Black Knight Chronicles Updates

Some folks have wondered where things are in the process of re-working The Black Knight Chronicles for re-release now that I’m working with a traditional publisher. And even more folks have wondered when they’ll be seeing Book IV – Paint it Black.

The short answer is – I don’t have a firm answer. The long answer is that the rewrites took me longer than I expected, and were more in-depth than I expected. These editors really pushed me, making me look long and hard at the boys and Sabrina and their motivations for doing things. “Because it seemed like fun” was no longer an acceptable answer, so I didn’t even bother with “because I was drinking when I wrote that scene.” They’ve done wonders for my writing, and I think that the books you get when you pick up the Omnibus of Books 1-3 will be so much improved that it’ll be just like reading whole new stories.

In some places, you will be. There are so many changes to things that I feel like a DC Comics editor! But these books are going to be amazing, and I’m prouder of them than I ever have been. But the truth is that I still don’t know if they’ll be ready for Dragon*Con. It’s almost August, and we’re all – me, my editor, my publisher, my copyeditor, the cover artist, the typesetter, the proofreader – everyone working as fast as we can to get the books out. I’m not sure we’ll have them for Dragon, which is a bummer. But if it takes a couple weeks to make it a better book, and the length of time of these revisions is all on me, not the publisher, then I’d rather take longer and have a better end product.

So the omnibus of Books 1-3 will be out sometime this fall. I’m not sure if Paint it Black will drop this year or not. The first draft is complete, but I’ll have to do some major rewrites on that as well once we finish the omnibus. There are story lines that need to be woven into the book, some that need to be enhanced, and continuity to be checked. Plus it’ll take several revisions just to get the story right. So I don’t know if I can finish with it this year, much less get it in the queue for a cover and a release from the publisher this year. But once we get this flood of four books out in short order, we’ll have a better idea of how much time it all takes, and can realistically schedule the following two books. This is a learning process for the publisher as well as for me – it’s not every day they buy six books from one guy, three of which have already been released.

But as that release comes nearer – the books will be removed from all venues other than Amazon. That’s because I only have ebook rights on Amazon as per my contract, so to make sure the books aren’t for sale in two versions, I need to pull them from the other online venues to make sure they’re down before the release date. So if you need to get them for your Nook, either haul ass or wait for the omnibus. Or do both. I won’t mind.

So that’s where we are with the books. I hope this was a satisfactory answer for you guys, and please don’t get grumpy with my publisher for delaying the release. They’re not. It’s me, and my editors, polishing the books until they shine brighter than you’d ever believe!

We are all Aurora

We are all Aurora

I’ll give you my LibertyCon 25 wrap-up later in the week. It was way better than I expected, I had a great time and met some great folks. But I want to talk briefly about what happened last week in Aurora.

I’m not going to talk about guns, or gun control. For the first time in recorded history, I agree with a statement from the NRA, that this is not the time to make statements for political gain or to advance an agenda. This is a time to mourn, a time to reflect, a time to honor the heroes, a time to heal our wounded, and a time to burn these days into our memories.

Because we are all Aurora. This was not simply an attack at a movie theatre. This was an attack on fandom. These are our people. These are the people who were lined up to be there first. To be with fellow fans.

These are the same type of folks that went to Harry Potter release parties. The same type of folks that camped out for the Firefly Reunion panel at ComiCon. The same type of folks that line up an hour before Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle are supposed to start signing just so they can get their Lucifer’s Hammer autographed.

I was surrounded by fandom all weekend, and I was thrilled to be with my people. But my heart hurt as well for my people in Colorado that were dead and bleeding. MY people, motherfucker. So yeah, I was angry, too. I still am. I’m angry that something as innocent and quintessentially American as going to the movies was attacked by some batshit crazy sonofabitch with a bunch of ammo and an axe to grind. I’m angry that the next time I see a guy cosplaying an Umbrella Corp. soldier, that I’m going to be a little cautious. That the next time I see any militaristic cosplay the first thing that pops into my head will be “copycat” and I’ll look for my weapons and the exit. That pisses me off, that one cowardly fuckbag with bad hair dye can touch me from thousands of miles away, and corrupt something that I love.

But then I look for something better in all this. And I find it. I find Stephanie Davies, who saved her friend’s life and wouldn’t leave her side even though it might have cost her life. I find Matt McQuinn, who gave his life to shield his girlfriend from gunfire. I find Christian Bale, who spent today in the hospital in Colorado visiting the victims of the shooting. This was a terrible, terrible tragedy. The cost to fandom everywhere is incredible. I’m still angry. I’m still concerned about security at the next major event. But then I remember that I am surrounded by fans. And fantasy and science fiction fans are the best in the world. These are the most giving, most caring people I’ve ever known. And I know that we will take care of our own.

This week I will weep for Colorado. But I also know that there are heroes in all of us, and sometimes it takes the darkest night to bring them out.

The following people lost their lives last weekend. Never forget. I won’t.

Jonathan Blunk

Alexander J. Bolk

Jesse Childress

Gordon Cowden

Jessica Ghawl

John Thomas Larimer

Matt McQuinn

Micayla Medek

Veronica Moser-Sullivan

Alex Sullivan

Alex Teves

Rebecca Wingo

 

 

 

 

 

This week & LibertyCon Schedule – Come see me in Chattanooga!

This week is a busy one, culminating in my first trip to LibertyCon in Chattanooga. I’m excited about meeting some folks like Brandon Sanderson, creator of the Mistborn series and host of the Writing Excuses podcast, which is one of my favorites. He also does some series about wheels, I think. 🙂

Tonight I’m heading down to Rock Hill to hang out with my friends Faith, Kalayna and D.B. Jackson at their signing event at the BookKnack. Kalayna and D.B. both have new books out, and Faith is previewing some stuff from the next Jane Yellowrock book, even though it won’t be out for a while. If you don’t already have Grave Memory and Thieftaker, get your ass out there and pick them up, then get them signed! If you already have them (like me!) get them signed.

Seriously, Thieftaker is easily one the best historical fiction book I’ve ever read. The descriptions are lush, the characters are well-drawn and believable, and the magic system makes perfect sense. It’s a fast-paced book that never left me feeling rushed, and yet held my attention throughout. All in all, an excellently crafted book that I think you’ll enjoy.

And Grave Memory is the third book in the Alex Craft series, one of my favorite urban fantasy series. I love the characters, and Kalayna has really stepped up the stakes in this third installment. It just hit the USA Today bestseller list, a well-deserved accolade.

Then Thursday I’m headed to Chattanooga for LibertyCon. The con starts Friday, but I’m getting in a little early to see what’s doing, and to make sure I’m not late for my first panel Friday.

Here’s the schedule for LibertyCon.

Friday 3PM – Autograph Session

Friday 5PM – Opening Ceremonies

Friday 6PM – Writing a Series

Saturday 10AM – Self-Promotion Tips & Tools

Saturday 1PM – Self-Publishing as a viable career option

Saturday 5PM – Autograph Session

Saturday 6PM – Reading

Sunday 11AM – Autograph Session

Sunday Noon – Tech Tools for Writers

Sunday 2PM – Why are vampires ALWAYS a hot ticket?

I don’t have a table in the dealer’s room for this con, so the only chance to pick up my books or a Read Recklessly t-shirt is to come to one of the autograph sessions or the reading. Hope to see some of you there!