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What a fantastic conversation we recently had with bestselling fantasy author Wesley Chu! Wesley Chu didn't always consider himself a writer, and in this conversation we delve into why that was, and how he finally found the path that led to the books we love. Along the way, we get into some fascinating discussion of the current state of fantasy and science fiction, so be sure to stick around for that!

Wesley Chu is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of thirteen novels, including The Art of Prophecy, Time Salvager, The Rise of Io, and The Walking Dead: Typhoon. He won the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, and his debut, The Lives of Tao, won the Young Adult Library Services Association’s Alex Award. An accomplished martial artist and a former member of the Screen Actors Guild, Chu he has acted in film and television, worked as a model and stuntman, and summited Kilimanjaro. Wesley Chu lives in Los Angeles with his two boys, Hunter and River.

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About The Art of Prophecy, book 1 in the War Arts trilogy:

An epic fantasy ode to martial arts and magic—the story of a spoiled hero, an exacting grandmaster, and an immortal god-king from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lives of Tao.

It has been foretold: A child will rise to defeat the Eternal Khan, a cruel immortal god-king, and save the kingdom.

The hero: Jian, who has been raised since birth in luxury and splendor, celebrated before he has won a single battle.

But the prophecy was wrong.

Because when Taishi, the greatest war artist of her generation, arrives to evaluate the prophesied hero, she finds a spoiled brat unprepared to face his destiny.

But the only force more powerful than fate is Taishi herself. Possessed of an iron will, a sharp tongue—and an unexpectedly soft heart—Taishi will find a way to forge Jian into the weapon and leader he needs to be in order to fulfill his legend.

What follows is a journey more wondrous than any prophecy can foresee: a story of master and student, assassin and revolutionary, of fallen gods and broken prophecies, and of a war between kingdoms, and love and friendship between deadly rivals.

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Where do bookstores get their inventory? That’s a big question for anyone thinking of starting a bookstore—the first question Stacy sees from anyone even dreaming about starting one. It’s also a question that many readers don’t know the answer to—sometimes we get customers who walk in, see our prices on the books, and assume that we’ve bought our books from Amazon and then jacked up the prices.

But that’s not how any of this works! In this episode, we dive into where used and new bookstores get their books, how wholesale pricing works, and more.

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For more information on the American Booksellers Association: https://www.bookweb.org

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How is a book made? What is the full LIFE of a book? Many writers don’t know what the editorial process looks like in a publishing house—or what happens in the design, marketing, and sales departments while the editorial process is happening. Join Stacy in our new podcast series discussing the life cycle of a book, in which we’ll discuss how a book gets acquired, what the editorial process looks like and why, and a whole bunch of other publishing insider information.

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More about The Curious Cat Bookshop

Shop online anytime for in-store pick-up or home delivery

Keep track of our in-store and online events

Become a member of The Curious Cat Bookshop! We have a subscription box or you can just add a little bit to help us become more sustainable

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And always, our events locally and online can be found on our website!