Shameless Self-Promotion

All Six Archers Beach Titles Available in Paper

It’s a little-known fact that, in addition to my work with Steve Miller in the Liaden Universe®, I am the author of the Archers Beach near-fantasy series. This series consists of three novels: Carousel Tides, Carousel Seas, and Carousel Sun, which are set in the rundown beach town of Archers Beach, Maine.

In addition to those three novels, six short stories (in three chapbooks!) exist in the Archers Beach universe: Emancipated Child, How Nathan Archer Came to be a Prince of the Land of the Flowers, The Gift of Music, The night don’t seem so lonely, Will-‘o-the-wisp, and The Wolf’s Bride.

Now, the reason I called you all together today is that! You may now and at last purchase all six of the Archers Beach books — three novels; three chapbooks — in paper.

Here are your links:

Carousel Tides (Archers Beach #1)
Carousel Sun (Archers Beach #2)
Carousel Seas (Archers Beach #3)
Surfside (Archers Beach #4), including Emancipated Child and How Nathan Archer Came to be a Prince of the Land of the Flowers
The Gift of Magic (Archers Beach #5), including The Gift of Music and The night don’t seem so lonely
Spell Bound (Archers Beach #6), including Will-‘o-the-wisp, and The Wolf’s Bride

For those who like to sample before they buy, you may read the first nine chapters of Carousel Tides starting here.

Couple of events of note, for those who like to listen to content:

On Friday, Part One of a far-ranging interview with Steve Miller was featured on the Baen Free Radio Hour. Here’s your link.

Over the weekend, Steve posted a new podcast on Patreon, for patrons only, in which he reads “Cutting Corners.” Here’s your link.

Also! “Block Party,” a Liaden Universe® story by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, is still available to be read — for free! — at Baen.com. Here’s that link.

“Degrees of Separation,” the prequel to “Block Party,” will be published as Degrees of Separation: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 27. You may preoder the ebook now from Amazon , BN, iBooks, Kobo, and Tolino.

On January 15, you may also purchase the ebook edition from Baen.

Sometime RSN, you will either be able to pre-order or outright purchase the paper edition, from Amazon only.

Neogenesis, the 21st novel of the Liaden Universe® was published on January 2, and is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions.

If you read the novel and want to talk about it, there is a spoiler thread here.

Also! If you’ve read Neogenesis, please consider leaving a review at Amazon, Goodreads, or another site where readers read. Thanks!

For those local(ish) to Waterville, Maine, Steve Miller and Sharon Lee will be signing books and talking trash at the Children’s Book Cellar, 52 Main Street, in Waterville, on Saturday, January 13, from 1-3:30 pm. If you missed your shot at getting a personalized copy from Uncle Hugo, this is your Second Chance. Call the store ((207) 872-4543) before our signing, or during it, and we will personalize a book for you.

Peripheral to this, Uncle Hugo does still have some signed copies of Neogenesis in stock. Here’s the link.

In convention news: Sadly, we will not be attending Boskone this year. We will, however, be Author Guests of Honor at MidSouthCon, in March.

In writing news: Yep, still working on Fifth of Five, which refuses all titles suggested to it, and shrugs off any attempt to title-shame it. I told you it was being a tough book.

I think that catches us all up on the business side of things.

Everybody stay healthy.

Back to work

So, three days of work essentially lost, which means I’ve gotta Write Like a Sonofagun. Which I’ve been doing. I’m just back from lunch, and thought I’d catch y’all back up before I got to work again.

Degrees of Separation: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 27 ebook edition is available for preorder at the following online vendors: Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, Tolino.

Degrees will publish on January 15. On that date (on the US timeline), you will be able to buy an ebook edition from all of the vendors listed above, and from Baen eBooks. The paper edition ought to be available on January 15, as well, but if not then, very soon after.

Degrees is the prequel to “Block Party,” which you may read, for free, on Baen.com. Here’s your link.

Neogenesis, the 21st novel set in the Liaden Universe® created by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, was officially released as hardcover, ebook, and audiobook on January 2. If you read the book, please consider putting a reader review up on Amazon, BN, or another review venue.

No, I do not have a publication date for Fifth of Five, but a good guess would be: between six and 14 months after Steve and I turn it in to Madame the Publisher, which! We haven’t done yet.

A couple months ago, I had to stop drinking coffee. This is of course a tragedy, but with the help of kind friends, I have been able to locate several teas which will deliver the miracle of caffeine into my system. My morning drug of choice is Irish Breakfast Tea. In the afternoon, I sometimes have a cup of vanilla chai, which is pleasant, but I also like green tea in the afternoon.

Early in the week, Steve brought me news of Zhena’s Teas — a must-see, as I’m sure you’ll agree. I went online to look at them, and found the! perfect! green tea for my needs, which arrived today — and here’s a picture:

For those who follow the Cat Farm’s Snow Removal Protocols: We had a “snow hurricane” on Thursday, which deposited about 17 inches of snow that I could not shovel (see back spasms), and which Steve could not shovel (see cardiomyopathy), and which the plowguy could not shovel (see three dozen customers needing to be plowed out and the limited number of hours in the day).

The plowguy, however, had a solution. “I know a guy,” he said. “I’ll get him down here.”

And so it is that, in addition to a lawnguy, and a plowguy, we now have a shovelguy. Which is actually something of a relief.

It’s also good to know that the I-Know-A-Guy Network is still operational, at least in our part of Central Maine.

And that? Catches us up for the day. Back to work I go.

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*Yes, I know I have not provided links for Apple and Tolino; that’s because I have heard news of availability from third parties, but have not been able to locate the books on those two services myself. If someone will supply me with links, I’ll be happy to amend the post.

Thanks to Susan for providing the iBooks link!

Thanks, also, to Estara Swanberg for the Tolino link!

And to Marion, for the explanatory Tolino links. Who knew?

NEOGENESIS Official Release Day

Today is the day that Neogenesis, the twenty-first novel in the Liaden Universe® created and curated by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller is published in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook editions. The novel is available at all major bookstores, brick and mortar, as well as on-line booksellers.

Go thou forth, buy, and, if it pleaseth you, read.

On the last day of the year

So, there are the tasks that one does at Year-End — filing away the old year, opening the accounting for the new year. To the best of my ability, these things have been done for the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory. Which gives a nice feeling of accomplishment, without, yanno, actually having accomplished anything.

Peering forward into the first week of the new month and new year, I see that Tuesday is!

Book Day!

I, for one, am looking forward to receiving my copy of Emergence by CJ Cherryh, as I know many who read here are.

I am also looking forward to the release of the hardcover, ebook, and audio editions of Neogenesis by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. It’s a well-known fact that time runs oddly around writers, and so it simultaneously feels like it’s been a long time since we handed in Neogenesis and hardly any time at all.

Sometime next week — possibly Monday — I’ll be putting Degrees of Separation: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 27 up for pre-order at various online outlets. Official publication date is January 15. I anticipate no problems with hung releases, as Degrees is an all-original, never-before-published, never-posted-ANYwhere-else-even-for-a-day, story. It will also be available as a paper book from Amazon on January 15.

Let’s see…Steve and I will be doing a podcast interview for the Baen Free Radio Hour on Wednesday; those are always fun…

On Thursday, Sprite has an appointment with her vet, for the ever-popular annual check-up. Unfortunately, it’s also supposed to snow 3-5/4-6 inches on Thursday, so we may have to swap that out. Honestly, if it’s really bad, I may have to swap out my doctor’s appointment on Friday. Winter in Maine, ayuh.

Looking backward for a moment, we have finished and turned in “Revolutionist” to the Razor’s Edge anthology to be published in August by Zombies Need Brains. And I had an epiphany recording Fifth of Five, which, in the way of epiphanies everywhere, meant the manuscript got busted back under 60,000 words again.

Today, I will write, and do laundry, skritch cats, spend time with Steve. Possibly, we will see the New Year in — we’re often up that late, just as a usual thing — but if we don’t, it will arrive just fine without us.

Everybody stay safe; see you in the new year.

The obligatory award eligible post

People ask; author answers.

Yes, Steve and I* published some work that is eligible for the various 2017 awards. Follows a list:

Series Hugo**: The first novel in the Liaden Universe® was Agent of Change, published by Del Rey as a paperback original in 1988; Neogenesis, the twenty-first Liaden Universe® novel will be published in January 2018. In addition to those twenty-one novels, there are more than two dozen shorter works also set in the Liaden Universe®.

Novel:
The Gathering Edge, Baen Books, May 2017

Novella:
Due Diligence, Pinbeam Books, July 2017

Novelette:
Street Cred, Pinbeam Books, March 2017
Block Party, Baen.com, December 2017

Short Story:
Cutting Corners, Baen.com, April 2017
Dawn’s Early Light, All Hail Our Robot Overlords, Zombies Need Brains, August 2017

For the purposes of this exercise, we use this word count scale:

Novel 40,000 plus
Novella 17,500 – 39,999
Novelette 7,500 – 17,499
Short Story under 7,500

*“Steve and I” = Sharon Lee and Steve Miller
**Thank you to Alert Reader Linda Shoun for pointing out that the Liaden Universe® is more than qualified for the Series Hugo.

Liaden Universe® InfoDumpling

“BLOCK PARTY” a brand-new Liaden Universe® story, is now FREE to read at Baen.com. (www.baen.com — scroll down past the New Releases to read “Block Party” by Lee and Miller and science essay “Nuclear Fission Power in Space” by Andy Presby.

PLEASE SHARE this story with friends, family, coworkers, strangers chance-met on the street, even if they are not already Liaden readers. ESPECIALLY if they are not already Liaden readers. Thanks!

A prequel to “Block Party,” “Degrees of Separation,” will be published in mid-January as a chapbook from Pinbeam Books. We’ll let you know when.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE to order an autographed copy of NEOGENESIS, the 21st Liaden Universe(R) novel by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller from Uncle Hugo’s SF Bookstore. Here’s your link.

Disclaimer Stuff
This InfoDump is a product of the Liaden Universe®, accept no imitations. You have received this message because you asked for it. If you wish to subscribe to the Liaden Universe® email list, to unsubscribe from the Liaden Universe® email list, or to change your delivery email address, go here: http://www.fireopal.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/liadenuniversenews

Procrastinators Take Note

The last day to pre-order personalized copies of Neogenesis, the 21st novel of the Liaden Universe®, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, is December 10. That is this coming Sunday — THREE DAYS FROM RIGHT NOW.

If you want a signed copy with no personalizations, this deadline does not affect you, except that it sorta does.

Why is that, you say?

Well, it goes something like this: Mr. Blyly at Uncle Hugo’s asks us to sign up 200 books (including personalizations), and he will, indeed, sell the signed books until there are no more to sell, so, in theory, you may pick up a signed copy. . .whenever.

However, if you really, really want a signed copy of Neogenesis, your best chance of being certain that you will get a signed copy is to pre-order it. Mr. Blyly makes his order based on pre-orders, and — until December 10 — he can adjust the number in that order. After December 10, the order is set in stone.

December 10 is SUNDAY. Pre-order today.

In which there are new chapbooks publishing. Sorta

Rant.

So, I’ve gotten those two chapbooks, plus the paper editions all lined up to go live on Monday at all The Usual Suspects, and comes the, by now, Usual Letter from Amazon, demanding that I prove that I have the right to publish said stories. They cannot accept my word for it, because Copyright! but need a reversion letter from my previous publisher (not applicable in the case) a copyright registration, a signed contract between myself and the author (author being Sharon Lee and Steve Miller), an email from the address of the agent representing these stories certifying that I have the right to publish, and a couple other pieces of Utter Nonsense that only shows a Profound Non-Clue about How Publishing Works.

It might be a little easier to bear if Sharon Lee and Steve Miller; Sharon Lee; and Steve Miller haven’t been publishing echapbooks on Amazon since the early days of 2011.

All That Said. . .

Ahem.

Please pay close attention, as this is complicated.

Cultivar: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 25 contains a short story, “Out of True,” and a novelette, “The Rifle’s First Wife.” Both of these stories were published in A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume 3 by Baen Books in August 2015.

Heirs to Trouble: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 26 contains two novelettes, “Roving Gambler,” and “Code of Honor.” Both of these stories were published in A Liaden Universe® Constellation, Volume 3 Baen Books in August 2015.

Now, you might say, with some justice, Why are the authors bothering to publish chapbooks containing stories that have already been collected?

And the authors would say unto you — In fact, this is a matter of Basic Housekeeping. We have been trying to be certain that all Liaden stories are collected into chapbooks. Some people don’t like to have big collections on their ereaders; some people just prefer the chapbooks; some folks only want to try a story or two, to see how they like ’em. Whatever.

Now, three of the stories above were first published on Splinter Universe; “Out of True” was published to Baen.com. In the usual way of things, we would have aged the stories off of Splinter Universe and into chapbooks back in 2013/2014. Somewhere in there, “Out of True” would have passed its six-month exclusivity period, and been chapbooked, too.

But! Baen made an offer for the third Constellation, and those stories, instead of going into chapbooks, were all swept into the collection.

So, now they are all properly in chapbooks; and Pinbeam Books, at least, is in Balance once more.

Now, for the details.

In Beautiful Theory, the echapbooks will all Automagically Appear at Baen Ebooks, BN, Amazon (unless they lock us out for crimes against copyright), Apple, Kobo, and a couple other outlets on Monday, December 4.

Also in Beautiful Theory (unless they lock us out for crimes against copyright), Amazon will be taking pre-orders for the ebook editions of Cultivar and Heirs to Trouble. If you pre-order the books, they will appear on your Kindle on Monday, December 4.

Also Also! Paper editions of both titles will be available for purchase from Amazon (unless they lock us out for crimes against copyright), on Monday, December 4.

Paper editions are only available through Amazon; pre-orders are only available through Amazon.

Everybody confused now?

Good.

Reminder Post

A. You may now order a signed and/or personalized copy of the hardback edition of Neogenesis from Uncle Hugo’s SF Bookstore in Minneapolis. Deadline for ordering personalizations (in which “personalization” means, You ask the author to write something on the half-title page in addition to signing their names*) is DECEMBER 10, which is not as far away as you might think. Orders for signed copies (where “signed” means the authors wrote their names on the half-title) will be accepted until the Uncle runs out of signed books.

HERE’S YOUR LINK TO THE PRE-ORDER INFORMATION AT UNCLE HUGO’S

B. Neogenesis will be published in hardcover, ebook, and audio editions on January 2, 2018. Eileen Stevens will narrate the audiobook.

C. “Block Party,” a novelette to help get you all warmed up for the release of Neogenesis, will be published, free! to! read! to Baen.com on December 15. Mark your calendars.

D. The eArc of Neogenesis is still for sale at Baen.com. Here’s your link. You may also read the first seven chapters at this link.

E. No, sadly, we will not be attending Boskone next year. We will be at MidSouthCon, March 9-11, and hope to see many of you there.

F. Yes, Steve and I will be attending WorldCon in San Jose, August 16-20.

G. Yes, Baen will be publishing a mass market anniversary edition of Agent of Change — in November 2018. I think I may have forgotten to include the date in the most recent InfoDump.

H. Over the weekend, Steve and I discovered that Pinbeam Books (that’s us) had fallen behind, leaving four short stories un-chapbooked. We are in the process of rectifying this, so — watch the skies.

Here’s the cover for Heirs to Trouble:

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*Lee and Miller, aka “the authors” reserve the right to refuse to inscribe a book with a personalization they deem, in their sole opinion, to be inappropriate. The authors’ decision is final, there is no appeal.