Shameless Self-Promotion – Page 22

Which wolf wins?

Well, it looks like we need a little bit of catch-up hereabouts.

Before I forget, there are, as of this writing 155 reader reviews for Alliance of Equals on Amazon US*. That’s just 45 reviews short of our goal of 200! You guys are incredible; thank you so much for making the time!

Life at the Confusion Factory remains, er. . .more confused than we would like. While some confusion necessarily accompanies what we’ll dignify as The Creative Lifestyle, chaos is. . .not so good. Sadly, this particular round of chaos is not of our making, and the only thing we can do right now is ride the storm, answer the phone, and be prepared to leap off in All Directions at Once at the sounding of the whistle. The cats are sitting on us whenever we come to rest, which is more help than it sounds like, however. . .

We have asked, and received, an extension for handing in the next book (still without a title, argh), originally scheduled for an August 15 turn-in (which is, like, 12 days from now). We’re now looking at turning the book in by the end of 2016. See “chaos” above.

Despite the on-going uncertainties, this past weekend was a working weekend; we took a short break on Sunday to celebrate Steve’s birthday with a meal that neither of us had to cook, at Governor’s, followed by ice cream and cake at home. We also made time to view “Tomorrowland,” which we’ve had for ages, thanks to the kind offices of a friend. Since someone had asked me to tell them what I thought of the movie, eventually: we very much enjoyed it. Bear in mind that we also enjoyed “Jupiter Ascending,” “Ondine,” “Guardians of the Galaxy,” and “The Legend of Roan Inish.”

I do want to take this time, in between waves of chaos, to thank everyone for their interest in, and support of, our work. Whether you review our books, push them on unsuspecting friends, donate to Patreon, or PayPal, or simply buy and enjoy the stories — you mean a great deal to us. Thank you.

Today’s blog title is brought to you by “Tomorrowland,” and is the punchline of a riddle: There are two wolves and they are always fighting. One is Darkness and Despair; the other is Light and Hope. Which wolf wins?**

So, that.

Everybody stay calm. Hug the people you love. Pet the cat. Call your mom.

I’ll see you on the flip side.

____________
*Someone had asked if Amazon UK reviews “counted.” Well, of course they count — thank you. They do not, however, contribute to the Big Pile of Reviews we’re attempting to amass at Amazon US, because, for reasons best known to itself, Amazon does not cross-pollinate the reviews from its various country-sites.

**The one you feed

Quick check-in

I realize I haven’t done this in a couple of days, so here’s a quick numbers check:

As of right now, there are 137 reader reviews on Amazon. That’s only 63 short of the 200-review goal!

D’you think we can hit 200 by August 5, which would be one month from the July 5 publication date?

Thanks to everyone who has taken the time and thought to post a review!

It reminds me of the places we used to go. . .

There has lately been a demand for pictures of us that are professional, high-rez, and current, so yesterday, we met man-about-Waterville and professional photographer Patrick Groleau on Main Street at 9 o’clock in the morning, and spent the next two-and-a-half hours walking around the city, with occasional stops by brick walls, old Studebakers-turned-beer-cellars, weed-choked hitching posts, the obligatory park-cannon, and the Two Cent (or Two Penny) Bridge. At one point, Patrick was taken with the notion that we should have a picture on the tracks, which would have been OK, except that we had to mention to him that. . .there was a train coming.

Which! Was an opportunity to scramble up a bank, and pose by a half-eroded retaining wall so that a picture could be taken with the engine over our shoulders.

We then walked some more, stepping lightly past the camps of the brotherhood of people with no fixed address; were educated on the “safe” and “unsafe” sides of the river, and entertained with tales of hobo camps of days gone by, and the fine art of freight car hopping.

Our last stop was Children’s Book Cellar, for an Authors in Bookstore shot, after which we stopped by Framemakers to drop off the cover art for The Gathering Edge to be framed, thence to Gifford’s for well-earned milkshakes (which Gifford’s has now decided are “frappes” — and we were corrected by the counterperson when we asked for “milkshakes”) and out to Heartland Estates to view an open house at the “stand alone condominium” community. It was a nice house, I guess; ‘way too small for life as we live it (though it had radiant floors, which I confess to coveting), and ‘way too rich for the blood of freelance writers. We tried not to create too much consternation, but I’m not sure we succeeded.

Back into town we went, for to pick up groceries, and take-out, because it had suddenly become quite late. Then, a nap, and when we woke, there were photographs in Steve’s inbox, several of which we deployed to those awaiting them.

The photos are interesting — for instance, they reveal that Steve lives in his face much more than I do — and make Waterville look every inch an Urban Center.

We also learned, in the course of our walk about town that Toast Express, which had been a welcome addition to our breakfast choices, has closed. We were last in a couple weeks ago, to find that the menu board had been removed (Oh, said the woman behind the counter, it’s just being updated), and that the regulars were being pulled aside for whispered conversations, while the counter-boss assured another person — Oh, no, I’m not leaving; I’m just going down to Kentucky for a couple weeks to watch my grandson…

We had hoped that the signs were not what we thought they were. Silly us.

The theory I’ve heard is that things like Toast are too expensive for the area, which may well be true. Prices of things, and food have gone up, but Waterville in specific, and Maine in general harbors an aging population of former blue collar workers, who have now slipped over the line from middle class to poor.

This weekend is a working weekend, with a small celebratory break on the morrow. We had thought that we might go to Toast Express for breakfast, but — guess not.

Everybody have a great weekend!

Authors and Studebaker Patrick Groleau July 29 2016

Today’s blog title is brought to you by Ringo Starr, “Photograph.” Here’s your link.

She let fly with an iron toe, and kicked him back to Buffalo

Let’s do the bragging first, and get that out of the way.

Last week, Alliance of Equals by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller hit Number 3 in the list of bestselling science fiction hardcovers, and! it was also Number 8 on the All Science Fiction list.

Thank you all very much. This would not have happened without you!

Steve and I have been working on putting together a new Echapbook. It is currently title-less, but will contain two novelettes, one old and one new. The “old” story is “Chimera,” which was published to Baen.com in March 2015. The “new” story is “Friend of a Friend.” Both stories take place on Surebleak. An author’s introduction will also be included.

Speaking of Echapbooks! Over the next couple weeks, in my Abundant Spare Time(tm), I will be removing our Pinbeam Books chapbooks from the Smashwords store. There may be a Small Period of Readjustment as I set up distribution through Draft2Digital, but eventually the books will be back in the iStore, Kobo, and everywhere else. Amazon and BN listings will not be impacted.

Amazon reader reviews for Alliance of Equals as of this writing number 48! Only 152 more needed to reach our goal of 200 reader reviews! Go, Team Liad!

Also! For those who pre-order ‘waaaaaaaaaay out from Amazon — The Gathering Edge, to be published in May 2017, is now available for pre-order. We hope, but do not yet know (because, c’mon — eleven months out?) that the Uncle will once again conspire with us to offer signed and/or signed and personalized copies for pre-order sometime much closer to the publication date.

And, remember! Steve and I will be talking books and signing them, too, at the Children’s Book Cellar, 52 Main Street, Waterville, this Saturday, July 16, at 2 pm. Hope to see you all there!

I was editing today, and I want to assure you that I had Expert assistance.

###

An’ if he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, he’d do ’til something lethal came along.

Today’s blog title brought to you by Pete Seeger by way of Bruce Springsteen, “Erie Canal.” Here’s your link.

Even more eye candy!

A couple days ago, we were pleased to show you David Mattingly’s painting that would become the cover for The Gathering Edge.

Today, we are pleased to share the comp cover, still smokin’ hot from the Baen Art Department.

Also! If viewing the art above has made you a little peckish, Cedar Sanderson has featured Daav yos’Phelium’s Extra Special Grilled Cheese Sandwiches in today’s Eat This While You Read That column. Here’s your link.

Also, also! Alliance of Equals has 40 reader reviews on Amazon! Only 160 to go! You guys are doing great.

And! (given “also” a rest, you see) Steve and I will be signing Alliance of Equals at Children’s Book Cellar, 52 Main Street, Waterville, Maine (our local indie bookstore) on Saturday, July 16 (that’s this Saturday!) at 2 p.m. If you’re in the area, come on by and say, “hi!”

The weatherbeans are calling for A Warm One, as Maine counts these things. I, of course, will be at the nice, air conditioned, hospital doing the volunteer gig. Steve and the cats will likely need to put the portable A/C unit in to play. Ah, summer. . .And, as Mainers say earnestly to each other, under just these sorts of conditions: “At least it ain’t snowin’.”

Hope you have a good day, wherever you are.

Carousels and Calendars

Today is Tuesday, which means!

Yesterday was Monday, and!

Tomorrow is Wednesday. I need to do the hospital thingy tomorrow. Best not to lose track of that. Trooper — remind me tomorrow that it’s Wednesday, and I need to be away from the house for five or six hours.

Yeah, that’s gonna work.

So, let’s see. . .

As of this typing, there are 36! reader reviews on Amazon for Alliance of Equals, which is pretty impressive. Only 164 more until we crack 200!

Though the micro-mini book tour was in support of Alliance of Equals, we/I were asked several times about the possibility of another (or, as one interlocutor had it, “the next”) Carousel book.

At this point, the Carousel books are a trilogy. Really. There are a number of reasons for this, including lack of Author Time, and Failure to Become a Bestseller.

I wrote Carousel Tides (against Best Advice) while we were between contracts, ‘way the heck back in 2006. It was rejected By Nearly Everyone (foretold by Best Advice) through 2006 and 2007, purchased by Baen in 2008, saw print in 2010, and! began earning royalties in 2014.

Not only can I not go to Vegas on that, but — more importantly — I can’t put cat food in the bowls.

Now, I’m fortunate (and grateful) that Baen kept Carousel Tides in print long enough for it to start earning. Too many of my colleagues see the hard copy editions of their work yanked after two or three accounting periods for “lack of numbers,” and never have the opportunity to earn out.

But, the fact remains that the Liaden books earn many, many times more than the Carousel books. Make no mistake — Clan Korval keeps the cats fed and the electricity on.

(This is yet another low, unworthy, venal fact that ought to have no place in the House of Art, and I apologize, but — professional publishing is doomed to disappoint everyone who believes in the Purity of Art.)

Mind you, this has nothing to do with whether I’m “tired of” the Carousel premise/characters, or have run out of ideas. Just between you and me, I’ll probably be writing some more stories in the Carousel/Archers Beach/Six Worlds universe, because that’s how I roll. But the likelihood of another novel anytime soon — or, really, at all — isn’t high.

I do know that Kate and Company have some very devoted fans — thank you. But — we have as of this writing four* Liaden novels still under contract, and contracted work — which is to say, the work that pays the bills — must come first.

For those who never heard of the Carousel Trilogy by Sharon Lee (as there were at least as many people in the audience who hadn’t as had), follows some news you can use:

Carousel Trilogy ebooks at Baen.com:
Carousel Tides
Carousel Sun
Carousel Seas

In addition, you may find the Carousel Trilogy in paper and ebook at all of the Usual Suspects.

Stories set in Archers Beach, free to read:
The Gift of Music
The night don’t seem so lonely
Will-o’-the-wisp
The Wolf’s Bride

_________
*Stares at delivery schedule on the wall. Right. Four novels; not five.

This just in: Eye Candy

David Mattingly has kindly sent us the finished art for the cover of The Gathering Edge, coming to a bookstore near you in May 2017.

Yes, this does depict a scene from the novel.

Art for The Gathering Edge cover by David Mattingly

Catching up from the book tour

So, back from the micro-mini book tour!

It was lovely to see so many happy faces, to have a chance to chat, to read, and, of course, to sign books.

We want to thank Maria Perry, Patty Cryan, and Brian for hosting us. You guys rock!

Frequent auditors of this journal will recall that I have long had a love affair with socks.

When packing for the overnight in Wocester, I forgot to pack socks, which I’ve never done before (my default being to pack too many socks); I briefly panicked; and Steve offered to lend his spare pair to the cause. Fortunately, there was a strip mall right across the street from our hotel, where we paused to eat a very pleasant lunch at Jasmine, then proceeded to the end of the mall and the TJ Maxx.

Where I found socks! Even, dare I say it, socks that coincided with my Sock Ethic. One pair was black with white splotches; the other pair had block prints of purple, yellow, and blue-and-white stripe on the foot part, and skinny yellow, pink, red, blue, green strips running up the calf. I purchased these with glee; the cashier agreed that they were very spiffy socks and!

When I got back to the hotel and actually looked at my receipt, I find that the socks were “men’s furnishings”. Really? The label says they are Happy Socks, created in Finland, so if anyone reading here is suffering from Sock Ennui, you might want to check them out.

Thanks to everyone who replied to the Buy My Book post in the various venues, and in email. Many notes were supportive; a few folks, naturally enough, want to argue, which is kind of too bad, and I wish them a long life.

Which brings up another topic.

You will perhaps recall that, back in March, Belle and I had a bet about eArc sales for Alliance of Equals. I said we could sell more than 500; Belle took leave to doubt it. On the other paw, Sprite was of the opinion that we could earn out our advance on eArc sales.

I am pleased to announce that I won both of those bets. We hear that we sold more than three times that 500 copies Belle thought we couldn’t manage, but! we didn’t earn out the advance.

It’s always gratifying to win a bet, of course, but both Belle and Sprite pay in kibble.

To those who bought eArcs — thank you so much!

Which brings up another idea — possibly half-baked.

I’m told that benefit accrues to titles on Amazon that gain certain numbers of reader reviews. At the moment, the various levels escape me (maybe someone who has Google-fu and a couple minutes can find that information…). The last couple Liaden books received 106, 88, and 163 reader reviews, respectively. It would be Very Cool if Alliance could hit 200 reader reviews. Note: These are honest reviews, not just one-liner, filler reviews, like “I really like this book.”

Do you think we can do it? We beat Belle, after all, and she’s Pretty Shrewd.

For those who missed the news, Steve and I did an interview on the Baen Free Radio Hour. It aired Friday. Here’s your link.

Today, now that we’re home, I have accounts to do, and laundry to wash. Steve and I need to go over the story notes I made before we headed off into the world. And so on.

What did y’all do while we were away?

Many thanks to William Kilmer for the photograph from our signing at Annie’s Book Stop, Friday, July 9, 2016.

And the number of the number is. . .

Five hundred and eighty people responded to the roll call during the month of June.

This counts those who read by RSS feed, and on the several places where this blog is mirrored. Replies came in from Blog Without a Name, Eagles Over the Kennebec, Goodreads, Amazon, Baen’s Bar, and email.

Thanks to everyone who took the time to reply.

One last answer to a roll call question: Sad as it may be, I’m not certain myself whether Coyster is still around to be fed. He would be quite an old cat by now. However, assuming that the advances in life-extension that seem to afflict the human characters of the Liaden Universe® have been extended to companion animals — Kamele left the house in the care of her BFF, Ella ben Suzan. Granted, Ella hadn’t cared much for Jen Sar, but I do think she takes her responsibilities seriously, so we can safely assume that No Cats Are Going Hungry. No matter what they tell you.

Of boxes and books and signing pens:

Three boxes of signed-and-personalized books left the Confusion Factory by FedEx yesterday afternoon, and should be arriving at Uncle Hugo’s this (Friday) afternoon. Let us all sing the praises of Eddie, the FedEx guy.

The other ten boxes of books are to travel via UPS. We called them yesterday for a pick-up, but — because we live ‘Way Out In The Country — the soonest they could get together a safari to come into the bush was today. The books will, therefore, arrive in Minneapolis Sometime Later next week, We hope for Wednesday, but expect Thursday.

Two gel pens gave their lives to this project. Mourn them as you find best.

No writing yesterday, except the signature kind. Must do dishes, and Serious Work today, despite the blandishments of coon cats, who want me to go back to bed.

I let the purple wash out of my hair after BaltiCon, and for several weeks, no one has mentioned my hair. I did not quite slip back into total invisibility, but, I did have to Talk Loud a couple times.

Last night, I started to re-purple, in honor of the upcoming book tour.

And that’s all the news that’s fit to print.

Everybody have a good Friday.

Way Station

So! For those who may have missed the news, yesterday saw the arrival of a check and 13 boxes (250 books) of Alliance of Equals.

Here’s the plan re: Alliance of Equals.

Steve and I have already signed six boxes of books, and done all of the personalizations. Today, three of those boxes (including all the personalizations and such autographed editions as fill the shipment out) will board a FedEx truck. They should arrive in Minneapolis tomorrow, Saturday, latest, which will give the Uncle and his crew time to start getting them in the mail.

In the meantime, we here at the Confusion Factory will finish signing the other seven boxes after breakfast, call UPS and get them outta here this afternoon. In a just and merciful universe, they will arrive in Minneapolis on Tuesday or Wednesday next week.

This is not a perfect solution, but it’s the best one we could come up with. We again thank everyone for their patience. For more information regarding the need for patience, see this post.

No writing yesterday. Very probably none today.

Tomorrow will be better, Mrs. Miller.