An early present

The other day, a box of these beauties arrived as an early holiday gift.

Click the image to see a larger version.

Yes, that is the paperback (aka mass market) edition of No Going Back, the (now rather old but still) most recent Jon & Lobo novel.  Though not officially on sale until January 26, I am lucky enough to have my author copies now.

I have to tell you:  It is quite the handsome paperback.  Even if you have the hardback or an ebook version of this novel, you would enjoy owning one of these rascals--as would all your friends and colleagues, people you encounter in airports and at grocery stores, and strangers on the street.  It's not too early to shop for next Christmas, either.

I'm tickled to see this paperback--and I'm also rather sad at not having another one ready to appear.

I am working on it, though, and I will continue to do so.

In the meantime, you could do worse with your money than to pre-order this lovely paperback.

Want to see No Going Back win a Hugo?You can make that happen.

Yes, it's that time of year again, the week in which many SF writers, including yours truly, take to the InterWebs to push their works as award contenders.  I've joined the crowd for the last few years for a lot of reasons, chief among them the grief I took from friends when I didn't do this embarrassing bit of self-promotion.

Nominating a book (or any other work) for a Hugo is easy:  go to the WorldCon's Hugo nomination page, read the instructions there, and fill in either the paper or the online ballot.

Well, it's not that simple:  to do those things, you have to be at least a supporting member either of the current WorldCon, LoneStarCon 3, last year's WorldCon, or next year's WorldCon.  These memberships aren't cheap; a supporting one is sixty bucks, and an active membership, which you need to attend the con, will now set you back two hundred smackers.

For that sixty bucks, though, you get the progress reports and the right to nominate works for a Hugo for two years.

My only eligible work this year is my novel, No Going Back.  I think it's my best book yet, and I'd love to see it win, but I think it has far less chance of even being nominated than Billy Mack's "Christmas Is All Around Us" crass song did of being the bestseller of the Christmas season in the movie Love Actually.  The difference is that the song won in the movie, while I've never had a work on the Hugo ballot.

To place a book on the Hugo ballot requires a surprisingly small number of nominations:  most years, sixty or so will do the trick, and I believe a hundred would do it in any year. 

So, if a hundred or so of you would like to see No Going Back gracing this year's Hugo ballot, please get busy and nominate it.  I'd certainly be grateful. 

Tomorrow, I'll return to my regularly scheduled programming--at which I'll be less embarrassed than I am now. 

Support John Picacio's calendar Kickstarter

Let's get the disclaimers out of the way first, so no one can rationally accuse me of hiding anything. John Picacio is a friend of mine.  We're not super-close guys who live in the same city and hang out together, but we're pals, and I like him.  He did the cover for my most recent novel, No Going Back. In case you've forgotten, it's an awesome piece of work.

(As always, click on any image to see a larger version.)

I love John's work, which is sensible of me, because it's amazing.  So do a lot of other people:  he's won pretty much every major SF and fantasy art-related award there is, including this year's Hugo for Best Professional Artist--on his eighth nomination, after seven losses.  I strongly supported him winning this award, as I made clear in this earlier post.  I'm even going to get my birthday in his 2013 calendar; I've pledged to his Kickstarter program at the level to enable that. 

None of that, however, is why I'm supporting John's newest effort, a Kickstarter program to allow him to create an amazing 2013 calendar and a new company, Lone Boy. 

No, I'm getting behind John for three reasons. 

First, I want this calendar.  Its cover is beautiful.

The rest of the months aren't too shabby, either.  (Yes, that's sarcasm; they're amazing.)

The printing and design are cool; check out this January layout. 

Gorgeous, just gorgeous.

Beyond simply wanting the calendar, though, I'm supporting John's Kickstarter and his company because he's trying to do something cool:  connect directly with his fans and other art lovers.  John's a canny guy, and he understands that disintermediation is a trend that started with the Web and is continuing for the foreseeable future.  I want to see his company do well, and I'm more than a little curious to watch its progression.  I care enough that I pledged his Kickstarter at the $250, "Art Warrior," level. 

Finally, I want John to succeed because I want him to create the Loteria deck that he dreams of making. I firmly believe all artists do their very finest work when they set themselves to some task they desperately want to do.  When John and I were discussing No Going Back, I said that I thought the cover he most wanted to do would be the best one.  He went that route, and the result is the best it could be, simply wonderful.  I am sure of it. 

If you like John's art, or if you just want to buy a cool calendar for $25, go here and pledge at least that amount.  You'll get to see a different wonderful piece each month for a year, you'll be helping an artist reach his goals, and maybe, just maybe, you'll help me encourage him to put the No Going Back artwork in a 2014 calendar.

Hey, a guy can hope.

Want to hear a recording of me reading?

I didn't realize that the fine folks at Balticon would be posting this recording of the reading I did there, but it's now up as part of the Balticon podcast.  It runs a little under half an hour and includes not only me reading three chapters from the book but also answers to some audience questions and a little background on how I came up with some of the stuff in it.  Check out the recording here. 

Another frustrating aspect of being a midlist writer

Earlier tonight, I had occasion to go into my local Barnes & Noble store.  While there, I fell victim to a trap that ensnares many writers:  I walked back to the SF section to see how many of my books were in stock.

Remember that on May 29, about nine weeks ago, No Going Back appeared. That novel was, I believe, my best to date, and all the reviews of it--few though they may be--have been glowing.  So, I thought there was a decent chance my local store would have one or two on the shelves.

Nope.  No copies of No Going Back.  Nada.  I have five novels out, and all that my local store had on offer was a single paperback copy of Children No More.

This kind of information is deeply demoralizing, but it is also beyond my control.  As I have to remind myself constantly, all I can do is write the best books I can. 

Still, this sucks.

Tuesday night's group signing at the Cary Barnes & Noble

Tuesday night, I joined four other local SF and fantasy authors--David Drake, Kelly Gay, Lisa Shearin, and James Maxey--in what has become an annual event, our group panel discussion and signing at the Cary Barnes and Noble. All of us had books that had recently appeared, and the store had them all in stock, so the timing of the event was great. I even got to see for the first time the paperback version of The Wild Side.

As usual, the crowd, which numbered something around 35 people, was a nice size, and the people acted interested and asked good questions.

We began by introducing ourselves and our most recent books. Here I am showing off (and flogging) No Going Back, whose lovely John Picacio cover always makes a great first impression.

As always, click on a photo to see a larger image. All photos courtesy of Gina.

After that brief bit of plugging, Linda Maloof and her fine Barnes and Noble team asked the audience for questions. Folks asked us about everything from Ray Bradbury to books we'd recommend, and from our writing processes to how much we altered our work to try to hit commercial demands. (In my case, the answer to that last question was a resounding "Never!" and then a bit of a rant.)

Here we all are watching James as he responds to a question.

I must be answering something in this next photo, but I appear to be trying to cast a spell on someone.

I really did, by the way, have a name sheet in front of me, or at least I think I did, but in all these shots I appear to be sitting in front of Lisa's. Sorry about that.

After we finished, we all signed books for those who bought them and generally hung out and chatted. I was pleased to see the store sold out of its (admittedly small number of) copies of both No Going Back and Children No More. Here's the audience dispersing as we moved into that phase of the evening.

My thanks again to Linda and her team. They did a great job with the event, and I look forward to repeating it next year.

Where I'll be this weekend

The Triangle area plays host to a new SF convention this weekend, and I'll be a guest there. ConTemporal portrays itself as primarily a steampunk con, but some non-steampunk writers, including David Drake and me, will also be there.

They're keeping me pretty busy, as you can see from the list of events on my Appearances page.  One event we forgot to put there is the Guest of Honor banquet Thursday night at 6:00, which looks to be gathering an interesting group of folks.  In addition to being on a bunch of panels, I'll be reading something Friday afternoon.  If you're there, you can help me decide what to read.  It might be sections of No Going Back, but it could also be a mainstream story I've never read at a con, or something else entirely; you never know. 

If you're in the area, drop by the con, have a good time, and find me at one of my events and say, "hi!"

No Going Back is busting out all over!

My newest novel, No Going Back, the fifth in the Jon & Lobo series, went on sale yesterday, May 29.  I'm excited that the physical book is now out there!

And, indeed, it is in bookstores, as this photo of the shelves of a nearby bookstore's new science fiction section shows. 

Over at Baen's Web site, you can still vote for the No Going Back trailer you prefer.  If you haven't already done so, please check out both trailers and let us know which one you believe does a better job of making you want to buy the book. 

The redoubtable John Scalzi was kind enough to let me do a Big Idea piece on his very popular blog; you can check out that write-up here.  With these pieces, John lets other writers explain some of the backgrounds of their books.  He was nice enough to let me write one for Children No More and again for NGB, so I am grateful to him. 

NGB is also in all the online bookstores, and you can order the ebook via baenebooks.com. 

Over at Fantasy Book Critic, Liviu Suciu has posted a fairly long and very nice review. 

You can also, by the way, get the audiobook version of No Going Back from Audible.com here. 

So, what are you waiting for?  Nothing says summer fun, birthday present, or even very early holiday gift like a lovely hardcover copy of No Going Back!  Pick up one today--or, better, go for two so you have a spare.

On the road again: Balticon, day 6

It's amazing what you can accomplish these days while barreling down the highway at 74 (or more) miles per hour.  With an iPad and some concentration, along with more than a few typos, I was able to stay current on work for most of the drive home--specifically, for all of the parts I was not driving.  No, I do not do email and drive, nor do I text and drive.

The big news of the day is that No Going Back is now out!  I still don't have my author copies, but I have seen the book, and multiple folks I know have received their copies.  I'm psyched and now must hope the book does well. 

It's been a long day, so I'm keeping this short.  More NGB news tomorrow, I hope. 

Another chance to win free books! New Web site design! Much e-stuff happening!

Today is a big online day for me.

First, over at Baen's Web site, Publisher Toni is hosting a contest to see which of two book trailers people prefer.  The cool part for me is that both trailers are for No Going Back! To help influence the types of trailers people produce for books, all you have to do is go there, watch both, and then vote for the one you prefer.  After you vote, email Baen--instructions are on that page--and they'll enter you in a drawing to win a signed hardcover first edition of No Going Back plus five free Baen ebooks.  So, you can have a good time watching two nifty trailers, and you might win cool stuff in the bargain.

Next, if you check out my home page, where you can also watch those trailers, you'll notice that we've completely redesigned the site.  By "we," of course, I mean that I provided input and designer Jennie Faries did all the hard work.  The new site is easier to use and more up-to-date, plus it provides information not previously available:  easy links to my upcoming appearances, and the first complete list of my published short fiction.  Thanks, Jennie!

If the art at the top of each page--including this one--looks familiar, that's because it's a sample from the background of the cover of Jump Gate Twist, my omnibus collection of the first two Jon & Lobo novels and a bunch of other neat material.  John Picacio, friend and artist extraordinaire, who did both that cover and the amazing cover to No Going Back, was gracious enough to give us permission to use the art on the site.  Thanks, John!

Finally, you may also notice that every page of the site gives you easy access, via the familiar icons, to the blog, the RSS feed for the blog, Facebook, and Twitter.  Yes, I'm not only on Facebook, I'm also now on Twitter.  I haven't really started using either yet, but give me time; I will.

Oh, yeah:  A week from today, No Going Back hits the bookstores!  I'm psyched to see it.

How you can help make No Going Back a success

Quite a few folks have emailed me or asked me in person the same question: what can I do to help make No Going Back a hit?  I'm frankly stunned and honored to even hear the question, and for a while I basically declined to answer it.  After more thought, though, I decided to let myself answer it as part of a weak moment of self-serving marketing. 

If you really want to help, there are three things you can do--for my novel or any other book you like.

Pre-order a copy.

Most hardbacks get about three weeks on bookstore shelves before the store ditches them.  During that time, your book has to make a good impression.  First-week sales are vital to that impression.  So, whether you're shopping online or at a Barnes & Noble or at your local independent bookseller, pre-ordering or buying in the first week is the best support you can give a book.

Spread the word. 

Hand-selling books is a time-honored practice that works.  If you buy and like the book, telling others and recommending they pick up a copy is an easy way to really help sales.

If your bookstore is out of stock on the book, ask them to order more.

A bookstore can't sell what it doesn't have in stock.  Yeah, that fact is obvious, but it's also something bookstores often don't worry about.  If a store gets in three copies of a book and sells them all, it's unlikely to order more unless customers request them.  That means that even if a book is delighting readers, its presence in stores is likely to be limited by how many copies the store's buyer originally purchased. 


That's it, really.  Those three things would greatly help No Going Back--or any other novel--to be a bigger success than it might otherwise be.

Thanks to those who asked, and my apologies to those who are appalled at my self-promotion.

Lobo for a Day

Over at Baen's Web site, Publisher Toni and the fine folks at Baen are running a contest you might find interesting. To enter, all you have to do is write a short essay (no more than 500 words) on what you would do if you had Lobo for a day.  (For details, go here.)

I didn't know about the contest in advance, but it sure sounds like fun.  Lobo is so powerful and so capable and so very, very intelligent that the range of things you could do with him is vast. 

The prize for winning is definitely nice:  a free signed first-edition hardcover of No Going Back, plus five free Jon and Lobo ebooks. 

I have no idea if I'll get to see any of these entries, but I hope I do.  I'm very curious as to what folks would do with one of my favorite characters.

If you're wondering what I would do, well, you'll have to wait to read an upcoming interview in which I answer that very question.  More on that interview later. 

Lobo on lying

From deep into No Going Back, a tidbit of a conversation between Jon and Lobo that I will offer without context:

“What’s your plan?” Lobo said.

“I’m not sure,” I said. “Probably to tell her the truth. Mostly.”

“I think we call that ‘lying,’” Lobo said.

I sympathize with both of their viewpoints. Lobo's phrasing, though, is, as always, funnier than Jon's.

Lobo on...spotting your enemies

At one point in No Going Back, someone shoots Jon. As Jon is telling Lobo about this incident, Jon expresses some concern about the person who shot him. Lobo thinks this is a dumb choice on Jon's part and offers the following advice:

Try to remember the simple things: If they shoot you, they're not on your side.

Words to live by.

Lobo on...human justice

I thought it might be fun to give you the occasional peek into Lobo's mind with his comments to Jon on various topics. All will come from No Going Back. I'll provide them as the mood strikes me--or if enough of you yell loudly enough.

At one point in the book, Jon says,

“What about the law? It exists to provide justice. That’s not mine to decide or to deliver.”

After which, Lobo reacts.

Lobo laughed. “I love that you can still make me laugh. Human legal systems exist for many reasons, justice being only one of them. It’s almost certainly true that the men at that auction were wealthy and, at least some of them, maybe most of them, were also powerful. Find anywhere, anytime in human history in which justice for the rich and powerful was the same as justice for the average person, and I’ll change my position...."

Anyone care to argue with him?

Songs related to No Going Back

In a comment on an earlier post, Brian asked what songs I played on repeat as I wrote No Going Back. I answered honestly: too many to recall, because I was on that book for so long.

What I realized, though, is that some songs reflect the state of Jon's mind and emotions--though he wouldn't be able to tell you that fact. This is one of those songs. Yeah, it's over-played and so very yesterday and no longer hot, but it's right for one aspect of his head.

Enjoy.

My new funniest typo

Funny things come out of your fingers when you're writing and really into a story. Or, at least, funny things come out of my fingers in such situations.

Homonym problems frequently bedevil me. From what other writers tell me, that's common. The mistake that previously held the title of funniest typo in my books was one Dave spotted for me. I was discussing someone arming a group of freedom fighters, and what I accidentally typed was

arming gorillas

As Dave said, I want to see that scene.

What I meant, of course, was

arming guerrillas

In No Going Back, however, I made what I believe is now the winner of the Funniest Typo award. This one came courtesy of the autocorrect feature in Word on one of the computers I used to write the book. I always disable that feature on each system, but I use a lot of different computers, and sometimes I fail to remember to turn it off.

Thanks to this feature and some unknown typing error on my part, I actually turned in a ms. with this phrase:

We simply have a more gentile, polite group...

Ouch!
I hope those who read the eARC do not read anything anti-Semitic into that error.

In the final book, thanks to the good services of proofreader Geoffrey Kidd and our subsequent discussion, we have the correct phrase:

We simply have a more genteel, polite group...

Much better.

Thanks, Geoff, and my apologies to all who read the eARC and endured the error.

You can now buy the eARC of No Going Back!

Welcome to the modern book world.

I filed the ms. of No Going Back about 9:30 a.m. this morning. Yes, that means I finished it. Hurrah!

I'm writing this at 9:00 p.m., and you can now buy the electronic Advance Reading Copy, the eARC, of the book from my publisher, Baen Books, by going here.

This eARC was available about ten hours after I turned it in. Ten hours. That's cool.

Baen's eARC program works like this. They sell the uncorrected version of a book, meaning the book has not been through the full copyediting and proofreading stages of the production process, online for those who want to read the book early. This version is basically what the author submitted to them. The cost of an eARC is $15. If you wait until late May, when the book goes on sale, you can buy it online for $6, which is obviously much less. But you'll have to wait two and a half months! Who wants to do that? No one! For a measly nine extra bucks, you get early access to the book and can be the first person you know to read it!

That the book went live so soon after I filed it is due to Publisher Toni quickly okaying the sale of the eARC, and then two people working hard on the job. Joy Freeman, who produced the proofs for the book, turned them in record time, mere hours. Becky Catchings then worked late to create the eARC in all the many formats that Baen supports--and if it's at all a significant ebook format, Baen supports it.

My contribution was to turn in very clean copy that is ready to print; I consider that to be a part of the job.

I hope you check it out and enjoy it!

Tonight

What I had really hoped to be doing tonight was watching this.



Instead, what I'll be doing until the early morning hours once again is this.

(Photo courtesy of Gina. Click the image for a larger version.)

I did this to myself, and I love the book I'm writing, but still, I do wish I hadn't gotten into this situation.

Ah, well. Back to it.

Don't even talk to me about my office. I already know. Maybe this year we'll beat it into shape.

My days right now

I'm entirely home from my day job in a desperate push to finish the already later-than-late No Going Back. For those who've asked and those who wonder, here's what my day looks like:

* Drag ass out of bed

* Work on NGB

* Shower

* Eat lunch (half hour)

* Work on NGB

* One hour dinner break (food and a TV show on DVD, currently Treme, Season 1)

* Work on NGB

* One hour late-night break (snack, usually ice cream, and a TV show on DVD, currently Justified, Season 2)

* Work on NGB

* Fall over stupid and sleep

Repeat

The breaks, by the way, are necessary, at least to me, just so that I can keep producing good work.

The process does seem to be working well, though it is exhausting, and I look forward to its end.

Ah, the glamourous life of the novelist with an overdue book.