new book
I am pleased to report that a new Cordelia Vorkosigan novel has been sold to Baen Books for publication, tentatively, in February of 2016.
The title is Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.
It is not a war story. It is about grownups.
And that is probably all I ought to say right now in a venue read by the spoiler-sensitive. It is, after all, a long haul till next February.
2016 will also mark the 30th anniversary of my first publication by Baen, which ought to be good for a little PR fun.
Ta, L.
The title is Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.
It is not a war story. It is about grownups.
And that is probably all I ought to say right now in a venue read by the spoiler-sensitive. It is, after all, a long haul till next February.
2016 will also mark the 30th anniversary of my first publication by Baen, which ought to be good for a little PR fun.
Ta, L.
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THANK you! I have been hoping and hoping for more Vor!
Oh goodie! So excited to read more about Cordelia.
Karl wrote: "So are we going to get teaser chapters like we did with Cryoburn and CVA?"What Baen does will be up to Baen. They usually have fun with something like this.
I'll probably post a few snippets myself -- next January or so, when it's time to remind people, who presumably will have forgotten by then, that being like seven years in internet years. Maybe a little earlier if there's an eARC. But it's really not time yet.
I confess I'm startled at how much response this simple news post has garnered. But I had been not-talking about this book for three years, for good and sufficient reasons -- external interruptions tag-teaming with internal blockages -- and the head-pressure was getting rather high.
Ta, L.
Oh, wow! Excellent news after a trying week. Thank you!
I've been wanting a Cordelia/Miles adventure where they both have forward momentum...but maybe in different directions and there's mother/son conflict but Miles is SO much Cordelia's son....after Aral's death. But if that's not the one you wrote this time, you can write it next time! WHICH February? Thank you a million times!!
Brenda wrote: "I've been wanting a Cordelia/Miles adventure where they both have forward momentum...but maybe in different directions and there's mother/son conflict but Miles is SO much Cordelia's son....after A..."February 2015 -- 11 more months.
Yeah, I find the wait hard, too.
Ta, L.
Lois, I've read most of your books in real time, as they were published. I was introduced to your short stories via Analog? I believe in 1987. I then trolled Waldenbooks at the local mall (remember them) looking for your books. My life is different, married w/kids, grandkids but social anxiety demons from 30 years ago still haunt me. Congrats on the new book. You, Heinlein, John Ringo, W. E. B. Griffin, Crais, Lehane, etc. help me face the world by offering a sanctuary for a few hours a week from my fears. Springsteen said, it ain't no sin to be glad you are alive.
Thank you for helping keep me alive.
Thank you for the encoded teaser of book. I was already looking forward to it, but I did enjoy the tiny bit that I got to read. Looking forward to the whole story. I hope that you are settling nicely into your new place, and getting a much deserved break to just enjoy "being."
Michael wrote: "Lois, I've read most of your books in real time, as they were published. I was introduced to your short stories via Analog? I believe in 1987. I then trolled Waldenbooks at the local mall (remembe..."Books can be good that way. I'm glad mine helped!
bests, L.
Thank you, Lois. And thank you for all your books. They have delighted this old woman over and over. I love the rich characters who grow and develop and the often intertwining plots and sub plots.Because of vision problems I usually enjoy them as audio-books. Your narrators are great, too.
I compiled all the references to Jole I could find, for those of us trying to remember exactly who he is. (Spoilers for ... well, the whole series really)https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Thank you! I love Cordelia, so this is wonderful news.
Great news...Although seeing Cordelia actually move on from Aral (assuming that is even what you meant by the title "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen"--We do seem to be jumping to a particular conclusion, don't we? ;) ) is going to be somewhat bittersweet for many of us, I suspect.Thank you for all the work this took. (Translation for non-writers: When it comes to the actual creation of a good story, Rough-Drafting is the fun part--everything else fluctuates between meticulous boredom and feeling stabbed in the heart repeatedly.)
Was it hard (emotionally or otherwise) to keep the secret 'til you knew for sure it was a go?
There are not words to describe my anxious anticipation. Squeeee indeed! I'm like a Sherlock fangirl about this.
I am going to weep with excitement, internally, for subjective years over this news. February 2016 cannot come soon enough. My heart, I can't take it! :3 :3 :3 :3
Ken wrote: "Great news...Although seeing Cordelia actually move on from Aral (assuming that is even what you meant by the title "Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen"--We do seem to be jumping to a particular conc..."To answer your last question, yes, it was hard not to talk about it for 3 years-plus; but the book was being so stop-and-start-and-stall-again, for both external and internal reasons, keeping it private was clearly the right choice. I still wasn't sure the book was going to work until the last spate, four or five chapters that fountained out in January and February.
Ta, L.
Now, Lois, having read all the spoilers, I must say - I was looking forward to this exact story, exactly this one, I wanted to hear it told. Thank you so much for so many things. You can ask more than half of my kingdom, any time, anywhere.
They say a picture...
is worth a thousand words.
Always so happy to know that you have written a new book. I'll be waiting impatiently to buy it. And since I read Shards of Honor first, Cordelia is one of my most favorite characters too.
Eagerly looking forward to it! You've made many, many readers ecstatic.
Hooray! Congratulations to you, and to all of us!
I have been pining for another Cordelia book! I was so excited when I saw this title sold in Locus Magazine. I cannot wait!
THANK YOU for this wonderful news! I am glad that you giving us more Vorsegan stories.
So excited!!!!! I've been reading the series (again). The entire series is a "comfort read", which is odd, because I cannot put them down (up until 2:30 a.m. finishing Cetaganda). It really does transport me to a different place and gives me a chance to spend time in the company of characters I love. I don't care if the new one is a mid-series entry (I have had fun imagining holiday games with Aral and Cordelia and Miles playing with Miles' and Ekaterin's kids) or a sequel, just happy for the chance for more time with them.
I would be very pleased to give Lois my money as soon as possible; I hope that I preorder link gets posted when one becomes available.
Brzk wrote: "Yes ! Lois, give us a pre-order link!"Still too early for that, I'm afraid. We haven't even had the final edit yet, and Baen is still working on the cover. Amazon will likely have one up as soon as anyone, sometime this fall.
Ta, L.
Oh....i'm late...Some good news from America....
I'm glad to read this announcement.
I will preorder your book as usual...
Greets from Germany,
Michael
Am totally thrilled. And just the character I wanted to hear more about! Hope the grandkids have a part...
I think it's a great idea. I feel that in your last 2 books you kind of have lost Miles' voice so perhaps Cordelia will help you resynchronize. I think your Vorkosigan books are the best of scifi, but I am not a fan of your fantasy books. I think your mindspace has changed and in Cryoburn you did not have the hilarious convoluted touching incredibly unique voice of Miles. cryoburn was kind of boring. and I say this having loved all the different plots you put in the other Vorkosigan books, from screwball romantic comedy to spy thriller and military action.
Kashiraja wrote: "I think it's a great idea. I feel that in your last 2 books you kind of have lost Miles' voice..."Au contraire, I think in Cryoburn Miles' voice has merely changed, once again, to an older, wearier voice, meditating on mortality. As much as we enjoy frenetic young Miles, it's his (and Lois') prerogative to change with age. Lois doesn't write the same book twice so we'll just have to re-read earlier books to experience young Miles again.
Andrew wrote: "Kashiraja wrote: "I think it's a great idea. I feel that in your last 2 books you kind of have lost Miles' voice..."Au contraire, I think in Cryoburn Miles' voice has merely changed, once again, ..."
Thank you.
If a person at 40 were the same as that person at 17, it would be a life-tragedy, I think. What, all that interim living has taught nothing...?
To write young Miles -- pastiching myself -- I'd have to be 35 again, and while I'd love to have the body back, I think I would resist having the 30 years of hard learning amputated.
That said, F&SF fans generally tend to favor the young, underdog protagonists, who, as their stories go on, tend to work themselves out of a job. "And then what happens?" is a tale less often explored. More often the original protag is discarded and replaced by a new young underdog, so the same story can be retold.
Ta, L.
One of the series I love is written by Nora Roberts as J.D. Robb. I love it because, after the first few books, it deals with issues of how people who love each other grow closer after marriage - the first few books deal with "will they won't they" (hit the sheets, get married, etc.). But after that, through all the action and mayhem imposed by the plots, they work on issues of trust, fairness in a relationship, and how to deal with dreams you don't share. I think that many writers have difficulty writing about true growth - maybe because each person's path is individual? But surely witnessing one person's (or one couple's) journey can teach us something, even if our journey is very different. One of the things I loved in Diplomatic Immunity was how far Ekaterin had come, and how she continued to grow throughout that book. I would think that marriage to Miles would be a growth experience, and we get further hints of that in Captain Vorpatril'a Alliance. I love that Mile's dreams have changed by Cryoburn, and that he is more aware (and thoughtful) about how news of him (or lack of news of him) affects others. I love the way he deals with Jin and especially Mina - you can see his experience with kids. Anyway, I think that there are many "opportunities" for growth in our 40s and 50s (and I hope 60s and onward) and, especially since it's where I am now, I would love to see what authors do with it. (Trying to imagine Miles in retirement - would he drive everyone crazy? What about when one of his kids has dreams he can't understand? What about...)
Lois wrote: "to Lois and Andrew, I'd like to reply:
and why growing older must entail becoming wearier and thinking of mortality? Miles was never boring, but I found Cryoburn boring. it has nothing to do with me wanting to read 'young Miles', it's all about me wanting to read an engaging story.
In Komarr and following books, for example, Miles is rather well established, he's an Imperial Auditor not an underdog.
I felt engaged by a lot of many different themes in the Vorkosigan books, from the social implications of replicators, to the comedy of misunderstanding of courting a girl Miles style, to the nuances of Komarran political ideas. I read these books many times, because of their unparalleled character development. they are among the very bestworks of literature ever written. I found none of this in Cryoburn. it's as if the book itself was just a dream of the book sleep-frozen among corpses :) no offence to you Lois, I hope you understand my deep love for your previous books.
Aral and his grandfather are pivotal characters for Miles. His outburst at Piotr’s grave, in The Mountains of Mourning, is a scene that says everything about Miles at that point in his life. Now Aral’s dead, and I don’t think the ramifications of that have been played out fully for any of the survivors. Imperial Auditor is a great detective role, but it’s not Regent or Prime Minister. Young Miles was always trying to fill shoes. Now he’s no longer young, and Aral isn’t around. Is there one more pair of shoes to fill? As for Cryoburn, Aral’s death and the aftermath, and particularly Cordelia’s decision not to freeze him, changed and charged the novel for me. It made the book’s subject matter intensely personal.
Tnx for expanding wievs about cordelia,well i'm waiting for at least some explanations about sergyar ...
The e-book format of 'Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen' has been available at www.baenebooks.com since late October. Unfortunately I prefer hardcopy or audiobook formats and will need to wait a bit longer.Reviews at Baen vary widely, but my interpretation is this is not the action novel with a hyper active little git as the hero.
It is three years since Cordelia was widowed and Miles took on the role of Count Vorkosigan.
Therefore anticipate Lois go focus more on the impact changing roles, responsibilities and life events have on the characters, and less action scenes.
Comments indicate those who have gone through the changes of perspective that occurs as one ages (over forty is mentioned) will more closely relate to, and appreciate, the book.
I plan to go in expecting this to be more character development.. along the lines of "Mountains of Mourning".
Happily my oldest kid was about 10 when the first Vorkosigan books were published, so I expect to have the perspective needed to enjoy this tale
I've heard that it is possible to read the first 4 chapters right now. Anyone know where that can be found?
Mungagungadin wrote: "I've heard that it is possible to read the first 4 chapters right now. Anyone know where that can be found?"Click View Sample Chapters on the book's eARC page at Baen:
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-2892-gent...
Ta, L.
Sometime between CVA and Cryoburn, by published textev.
Ta, L.