new fantasy e-novella upcoming -- "Penric's Demon"
I am pleased to report that a new Chalion/World of the Five Gods novella is done, edited, and in for e-processing (which is still going to take a bit more time.) Now that the geographic scope of the tales is widening, I don't think I can go on calling it "the Chalion series", and the fannish acronym "5GU" (Five Gods Universe) takes too much explaining. "World of the Five Gods" covers more ground and seems reasonably self-explanatory.
Title is "Penric's Demon", length is 35,000 words, which makes it my longest novella so far. My prior novellas ran from 23k - 31k words. Having just looked them up to check, they may be of interest -- rounded,
"Winterfair Gifts" -- 23,500
"The Borders of Infinity" -- 26,750
"The Mountains of Mourning" -- 26,800
"Weatherman" -- 27,000
"Labyrinth" -- 31,000
"Penric's Demon" -- 35,000
The new tale has all-new characters in a new setting -- same gods, though. It was such fun to do something fresh!
Closer to the story going "live" on the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble/Nook and iTunes/iPad e-book stores, I plan to post the first scene. As soon as the links go live, I will post them.
As for the story itself, ah, well. More on that later. (Though the title is not one of those thematically obscure ones.)
Ta, L.
Title is "Penric's Demon", length is 35,000 words, which makes it my longest novella so far. My prior novellas ran from 23k - 31k words. Having just looked them up to check, they may be of interest -- rounded,
"Winterfair Gifts" -- 23,500
"The Borders of Infinity" -- 26,750
"The Mountains of Mourning" -- 26,800
"Weatherman" -- 27,000
"Labyrinth" -- 31,000
"Penric's Demon" -- 35,000
The new tale has all-new characters in a new setting -- same gods, though. It was such fun to do something fresh!
Closer to the story going "live" on the Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble/Nook and iTunes/iPad e-book stores, I plan to post the first scene. As soon as the links go live, I will post them.
As for the story itself, ah, well. More on that later. (Though the title is not one of those thematically obscure ones.)
Ta, L.
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Kaje
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Jun 24, 2015 08:32AM
Yay! I love the Chalion books. Looking forward to it.
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I wish we could get a full blown novel in the WOTFG/Chalion series. Oh please stick with Chalion.
Robert wrote: "I wish we could get a full blown novel in the WOTFG/Chalion series. Oh please stick with Chalion."Me too!
For a semi-retired writer, you sure are putting out some well anticipated material, and I am more than grateful for it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I once read in one of your essays or possibly a transcript of a talk that you were originally thinking about 5 WOTFG novels, each one "starring" a different god. May I still hope? I am looking forward to the new novella - a nice surprise!
Yay, Chalion!But: semi-retired? Do you consider yourself semi-retired? Did I miss something?
.....Can we do anything to change that? Like bring you cookies or something? How many cookies do you want? (Ma Kosti cookies?)
Marilyn wrote: "I once read in one of your essays or possibly a transcript of a talk that you were originally thinking about 5 WOTFG novels, each one "starring" a different god. May I still hope? I am looking fo..."I'm taking my projects as they come, no plans and no promises. If the right idea (or character) shows up and demands attention, anything is possible, but I've decided not to try to stick to a rigid system at this time.
Ta, L.
Eleanor wrote: "Yay, Chalion!But: semi-retired? Do you consider yourself semi-retired? Did I miss something?
.....Can we do anything to change that? Like bring you cookies or something? How many cookies do you ..."
I'm afraid cookies would be counterproductive. Alas.
Yeah, retirement is proving rather hard to define for a self-employed person. For me, I've decided that, for the moment, it will consist of doing more (or at any rate, as much) of the parts of my writing career (as) I enjoy, and less of the stressful tasks. So, much less of travel and public speaking, no contracts before a story/novel is written, hence no deadlines or other obligations. Write what I feel like when I feel like it. Or not.
Still have to keep up with business and tax records, and a number of other endemic para-writing tasks. But between all that, and life/home maintenance, and the modern hyper-glut of entertainment and knowledge at one's fingertips to take in, my time seems to be filling up pretty well.
Ta, L.
*carefully hides bowl of cookies behind her back*Well, I am glad you are doing less stressful stuff, and I will totally buy things that you write, which will give you money (publishers allowing) to do other less stressful stuff (like writing on spec). :D
Wonderful! I like the term "para-writing tasks", too. If cookies are not a good idea, perhaps I could offer (later in the year) some home-grown Sweet 100s tomatoes to encourage the writer.
Jane wrote: "Wonderful! I like the term "para-writing tasks", too. If cookies are not a good idea, perhaps I could offer (later in the year) some home-grown Sweet 100s tomatoes to encourage the writer."Heh. Thank you for the thought, but I promise you, my local groceries provide me with far more very fine food than I can or should eat.
https://lundsandbyerlys.com/
(Yes, that's where the name came from. I wanted something that said "high class and really decadent".)
Ta, L.
Yay new Chalion story!Would you pretty please set up a way to buy it that is DRM-free, and accessible from Canada? Alas, the default settings on most ebook sites (including the ones you mentioned above) are not DRM-free, and don't work in Canada.
Eleanor wrote: "*carefully hides bowl of cookies behind her back*I am not a writer but I would be happy to take the cookies off your hands.
Strangeattractor wrote: "Yay new Chalion story!Would you pretty please set up a way to buy it that is DRM-free, and accessible from Canada? Alas, the default settings on most ebook sites (including the ones you mentione..."
I'm pretty sure Amazon and iTunes work in Canada. Nook I'm less sure of.
Those three are the only vendors we are using at this time. Can't do anything about the DRM, sorry.
Ta, L.
I can't wait for the new novella, Lois! Happy Dance.And, in preparation for February, I have been doing an entire Audible.com reread of the Vorkosiverse, currently in Warrior's Apprentice. I figure the spread over the months will be just about right :)
Best regards,
Lorraine
Would you consider posting the story also on Smashwords, which is DRM-free? Or adding it to one of the DRM-free bundles such as the ones run by StoryBundle and HumbleBundle? Or creating a print-on-demand version?
SQUEE! I hope this is a precursor to more Challion books. I'm hoping for a complete set of five!
Hoping against hope that the final two 5GU novels will be written some day
With regard to Byerly's name: ROFLOLMAO. Ha!I'm with Joseph and Todd here, but if what you write is more inspired than what you might've written but didn't get inspiration for, I'm all eyes. Or bookstore credit cards. Or something.
I'd love a print-on-demand version though! Ereaders are valuable tools (although it's riskier to read them during dinner) but I much prefer the paper version. Physical objects books are easier for me to obsess about than computer files, although I respect the power of obsession that goes into software creation to make neat things for us non-IT folk.
Who's publishing 'Penric's Demon'? I think many or most selfpub setups allow you to add a POD option. I've seen CreateSpace novel/las that have both ereader and POD versions.
*hands some Ma Kosti cookies to Jenn*
Excuse me. I have to holler with delight!!!! The Curse of Chalion is my, bar none, fave fantasy novel. Can't wait to read the new story!
Eleanor wrote: "With regard to Byerly's name: ROFLOLMAO. Ha!I'm with Joseph and Todd here, but if what you write is more inspired than what you might've written but didn't get inspiration for, I'm all eyes. Or b..."
It will be self-pubbed, more or less. Or self-e-pubbed.
Our experiment with PoD with The Spirit Ring showed that it was a lot more work than it looked like, and that the audience was not at all enthusiastic about paying at the necessary price break. So I don't plan a chapbook or anything at this time. If I were, in the future, to write enough other shorter fiction to put together a collection, that might be more commercially feasible (though just barely), but that's not anything for people to hold their breath about.
The 5 gods - 5 books plan sounded good, but in practice I found that it was actually blocking me from other, more free-form explorations of the world. The novella length/side-story scheme allows me to have it both ways.
Ta, L.
I think the term "The Chalion Series", communicates effectively to more people.
By all means Lois, explore away. I have my favorites, of course, but you never disappoint. Meanwhile I'll keep re-reading (or listening because I own some in audio and the library has the rest.)
Tree books vs e-books: I love having real books on my shelf that I can admire and pet and lend to friends (those few I can trust to return them.) They are better for illustrations and maps. For reading, it's my Kindle all the way. Also, in desperate moments I can use the Kindle app on my phone.
I'll probably get this new one on e-book only - I have all other Bujold books are in at least two formats.It's nice to be stuck somewhere unexpected (a hospital?) - with a library, instead of that book I only had a chapter left to read.
> As soon as the links go live, I will post them.And I will buy it!!
I have a library of thousands of print books (some collectible SF from the 50s and 60s and a few 19th century volumes with leather covers). But since I got my Kindle and Nook color, I find that I rarely buy print books--and if I do, generally used to save moolah. I buy 200+ books a year for my Kindles. (I own five now, as I can't resist getting upgraded versions.)So, whatever you publish, I'll be getting in e-format. (Though I have several paperback and hardcovers of your previous works.) I am nearly done re-acquiring the Vorkosigan titles in ebook format. I already got TCoC and PoS in ebook after first acquiring in print. :)
No thrill like walking around with 1500 books in your purse. Heaven.
Hmm. Lois - I know nothing about the author economics of this, but have you seen anthologybuilder.com? Basically the buyer pays $14.95 plus shipping for a trade paperback anywhere between 50-350 pages, chooses a title, and chooses cover art from various options on site or possibly uploads their own graphic. You fill the book with as many short stories on the site as you like, up to 350 pages. The short stories seem to be mainly sf/f and old public domain stuff. J. Kathleen Cheney has a number of stories there; there's also work by Tobias Buckell, Leah Cypess, Aliette de Bodard, Eric Flint, Jim Hines, Yoon Ha Lee, Ann Leckie, Benjamin Rosenbaum, and Karina Sumner-Smith, along with older dark fantasy classics from the public domain authors (J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Arthur Machen, Lord Dunsany, Algernon Blackwood). (Also lots more authors I don't like as much.) As I said, I have no idea what the contract is like for authors, but if it works out well for you would you consider letting people buy print copies off there? They'd have the option of sticking other stories into the remaining pages, whether by you or other authors. I built a J. Kathleen Cheney short story collection there and they did a decent-to-good job printing it. The cover is little glossy, the edges are not as resistant to wear as (most) books from major publishers, and the buyer has to be a little careful with the title in the cover layout. But the paper is thick and the binding is good.
You could also do the Baen e-ARC thing and release the e-version first so everyone will buy it to read it and then let people who want a print copy start buying one a few months later so you get paid twice.
All this talk of print vrs. ebook, I'll chime in and say "Audio!" Grover or Kate please. ;)
Elaine wrote: "All this talk of print vrs. ebook, I'll chime in and say "Audio!" Grover or Kate please. ;)"Premature, but not impossible. Blackstone does choose to do novella-length work sometimes. Not sure what their selection criteria are. (All production details, including choice of narrator, are up to them.) We'll have to wait and see on that. If the work does unexpectedly well as an e-book, they might take an interest. Or there might be other venues, hard to say.
Really, we are all reasoning ahead of our data, here! You all haven't even read the story yet.
Ta, L.
Eleanor wrote: "You could also do the Baen e-ARC thing and release the e-version first so everyone will buy it to read it and then let people who want a print copy start buying one a few months later so you get pa..."She's done that - and I have two e-book versions of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance
You'll get (at least) two sales from me for the next book due out from Baen early next year, the EARC and then the hardback edition. Would also be more than happy to do it again for the novella, the e-version for my Kindle and a hardcopy for my shelves. But if the hassle of setting up some sort of Print On Demand deal takes time and energy away from writing, having more stories trumps format hands down.Anne in Virginia
Howard, I meant that figuratively and was referring to the novella she just announced. Really, we are all reasoning ahead of our data, here! You all haven't even read the story yet.
Lois, that could easily be fixed if you release it tomorrow. :D
Eleanor wrote: "Howard, I meant that figuratively and was referring to the novella she just announced. Really, we are all reasoning ahead of our data, here! You all haven't even read the story yet.
Lois, that c..."
It's making progress. The cover image is almost finalized. I'll post it here when it is.
...Which leads me to wonder what that lead-off picture-with-lettering should really be called, as e-books don't have covers. Or if it will end up being one of those language artifacts like speaking of "dialing" a phone number when dial phones have been gone for years.
Ta, L.
Lois wrote: ... The cover image is almost finalized. I'll post it here when it is.
...Which leads me to wonder what that lead-off picture-with-lettering should really be called, as e-books don't have covers.
You could call it an " Intrographic ".
Before the Internet, attendees at conferences (well, dental conferences anyway) could present their ideas/projects/results with printed "posters" for all to see. Nowadays, whether on webpages or actually printed, the designation has morphed into "Infographics". Hence ...
Meanwhile, I'm anxiously awaiting an eARC of Cordelia's tale.
Happy news! Will there be a Kobo version for non USA epub readers? B&N don't sell to non USA folk and a lot of us use android devices so don't/can't access anything Apple based such as iTunes. My understanding is that Amazon dominates within USA but much less so outside those borders.
Merrian wrote: "Happy news! Will there be a Kobo version for non USA epub readers? B&N don't sell to non USA folk and a lot of us use android devices so don't/can't access anything Apple based such as iTunes. My ..."No, sorry, just those three vendors at present.
I understand one can download a free Kindle app to any PC, and download the paid-for material to it and read off one's PC, so one is not actually cut off from anything but some convenience.
Not that convenience is to be underrated.
At least Amazon does reach outside the USA, and instantaneously, too. For a writer who grew up in an all-paper world, cut off by physical shipping costs and legal barriers from all other readers' markets but her own, this remains a source of marvel.
Ta, L.
Lois wrote: "Really, we are all reasoning ahead of our data, here! You all haven't even read the story ye..."You are selling yourself short here, Lois. We all have thirty plus years of data, knowing that this will be the highlight of our reading season. At least until 'The Red Queen" comes out!
I am looking forward to reading this. I'll certainly be buying it as soon as it shows up anywhere. Also the Red Queen... yes... as soon as I can get my grubby fingers on those pixels... it will be mine!
I cannot wait to read this novella! The Chalion/World of the Five Gods is one of my very favorite fantasy series ever. I am SO happy to get to read a new story set in that world!
SO excited for this! I love the world of the 5 gods so much! What period of time will this story take place?
Theresa wrote: "SO excited for this! I love the world of the 5 gods so much! What period of time will this story take place?"I have thus far avoided specifying exact years, which would entail making up a calendar, or worse, several of them depending on realms and time periods. But the novella falls sometime after The Hallowed Hunt and before The Curse of Chalion. In another part of the forest, so to speak.
Ta, L.
Wonderful news! I do hope it will be be purchasable in the UK.
Naomi wrote: "Wonderful news! I do hope it will be be purchasable in the UK."It should be; in fact, it should be available world-wide wherever one or more of the three three vendors operate.
I'll be very interested to see how that plays out.
Ta, L.
