The last couple of weeks have been rough. I haven’t done my morning walk as regularly as I’d like. I haven’t got as much progress on any of the projects as I wanted. Worst – or best, depending on your point of view – I got smacked by a clue-by-four at a conference I attended early last week.
Status first…
By Darkness Forged is still not available in paper. I’m still working through the process.
On the upside, Cape Grace is shaping up. It’s slow. There are too many moving parts in my current manuscript. I’m trying to sort and shuffle, patch and fill. It takes time and attention I’m having trouble marshaling.
Also, I signed with Podium to produce the Smugglers Tales in audio. The casting director was at the Smarter Artists Summit and I put a pitch in for a woman’s voice. She was open to the idea. I doubled down with the author liaison afterwards. I’ll let you know when they tell me release dates.
Speaking of audio, ICYMI By Darkness Forged is scheduled for an April 2 release on Audible.
The clue-by-four …
“You are not your audience.”
Sigh. Yeah. Intellectually, I know that it’s madness to generalize to a population based on personal biases. Apparently, that knowledge never informed my actual practice. Luckily, it’s not too late to change.
If you noticed, my mailing link widget at the top right is gone. That’s because I’ve learned that I’m making a couple of serious errors with the processing of addresses and the way I’m handling that function. I learned about it from Tammi Labrecque, Newsletter Ninja, at the Summit
It was one of those lightning striking moments and I’m still sizzling a little. The upshot is that I’m resetting my list and migrating to a new platform. I’ll be emailing a monthly newsletter on the 15th to complement this first-of-the-month post. It’ll have a status report update, probably a book recommendation, and maybe a question for you as I try to sort through what else I might do with it.
While this is all happening, I’ve enabled the new sign-up on the side bar. You can sign up right now even if you already signed up at the old service. This will be better.
[ETA: If you’re already signed up, that box should disappear and you’ll never have to see it again. In theory.]
And if that’s not enough …
I’m re-examining my policy on “zero advertising.” Discovering that I’m completely 180-degrees out of sync with reality on newsletters has me examining this other aspect of the business. None of you are likely to notice, but don’t be surprised if you run across an ad featuring one of my books sometime in the next year.
Other than that? I’m still shooting to write every day. I’ve missed six days this month because – apparently – the habit has not been sufficiently set to survive the rigors of travel. My total word count for the year is only a bit over 20k, but I expect that will expand when I get done fighting with Cape Grace and start a new book that has fewer constraints on where it can go.
That’s it for now. Safe voyage!
I hope advertising works for you. It hasn’t for me, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the many sites that advertise indie books make far more money for the site owners than for authors. Unless one can afford to advertise on BookBub or Amazon, I don’t think it’s cost-effective except for books typical of their genre. I believe the problem is that readers who want fiction that doesn’t fit the standard mass-market mold aren’t looking at ads–they have giving up hope of finding anything they will care for. I know I’ve found few if any recent science fiction novels other than yours that I enjoy and recommend to people who like mine.
You have created a fictional universe for which there is desperate need–one in which the reader can believe and would like to think is somewhere close to what the future holds. But the average sci-fi fan who looks at ads wants military sci-fi or stories abut weird aliens, and the people concerned about the actual future have no way of discovering the less typical books that exist. This is unfortunate for readers as well as writers, because I believe that how people view the universe is important–I don’t want generations to grow up feeling that there’s nothing ahead but dystopian civilizations and/or wars with aliens! As visitors to my website know, I’m a strong advocate of space colonization and I’m convinced that it’s essential to human survival. And I think your “space opera” books have a real impact on people’s attitude toward it.
For this reason I’m disappointed that you’re switching to fantasy–I’m sure it will be very good fantasy, but there’s a lot of fantasy available, and very little else with an optimistic view of our future in space. I’d like to know more about the Solar Clipper universe, not just the ships but the planets and how they were colonized, and the ordinary people who live on them, and the pioneers who ventured into Toe-Hold space.
Thank you for the kind words, Sylvia.
Just to clarify, I’m not “switching to fantasy.” I already write fantasy. Have you tried Ravenwood?
And it’s not that I’m done with science-fiction. It’s still my home, but I’m burned out on this universe right now. I’ve been writing in it non-stop for going on five years and I need a break to write something else for a while. I can’t really justify spending the time and effort to create a new SF universe when I have a perfectly good one just waiting for me to heal up a little and get back to it.
So I’m going to go back to my Tanyth Fairport universe and look at how the only magic comes from women of a certain age. What it looks like when the leaders of the clan are not the young but the old. What a person growing up in that world might be challenged with – other than seeing who they can beat up.
I think of it as “cleansing my palate” rather than “clearing my palette.”
As for the ads? Who knows. It’s something I should have been investigating for some time and am only now looking at in any kind of systematic way.
I wouldn’t want you to create a new SF universe! I like the one you have. And there are many different aspects of it that I’d enjoy seeing explored, since different planets would have different cultures (as shown in South Coast, of course).
By “switching” I meant switching back and forth. I’ve read the Tanyth Fairport books and I like them very much — and I certainly like your focus on older women, especially since I’m 85 myself. It’s just that there’s an urgent need for novels with a positive view of our distant future in space, and hardly anybody else is writing them. I’ve given up hope of seeing much real progress toward colonization during my lifetime, so I’m impatient to see more fiction.
Some valued insight, Sylvia. Thanks.
Mr. Lowell,
I wanted to stop in and simply say thank you. My wife would not thank you however, because she knows I’m non-existent for 2 days (usually less) when you publish a new novel. When in conversation with friends, colleagues, and strangers, I always state two things: I read (and listen to) roughly 200 books a year, and Nathan Lowell is my favorite author.
Again, thank you for all you have done.
-Brian
P.s. – I hope to own a signed copy of Quarter Share soon. Don’t be surprised when the order comes through, it should’ve happened 8 years ago.
Thinking that I like Sylvia’s perspective … There is something about the Solar Clipper universe that transcends its “healthiness” and optimistic future. Interestingly, before retirement, confronted with some new management quandary at work, I used to find myself wondering “What would Pip do?” Retirement has changed this perspective a bit, but Pip and company endure for me in a way that the Fairport series does not. I can’t tell you why that is Skipper … Maybe it comes from that same place that made me type “Skipper,” instead of something more pedestrian/appropriate. But you’ve captured that spirit and essence quite well for me.
So … what kind of new palate cleansing would Pip choose? Suspect that’s being handled in the back of your mind somewhere.
I just wanted to comment on your Solar Clipper books. It seems that space SF books today are all about some kind of a battle. To me this is what sets your books apart from the rest. Your universe is about the people, the technology and doing the right thing. Ishmael, Pip and the others have captured my interest from the start. Because it’s all about people. And I can relate to that. Doing what it takes to survive and prosper when things don’t always go as planned holds a lot more interest for me then any shoot em up story ever could. Natalya and Zoya have done the same. And Now that they are all teamed up, they are going to make a very formidable crew.
I know you have said you need to give this a rest. But I do hope you will return to them in the near future and continue their adventures. I doubt that I am the only one out there looking for great SF books that don’t have a battle on every other page.
What Ron said!
I enjoy the Solar Clipper universe. I wish I were there.
The stories you have told are a few of the billions of stories that exist there.
I enjoy a book where they save the entire human race, but I also enjoy the tale of a woman starting a new life by sharing her biscuit recipe.
Your tales are not the tallest tales, but I enjoy them.
Thank you.
There are so many stories yet to be told, but five years is a long time to be in the same universe. 😀
Another of my favorite authors Clive Cussler has been writing about the same characters for over 4 decades. Adding new character books and story lines along the way, but never straying far from the original roots. As time and technology have changed, he has kept up and made his books more exciting and interesting then they have ever been.
Making a living as a writer, I’m sure you have to be able to keep the creative juices flowing. I can see it being very difficult to write when you are burned out on something. The universe is a big place that goes in every direction imaginable. Ish, Pip, Nats, and Zoya all have their own skill sets and the proven ability to take on any challenge.
I have yet to find anyone else writing this type of space SF. I think it would be a true shame if that were lost. As a true fan of this series, all I can say is that I will anxiously await whatever comes next.
It won’t be lost. I can guarantee that. 🙂
You have struck a chord with me and friends, ages from 13 to 93. We appreciate
The running theme that kindness and dedication are powerful tools in navigating
Lifes Highway. Glad your tackling new storylines to recharge your imagination, your
Well being Creates the magic of your words. I look forward to sharing your next adventure
With a great cup of Java! Rob
Nathan keep up the great work and I look forward to seeing an ad I can share instead of incoherent raving that resort to currently for recommendations of your books lol. I constantly reread books that strike a cord and resonated positively with me, for sci-fi and fantasy that’s yourself and SJ MacDonald who has literally a worse online presence by far (one tweet years ago) I particularly appreciate how both of you as authors approach mental health issues from such a positive perspective without whitewashing it.
Nathan,
How about a series in the Core World’s? So far we’ve only seen the Western Annex.
Personally I would be fascinated with a novel about Core Worlds Admiral [REDACTED] …. there must be a whole 10 book series behind that young lady…? and who does not like a girl who puts Rum in her coffee..
Mr. Lowell
I just like your style of writing no matter what the subject may be. You have such a positive intuitive voice that shows through beautifully in your novels. I’m a busy grandma and really appreciate the audio books as I can listen to them while doing all the other things I have to do.
I say put yourself first, do whatever you need to to energize yourself. We’ll all be here waiting for whatever comes next.