Category: Blog

Books read in 2022

42   Stormy Petrel, Mary Stewart (e)
41   Hither, Page, Kat Sebastian (Page and Sommers #1) (e)
40   A Delicate Deception, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #3*) (e)
39   A Duke in Disguise, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #2*) (e)
38   The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Axie Oh (e)
37   The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo #2)
36   Sweep of the Blade, Ilona Andrews (Inkeeper #4) (e)
35   The Rat-catcher’s Daughter, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys 0.5) (e)
34   Gilded Cage, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys #2) (e)
33  When the King Comes Home, Caroline Stevermer (e)
32  Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart (re-read) (e)
31  Miss Moriarty, I Presume ( Lady Sherlock Book 6) Sherry Thomas (e)
30  New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy (re-read)
29  Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie (re-read)
28  Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan (Celestial Kingdom #1) (e)
27  Summer in Orcus, T. Kingfisher (e)
26  A Gentleman Undone, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #2) (e)
25  A Lady Awakened, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #1) (e)
24  Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (e)
23  Shadow of the Swan, Nicola M. Cameron (Hidden Empire #1) (e)
22  Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #9) (e)
21  To My Muse, Nicola M. Cameron (e)
20  Unfit to Print, KJ Charles (e)
19  When Blood Lies, C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #17)
18  The Last Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton (e)
17  Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16  Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15  Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14  Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13  Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12  The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11  Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10  Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9   Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8   Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7   Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6   A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5   Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4   The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3   Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2   Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1   Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)

__________
* The Regency Imposters #1 is Unmasked by the Marquis, which I read backaways

You can be here by 4:30 ’cause I made you a reservation

So!  I finished my draft of “The Last Train to Clarkesville” under the 8,000 word upper limit (by an entire 140 words).  The story has now gone back to Steve for one! more! go-through before we send it on to the editor.

For those waiting for news of the Fair Trade audiobook — I have news!  Baen reports that the contract for the Audible edition of Fair Trade has been signed and countersigned!  This is progress.  We don’t yet have a production date, or the name of a narrator, but motion is happening in a forwarder direction.  We will let you know just as soon as we have more news, and we thank you all for your patience.

In even! more! Fair Trade news, Amazon is having a sale on the hardcover edition ($14.99; save $10.01!).  Here’s the link.

Having finished “Last Train…” last night, I’m giving myself a half-day to, yanno, putter around with the embroidery box, clear away the debris from the last project, choose a new one, scrubble some cats, and what not.  Tomorrow, I need to get with preparing Duainfey for release under the proper author name.

That’s today’s little bit of news.

Everybody stay well.

Oh!  Blog-post title brought to you by The Monkees, of course, “The Last Train to Clarksville.”  Here’s your link.

Books read in 2022

41   Hither, Page, Kat Sebastian (Page and Sommers #1) (e)
40   A Delicate Deception, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #3*) (e)
39   A Duke in Disguise, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #2*) (e)
38   The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Axie Oh (e)
37   The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo #2)
36   Sweep of the Blade, Ilona Andrews (Inkeeper #4) (e)
35   The Rat-catcher’s Daughter, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys 0.5) (e)
34   Gilded Cage, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys #2) (e)
33  When the King Comes Home, Caroline Stevermer (e)
32  Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart (re-read) (e)
31  Miss Moriarty, I Presume ( Lady Sherlock Book 6) Sherry Thomas (e)
30  New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy (re-read)
29  Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie (re-read)
28  Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan (Celestial Kingdom #1) (e)
27  Summer in Orcus, T. Kingfisher (e)
26  A Gentleman Undone, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #2) (e)
25  A Lady Awakened, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #1) (e)
24  Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (e)
23  Shadow of the Swan, Nicola M. Cameron (Hidden Empire #1) (e)
22  Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #9) (e)
21  To My Muse, Nicola M. Cameron (e)
20  Unfit to Print, KJ Charles (e)
19  When Blood Lies, C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #17)
18  The Last Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton (e)
17  Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16  Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15  Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14  Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13  Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12  The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11  Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10  Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9   Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8   Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7   Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6   A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5   Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4   The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3   Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2   Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1   Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)

__________
* The Regency Imposters #1 is Unmasked by the Marquis, which I read backaways

The Tuesday report

Still working on “The Last Train to Clarkesville.”  Was hoping to finish today, which — eh.  Maybe?  But probably not.

Firefly has been very busy with the cat toys.  While Sprite and Belle are content to sit among the toys (and Trooper mostly ignores them, unless they are actively in play), Firefly carries them around, and makes little groupings.  Just inside the tech room door, there’s a deliberate cluster of two chipmunks, one fish, one rat, and, at a little distance, a fluffy ball.  It looks like a team meeting, or maybe a tea party.  Maybe I should get her a tea service?

She also very busily carries toys downstairs, and then brings them back up.  Possibly, she’s showing them where the litter boxes are, so that there are no Accidents.  Nobody want any Accidents, amirite?

For those keeping track of Salvage Right’s progress through the Maze of Publishing, Madame the Editor reports that she has read the manuscript, and that it was “great fun.”  Next up is cover art, and copy editing, and galleys, all in their own good time.

We are apparently still looking at a June 2023 publication date.

For those who have been Patiently Waiting for the Fair Trade audiobook — I must continue to disappoint you with news of no news.

Steve is now in the Authorial Hot Seat, and working away on Trade Lanes, due for a September 2022 turn-in.

And that?  Is the Tuesday report.

Books read in 2022

40   A Delicate Deception, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #3*) (e)
39   A Duke in Disguise, Kat Sebastian (The Regency Imposters #2*) (e)
38   The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Axie Oh (e)
37   The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo #2)
36   Sweep of the Blade, Ilona Andrews (Inkeeper #4) (e)
35   The Rat-catcher’s Daughter, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys 0.5) (e)
34   Gilded Cage, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys #2) (e)
33  When the King Comes Home, Caroline Stevermer (e)
32  Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart (re-read) (e)
31  Miss Moriarty, I Presume ( Lady Sherlock Book 6) Sherry Thomas (e)
30  New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy (re-read)
29  Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie (re-read)
28  Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan (Celestial Kingdom #1) (e)
27  Summer in Orcus, T. Kingfisher (e)
26  A Gentleman Undone, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #2) (e)
25  A Lady Awakened, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #1) (e)
24  Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (e)
23  Shadow of the Swan, Nicola M. Cameron (Hidden Empire #1) (e)
22  Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #9) (e)
21  To My Muse, Nicola M. Cameron (e)
20  Unfit to Print, KJ Charles (e)
19  When Blood Lies, C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #17)
18  The Last Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton (e)
17  Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16  Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15  Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14  Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13  Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12  The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11  Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10  Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9   Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8   Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7   Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6   A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5   Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4   The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3   Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2   Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1   Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)

__________
* The Regency Imposters #1 is Unmasked by the Marquis, which I read backaways

Saturday in what passes for the city

The day got off to a mixed start, so I spent my time usefully cleaning the bathroom and steam-cleaning the kitchen floor.

Then! My new Project Box arrived, and I spent some time organizing my thread, and my hoops, and my tools, and by the time that was done, I was feeling almost human again, so I got out my light-sheet (really can’t call it a light-box, it’s so flat), and traced the design I want to stitch on the needle-holder I made the other day.  I have two “transfer” options available to me at the moment, being out of dressmaker’s carbon.  The first is a felt pen, which gives a thick black line.  The second is a pencil that produces a medium reddish-brown line.  My usual bias is pencil, but I’m thinking that for this, I like the black line better.  We shall, as they say, see.

On the schedule this afternoon is looking out cover art Duainfey and Longeye, which we will be releasing under the proper author’s byline in August.

Also, I’m revising “The Last Train to Clarkesville,” which is due mid-August, so I really ought to get on the writing part of that task, now that I’ve figured out who this One Guy is and how he got into the story.

And that’s Saturday in the city.

Here’s a picture of the Project Box, since I know you’re all dying to know what it looks like:

 

Story Ideas: What Not To Do

Short form:  Please do NOT write to me-or-us with story ideas.

Long form:

1   We are not as forgetful as some folks assume we are.  It helps to bear in mind that if it’s been “years” and you haven’t seen X THING /  CHARACTER / LOOSE END addressed “yet” — that’s probably only two or three books.  You read much faster than we write.  The smart money says we probably haven’t “forgotten.”  We just haven’t gotten there yet.

2   I make it a practice not to read story ideas sent by readers.  This is not because I don’t love you.  It’s because there’s a long, bad history in writing regarding people suing writers for having “used their idea” without giving them credit/compensation/the firstborn/whatever.  I don’t have time for this kind of nonsense, so it is my policy to throw out, unread, ideas for future storylines in any of my working universes.

And, yanno, I’m not just being an Old Meanie, here.  This policy serves you, too.  Say, I’m planning on doing X in the next novel, and you write to me all eager for me to X in the next novel.  What happens, if I read your letter?  I have to throw X out, because of #2 above, and you will never get to see how it plays out.

All I’m saying is — trust us, yeah?  We know what we’re doing — in large measure, anyway.

Here ends today’s Public Service Announcement.

Post-novel turn-in syndrome

So, yesterday we turned SALVAGE RIGHT, the 25th novel set in the Liaden Universe®.  For those coming in late, or who are Just Wandering By “we” in the case is Sharon Lee and Steve Miller.

Since there are a lot of books, and several threads, and Someone will ask What Is This Book About, and no one is ever satisfied with “about 130,000 words,” below is the authors’ working synopsis:

Clan Korval has for two hundred Standards believed Jen Sin yos’Phelium dead. In Neogenesis, the delm of Korval was apprised of this error. Salvage Right is the story of what happens next.

Everybody up to speed, now?  Good.

I started working on Salvage Right (I say “I” because I am lead writer on this title; Steve is lead writer on Trade Lanes, the next title, due in September) on November 15, 2021.  My brain immediately took the idea and ran with it, and I do mean “ran.”

“Big party at Tinsori Light!” was basically the theme of the next six months, when, in May, I declared tools down on a Good Enough Draft, sent the 106,000 words then more or less in place to beta readers, and took two weeks off, one of them to clean the house; the other to sit on the porch of an oceanfront apartment and stare at the waves, and the sky.

It was a much-needed break, and I came back to the manuscript with vision and energy renewed.

Which was a Good Thing.

We’re going to talk a little bit about Process, now.

The last novel I was lead on was Trader’s Leap, delivered in October 2019.  2020 was more-or-less taken up with breast cancer surgery, radiation and recovery.  And recovery.  Oh, and more recovery.  During which time, I repeatedly tried to write — something.  Anything.  Only to find that I seemed to have forgotten how.

I therefore sat myself down in an effort to relearn my craft, producing as my first post-cancer It Actually Makes Sense story, “Ambient Conditions,” in October 2020.  Five more short stories later, and coauthor for Fair Trade, and I felt pretty confident of my ability to take lead on another novel.

My Previous Method for writing novels was to Think Hard about the characters and what kind of trouble they were likely to get into, identify a few key scenes, and then, when I felt Ready, start writing the first scene, and proceed, in a more-or-less linear direction until “The End.”

The above method has its flaws.  It is sometimes necessary for me to stop for days while planning out the next scenes/interactions chronologically.  The benefit is that, once a “good enough” draft is achieved, it really is Good Enough.

As mentioned above, Salvage Right was written in the heat of “Big party at Tinsori Light!” where the backbrain threw up this scene, that scene, this other scene, and so on.  My job was to type as fast as I could, and when the occasional breathing space arrived, to chain the scenes in an order that made sense, given What I Knew.  Problem being that I didn’t know Everything.

Which meant that when I called tools down and took my two-week break, the book was Not As Finished as I believed it was, and that there was still a Large Chunk of Story still in my head that had not made it to the page.

So, long story short, I wrote +/-30,000 words in a little less than a month, rearranged the manuscript once more, and, finally, only four days late, turned it in.

Will I use the Write What You Know until you Don’t Know Anything Else Method again?  Probably.  I really like the sense of movement and engagement with the characters.  I did have Moments of Panic in the last stage, but I did not have a spell of ennui such as sometimes overtakes me when I’m writing straight-through-come-hell-or-high-water.

So!  My 34th novel and I’m still learning Stuff.

I did have a blast with these characters — as shifty a bunch as have congregated in one place in the Liaden Universe® — and I think y’all are going to like the book.

At this point in time, recalling that These Things Can Change — Baen plans to publish Salvage Right in Summer 2023.

My next project, after a few days of Light Duty, straightening out drawers and vacuuming and such like, is revising what I’ve been calling, to Steve’s not-so-secret amusement, “the Hat story” (actually, “The Last Train to Clarkesville”), then start getting Duainfey and Longeye into shape for indie reissue under the proper author name.  After that?  Welp, I’m lead on the book due next June, so I guess I better start Thinking About That.

Here ends today’s discourse.

 

Books read in 2022

38   The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, Axie Oh (e)
37   The Grief of Stones, Katherine Addison (The Cemeteries of Amalo #2)
36   Sweep of the Blade, Ilona Andrews (Inkeeper #4) (e)
35   The Rat-catcher’s Daughter, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys 0.5) (e)
34   Gilded Cage, KJ Charles (Lilywhite Boys #2) (e)
33  When the King Comes Home, Caroline Stevermer (e)
32  Touch Not the Cat, Mary Stewart (re-read) (e)
31  Miss Moriarty, I Presume ( Lady Sherlock Book 6) Sherry Thomas (e)
30  New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy (re-read)
29  Trust Me on This, Jennifer Crusie (re-read)
28  Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Sue Lynn Tan (Celestial Kingdom #1) (e)
27  Summer in Orcus, T. Kingfisher (e)
26  A Gentleman Undone, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #2) (e)
25  A Lady Awakened, Cecelia Grant (Blackshear Family #1) (e)
24  Nettle and Bone, T. Kingfisher (e)
23  Shadow of the Swan, Nicola M. Cameron (Hidden Empire #1) (e)
22  Amongst Our Weapons, Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London #9) (e)
21  To My Muse, Nicola M. Cameron (e)
20  Unfit to Print, KJ Charles (e)
19  When Blood Lies, C.S. Harris (Sebastian St. Cyr #17)
18  The Last Revival of Opal and Nev, Dawnie Walton (e)
17  Bruno, Chief of Police: A Mystery of the French Countryside, Martin Walker (Bruno, Chief of Police #1) (e)
16  Spellswept, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #2) (e)
15  Last Guard, Nalini Singh (Psy-Changeling Trinity #5) (re-read aloud w/Steve)
14  Dragonsbane, Barbara Hambly (Winterlands #1) (e)
13  Naked Once More, Elizabeth Peters (Jacqueline Kirby #4) (e)
12  The Pride of Chanur, CJ Cherryh (Chanur #1) (e) (re-read)
11  Written in Red, Anne Bishop (The Others #1)(re-read)
10  Shadow Scale, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #2) (e)
9   Seraphina, Rachel Hartman (Seraphina #1) (e)
8   Grave Reservations, Cherie Priest (Booking Agents Series #1) (e)
7   Gothel and the Maiden Prince, W.R. Gingell (e)
6   A Gathering of Gargoyles, Meredith Ann Pierce (Darkangel #2)
5   Crystal Lattice, Paul Aurelius (The Crystal Cities #1) (pre-pub provided by the author) (e)
4   The 5th Gender, G.L. Carriger (A Tinkered Stars Mystery) (e)
3   Magic Lessons, Alice Hoffman (Practical Magic #1 or #3, depending) (e)
2   Snowspelled, Stephanie Burgis (The Harwood Spellbook #1) (e)
1   Widdershins, Jordan L. Hawk (Whyborn and Griffin #1) (e)