January 16, 2012
Appropriately cryptic
Unlike the last cover I showed you (for Immortal) the cover for Hellenic Immortal is likely to be something you’re not going to fully “get” right away, in the sense that it’s depicting something from the contents of the book. Thematically, the new cover is linked to the previous cover in obvious ways and still retains the “ancient man in modern world” motif. I hope you find it interesting.
January 9, 2012
New design
This is a draft, but it’s pretty close to what the new cover of Immortal is going to look like. More language might be added to the front (“New edition” and/or “Bonus short story: On Gods and Succubi”, or not) and the back cover language and layout hasn’t been dealt with yet. But the hard work is done. And now, on to Hellenic Immortal.
January 8, 2012
“Currently Unavailable”
As I previously announced, Immortal is switching publishers in 2011. This is almost all entirely good news, especially since it means Hellenic Immortal will be arriving shortly.
But in order to list the new edition of Immortal the old edition has to go away first. In a perfect world not ruled by computers and automation and people who steal copyrights, it would be possible for the current edition to continue to exist up until the day the new one is up for sale. Since we don’t live in that world, as of right now Immortal is listed on Amazon as “currently unavailable”. In the next week or two it will also be disappearing from the Nook and Apple, and everywhere else.
But it’s only for a month.
About that
Actually more like two. The previously announced release dates have been bumped by a month each. Immortal is now going to be re-released on March 8, 2012, and Hellenic Immortal is now scheduled for May 3, 2012.
The reason for this is simple: there isn’t enough time to promote the books properly. And now that the book is disappearing from the Internet for a solid two months, this is even more important.
In other news
Copies of the ARC for Immortal will be going out to reviewers in the next week, and in a few days I should have a draft of the new cover to show you. And the final edit is pending for Hellenic Immortal. And in the next couple of weeks the cover for Hellenic will be all set the ARC for it shortly after THAT, and then we’re really rolling. Stick around.
January 2, 2012
Some new words from Adam the Immortal
As you all know, Hellenic Immortal, the second book in the Immortal series, is going to be released on April 5th, 2012. I’ve already shared some choice words of wisdom from Adam from the first book. Below are a few from the new novel. Enjoy!
…One of the kicks I get out of cards and dice is that both were once used for telling the future, so the idea of employing them in games of chance just cracks me up. Every time I crap out at the table I’m thinking not only did I lose my money, I also just foretold a drought for my village.
I am probably not the best source when it comes to who invented what. For a long time I thought I invented the wheel.
We spotted the Parthenon in the distance… [which] made me feel better until the moonlight broke from the clouds and I saw how crumbled it was. I had outlasted stone, and if that’s not a humbling discovery I don’t know what is.
It’s easy to see how the werewolf mythos ended up conflated with the supposed power of moonlight… I always thought it was terribly inconvenient. I mean, if you’re going to be a monster, wouldn’t you rather be one during the new moon?
Pretending to be a god is almost always a really bad idea, and I absolutely do not recommend it.
It took me a few minutes longer than it should have to get back into the room thanks to the electronic key card, which I’m adding to the long list of modern improvements I don’t care for. I just can’t get the hang of them. And by the time I do the world will probably have moved on to something even more annoying. On the positive side we seem to be getting closer to “open sesame” actually working, so I have that to look forward to.
Very occasionally, I will pop up in the historical record. Most of the time I’m not at all easy to spot, because most of the time I’m just a guy who does a thing and then disappears again into the background behind someone-or-other who’s busy doing something much more important. But there are a couple of rare occasions when I get a starring role.
When you find out the government of a particular nation is actively searching for you, it’s almost always in your best interest to get out of that nation as quickly as possible.
I realized how very much I missed being able to sit down opposite another human and compare experiences. Long periods of isolation from the tribe of Man always got me feeling this way eventually, to the extent that even the most mundane of long-ago conversations began to take on a certain romantic quality in hindsight. And when you’re looking back longingly at a centuries-old discussion on the subject of who farted, it’s time to go find someone to talk to.
The first time I saw an automobile it nearly ran me over, and that’s pretty much colored how I’ve felt about them since.
I do not, as a rule, get involved in family politics. It’s almost always messy, generally revolves around distant slights I don’t have a hope of understanding, and all parties tend to be ridiculously unreasonable. Plus, depending on the family, it can get you killed.
The Athenians defeated the Trojans, the Persians defeated the Athenians, the Persians defeated Spartans, the Athenians and the Spartans defeated the Persians, the Spartans defeated the Athenians, the Thebans defeated the Spartans, and the Macedonians defeated everybody. So you can understand why I didn’t go out of my way to establish a firm residence anywhere in the Greek sphere; sometimes I was afraid to even sit down.
December 14, 2011
New publisher
As I explained here, Immortal is changing publishing houses, and Hellenic Immortal is on board with the same publisher. That publisher? The Writer’s Coffee Shop Publishing House, henceforth known as TWCS because that’s a mouthful of a name.
I met some folks from TWCS at the Indie Book Event over the summer, and honestly I think the only reason it took this long to inquire about working with them was that I thought they only handled romance.
You will find that TWCS has a website! And marketing! And promotions! And you will likely find that the least expensive place to buy their books is directly from their website, so keep that link on-hand.
Publishing dates
The new edition of Immortal will be available February 9, 2012. This edition will have a new cover design (about which you will hear more about just as soon as we figure out what the hell the new cover should look like) and it will be marketed as having a bonus chapter/teaser for Hellenic Immortal. I would LOVE it if you, a fan who has already read Immortal, picked up a new copy of the book. But I’m going to be honest with you: the bonus chapter is the same thing I shared with you at the beginning of the summer. You can read it for free right now here.
The publishing date for Hellenic Immortal is April 5, 2012.
Keep in mind these dates are written in very dark pencil, not ink. Ahead still is: editing; cover design for both books; navigating the mayhem likely to ensue when attempting to issue a new edition of a book from a different publisher than the one who published the old edition, which is going to wreak havoc with online retailers.
Now then: anyone want to pitch a cover idea to me? I’m open to anything.
December 7, 2011
Because I can’t help myself
I don’t think I will ever get used to the delay. I’ve been an Internet writer/blogger/columnist/tweeter/whateverthefuckwecallitnow for most of my adult life, and the great thing about being… that… is the immediate gratification that derives from trotting something out to readers immediately.
Novel writing, on the other hand, means accepting that a finished book won’t be seen by readers that are not in my immediate family for years.
Fixer
Today’s example of this is Fixer. I wrote this book between Immortal and Hellenic Immortal, which means it has been lying around in some completed form for at least five years. It needed an edit though, badly, and so I left it alone while busying myself with various screenwriting endeavors and all matters concerning Adam the immortal. I finally got a chance to re-finish Fixer only recently, and that editing concluded a few days ago.
And there is a very good chance this book won’t debut until 2013. Because that’s just the way this has to work.
Sample chapter
But since I went through all the trouble to rewrite it, I’d really like you to read it, so to accommodate my need for interest and feedback and your (hopefully) need for new material from me, I’m going to introduce you to the main character by bringing out chapter one of Fixer. If you read it and hate me for not posting the remaining 98,000 words of the novel immediately, I understand. Not that that wouldn’t be a really excellent reaction.
December 5, 2011
I have heard you
I’ve been getting a lot of very specific feedback from my Immortal readers along the lines of, “when is the sequel coming out?” and “that sequel, it’ll be coming out soon, right?” and the occasional, “where the fuck is the sequel?”
To which my answer has been: it’s finished. And I don’t know when it’s coming out.
Oddly, this hasn’t placated anybody.
Hellenic Immortal
It is true that I finished the final rewrite of Hellenic Immortal back in May, and it is also true that it has not been published since that time (aside from this sample chapter.) It is also true that it’s almost always a good idea to roll out a new book within a year of the prior book’s rollout or risk losing readers.
Now here is what I couldn’t explain before now. I had an agreement in place with the publisher of Immortal to publish the second book as well. But for a number of reasons I can’t go into here, I didn’t want them to publish it. Which meant finding a new publisher, one that would be willing to take on the second book of a series without owning– and thereby reaping the benefits of the sales of– the first book. (And the addendum to “publish your next book within a year of the last one” is, “the next book will help sell the last book”.)
Contract pending
As I write this, a contract for Hellenic Immortal is en route and ready to be signed. I don’t have a release date yet for it, but it should be in the first quarter of 2012. Between then and now the cover will need to be designed and prepublication blurbs will have to be obtained and so on. I’m hoping that all of you who have patiently awaited this release can patiently wait a little longer.
Interestingly, one of the things that may hold up the release of Hellenic Immortal is the re-release of Immortal.
Second edition
And that’s the other big news of the day here. Barring any significant reversals, the same publisher will be obtaining the rights to Immortal as well. This will mean a new edition with new cover art, new distribution channels, additional promotional opportunities and so on. I am very excited about this, because as well as the book did in the past year (and it did very well) there is still much more that can be done to make people out there aware of it.
And finally
What this means for the future: as those of you who follow my Twitter feed know, I just finished work on a novel called Fixer. This is a standalone novel about a man who can see a rolling five seconds into the future trying to stop a killer only he can see. It’s (of course, because it’s me) a blend of sci-fi, fantasy, horror and humor– much heavier on the horror and lighter on the humor than Immortal– that I’m nearly positive you’ll love. (If there is enough demand, I may put up a sample chapter for you…)
If nothing else were on tap this book would be (possibly self-) published in the first quarter of 2012. But with Hellenic on its way I’m afraid you may have to wait a little longer for it.
Meanwhile, I have to start work on the third Immortal book. Believe it or not, it will be the first novel I’ve started from scratch in six years. Wish me luck.
November 11, 2011
Verbatim
Wife Deb likes to leave music playing for the pets during the day. She uses the Comcast music channels, and tries to mix it up. This morning she selected Christian Rock, of all things.
Over lunch at Bisuteki:
Deb: So did you change the channel right away?
I gets up Sunday, m'kay?
Me: No, I left it. I wasn’t really listening anyway.
Deb: So when you go home you’ll find the pets are uplifted and content!
Me: Or one of them will be crucified.
Deb: (Chokes on fried rice)
Me: Hey, if it’s Zeke, we won’t have to worry about giving him his medicine for the next three days.
October 27, 2011
Dear area car driver:
In the event that you, area car driver, happen to be dropping off a passenger, please execute the following maneuvers:
1: signal and get to the side of the road;
2: leave the turn signal on while you’re stopped.
As you can see, these are two steps. Two very easy steps. These two very easy steps are intended to replace the following alternative method of dropping off passengers:
–just letting out the passenger when already stopped at the light, without putting on a turn signal or moving out of the lane in any significant way, or checking the right side of the car first for passing bicyclists.
Why?
Here’s the thing, area car driver. Your passenger has not been looking at the road. He or she does not habitually look in the rear view mirror before opening his or her door, especially when getting out of the back seat.
Drivers such as yourself are well-trained in looking down the street for bikes, and those of us on bikes thank you for it. You are also aware when there is a bike near your car, because you’re the driver and that’s your job. But your clueless passenger is not aware and hasn’t had to be for the entire ride, and the curb is right there. They are not thinking of the possibility that a bike is attempting to navigate the space between the car and the curb at the same moment in which they are opening the door.
Likewise, the biker is not aware someone is about to get out of the car because the biker does not know you have stopped to let someone out, because you have not stopped to let someone out. You have stopped at the light. There is no way to tell the difference between stopping for a light and stopping to drop someone off without using psychic powers.
Bicyclists do not have psychic powers. In case you were not sure about that.
And finally
In the event you have neglected to pull over adequately or used a turn signal, and it is raining, and your passenger has opened the rear right door cutting off the cyclist that was at that very moment navigating that same space between the car and the curb, it would be in your best interest not to yell at the biker who had to use the side of your car to stop before he hit your car door. Suggesting that the bike had plenty of time to stop just proves both of you knew the bike was there and decided to open the door anyway, which makes you look like massive assholes.
Addendum
When bike brakes get wet they don’t work as well. Just like car brakes, actually. If you, area car driver, ever find yourself saying, “the bike will have enough time to stop” you should re-evaluate your decision-making capabilities.
Especially when it’s raining.
October 25, 2011
We’re recapping the first year in the life of Immortal. If you’re not reading this blog, hopefully it’s because you’re busy reading Immortal instead.
Is Adam an asshole?
The winter brought more readers and more reviews, and lots of more interesting questions. Two question in particular resulted in my favorite blog post title, by far: Mary Sues and assholes. Author Spencer Seidel also checked in with a nice review, as did Associated Content and Night Owl Paranormal.
Christmas also brought a celebration of the new year and an opportunity for readers to order their own signed copies. (An offer that is still valid.)
An interesting series of discussions
In January, writer Jacqueline Lichtenberg weighed in with one of the more interesting discourses on Immortal. Jacqueline had gotten a review copy of the book prior to publication in anticipation of a possible blurb. What she saw when she read it was an opportunity to use the narrative approach I took– I broke some rules, let’s just say– as a teaching exercise.
The results (mind you, she liked the book) began here, continued a week later when my response was posted here and picked up again three months later in response to some of the criticisms posted in the comments section of the first two posts, here.
Adam’s first interview
While all of that was happening my main character, Adam, who may or may not be an asshole, gave his first interview. It was a great chance for him to be sober, which became important in April when we went on our first Blog Tour.
Next: A Blog Tour!!!!
