They’ll Change Everything!
Sorry this is a bit late. Can’t imagine what’s going on that would have everyone feeling overwhelmed. Or exhausted. Or scared. Or filled with an overwhelming need to doomscroll...
I don’t think there’s anything new I can say about the shape the United States is in, domestically and internationally. Over a century of power and influence, decades of financial power, all destroyed in less than six months. Brownshirts running unchecked in the streets. And the whole country basically defenseless against the next natural disaster to strike, be it climate-related or disease.
And we’ve still got three and a half years to go.
Ha ha ha ha haaaaaaaaa...
Anyway, let me try to distract you (and me) from all that for ten or fifteen minutes.
As I’m writing this, I just finished up one last rewrite of TOS last night and set it off to my agent this morning. I’d thought the last draft was pretty solid, but he read it and made one little suggestion that just... I mean, it was a little thing, but it was absolutely perfect. A little thing that was a big thing. Honestly, I was kicking myself that I hadn’t thought of it to start with. So I spent, well, the past month rewriting TOS to include this change (and all its necessary ripples throughout the manuscript) and the book is very seriously better for it.
I know some folks like to complain about agents for, well, a bunch of reasons (and truthfully some of of them are kind of nonsense), but the truth is I have a really good working relationship with my agent. I mean, there’s the obvious plus of having a business partner who’s all about the business side of this career (freeing me up to just think about the art side of it). But it’s also good to have someone who looks at my ideas and manuscripts from that point of view, thinking about what might help something sell and what might hurt its chances. I mean, that’s the whole point of having an agent, right? To help you sell stuff. Sometimes we agree. Sometimes we disagree and we talk about it for an hour or so.
And yeah... sometimes he drops a really cool idea in my lap.
Let’s talk about God’s Junk Drawer!
As I was writing this newsletter (like, rewriting that last big paragraph) I got an email showing off the cover for the ARC (advance reader copy, if you didn’t know). Those are getting printed up and will be going out to folks very soon. And we may even have two or three at a certain upcoming comic-centered convention in San Diego (more on that in a bit).
We also had a big meeting about publicity/ marketing stuff and... yeah, I’m doing it. Big west coast signing tour! New England signing tour! Driving home across the country signing tour! Exact dates still need to be nailed down, but we’re looking at starting in San Diego on November 11th, release day, and then driving all the way up to Seattle (stopping several times) and all the way back. Then flying out to New England the first week of December for five or six signings throughout the area. And then driving back to San Diego and stopping at a few places along the way (including but not limited to Albany, St. Louis, Tulsa, Amarillo, Phoenix...). And then I get home and sleep until Christmas morning. We’re hoping to have it all nailed down by August soooo... two newsletters from now? As always, you’ll probably be the first to know
I’m also probably going to do a little preorder bonus right around then, most likely just for those of you reading this newsletter. That’ll keep it from getting too overwhelming. Show me proof of preorder and I’ll send you <<REDACTED FOR NOW>>. And since we’ll know all about the book tour by then, you can preorder at your friendly local bookery. They win, you win, we all win!
Speaking of preorders... a while back I mentioned Dread Coast: SoCal Horror Tales. It’s a charity anthology and a big chunk of the proceeds go to help with recovery from the California Wildfires at the start of the year (yeah, that was this year. Barely five months ago). It’s got a story from me called “Flesh Trade” which, up until now, has only been available in my audiobook-only collection Dead Men Can’t Complain. So you can also preorder that now from your favorite bookologist.
And looking not-as-far into the future... San Diego Comic-Con is next month! Maybe I’ll see you there? I know the final schedule hasn’t been released, but I think it’s okay to tell you I’m going to be there and doing panels on Thursday and Friday, and a few signings those days as well. Plus wandering around looking at toys and saying “hi” to folks I know. I should have the locked schedule soon, and it’ll be on my website and maybe a quick bonus newsletter?
What else could I blab on about...?
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Watching
Well, was kind of crushed by the season finale of Doctor Who, but I won’t say anything in case you haven’t seen it and have avoided spoilers.. Absolutely loving Murderbot. We’ve also ducked back to watch the last season of The Dragon Prince and it got me wondering... is this the longest running Netflix show? Seven seasons. I know there’s a lot of series there, but I mean, shows made by Netflix for Netflix. And I think Ironheart starts next week. I’ll probably give it a try.
Cool Stuff I’ve Been Reading
I feel like I’ve just gotten to read SO much good stuff lately. Overgrowth by Mira Grant a.k.a. Seanan McGuire is simply fantastic, and probably my favorite thing she’s ever written. Chuck Wendig’s The Staircase in the Woods is amazing. I also got to read an early copy of Robert Brockway’s I Will Kill Your Imaginary Friend For $200 and despite that title it’s skin-crawlingly creepy and just plain wonderful.
Cool New Toys
I finally took my Rom figure out of the package and took some fun photos with him. Also, for my birthday, my beloved got me this fantastic Gladiator Hulk figure, based off how he looked in Thor: Ragnarok. It’s simply massive and wonderful.
And I think that’s all I’ve got for you right now. Many thanks, as always, thanks for reading. See you again in mid-July (just before SDCC).
