This and that. . .

Well, there is a Canadian team in the Stanley Cup finals, so I'm a happy camper!;-)

I've been receiving emails asking me a number of questions, which made me realize that it was time for a little update. So here's the deal:

- The new Robin Hobb interview will go live on June 1st. Only a few more days to go!

- The extremely popular Robin Hobb contest is still going strong. HarperCollins UK asked me to wait till the end of June before drawing the name of the big winner. So there is still time for everyone to register.

- I'm currently reading Scott Lynch's eagerly awaited debut, The Lies of Locke Lamora. I will likely finish it tomorrow or the following day. So expect a book review in the coming days. Although some people went a little over the top with their praise pertaining to this novel, it is indeed a very good debut. For more info about this one: Canada, USA, Europe

- As soon as I'm done with the book, I will also have the pleasure to do an interview with Scott Lynch. So expect that Q&A in the near future.

- I've just received Ian Cameron Esslemont's answers to our follow-up questions. This second interview should be up and running in the next couple of days.:-)

- For all you German-speaking fantasy fans out there, a new Malazan website has seen the light: www.malazan.de

- I've been the middleman for an interview done by www.rivages-maudits.com with Jacqueline Carey. Once again, pretty interesting. The website will likely include the English version, which means that you can expect a link. The same thing goes for a Paul Kearney Q&A. It's too early to tell, but there will probably be another French/English interview with R. Scott Bakker in the near future, this time with www.elbakin.net

- If all goes well, there will be a contest for a copy of Terry Goodkind's Phantom next month. It certainly feels wonderful to finally have the chance to offer a novel on the triumph of the human spirit instead of the fantasy crap which is habitually up for grabs here!;-)

- Other contests to keep an eye on: I'll likely have a signed copy of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn in July. A couple of copies of Paul Kearney's The Stars We Steer By will probably be up for grabs as well. Later, I will have a UK hardcover edition of Naomi Novik's Throne of Jade for you guys to win. As always, I'm working on other contests to keep things interesting around here!

That's about it for now, folks!:-)