It begins with the main character Ellis Rogers being told he has an incurable illness, with little time to live. In April 2014, Sullivan will be releasing a new novel in the science fiction genre titled Hollow World. Sullivan has since released two books (also through Orbit) in a prequel series titled The Riyria Chronicles.Īs you can imagine, Sullivan has broad experience in indie publishing and has been open about sharing that experience with others on various aspects of the business, including being engaged in an online community (like Goodreads).

In 2011, Orbit re-released the six Riyria Revelations novels as a trilogy. Reports are that Sullivan sold some 70,000 books. During their time as self-published titles, the Riyria novels sold well online, especially toward the latter part of 2010. Theft of Swords is the first book in Michael Sullivan’s The Riyria Revelations fantasy series.Īfter publishing the fifth book of the series, a second attempt at big-five publishing was attempted and Orbit Books (the fantasy/sci-fi imprint of Hachette) purchased rights to the series. After much effort, a small press decided to publish Sullivan’s first two Riyria novels, but when the small press lacked funds to print the second book, Sullivan’s wife formed her own publishing company to self-publish the novels.

They were intended for friends and family, but his wife insisted on getting them published and took over the query and submission process. Light and fun, the novels were inspired by Tolkien and Rowling and written to help foster a love of fantasy in his daughter. Then, a decade later, his youngest daughter (who is dyslexic) was struggling with reading, and he decided to write the novels that became the Riyria Revelations. For a number of years, he wrote novels that were submitted, without success, to traditional publishers. Sullivan’s personal writing story is inspirational but also reveals the persistence and savvy that is required to be a success in the writing business today. Now, like other authors who are following closely the revolutionary changes happening in publishing, he considers himself a “hybrid” author. He is also one of the few authors who has published via small press, self-publishing, and through a big-five publisher. Sullivan is author of the much-acclaimed fantasy series The Riyria Revelations, The Riyria Chronicles, and a number of short stories.

Hollow World by Michael J. Sullivan