Trader's Diary » Ravenwood

Parsec Awards

Nate — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 15:02:22 +0000

It’s that time of year again, folks, and this time there’s some interesting developments in the category department. Here’s the qualification blurb for novel form:

Best Speculative Fiction Story (Long Form)

* Novel-length stories containing elements of science fiction, fantasy or horror
* Story audio length (minus intro/promo) over 7 hours
* Uses only 1 or 2 people for the story presentation
* Work completed within the eligibility year and have not competed in a previous year
* Audio samples only, no video

It looks like I may have a chance to win a Parsec after all!

For reference, works completed between May 1, 2009, and April 30, 2010, are eligible for this year’s Parsec.

In my world, that’s two books — Captain’s Share (completed October 15, 2009 at something over 11 hours of audio), and Ravenwood (completed February , 2010 with more than 10 hours of audio). If they both make it to the finalist category, I’ll need to figure out which one to hold back. I made the mistake of competing against myself before and I think it was a strategic blunder.

Personally, I’m pleased to see these changes although I know that it puts some of my friends in an awkward spot. Well, we’ll see how it shakes out this year. I’ll still polish up my Susan Lucci Tiara for the ceremony.

Lammas Wood

Nate — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 15:31:15 +0000

It’s fitting that on the Winter Solstice we open the door to Lammas Wood.

While I’ve spent most of this month working on the second and third drafts of Ravenwood, it became increasingly clear to me that this world needed its own place to live. After at least a half an hour of thinking and wrangling ideas around, I decided to open a sister site for the stories of the Lammas Wood so that these very different tales can have room to grow unbounded by the coldness of the Deep Dark and the metal shells of solar clippers.

I’m looking forward to discovering this world with you, but rest assured that the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper is far from over.

Watch for Owner’s Share in the Spring and keep an eye open for news of a cellulose and ink variety in the next few days.

Safe voyage.

Ravenwood: A Tanyth Fairport Adventure

Nate — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:10:11 +0000

Coming soon January 4, 2010 to Podiobooks.com.

Tanyth Fairport makes one last pilgrimage in her quest to learn all she can about the herbs and medicinal plants of Aerony before settling down to write her magnum opus. When her trip is interrupted to help a small village, she learns that much of what she knows of the world may not be quite as it seems.

The mad month of November is winding down and the next book is on the horizon. This is NOT another science fiction novel set in the Golden Age of the Solar Clipper, but a Fantasy set in a whole new world. Stay tuned for adventure.

[UPDATE 11/28/09: At 113k words, the first draft is done. I'm probably gonna rest my brain pan and look for music for the podcast tomorrow, then start the second draft. Stay tuned.]

[UPDATE: 11/29/09: New cover art]

[UPDATE: 12/15/09: Second draft done. Release date set]