Ring of Years, the Debut Novel by Grant Oliphant, Now For Sale

I knew, tangentially, of Grant Oliphant long before I met him — most people in Pittsburgh do. Besides in his capacity as president of the Heinz Endowments, I had also become involved with a great organization called Leadership Pittsburgh, of which is wife Aradhna is president. She’s one of my favorite people in Pittsburgh, warm and funny and active about connecting the right people together with intention; when Aradhna introduces you to someone and tells you about them, it’s not just networking but a real moment of opportunity for collaboration.

When she introduced me to Grant at a local social gathering, our conversation immediately turned to writing. Grant had written a novel that had been picked up by one of the publishers back in the nineties — I can’t remember which one, but I do remember that all those nineties publishers are now one of only five giant conglomerates who manage hundreds of imprints between them. There’s no Viking anymore — only Penguin Random House. I used to walk by Charles Scribner’s and Sons — which is now part of Simon & Schuster. TOR? That’s all Macmillan. Grand Central and Time Warner? Gobbled up by Murdoch’s News Corp and since, I believe, spun off again.

It’s hard to keep track but ripe for discussion — and over the course of our conversation, it became apparent both Grant and I cared about books. Stories. Not just the publishing and the business but the actual conversation of literature, and how it drives thought and ideas and culture.

When I expressed interest in his book, it was as one writer to another.

When I read it, though, by only a few pages in I became interested as a publisher.

I’m really excited to be part of the publication of this book. I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people, especially those who know Grant. Because as I said, most in Pittsburgh — and beyond — do, except not as a novelist, and most likely not the author of a novel like this one, a complex psychological thriller about a young woman investigating an abduction and forced to revisit the traumatic experiences of her past. It’s packed with themes about the truth — what it is, how doggedly one must pursue it, and how one must stand up for it when it is the right thing to do.

Without further adieu: purchase Ring of Years by Grant Oliphant for Kindle.

 

Grant Oliphant’s Debut Novel Ring of Years Now Available for Preorder

I’m thrilled about all the books we publish, but this one has been something special recently. I met Grant here in Pittsburgh, and he’s one of the most fascinating people I’ve ever met — and a joy to work with. I think this publication is meaningful for both of us.

For me, as regular readers might have noticed, the past few years have been rocked by loss on both personal and professional levels. It’s been difficult to set the vision of Exciting Press clear and steady.

For Grant, I don’t think he’ll mind my noting that he’s not known as a novelist. An articulate and passionate writer, perhaps, and certainly here in Pittsburgh a socially conscious leader, but not a novelist. My hope is that this publication and the response to this novel will encourage Grant to explore fiction further; I’m certain there are more stories he could tell.

For now, this is Ring of Years, Grant’s debut thriller about tragedy, loss, and redemption for a woman with a tragic past. Join Natalie Krill on her quest to save a missing girl she believes is in the clutches of a religious cult — one which she herself survived as a child about the same age.

Press release below! Click here to preorder!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Grant Oliphant, president of the Heinz Endowments, has signed a deal to publish his debut novel, “Ring of Years.” A literary thriller, the novel explores themes of redemption, grief, and fanaticism.

Set in the late 1990s, the novel tells the story of Natalie Krill, who, as a child, was one of a few survivors of a standoff between federal agents and a cult who abducted her. As an adult, she struggles to cope with the memories of that fateful night and put her past behind her – until the story of a missing girl starts her on a journey into her own past.

In her quest to save the girl, Natalie will find herself trying to convince the authorities and investigative press that there’s more to the girl’s story. To do so, she will have to make connections others either can’t or aren’t willing to – and confront both a past she would sooner forget and a man she would sooner leave to rot in memory and in prison.

But time is running out.

Because the cult is back. And Natalie must act quickly if she wants to save the missing girl from a dark, wet death.

The novel is now available for preorder on the Amazon Kindle platform, with publication to follow on Friday, May 24; other digital platforms will be considered later this year. It will be published by Pittsburgh-based Exciting Press, an independent publisher of digital literature, and joins an award-winning, bestselling, international list of novels, short story and novella collections, non-fiction, and poetry.

Digital copies of the novel for review are available in multiple formats on request.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Since 2014, Grant Oliphant has served as president of the Heinz Endowments, a major American foundation based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Known for his strong stands on social justice and community issues, he chairs the board of the national Center for Effective Philanthropy and speaks, writes, and blogs frequently about social issues and the challenges facing civil society in today’s America. Through the Endowments, he is also host of a podcast, “We Can Be,” which tells the stories of men and women working to uplift their communities.

“That’s not the likeliest platform for writing a thriller,” he jokes. “But the work I am lucky enough to do every day is all about social change, and my writing springs from that same passion. What motivates me is a devotion to understanding how people deal with deep challenges and overcome them. For me, that’s what ‘Ring of Years’ is about—it’s a story about courage in the face of the seemingly impossible.”

Oliphant previously served as president and chief executive officer of the Pittsburgh Foundation, one of the country’s largest community foundations. In addition to his extensive background in philanthropy, he has worked both in journalism and in government. He served as press secretary to U.S. Sen. John Heinz and, before that, was founding editor of American Politics, a monthly political magazine. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Swarthmore College and a master’s degree from Pepperdine University’s Graziado School of Business.

Oliphant has served on numerous community and national boards, including the National Children’s Book and Literacy Alliance, which works to enrich children’s lives through reading, and the Communications Network, a non-profit membership organization that promotes communications as a tool for better philanthropy. Born in Adelaide, Australia, he is the son of Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Pat Oliphant.

“Ring of Years” is his debut novel, and marks his newest title: novelist.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Exciting Press was founded by owner and publisher Will Entrekin in 2007, when Entrekin was a graduate student at the University of Southern California. Over a dozen years, Exciting Press has acquired a list of titles by internationally bestselling authors who have won myriad awards in the U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Publisher website: http://exciting.press

Publisher contact: willentrekin@gmail.com

 

 

The Changeling’s Champion Coming Soon to Preorder

Coming later this week:

It’s crazy how long I’ve known Miya Kressin. More than a dozen years now. I met her on MySpace (remember that?).

We had always wanted to work together, and I was honored she let me publish her Asylum saga. The epic tale of Roseen and Cade is among the most intimate and honest stories I’ve had the pleasure to be a part of.

I remember suggesting an Asylum plan to Miya. Sending her all three cover images with no comment besides a request for her reaction. I remember that she realized that I got it, and she was excited about how to pull it all together.

There’s something even more elemental about Changeling. Something visceral.

I’ve uploaded files to Amazon and expect the preorder will be live presently. There’s the cover, over to the right there.

And in the meantime, there might just be an exciting offer in the making.

You might want to have No Expectations about it over Valentine’s day, though . . .

Analogue Men: Now Digital

It’s official! Nick Earls’ Analogue Men is now available on Kindle everywhere!

And this week is your last week to get it at its special intro price of just $2.99.

That’s a bargain for any book by Nick Earls. Nick is the Aussie author who, in the past year, has collected awards like paperbacks collect dust. He’s won People’s choices. His covers have won design awards.

And his most recent book before Analogue Men was the Wisdom Tree series, which as a collection was named the 2016 Adult Fiction ebook of the year.

So what’re you waiting for? And why? It’d be a steal even at twice the price — which it will be, before long!

Nick Earls’ Analogue Men: Now Available for Preorder


Just a year ago right now, I was gearing up to publish the final installment of Nick’s Wisdom Tree series — which ultimately won the Ippy Award for Adult Fiction Ebook of the Year.

I had hoped that would help gain Wisdom Tree wider attention. I’m sure Nick did, as well. I’ve been surprised not to hear more about the win, all things considered.

On the other hand, I’m a big believer in looking forward, too. So this year, in time for Cyber Monday and coinciding with the anniversary of Wisdom Tree, Nick’s new novel Analogue Men is up for pre-order. And just check out that cover!

This is the first time Analogue Men will be available for sale outside Australia and New Zealand, and it’s another in a long line of novels that demonstrates I’m just not sure there’s a better and more consistent writer out there than Nick. His books utterly defy categorization — just when you think you have a classic coming-of-age story like Monica Bloom things get a little more complicated, and just when you think you’re reading a novel about a globetrotting comedian that would have likely been shelved in what used to be referred to as “chick lit” (it seems like the publishing industry has moved away from its use, and thank goodness for that), you get a heart-rending backstory.

Analogue Men is about two men on the cusp of fifty staring down the 21st century and hoping for the best, and it’s every bit as hilarious, warm, and serious as Nick’s other novels.

You can click right here to pre-order it for the low price of $2.99. On Friday, its official publication day, it will move up to $4.99.