Look what just arrived

Yesterday's mail brought my author copies of Jump Gate Twist, which with the paperback of Overthrowing Heaven (available now from your favorite bookseller) here decorates the top of a bookshelf in our upstairs hallway. Though I am far from unbiased, I have to strongly recommend you pick up both books. After all, you don't want to loan your hardback copy of OH, do you?

I didn't think so.

Jump Gate Twist is, as I've blogged previously, chock full of goodies. Sarah, who had not read any of the original material in it or "My Sister, My Self," the first Jon Moore story, declared it a "pretty cool volume." She is my daughter, of course, so you may be inclined to see that recommendation as perhaps a tad biased, but I discourage that sort of thinking; you can trust me, and you can certainly trust her.

All shilling aside, I really am pleased to see both books, and Jump Gate Twist truly is an amazing bargain: it contains two complete novels, two short stories, a bunch of essays, a gorgeous John Picacio cover--and it can be yours for the bargain list price of twelve bucks (way less on Amazon).

Okay, that was more shilling. Drat.

I'll end with this: It's cool to see these additions to my bookshelf.

Tonight's signing

My friend, Eric, had sent me a quote last week from a musician who's played in big venues and small. The man was playing to 14 people in a Durham bookstore and said this:

Doesn’t make any difference to me. That’s what professionalism is all about. If there hadn’t been anyone here, we’d have played. You give your best even if there’s nobody there. Music is a gift from God, and you don’t want to cheat God, yourself or the audience.

I've given a lot of half-assed readings in my life. When the audience is one or two people, I've handed over my manuscript and told them they could read it for themselves. This quote made me realize that I've been behaving poorly. Literature is a gift from God, too, and I should both honor it and also always be a professional. So, I'd vowed before tonight's reading to do better than in the past, and I began the event by telling people this story (though failing to give Eric credit; sorry, buddy) and sharing my new resolve.

I hope I did a better than usual job. I think I did. I did a little bit of humor, read a couple of pages from Overthrowing Heaven, and then read three very short chapters from Children No More. The crowd, though small by the standards of a well-known writer, was better than ever before for me there--they actually had to set out extra chairs--and I remain grateful to all those, mostly friends, who came out to see me. I also got to spend time with an old friend and book dealer, Tim, who works at Quail Ridge Books. All in all, a very nice time.

Afterward, a smaller group of us shared a fun and tasty dinner.

If you ever come to a reading of mine and I'm phoning it in, call my lame ass on that crappy behavior. I owe you better.

No one threw vegetables

or even fruit at my reading and signing today at the lovely McIntyre's Fine Books. In fact, everyone in the audience was quite nice, and the store staff were lovely to me even though I didn't move a lot of books for them. (The good news for them is that the folks who came with me ended up buying a lot, as did I. We're that kind of crowd.)

It's hard to make a reading exciting, because at it one, well, reads. And talks. And hawks.

Courtesy of Gina, we have action photos of me doing all three:





Reading.

Yes, I need the reading glasses, but only for reading; I can't walk around safely with them on.

For those who are wondering, I did indeed for the first (and so far only) time share bits of Children No More. I read three short chapters, as well as a few pages of Overthrowing Heaven, and the discussion ended up focusing on Children.

That book is either going to be by far the best, most intense thing I've ever written, or a complete and utter failure. Boy, do I hope for the former.

Of course, all that reading lead to a lot of...




Talking.

You gotta love a world in which you willingly post a photo of yourself with your mouth hanging open in mid-sentence. What is wrong with me?













Hawking.

Step right up, ladies and gents, and get your red-hot SF novel, flown here straight from the printer for your special attention.





Finally, I offer you this weird shot of me listening to a questioner. I have no clue what was going through my head at this instant, nor do I know what this expression means, but if I could replicate the look on command, I would use it frequently in meetings.

Of course, maybe I already do, and I just don't know it.

What are you doing this coming Sunday, August 23?

If you live in the Triangle area, I know what you should be doing: Attending my reading at Fearrington's lovely McIntyre's Fine Books store. I'll be reading to support the sales of Overthrowing Heaven, but if we can get a decent-size crowd I'm considering doing something I've never done before: reading a goodly bit of the novel in progress, Children No More.

If that's not enough to tempt you to attend, and if the lovely McIntyre's won't do it, then perhaps the prospect of eating brunch at Fearrington's The Old Granary restaurant or wandering the lovely grounds or checking out the Belted Galloway Cows will do it.

Finally, if none of that is enough to lure you, then perhaps this will: Dave and Jennie have pledged to do a joint stripper pole dance if the crowd is huge and enthusiastic.

Okay, that's a lie, an utter fabrication of my demented brain and actually not a scene I'd like to witness, but who knows what we could talk others into doing if enough of us beg and plead?

Maybe I should stop now.

Yeah.

Okay, so come on out and hear me read this Sunday.

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.

Feel like hearing me yak again?

If so, go to FreeTalkLive, where Ian and Mark, the FTL heads, interviewed me for a while yesterday early evening. They were gracious enough to let me pimp Overthrowing Heaven, but we also covered a variety of other topics, including the science in my future universe. They told me their listeners were quite interested in Intellectual Property issues, so we also discussed Baen's stance on Digital Rights Management (DRM--and the stance is simple: NO!) and Baen's successful eBooks program.

All in all, I had a nice time and an interesting chat. I hope you also enjoy it.

In related news, Amazon has supposedly shipped some copies of Overthrowing Heaven, with more to come as they restock. Next Tuesday, the book should appear in bookstores everywhere. Yee-haw!

Overthrowing Heaven is in the house!

Well, it's in my house anyway, courtesy of the shipment straight from the printer of my author copies. Here it is, looking lovely on the Aeron chair:

The foil on the cover (silver on my name, gold on the title) is catching the light a bit oddly, but that's my fault, not the book's.

I think it's an attractive book, one that in three weeks, when it goes on sale, will, I hope, appeal to millions of browsers at Barnes and Nobles and Borders stores around the country, as well as to millions more shopping online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other booksellers--and of course to the millions of fine people supporting their local independent booksellers should want a copy as well.

Okay, okay: Millions might be pushing it. Might I perhaps just have one million sales? Think how happy that would make me. Think how happy it would make Publisher Toni. Don't you want to make us happy?

Hey, a guy has to dream.

With 409 pages of action-packed Jon & Lobo adventure, I think this is my best book yet. I hope to be able to say that about each novel I write, of course, but I really do believe it about this volume.

I hope those of you who read it feel the same way.

The paperback of Slanted Jack is almost out

Last night, I received from the printer my author's box of the mass market edition of Slanted Jack. The book looks great, and it's cool to see Chapter 1 of Overthrowing Heaven in print as a teaser in this volume. With the economy continuing not to look great, more and more book buyers appear to be turning to the paperback editions, so I'm glad this book is almost on the shelves.

Of course, I'd like all those same buyers to pick up the hardback of Overthrowing Heaven, which will be available in early June.

Now, I just have that other book to write....

And away she goes!

The FedEx office at RDU airport closes at 9:00 p.m. At 8:46 p.m.--plenty of slack--I handed the clerk there the FedEx padded mailer containing my corrections to the proof pages of Overthrowing Heaven. As usual, and with my email apologies to the typesetter already in the ether, I made a great many changes, all of which improve the book. After she makes them to the final file, I believe the book will head to the printer.

I am quite happy to be completely done with the writing side of this one.

I can now concentrate fully on Children No More, which, no, I'm still not ready to write, but which is shaping up, at least in my head and notes, to be a doozy. I always feel that my skill as a writer is inadequate to the task of transforming the visions in my head into words, but I'm going to do my best, as always. That's really all any of us can do.

Parceling it out for a reason

Over the last couple of years, multiple readers have accused me of intentionally frustrating them by giving only bits of Jon's background and the secrets of my future universe (e.g., how did the jump gates come to be?) in each book.

They're right that my approach is intentional, i.e., each book is doing what I meant it to do and what it should.

I am not, however, doling out information in teaspoons simply to be mean.

Rather, I'm doing it because each book's story rules supreme in that book, and the only secrets that book touches are those that arise naturally in the course of the plot.

So, for example, in Overthrowing Heaven (yes, I know you haven't read it yet, but I won't spoil it here; everything I'm about to say is on the Amazon promo bit for it) I reveal a lot about how Lobo came to be what he is. I do so because that information flows naturally from the story and enriches the story.

The secrets--political and physical--of my future universe come even slower, but that's because I'm writing from Jon's perspective and so readers can learn only those things he learns (or already knows).

Assuming the books keep selling and Toni keeps buying them--both of which I hope prove to be valid assumptions, but both of which are far from certain--then over about twelve to fifteen books I will be able to answer all the questions that are plaguing attentive readers today.

Of course, some new questions and mysteries will arise.

Don't blame me; the universe is like that.

The glamorous writing life

Today, about 6:00 p.m., I received the copyedited ms. of Overthrowing Heaven. By 6:30 p.m. tomorrow night, when I must get in my car to drive to dinner with Toni, I have to finish going through it.

Yikes!

You can guess what I'll be doing in all my many spare minutes.

In other news, I should remind folks that I'll be one of the author guests at this coming weekend's CoastCon 32. Sure, it's at a Super 8, which I admit has me nervous, but the con folks I've met have been unfailingly nice, the guest list includes David Weber and Michael Moorcock, and I'm hoping to have a good time. If you happen to be in that area, drop by and say hi.

Humility via eBay

I was on eBay searching for old pulps for my friend, Dave--hey, his birthday is only seven months away!--and, as I sometimes do, I searched for my books there. I found a few folks already selling the advance reading copies (ARCs) of Overthrowing Heaven. These things have only existed for a few weeks, and already they're on eBay! Wow, book reviewers move fast.

To be fair, I don't believe book reviewers get much at all in the way of pay--I sure didn't when I reviewed for our local newspaper--so I don't begrudge them selling the ARCs to get a little extra money. I was just surprised to see the suckers already for sale.

I hope the folks that buy them enjoy them.

As for me, each time I indulge in these acts that combine ego stroking with masochism, I wonder why I bother. What I can do is write the best book I can, then write the next one. I shouldn't worry about the rest.

I figure if I remind myself often enough of this fact, it might eventually make its way through my thick skull.

Or not; it is a very thick skull.

The electronic ARC of Overthrowing Heaven is now available!

I'm quite pleased to be able to announce that you can now buy the online advance reading copy (meaning it hasn't been through final copyedit or galley edits) of Overthrowing Heaven. If you'd like the book, just go to this page on Baen's site, and you can buy it.

I think it's my best novel yet, and it's certainly the longest, so it should keep you busy for a while. I hope you enjoy it.

Meanwhile, I need to keep plotting Children No More, the next book in the series. Man, this one is going to be dark and rough--and give you another piece of Jon's past. I can't wait to be writing it.

Vacation ends

Tomorrow, I return to my day job. I like my job, but I have to admit that I'm not really ready to go back. I entered my vacation far more burned out than I had realized, and I am ending it more than a little toasty. I also feel that other than keep up with the holidays I accomplished nothing these past two weeks. I must remind myself that this is simply not true. In particular, I

* turned in Overthrowing Heaven, got Toni's comments, addressed them, and turned in the final copy (that last bit tonight).

* finished everything in the budget box; hurrah!

* figured out chunks of Children No More. I'm not ready to outline yet, but I hope to start doing so before the end of January.

For those who are joining me in returning to work tomorrow, I hope your Monday goes well and as painlessly as possible.

Overthrowing Heaven is outta here!

I worked all night and fell, exhausted, into bed around 7:00 a.m. Before I did so, however, I mailed Toni (and others at Baen) the complete and ready to publish Overthrowing Heaven. With luck, she'll be offering it as an eARC sometime fairly soon, though I confess that I don't know the schedule.

When I started writing every day, I told Dave that after I finished three books I would give myself a day off.

He said, "No, you won't."

He was right. So, I spent chunks of today noodling on the big issues in Children No More. Write every day: that's the rule.

I'm psyched to be done with Overthrowing Heaven. Hurrah!

Thankful

I try to remind myself regularly how incredibly fortunate I really am. With all the stress of daily life, I often forget this fact, but it remains a fact nonetheless. I won't list here all the things for which I'm grateful, because I'd still be writing come the New Year, but I will say that most of all I want to thank all the people in my life for making my existence richer.

Each moment affords us the chance to find joy, but it's up to us to take those chances. In my Jon & Lobo books, Jon often muses on this very topic when he is about to go through a jump gate aperture, as he does in this small snippet from the end of chapter 7 of Overthrowing Heaven.

The lavender edges of the aperture through which we were jumping filled the edges of the image. The center was the unblemished black of every aperture on every gate in the universe, the perfect absence of light. Energy passed harmlessly through the apertures as if they weren’t there. Matter, however, behaved entirely differently: Anything that entered an aperture emerged into another area of space, typically one many light years away. Each aperture linked exactly two points, and those points never changed. A single gate might have one or many apertures; the more connections to other systems, the more important a trade center the planet near that gate became. No one knew how the gates worked or what made them appear, but every time we found a new one, right nearby we always found a planet suitable for human life.

I’d jumped hundreds of times, and each time the experience moved me. A vital part of the fabric that held together the far-flung human species, the jump gates managed to feel both effortlessly natural and somehow deeply wrong. I wondered if early air travelers felt the same way about airplanes.

The ship in front of us vanished through the aperture, and its perfect blackness completely filled the display. All that we could see, everything in front of us, was impossibly pure nothingness, no hint as to our future, no evidence of material for creating that future, just an emptiness, and in the moment before we entered it I silently wished, as I always did, that what awaited us would offer hope and opportunity and the possibility of joy.

We jumped.

We're all jumping all the time, moving from one point in space to another, diving into the unknowable future, and the possibility of joy awaits us all. I hope you find it tonight, tomorrow, and in all the days ahead.

On the road again: Portland, day 4

I’m on the plane to RDU from DFW, and so far I really can’t complain about this trip. I was able to snag first-class upgrades for both flights, which meant I got in a great deal of work. The Big Red Binder and I continued our friendship, as I plowed ever closer to the end of the third pass on Overthrowing Heaven. I really want to send this book to Toni before Christmas, and given that the eARC has to go on sale sometime early in 2009, I expect she would like me to file it. I had a long layover in DFW, but I landed at the gate opposite the Admirals’ Club, which had great bandwidth today. As I said, no real room for complaints.
I did receive karmic retribution of a sort for an error I made in the same Admirals’ Club on the way to Portland on Monday. I was hustling to the restroom, talking on the phone, and thus stupidly walked into the women’s room. Fortunately, no one was inside, and I exited quickly--to the delight of several people watching my mistake.

Tonight, I went to use the men’s room and was in a stall when the restroom door opened and a woman called out, “Hello!”

I said, “I’m in here.”

The door closed.

Less than a minute later, the door opened, and the same voice said, “Hello!”

I said, “I’m still in here, and I will be for several minutes.”

The door closed.

About a minute later, the door opened, and a different woman rattled off a sentence in Spanish.

I said, “I’m still in here.”

Payback is a bitch, I suppose.

The pilot just announced that in about an hour we will encounter some significant turbulence, so if folks needed to move around the cabin, they should do so now.

It’s great to have something exciting to look forward to. Don’t worry, though; if you’re reading this, I made it.

The budget box is still kicking my butt

Yeah, the stack of bills keeps growing, and I keep doing other things--like work, writing, and trying to survive. This weekend, though, I will conquer it. I pretty much have to take care of it, because I leave for Portland very early Monday morning. One consequence of having to overcome this major hurdle, which will take about ten hours of work, is that I will not be writing long entries this weekend. Sorry.

For those following the progress of Overthrowing Heaven, Dave's given me all his input, I think it's fair to say he liked it (he'll correct me if I'm wrong), and I am continuing to plow ahead with my on-paper editing. I'm continually amazed at all the things I need to improve on this pass, but so it goes; the book will be better for this work.

Wish me luck as I climb budget mountain.

How do you grow your readership?

At a lovely birthday celebration dinner tonight, a friend asked me this question. I've heard the same query from beginning writers and other friends, so I thought I'd give my answer here.

Short form: You don't. You write the best book you can, and then you write the next book.

Long form: Lots of writers will give you tons of advice about marketing yourself. I think they're probably right that putting in a lot of energy can help you sell more books. I'm just not convinced that they can help you sell tons more books. That's the publisher's job, and though you can indeed do many different things to help, I suspect most of them won't nudge the needle on overall sales.

I believe you can try to find a publisher that will promote you, because what a publisher can do for you--better bookstore placement, to name but one example--is way more important than what you can do on your own. The sad truth for most of us, however, is that publishers have limited budgets, too, and they have to invest their marketing dollars where those dollars will bring the greatest return. In addition, as newer writers we're hardly in a position to insist our publishers do anything.

As writers, there's really only one thing we can control: our work. I think that's where our focus should be. Hence the short form of my answer: Write the best book you can. Then write the next book.

I'm going to return to doing the first part now. With luck, the result, Overthrowing Heaven, will be a book that grows my readership. Regardless of the sales, however, I'll be busily writing the next novel and trying to make it the best book I can.

Draft 2 complete

Late Thanksgiving eve, I finished the second draft of Overthrowing Heaven. I do the third draft on paper, so I had to print two copies of the 512-page manuscript: one for Dave's review, and one for me and the big red binder.

Of course, the toner cartridge died on my black-and-white printer.

Of course, the team that's supposed to make sure I have a spare of all supplies in my home office--a team of which I am obviously a member--had failed to do so.

Off I drove to the office.

Some time later, I had the two manuscripts. I gave Dave his copy yesterday. He has very graciously already started reading and has given me some small corrections and a nice characterization tip. Each of my novels has improved thanks to him, and this one will be no exception.

For those who are curious, the book is now over 134,000 words, about 15,000 words longer than Slanted Jack and easily the longest thing I've ever written.

I'm enjoying my third pass through it, though finding tons of things to improve and often scratching my head in wonder at my own sloppiness and stupidity. I suppose that's par for the course, though I do hate making mistakes and doing less than my best work.

Fortunately, that's why I have passes three and four!

Onward!