More quick hits from another DragonCon day

I awoke unreasonably early on a Sunday morning for a fun brunch at PittyPat's Porch, courtesy of Publisher Toni.  Quite a few Baen writers and staffers ate, talked, and generally had a good time.

After a second tour of the art show, I ultimately decided not to buy any art.  Half a dozen pieces nearly persuaded me to bring them home, but none of them succeeded.

I next toured two more floors of dealers' rooms.  One even contained an arcade area.

I enjoyed one quick game at a Ms. PacMan machine.

Next up was a signing at the booth of The Missing Volume, run by the redoubtable Glennis LeBlanc.  To my happy surprise I signed some books, sold a few, and had some pleasant conversations with fans of the Jon & Lobo series.

After work and rest, dinner took me to Kevin Gillespie's new, second restaurant, Revival, in Decatur.  Wow, is it good!  It and Gunshow are the best of all the Atlanta area restaurants I've tried.

We opted for the family-style dinner, in which each person selects an entree and everyone at the table shares an appetizer and sides.  If you want to know how good Gillespie's chefs are, consider that the salad course was kale, which I despise.

Here's that plate after we finished.

Yes, I had seconds of kale salad!  They used grape seed oil as a dressing, put bits of asiago cheese on top, and included four small peach slices.  Wow, was it good!

The crowds in the Hyatt lobby were smaller than last night's, but the people watching there was still decent.

Over at the Marriott, the crowds were more intense, as usual, but not as huge as last night's.

Tomorrow, I head home.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 4

Waking up in the single digits is never a good thing for me.  Doing it on a Sunday is doubly bad.  Doing it on a Sunday at a convention--well, suffice to say that little could make me do this.  What made me arise early today was Publisher Toni treating the Baen authors and artists at DragonCon to a brunch at Pitty Pat's Porch, a nearby well-established Southern restaurant.  I went not for the food, though it was good basic brunch fare, but for Toni and the crew.

After brunch and a bit of rest, I joined a number of the same folks at the Baen Traveling Road Show. I talked about Onward, Drake!, the audience was good,

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and everyone seemed to have a very good time.

My next event of the day--and my final commitment of the convention--was a reading.  Readings generally draw poorly.  Readings during con dinnertime--they scheduled me for 5:30 today--usually attract even fewer people.  When the reading is by me, I'm lucky if anyone who didn't arrive with me shows up.  Today, I was fortunate enough to have two people attend.  Both listened to the entire story--I read "All That's Left", my piece in Onward, Drake!--and both were gracious and interested.  My thanks to them for coming.

I headed from the reading to a local shopping area that included a movie theater.  After some decent ice cream--better than Jake's but nowhere near as good as Jeni's--at a Kilwin's, I caught The Transporter: Refueled in a Regal cinema with VIP seats.  The movie was exactly what you'd expect--big on action, little on smarts--and though not as good as the original, strong enough that I had a pleasant time watching it.  The seats, though, were fantastic, with huge cupholders, swinging trays, and the ability to recline almost to horizontal.

Afterward, I went on my usual evening walk.  Based purely on the size of the crowds in the Hyatt's lobby

and the Marriott's atrium

I believe Saturday night was the biggest night of the con.

Tomorrow, I will do a little con stuff and some work--but only after I sleep a very great amount indeed.

On the road again: DragonCon, Atlanta, day 3

Krog Street Market was such fun the other day that we ventured back there today, this time with Publisher Toni along.  We enjoyed cheesesteaks again at Fred's Meat and Bread, and then grabbed scoops of good but not great ice cream at Jake's, a local place that makes its own ice creams.

Today's big con activity for me involved spending a few hours shambling through the dealers' rooms, an activity that, combined with the incredibly powerful funk of thousands of fan asses in one place, left me sweaty and in need of cleaning.

Dinner took us to a nearby modern Mexican cuisine place, Alma.  The meal was fine, tasty but nothing to write home about.

The Hyatt's lobby was the busiest I've ever seen it,

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almost as congested as the Marriott's atrium.

Tomorrow, an early brunch, a panel, and more!

On the road again: Sasquan, Spokane, day 2

Today was chock full of con stuff.  After a quite reasonable amount of sleep, I headed to the convention center for a presentation by my friend and exceptional artist, John Picacio.  As always, I enjoyed seeing both his old and his new work.  I've been fortunate enough to have John do the covers to two of my books, and I've loved both works.

After a quick and reasonably tasty lunch at a nearby Mexican restaurant, I dived into a three-hour writers workshop, where I was one of three pro writers critiquing the works of three newer writers.  The sessions went well, and the event ended early enough that I could make it to Publisher Toni's Baen Traveling Roadshow presentation.

Dinner was a treat from Publisher Toni for a group of Baen authors.  We ate salads and (mostly) steaks at Clinkerdagger, a local institution.

In the latter part of the evening, I hung with friends new and old in the hotel bar.

After now having caught up on non-PT work, I intend to sleep a great deal.

On the road again: DragonCon, day 2

Unfortunately, I spent almost all of today's daylight hours in my room, again, working.  I did get out for a quick burger for lunch and a walk through the large art show.  While on that walk, I ran into and chatted with Dan Dos Santos, an artist whose work I very much like.  He did the cover for The Wild Side, and I liked it so much I bought the original painting.  In person, he was friendly and humble and altogether delightful.  I quite liked him.

I also spent a few minutes talking with Annie Stegg, an artist whose work I had never seen before.  Her paintings were lovely, pieces that frequently exhibited a strong Pre-Raphaelite influence.  I will certainly be on the lookout for her art in the future.

At 5:30, it was time to do my comedy show.  The audience numbered around 40, larger than I'd feared, smaller than I'd hoped, and big enough that the sound of their laughter carried into the hall and drew in more people.  As best I can tell, the show went quite well; I know the whole audience laughed for nearly the entire set.  (I'm dropping the bits where they didn't laugh.) 

After the show, I gave myself the reward I had mentioned yesterday:  a trip to the local Jeni's for some ice cream. Publisher Toni joined us, and we had a grand time talking and enjoying scrumptious ice cream sundaes.

Back at the hotel, work had piled up once again, so I spent a few hours catching up.  I then headed out to people-watch, first in the lobby of the Hyatt, and then in the Marriott's lobby.  The crowds tonight were way larger than last night's.

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Downstairs, a small rave was in progress, the beat pounding upward, the dancers all having a grand time.

I stayed for a surprisingly long time, watching the people, listening to the music, and finding myself smiling and invigorated at the sheer energy of the crowd.  The enthusiasm here is contagious.

I routinely read and hear discussions of how SF/F is dead, but this con, like many other large cons, puts the lie to that statement.  SF/F has carried the day, moved into video games and other games of all sorts, into TV shows and movies, and into the culture at large.  Sales of paper books may be down, but overall book sales--ebooks do count--are up.  The people at this con are, by and large, young and engaged and passionate about their interests.  Those interests touch every aspect of the fantastic.  If you asked them if science fiction and fantasy were dead, they would wonder if you were insane.

Are they all reading SF/F novels?  Most assuredly no.  But some of them are, and they are numerous.

I have always been hopeful for our field, and I am even more hopeful now.

On the road again: London, day 9WorldCon, day 4

The high point of today was the Hugo Awards ceremony, the SF/F community's annual gathering in celebration of the best of its works of the years.  I've dreamed of winning a Hugo since I was quite young, so I've gone to the Hugos at every WorldCon I've attended.  I find them bittersweet affairs, having never been nominated, much less won, but I wouldn't miss them.

Publisher Toni could not attend, so I was her designated acceptor, should she have won in the Best Editor Long Form category in which she was nominated.  (As deserving as she is of the award, and she very much is, she did not win it; the estimable Ginjer Buchanan won it in the year in which she retired.  Well done, Ginjer!)  Because I was to accept for Toni, I got to attend the pre-awards reception and then sit down front with the nominees.  It was quite a lovely experience; I hope one day to repeat it on my own behalf.

On the walk to the reception, I saw these buildings, which I absolutely adore.

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If you zoom in on them, you'll see how burned out they are, skeletons just waiting to play roles in some post-apocalypse or alien-invasion story.  I'm sure I'll use them in something.

At the reception, two celebrities unexpectedly appeared:  Peter Davidson and David Tennant.  As things turned out, both must have come should their shows have won awards (neither did), so no one in the main audience saw them.  All the people at the reception with whom I spoke were, however, a-twitter at their presence.  All the women with whom I spoke agreed that Tennant was far hotter in person than on screen.  I have to agree that he is entirely more beautiful in person than on screen.

If you enlarge this, you can just see him. 

The photo does him no justice; trust me.

After the ceremony ended, I had the opportunity, courtesy of being Toni's designated acceptor, to attend the Hugo Losers party.  Though I have long wanted to go, I declined; it was not my party.  Should I one day be nominated, however, you can bet your ass I'll go.

I spent the rest of the evening socializing with friends and then working.

Tomorrow, the con ends, I return to my favorite hotel, and I see another play.

On the road again: Renovation (WorldCon), Reno, day 4

One thing you have to love about casino towns is the ability to get breakfast at any time of the day or night.

I slept as late as my obligations would permit, then caught up on work before showering and heading out. First stop was the Baen upcoming books panel, where Publisher Toni gave me the mic to talk about the paperback of Children No More, The Wild Side, and the upcoming No Going Back. The audience was great, as always, so the talk was fun, as was the rest of the slide show.

By the time the panel ended, we were past due for breakfast and lunch, so we found the casino diner that was still serving breakfast. That meal is always best in the early afternoon, so I quite enjoyed it.

Three of us headed out shortly thereafter to a local theater to catch Fright Night. I'll post my review of it in a later entry.

More work filled the time until we cabbed over to the other con hotel for the Hugo awards. I've gone to this ceremony at every WorldCon I've attended, which is all but about five of them since 1978, and I've always found it a touching celebration of the SF community. Of course, like so many other writers, I've also always imagined myself receiving one, but now, four books and somewhere around a dozen and a half stories into my SF writing career, I don't expect that will ever happen.

You can find the winners at many places online, including on the con's site, so I won't list them here. My congratulations to them all; well done, folks.

We were lucky to share a cab back to the hotel before most of the fans had made the trek, so access to the parties was easy and quick. After a few stops, though, I reached my social limit and returned to my room. Lest the melancholy of not being anywhere near the writer I had hoped I would be overtake me entirely and lead me to more self-pitying whining, I'll stop this entry and focus elsewhere.

On the road again: Renovation (WorldCon), Reno, day 3

After a very late night, I woke from two hours of sleep to do a work phone meeting and a bunch of work email. I then crashed for a few more hours and felt much better getting out of bed the second time.

Work, lunch, and then to Tim Powers' Guest of Honor speech. Its structure in many ways was like that of his novels, appearing to wander a bit here and there but ultimately proving to be a coherent and thought-provoking whole. His main thesis was that he wanted to look at the world from the fantastic angle, as opposed to the "stick to what is possible" approach of mainstream fiction, and that in this more fantastic perspective there is great value. I completely agree.

The next several hours went to the dealers' room, where I browsed the best selection of books of any WorldCon in recent memory, talked to multiple booksellers, and signed all the books of mine that I spotted. Wandering through books is always relaxing for me, so I quite enjoyed the time there.

Dinner was a Baen gathering that Publisher Toni hosted at a local steakhouse. Our table included several other Baen writers: Lois McMaster Bujold, Eric Flint, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Chuck Gannon, and Walter Hunt. I quite enjoyed talking with all of them and getting to know them a bit more.

After some time in a local pub with Griffin and Jerry (I'm a cheap bar date: one Diet Coke will do me), I played eight minutes of blackjack, won a little money, and retired to work and then to sleep.

Along the way, I completely forgot to finish and post this blog entry, which is why it's late. Sorry.

Party night

Here in Raleigh, I don't attend a lot of parties other than the small extended-family gatherings I usually host, but tonight marked the kick-off of the NASFiC with two SF parties.

The first was an open house at Baen's offices in Wake Forest. The food and conversation were both excellent, and I got to catch up for a few minutes with Eric Flint (the con's Guest of Honor), John Kessel, and my publisher/editor, the redoubtable Toni Weisskopf (the con's Toastmaster). I also had the chance to meet and chat briefly with Mary Robinette Kowal, whose first novel, Shades of Milk and Honey, also came out yesterday.

From there, we drove to Quail Ridge Books for the launch party of the second issue of Sam Montgomery-Blinn's SF magazine, Bull Spec. The short readings were generally interesting, and I had a chance to at least briefly meet so many local SF/fantasy writers that I couldn't catch all their names (sorry, folks; I was already tired). Sam even made a point of mentioning the Children No More charity program, for which I was grateful.

All in all, a fun evening.

In praise of Toni Weisskopf

Toni Weisskopf is the Publisher of Baen Books and its most active editor. She is also my editor. At a party once, I heard her talking to a young woman who wanted to be a writer. I wandered over and commented that Toni was good at developing beginning writers. Toni responded, "If by developing you mean, 'Keep your fucking hands off my prose,' then I suppose I am." That comment nicely summarizes the attitude she encounters from me regarding my work. I strive to earn that attitude by delivering only manuscripts that are ready for copy editing and the rest of the production cycle. I've made that point here and on panels at SF conventions.

With Children No More, I again tried to do that, and I thought I had succeeded.

Toni responded with about half a dozen very gently worded questions and suggestions--as well as with a note that she would print the book as it was if I didn't think her comments were appropriate.

Having stated my attitude publicly, I feel honor-bound to announce here (and on future panels) that every single one of Toni's comments was right on target and to acknowledge my debt to her. She spotted two small continuity errors, and her other suggestions were excellent ones that I promptly addressed. The book is better for her input.

Thanks, Toni.

A little news: my upcoming book schedule--and a surprise!

Okay, yesterday I promised some fun news about Children No More, and only as I started to write this did I realize that most people may not find schedules and cover artist info to be fun. Well, I do, so if you feel I lied to you, all I can say is, I didn't mean to.

Anyway, first up is the schedule. These dates aren't cast in stone, but they did come from Publisher Toni, so I'm hopeful they'll stick.

June, 2010: the paperback of Overthrowing Heaven
July, 2010: the surprise
August, 2010: the hardback of Children No More

I'm also excited to report that my friend, Steve Hickman, will again be gracing a novel of mine with his cover, as Toni selected him to do the art for Children No More. He and I spoke at length Wednesday night about the book's story and some key scenes, and he's chosen what he wants to paint. I fully support his choice (not that it matters; he, not I, does the covers, while I write the books), and I look forward to seeing it.

And now, the surprise: As I noted above, in July of next year, Baen will be putting out an omnibus volume of my first two novels, One Jump Ahead and Slanted Jack, in the affordable omnitrade format. To make the volume appealing even to those who already own those books, I'm going to be including some content exclusive to this omnibus, including

* the first U.S. reprinting of the original Jon Moore story, "My Sister, My Self," since its appearance over 25 years ago

* brand-new afterwords by me to both books

* with luck, a few more original tidbits I think you'll quite enjoy

If that's not enough to get you excited, try this: the book, which will appear under the title, Jump Gate Twist, will feature a cover by Hugo nominee and friend, John Picacio. John and I became friends in March at CoastCon, and I'm psyched that he'll be doing the cover for this one.

(Steve is not doing this book's cover because Publisher Toni, being a true friend of readers, likes to make sure that omnibus volumes use different artists from other books in a series so they don't accidentally tempt readers to think that they're the next books in a series.)

So, 2010 will bring a summer chock full of my books, a bunch of new material in one of them, including a chance to read the first Jon story, and the work of two great artists.

I'm a lucky guy.

On the road again: CoastCon, day 4

I'm home, and I'm exhausted. I got very little sleep at this con, but I did have many good times. This morning, I did two back-to-back panels, one with Toni Weisskopf on nanotechnology and one with Diana Rowland on mystery in SF. Both drew small but attentive crowds, and I enjoyed them, though I fear I talked too much.

I hope to be home for the next few weeks, polish off the page proofs of Overthrowing Heaven, nail down the outline of Children No More, and get cracking on that baby. I'm past ready to be writing it.

On the road again: CoastCon, day 3

After a fitful and frequently interrupted sleep, I showered and headed to a reading. As I'd predicted, only one person I didn't know attended--but I read anyway. He liked what he heard enough to head to the dealer's room and buy one of my books, so I count that as a tiny triumph.

Our day then sort of spilled away, with BBQ lunch again the The Shed; a break for a movie (The Knowing, about which all you need to know is that you should either wait for the DVD or skip it); a lucrative thirteen minutes playing blackjack at The Hard Rock Casino; an entertaining dinner afterward at the Ruth's Chris Steak House with Toni Weisskopf and David and Sharon Weber; and very enjoyable and late-into-the-night conversations with John Picacio, Traci Picacio, Chris Roberson, Diana Rowland, and various other folks who wandered by. I stayed out too late and now must pay the price by working even later, but so it goes; cons are like that, and I'm not complaining.

Yet another book I want to write

Today brought me the unexpected pleasure of lunch with Toni, my publisher. We chatted about a wide variety of topics, but I thought one of them might be of particular interest to readers of this blog: another book I want to do. This one would be very different from anything I've done to date, and it would be my first novel-length collaboration. I'm not ready to give out more details yet, but I will say that I'm intrigued enough by this book--and the series I hope it begins--that I can't wait to find time to get to it.

That said, I could be waiting a while, because I have a few other writing and editing obligations on my plate already.

More on this new notion in the future. For now, back to Overthrowing Heaven, which is mounting toward a conclusion that has been repeating over and over in my mind for months.

Do you like your feet and toes?

Kyle has declared mine to be unattractive and reminiscent of cavemen. I think his resemble blocks of wood, while I quite like mine. The index toe is longer than the big toe, which I think is very nice. Well, to be precise, the index toe is longer than the big toe on my left foot; the right index toe is about the same length as its big toe companion due to my having broken it and the middle toe in an accident about which we shall not speak. The nail on my pinky toe is an actual nail, not one of those residual bits of nail that pass as a nail on many feet. In short, they are fine feet, and I like them.

How do you feel about yours?

It occurs to me now that the mere fact that I have written this entry may suggest more about my lack of sleep than any seven yawns could convey. Hmmm.

Okay, here's some actual book news: In case you missed it in the comments on my post about the Overthrowing Heaven cover, Toni, my publisher, has declared that as soon as the cover image is available, I am to spread it around like confetti. I shall do so, though I have no clue when that might be.

Off to said book I go, my bare feet staring charmingly upward at me, for a bit more work tonight.

How I work with my agent

As I mentioned in last night's entry, Maria asked me to comment on how I sold my first book and on my agent. I covered in that entry how I sold One Jump Ahead; tonight, I'll briefly discuss how I work with my agent.

First, as yesterday's entry makes clear, I did not use an agent to sell my first book. It never even crossed my mind to approach an agent for that sale, because I figured I would have to go through the slush pile and sell at least once on my own before any agent worth having would even consider taking me. I was luckier than that, as I explained, but I never contemplated getting an agent at that point.

After I sold the first book and wrote a story I owed an editor, I began plotting and then writing a mystery/thriller, Fatal Circle. I wanted--and still want--to work in multiple genres. It occurred to me that an agent might be valuable for this thriller, so I thought about getting one.

Dave's agent, Kay McCauley of the Pimlico Agency, was not accepting new clients, but a long time ago in a discussion about a nonfiction book, she had said she might consider representing me. Though I have never met Kay in person, I have exchanged multiple email messages with her and had multiple phone conversations. In all of them, she has come across as gracious, cultured, intelligent, and generally wonderful. Plus, Dave trusts her, which is big. I contacted her, she agreed to take me on as a client, and that was that. We never signed any paper; we're honorable people and didn't need it.

At that point, I was about 38K words into Fatal Circle. I did not want Kay to sell it until I had finished it. Then, Toni, based on preorders, decided she wanted three more Jon & Lobo books--and she wanted one each year. I was already behind schedule. We did a contract--again on my own, because I had done the first Jon & Lobo book deal on my own--and I had to put aside Fatal Circle to begin work on Slanted Jack.

This left Kay in the position of having nothing of mine to sell aside from foreign rights, on which she and her folks work.

I hope one day to give her the thriller to sell.

That's it. As you might expect, this whole setup is not the usual one, but that seems to be par for the course for my novelist career so far.

Not as good a story, Maria; sorry.

How I sold One Jump Ahead

Maria asked me to write about how I sold my first book and whether I have an agent, how I work with mine, and so on. Here's the story on the sale of One Jump Ahead. The tale begins about 23 years before I sold the book, so bear with me as I go back in time quite a way.

I made my first professional SF sale in May, 1982. May 1 is the day I received the acceptance letter, which is easy to remember because it's my mom's birthday. The story, by the way, was "My Sister, My Self," which was the first one to feature Jon Moore and the only one in which his sister, Jennie, actually appears. (I had previously made a sale to a semi-pro magazine, so I received money but not enough to count under SFWA rules as a pro sale.)

A few years later, I'd sold another story or three, but in my own neurotic way I was writing infrequently and fretting constantly.

One day, I was talking to Dave Drake about novel ideas and mentioned a concept he agreed was promising. He said I should do it, and he said he'd call Jim Baen to get Jim to listen to my pitch. He did, and Jim called me--five minutes later. Jim and I discussed the idea on the phone, Jim gave me some very good ideas to consider, and he bought the book based on the phone proposal. He and Dave always maintained he bought the book on the idea's merits, but I remain convinced Jim did it as a favor to Dave, and Dave did it to get me writing.

I was worried that I couldn't or wouldn't do the book, so I negotiated with Jim some very unusual terms: I would pay back the advance with 10 percent annual interest if I did not deliver the book. I felt this was honorable, because this way Jim would not lose money on his investment should I fail. Jim laughed at me and told me I was insane, but I wouldn't sign without that agreement, so he eventually reluctantly agreed.

I was worried I would fail. Dave was sure I could do it.

We were both right: I could have done it, but I didn't. Multiple years passed. I finally admitted my failure, called Jim (or maybe emailed him; I can't recall), and told him I wanted to pay back the advance.

He laughed again. He had long since written off the money. Apparently, authors never give back advances on books they don't finish, and they sure as hell don't pay interest on that money.

I insisted, but Jim pointed out he had no real bookkeeping method for taking the money, because he'd written it off. I insisted some more. Eventually, he allowed as how he did need some computer gear, so I bought enough of it to match my debt: the advance and the interest.

Now, flash forward to early 2005. I had been farting around with fiction writing all those years, selling some stories, getting one in The Year's Best, and so on, but I was never really able to commit to writing. I had turned 50 in March and was using the occasion to reconsider many things. My fiction writing was one of them. After much thought, in the middle of May, I decided I would give up fiction and thus gain more peace in my life.

I couldn't sleep that night. I couldn't give up fiction.

If you've read this blog regularly, you know that my advice to writers is that if you can possibly not write, don't. I couldn't stop.

At the same time, I barely wrote fiction, maybe a story every few years.

So, on the day after my sleepless night, I resolved that on June 1 I would start writing every day. (I chose that start date to give myself time to live with the decision and see if it was correct.) My goal was simple: each day I had to devote at least 30 minutes to staring at a blank screen (or notebook or sheet of paper) and doing nothing else. No word minimums; just at least 30 minutes of time that belonged to fiction. I would not allow myself to go to bed until I'd done it. Every day. No exceptions, no matter what.

(As I've written, this past June I screwed up my back, was on painkillers, and so missed some days because I didn't trust I could focus well enough to write. It was a terrifying time, because I feared I would never start again. I did.)

I made a deal with myself that I would take a day off writing after I had finished my third book. I now consider that a bad plan. Maybe after my fifth book.

I had written and sold two stories featuring Jon and Lobo, both with an eye toward using them in a novel one day. On June 1, I began plotting that novel, which ultimately became One Jump Ahead. I finished plotting that month and immediately--no days off, remember?--began writing it. I had to heavily rewrite the stories when I hit those parts, so I did that. I finished the book in December and ran it by Dave Drake and Eric Flint for their opinions. Both thought it was good (and both later blurbed it).

In early October, I had been at Dave's annual pig-pickin' birthday party (as I have been every year since 1985), and Jim was there, also. I walked him to his car, told him I was writing the book, described it, and asked if he'd like to see the finished ms. As I said to him, I felt that my failure to deliver the previous book he'd bought from me gave him a moral right of first refusal to the new book. I also told him directly that if he wasn't interested, he should say so, and I wouldn't bother him. He said he'd take a look, but only at a finished ms. I don't believe he thought I would finish the book; that was certainly the smart money bet from his perspective.

About January 1, I sent the final version of One Jump Ahead to Jim. I was already writing, though on a short story for Eric, "Slanted Jack," which appeared in Jim Baen's Universe and which I used as a starting point for the novel of the same name.

Months passed. I wrote every day. I heard nothing.

In early June--and from here on I probably have some of the day counts wrong; it was a rough time--I mentioned to Dave that I hadn't heard anything and asked if he thought I should check with Jim to see where I stood. Dave said he'd be talking to Jim and would bring up the topic if it felt right to do so.

A few days later, Dave called me. He said he'd mentioned it to Jim in a call a few minutes earlier, and Jim had said, "Yeah, I took that book."

Dave said, "Did you tell Mark?"

Jim replied, "I thought so, but maybe not." After a pause, he said, "How much do you think Mark wants for it?"

Dave said, "Pay him the standard minimum. He wants to earn whatever he gets." Dave was, of course, correct.

I had heard nothing. I received a contract a few days later.

Jim fell into a coma a few days after that, and then after some more time, he died. One Jump Ahead was the last book he bought. I hope he would have been proud of it. I like to think he would.

Toni, who became first Interim Publisher and then officially Publisher, treated the book well, made it the June 2007 lead hardcover title, and after seeing the early reception, bought three more books in the series.

I recognize it's not a normal sale in some ways, but that's how it happened.

Yo, Maria: Aren't you sorry you asked?

On the road again: Denvention, day 3 - con stuff

I slept late and actually got a passable amount of slumber; six or eight months of this level of sleep, and I might begin to feel rested. Today will be the last full-sleep day, however, so no worries on that front.

After work, exercise, and more work, we headed to Rioja for lunch. The meal--we shared a bunch of appetizers--was fabulous and featured the single richest pasta dish I've ever tasted, their saffron fettuccine. Suffice to say that I ate half of an appetizer portion, and despite my status as a semi-professional eater, I don't think I could have finished an entree portion.

From there we rode the convenient and free Denver sixteenth street shuttle to the Sheraton for the Rising Stars reception. Though at some level it was the exercise in humiliation I had feared--new writers, one to a table, each staring soulfully into space in the hopes that someone would come by to chat--it was also, to my surprise, generally okay. I never had a moment without at least one visitor, I signed a few books, and I had quite a few pleasant and interesting conversations.

From there we hoofed it to the convention center and prowled the dealer's room. I signed books for booksellers who wanted me to do so, and all said my books were moving well--words to warm a writer's heart. I visited with some friends, then headed back to the room to work.

Dinner this evening was a Baen gathering that Toni Weisskopf, the Publisher, hosted at the Highland's Garden Cafe for the con's guest of honor, Lois McMaster Bujold, and multiple other Baen writers, editors, and friends. I had the chance to meet and chat with Rome Quezada, the editor of the Science Fiction Book Club and a fun and interesting man. The setting (an old Victorian house), the food, and the company were all good, and as near as I could tell everyone at the table had a good time.

After the cab ride back to the hotel, everyone headed out for the parties. Well, almost everyone: I'm writing this, and then I will work on Overthrowing Heaven. It's what I do.

Today was the light day. Tomorrow, it starts to get busy.

One of the joys of having a nice publisher

As I write this, FedEx is carrying my edited galley pages of Slanted Jack to the typesetter. The galleys are standard letter-size paper on which the typesetter has printed the book as it will actually appear. The galleys represent the first time I get to see the book as a reader will. (The advance reading copy (ARC) has yet to receive my or the copyeditor's corrections and so may look like a final book but very much is not.) When you work on galleys, you find all sorts of little details that slipped by previous passes--or, at least, I do. I spend hours and hours poring over the book, and I make on the order of a hundred changes in the process. Other writers may well be better at handling those edits earlier, but I greatly value this pass.

Once the typesetter receives the galleys, she will turn them quickly and send the resulting final version of the book to the printer. All of this is SOP for novels.

What isn't standard is the fact that the book was due to the printer today.

I received the galleys a little over a month ago. I had the usual two weeks to turn them around and send them back. For various reasons mostly having to do with too much being on my plate, I did not meet the deadline. I hate that I failed to do so, but I did.

What made the edits possible were the efforts and flexibility of several people in the Baen production process:

* Toni Weisskopf, the Publisher, who said it was okay to try to get a day or two out of the printer

* Danielle Turner, the Managing Editor, who actually got me that time

* Joy Freeman, who agreed to incorporate my changes in a rush

I didn't even have to rush the package to FedEx; Jennie was nice enough to do that for me.

I thank all of these folks for buying me the time to make Slanted Jack a little bit better book. I greatly appreciate it.

Hank Reinhardt died this morning

At Toni Weisskopf's request, I alerted the Baen's Bar folks with this post this morning:

I got the call from Danielle a little bit ago. Toni asked that I let everyone here know that Hank died this morning.

I dove into work for a bit so I could buy time to compose myself.

Hank was a good guy, a vibrant man full of energy and life. Sometime in the past year, I can't remember exactly when, he, Toni, Dave Drake, Jo Drake, Jennie Faries, and I shared a lovely meal at a kitchen table in the Angus Barn. Afterward, he showed us prototypes of a new line of practice weapons he was debuting. He was excited and hopeful and ready to launch this new project. He was that way every time I saw him.

Some men are insecure around powerful women. Hank was not; he knew himself, and he knew Toni. At WorldCon in LA, Toni and I were meeting in the living room of their suite about 2:30 in the morning. Hank came out, saw us, said, "Still working?", and when Toni replied yes, he nodded and headed back to sleep.

Toni will be incommunicado for a while. I know she takes all of our good wishes with her during this extraordinarily hard time.

I'm replicating it here to get the word out to more people.

Those who'd like to see a picture of that dinner can find it on Dave Drake's Web site; just follow the link and scroll down a bit.

I hate that this happened to Hank, and I feel horrible for Toni. If you know Toni, you know she's had a brutal last year and a half. This sucks.