April Already?

April 4, 2017 by Nathan Lowell 28 Comments

I lost the change over because I was hip deep in the second draft of To Fire Called.

You read that right. The second draft. I also got the book converted and distributed to betas (who have until tomorrow to get back to me) and I’ve got an editor on speed dial to take the final manuscript as soon as I can get it to her. Look for this ebook by the first of May.

The breakthrough came during a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s event where we challenged each other to write 25k words in 4 days. I wrote 32k in five and hit the end of the book about a week ago.

To answer the usual questions:
1. The ebook is only on KDP (and in KU) because I can’t afford to go wide.

2. I will publish it in paper – maybe as early as the end of May (so I can take it to BaltiCon)

3. Podium is scheduling Jeff Kafer now so the audiobook will probably be out in mid-May as well. That’s beyond my control but they’re eagerly waiting for me to toss the manuscript their way.

In other news:
1. The Tanyth series will be produced in audio this year. How soon is still being negotiated. I will NOT be reading it.

2. The next book is probably going to be Smuggler’s Tales 2, Suicide Run. I’m anxious to get back to that story line to back-fill what you discover in Fire.

3. The Smuggler’s Tales series will be produced in audio, but probably not until 2018, definitely not until I have all three books done, and I won’t be reading those either.

I know that audio is the go-to for some people these days, but I sell fewer audio editions than I do paperbacks and I only offer paperbacks as customer service because they generate just a tiny fraction of my revenue.

Safe voyage.

Ides Of March

March 7, 2017 by Nathan Lowell 5 Comments

Well, almost. That new month snuck up on me and I’ve been trying to catch up for a week.

There is good news.

Not that good news. To Fire Called is still on the word processor, but I think I’ve found the problem and I’ve been beavering away to get it settled so I can get this book off my desk and onto your readers.

I’ve had some great help and good advice from a variety of folks. I’m grateful to all of you.
– In other news:

I still have the galley for South Coast here on my desk. It looks lonely.
I haven’t converted Milk Run to paper yet so there’s not even a galley for it. I will get it into Audible. Eventually.
I haven’t made any progress on getting the Tanyth stories into Audible yet. That will probably happen this year.

A few people have asked about my meditation. I started a program a couple of months ago and it’s been very helpful. It’s called Headspace and you can find out more about it at headspace.com. The first 10 lessons are free but after that it costs. I paid for a year and don’t regret a penny of it. YMMV.

Ground Hog Day

February 1, 2017 by Nathan Lowell 23 Comments

That time of the year when I stick my head up to update you on what’s happening.

The good news is that I’ve finally broken the logjam on To Fire Called. I figured out what I’d done wrong.

The bad news is that I may have made another bad turn and I can’t seem to find the path to the end of the story.

Fingers crossed that this doesn’t last much longer.

On the subject of audio: I’m getting a lot of pressure to put Natalya’s stories into Audible. They’ll get there, just not right away. I don’t have the time I need to give them the attention they need. I can’t even seem to find the focus needed to finish the galley proof for the paperback of South Coast that’s sitting on my desk.

All told, this hasn’t been an auspicious start to the year, but I’m working at it.

Here’s hoping I see my shadow tomorrow and can burrow back into the words.