Last night, I finished the Good Enough Draft of Salvage Right (the 25th novel in the Liaden Universe®, built and maintained by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, publishing since! 1988, with a brief hiatus because Big Publishing), which presently weighs in at +/- 106,000 words.
Am I going to leap Right Into revision? you ask.
I am not. I have done, and doubtless with do again, but this time? The book is due to Madame in June. Which means I have the Incredible Luxury of taking two weeks off to rest my brain and Think About Other Things before I leap into Revisionland.
Why does my brain need rest? Aren’t I a writer? Isn’t Making Stuff Up(tm) What I Do?
My brain needs rest because writing is hard. One definition of Writer is “someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people;” I am definitely a writer. And while Making Stuff Up is cool, then you have to Keep Track of It.
Tinsori Light has been eating my brain since — checks notes — November 15, 2021. Six months of riot, bedlam, and derring-do. Jeez, no wonder I’m tired.
But most of it’s on the page now, and my head feels weirdly empty, as it does when a long project is complete.
So, today, instead of choosing faces, or leaping into the fray with Jen Sin, I will be doing housework, and hope to make a good start clearing six month’s worth of Chore IOUs.
In other news — I did promise other news — Steve is simultaneously working on a commissioned short story and the next Jethri novel — Trade Lanes.
We will be attending the ChiCon 8, the World Science Fiction Convention to be held in Chicago September 1-5. We have purchased train tickets and reserved a hotel room. No word yet on if either of us has been chosen for panels. Be sure that we’ll publish our schedule in All The Usual Places, once we have one. Yes, we are hoping to host a Friends of Liad breakfast. More news on that front as we have it, as well.
Fair Trade, which came out in hardcover and ebook* just last Monday, continues to do well. If you’ve read the book, please consider posting a review in the venue of your choice. Reviews not only drive the Algorithm Engines at the Big Stores, but they also help other readers make Important Buying Decisions.
And here we are, all caught up.
Now I need to clean the bathroom.
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*Nope — no word on an audiobook. The person at Baen who is responsible for this aspect of things is reportedly “working on it.”
Thank you again for your hard and amazing work. Writing fiction of any sort boggles my mind, but science fiction/fantasy is even more amazing. I write some non-fiction but can’t even imagine, the operative word, creating people, worlds and even language. Hopefully the appreciation of your readers creates lots of loving energy.
Appreciate the update! I’m certain that what you say is true: Writing is hard work. You deserve a break today (this week??) and should take it.
Thanks for all the B, S, &T you shed over your books.
Fred
In the category of “Liad In The Real world”:
I get recipes in the email from King Arthur Baking Co. This one that I got today, when I looked at the photograph, gave me a very first thought of “chernubia!!”
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/senorita-bread-recipe
they may be too big for chernubia, it’s hard to tell.