Saturday, 6 February 2010, 1:21 am GMT
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You may note that I have brought the goalpost a little closer...The first draft looks like coming in a little less lengthy than I anticipated. Books one and two were pretty much the same length, a shade over 180,000 words. I suspect this one in its final version is going to be about 10,000 words shorter than 1 and 2.
I am not one of those authors who necessarily gets wordier and wordier as the series progresses. The book length has to fit the story, and this one looks like being around 170,000 or a little more.
So, one more chapter to do! I am still maintaining a steady 2,000 words a day.
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Tuesday, 2 February 2010, 11:00 pm GMT
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I have never had such a day as yesterday. Here is it in a nutshell blog.
I heard, separately, in different emails from different people:
- Shadow of Tyr has gone to reprint in UK.
- Having attracted the attention of 2 separate publishers, the Mirage Makers trilogy has had an offer that I am accepting for foreign language rights. Shan't say any more because I haven't signed on the dotted line yet. This is the second foreign language for the trilogy (the other was for French rights)
- I heard some nice news from Orbit US about publicity for The Last Stormlord, which I'll tell you about closer to the date.
- Had some fabulous news from Orbit UK also about The Last Stormlord, which I'll also tell you about later. Over the moon about this one. *Does little dance.*
- HarperCollins Australia has submitted The Last Stormlord for the David Gemmell Legend Award.
- Have had the first signs of an interest re The Last Stormlord for foreign language rights from two different countries. Nothing may come of these, but it's never happened so early before.
- And the whiz of a writer Karen Miller booked our room for World Aussicon in September. That's right - we are room mates again. Yay!!
So I told my husband as he went out to meet a friend tonight that he ought to buy a lottery ticket...
Oh, yeah, you know how much actual writing I did? Just about none.
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Friday, 22 January 2010, 2:39 am GMT
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HERE. And by the time you read this blog post, I ought to be in Surfers Paradise. Ah, the way I suffer for my art.
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Saturday, 16 January 2010, 6:23 am GMT
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An informal chat/booksigning for authors and readers at
Pulp Fiction Booksellers
Brisbane,
Saturday 23rd January (hey, in a few days I'll be in Brisbane!!)
Trudi Canavan and Kaaron Warren at 10.30-11.30
Justine Larbalestier, Scott Westerfeld, Sean Williams 11.30-12.30
Karen Miller and Glenda Larke at 12.30-1.30
Pamela Freeman and Katie Taylor at 2.30-3.30
Now you Brisbane-ites aren't going to pass up a chance like this, are you?
Pulp Fiction Booksellers
Shops 28-29 Anzac Square Building Arcade
265-269 Edward Street
(entrance halfway between Ann and Adelaide Streets)
Brisbane 4000
Australia
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Saturday, 16 January 2010, 12:28 am GMT
 STORMLORD RISING is of course the second book in the Watergivers trilogy, and HarperVoyager have put up Chapter 1 here, and will put up Chapter 2 Friday the 22nd, just to get you all worked up enough to put your orders in at your favourite bookstore, right? The release date in Australia is March 1st, 2010. Which is about when Book 1, The Last Stormlord, has its release in US and UK.
And above is the cover, the work of the wonderful UK fantasy/SF artist Vincent Chong.
Oh, and for all you cold country peoples, that white stuff is not ice ... it's salt.
Happy reading!
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Monday, 21 December 2009, 10:19 pm GMT
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I got this info from here (Wapedia). It made me giggle...
Multi-time winners of the award include Sara Douglass (three wins), Juliet Marillier (three wins), Garth Nix(two wins), Jane Routley (two wins), and Sean Williams(two wins). Sara Douglass holds the record for most nominations, and Glenda Larke has the most nominations without winning, having been a losing finalist four times.*
Lol!! It will probably go up this year as The Last Stormlord is my fifth short listing...
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* Technically, the use of the word "nomination" is incorrect here. Any book which is eligible can be nominated and usually is. Thus what I have is the most short listings without winning.
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Wednesday, 9 December 2009, 12:21 pm GMT
Galaxy Bookshop in Sydney, Australia, puts out an excellent newsletter every month for sff readers, called Nexus. Great way to find out what's new in Oz.
Each month they have a Fave Rave. And this month, Issue 259 Nexus December 2009, their new Fave Rave is The Last Stormlord.
I just love the last paragraph!!
Especially cheering is that Mark from Galaxy was one of my beta readers (even though I have never met him!) There were parts of the book he was not happy with; I took his crit of those important sections to heart because I think he was spot on.
Was he happy with the result? Well, you decide. I know that I owe him one, and I don't mean because of the review, but rather because he helped to make the book what it is.
Here's the first and last paragraph of his review (you can read the full thing here):
It’s rare that a fantasy novel sets itself up in a world so obviously influenced by the idea of climate change. Usually such issues are left for science fiction. Yet in her latest blockbuster, Larke sets herself firmly in territory that few fantasy novels have dared to tread. Rather than traipsing through a ‘medieval’ past, she reveals a bold, original world that could possibly be our future, albeit one without technology.
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The common link in Larke’s novels is her ability to craft worlds that are vibrant and vivid, immersing us in a world that has depth and substance in a way that few writers can match without bogging down in ‘info dump’. This story is no different and I think is her best work to date. That she can also tell a sweeping saga that runs the gauntlet of human experience, immersing us – quite disturbingly at times – in that white water rapid of joy and despair, unmistakeably marks her as one of Australia’s best speculative fiction writers and one you should not miss. - Mark
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Tuesday, 8 December 2009, 2:03 am GMT
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One of the nice things about being a HarperVoyager Oz author is that they tend to keep books in print. The last two books of the Mirage Makers have just gone to yet another reprint, and here's what they sent to me...
And then Orbit UK sent me their catalogue for the Spring and Summer 2010, and I got my first glimpse of Larry Rostant's cover for Stormlord Rising. And the rather flattering blurb stuff too...*g*
The end bit reads: The trilogy is "a gripping tale of war and deprivation reaching from the highest throne room to a shallow grave in the sands. This is an epic tale of survival wrapped in politics and and intrigue. Brent Weeks meets Dune in this coming-of-age adventure fantasy set in a desert world where water is the only currency."
Hmm. I'll let you readers be the judge of that. Although I will say that this second book of the trilogy is as much the story of Rainlord Ryka Feldspar - who is in her thirties! - as that of the two young protagonists, Terelle and Shale.
I think what excites me about this book is that several people have told me they think it tops the first book, and is the best thing I have written yet. As it is book number nine of mine to be published, I love the idea of that. I strive to improve all the time...
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Saturday, 5 December 2009, 7:03 am GMT
My fifth shortlisting for the Best Fantasy Novel of the year, this time with The Last Stormlord. Every year I've had a book nominated because it was eligible, I've been shortlisted, which doesn't actually encourage me to think I will ever win, but who cares? I am very, very happy!
Others shortlisted:
Peter M. Ball, Horn, Twelf th Planet Press
Trudi Canavan, Magician's Apprentice, Orbit
K.E. Mills, Witches Incorporated, HarperVoyager
K.J. Taylor, The Dark Griffin, HarperVoyager
The only one I've read is the book I beta read - Karen Miller's. (As usual, none of them are available here yet, that I have seen.) Nice to see a small press out there with a novel nomination.
And there's lots of my pals out there in the other categories too.
Now this rates as a very good day.
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Thursday, 19 November 2009, 1:32 pm GMT
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No writing done today, alas. No, not alas - I enjoyed the day. Time with friends, discussing books and a stack of other interesting stuff: what could not be enjoyable about that?
And I don't think I have ever linked to this podcast I did way back for Bookbabble, an online bookgroup that spans the world. So if you want to know what I sound like...
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