Answering Questions and eBooks

I've been getting some questions on when The Cloud Roads ebook version is coming out. There's some confusion because even though the book's official release date is March, people who ordered directly from the publisher are now getting their copies.

Amazon now has a shipping date for the trade paperback of February 22, so (if Amazon isn't just confused) if you preordered from there or one of the other online retailers, you'll probably get it sometime after that. I suspect it won't start showing up in stores until the end of February or beginning of March.

The Kindle edition and the Baen Webscription (that's a link to the list of Night Shade books there) version will probably be available closer to the original release date, of early March.

I check on availability of all versions at every online retailer every day -- sometimes several times a day (it's the OCD) -- so as soon as I see it showing up, I'll post here. You can also check The Cloud Roads (that first link up there) page on my web site, where there are links to its listings on all the retailers I can find, and where I'll also add the links to the ebook listings as soon as they show up.

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Writing question:

ann_christine asked Your books are among the most original and interesting ones I've ever read (although it's a bit of a challenge to buy them in Poland). I must admit I've read "The Death of the Necromancer" a few times already, but I keep wondering if Arisilde is a character inspired by a real person or just an invented one? Do we know anything more about his past or family? I'm curious, because he's one of my favourite book characters.

Thank you! The Polish publisher did lovely editions of The Wizard Hunters and The Ships of Air, then decided not to do The Gate of Gods, which has to be very frustrating for the people reading the series in Polish. I'm really sorry.

I like Arisilde a lot, too. He's not based on any real person. (I don't base my characters on real people, though some of them have combinations of characteristics I've seen in different people. I sometimes base their appearance on particular actors I like.) He came from an aristocratic family in Vienne, who disowned him after his reaction to Edouard Viller's death, and because of his drug use. It would have been hard for them to contact him after that, since it was impossible for anyone to find him unless he wanted to be found.


Still taking writing questions here. On writing and/or publishing in general, or on my writing.