I’ll be getting in late on Thursday the 24th and flying out before dawn on Tuesday the 29th. I’m not sure how many panels I’m on. The PDF isn’t exactly friendly and it doesn’t list things like signings and readings, etc. I think the earliest panel is 5pm Friday and it takes off from there. Saturday afternoon I’ll be part of a Writing Jam using Real NASA Science to seed a science fiction story. Sunday I’ll be on a panel with Scott Sigler talking about the GFL expansion story (that I haven’t written yet).

And this year, for the first time, I’ve got panels in both New Media and Literary tracks.

Must mean somethin’

Hope to see at least a few of you in Hunt’s Valley next weekend.

I still don’t have anything positive to report.

Yet.

But if you’re looking for Double Share, this would be a good time to get signed up on my mailing list. That way if there happens to be any news–like a release or something–you’ll be in a good place to find out about it.

You’ll remember that I said I wasn’t going to make any more “it’s going to be published” posts. The first notice you’ll get from me is “Here’s the link.”

I have said elsewhere that I’m working on the edits and they’re flowing smoothly.

That’s a good sign.

Just sayin’.

For those that don’t follow my daily walk, I spent last week (Mar 24-Apr 1) in Lincoln City, OR, at a writer’s workshop on Character Voice and Setting run by Dean Wesley Smith and Kristine Kathryn Rusch.

Yikes. Major brain strain and HUGE feeling of accomplishment coming out on this side. All you people will reap the benefit from that with the new writing that’ll be coming out over the next few weeks.

Ridan surfaced right after my last post — but has since disappeared again. I’m fairly confident things will be getting back on track this month.

There are some things that I probably need to make clear.

1. I can’t tell you everything I know.
2. I don’t threaten.

While I appreciate that many of you are frustrated by the situation, ultimately it’s a business decision that I’m constantly evaluating. The books will be available for decades after they get through the pipeline. They’ll have the opportunity to find hundreds of thousands of new fans over the next half century or so. They’re going to be around for a long time. This situation is temporary.

So.

Looking forward, there will be new work coming out this month. I’m not sure exactly what because my gray matter is still recovering from the rotor-rootering I got in Lincoln City last week. I can tell you my writing has improved by at least an order of magnitude. Just seeing the difference between what I wrote the week before I went compared to what I’ve written since I got back has proven that to me. It will be reflected in the Ravenwood sequel even though that means it’ll probably be delayed.

There’s a space opera short going into the Galileo Games anthology Have Blaster, Will Travel. You can learn more about that at their Kickstarter page. If you want to contribute to that, it’ll help out (and for a buck they’ll send you my story).

Oh, sorry about the comments. I logged in tonight to a mess of moderation that I’ve neglected. I think there were only two spammers in there, but the rest of them are now released. I didn’t realize how many had built up.

That’s about it for now. I need to get some words herded.

We’ve gotten to the point where I’ll be examining this relationship very closely. It’s based on the idea that we can do better together than I can do by myself, and I’ve maintained the position that we can. I know a lot of you believe that I’m foolish to maintain in the face of what you see as disrespect. I don’t really care about that. What I care about is producing quality products at reasonable prices for a strongly dedicated audience.

I’m getting to the point where that is in doubt. While I hate to add to any bad situation that they are in right now, the lack of information makes it extremely difficult to make informed decisions.

For those of you wondering how long this will go on. I’ve got two more weeks in March where I can’t do anything because I’ve got other commitments that need to be addressed. April will see some action and you have my word that something will happen in the next 45 days.

Oh, and happy Ides of March.

UPDATE: As I was writing this, Ridan was in the process of getting in touch with me. I’ve had email and more information about the hold ups. Robin will be up on various forums to make some public announcements and I’m cautiously optimistic that we’ll have new content soon.

So at the end of the period, I’ll be coming off that experiment and resuming sales of the Ebook everywhere. To mark the occasion, I’m doing something I’ve never done — making the book free for a few days. If you ever wanted to try it but didn’t want to drop the $5, here’s your chance.

UPDATE: After 11,500 downloads, the promotion ended (a bit abruptly, I thought) around Noon mountain time today (2/27). Thanks to all the people that took Ravenwood to #8 in Free Kindle.

If you’re looking for a short read, grab a sample and see if it’s worth 99 cents to read the whole thing.

And let me know what you think?

I got nothing. Believe me. If I had something, there’d be a post. If the book were available, you’d get a notice from my email list. You’d hear about it on twitter and probably Facebook. This resounding silence is, itself, the message. It’s what I got. Nada.

The situation is that Ridan still has Double Share. Robin left a comment on the last thread explaining where she’s been and what she’s been doing. She emailed me a couple of weeks ago but hasn’t sent me the edits yet. No, I’m not going to kick them to the curb because they’re late. I still believe we do better together than we can do individually and, as long as I believe that, the status will remain quo.

I am still working on the Ravenwood sequel — Zypheria’s Call — and I’m also adding the final act to a short story that I’ve had percolating for about five years now. It’s called “Divine Inspiration: A Blasphemy in Three Acts.” Highly speculative and some of you have heard parts of it. I’m just getting around to adding the last piece to my triptych.

So. That’s what I got.

I’m still planning on six books this year. I’ve got some other deals working including a “guest novella” for Scott Sigler’s GFL universe. There may be other news but the lawyers need to parse it before I can share it. (Yes, there are lawyers involved.)

In the meantime, did you know Deb Geary has a new book out? Great stuff. You should check it out.

In a nutshell, nothing.

The edits for Double Share are still with the publisher. I haven’t heard from her for over two weeks so I’m operating in the dark. I know you want me to say, “That’s it, I’m going it alone.” I’m not going to. At least not yet.

Last year was a year of huge transitions — for me, for Ridan, for the industry. I’m still willing to give Ridan a chance to get their act together because, quite frankly, I like what they do. The results we’ve achieved so far would not have been possible without their help and it seems a bit short-sighted of me to yank the rug out at this point.

I am taking steps to get more of my work out on my own. I published Ravenwood last October and the sequel is almost done. I’ll publish it as soon as it’s ready. I’ve already got the cover art and only need to finish writing the story and get it through some editing before publishing it in print, ebook, and podcast. South Coast and its sequel, Cape Grace, will probably be self-pubs as well. I’m holding them for the moment – first because the sequel isn’t written yet, and second because I want to see if Ridan can get things together.

What will happen in the future? I don’t know. I do have remedies. My contract with Ridan allows me to send a letter and get all my rights back with 30 days’ notice. I’d have to re-do the covers and re-issue them in my own name, but it’s possible to do. I know how it’s done. It’s not a *long* process, but it’s time that takes away from this year’s goals. When will enough be enough? I don’t know. Sorry. I can’t predict that kind of stuff reliably.

I can’t remember if I wrote about this here or not and I’m too lazy to go look but the goals for 2012 are:

1. Six new novel length works – a new Ishmael Wang trilogy, two more books in the Tanyth Fairport universe, and Cape Grace.

2. Podcast all my work and do a couple extra books besides.

3. Get some writing classes behind me to know better which rules I’m breaking and to learn some new ones to flout.

4. BaltiCon, WorldCon, MileHiCon, and COSine.

5. A novella in Scott Sigler’s GFL universe. A novella in Tee and Pip’s Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences universe. At least one more novella from Odin’s Outpost.

It’ll be a full year … and that’s besides getting the last three share books out in print and ebook formats.

Wish me luck. I’m going in.

Looking backwards for a moment, a year ago today I was worried that I’d need to find a job to keep the bills paid. This year, I’ve got a job–thanks to the thousands of people like you who’ve found my work. I need to get better and I need to get faster. My production in 2011 was limited to one podcast, two short stories, and a novella. We got Full Share released in May. I’m planning on six novel length works in 2012 along with a few shorter pieces. My new desk set up, a project schedule, and some grit should help. I also need to get better and more aware of the craft of story-telling. I’ll be taking a course in March and I’ve looked into getting some more formal training. I think the ‘school’ part of that will fall away but I’m looking forward to spending a week in Oregon with Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Dean Wesley Smith. That’s gonna be a blast.

Unfortunately, I don’t have the good news that you’re all waiting for. Double Share will not be out before Christmas as promised. Ridan has not yet returned the edits to me and I can’t imagine that–even if I got them back this morning–there’s time left for me to review almost 125k words, return them to Ridan, and leave time for them to review and publish. The only way we can make the deadline now is if Robin publishes the book without my seeing her edits. That’s something I suspect she will not do.

Yes, I know you’re disappointed. So am I. From a marketing perspective, all the momentum that the promotion of Quarter Share generated in November has almost disappeared. It’s not quite back to October levels, but it’s lost a lot of oomph. That means we’ll have to rebuild the franchise anew in 2012. At least there’s a solid base, even if a lot of people have given up on me. With any luck, the eventual release will spark enough interest to rebuild things.

Before you break out the torches and pitchforks–and to preempt the outcry–Ridan will finish out the Share books. As disappointing as this year has been in terms of their ability to meet production goals, I still like what they’ve managed to do with the books when we’ve gotten them released. In the short run, looking at things through the “I’m still waiting” lens, it’s hard to keep a big picture perspective. Looking at this strategically, the books will be in print for a long, long time. Getting them right is much more important than getting them now. The plan is to get the last three Share books released in the first quarter of 2012. Will we make it? I doubt it, but that’s the plan.

Also in my plans are another trilogy featuring Ishmael Wang, two more books in the Tanyth Fairport series, a Philip Carstairs novel, and at least two novella length works–one in Scott Sigler’s Galactic Football League universe and another story about Odin’s Outpost.

Speaking of Tanyth Fairport, I hired Kip Ayers to create a set of covers for the trilogy. I got the rough first draft of Zypheria’s Call–Tanyth’s book two–done in November and I’ve been pondering it ever since. I think I’ve found most of the flaws and I’ll be working to get those corrected and the book produced by the end of January. You can see the cover and keep track of other happenings in Tanyth’s world over on Lammas Wood.

Merry Christmas, joyous Yule, and a safe and prosperous New Year to one and all. Thank you, again, for adding so much to my life and I hope I can continue to add to yours in the months to come.