Category: Shameless Self-Promotion

The Series Hugo and the Liaden Universe®

Because there have been Questions, mostly around the fact that there was no Liaden Universe® novel published in 2021 (ref “fuck cancer”), and therefore how can the series possibly be eligible for the Series Hugo?

We checked with Appropriate Authority, so’s to be sure we weren’t Telling you Wrong, and here’s how it works:

First, you must have been a member of ChiCon8, the 80th World Science Fiction Convention, on or before January 31, 2022 in order to nominate works for the Hugo Ballot.   OR You must have been a member of DisCon III, the 79th WorldCon.

Second, if you meet the above stipulation, you have until March 15 to nominate.  Only members of ChiCon8 may vote on the final ballot.

Third, Specific to the Series Hugo:  The Liaden Universe® is already established as eligible for this award.  That is, there are already (many more than*) 240,000 published words of Liaden Universe® out there in the literary world.

Since we have crossed the eligibility threshold of 240,000 published words in-series, there only needs to be one installment of any length in-series for the Nominating Year — which is 2021.

There were four installments of the Liaden Universe® published in 2021.  I will list them at the end of this posting.  This is important because, when you enter a series into the nomination form, it asks you for a “2021 Example from Series.”  This is where you enter your choice of the four shorter Liaden works that were published in 2021.  Those works are:

SHORT STORY
“Standing Orders,” Derelict, Zombies Need Brains, July 2021 (5,775 words)

NOVELETTE
“From Every Storm a Rainbow,” Baen.com (link to free story) December 2021 (7,957 words)

“Our Lady of Benevolence,” Bread Alone: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34, Pinbeam Books, November 2021 (14,500 words)

NOVELLA
“Dead Men Dream,” Change State: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 32, Pinbeam Books, March 2021 (19,800 words)

As an aside, all of the works listed above are eligible for Hugo nominations in their own categories.

Everybody good?

Good.

Please do consider nominating the Liaden Universe® as one of your five choices for the Series Hugo.  Please mention the Liaden Universe® in whatever Hugo discussions you may be having.

Why is the series worthy of the Series Hugo?  Well — it’s a good, solid piece of work, if I do say so.  The Liaden Universe® currently includes 23 published novels, and dozens of short stories — closing in on 5 million words.  The very first Liaden Universe® novel, Agent of Change, was published in February 1988.  The twenty-fourth Liaden Universe® novel, Fair Trade, will be published in May 2022.  The series is qualified — perhaps overqualified — for the Series Hugo.

Side reading, for those who are interested:

Wikipedia article here
Locus article here
The Little Series that Could, tor.com
Portland Press Herald

 

 

 

 

Book Day!

And what book are we here at the Cat Farm and Confusion Factory celebrating on this day?

LIADEN UNIVERSE® CONSTELLATION, VOLUME 5

Let’s just take a moment to admire that, up there in lights like it is.  Not only a compilation of Liaden Universe® short works, but the FIFTH such volume.

Sixty-three short works based in the Liaden Universe® are collected in those five volumes — short stories, novellas, novelettes.  And six more queued up for inclusion in Volume 6.

. . . It’s traditional at times like these for the artist to thank those who have helped them achieve a milestone.

So, first of all, I want to thank you — our readers, for keeping the faith, and buying the books, and supporting our work in so very many ways.

I would also like to thank editors Colleen Doran, Jason Cordova, Eric Flint, Liz Holliday, Tanya Huff, Janis Ian, Warren Lapine, Lee Martindale, Joshua Palmatier, Christopher Ruocchio, Michael A. Ventrella, and Toni Weisskopf for publishing original short works set in the Liaden Universe®.

You guys ALL rock!

For those who may have been avoiding the short Liaden works, you don’t have to have read the novels to understand — and enjoy! — the stories.  I understand that there are some people who eschew short stories because they’re, err, short — but there’s not much to be done about that, “short” being the point of the form.

If you’re still unconvinced, and would like to taste a couple for free before buying a whole book, here’s a couple links:

Block Party

Chimera

Eleutherios

From Every Storm a Rainbow

 

 

Obligatory Hugo Eligibility Post

The Chicago WorldCon has opened Hugo nominations.

I coulda sworn we just did Hugo nominations, but!  Here we go again.

Lee and Miller published a couple things in 2021 which we would like you to bear in mind while nominating.  They are:

Unless otherwise noted, all works are as by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller

SHORT STORY
“Standing Orders,” Derelict, Zombies Need Brains, July 2021 (5,775 words)

NOVELETTE
“From Every Storm a Rainbow,” Baen.com (link to free story) December 2021 (7,957 words)

“Our Lady of Benevolence,” Bread Alone: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34, Pinbeam Books, November 2021 (14,500 words)

NOVELLA
“Dead Men Dream,” Change State: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 32, Pinbeam Books, March 2021 (19,800 words)

SERIES HUGO
The Liaden Universe® currently includes 23 published novels, and dozens of short stories.  The very first Liaden Universe® novel, Agent of Change, was published in February 1988.  The twenty-fourth Liaden Universe® novel, Fair Trade, will be published in May 2022.  The series is qualified — perhaps overqualified — for the Series Hugo.  Wikipedia article here.

HUGO NOMINATION RULES

Watch the skies!

We are now on Story Watch!

“From Every Storm a Rainbow,” by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller may appear as soon as this afternoon at Baen.com.

“…Rainbow” is a Sinit Caylon story, and here’s a snippet to keep you easy until the whole thing posts:

The comm signaled twice, bringing Sinit to an awareness of the hour. She moved to cut the connection, but too late.
“Good morning, Sinit,” came the cool, firm voice. “Did you enjoy a good sleep?”
“Aelliana,” she said, tears starting to her eyes. “Mizel has gone to Low Port.”

BREAD ALONE Publication Day!

BREAD ALONE:  Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34 dropped sometime around midnight.

This means that those who preordered should find the book automagically downloaded to their ereader of choice.

It also means that those who were waiting for the book to actually publish before committing may now do so at will.  Here are some links to help you along:

BAEN       BN      Kobo       Amazon       Universal Link

For those coming in late, BREAD ALONE brings all of the so-called Bakery Stories into one volume.  Those stories are:  Degrees of Separation, Fortune’s Favors, Block Party, and Our Lady of Benevolence.  Our Lady . . . is original to this book; the other three stories are reprints.

Thank you all for your support of this project, and!  Happy reading!

Sharon and Steve

Brief Updatery

  1.  BREAD ALONE

For those who collect, the paper edition of BREAD ALONE:  Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34 is for sale from Amazon.  Here’s your link.

The ebook edition of BREAD ALONE is available for pre-order from the electronic bookstore of your choice*.  It will be published on November 25, the USian Thanksgiving Day.

*The ebook edition of BREAD ALONE will be available for download from Baen.com “before the parades start” on Thanksgiving Day.

2.  LIADEN “HOLIDAY” STORY ON BAEN.COM

To the best of my ability to calculate, Liaden short story “From Every Storm a Rainbow” will be published to the front page at Baen.com this week.  Possibly today, maybe tomorrow.  Note that you will have to scroll down a bit to get to the story.

3.  WHAT ON EARTH ARE THEY ABOUT?

Steve is working on the sequel to the upcoming Jethri Gobeln novel FAIR TRADE*.

Sharon is working on a novel dealing with the new arrangements at Tinsori Light.

Neither of these projects has titles as yet.

*In which “upcoming” = May 3, 2022.

4.  THE STATE OF SHARON’S DESK

Some of you will recall that I straightened my desk after turning in BREAD ALONE.  This was so I could begin my next project with a tidy desk, which is something that I Do.  In extreme cases, I have to tidy the entire house before I can begin a new project, but this was not an extreme case.

So!  This is what the desk looked like on the evening of November 14:

This is what the desk looks like this morning, November 16:

And here’s a close-up of my user manuals. The one on the bottom worries me a bit.

And, that?  Is all I’ve got.

Everybody stay safe.

 

 

BREAD ALONE Availability

The ebook edition of BREAD ALONE: Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, is showing up at the various online vendors.  At this writing, you may preoder the ebook for a November 25 delivery from Amazon, Apple, BN, Kobo; BorrowBox, Tolino, and Vivlio.

The ebook edition will be available for download in the format of your choice at Baen.com on November 25.

The paper edition is on-sale NOW at Amazon — that’s all the Amazons, as far as I can tell.  Here’s the US link.

In theory, the paper edition will eventually show up for sale at BN and other stores, but my information here is somewhat sketchy.

For those coming in late, here’s the blurb:

To survive, humans need air, water, a place to stand, a place to sleep, and sustenance. Bread is a good start for sustenance. Don Eyr and Serana were survivors who came to Low Port – it gave them air, water, a place to stand and a place to make bread. The place to sleep meant they needed a certain amount of safety and to get that they founded a bakery at the corner of Crakle and Toom, brought in others seeking to survive in the midst of the poverty and ignorance, and built a tiny bastion of a self-sufficient community dedicated to raising competent, alert children who understood decency.

Low Port toughs tried to break the bakery and a planet-shaking blast from the skies nearly did it in, but the bakery was hope, and people who have hope will fight to keep it.

This chapbook collects four stories about sustenance, all about the bakery, its people, and its influence. ?Degrees of Separation,? ?Fortune’s Favors,? and “Block Party” are reprints. The novelette ?Our Lady of Benevolence? appears here for the first time.

. . . and the cover:

 

 

Watch the Skies!

This should be available in time for the US “Holiday Season.”

Adventures in the Liaden Universe® Number 34 contains collects the existing stories of The Bakery into one volume.  Three titles are reprints —  “Degrees of Separation,” “Fortune’s Favors,” “Block Party” — the fourth, “Our Lady of Benevolence,” is original to this chapbook.  Also included is an Authors’ Foreword.