A lot of questions have piled up in my inbox since the last Never-ending FAQ post, most of which are variations on “Where are you?!” and “What happened?!” The shortest possible answer is, “I’ve been busy.”
Since this rarely seems a satisfactory answer to most people, I’ll elaborate.
First and foremost:
A lot of time in the last few weeks went into this book, The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds, by Allan Dyen-Shapiro. It released on Kindle last week; in paperback this week; and will be coming out on a plethora of other ebook platforms in the weeks to come. This is a really important book for us. It’s also a quick read—a novelette, to be precise—and seems to be something so new Amazon does not have a predefined marketing pigeonhole already prepared for it.
If I was to give it a label, I believe I would call it hopepunk. It’s hard SF, yes, and set in the midst of a GMO-caused catastrophe, but ends on a strong note of hope for the future. One reader called it “ScienTIST fiction.”
I like that line. I may have to steal it.
The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds, by Allan Dyen-Shapiro. It’s a good novelette. You should buy it. Read it. Tell your friends about it. Give it a quick review, or at least a rating on Goodreads. Thank you in advance for doing so. If you have a review platform and would like a comp copy for review purposes, contact me.
In addition to being a great story with a good heart, The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds is also something of a technical turning point for us. This is the first book we produced using an entirely new book layout and production system, which at last enables us to produce both ebooks and print books from my long-sought dream of using a single common source-code repository. This may be so much technical gobbledy-gook to you, but trust me, it’s pretty exciting. Going forward, this should make a huge difference in how quickly we can produce new books.
Speaking of which…
Second, and somewhat in the background:
A lot of time in the last few weeks also went into another book, which I can’t talk about at this time, as it was a pro bono project done for someone else and I don’t have control of when or even if it ever will be released. That’s a pity, as there’s some really good content in it. However, working on this book was both a valuable educational experience and an excellent second “really push the envelope” test for the new book production system, so I’m satisfied. The system works as well as we’d hoped it would. Which means…
Third:
Our new book layout and production system really is that good. It’s so good, in fact, that we will finally be getting the long-promised print editions of SS#24 and SS#26 out into release, and we have some other back-burner projects that are starting to move towards becoming production projects again, too.
BUT, only AFTER SS#27 is finished and out the door!
ATTENTION, AUTHORS! If you have a story that is under contract to us, and you have not already heard from me, please contact me through the submissions email address. I am determined to see that everyone who has a viable publication contract with us gets their story published. I am reaching out to authors to do so, but there are more of you than there are of me, so, squeaky wheel, and all that.
Fourth: what about the Pete Wood Challenge?
Fifth: whatever happened to Writing 101?
It was interrupted by OTOGU, but will return in July. In the words of Doctor Who, as played by Jon Pertwee, “I’ll explain later.”
(Devoted fans of the series know that Pertwee’s Doctor always said that, but never did.)
Sixth: why isn’t The Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds out on Kindle Unlimited?
“I’ll explain later.”
Seventh: I have a serious problem with the Day We Said Goodbye to the Birds cover art. That man’s backpack is not nearly large enough to carry everything he and his daughter will need in a survival situation.
Oh, for Pete’s sake…
3 comments:
Pertwee also had habit of trying to escape before anyone could make him explain. That's why the Time Lords disabled his TARDIS. But, Perwee's Doctor didn't have a FAQ column in the Daily Mail.
I heard the term "hopepunk" years ago, and I actually tried to write something along those line. It was... not good, to be kind to myself. I think I recently succeeded entirely by accident.
Time will tell...
Finished BIRDS; will be leaving a review soon! Really enjoyed it.
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