Michael J. Sullivan

Biography

After finding a manual typewriter in the basement of a friend’s house, Michael inserted a blank piece of paper and typed: It was a dark and stormy night and a shot rang out. Well, he was just eight years old at the time, so we’ll forgive him that trespass. But the desire to fill the blank page and see what doors the typewriter keys would unlock wouldn’t let him go. For ten years Michael developed his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ayn Rand, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote twelve novels, and after finding no traction in publishing, he gave up and vowed never to write creatively again.

Michael discovered that never is a very long time, and he ended his writing hiatus after a decade. The itch returned when he decided to create a series of books for his then thirteen-year-old daughter, who was struggling in school due to dyslexia. Intrigued by the idea of writing a series with an overarching story line, he created the Riyria Revelations. Each of the six books was written as an individual episode but also included intertwining elements and mysteries that develop over time. Michael describes this endeavor as something he did “just for fun with no intention of publishing.” After presenting the first manuscript to his daughter, he was chagrined that she declared, “I can’t read it like this, can’t you get it published?”

So began his second adventure on the road to publication, which included: drafting his wife to be his business manager; signing with an independent press; and later creating a small press. After two and a half years, the first five books sold more than 70,000 copies and ranked in the top twenty of multiple Amazon fantasy lists. In November 2010, he leveraged his success and received his first commercial publishing contract for three novels from Orbit Books (the fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group, USA). In addition, Michael reached international status with more than fifteen foreign rights translations including France, Spain, Russia, and Germany, just to name a few.

Michael’s work has been well received by critics and readers alike, earning him thousands of positive ratings/reviews, interviews, and articles. He has attributed much of his success to the fantasy book blogging community. Dubbed “the little indie that could” he found his books pitted as the only independent in major competitions such as the 2010 and 2012 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Fantasy and the 2009 Book Spot Central’s Fantasy Tournament of Books, which he won. His traditionally published edition of Theft of Swords was short-listed for the 2013 Audie Award for Fantasy.

Today, Michael continues to fill blank pages and in working on his third series tentatively titled The First Empire.

Contact Information
Website/blog: www.riyria.com
Twitter: @author_sullivan
Email: michael.sullivan.dc@gmail.com
Facebook (author): www.facebook.com/author.michael.sullivan
Facebook (series): www.facebook.com/riyria

Michael Sullivan’s Works

Novels
The Riyria Revelations
Theft of Swords (contains The Crown Conspiracy and Avempartha)
Rise of Empire (contains Nyphron Rising and The Emerald Storm)
Heir of Novron (contains Wintertide and Percepliquis)

The Riyria Chronicles
The Crown Tower
The Rose and the Thorn

Standalone Novels
Hollow World
Antithesis (coming soon)
A Burden to the Earth (coming soon)

Short Stories
Sold Individually
The Viscount and the Witch (Fantasy: The Riyria Chronicles)
Greener Grass (Dystopian Science Fiction)
The Jester (Fantasy: The Riyria Chronicles)

Anthologies
The End—Visions of Apocalypse: Burning Alexandria (Dystopian Science Fiction)
Triumph Over Tragedy: Traditions (Fantasy: Tales from Elan)
Unfettered: The Jester (Fantasy: The Riyria Chronicles)
Fantasy Faction: Autumn Mists (Fantasy: Contemporary)
Help Fund My Robot Army!: The New and Improved Monkey Paw (Fantasy: Contemporary)

Where to find Michael J. Sullivan online

Series

The Riyria Chronicles
The Riyria Chronicles are a series of novels and short stories following the adventures of Royce Melborn (a cynical thief) and Hadrian Blackwater (an idealistic ex-mercenary) in the years prior to the events of The Riyria Revelations.

Books

The Death of Dulgath
Series: The Riyria Chronicles. Price: $9.99 USD. Words: 116,650. Language: English. Published: October 11, 2015 by Ridan Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic, Fiction » Fantasy » Historical
Three times they tried to kill her. Then a professional was hired. So was Riyria. When the last member of the oldest noble family in Avryn is targeted for assassination, Riyria is hired to foil the plot. Royce and Hadrian must venture into an ancient corner of Elan to save a mysterious woman who knows more about Royce than is safe and cares less about herself than is sane.
The Riyria Sampler
Series: The Riyria Chronicles. Price: Free! Words: 18,970. Language: English. Published: May 31, 2015 by Ridan Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Short stories, Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
Three short stories and an excerpt from the upcoming novel (The Death of Dulgath) provides an introduction to Riyria, a team of rogues featuring Hadrian Blackwater (an idealistic swordsman) and Royce Melborn (a cynical thief). This sampler provides some examples to help the reader determine if the full-length novels are a good fit for their reading preferences.
Hollow World
Price: $7.99 USD. Words: 198,200. Language: English. Published: March 26, 2014 by Ridan Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Science fiction » Utopias & dystopias, Fiction » Science fiction » Adventure
THE FUTURE IS COMING...FOR SOME SOONER THAN OTHERS. All his life Ellis Rogers has played it safe and done the right thing. To find a cure for a terminal illness, he builds a time machine and if it works, he’ll face a world that challenges his understanding of what it means to be human, what it takes to love, and the cost of paradise -- but only if he can survive Hollow World.
The Viscount and the Witch (Riyria Chronicles Short #1)
Series: The Riyria Chronicles. Price: Free! Words: 14,290. Language: English. Published: September 28, 2011 by Ridan Publishing. Categories: Fiction » Fantasy » Epic
(4.67 from 3 reviews)
Eleven years before they were framed for the murder of a king, Royce Melborn and Hadrian Blackwater were practically strangers. Unlikely associates, this cynical thief and idealist swordsman, were just learning how to work together as a team. In this first installment of The Riyria Chronicles, Royce is determined to teach his naive partner a lessonabout good deeds.

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