Off Sick
It’s been a while, so here’s an update on how the books are going!
To get the bad news out of the way first, I’ve caught what seems a lot like the Covid-19 virus. I’m not a hundred percent sure whether that’s actually what it is, since I took the standard test provided by the UK government and it came back negative. On the other hand, the symptoms so far have been:
Days 1-5: muscle aches & pain
Days 6-10: malaise, exhaustion, slight fever
Days 11-15: more fever plus dry cough & shortness of breath
. . . which match up pretty closely with other people’s accounts. So maybe the test got messed up somehow or it’s a slightly different strain. Who knows. (I don’t usually talk about my health on this blog, but I figure that this one might be of scientific interest to some of the readers out there!)
Anyway, this combined with the previous months of taking care of two small children during lockdown has slowed down my writing a bit.
On the positive side, while it’s slowed down, it’s still making progress. Alex Verus #12 is about 20% of the way through its first draft – this might not sound like much, but I generally find that my worst roadblocks tend to be in the first quarter, so it ought to be all downhill from here. I’m still hoping to get the first draft done by the end of the year, though that might be optimistic.
And of course none of this affects Alex Verus #11, Forged, which is currently with my publishers, edited and proofread and out of my hands. Release dates should be November 24th 2020 in the US and Canada and December 1st 2020 in the UK and the rest of the world. As usual, the audiobook edition is planned to come out at the same time as the paper and ebook ones, and also as usual, I’ll release the first chapter online a month or two in advance.
And finally, for the German readers of Alex Verus, there’s some good news: the books have continued to do very well in their German translation and Blanvalet has contracted to keep publishing the series all the way up to book 8. Chances currently look good that they’ll go all the way up to 12.
And I think that covers everything. More Ask Luna next week!
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So sorry to hear you're sick. Thank you for your update! Looking forward to reading your next books, will gladly wait, just get better!
Get well soon and take it easy! I’m reading Fallen at the moment and I can’t put it down. Glad to hear the next book is well on the way.
Hopefully you're better now - so keep safe ! We (here in Oz) have just had another outbreak in Victoria, a reality check on how quickly things can turn sour with complacency (we thought we'd almost had it licked). Given your additional news on how book 12 is progressing - I don't imagine you've had to much time to think about 'post Alex Verus' books. Do you go for something completely different ? Perhaps a different character in the same setting with a different point of view ?? Whatever the path, I'll certainly be reading whatever you write !
I'm really sorry you are sick, and hope you feel better soon. The UK Covid 19 test only detects about 70% of cases, so a negative test does not mean you do not have Covid-19. Take good care of yourself and get plenty of rest.
Hope you recover soon! So excited for Forged!
I hope you'll get better soon, no matter what this is. All the best to you and your family. And yes, I am excited about Forged which looks like it'll be my pre-Xmas read this year.
