Hearts and Flowers

It’s been too long since I left an update on publication status here. I forget that not everybody follows Talking on My Morning Walk nor does everyone check Solar Clipper or Lammas Wood.

So on this weekend after Valentine’s Day please accept my apologies … and this status update.

Covers:
I now have them for all the books that are currently written. They should appear here as the new titles get re-released. It’s taking longer than I’d hoped.

Re-releases:
Full Share has been at Amazon for a week waiting on ebook review. It’s only supposed to take twenty-four hours but they haven’t told me there’s a problem and there’s nothing I can do until that clears. Half Share and Quarter Share are already out and Double Share has been edited. It’s just waiting for me to wade through the copyedits and fix them. I’ve got that on a schedule for March. Fingers crossed.

New Releases:
Captain’s Share has been back from the editor for a couple of weeks now, but I haven’t been able to get to it to get the changes made. That’s on the schedule for April. Owner’s Share hasn’t been to the editor yet. It’ll be awhile before that’s ready but mid-summer is not out of the question.

South Coast has a cover as well, but needs editing. Haven’t been able to get that to the top of the pile yet.

Project Pile:
I’ve got a bunch of projects that are moving now. I’ve just finished a narration for Crime City Central and have another one for Protecting Project Pulp in my audio editor. I’ve got a couple more small pieces that I’ve promised people.

The podcast of Zypheria’s Call is on the schedule for release on the vernal equinox. It should be eligible for the Parsec competition this year but won’t be if I don’t get it done. I missed having a book in the running last year. I don’t want that to happen again.

I’ve got a novella promised to Scott Sigler for his Galactic Football League series — The Gangster. It’s the story of Greedok the Splithead and I’m really looking forward to having a little fun with this.

Looking forward:
The last book in the first Tanyth Fairport series — The Hermit of Lammas Wood — is next on the block. I’m shooting for a Summer Solstice release on that to wrap up the first series featuring Tanyth. I suspect there will be more work set in her universe.

Cape Grace – the much promised sequel to South Coast — is next on the schedule and I’m *really* looking forward to digging into this one. I’ve learned a lot since I wrote that book and I think Otto and Sarah will surprise a lot of people.

After that, we’re back into the next Ishmael Wang stories. I’ve been banging ideas together to see where sparks fly and I think it’s going to be fun. Ishmael has some unfinished business in the Deep Dark and those who’ve wanted him to meet up with some of the Lois McKendrick crew will get your wish.

There’s also the matter of more stories in Odin’s Outpost. That kinda got set out there and left. It’s still one of the more popular stories I’ve published and I think I may try to sandwich a bit of criminal activity in between the other books. We’ll have to see how things go.

Looking backward:
There are reasons that the progress hasn’t been as fast or as regular as it might have been. When I got the titles back from Ridan in November, I thought it would be easily handled and re-issued with new books out by Christmas.

Didn’t happen. In this case, it’s all on me. No fingers to point. No excuses. I just didn’t get it done.

Several things have happened in the last few weeks that have allowed me to get back on the horse and start riding along the trail once more. Chief among these was the passing of my younger sister. She lost a two year battle with cancer on January 31 and, with her passing, a very difficult period is drawing to a close. I’ll be flying to Maine for the interment ceremony in the spring when the ground thaws. She was a remarkable person, my sister Laurie. Some of her lives on in Tanyth Fairport and much more lives on in my heart. I’m comforted knowing that she’s come to the end of her journey and beyond the pain. As her burdens have been lain to rest, now I find that I’m looking forward to picking up my own again with renewed enthusiasm.

Thank you:
I’m grateful for all of you who’ve been waiting — patiently and otherwise — for the next steps in the saga. Without you none of this would be possible. Here’s to a brighter tomorrow and many more stories.

News

Some good. Some not so good.

Good news: I’ve finally re-released Quarter Share. Half Share is on deck and should be out in the next few days.

Bad news: No BaltiCon for me this year. My elder daughter’s high school graduation is that weekend and the ceremony falls smack in the middle of BaltiCon making it unfeasible for me to make the cross-country trek to attend.

In other news: I hope everybody takes a few moments to reflect on the blessings of the year just past and to consider how to look for awesomeness in the coming one. Whatever holidays you celebrate, may you find peace, love, and good cheer.

Ishmael Wang Is Coming Home

According to US Postal Service records, they delivered a priority mail letter to the offices of Ridan Publishing yesteday morning at 10:59 AM. That letter informed them of my decision to take back the rights to publish the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper series. Effective November 6, 2012, their license to publish my books expires.

That means at least three things.

One, I’m going to be tied up getting the books in shape to re-publish under my own brand. That means new covers, a new layout, and a scrub up on editing.

Two, I’m getting some other works out between now and then. Zypheria’s Call – book two of the Tanyth Fairport adventures – should be released to ebook this weekend–assuming I don’t lose too much more time to the distraction that is swirling around. I’ll have the paper version up as soon as I can get a clean galley proof out of CreateSpace and those will go out to all the normal paperback venues. The podcast version will be later still because Podiobooks only accepts completed works now. I’ll need to finish audio production entirely before I can ask Evo to release it. South Coast is on tap for the first Saturday in November and I should be able to get a more organized release of that.

Three, I’ve got editors and cover artists on tap but this isn’t going to be a slap-dash process. I’m going to work hard to get Captain’s Share out by Christmas, but it’s silly to publish book five when books one through four aren’t available. Honestly, I don’t think publishing seven books between now and the end of the year is even possible. While that sounds self-defeating, I’m trying to be realistic.

It may seem counter intuitive to spend time publishing South Coast. I’m doing that to buy some time. This is a book that is completely unencumbered by contractual agreements and I can proceed in good faith with delivering this story in print. It’s an olive branch to you, the fans, who’ve been so patient for so long. It’s something I can deliver.

Right now, delivering something seems more important than more delays in delivering anything. By the time the 30-day timer has expired, we’ll know more about what can/will happen after that.

Stay tuned. I’ll keep you posted.