If you follow @_TheVoyager_ you’ll know that we are very sad to have lost our marketeer Juliet to the dark side (okay, to the literary agent side, and we wish her all the best!!) and now the blog and Twitter is being taken over by me (Amy)! You may recognise me from the Voyager newsletter but if not (and if you’re not signed up yet, why not do it now), I’m the Voyager Assistant Editor and I thought I’d start off by answering a few questions from the twitterverse…

@CatherineHaines  

Well, how about two basics? What are some upcoming releases you are excited about, & what are some Voyager “hidden treasures”?

Hi Catherine!
This is an easy one… as I’ve just started, and as publishing works months – if not years – ahead, most of the books that are coming out in the next few months from Voyager are ones I’ve loved as a fan and not as an editor (trust me, when you’ve been a fantasy book lover all your life you still squeal like a fangirl when shiny new books come in, even if it’s your job!). I’ll start with hidden treasures… we’re rejacketing a lot of the old classics on our list to bring them up-to-date. Some of the most gorgeous recovers are from the Ray Feist and Janny Wurts Empire trilogy – they’re due out in September 2010 – and they’re an amazing epic fantasy accomplishment, fraught with political intrigue in a rich, exotic world.

As for upcoming releases… I’m so happy that the first three Downside Ghosts series (Unholy Ghosts, Unholy Magic and City of Ghosts) from Stacia Kane are now out (or imminently coming out) and generating some great buzz. It’s really hard to get noticed in this crowded market so for Stacia to make the Times Sci-fi/Fantasy Summer Reads pick is fantastic. Plus, she really deserves it – the books are fab and get better with each new title.

Can I also say that 2011 is shaping up to be the most kick-ass fantasy year ever? Not only do we have some great debuts to look forward to but new books by the legends: The Inheritance by Robin Hobb – an amazing collection of shorts written by both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm (same person, two very different voices, and an explanation from Robin about how she switches between the two is well worth a read in itself if you’re interested in the writing process); The Omen Machine by Terry Goodkind – bringing us back to the well-loved world of Richard and Kahlan; and, of course, A Kingdom Besieged by the inimitable Ray Feist. Cannot. Wait.

There’s even a whisper… a very delicate whisper… that we might get A Dance with Dragons in 2011… but don’t look too closely or the rumour might disappear on the wind!