. This belief in hóchxǫ́, translated as “chaos” or “sickness”, is the opposite of hózhǫ́ and helps to explain why people, who are intended to be in harmony, perform actions counter to their ideals, thus reinforcing the need for healing practices as means of balance and restoration. Those who practice witchcraft include shape shifters who intend to use spiritual power and ceremony to acquire wealth, seduce lovers, harm enemies and rivals.”
It’s here, it’s here! I took PTO today from work. I wish it was for reading Hugh and Elara, but no. My allergies went haywire last night and still feeling it today. So…when I finally woke up, I started reading the book. 🙂 Yippee!!!!!
So I just have to ask: just what is the timer counting down towards? I had assumed that “0” would mean “book is available”, but the timer is still counting down, and I bought the Kindle version on Amazon around 6:00 Central Time this morning.
Read it. Loved it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️. Outstanding. Both of you have an incredible gift and thank you for sharing it with us.
omygoodness!!! omygoodness!!! My order is in and i cant wait!!!! Thank you, thank you for doing a Hugh book!! I know i should hate him but he’s such a crafty bat that i love him!!!
Reading and omg loving it!!! I am having to do all the things like feed my child, clean up, etc and sneaking away to scarf down a chapter or two when I can… I love it, I love the characters…
Did read the whole book today and I love it.
Hugh surprised me sometimes…
It was awesome! Hugh has become a real person and Elara is a lot scarier then you’d think. They are a great match.
I’ve tried to purchase the book from B&N here in Oklahoma , but they
don’t have it in stock and don’t seem to be expecting it either. So, I am going with ‘plan b’ and ordering from Amazon.
Until I get my paperback copy, I will be living in the comments section enjoying the book vicariously. The ongoing discussion will make my first reading even more interesting. I’m grateful for the blossoming debates and riveting remarks;
Comment on my friends! – lol
Thanks Andrea. I saw the Amazon option, but would prefer to buy from BN if possible. Unfortunately when I called them they confirmed they have no idea if or when the print version will be available through them again, so I guess it’s Amazon for me (it’s a different ISBN, which I found odd as well).
But NYLA may want to check into it, as it’s bound to impact sales.
Hmm. Not sure why my comment posted where it did; it was supposed to reply to Andrea Smith’s above. Oh well. Regina, I ordered from Amazon as well and it will be here Friday. Meanwhile, I’ll be enjoying everyone else’s opinions right along with you 🙂
Hey Lee,
No worries, the comments sometimes seem to have a life of their own and pop up in the most random conversation streams.
To tide me over, I’m reading the comments on Amazon too! So many positive remarks and such politeness – almost posts are non-spoilers! Thank you Ilona and Andrew!! I am anticipating a great reading day!! Followed by a great re-reading day!
Just got the book and then devoured it. I liked it a lot. (I have no sense of moderation, could not save any for a rainy day)
I had preordered Kindle version as I live in rural area with no bookshops nearby. It was available for me last midnight ?❤?
Thank you so much Ilona + Gordon ?
Just letting you know it is available on Ingram, it became available at the end of last week
Just finished the book. Oh Wow!! I just love what you have done with Hugh. I always knew there was a good guy in there with a touch of jackass. Loved it and can’t wait until the next one come out. Kudos to you you both!
I finished at 8:45 pm EST last night. I really enjoyed seeing the inner issues Hugh had to deal with as it explained so much about him. Elara seems to compliment him perfectly as she isn’t perfect/good either. I cannot wait to see where this is going. Whee!!
Ughhh, it was so good! I couldn’t control myself and ended up finishing it in a day. I don’t know why I keep being surprised that every book they write, no matter what the series, is so good. Like, seriously. With all the books they’ve written – you’d think there’d be a bad one. But nope. All of them are amazing. Man, I’m in such a good mood now.
At the risk of sounding greedy – are there going to be more?! I would love to see this extension of the Kate Daniels world take off – and a few more Maud books while we’re at it. 🙂
Somewhere a trilogy was mentioned! Can’t wait until nos. 2 and 3 come out.
Inhaled it? Me too 🙂
Dear AL ( @Ilona & @Gordon ),
When reading the KD series I hated Hugh. I loathed and despised him. So when you went to undertake this April Fool’s project, turned into reality I had a very hefty skepticism, but I preordered it because you guys have earned the benefit of the doubt from me.
I’ve finished the book now. You have managed what to me was the insurmountable: you managed to suspend my disbelief. You spun a tale I could believe, a tale that was both fun and entertaining, that enhanced the world I love you created in the KD series, and made me actually care about Hugh.
Kudos!
And I died laughing at “Eat shit and die.”
Thanks for the book!
And to the rest of the book devouring horde, read it already!
Same for me too. I loved this book. Thanks
I don’t post but I will this time. WOW! Loved loved this book. So happy that you decided he needed his own book. I could not put it down until I finished it…ya kept me so entertained from the beginning to the end. All I can say is thank you for the best book I’ve read so far this year. The anticipation of waiting was well worth it.
This. Was. Wonderful. Seriously, this book was much anticipated and beloved by the end of chapter one.
Read it. Loved it. Reread it. Loved it even more. You are awesome!!
Thank you for all of your hard work.
Ok so “Hi Honey” rofl you guys are awesome THANK YOU!
I just finished devouring Iron & Magic today. Absolutely stellar! I did spend a good portion of the book thinking that at some point somebody on either side is going to manage to get a message to Kate asking her to identify the mrogs.