the Author
May
3
9 Comments

Promotion that runs through to the end of May

Posted in Elantra, writing, promotions.

I survived taxes. Except for one unex­pected part that is still ongoing. Taxes give me hives. Or ulcers. Or both. However, Mira is doing a promo­tion. One of these is a reprint, I think – the Maria Snyder book – but it was much beloved when it first arrived. My book should be on sale during this promo­tion, at 2.99. So if you have any interest in Shards of Glass, but you haven’t read the book yet, this is prob­ably the best time to pick it up. *** Just quickly, though: My inten­tion with Sagara stories can flourish or wither depending on the book. I can expect the book to go along the lines of the story I have in my head when I start – but if the book diverges, it diverges. So what I have … Continue reading →

April
29
21 Comments

Thank you!

Posted in writing, Elantra.

When I posted last, I kind of expected maybe 10 – 15 replies. I got a lot more than that, and it was helpful. The Sagara book I’m working on now is the sequel to Shards of Glass. The next book will be the next Cast novel. I’ll let the other possible books cook in the back­ground, because books need some cooking time for me. If I start a book from zero, it takes me far, far longer to find the book. The reason I mentioned Night­shade in the context of the cohort is Annarion. So very much of Night­shade is wrapped up in Annarion — Annarion was, in many ways, his driving force. And Annarion is still upset with him, which is a bit ironic consid­ering what the cohort had been plan­ning before they … Continue reading →

April
24
103 Comments

State of the Author, April 2024 edition

Posted in Cast, Elantra, Essalieyan, writing.

I appear to have missed the month of March entirely >.<. When last I wrote, I had mentioned plumbing failure. Plumbing failure did, indeed, cause destruc­tion of the base­ment from the back of the house to the front of the house. They have to jack­hammer through the cement flooring and dig up a trench to get to the old pipes so they can remove those, and then replace them with new pipes. This was also required on the lawn, so lawn — which is a tiny city lawn to begin with — is less grassy as well. While the plumbers will put the dirt back and pour cement once they’ve finished, the cement takes a suggested three weeks minimum to dry enough that we could paint or glue. Which is fine. And … Continue reading →

February
3
35 Comments

State of the Author, February 2024 edition

Posted in Elantra, Essalieyan, writing, Shane Rebenschied, Kathleen Oudit.

January was the month of reviewing copy-edits for Cast in Atone­ment, while writing the Sagara book that is not yet titled — Magic School 2. Copy-edits are gone, and until page proofs arrive, only writing remains. The West novel in progress is The Wild Road. I have broken 100k words, and I am hoping that the book will be 250k words long. Or less. To be fair, I was also hoping Hunter’s Redoubt would be 250k words long. Which it wasn’t. The only West novel that has stayed on the right side of 200k words was City of Night. Which came in at 176k words. I honestly do not write long books on purpose, but… I write them to reach the end. Some­times the end is farther away than I thought. … Continue reading →

January
1
28 Comments

Happy New Year!

Posted in Academia, Cast, Elantra, Essalieyan, writing, Mira, life.

In 2023 I finished and published Hunter’s Redoubt, the first book in the final sequence of the West universe. In 2024, I intend to finish The Wild Road. Or at least finish the first draft of the book. It will still have to be revised, editing, copy-edited, proof-read. Having a publisher didn’t mean those things didn’t have to be done, but my part in the doing was much smaller. It was reac­tive, not active. But having done it once, I think I’m more aware of what can go wrong, and things should be much smoother. *** In 2023, I finished Cast in Atone­ment, but that’s author-finished; the book will be published in, I think, August 2024. 2023 also saw the publi­ca­tion of Shards of Glass. For me, “finishing” a book is done … Continue reading →