the Author
May
25
40 Comments

State of the Author, May 2014 edition

Posted in Miscellaneous, Books, DAW, Essalieyan, Queen of the Dead, writing.

I will start with happy news first:

photo-1I’m not a fabu­lous photog­ra­pher >.>. I couldn’t make to to the RT conven­tion, but they mailed the award, and I received it yesterday (I had it sent to the book­store because someone is always there during the day).

At the moment, it is sitting beside my computer, along with the birthday card I received from DAW (which would be: Sheila Gilbert, Betsy Wolheim, Joshua Starr, Katie Hoffman, and Briar (whose last name I can’t find >.>).

This is all good, because: I have — for entirely different reasons, jetti­soned the 55k words of Grave, and started it again. And then again. And then again. So: I am working, and have been working, on this book, which I honestly thought would be finished by now. I have not pulled out all my hair.

Oracle is going well, on the other hand. If it weren’t for the fact that it’s so long, it would be a joy to write. Length has always been one of my big stres­sors — and this is true whether I’m writing a short, a novella, or a novel. My sense of how long some­thing will be before I actu­ally write it is tenu­ously linked to reality.

On the other hand, Silence and Touch were short books. Grave will be short. So maybe stress about story length is the better stress.

In other news: I am Behind On Life. I have done very little reading recently, I have watched no movies. Tower of God is on hiatus, so I don’t have the Sunday morning ToG chapter to antic­i­pate. I have been working on ebook proof-read­ing/­for­mat­ting, but not quickly. I promised someone that the UK ebook of Oracle would be avail­able at the same time as the US ebook version — and I still intend to do that, but I’d hoped to release the ebooks at more regular inter­vals, and at this rate, they’re prob­ably going to all appear close to the same day >.<.

But, on the bright side, it is a gorgeous day; it is warm, but not hot, and I am about to sit down to work on Grave again.

 

40 Responses to State of the Author, May 2014 edition

  1. Michael says:
    May 25, 2014 at 4:56 pm

    Happy birthday! And congrat­u­la­tions on the award. You have my permis­sion to relax and go see a movie with your husband :).

  2. Christina Stottlemyer says:
    May 25, 2014 at 4:59 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on your award! Continued bless­ings in all that you do.

  3. Michael says:
    May 25, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    Glad to hear you’re doing well, and congrats on the award! Slow and steady – we’ll be here and ready when you’re finished.

  4. michelle says:
    May 25, 2014 at 5:45 pm

    Are you going to be at Conflu­ence this year?

  5. Joey says:
    May 25, 2014 at 6:16 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on the award!

    Go GRAVE Go!

  6. Michael says:
    May 25, 2014 at 6:59 pm

    I hadn’t planned on it, but I suppose my arm could be twisted…

  7. Debbie Holcomb says:
    May 25, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    Happy Birthday and congrat­u­la­tions on the very well deserved award. Looking forward to Cast In Flames. I want more books but I also want you to enjoy your life as you give so much joy to all of us who read you amazing books. THANKS!!

  8. Cyndi Parker says:
    May 25, 2014 at 7:11 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions Lady!

  9. Jamie says:
    May 25, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    Congrats on the award!

  10. controuble says:
    May 25, 2014 at 8:27 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions — well deserved in my opinion. Happy Birthday, too.

  11. Hilda says:
    May 25, 2014 at 9:07 pm

    Dear Michelle, congrat­u­la­tions on your award!!!. Next, on movies, my son who is a wise man when it comes to Fantasy movies said not to miss the 2nd Hobitt movie since the third is coming out in October. So mark your calendar. He said it was the best in Fantasy. I’m sure we are all glad Oracle is going so well even if it’s too long, although I under­stand how bad it’s for you if it breaks your time­line for writing as much as you do. We, you know, love them long. Please don’t break Oracle in two books regard­less of how long. We want to read it, before Meralone refuses to fight anymore. In fact, I’m currently reading Skir­mish in my Nook, after reading House Name the same way. This is after reading them in hard book style when they first came out. I think the Nook gives them a new air. In another section of your site I had asked you whether you have ever consid­ered getting your 2 major series into movies a la “Lord of the Ring” style? I haven’t checked for an answer recently. I think the movies will be as big as “Tolkiens”. Take a week off to smell the Spring flowers. We wish you well for everything.

  12. Tchula says:
    May 25, 2014 at 9:14 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on the award for Sorrow! I hope you get lots more recog­ni­tion of your work, because it is so well-deserved (and long overdue imo).

    Sounds like Grave is going to be just as much of a pain as Touch, but I know you will even­tu­ally wrestle it to press. It’s good to hear that Oracle is going well; I await it eagerly, as you know. (I’m currently in the middle of a reread of Riven Shield as a matter of fact – got to prepare…) lol

    Happy Birthday, and I hope you get to have some fun and decom­press a bit before diving back into work. :-D

  13. ElizabethN says:
    May 25, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on the award, well deserved. Hope that Grave coalesces into some­thing that makes you happy.

  14. Zia says:
    May 25, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on the reward — defi­nitely well deserved. As many others here have said…Happy Birthday as well. Hope­fully Grave starts being such a frus­tra­tion soon. Like others here the length of Oracle doesn’t alarm me in the slightest. Longer is always better :)

    Thank you for taking the time to post an update!

  15. Sivi Sivanesan says:
    May 26, 2014 at 7:24 am

    I hope you have a fantastic birthday. you deserve it for writ­ting such bril­liant books that allow the rest of us to have fun delving into the worlds you write.
    congrat­u­la­tions on the award too.

  16. desi lee says:
    May 26, 2014 at 3:06 pm

    Happy Birthday Michelle. Enjoy and make sure you spend time in real life! May the coming year bring peace, pros­perity, and much joy.

  17. Estara Swanberg says:
    May 26, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    Happy belated birthday — my moth­er’s birthday was today, so you two are very close ^^. She has reached the age of 80 — I hope you will, too, at least — for purely egocen­tric reasons of hope­fully getting more books from you, what­ever the word length and however long they may take you.

    My main wish for you: health.

  18. Darbie says:
    May 26, 2014 at 6:28 pm

    Happy belated birthday having one is better than not. While enjoying the weather go for a walk my motto life is a gift and way to a appre­ciate is to stay healthy looking forward to anything you write

  19. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 27, 2014 at 12:13 pm

    We’re going, at least as of now :). I missed the conven­tion last year (as in: it was cancelled because the hotel shut down without warning, and I missed being there, not as in, I didn’t go).

  20. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 27, 2014 at 12:14 pm

    This is oddly comforting, Joey.

  21. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 27, 2014 at 12:16 pm

    Sorry — that was in the FAQ (I just looked), which I don’t always see >.<.

    The thing about movies is this: someone else has to want to make them. The cost of producing a movie is vast and stag­gering, and the entire produc­tion involves hundreds of people. I’ve had two people express interest in the CAST novels, but they weren’t finished the book when they emailed to ask about the film agent, and frankly, that book would not be filmable, given Severn’s actions. So it’s never gone beyond that.

    I’d be happy to see anime made of the CAST novels, though.

  22. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 27, 2014 at 12:18 pm

    I am going to my favorite restau­rant for dinner tonight because: 25th anniver­sary :). And GRAVE, I’ll write about later — it’s an entirely different writing problem. And frus­trating, of course >.<

  23. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 27, 2014 at 12:29 pm

    I’m old enough now that continued good health for me & family is pretty much at the top of the list, too :).

    <3

  24. Fyreink (@FyreInk) says:
    May 27, 2014 at 4:05 pm

    Happy belated Birthday and Happy Anniver­sary! Congrat­u­la­tions on winning the RT Award!

  25. Hilda says:
    May 27, 2014 at 6:02 pm

    Yes, the someone that would want to make the movies, is the one that can read the series, has the money or connec­tions for the money, because they can see the $$$$ of profits coming out of them, the fame, the accom­plish­ment. These movies are made by groups of investors​.You have no idea how much I have wanted to have the ability to write scripts. When I read the books again and again I can see them like a movie in my mind eye. The char­ac­ters and their doing are that well defined. The House War Series is perfect for several very long movies. And the public will pay anything to see them. When I read about Meralone, I see Gandalf; Jewel is Bilbo, her gang are the Hobbits; Avandar is the King; Allasakar is Sauron, etc., etc. No that your char­ac­ters are a copy. It’s just that they are so well iden­ti­fied that readers can see them as real persons involved in incred­ible adven­tures. They are char­ac­ters written perfectly for these type of heroes movies, specially. I may not live to see this, but I know it will happen. Most of the events in the novels can become movies. Nothing must be added; it’s all in the books. Just look at the river growing, pulling horses, warriors, demons into it as it happened in the village of Damar. Jewel and her den trips into the under­city. Finding the Sleepers The beings that Jewel and her group saw outside of the Terafin library window once it changed; her flying, fighting, talking cats. Jewel’s fight with the demon around the flaming tree and the trees in colors; her travel to the dreaming world and her fight there. I can go on and on. It may take years but I’m sure my kids will love to see the movies of your books.

  26. Tchula says:
    May 28, 2014 at 11:01 am

    Happy Anniver­sary! Dave and I cele­brate our 15th this month also. It’s hard to believe the years are going by so quickly! ;-)

  27. Kitsum says:
    May 28, 2014 at 8:56 pm

    Congrat­u­la­tions on the award!! So glad to hear Oracle is going well. Like many others I am eager to dive into it. Is there any possi­bility DAW will ever publish the Sunsword books in a TP or HC format? I’m sure I’m not the only reader who would appre­ciate being able to reread – and own– these books in a larger print; and now that there is this fantastic series that basi­cally follows the Sunsword series, they become even more impor­tant, and deserve to be in a collec­table format. That said, I’m happy that all of the House Name series is in HC with gorgeous covers.
    I love your long-winded style with complex syntax, so please keep it coming!

  28. Sivi says:
    May 31, 2014 at 7:09 am

    HI Michelle, I was wondering if you now knew which day you were sched­uled to sign at Loncon3? I’ve managed to get a ticket for Monday the 18th, and I’m hoping that you might still be around so that I might be able to get a copy of my book signed. If I happen to miss you, I hope you have a fantastic week/couple of days in London :)
    All the best

  29. Michelle Sagara says:
    May 31, 2014 at 10:36 am

    I’ll be *at* the conven­tion for the whole thing (Thursday to Monday), but we don’t gener­ally get our sched­ules until later in the Summer. So, I don’t know when — but I’ll post my schedule when I do know. If it’s not on a Monday, we can work some­thing out :).

  30. Stacy Schmidt says:
    June 1, 2014 at 9:31 am

    I’m new to your books and just completed Cast in Sorrow today. I’ve enjoyed them so much. The award was well-deserved! I’ve searched the site, but cannot find refer­ence to the next in the series. When will it be out? And Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!

  31. Zia says:
    June 1, 2014 at 11:25 am

    The next book is Cast in Flame, and it will be out July 29th, 2014 :)

  32. michelle says:
    June 1, 2014 at 1:22 pm

    Zia got here first :). The ques­tion did remind me to update the front page, though.

  33. Genna Lee Warner (@GennaLee) says:
    June 2, 2014 at 8:28 pm

    The next ques­tion is when will the first chapter be up (for Cast in Flame)? I don’t know why I like to torture myself so. :)

  34. David Y says:
    June 2, 2014 at 9:55 pm

    I hope it doesn’t go up until the book’s in the store!

  35. Hilda says:
    June 3, 2014 at 10:01 am

    Genna, it will destroy my piece of mind; but I can’t help it. If the First chapter is out there, I will read it. It’s very funny, but I had ordered the book a “long” time ago from Amazon; yesterday, I also ordered from Barnes & Noble for my NOOK (in case I’m at the beach) when it’s out..

  36. Courtney says:
    June 5, 2014 at 6:18 pm

    Do you read a lot of the other webtoons?

  37. shaunt says:
    June 9, 2014 at 8:58 pm

    Congrats, on the Award!! I haven’t written in a while, but I continue to re-read all your books waiting for the next!! Waiting.…on cast in flame, and your next House Name book, it’s always like Christmas when they finally come out, can barely wait the morning of to read, and then sad when it’s done.

  38. Heather says:
    June 11, 2014 at 7:38 pm

    Any idea if and when we will get the first chapter to read for Cast in Flame?

  39. Danita says:
    June 12, 2014 at 12:16 am

    Grin, I was just wondering when would be a prop­erly digni­fied time to begin begging. I soooo want that book
    Danita

  40. Heather says:
    June 12, 2014 at 10:23 pm

    We all need to beg beg beg away

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