After all the work, and all the planning, and all the waiting, I have a novel coming out this week, generally available this Tuesday. I’m still kinda boggled by the whole thing. On the one hand, I have around thirty titles published to date, and this is just the next one in the line. On the other hand, this one is a novel, and my first. And the first of many.
I’m still in shock. Hopefully you’ll bear with with me.
Last fall, I was talking to Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) about what I should concentrate on for 2015. I was then finishing up what would become the third Beyond The Mirror collection, Alternate Worlds. My brain had happily transitioned to science fiction and gone completely to town. She looked at me as Marketing Executive and said, “Novels.”
Independent bookstores occasionally have her in for signings and readings. She did one last fall in Oregon at a Powell’s Books where they had twenty or so authors all signing books for readers to buy. (Sunday night after OryCon.) All of those people had written shorter fiction, many of them very successfully, but they were there on the basis of novels. Bookstores only want to deal with novel-length pieces. Easier for inventory. And some writers can be a bit snobbish about that sort of thing.
So I finished the projects at hand and wrote Imposters. After that, Auberon. I have Queen Of The Pirates in edit mode right now, and I’ll start Last Of The Immortals shortly, which means I will have four novels out by the end of 2015, plus several novellas (The Mind Field, and The Story Road at the very least), and several short stories.
And in a few days, Auberon will be for sale. And a few weeks after that, Imposters.
Wow. Dunno how else to put it.
Weirder, I have actual fans, and they send me fan mail. The writer behind the website 21AAR sent me a wonderful thank you in response to the quarterly newsletter. That made my whole weekend. He even offered to post a banner for me on his website, because he thought that my Alternate History SF (Valeriya and Tatiyana, plus Moscow Gold) would be interesting to his readers. (Those of you who like hard, sharp, pointy things that go boom will really enjoy his site.)
And next weekend, I’m having a party to celebrate Auberon, with whoever wants to come up to Capital Hill in Seattle for some cupcakes and ice cream. There might even be cool posters and wine. And books to sign.
Fabulous Publisher Babe(tm) told me it would be like this, one of these days. I just didn’t comprehend what it all meant. I’m usually the supportive spouse. And those of you who know me know that I don’t do Life of the Party well. But I’m working on it. Promise.
Still. I have a novel coming out. A First Novel(tm) to be followed by several more. And its kinda awesome…