The writing life…

…is transected with peaks and gullies.

In the past 24 hours, I have:

  • received my first copy of “The Shadow of Tyr” with its lovely comment from Karen Miller – a superb writer and a bestseller herself – and I just love it. I keep stroking the cover…
  • been told by my agent that my German contract has been cancelled. I’d signed the contract, and been paid the initial advance – and then the editor involved left and no one has picked up the baton. Sigh. Especially distressing as the German reading public loved “Havenstar” and were very supportive.
  • received my Voyager diary for 2008 which is just gorgeous and full of zany quotes and idiocies from the Voyager-Australia authors, including myself. Buy a load of Voyager books in December in Oz and you will probably get a free copy…
  • seen a stack of copies of “Heart of Mirage” Orbit edition on sale in MPH MidValley Kuala Lumpur. Hey, I am still kid enough to be thrilled by things like that. (So whaddya waiting for, KLites? Get down there!! I suspect it is also available in Borders and Kinokuniya, but I haven’t looked.)
  • received my Russian contract for “The Tainted“. They have a 5,000 initial hardback print run too. I am dying to see the cover.
  • received my Russian advance.

Actually that’s a lot of peaks to only one gully.

I am a lucky son of a gun.
And, oh yeah, another gully – most of the photos on my Cameron Highlands post have mysteriously vanished. Huh? How did that happen? I shall put them up again.


Comments

The writing life… — 4 Comments

  1. The important question is…do you now have to return your German advance? That would be just rude!

    On another note, is there any likelihood of Havenstar being republished? The only secondhand copies I can find on the internet are going for around $130+ from the US and that’s a little out of my price range. Could you self-publish on the internet so those of us who haven’t been lucky enough to read it could do so? It’s an interesting copyright question, probably!

  2. Hi Joanna – firstly, no, I don’t have to return the advance as they broke the contract.

    One of these days Havenstar will see the light of day again, I promise. HarperCollins Voyager Oz were nibbling, but I need to show them that Mirage Makers is selling well before they will publish anything more of mine.

    If they don’t pick me up again, then I will seek to publish elsewhere, including a reissue of Havenstar. Worst comes to worst, I shall either publish on the net, or I shall do a POD.

  3. Yay on the Russian stuff. Boo hiss to the Germans. That is so sucky. But there are other German publishers …

    And the cover for book 2 is fabulous.

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